Horse-fly

So, do you think if she flaps her arms hard enough, the horse will achieve lift-off?

Meg will be going off to horse camp in a few weeks, so we are at the stables getting in more riding, since we haven't been there in months...

Of Note this week

This just in:

The homeschool moms over at the hive board just became infamous, click over to
this wikipedia entry...
(scroll to the very bottom of the page)

I've never had one, but I thought this was drop on the floor funny!
The idea was tossed up that a commercial would be a good idea, with the line...
"Yes, I homeschool, my neighbors think I'm a superwoman...but really it is only Mike's that is holding this homeschool together."

...sticking to diet coke here...

and next, you have to watch this- very cute and entertaining

make sure to watch all 3 episodes and the out-takes video.

Squirrels falling from trees and dentists with a death-wish

Yesterday evening, I walked into the house around 5 p.m. after an afternoon of errands and lots of driving. I was looking forward to pouring myself an ice-cold diet coke and sitting down with a piece of raisin toast and Pride & Prejudice...(yes, I love comfort food too well, sadly).

Amie comes running in yelling,

"a squirrel fell out of the tree mom, and now it can't walk!!"

we ran outside, and yes- a squirrel did fall out of a mature oak tree and was dragging itself along on the sidewalk. So, very sad. We caught it and I got back into the van and drove it to a sort of near-by wildlife center. I am hoping they will release him back into the neighborhood. He'll miss his family and all. I have such a sorry, soft heart...

So, do squirrels fall out of trees on a regular basis? The whole thing was mystifying to me, I found a really informative squirrel site here- but full-grown squirrels falling out of trees is still a mystery.

Next-

I took Demi-sky to the dentist to get his first ever filling. We waited a long time to even make it out of the waiting room, and then the dentist came in, peered at his tooth, and left us sitting there for another long wait. I was wondering how to ask if we should come back another time, without it sounding snarky. We've always had good visits there, this was a first so I tried to be patient...

Well, the Dentist came back and started doing dentist stuff...and then suddenly I realized that he was drilling on my 8 year old son's tooth without numbing it first! I sat up, and stopped myself before I shouted out "what, are you crazy!!" (thinking it would terrify Demi to hear me shouting) and I stopped myself mid-jump up.... I don't think the dentist realized he was 1 1/2 feet away from being physically attacked. I paused for a tiny second to reason with myself that the dentist was a father, and he must have had good reason to be fixing a cavity in this crazy way. As the adrenaline rush lessened, I realized all the drama of actually giving Demi a shot would out-weigh the time actually spent drilling. It must have been a very shallow cavity, and it didn't even hurt.

I let him live,
this time.

Dentistry....danger, danger, danger...

Why did the chicken cross the road? -Part 2


The chickens crossed the road because they were contracted out for natural, organic pest-control at the neighbor's house.

We sent "the girls" across the street to rid our neighbor's backyard of snails. The first trip across, two ladies stopped to talk to us- and then asked if we would be available to do their yard! My kids are pondering a little side business...

Remember this chicken post? I have to add these amendments...the first two were submitted on a homeschool board I like to visit...

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

The Mr. Darcy answer: "Because they were conscious that their figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking"...

The Ernest Hemingway answer: "To die in the rain,...alone"

have to add...The Amy March answer..."for pickled limes"

....The Bertie Wooster answer: "To avoid getting engaged".

blog slow-down

I've got a lot of homeschool wrapping-up to do, and a lot of paperwork/records to catch up on...just in case you are wondering where I am- things will be a little slow around this blog for the next week I am thinking.

I have a lot to talk about too, really not a good time to be too busy to blog...

like- my best friend moving to Singapore;

like my youngest deciding to learn to ride a bike in one afternoon, because her brother learned;

or about how one should not decide to throw in squats into one's new exercise routine the morning before heading to Disneyland for 5 hours...just saying. It was a severe and painful tactical error, I'll -ahem, not be repeating.

I was strung out on advil with my feet up that night, so no blogging.

see you around the blogosphere soon, internets....

Hero

I was looking for Steve Taylor's original video for his song "wanna be a Hero". I didn't find it, but I did find this...which was kind of a nice melding of the show with the song...

Steve Taylor was a genius, anyone remember "Meltdown"??

I wonder what he was like as a boy?? I bet his mom has stories to tell...

(spending the afternoon sucked into 80's Christian music nostalgia...)

Look, we have weather!!

We are currently having some weather events here in Southern California.

It is all very exciting, because we don't have much weather here. On the few occasions that it actually rains during the day...we take a few steps out the front door, with an incredibly sour-put-out-face (that says plainly..."I ordered another perfect day, what is THIS?!") and then we wonder vaguely or frantically (depending on how hard it is raining) - where in world did I store my umbrella after the last time I used it, 2 years ago....

So yesterday (and today is supposed to be a repeat performance) we experienced several rain showers (the first while it was sunny outside) and some thunder. Very, very exciting here. We love a good thunder and lightening storm.

Later in the day I heard on the radio that there was a tornado warning -warning as in actually on the ground- for Moreno Valley, which is close to where my sister and mom live. Then I heard people calling in to describe it and I ran and flipped on the news to see footage of a train that had been knocked over by a tornado. This is all happening about an hour from us.

I called my sister to make sure she knew...and then we had this conversation...

Sister: "So what am I supposed to do?"

Me: "Go turn on your local radio station to hear if there are any tornadoes near you, or better your t.v. to see the photos- they're pretty cool"

Sister: "just great, we don't have t.v. right now, ever since the sandstorm knocked out our satalite."

Me: "well, try the radio, or try the LA station I am listening to...lots of people from your area are calling in right now."

Sister: "so if one is heading my way, what are me and the kids supposed to do, go in the closet? ..it's really small in there..."
(she has 2 boys and a baby girl...2 very busy boys)

Me: " I think the bathroom is a good place, the one without any windows. I think you are supposed to seek shelter in the tub. Because they are good and heavy. But wait, that was the old tubs made out of cast iron, is your tub in your new house cast iron???"

Me: "well, good luck" "I'll call you and tell you if I hear of one coming your way."

cleary we are on the cutting edge of bad weather preparedness...

we kind of prefer the earthquakes.