Gatsby & Menu Plan

Have you seen the preview for the new Great Gatsby movie? The book is in my top five favorite books of all time and the movie with Robert Redford is one of my top five favorite movies. So I'm not impressed so far with this preview. I don't see the point in messing with perfection. It has a lot more glitz and glamour than the book evokes. And I am not really impressed with DiCaprio anymore. His facial expressions don't change no matter what emotion he is trying to evoke. It always looks like he's trying to poop. The only good thing I can say is that the movie will hopefully inspire more people to read the book. I'll probably wait until this comes out on DVD and then rent or netflix it, but we'll see. My curiosity and book nerdery might get the best of me. Check it out.




Here's what we are going to eat this week.

Monday - Hummus, tabouleh, falafel
Tuesday - Black bean and quinoa salad
Wednesday - Pot roast
Thursday - Leftover pot roast
Friday - Baked chicken
Saturday - Some sort of bbq because Craig got a new fancy grill
Sunday - Not sure yet. Pin It

Things to Accomplish This Week

Other than teaching sign language on Sunday, we have a nice open week this week. Finally. So I'm making myself a honey-do list. Unless I put things down, I never get them done. My brain is just too discombobulated to keep it all straight. So I'm going to share my weekly plans with you all on here. Hopefully they'll give you some ideas. There will be crafty things, educational things, and reading things.

Bloggy Stuff
1. Finish Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) by the Bloggess.
2. Review the above book and some children's books reviews.
3. Set up another awesome giveaway. (Would anyone like some jewelry?)
4. Make a page with all my reviews linked on it. Would make life a lot easier.

Sewing

Skirt to alter.

5. If I can find some fabric that goes with it, I'm going to take apart my favorite skirt so I can add a panel in the back so it can fit me. Let's be real, I'm never going to be a size 8 ever again. Possibly going to make it a ruffle bum skirt. We shall see. I bought it in Egypt and I can't bear to part with it so I shall make it something new.
6. Hem Craigle's pants. I have had a pile of pants to hem for quite some time, so I hope to get to it.
7. Sew CJ a couple pairs of shorts. Possibly using this pattern.
8. Finish Aunika's fairy tale blankie.
9. Make name banners for Aunika, Angelina, and Ida. Kind of like CJ's here except girlier.
10. Start making letters from leftover fabric.
11. Start the turn shirts into pillows project.

Crafting with CJ
12. Make CJ a batman mask. Find fabric for the mahna mahna Muppets costume.
13. Paint a city scene on cardboard for CJ's cars.
14. Alphabet magnets.
15. Start CJ's corner fairy garden.
16. Paint rocks. I'd like to paint some ladybugs, strawberries, owls, and rocks with words on them. Possibly a few gnomes and toadstools. Depends on the shapes I can find.

Source: deliciouslyorganized.blogspot.com via Lindsey on PinterestOther Craftiness
17. Make a book page garland for Angelina.
18. Make a painting with the Be Not Afraid quote on it.
19. Put fabric over corkboard, add pins = Necklace holder

20. Start cutting Craig's shirts for t-shirt quilt.

Home
21. Paint CJ's room.
22. Continue to clean backyard.
23. Make garden/walkway.
24. Start gallery wall in living room.
25. Finish emptying boxes out of dining room.
26. Work on compost heap.

Miscellaneous
27. Menu Plan for the month of June.
28. Start planning CJ's party for realz.
29. Things to start collecting for projects : Wood, rocks.

I feel like I need a 30th thing to make it nice and round and even. Hmmmm. How about 30 is to make it a nice happy week for the whole family. Sounds like a good final goal to me. :)

Obviously, I doubt I will get even half of this done. But I know that without putting it all down for myself, I will never get it done.

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The Ultimate Memorial Day Safety Guide for Children

The Ultimate Memorial Day Safety Guide for Children

Memorial Day is the time of year when we honor and remember the sacrifices of fallen soldiers who have died fighting for the country we hold so dear.  Kids are unfamiliar with the true meaning of this special holiday because it’s just another day for them to spend quality time with family and friends.  For most kids around the country, this day of the year signifies the unofficial start to summer.

When growing up as a child, do you remember which season of the year you were injured the most?  My best guess would be the summer.  According to “Pediatrics,” the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, Memorial Day is the holiday ranking second on the child injuries list, with Labor Day taking first place.  In this article we will discuss all of the dangers associated with the summer months, and provide you tips on how to avoid them.  Hopefully you can start taking immediate precautions starting this Memorial Day and have an injury free holiday.

Have the “coolest” baby on the block with these 5 simple sun safety tips:

Depending which part of the country you live in, May can be an exceptionally hot month.  Every father and mother knows that a hot baby is a cranky baby.  Not only will you keep your baby cool and safe, but you’ll also relieve yourself from stress by having a quiet and comfortable baby.

1.       Carry around a compact, portable, battery operated fan.
2.       A large hat that is wide brimmed
3.       Apply sunscreen – preferably something non-chemical and safe for babies under 6 months of age
4.       Placing a baby under a sun tent, canopy, or umbrella will keep your baby out of the sun’s harmful rays
5.       Dress your baby in a UV protected sun suit, or a light weight long-sleeved shirt.

Now that we’ve had our fun in the sun, let’s cool off and jump into the pool

According to SafeKids.Org, in 2008, 745 children ages 14 and under died from unintentional drowning.  Eighty-four percent of drowning deaths among children ages 5 and under occur at a home, while 45 percent of fatalities among children ages 5 to 14 occur at a public pool.  This is a staggering amount considering all the information available to us.

Here are some tips and information you can use to have the safest pool party ever:

• Make sure there is a dedicated adult to supervise your children around the pool at all times.  Having a phone nearby is good idea in the event of an emergency.
• Having a fence installed with a self closing latch will prevent a child from wandering into the pool area unsupervised.
• Never swim in a pool that has a broken, loose or missing drain cover.
• It’s always good to have someone in the family who knows CPR in the event of an emergency.
• Advise your children early on to never go near or in water without an adult present.

Now if your kids are going to playing in the sun all day, it’s essential to keep them hydrated.  Children can easily become dehydrated while playing or participating in any sort of physical activity.  Dehydration makes a child more vulnerable to a heat-related illness, such as heat exhaustion, or a heat stroke.  

Here’s what to look for if you think your child is showing signs of dehydration:

• Dry or sticky mouth
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Thirst

Here are 4 Tips You Can Use to Prevent Your Child from Dehydrating:

1.       Children under 90 pounds should drink 5 ounces of water every 20 minutes during any activity.
2.       Drink 12 ounces of fluid 30 minutes before any physical activity.
3.       Don’t wait for your child to let you know he/she is thirsty; make time for set drink breaks.
4.       After a physical activity, children should drink fluids to make up for fluid loss during the physical activity.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the summer months. The most important: fun with the family.  Make your summer a safe and enjoyable one to remember!

This guest post was written by Kevin Raposo, a blogger for SimpliSafe.  Kevin covers issues related to home security, crime, safety, and consumer issues.  Kevin is a dedicated writer and musician, spreading the word through music and blogging.  SimpliSafe is a leader in the wireless home security field.

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Memorial Day

I just want to remind everyone what this holiday weekend means. Please remember the fallen.

Dirge for Two Veterans Walt Whitman (from Leaves of Grass, first published in the 1867 edition)          1    The last sunbeam Lightly falls from the finish’d Sabbath, On the pavement here—and there beyond, it is looking,    Down a new-made double grave.          2    Lo! the moon ascending! Up from the east, the silvery round moon; Beautiful over the house tops, ghastly phantom moon;    Immense and silent moon.          3    I see a sad procession, And I hear the sound of coming full-key’d bugles; All the channels of the city streets they’re flooding,    As with voices and with tears.          4    I hear the great drums pounding, And the small drums steady whirring; And every blow of the great convulsive drums,    Strikes me through and through.          5    For the son is brought with the father; In the foremost ranks of the fierce assault they fell; Two veterans, son and father, dropt together,    And the double grave awaits them.          6    Now nearer blow the bugles, And the drums strike more convulsive; And the day-light o’er the pavement quite has faded,    And the strong dead-march enwraps me.          7    In the eastern sky up-buoying, The sorrowful vast phantom moves illumin’d; (’Tis some mother’s large, transparent face,    In heaven brighter growing.)          8    O strong dead-march, you please me! O moon immense, with your silvery face you soothe me! O my soldiers twain! O my veterans, passing to burial!    What I have I also give you.          9    The moon gives you light, And the bugles and the drums give you music; And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans,    My heart gives you love.
In Flanders Fields John McCrae (1915) In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

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Fun Meme Friday

I feel like I haven't done fun meme Friday in forever. Here goes.

1. Are you a napper? Helllz yes. I could sleep all day everyday. I am a sleep connoisseur. I am the queen of sleep. I nap with CJ for approximately 2 hours every day. If we don't nap, we get grumpy. 
2. What was your favorite subject in school? Most hated? I loved English and Latin. I love learning languages. I really wish I had the time to continue to learn Latin and Arabic. My least favorite subject was usually history or science. I am a huge history and science nerd, but most of the teachers I had were really boring. Plus I hated learning just the books' version of history. I despise biology. It just grosses me out. 
3. Did you have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue at your wedding?  I did, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I think the something new was my dress, the something old was an embroidered handkerchief, the something borrowed... I don't remember, and the something blue, I think my flowers were wrapped in blue ribbon. You would think I'd remember that stuff huh?
4. What is one thing you are determined to do this summer? Not waste it. Here in New England, we don't always get a really long summer so we have to take advantage of it while we can. I'm also determined to get my driver's license, but that requires people's help and that isn't always easy to depend on.
5. Ice cream or popsicles? Ice cream definitely. I love ice cream. I could eat it everyday all day. Yum yum yum. 
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. We will be enjoying the lovely green mountains of Vermont and attending the wedding of one of Craig's old college friends. Enjoy your weekend, and don't forget to remember the fallen soldiers who this holiday is in memory of. 

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When the Child-less Attack

My Drill Sergeant from military school is a wonderful man. He's a Captain in the US Army. He has served bravely overseas. In college, his car had the bat signal in the rear window. He has done many amazing and wonderful things. You know what he hasn't done? Had children. And yet every single time some sort of thing comes up on the news about children or babies or mamas or breastfeeding or anything, he has an opinion. An opinion that he shares with the world. That's fine I guess, his prerogative. But sometimes it drives me nuts when people without children are so quick to judge parents.

The latest thing he had an opinion on was a woman whose child ate one of those detergent packets thinking it was candy. He said that she should have her children taken away from her because she's obviously an unfit parent. Then he went on to say, and I quote  "I swear to God if I ever came home to find my kid dead because my wife didn't think to child-proof the laundry detergent, I would drag that [expletive deleted] into the front yard by the hair, shoot her in the gut, and watch her bleed out. Then I would happily go to jail for the rest of my life!"

First of all, classy right? I asked him if he had any responsibility towards his future child, to which he replied "Well I'm not a [expletive deleted] idiot, so I would child-proof everything. The assumption being if something was left out, un-child-proofed, then it was her. Plus this woman was a stay-at-home-mom, so obviously making sure dangerous substances in the home remained secure would be one of her primary duties. AND I'm not having kids, so this is entirely hypothetical."

Thank God for that last part.

My thoughts on this are the following. I think that most parents have their child's best interests at heart. Although the news is rife with stories about horrible parents, I think the majority of parent's want what is best for their children. Most parents would NEVER knowingly put their children in danger. So I'm giving this mom the benefit of the doubt.

It is so hard to baby/child-proof everything. We have all the fancy child-proofing mechanisms, and CJ still gets hurt. He is almost two. Two year olds are notoriously sneaky. I can turn around for a split second and when I turn back, he is on the table. He's like the butler from Mr. Deed's "I think you underestimate the sneakiness sir." I'm not saying parents shouldn't be accountable. I am saying that kids are going to get into things.

My main point of this post isn't that though. My main thought is why the heck do people without children always have an opinion? They are so quick to judge. It drives me insane. They've got an opinion on breastfeeding, they've got an opinion on spanking, they've got an opinion on child leashes. Until you've been "in the trenches" you have no idea what it is like. I had so many ideas about how I was going to raise my son. My biggest thought was that I would never let him watch tv. Our TV is like 7-11. It's not always doing business, but it is always open. Just sit back, relax, and unless a child is being physically or emotionally abused, trust that the parents really do have their best interests at heart.

And let me step off my soapbox now. No CJ's were hurt in the making of this post. Just proving my point that he is a tricksy false climbing on top of chairs baby.


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Wordless Wednesday

I don't have my usual Wordless Wednesday available this week. Nikon still has possession of my camera. It was on a parts hold for almost a month, but now it finally says that its status is "in the shop" so hopefully I'll get it before my birthday at the end of June. But here are a few pictures that made me laugh this week.

I hope you got a laugh or two. 

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