Seed Starting Review

I am not going to lie to you.  I have a black thumb.  It's true and sad.  I have killed every plant I have ever touched.  True Story. 

So when I had the chance to review a book on seed starting I was a little leery.  I thought it would make me feel stupid and inept for not being able to grow green things.

It didn't.  Seed Starting is a fantastic book for those of us that have black thumbs and those of us that have semi-black thumbs to give us confidence in starting our own gardens.

"Growing a garden isn't difficult if you take it step by step. The first step starts with a seed. In this easy to follow guide, Gary Emmett, expert gardener, shares how simple it is to take that first step to growing a beautiful garden. Come and get growing with Gary."

Seed Starting The First Step to Gardening by Gary Emmett is a great book written in a conversational style that is easy to read and very personable.  It's like you having a conversation with a friend and put me at ease from the first page.  I wasn't intimidated the way I thought I would be being that I am a plant killer!

Inside this book Gary walks us step by step through planning out a garden all the way through growing our plants.  He gives us practical steps to follow that are easy to understand and information that you need to be successful at growing a garden.

There is great resource lists for buying seeds, the types of 'soil' to use and avoid, equipment you will need, and transplanting your seeds.  This is a great resource to have around whether you are a novice or an experienced gardener.  There is always something more to learn, right?

If you want to start a garden or are just looking for more info to expand you knowledge base, this book is for you.  Head over to Amazon and pick up your copy for just $2.99. 

S.C.H.O.O.L

Some days life is just harder than others.  The same is true when you homeschool.  There are days that are just plain awesome.  Ideas are flowing, concepts are clicking, attitudes are in check, and life seems perfect.  I'll admit they are sometimes far apart, these days, but they do happen.  I have great kids and for the most part they do alright at school.  They get pretty good grades and are somewhat self-motivated.

Then there are days like today.  Every 5 minutes I was having to remind someone to get back to their work.  I was having to remind them to use their best handwriting.  Stop talking.  Quit playing with the 2yo.  Sit down.  Focus.

Aaagghhh!  It was a never ending battle of keep-the-kids-focused-long-enough-to-get-just-enough-school-done-for-the-day-so-we-can-try-again-tomorrow.

We made it to lunch time, just barely, and I sent the kids out to play.  The weather was mercifully better than last week!  I was spending some quiet time in my room folding laundry and talking to my eldest when blood curdling screams tore through the air.  The first time it happened I thought they were just playing.  But then it happened several more times in quick succession and I knew something was terribly wrong. 

I ran out to the front room in time to see Bean coming in the door.  She was the one screaming.  Her wild, panicked eyes, along with the terrible screams alarmed me greatly.  She was followed by the other kids and they looked panicked as well.  When Bean finally stopped screaming I was able to ask what had happened. 

She was covering her right eye with hand.  Oh no, this couldn't be good.  Finally someone said that a snowball had been thrown and had hit her in the face. 

Oh good grief.  Is that all?  Seriously, that is not worth the DRAMA that was occurring in my living room at that moment.  I was not very happy.

I used my stern momma voice and made everyone stop talking, screaming, whimpering, or even breathing so I could see to pacifying her hurt feelings.  Yeah, I wasn't feeling very sympathetic at this point.

I finally got her hand moved away from her face and found this.
 

Yeah.  Okay, so maybe it was worse than I thought it was!  She had several tiny cuts on her forehead and a dent where the impact was surrounded by swelling.  Mom Award will be given out soon for this one I'm sure!  lol  I grabbed her to me and held her, loving on her.

Thankfully it hadn't hit a bit lower or this would have been posted from the hospital, I'm sure. 

Here it is 30 min. later:

I turned the flash on! heehee

And here she is at supper.  It is coloring a little under her eye and there are more cuts visible.  She is hoping for a shiner!!!

All that was from a snowball.  Granted, things are thawing here so the snow was very wet and when the 11 yo packed it to throw she must have packed it into and ice ball!  Outside play was over at that point and school was limped through for a bit longer.

We'll see what her face looks like tomorrow!

Dancing, Acting, and Singing

Our production of Sleeping Beauty with Triple Threat Music Theater Company is under way.  We have had several practices and I am really looking forward to seeing this production unfold.  The kids are already hard at work learning their lines and songs.  Today we learned three dances and finished up one more.  Needless to say, I am tired! lol 

But, it's exhilarating also.  If you've read any of my pasts posts you know that I love working with kids in the theater.  I love watching them make their character their own and enjoy the thrill of performing. 

For our production of Sleeping Beauty our 8yo Bean is one of the three main fairies!  She won the role of Flora and our 13 yo, Sweet Pea, won the roll of Maleficent.  Both of those roles are double cast but each girl will get to be in two shows in her role. 

The coming weeks are going to be hectic and exhausting but they will be thrilling as well.  For now, I am going to go to bed!

Champions!

Our Warriors Homeschool Organization was playing for the KCAA High School State Basketball Championships this weekend . This is the organization that Sunshine is going to be playing soccer with. (actually has started practicing already) We have friends that have played soccer and basketball with them and we love to go to their games to support the kids. They are wonderful teams with supportive staff and players.

So, we decided to go and support them in their bid for state champs. The girls played first and won second place. They did a great job against a team that used foul language, argued with the refs, and played dirty. Yes, it was a 'Christian' school. This is the same team that has a coach for the high school boys team that was arguing with the ref for almost 10 minutes and then treated the refs like they were idiots. He was yelling, cussing, and just plain being a bad representative of his school.

Anyway, our girls played with integrity and can hold their heads up high. They are a great group of girls.

The boys played next for first place against a larger Christian school. It was a hard fought game and there were some pretty questionable calls by the ref, or non-calls actually, but we ended up WINNING! Our boys played hard and kept their integrity even in the midst of some dangerous playing.  It was fun to cheer our players on and thrilling to see them excel at their sports.

We are so excited for Sunshine to start her soccer season, with games in a few weeks.  The girls have all been welcoming, the coach is dedicated, and the girls are required to keep their commitment to the team.  We are looking forward to seeing the growth as a player and in her personal life through this team.

Veggie Tales The Little House That Stood Review and GIIVE AWAY!

We love Veggie Tales in our house.  We really, really love them. We have watched them since our first born was little and even watched them in our adult Sunday School classes!

So when I got the opportunity to review the newest Veggie Tales video I almost jumped through my computer to make sure I was picked.  I just had to review this video. 

Thankfully, I didn't have to actually jump into the computer!  I did, however, send an enthusiastic response and jumped for joy when the video arrived. 

The Little House That Stood is the newest installment in the fabulous Veggie Tales video series.  Here is a bit about it:

When the Three Little Pigs roll into Cabbageville looking to build some new houses, they meet one builder with a plan and two without a clue! Larry builds with hay, Mr. Lunt with bricks, but only Bob builds his houses on a firm foundation - following the wise plans from the Master Builder's Handbook! Will the Little Piggies make the right choices when it comes to building their houses - and their lives - on solid ground? Find out in this parable that shows kids when they follow God's blueprints, then can stand strong when the storms come!

This time Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and friends come together to share the parable of 'The Wise and Foolish Builders' from Matthew 7 in their version, The Little House That Stood!

 

This DVD teaches a lesson in making good choices and also features a Veggie retelling of the classic Humpty Dumpty story "The Good Egg of Gooseville."

Sound great?  It is.  The songs are catchy, as always, the stories are memorable, and the characters are adorable.  The story of Humpty Dumpty gets new life as it is told in a new way with a bit of a twist to it.  No, I'm not giving away any more than that...you'll just have to watch it for yourself!

I will say that Silly Songs with Larry continues to be one of our all-time favorite things.  This song does not disappoint and had me laughing out loud the entire way through.   We actually watched it twice through before watching the entire video again!  It's that cute. 

If you want to check out what I'm talking about you can visit these websites:

                Website: http://veggietales.com/littlehouse/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veggietales

         Twitter: https://twitter.com/veggietales
        



I really can't say enough about the influence Veggie Tales has had in our home.  We sing songs from the videos on a sometimes daily basis and talk about the stories often.  Even my 15yo loves them still.  They are a great way to impart the wisdom of the Bible to young children that will stick with them all the days of their lives. 

Plus, the songs are so catchy you can sing them when you are out grocery shopping to make the trip seem less daunting!

***I do have one to give away to a lucky reader.  All you have to do is tell me your favorite Silly Songs with Larry Song to be entered.  I will draw the winner on March 8th. 



"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Baring it all

You know women have it rough medically speaking.  We have to bear it all almost all the time in order to have stuff checked out.  You can not be modest when you are going to the doctor.  We have a lot of stuff to bare and not a lot of ways to be modest about it.  We learn early on to mentally check out when certain exams have to happen.  Am I right?

When I went in for the heart echo today I didn't realize it would be one of those tests.  I got there, checked in, and a sweet looking woman told me to follow her down the hall.  The room was quiet and warm and deceptive.  This nice woman asked me the standard questions and caught me off my guard.  So when she asked me to disrobe and put on the flimsy throw away gown I was speechless.   I groaned inside but smiled at her and thanked her. 

The throw away half-gown was more like a short parka made for a 10 yo and not a full grown women with womanly curves.  I put it on anyway being sure to snap the flimsy snaps in the front.  Yeah, they were a joke.  When I laid down on the bed and she was ready to start the test the snaps popped like they were made of cornflakes.  Once they did that I was exposed for all to see.  Yes, I know she is a professional and there was no one else in the room but it was embarrassing none the less.  Lying on my side things were not in their intended positions so she had to move them to get to where she needed on my chest.  No, that's not embarrassing at all. 

I ignored it until she had done it one too many times and then I almost cried from embarrassment.  I have had four babies, countless medical procedures, even had a guy I went to high school with help with the delivery of our first born; but you never get used to it.  Ever. 

I made it through the procedure without crying and was ready to sit up when I realized there was no good way to get into the sitting position without further exposing myself.  Oh joy.  I tried, really I did.  I kind of looked like a newborn giraffe flopping around with arms and legs going every which way.  It was one of my finest moments.  Not.  Thankfully by this time the tech had gone to get something out of the cabinets and didn't see the wrangling around.  When she turned around she handed me a disposable sheet to clean myself up with while I was desperately trying to keep the extra small piece of cloth covering my essentials until she left the room. 

It was another kind of joy to clean all the ultrasound jelly off parts of me I can't see while the flimsy non-covering what I need it to parka has suddenly decided to cling to all the places I had wanted covered in the first place.  Great timing disposable parka, great timing. 

All in all the test wasn't painful just exposing.  As most tests are for women.  I mean we just have more stuff to expose than men.  But good grief.  Can they not make those disposable parka/gown things to cover a little more than the expose flesh of our necks?