Odd Couple

This is a waaaay long shot taken in a 25 mile per hour wind (note to self: bulk up those arms, woman!).  I was just giving my best effort to focusing anywhere in the general vicinity of the hawk and clicking like crazy.  I didn't even see his little buddy until I pulled the pictures off the camera.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Gone To Seed

Our World Tuesday

Face Time

Have you heard about Face Time?  Apparently, it's an app that allows you to make video calls from your iPhone (or iPad or whatever i-type device you've got).  It's been out for a while, but I wouldn't have known (or cared) a thing about it if I hadn't hear about it in whispered bedtime conversation.

"Mom says I have to go.  Um, call me back at 11:35."


Oh, no.  Hell, no.  I'm pretty lax in the discipline department, but I do have a couple of rules, and a big one is "thou shalt not sneak."  Mama sees all.

But, I played it cool, and didn't make a big deal of it.  Actually, I didn't even mention it all.  When I tucked her in, I simply told her that I trusted her and that it would be a very bad thing to ever lose my trust.  It was a beautiful parenting moment.

Then, I went to bed and slept with a ringing iPad under my pillow.  I guess you can call that app Pillow Time.

Rug Rat

When Baby Puppy was tiny, she didn't have much going on in the hair department.

She would not tolerate a bow in her hair (I tried everything short of super glue to keep one on her head) and unless she was dressed in head to toe pink frills, she was often mistaken for a little boy when we were out and about.  Yes, it got on my new mommy nerve, but I never once considered putting her in one of these . . .

It's a baby toupee.  Because, obviously, creepy and itchy is preferable to bald, right?  Ugh! Poor little rug rat!

Review: Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA!

As the parent of an elementary school age child, I've read quite a few books about how to help kids learn.  Rarely, however, have I found a book as immediately useful as Guinevere Durham's Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! (Outskirts Press, 2011)

Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! focuses on the five competencies (logic, critical thinking, problem solving, investigating, and experimenting) and provides concrete examples of how to foster the development of these competencies.  The five skills are also examined in the context of different learning styles.  It all sounds very complex, but Durham does an outstanding job of breaking down the information and making it accessible to a lay reader.

The day I started reading Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! I used some of Durham's tips to help me explain summarizing to my daughter.  The tips helped tremendously.  I can't think of a better recommendation.  Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! is a great resource.

I received a complimentary copy of Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! to facilitate my review.  No other compensation was received.  For full disclosure, see the sidebar.

Out Of The Bed And Out Of The Blue

"Mom, is the meaning of life two parallel lines going up and up and up forever without ever touching?"

"Mom, if two parallel lines touch will the universe end?"

"Mom, what will happen if we put a gopher in the microwave?"

All of that before my first cup of coffee?  Not cool, kid.  Not cool.

Wait . . . Wait . . .

I'm almost . . .

focused.  Damn.  The elusive cardinal strikes again.

Wild Bird Wednesday