Cardinal Camera Critter

I saw this meme for Camera Critters over at Rhea's blog. She has some cool frog photos posted. I wasn't planning to participate...but you never know how life might intervene. I was just making dinner and I could see two hawks chasing each other in my back yard. They were really "yelling" at one another. So...I grabbed my camera in the hopes of catching one of them in flight. But...as would be my luck...they were gone. And then this beautiful cardinal perches on the dogwood tree and begins his serenade:

Random acts of useless information

While I was on my cruise, I was tagged by Rhea over at Word Tangle to do a meme. I am so excited to be picked. As the last time I was tagged for a meme (about what was on my desk) was by my own daughter – who was tagged before me. Not that I am bitter or anything.

So…here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you. (Check)
2. Post these rules on your blog. (Check)
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry.

Ummm…six unimportant things about me. Where, oh where to start?

1. The Lost Boys was the first “legal” rated R movie that I saw in the theatre. Firefly mom over at “Pack of Hungry Snails” actually blogged about this movie a few weeks ago. What a great 80’s movie. It has Kiefer Sutherland and his Billy Idol hair…all those great 80’s outfits…and the wonderful line “death by stereo.” Did you know that there is even a band who named themselves that? Or that in the first season of 24, Jack Bauer actually killed a terrorist by biting him on the neck?

2. I am allergic to shrimp skin or raw shrimp or something. I used to cook shrimp all the time. I would buy raw shrimp…and peel and devein it…and cook it. And then one day, I was doing my thing…and my hand got swollen. And red. And extremely itchy. I can eat shrimp…it’s just the raw version that gives me hives. It is a wonderful allergy. Peeling and deveining is a pain. We have taught the children how to do it. That’s what children are for, right? Free labor?

3. I don’t drink coffee. Ever. In any form. Yuck. I don’t get the worship of Starbucks. I don’t like coffee ice cream. Kahlua. Tiramisu. I get my caffeine from Coke Zero. Or Diet Coke with lime. People say they want to get together for a cup of coffee. It would seem strange to say “let’s meet for a diet coke.” But that’s what I would have.

4. I have never seen an episode of “Friends,” or going back a few decades, an episode of “Dallas.” I am not sure what I watched instead…but I have not seen either. I think I might have missed out on some cultural literacy. Or not.

5. Our team came in third place last night for trivia. There was just three of us last night…and I think we did pretty well. Final question: What is the oldest city in the US that is a state capital? No one got it correct. We were actually in a three way tie for third. Tie breaker question: according to the US census in 1860, what percentage of South Carolina’s population was slaves? We were the closest…and won the $10 in house cash. It should pay for one of Michael’s beers next week.

6. I have never mowed the grass…changed a tire…or cooked on a grill. I am such a girl. I like to cook…but, I don’t know…there just seems to be something inherently dangerous about lighting up that gas grill. It’s a man’s job. Me cook with fire. (insert your own Tim Allen grunts here) No thanks. I don’t even fire up the gas logs in our fireplace. I did it once and almost singed my eyebrows right off. I did not have a picture of Michael being manly and cooking on the grill. So I was FORCED to go to Target and get steaks for him to cook tonight for dinner. The things I’ll do for my readers.

Well…there are some random things…and quite unimportant. Now, my next job is to tag people. I can tag you…doesn’t mean you’ll actually participate…but hopefully you’ll feel loved. Admired. And most importantly, obligated.

1. Kim at Four Chambers of My Heart. Because she humored me and was the only one to do the last tag.
2. Gwyneth at Daily Goon. Because she blogs about her kids…I would love to know random things about her.
3. Joye at Here I am. Joye is a teacher. And has her kids write stories about potatoes. Random could be really fun with Joye.
4. Yertle at Smile, Play, Dream. I have just discovered Yertle’s blog...and she does some amazing pondering. And she participates in memes. So I think she might do this!
5. Sugar at I like Pi. This is my daughter. And she has a beautiful blog. Corrupted with horrible grammar. Because it’s her place. And I make her speak and write properly…except here.
6. Debbie at This is the Life. Because she doesn’t drink coffee either.

All cruise posts are now updated

All of the cruise posts have now been updated with photos - including the underwater pictures. There have been new pictures added to EVERY post. Can't believe it has taken almost a week to get it all done! And, for your convenience, here are the cruise posts in order:

Day 1: Our journey to Tampa

Day 2: Boarding The Carnival Legend

Day 3: At Sea

Day 4: Grand Cayman (swim with the stingrays and Coral Garden Snorkel)

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico (swim with the Dolphins at Chankanaab Park); and Cozumel part 2

Day 6: Belize (Lost World Canopy Zipline tour)

Day 7: Isla Roatan, Honduras (Coral Cay Snorkel adventure); and Roatan part 2

Day 8: Last Day at Sea

Week in Review

After a week of vacation, it’s always an adjustment to get back into the swing of things. On Monday, I dropped Madalyn off at school and then Katie and I headed to my water aerobics class. Katie had read some of my blogging about the class and she was anxious to see me lapped by old ladies. It wasn’t exactly what she thought it would be. She thought we’d all be swimming laps. I think not.

Madalyn had a week long project to do for homework. Every morning her class recites the pledge of allegiance – and her project was to look up some of the words from the pledge in the dictionary – and then explain them in her own words. Words like republic, nation, indivisible, and liberty. Somewhat challenging for a 6 year old. Errr 7 year old. Or so I thought. Until she told me that all this homework was discombobulating her. Hearing your 7 year old say “discombobulating” is disconcerting.

On Thursday, Katie and I had our classes through the homeschool group. I was able to award one of my students with the Gold award (summa cum laude) for his National Latin Exam. He only missed one question out of the 40 on the test. I am so very proud!

Thursday was also Madalyn’s birthday. She decided that we needed to have Mexican for dinner. Mexican should have been listed as one of her favorite things yesterday! She opted to not have dessert at the restaurant so that we could get home faster. So she could open presents. It was the night of Pokemon. We are planning to have a slumber party for her birthday…but probably not until next month. A house full of the high decibel level of little girls. Good times.

Homeschooling Week in review:

Math: Katie finished Singapore 5A…and we started 5B. It’s going quite well so far…she is flying through…doing the first 8 workbook sections this week alone. She is looking at how to multiply and divide with decimals. She hasn’t needed my help yet.

History: Before vacation, we spent about 2 weeks studying World War II – and over the break, Katie started reading Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl.” In order to attempt to finish Story of the World by the end of the year, we are going to be skipping some of the sections. This week we moved on to chapter 30 with the formation of Israel; and then onto chapter 31 and the Marshall Plan.

Physics: Katie completed Physics right before Spring break…so we are done with science until we begin our four year cycle again in the fall with Biology. We are going to continue to use Noeo for the science curriculum.

Spelling/Grammar: Now that Physics is off her plate, I am no longer dividing the week between these two subjects…but she will do both each day to complete the books. Spelling will completed next week – and Katie is thrilled! We still have a bit more to do with grammar. The grammar lesson today focuses on one of my big pet peeves – good vs. well.

Writing: Katie is still reading Anne Frank – and we will be discussing it at the end of next week. Katie has had many vocabulary questions from this book – and a lot of time looking up things in the dictionary (I appear to be her personal dictionary).

Piano: Because Katie did not practice on the cruise...her lesson this week was almost like a practice session. But with a teacher making sure that her form was correct.

Latin: This week Katie learned about how to tell the difference between 3rd, 3rd -io, and 4th conjugation verbs.

Thursday Thirteen: Happy Birthday Madalyn

Today is my baby’s birthday day. She keeps telling me that she’s not a baby. I tell her that she’ll always be my baby. Even when she has her own babies. Even when she’s 70 and wrinkly, she’ll still be my baby. Here she is just a few hours old. Where on earth that dark skin came from, I have no idea…considering that now she is pale and blonde!

Last year we celebrated Katie’s birthday at Disney World…so this year, Madalyn got to celebrate her birthday on our cruise. Before our cruise, I was researching shore excursions, and for so many of them you had to be 8. I am not sure why you need to be 8 to snorkel…or to zipline…or to swim with dolphins…but that is the minimum. Madalyn is a great swimmer and a trooper…so we decided that we would celebrate her 8th birthday on the ship. Shhhh…don’t tell!

In honor of her 7th birthday…today’s Thursday Thirteen is dedicated to Madalyn and her favorite things:

1. Pokemon. She did not start getting into this until this year. And she knows it all. I had no idea that there are different types of Pokemon. Grass types. Electric types. More types than I can recall. If there is a moment of silence…usually Madalyn will say to me: “wanna ask me anything about Pokemon?” (Do I have to?!)

2. Webkinz. Yet another obsession. You buy the stuffed animal…and each comes with a unique code that you enter on the webkinz site…and you have a stuffed animal and a virtual one as well. Don’t lose the code. Pandemonium, angst, and much suffering will ensue.
3. SpongeBob. Who dreamt this up? It is painfully annoying. Imagine listening to episode after episode on your car DVD player…with no headphones for the kids! But Madalyn loves SpongeBob. He makes her laugh out loud. (I love my Madalyn laughs!)

4. Going to the movies and having popcorn (Finding Nemo was her first movie in the theater) Popcorn is an essential part of this equation. And Madalyn can eat her weight in popcorn. We will usually get the ginormous tub…and finish before the previews even start…so we HAVE to get a refill.

5. Her family…and Annoying her sister. I think Madalyn gets a perverse pleasure from antagonizing her sister. It makes her happy :-) Gotta love "sister love!"

6. Going to School…and especially her teacher Mrs. Murphy. This is her first year in public school and she just loves it. Madalyn is sad on the weekends because she misses her teacher.

7. Chocolate. Like popcorn, she can’t get enough of this. One of my favorite Madalyn stories is about “chock-it.” Madalyn was about 18 months…and she was at home with me while Katie was at pre-school. We had just finished lunch and I put on a TV show for Maddie while I cleaned up in the kitchen. She was down in our family room – and I could see her from the kitchen – and she was sitting in my mom’s recliner. She kept babbling and waving to me. I was impressed that she let me finish cleaning and that she was entertained the entire time. I finished and I was ready to walk out the door to get Katie, when Madalyn walks up the three steps into the kitchen. She is COVERED in chocolate. It’s all over her face…her clothes…she even has chocolate hand prints on her diaper inflated rear end! She looks at me with a devlish grin and says “chock-it!”

She had gotten into some chocolate that my mom had received for Christmas – that she had stored by her chair. I manage to quickly clean her up (but took pictures first – and naturally they are film…not digital…and I’m too lazy to pull them out of the scrapbook and scan them for you.) and get out the door so I am not late to pick up Katie. Madalyn fell asleep in the car on the way…and I was getting her into the stroller at school…when another mom commented on how cute she was asleep. I was telling her about the “chock-it” incident, and the mom said “she’s not asleep…she’s in a diabetic coma!” :-)

8. Nintendo DS. She got one of these from her grandmother for Christmas…and she is addicted. It’s the first priveledge to be taken away as punishment…and we’ve had to invoke a weekends only rule. But she loves her DS…and it’s better in the car than a SpongeBob movie.

9. Swimming (just not with Sting rays…and especially with Dolphins) The child is a fish. We have amazing public pools near us…they are like water parks, complete with huge slides, lazy rivers, fountains, and water playgrounds. When Katie was big enough…she would go down the waterslide…and Madalyn was so jealous. She couldn’t go down until she could swim…because she had to swim across the pool to the steps…and you couldn’t wait at the bottom or go down with her. She had to be able to do it herself. She was quite determined that over the Winter she would learn to swim so that when the pool opened, she would go down that waterslide. Pretty stubborn for a four-year-old! She did it…and is quite proficient in the water.

10. Animals. Any animal. All animals. She loves the aquarium. The zoo. Finding Frogs in the yard. Lizards in the grass. Just don’t ask her to swim with a stingray.

11. Reading. Madalyn was a late bloomer when it came to reading. But she has caught the book bug that her mom and sister have. She goes to bed with her webkinz…and reads them a stack of books each night. In the morning when we wake her up, it’s hard to find her for all the books in her bed.

12. Drawing. Madalyn is so happy with some colored pencils and a spiral notebook. And painting. But sometimes it can get out of hand. Remember, I don't like crafts!

13. American Girl. Katie and Madalyn have been reading the books. They have been going to monthly American Girl club meetings at our local Borders for about a year. And she just got her first doll last month as an early birthday present from my mom. She loves dressing her in different clothes…and she is just so careful with her Elizabeth doll. Which is a change from my house full of naked Barbies.

Underwater pictures

Our underwater pictures with the stingrays in Grand Cayman have been added to this post.

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures, Pictures, we all scream for Pictures

Pictures have been added to the Honduras Part 2 post. Coming soon: Underwater pictures!

Ten on Tuesday: Favorite Movie Comedies

Today's topic for the Ten on Tuesday meme is my top ten favorite movie comedies. This was a really hard list to make. And I am sure that I am leaving out lots. Probably even a favorite. But my brain cells are gone. I have two children.

Here are my favs...in no particular order:

1. Thank You For Smoking – This is a hilarious movie. If you haven’t seen it already (because you haven’t followed previous “orders” to watch it) – put it in your netflix queue. The movie is about Nick Naylor, a spokesman for Big Tobacco, who is trying to the positive spin on smoking. He even goes to LA to convince an agent (played by Rob Lowe) to have more actors smoke in movies – “like the good old days.” He meets weekly with the MOD squad (merchants of death) – who represent the alcohol lobby and the gun lobby. This ingenious movie is all in the details – like Nick’s son goes to St. Euthanasius. Again…go watch this movie!

2. 50 First Dates – I love this movie. It is both sweet and funny – a true date movie! Every time I run across it on TV, I have to stop and watch. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler have great chemistry – and it’s too bad that Drew starred with Jimmy Fallon instead of Adam Sandler in the very boring “Fever Pitch.”

3. Sixteen Candles – A classic! “Now we are both on the Pill.” “You own a church?” “No more yankie my wankie.” Ahhh…the memories. Can you believe that this movie was made 24 years ago??

4. CSA – I think this is another movie (besides “Thank you for Smoking”) that I am the only one that has seen it! It’s a mockumentary about the CSA (confederate states of America) – as if the South had won the “war of Northern Aggression.” It is a very clever and intelligent comedy produced by Spike Lee. Some of the best parts are the commercials (the “documentary” is being shown for the first time on CSA television).

5. Princess Bride – Another classic. Who hasn’t seen this movie? And one of the best movies to quote from.

6. Monty Python and the Holy Grail – This needs no commentary :-)

7. Best in Show/Mighty Wind – Christopher Guest is just brilliant. I think I am discovering my love for the mockumentary.

8. Blazing Saddles/Young Frankenstein – Can you believe that Mel Brooks released BOTH of these movies in the same year?

9. 40 Year Old Virgin/Knocked Up/Superbad – Superbad is not nearly as good as the first two…but the whole McLovin plot line wins me over. Puerile humor at its best.

10. Elf/A Christmas Story – My favorite Christmas movies. Elf made Will Ferrell movies “must sees.” And Elf is the first time I heard the word “ginormous.” It is now part of my lexicon. And “A Christmas Story.” My dad had a book by Jean Shepherd…so I had already read it before I saw it. Did you know that there is a “shrine” to this movie in Cleveland, Ohio? You can tour the house year round. And this year is the 25th anniversary for the movie. “It was…it was…soap poisoning…”

More pictures

Cozumel part 2 now has pictures.