The Meme of Fives

Mom Unplugged
has tagged me for this Meme, and I cannot ignore a Meme (please don't ask me to)
so here we go...

The rules:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?

Chasing my little almost 2 year old Princess around the house and yard, enjoying
having her in my life. (some things never change)

What are five things on your to-do list for today?

1. Laundry
2. Clean out new (to us) china cabinet we just picked up (for free) to store stuff in the basement
3. Decide which things will go in #2 and put them there
4. Iron and hang kitchen curtains
5. Finish some prep work for my June lesson plans (craft bags,bulletin board)
   

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Chocolate
2. French bread with goat cheese and figs
3. Fresh tomato with olive oil and sea salt
4. CHEESE
5. Mango
   

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. Homeschool Princess
2. Put some money where my mouth is! (Farm Aid especially)
   
3. Buy a real farm!!
4. Visit all those new babies about to be born to friends and family all over the planet (and my Sister in N.Z.)
   
5. Buy more books (and not just for myself)
   

What are five of your bad habits?

1. I rarely get enough exercise
2. I put the needs of others ahead of my own
3. I am a pack rat (yes, F.D., I am just as aware of it as you)
4. I cut my own hair due to impatience
5. I over-indulge in snack list
   

What are five places where you have lived?

1. My Parent's rental apartment
2. My Mother's rental apartment
3. My Mother's House
   
4. My Grandparent's House
5. My Own Home
   

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. Babysitter
2. Childcare worker/Preschool teacher
3. Book keeper
4. Tupperware Sales
5. Accounting
   

Five people I tag:

Wendy at zoomtimes

Zilla
Divina
Heather
and last but certainly not least, my friend B. here

Friday Pictures

Here are some pictures to show a little bit of our week.
Sorting through some yard sale finds

including my new ride
A lot of napping
Some bugginess
Some harvesting

A bit of P.E.Making like Snow White and singing to the birds and bunnies.


We also did a bit of school work, some maths, some reading, ok a lot of reading,
some computer time,some drawing. Meals were served, laundry was done, the little
sick child was held and cuddled and there was jell-o.
This afternoon we went to the library to pick up some new books to replace
books we needed to return and we finished listening to this in the car.
We tried to sew a Mermaid's tail (we are still laughing great gales of laughter at our finished product)
and ended the evening with a viewing of Mr Bean.
I still have much to do to get ready for June, so stay tuned. ;-)

More quirks....

OK, I have to admit, I did not get into this fully the first time because
I don't see myself as "quirky". I see myself as "normal" and the rest of
the people on the planet are "quirky" (Is that a quirk in itself?).
I even asked Farmer Dad what he thought my "quirks" were, but he
could not come up with anything (He finds me just as annoying as the rest of you, just not
original enough in my annoying-ness to be "quirky").
But for Patrice,I will try again....

* Link the person who tagged you
* Mention the rules in your blog
* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours
* Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them


1.I need to have my toilet paper facing the correct way..I do not like when it rolls "up" instead of "down".
If I am at your house, and you have it going the "wrong" way, I have to force myself to not "fix it".

2.I unplug all small appliances...I would keep the t.v.s unplugged as well, but
it makes .F.D. crazy.

3.I cannot stand to waste food..or anything else...I will freeze small bits of food
to be used later so as not to waste them. (F.D. claims I was actually raised in the depression)
I have a baggy with bread crusts (for bread crumbs) and one with butter wrappers (for buttering pans)
in my freezer most of the time.

4.I would rather buy your Grandmother's old dishes then new ones. (see #3)...

In fact, I have a hard time not "keeping" all those old dishes and glassware, pots and pans.
The idea of someone tossing out things someone else loved bothers me much more than is healthy.
Freecycle helps a bit, I can give away stuff for others to use.

5. I "collect" information.Books,magazines,computer links, slips of paper,
ripped out articles. I have a hard time letting them go. I just recycled a ton
of magazines and file folders worth of "info" I was saving for ions.There is still a ways to go,
but I am working on it.

6. I do not like when people ask me what to do, than ignore me, than complain about how they did what I told them not to do and something bad happened just like I said it would.
(Note to people I know in real life:If you are reading this, thinking I mean you than I probably do)

I am sure the entire blog world as I know it have done this already, but if you have not, then
won't you try it? I will link to 6 bloggers here, because I like to follow the rules in general.
(If you know me I.R.L., and you are laughing right now, STOP IT!) ;-)

Daphne
Yas
Jenny
Steph
Susan
Pattey

How quirky are you?

I have so much to say, I don't know where to start!

A list of things I want to blog about:

1. Many more books!
2. More quirky-ness (for M.P.)
3. Cute craft idea (especially for little C.J.)
4. Junking/Antiquing this past weekend.
5. More fun garden science.
6. Random ideas floating in my head on any given day.

I also have some great pics to post and links to share.
I am going to try to clean this site up a bit to make it easier to navigate.
I cannot get my new books for this month to load up properly on my Shelfari
thingy. (see right) Yes, I am aware the month is almost over, it's very frustrating!
I will try to get everything up and humming more smoothly for June.
In the meantime here is a picture of one of our little fledglings trying to stay dry yesterday.

The sun is back out today, and the temperature is cooler, so we'll be spending our
afternoon in the backyard today for sure. Princess has a bit of a cold, so we are taking it easy.

The Latest Tuesday Book Post

Here are some of what we are reading to and with Princess right now:

Sophie's Knapsack
Early one morning Sophie,who can only see a small patch of sky out her apartment window,
joins her parents on a hike up a mountain.
Her knapsack is a major part of the journey from the packing to
being used as her pillow on the way home.
Sophie's first camping trip is the kind of outdoors experience we all wish
for our children.Princess enjoyed this book very much.

The Gardener
This book is a perennial favorite of ours. Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds,
plenty of stationary, and a passion for gardening to the big gray city, where she goes
to stay with her Uncle Jim, a grumpy baker.This book is set in the depression and
Princess and I both love the way this little gardener makes everything bloom.
We will be planting flowers in every chipped tea cup we can find this year.



The Money Tree

I really like this story about Miss McGillicuddy going about the business of her life as people come from far and wide to harvest from her "money tree". I especially love the last illustration of her sitting in front of her fire with her feet up and her pets all around her..tea pot by her side.

We Hate Rain!

Mary Ann and Louie have had enough of the rain after two days, but their Grandpa tells a story about how it rained for a month straight when he was a boy.By the end of the book the sun is out again. I won't ruin it for you by telling more than that. We enjoyed it a great deal.

Thunder Cake

If you have not read this story before, you should. The author reaches into her memories
of her childhood fear of thunder and how her Babushka (Grandmother) helped her overcome it.
Princess really loves the bright folk art illustrations.
You should plan on making a thunder cake (recipe provided in the back) with your little ones
after reading this or at least the next time the thunder rolls in.



Duck & Goose

Princess got a kick out of this story of Duck and Goose arguing
over an egg.Cute illustrations. We especially love the one where they are told it's not an egg, but a ball. ;-)Very endearing story.

The Raft
This book is a bit too old for Princess, and she really had no interest in hearing it at all, but
for some reason, the cover art spoke to me at the library and I had to take it home.
Some of you with older children may find they enjoy it.
Nicky is not happy about spending the summer with his Grandpa in the Wisconsin woods,
but one day a raft appears and it changes everything. The raft allows him to explore the river
and helps open up the wonders all around him.He even begins to draw the wildlife he sees.
Very lovely story. I'll take it out when P is older or maybe when it just feels more right for her.

Is it Friday already?

The weeks are flying by now and what starts out on the promise of Monday

and all we will get done, becomes Friday and what we did instead.

We have had a very full week this week with errands,play dates,garden work

and visiting Great Grandma. Yesterday Princess decided she would help me by doing her breakfast

dishes, since I was nice enough to make her pancakes for breakfast.She pulled a chair up

to the sink and washed her dishes all by herself.Then while I finished the griddle and

glass bowl, she went out to her school room to do some work.We went outside to find a worm for the

Great Worm Experiment, but it had become very cool and windy and no worms were to be found,

so back inside for some other reading and such, a little magnetic art,lunch ,and some computer time,studied stingrays,decided not to do stingray craft,so

we colored some more bird pictures and

some whale and dolphin pictures (why because they were too cool not to color that's why)

we started to organize some books,but were easily distracted into reading some of them instead. ;-)

Then we readied the table for a "tea date" with Daddy.

Princess dressed up too, but I didn't snap a photo.

I read my book in the next room while they discussed their days and enjoyed the snack she prepared.interested in what I am reading, there is a link on my sidebar for my personal book blog.It was a good day.Maybe today I will get the laundry done. ;-)

Or maybe we will read more about horseshoe crabs and such and leave the laundry for the long holiday weekend ahead.

I love homeschooling..don't you?

By the way..have you noticed blogger will now let you write a post and mark what day and time it will be posted??

I already wrote and "posted" my book post for next Tuesday.It should be released sometime after 5am EST on Tuesday.

This is a feature I have been waiting for (sick, I know).

Monday,Yesterday and Today

Monday we spent the morning quietly watching the rain and then went to visit with our good friends
for ice cream cake and pleasant company.
Princess and K. played everything from dress up to Wii.
As usual I had to carry her kicking and screaming because she hates to leave there.
I'm sort of exaggerating here, there was no kicking, and although she was mad, she didn't actually
scream. I did not carry her, but she was not pleased with my timing.
Yesterday we had our weekly homeschool group
open play date. They have been getting better and
better. The kids (I'd say girls, but we have a little boy J
who has become a favorite little regular) are really getting along
and gel nicely as a group. It is so nice to have girls the same age as
Princess for her to hang out with regularly...that they are homeschooled
and I like their Moms is just such a nice bonus! This week we had a little craft
time, and the girls made little books. They had so much fun sharing ideas.
One of the Moms is an avid scrapbooker, and she provided invaluable ideas and
supplies, like a really cool flower shaped punch and a device to sew the books together.
She also baked us a yummy quiche (thanks A.!)
Princess had the best time "reading" her book to little J who happily sat and listened to the whole thing!
He also joined in by drawing some lovely pictures.

Today we had to bring my Grandmother to her bank and then to the grocery store.
Princess picked out one cheese from France and one from Australia for a snack.
When we got back to Grandma's house she shared some cookies with Princess and they played
with the dog, while I balanced her checkbook. We are planning on doing this each week,
but she has changed her mind before, so we'll see. Once back home, Princess and I had lunch
and brought our books outside. She "rescued" (her words) a worm and after studying him, she returned
him to his natural habitat (our garden). We cut some lettuce and asparagus for dinner and then it looked quite stormy, so we went inside and Princess watched a math dvd we borrowed from the library.
Farmer Dad got home from work and we had a snack of our new cheeses and some "French" bread and olives.
All day we have had tons of fledgling birds filling our fig tree and here are the ones the didn't fly off when my camera started going off.
They were all waiting for these guys to leave the feeder.

Tuesday Book Post

Trying to get back "on track" blogwise....

Manners
Are there any Moms out there who don't worry
about their children's manners or lack there of.
Princess enjoyed this book, as she does all the
books by Aliki. Hopefully the message will "stick".

We have been enjoying this book a lot at bedtime
Peek!
Princess loved all the "exotic" to us animals found
in this little girls backyard in Thailand.
The illustrations are truly lovely.

Growing Frogs
Frogs are in danger- please help! Who can resist that?
This story is about a little girl who collects some frog spawn
from a near by pond. You join her on her journey as she watches them go from
tiny legs to swimming tadpoles to full-fledged land-loving frogs!
Along the way there are plenty of great tips about growing your own frogs.
You know how we like to "grow our own" around here. ;-)

We have been using several books to learn about The Brooklyn Bridge
this month (see plan post) and here are our favorite three

The Brooklyn Bridge
The story of the world's most famous bridge and
the family who built it.
The photos and illustrations really made it come to life.

Brooklyn Bridge
Nice illustrations and Princess enjoyed the timeline in the back.
We will be taking these out again next year when we can delve deeper into
the history and engineering.

Bridges!
There are so many great activities and experiments in this book.
I'm not sure how we'll find the time to get to them all, but we will try
a lot of them! Great fun!

Not so sunny Sunday

Sunday started out looking like it would be more like Saturday,
and we had already made plans to go to Ocean Fun Days
at Sandy Hook with our homeschool friends, if it was not raining.
We all met up at our house, and headed down the shore.The kids got to have their picture taken and do a craft,
and right after they both played this game
the rains came down.
The good news is that P and B both caught a fish!
Hopefully we'll get another chance to see all the park has to offer on another trip with them.
We decided to have them follow us back home and have an impromptu
play date here instead. The three girls played in P's room and in the "classroom".
And my room,under the bed.
They were hunting for kitties but found only dust bunnies as Alley and Pumpkin were hibernating
somewhere and would not come out to play.The afternoon ended in a meltdown,
Princess had reached her tired,low blood sugar, can't stand humans on the planet with me
stage and naturally freaked out more when they left, because now her friends were GONE.
Oh my! It is hard not to be embarrassed when our kids act out like this, even when we know
they all do it occasionally.She lay on her bed,under the pillows for a while and then came out for dinner
and some t.v. viewing. She was fine the rest of the evening.Playing nicely, looking at books, snuggling.

Sunny Saturday

Saturday was sunny and the skies were blue and we got a lot
of work done in the yard. We planted more, divided more
perennials and replanted them. I dug up a small patch of flower bed
which has traditionally been planted with annuals each summer and
planted some of the perennials there. I still need to get mulch for the beds.
I really need another truck load delivered, but we are trying to avoid all
that back breaking shoveling and dumping and spreading that we endured for 3 days last year.
Princess found a few of the rosebuds outside her window are now blooming.
More perennials were added to the butterfly area and one play house got thoroughly scrubbed out.
One more to go and the swing set/fort. Princess and I planted her old garden/rain boots
(known around these parts as simply,"the frogs".)with some flower seeds.There was some singing involved.
For those of you who are not aware Bon Jovi songs must be sung at the top of ones lungs at all times.
.Princess and Farmer Dad took turns playing with the remote control car.We moved things around to make better use of our patio
and ate dinner out there to celebrate.
Princess and I watched as Farmer Dad gave the lawn it's second mow of the year.
We all slept well that night after working hard all day.