rectangles

yesterday at the lake...

mom(after listening to much pleading):

"O-kay, you can put your feet in."

girls:

blogged for:

circles

I was out and about with the girls and my camera yesterday and vaguely remembered this photograph series that Beki was doing with her kids. I gave it a go and we had fun seeing the shapes in everyday objects. Now that I'm home and critiquing my shots, and after looking up and rereading her post, I realize I don't have to crop my pictures in so close around the shape. I think it actually looks better to give a glimpse of around the shape- it actually highlights the shape better. I am definitely going to "give it another shot".

(pun intended)

8 things

Consider it pure JOY, whose tagline (striving to maintain the right perspective in all situations) I just love, tagged me yesterday to list my...

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. May 29th
2. painting
3. decorating
4. moving
5. cookouts
6. swimming
7. just lounging in the backyard
8. going for walks in our new neighborhood

8 things I did yesterday:

1. posted the things I was looking at at 8:30 am
2. read to the girls
3. searched etsy for new goodies
4. read blogs
5. got these in the mail! (Nikki, your WhiMSical goodies ROCK!)
6. cooked sausage... to go with the leftover raviolis, for lunch
7. played got spanked trying to play MarioKart against Mackenna (Yes, she's four.)
8. went to bed before 8 pm

8 things I wish I could do:

1. win the lottery (could, would- same difference)
2. sew
3. speak Italian fluently
4. have the funds (see #1) to just pack up the car and drive around the country with the girls for the summer

I can't really think of 8... usually if I want to do something, I do it. Although, for some reason I never got around to learning to sew, even though with each girl I had, I wished I did. And Italian... I can understand it, to a point, and it is on my list to do eventually- I just haven't yet.

8 shows I watch*:

*I don't watch 8, just...

1. Man v Food (with John)
2. House (couldn't give this one up)

and then with the older girls, John and I watch The Big Bang Theory. If you don't watch this show, you should. It's hilarious. So well written and the actors are genius. I'd love to watch a taping of this show- the bloopers and outtakes have got to be pure gold.

What are your 8 things?

I SPY: the 8:30 am edition

breakfast boiling...

Mama Rosie's spinach & cheese low fat ravioli,

(Did anyone else notice the heart shaped bubbles?)



this paper "model" of a great white shark...

found drying on the kitchen table. Shaye says she was inspired by the envelope flap- and I'm guessing probably by this pile of books I found laying on the parlor floor...

Sunflowers,

and newly planted zinnia seeds turned sprouts-

found among boxes and packages awaiting their voyage to our new home...

and these lovelies-

numbered spheres- who found a temporary home in this vase, on my bureau, just so I could admire them before I packed them up for the move.

What were you looking at this morning?

Easter 2009

found:

The perfect white dinner plates-

party service by Pier 1. I've been wanting to stock up on white plates with flat rims that I can then accent with a to-be-built, eclectic but faBulous salad plate collection. Mission accomplished.

And...

pinwheel cupcake toppers -

just perfect for a Fourth of July cookout!

I've had my eye on them since they first hit WhiMSy Love, but I wanted to wait until I was sure we'd actually have a yard to have a cookout in before I bought them. And now they're mine. Yeah!

we got a house!

Well technically, we made an offer on a house. Said offer got accepted. And the home inspection went smashingly- no problems at all! So, if all continues to go well, on May 29, 2009, we will get this house...

8 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 and 1/2 baths- plus fun little extras like a 10x12 tiled mudroom/laundry room and a backyard that's just waiting for some string lights and summer fun. All wrapped up with a white (more privacy than picket) fence. Found in a lovely little lakeside sub-division. It was well worth the wait!

Be inspired by ideas for beautiful living at The Inspired Room.
And He clearly had his hands all over this moment- Fingerprint Friday.

homeschooling-you can quote me on it

"Though homeschooling(as we do it*) costs way less than I expected and is more gratifying than I ever dreamed, some nights I am more exhausted than I ever thought possible. But every time I watch one of my girls accomplish or create something with the free time and resources available to them because we homeschool- I fall in love with homeschooling all over again." -Gina, an unpink life

*unschooling

rainy day learning fun

The rainy start to last week inspired Shaye to try some "rain" activities out of her Nature & Science for girls ages 6-11 workbook (Girl Scouts, $3.50) ...

rainmaker:

Fill a drinking glass* with ice cubes and patiently observe. "Rain" will form on the glass. Record your observations. Think about why this happens.

*Since we only had 4 ice cubes left in the freezer, we took creative license with our drinking glass. I can only imagine what the school board will think when they look over her observational sketch and see a tall, thin "drinking glass" with a stem. ;)

Observe a spiderweb after the rain (makes the details more visible. Create your own web using yarn and a metal hanger.

namesakes

name·sake (nām'sāk') n. One that is named after another.

[From the phrase for the name's sake.]


The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

I love all of my daughters' first names. But it's their middle names that hold special meaning to me. They all have the same middle name as a family member.

• Gianna Marie - me, Gina Marie
• Brielle Elizabeth - my mom, Mia Elizabeth*
• Shaye Lyn - my sister, Tessa Lynn
• Mackenna Anne - my MIL, Patricia Ann

*Elizabeth is also my Confirmation name.

And though I never got the opportunity to use a boy name, I always loved the idea of having a junior. A few years back however, John and I were having some fun imagining what life would be like if we added twin boys to the mix. (Twins for a little leverage.) We even named "them"...

John Robert and Gary Michael

• John - John and his dad, John Sr.
• Robert - John's maternal grandfather
• Gary - my dad
• Michael - our only nephew to date

and though we may never have the opportunity to give these names to actual children, we carry the thought in our hearts.

What's the story of your child(ren)'s name(s) ?

growing strong

Shaye's sunflowers grew too big for their little pot; the leaves were starting to yellow. It was time to move them. Shaye was excited to try her hand at repotting, she picked out this "pot" and some Miracle-Gro at Target. It was my first attempt at repotting too, none of my plants ever lived long enough to need to be repotted, so hopefully we did okay.

A, B, See... E

----------------------- Easter eggs

Doritos on a spoon... our weekend in review.

First off, photo evidence- for those of you who thought it was an April's Fool Day prank when I said I eat Doritos with a spoon. See? No joke.

Yesterday,

I started reading

HANDLE WITH CARE

by Jodi Picoult.

Can you say bawling ?!??

Emotionally, not an easy read-

but I can't put it down!

This morning,

we tried our hand at custom designed pancakes...

Lots of fun!

Then, I wrote up a quarterly homeschool report to mail off to the powers-that-be, to most likely just stuff in their "official" homeschool files, over at our school district's main office. Wow! We've done a lot these past few months...

What did you do this weekend?

and are you planning on reading HANDLE WITH CARE ?

This week was sponsored by the letter H house hunting and hands on learning!

To make up for the fact that we had to spend many hours in the car, most afternoons and evenings this last week, driving from viewing to viewing- I made sure we hit the ground running each and every morning with whatever the girls wanted to get done before we left. They took complete advantage of the opportunity. Here are just a few of the activities we did (to hear more about the fun stuff we do as it happens, follow me on twitter), they're all I managed to capture on film...

Science is messy. Messy is fun!

Making puzzles- one of the many numbers & shapes activities we did...

This last activity was a gift! We received junk mail an ad packet for a learning program that came with this passport and numerous country "stamps" for it.

We decided Mackenna would be "customs" - stamping Shaye's passport when Shaye could show her the country on the globe and tell her one interesting fact about that country. Lots of fun- lots of learning; it's how we stumbled upon the Learn the Greek alphabet in less than 10 minutes video!

We also spent as many stolen moments outside running around as we could. Since this week looks to be much of the same routine, I'm glad the girls enjoyed it.

I brush my teeth with warm water.

I use so much baby powder after a shower that I leave a pile on the bathroom floor and footprints into my bedroom, every day.

I eat Doritos with a spoon. Always.

Unless at a restaurant, where I have to make do with a glass and a straw, I will only drink Diet Coke out of a can. I'd rather drink a can of it at room temperature than pour it into a cup with ice.

What are your little idiosyncrasies?