Comic Education

The other day Pablo came to me and said, "Hey mom, I have a really funny thing to tell you that I learned from Calvin and Hobbes. Wanna hear it?" I said, sure, and he proceeded to recite, in a funny voice, from memory, this little diddy.


"To be, or not to be: that is the question:Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause..."


My jaw was lying on the floor and tears of grateful pride were rolling off my cheeks, and my husband's eyes were as big as saucers. If Calvin and Hobbes can get my Lego loving son to quote Shakespeare then it will always have a place of honor in our home.

Great Literature Part II and Friday Preschool

I've been wanting to post about how I get my children to love Great Literature for a while now and finally stole some time today to do so. Here is how I am instilling a love of good books (that have nothing to do with SpongeBob, Scooby Doo, Or Captain Underpants) into my son, Monster Man:

Every Friday I open my doors to a group of silly, rambunctious, rowdy, loud, and overly energetic boys, and I happen to be the mother of one of them. After we made the decision to put Pablo into public school I realized that Monster Man was going to need something extra in his life to keep from getting lonely and bored in his homeschooling. In order to help him I decided to invite the sons of several of my friends to join us every Friday for a couple of hours for preschool/kindergarten (we are also part of a co-op that meets on Tuesdays). The curriculum I'm using for these classes comes from Five In A Row. I had always heard great things about this but was too cheap to invest in it. A friend let me borrow her manual and I have to say I LOVE IT! I'm being greedy and holding onto her copy until I get my own, or until she pries it from my cold, dead fingers.

What is Five In A Row? Click here for the web site, but I must say I didn't find their web site to be very user friendly. It is boring to read, has no pictures, and doesn't help an impatient, tightwad, person like me. So, I will give you my best go at a review here. FIAR takes good, classic children's literature/picture books and helps you squeeze every little bit of learning you can from them. With each children's book you cover the subjects of Social Studies, Language Arts, Art, Math, and Science. If you do just one subject a day and read the book each time, you've covered the story five times in a row (see how they get the title?). One of the great things about this technique is that you can apply it to any of your favorite children's books. So what I do is, on Friday, we start the class with Social Studies, then we read the book, we try to do one or two more subjects, and then I send them home with things to finish. Here is what I did for one of my own favorite books that wasn't in the FIAR manual.

Bells of Santa Lucia

(You can read the book description by clicking here)

We started class by using our globe. We found where we live and then we took an imaginary journey by train, then boat, then car, then donkey, into the village of Santa Lucia in Tuscany, Italy. We talked about modes of transportation, and how some villages, even today, require people to enter on foot or by small pack animals. We learned some basic Italian phrases and tried to use them as often as we could through the class time.

Then finished by coloring the Italian flag and circling the location of Tuscany on a map of Italy.

Then we read the story of a young girl who lives in the "city of bells", but because of her sadness she can't stand the sound of bells. Then, in the end, she learns that bells are good things, they help us and help those we love, and she is happy again.

After the story we talked about modern day bells (fire alarms, car horns, alarm clocks, doorbells, etc.) and each child was given a little jingle bell tied to a ribbon to wear on their wrist "So their mommies would know where they are." =)

I explained personification to them and we went back through the book to find examples. Then we drew pictures of the personifications on this worksheet (it was so cute seeing pictures of grapes drinking a sun through a straw, or clouds munching on the sun):

Then I made up this little worksheet for math using a bell theme to teach the idea of subtraction. I try to stick with fact families for math, which is why they begin with 6 bells for each problem.

I've given each child their own folder and I write the title of each book we cover on the front of their folder along with a small circle for every worksheet or assignment they are given. For each completed assignment they get a sticker to fill in a circle. This helps motivate them to finish their work at home through the week.

I can't say enough good things about this program, and am loving it to death. If anyone would like to try it without buying the book (though the book is worth the money) I have made worksheets and have lesson plans that I would love to share for the following books:

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Make Way for Ducklings

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

The Man Who Tried To Save Time

Tikki Tikki Tembo

And here is a photo of my darling boys and the paper dragons we made after reading Tikki Tikki Tembo (you'll see Pablo in the back because he had a day off school that day. Now he is constantly talking about the next time he will get to do FIAR with us so I plan on doing it through the summer, hopefully):

Beauty and the Beast

Has anyone missed me? I'd say I missed you too but it would be a big fat lie. I haven't even missed my children. I haven't missed cleaning, cooking, answering the phone, blogging, pretty much anything. Where have I been, you ask? On some fantastic Island cruise getaway? No, but I might as well have been for all the good I've been around here. I have been blissfully residing in the world of Jane Eyre. My sister called me several weeks ago and asked, "Have you ever read Jane Eyre? Not just watched the movie versions, but actually read the book?" Ha! How could I not have? It is a classic, and I am all over the classics, so surely I have read it... even though I don't actually remember reading it. So she starts telling me various things from the book and I realize to my shock that, though I own a copy, I have not actually read it. I had to wait to finish my other books but then promptly delved into Bronte.

Be still my beating heart. I love Austen and her subtle yet heartfelt romantic situations. I love Dickens and his tragic honest life situations. Now, combine the best of the two and add in some heart palpitating passion and you have Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre meets all my requirements for great literature and makes a great romance novel at the same time.

I also adore the moral truths given through the story. Here are some of my favorites:

For anyone who has been given a hard calling from God himself: "But, then a voice within me averred that I could do it; and foretold that I should do it. I wrestled with my own resolution: I wanted to be weak that I might avoid the awful passage of further suffering I saw laid out for me..." How often I've wanted to be too weak to do what I knew I had to do in life.

I've often noticed this difference: "Pity, Jane, from some people is a noxious and insulting sort of tribute, which one is justified in hurling back in the teeth of those who offer it; but that is a sort of pity native to callous, selfish hearts: it is a hybrid, egotistical pain at hearing of woes, crossed with ignorant contempt for those who have endured them. But that is not your pity, Jane... Your pity, my darling, is the suffering mother of love: its anguish is the very natal pang of the divine passion. I accept it, Jane..."

When deciding whether to hold on to her morals or accept the only possible way to be with the man she loves (as a mistress outside of marriage) and to save him from pain, Rochester asks her:

"Who in the world cares for you? Who will be injured by what you do?"

She responds in her heart, "I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad-as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth-so I have always believed;and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane-quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster that I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, forgone determination, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot."

Oh yeah, I'm going to make all my kids read that last one before every date they go on!

One of the greatest pleasures, though, in reading this story, was realising that I was reading an adult version of the well beloved story of Beauty and the Beast. I kid you not, this is a literal retelling of that classic fairy tale. Not in the sense of Disney's B&B, but in the old, classical tale. I would draw out all the particulars for you but I think it is more fun to find all the parallels on one's own. So, go find the most original version of Beauty and the Beast that you can. Read it and THEN read Jane Eyre. It is fantastic.

Just make sure that your family knows they won't be seeing you or hearing from you for a few days. Hire a maid. Stock the kitchen with ready made food. Kiss your children goodbye. Yeah, it's THAT good.

P.S. I haven't seen the new Masterpiece Theater version yet, but I have to say that my favorite film version (for being true to the book) is the 1996 William Hurt version. But I don't see anyone ever being able to truly capture this book on film because most of the story happens in Jane's mind as she shows a stoic face to the world.

Great Literature Part I

My shelves are stacked with Dr. Seuss, Sesame Street Library, Childcraft Encyclopedias, ScoobyDoo and Spongebob, easy readers, chapter books, and many many other books for children. I love them all. Lately, though, I have been trying to focus on great literature for kids. I know that anything that gets a kid to read is great (hence my ScoobyDoo books). Pablo's first love of reading came by way of Garfield and Calvin and Hobbs (which I personally consider great comic book literature. If you don't believe me just go read some and check out the vocabulary that Calvin has). However, after the love of reading is established I think the next step is developing a love of great literature. Many people disagree on what makes great literature, and that is fine, so please do not think that the way I think is the way you should think.

~ To me, great literature uses words for their sound and beauty rather than for their ease of understanding. This teaches vocabulary, and in a roundabout way teaches root words or use of Latin in our language, which in turn makes language, and foreign languages, as a whole more interesting and accessible to the mind. Every word needs not be defined when reading to a child. If they ask then you can explain the word, but most children will learn by context much as they do spoken language, simply by hearing the word used often over time.
~ To me, great literature poses real life choices that are difficult to make. Great literature will show real life consequences, good or bad, for the decisions made. Great literature also portrays real life values of forgiveness, justice, mercy, love, faith, hope, integrity, friendship, joy, humor, etc.
~To me, great literature will take you out of your small sphere of experience without taking you out of real life. It should be an adventure but an adventure that is possible for the reader as well.

Now, lest any of you should frown on my all too restrictive requirements, let me state that great literature is not the only kind or literature I feel is worth reading. I believe that myths and legends are important for teaching about ancient culture, ancient religion, and for opening the imagination. Fantasy,mystery, romance, and thrillers are fun for escaping from reality, though I firmly believe they should be used in moderation. Plays are important reading for building up the visualization abilities of a reader. Poetry should be read for literary rhythm and memorization.

I love any and all forms of the written word, but I worry about the lack of great literature being used in these modern times. Long ago the Odyssey was read as a great adventure story. Now it causes most people's brains to hurt (including mine) to try and read it because our brains are not used to archaic words and wording. Shakespeare is rarely enjoyed to it's fullest because people are not practiced in the art of nuance and wordplay. And many consider great literature to be boring when no one is kissing, being blown up, or falling into a magical realm because we have lost our taste for subtlety. Others dislike any story with real life situations because they are too sad, which can only make me wonder if the distaste for reality has any correlation to the increase in depression we find in our society these days. We often look for semblance between the books we most love and our real life. Is it any wonder that people are dissatisfied to find that there husband isn't a prince, that no vampire will whisk them away from dirty diapers and kitchen, that no wizard will come and save you from your wretched family life, and that your new job is not going to lead you to overthrow a major government conspiracy?

This is why I feel it necessary to raise my children with a love of great literature. But how? With movies, computers, comic books, and Harry Potter to compete with, how do I dare hope to get my children to love great literature? And how can I accomplish it with my lack of energy, my kids being in public school and "done with learning" by the time they get home, and without feeling like I am forcing them or fighting them (heaven's knows I need my fighting energy for other things), and all while still having time to eat ice cream and watch my old movies?

Thus begins my great experiment. Stay tuned for part deux.

H-A-P-P-Y

How do you spell HAPPY?

I know it is Sunday and I should NOT be thinking about this.... but.

On the way to church today I saw 3 of these lovely signs. Yard Sale season is starting early this year and I am happy. =)

My awesome DSSH bought me a box of Samoa Girl Scout cookies and I'm not expected to share with anyone. I love treats just for me and so I am happy. =)

Two people in church made comments to me about how I'm such a skinny pregnant lady and that I looked great. Compare this to last week when I got several comments about how I was so big for only being so far along, and yes I am happy. =)

I went to the library and picked up some fun movies (two classic horrors, a classic, and a romantic comedy) that I get to selfishly watch tomorrow and I am happy. =)

This year I FINALLY remembered to buy my corned beef early so we can actually have our St. Patrick's day dinner. And I also FINALLY remembered to buy my Easter eggs two weeks early so that they will be good and ready to be hard boiled (if your hard boiled eggs never seem to peel without falling apart it is because your eggs are too fresh) and so I am happy. =)

I have bought books and am developing a way to get my artist son to read more and to get my daughter to read more than just fantasy (I will share it once I have it up and running) and so I am happy. =)

How do you spell happy?

Amazing Moments

Be still my beating heart.

There are special moments in motherhood that just make your heart so full it wants to burst. Two nights ago, as I was very tiredly changing a diaper and encouraging the children to hurry and get in bed, Pablo came to me and started talking. Pablo has a very interesting manner when it comes to communication and sometimes you really have to focus to get what he is saying. Because of this I just started saying the usual, "Uh, huh," over my shoulder as he sweetly told me that he was reading the Bible every night in bed. Only a fraction of my brain was running at the time and so I said, ""That is wonderful and a very good thing to do. I'm very proud of you for making that kind of a choice." But it hadn't really sunk in what my little 7 year old had just told me. Tonight as I did my last round of checking on kids and putting extra blankets on them, Pablo once again told me that he had read his Bible when he got in bed. I think, because I wasn't changing a diaper on a screaming Sweet Terror this time, that my small piece of working brain kind of caught on to what I was hearing. I almost said, "That's great," but stopped and took interest. "Really? And what did you read about tonight?" He proceeded to tell me that he has been reading all about how God made the world but then he had to stop because he got to the big words that say Chapter 3 and he can't read Chapter 3 until tomorrow. WHAT??? My 7 year old is reading the bible of his own sweet accord?!? He isn't talking about a children's version here, this is the big Kahuna, the unabridged, no pictures, King James version, Holy Bible. There are no words to express..... Humble. I feel very humbled and know that I need to continue with my own personal scripture reading... Happy. How could I not feel happy that he is putting aside his beloved Garfield comics for one of the hardest books to read of all time?.... Proud? No. No pride this time. This is all coming from him. I don't know how long it will last but my heart beats hard tonight and I'm smiling.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I did it. I finished Dracula the night before Halloween. I was willing to sacrifice dishes, laundry, even my children in order to do it. This book has been the inspiration for many different films and is considered the first book to truly define and set the character of Dracula and Vampires in general.

Interesting things about the book:

1.Dracula has a moustache. Seriously, this bugged me through almost the whole book. And it is described as bushy, too.

2. Dracula did not go to London to pursue a look-alike of his lost love. He went there because there were no longer enough people to feast on in Romania and what was left took special precautions against him. So, he upped and moved to London to feed on the masses and to create a whole race of Vampires to rule the night.

3. if you are bit by a vampire you are in their power but you are not a vampire yourself until you die. So, poor Mina was bit. When Dracula tries to go into hiding she thinks she is safe until Doctor Van Helsing tells her that she can live a normal life while he is gone, but as soon as she dies she will be in eternal torment.

4. Dracula can go about in daylight without burning. He just can't change shape, turn into mist, or squeeze through tiny cracks during daylight hours.

5. Van Helsing is NOT Hugh Jackman. He is more like Albert Einstein.

Things I didn't like about the book:

1. I really loved the character of Dr. Van Helsing. BUT, by the end of the book I wanted to pull my hair out every time he started talking. It was cute in the beginning how he would ramble on like an absent minded professor, but when wolves are circling and your possible eternal damnation is emblazoned on your forehead you really just wish he would GET TO THE POINT!

Things I liked:

1. I love how the classics all have such strong morals to them. This story is full of expressions of faith, friendship, and forgiveness.

2. It gave me chills multiple times. Sometimes because it was to gruesome to think about, others because I couldn't imagine being in Mina's place, or her husbands.

3. I actually liked the epistolary style of writing. Ok, that was a fancy termed I just learned that basically means that it is told as if you are reading a scrap book of various journals entries, newspaper clippings, telegrams, and letters.

4. I liked, and respected, that main characters died and it still ended in a realistically happy way.

My husband's two cents: "It sucked" (Yes, pun is definitely intended)

BOOK CLUB BLOGGING

FINALLY, a book club that is possible for me. Lucy, from The Doctor Is In is starting a book club on her blog. I've always had time to blog, but I've never had time to get a babysitter and sit in someone elses living room, eating yummy treats, discussing the current reading selection. Here is the best of both those worlds. And I can do it in my jammies, while I eat big bowls of ice cream without sharing!!! Lucy is also holding a fun little contest. She needs a name for her book club. If you can give her a winning book club title you could win one of the first two books we will be reading. Go check it out.

SHS update: Still jumping, I have a nicely made bed, which somehow leads to a clean room everyday too. I exercised and even used my new 5 pound weights.

Smells Like A Grandma

The back of my van is the storage unit for all pending D.I. donations. It has been full for quite some time now so I thought I would do the family a favor and finally donate the donations.

I always tell myself I won't go in, "Liz, you know you have enough junk. DSSH will poke fun at you if you bring home any more D.I. stuff. Don't do it, Liz, don't do it. Aw, great! There she goes. Oh no, she sees the book section..."

At which point I throw up my hands in sweet surrender and go back out to the car to bring the kids into the store. Pablo steps through the door and stands there while I load Sweet Terror and Monster Man into the cart, "Monster Man, if you don't sit on your bum you are going to fall out and then you will bleed." I know I will be saying this to him every five minutes for the next hour. I know I shouldn't have a kid sit in the back of the cart because it is dangerous. Let me just say that falling out and bleeding is safer than all the times I have lost Monster Man and all the times he has pulled stuff on top of himself while in stores (like the time he pulled/tipped the cart over while Sweet Terror was in it, and I was holding onto it). Meanwhile... Pablo is still standing there at the front of the store with his hands in his pockets seriously thinking about something. He figured out whatever it was that was bothering him because he then came over to me and loudly proclaimed, in front of everyone at the cash registers,

"MOM, THIS PLACE SMELLS LIKE A GRANDMA, THEY MUST HAVE GRANDMA'S HERE."

It was one of those moments where I was glad I wasn't drinking milk, because it would have come out my nose. I whispered, "You're right, you have a good nose", then I patted him on the head and pushed our cart towards all that grandma smelling booty. I love going to D.I for the books. They sell kid's books for 25-50 cents and at that price I can be ok with the fact that my kids like to use them to build trasportational highways. I like to go through the kid's books one by one so I don't miss any hidden gems. The kids are happy to sit and read books while I look for the first half hour. The next half hour is spent by repeating, "I promise we will go see the toys in just a minute, I'm almost done", while Sweet Terror drops books on my head as I thumb through the last of the very bottom shelf.

It was all worth it, in my selfish opinion, because I found some really great books, I only spent 9 bucks, I was able to get a shopping high and indulge in the self righteous feeling that I BUY BOOKS, all at the same time.

BOOK FOR ME

The sixty-year story of the world of Hollywood and its effect on America. From pre-nickelodeon days to the present (This is an old book because its "present" is 1956 and Gregory Peck).

I am going to LOVE this book. I will never forget seeing my first nickelodeon at an old ghost town exhibit with my mom and dad. I have been fascinated with old movies ever since.

BOOK FOR COOKIE (and me too!)

This book takes some of the greatest operas of all time and re-tells them in story format. I am so excited to read these with Cookie. I am going to find CDs of the operas so we can listen to them while we read.

I also found an ASL alphabet book, several great books for Pablo's science studies, illustrated folktales, historically correct coloring books, a book that has pop outs that build the alphabet letters in 3D, and many more. And all this is thanks to the Grandma Smelling Store.

A Week's Worth Of Reviews

MOVIE REVIEWS

Devdas: What if Shakespeare were to rewrite Austin's Pride and Prejudice? And what if it was to be filmed in Bollywood? You would end up with Devdas. What an amazing movie! There were moments when the acting didn't fit (but they were very few), there were a few moments when I thought, "Enough with all the tears already!", but there were many more moments where I sat there thinking, "This is good, very good, why haven't I heard of this movie before?" It is a tragic love story but it is beautiful and is filled with lovely morals. And of course you've gotta love the dancing! These Indian women put "old" Britney Spears, Aguilera, JLO, and all the other American booty shakers to shame. And they do it with their clothes on, too =). This movie stars Aishwarya, you know, that "too beautiful to be true" actress from Bollywood's very popular Bride and Prejudice. It also stars Shahrukh Khan who is an actor that I don't want to like but he always manages to pull it off in the end so I do like him. Please find this movie, watch it, and let me know what you think.

Meet The Robinsons: While Jon is out of town I decided to try and earn some browie points with the kids by taking them to see Meet The Robinsons. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I have been so close to permanently boycotting Disney so many times because lately it has been putting out the lamest pieces of filth. I just don't think kids need to see so much boobage and seduction in cartoons. But for the first time, in a long time, I sat through a Disney animation and didn't cringe once. Well, I did cringe twice during previews for upcoming movies by Disney, but I guess I can't have everything. The highest reccomendation, though, is that all four kids sat mesmerized by it the entire time. Now, they have seen The Incredibles and Cars in the theater and both times there were periods of boredom and having to walk them around. But not this time, and it was a good thing too, because I didn't have any back up this time. I will say that the movie was a bit hyper and went at a dizzyingly fast pace, but maybe that is why the kids liked it. Overall, though, it was cute, funny, I loved the villian and his teeth, I really enjoyed the ending, and Disney really surprised me because this one actually had a good moral to it. I might even think about owning this one, but I'll have to watch it one more time before I make that decision. Oh, and you will notice a lot of similarities between this film and Robots, don't knock them though, just enjoy it.

BOOKS

You Can Write a Column by: Monica McCabe Cardoza
For all of you bloggers who are trying to improve your writing or who are seeking to get yourself published somewhere, you MUST find this book and read it! I have been reading lots of books on how to write, and how to get published and this is the book I like the best so far. I love the way she writes, she just seems to make it all sound possible. She doesn't just tell you what you should do, but tells you how to do it, gives examples, and then she gives you little homework assignments (she calls them exercises). I borrowed this book from the library but I keep rereading it and renuing it and that alwasy means it is time to buy it and add it to my library.
Other books I have read in this area are:
Get a Freelance Life by: Margit Feury Ragland and mediabistro.com
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published by: Sherry Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander
How to Write Articles for Newspapers & Magazines by:Thompson*ARCO
Write Where You Are by: Caryn Mirriam-Goldburg, Ph.D.
Meals and Memories: How To Create Keepsake Cookbooks by Kathy Steligo

RESTAURANTS

The Keg: Steakhouse and Bar. Ok, before you start thinking, "I don't like to support restaurants that advertise drinking, like Bar & Grill, or Sports Bars, etc..." let me just say that I didn't even see the bar the entire time because it hides behind a brick fireplace. I've been offended by the loud smelly bar at Outback Steak House or by the big jug of wine pushed on me at The Olive Garden, but there was no offense given here. There were wine glasses on our table, but without even asking our waiter promptly filled them with ice water. Let me start this review with my rating. I'm going back! What a nice place. The service was amazing. We were constantly attended to. We had 2 visits from managers to ask how we were enjoying our food and stay. When our waiter "welcomed" us back we told him it was our first time there. He smiled as he walked away and about 5 minutes later a manager came out to welcome us with a complimentary appetizer of cocktail shrimp. And, boy, I've never had shrimp like that. They were thick, heavy, steak like shrimp. I usually hate getting that teasingly small amount of shrimp (there were only 5) but they were so meaty that 5 was all that was needed. Jon and I split the last one.

oops... I have to get Cookie to school. I will finish this post later =)

Ok. I am back. Not only did I pick up Cookie, I mowed the lawn, fed the kids again, changed a diaper, took a shower, read 25 blogs, ate some ice cream, ate some nachos, and ate some more ice cream. That is why I am so late in finishing these reviews. I'm going to make the rest of these quick because I have to pick up my DSSH from the airport soon.

Back to The Keg:

DO order the Pecan Sirloin with garlic mashed potatoes. I don't like steak but this was really really good! You should also get the Szechwan Green Beans and the Steamed Asparagus (rub the butter pat all over the asparagus, squeeze the lemon wedge over it, salt, and enjoy). They make eating vegetables very very enjoyable.

DON'T get the rib eye (tender but NO flavor) or the Sauteed Mushrooms (I love mushrooms but htese had no flavor. And do not get the chocolate sampler for dessert. Trust me on this one, Jon is a chocolate junkie and even he did not like it. The brownie was bland and tasted plasticy, the Lindt topo-somethingorother tasted like regular ice cream with cocoa powder on it, and the mouse was good until you get to this weird sponge cake bottom that just shouldn't be there.

ICE CREAM

Dreyers Nestle Toll House Cookie Swirl. It is vanilla ice cream with little chocolate chip cookies in it with a swirl of cookie dough and chocolate chips running through it. This suffered the same problem that I encounter in many chocolate chipped ice creams. When chocolate is cold it gets waxy and sticks in your teeth. So I take a big bite of lusciously cold ice cream, it melts in my mouth and runs down my throat and then I'm left with a mouthful of cold waxy chocolate that I have to suck in order to warm it up enough to eat it. The little cookies were yummy, the cookie swirl was too sweet and goopy. I think your classic cookie dough ice cream is a far better choice.

Dreyers Andes Cool Mint. Yummy except for that cold waxy chocolate. They should have done ribbons of the green mint stuff and flakes of dark chocolate. Flakes of chocolate melt fast enough to be eaten with the ice cream. Ah well, I suppose this is why these flavors were discontinued.

I wanna go back and get some more of those Peanut Butter Drumsticks.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Friday was busy and wonderful. The sun kept trying to make up it's mind whether it would stay in it's bathrobe eating ice cream, or put on its makeup and come out and play. I was waiting to see what the sun would do so that I could follow suit. It finally came out and so did I. It was so nice out that I decided to mow the lawn. Note to self: don't let the grass grow long for the Easter Bunny unless the Easter Bunny will mow it for you later. My grass must have been taking steroids this past week because it was a jungle out there. I had to restart the mower at least 12 times, the blades stuck twice, and it was such a tough job it made me run out of gas before I was half done. So, I put the mower away and left a note on the fridge for the Easter Bunny to refill my little gas tank.


My friend Lizzy came over for a visit. Lizzy is handicapped physically, and a bit mentally, is a great gal, but don't you dare get on her bad side =). She rides a motorized wheel chair that isn't able to get in my house, so we sat outside enjoying the sun. The kids were really well behaved and ran around playing, they made forts and beds outside, foraged for themselves in the food department, and left me free to visit with Lizzy. I read a book to Lizzy called Little Britches. My family loves this book and they have been begging me to read it. We were able to read through chapter 2 before Lizzy had to leave. I'm finding it hard to sink my teeth into Little Britches but I think that it is due to Mars Venus Author Syndrome. MVAS happens to me anytime I try to read a Dickens after finishing an Austin. The writers are writing in almost the same english, same time frame, about related subjects, but try to read one right after the other and you get a foul taste in your mouth. I can only relate this to trying to eat a Snickers bar right after eating a Baby Ruth. They are so similar that the slight differences are very distasteful. So it is for me with Little Britches because I've been reading the Little House On The Prairie series. Little Britches is very close to a Little House kind of story but it is written by a man, and Little House is written by a woman. I must distance myself from the Venus before I can fully appreciate the Mars, I guess.

Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers Little House (9 Books, Boxed Set)

Later I picked up Cookie from school, told the kids to let me sit for awhile (Lizzy is fun to have over but it does wear me out) while I watched a movie (part of one at least) and ate my artichoke. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. I LOVE artichokes. I dip them in lemon mayonnaise with garlic salt. I haven't had one for a very long time. Then I remembered one of the reasons why. They take way too long to cook. So, while I wait that excruciatingly long 1/2 hour for it to cook, I start rummaging. Because I'm a good girl and have stopped stocking snackies in order to loose weight, I was having a hard time finding anything to help me wait. Finally, reaching that desperate point, I pull over a chair, climb to my tippy toes, reach waaaaaay past my canning jars, and find my old, hidden, bag of Halloween candy. From this comes my snickers/Baby Ruth experience. Ah, but the artichoke is done after only 10 mini candy bars. Mmmmmmmmmmm I love artichokes.

Daddy is going to be home soon.... HURRY EVERYONE CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. The kids look at me as if to say "We love you Miss Hannigan", and we all start doing our chores. DSSH comes home and I rush to the shower because I have a HOT date tonight. No, silly, not with DSSH, with the girls. GIRLS NIGHT OUT!!!!! I put on my new "not mom" shirt (meaning it wasn't the first cheap t shirt I could grab at WalMart before the kids started screaming), blow dry my hair, try to put some make up on, kiss the poor DSSH, laugh as I leave the kids behind, jump into the car and quickly change the radio from classical to classic rock, and head to the mall.

Note to self: Don't ever ever ever eat artichokes before going out. I just remembered the other reason I haven't eaten one in so long. They give me internal bubbles. Oh the pain! All that gas was NOT happy to be kept inside me for that long. But we had a fun time, chatting, laughing, eating, and playing with J's sweet new baby girl. B, L, and N were there, and H, if you have a blog you need to send it to me =). After food, we walked around the mall (I haven't walked around the mall with a group of girls in like 14 years) and I actually sat at a makeup stand and had my eyes done. I've never done that before and it was so fun. It started getting late and we all said good bye. I snuck back in the mall to get myself and DSSH some Sees Candy. I bought 3 butterchews for him and 3 cashew roccas for me, and sampled the california brittle. Mmmmmm. L called me on my cell phone (Ok, I'm starting to really like my cell phone now) and asked if I wanted to still hang out some more. I thought, "I should get back home", then I said, "SURE!". We went to Js house and stayed up till 11 playing games and talking.
WHAT A FUN NIGHT!!!!!