J & J

Just in case I have any new and/or non-family readers out there, I thought I'd clear up some confusion about the Jessica's.

  

First of all, there is Jessica B., my older sister; and Jessica R., my longtime friend. 

Jessica B. is the one who has Charlotte, and Jessica R. is the one I take sewing classes with and do some other homeschool activities with.

However, it's more confusing, because Susan and Michael took care of Jessica B. as a baby before Jessica R. was around.  So our family knows their family, and now Jessica B. and her husband Matt go over to Susan and Michael's house once a week for dinner.

And, since we knew Susan and Michael, I 

met Jessica R. when we were wee tots. 

 

Cookie Cake

Tonight we went to Susan's and Michael's because it was Jessica's birthday.  There were about twenty people there - - mostly family.  

Mom and I got there a little bit early, and went up in Brandon's room (s).  He was showing us all his new collectibles and furniture that we hadn't seen yet. He was cleaning up and putting things away at the same time and speaking to us in the normal Brandon way: 'nowyoufoldyourtieslikethissotheydon'tgetwrinklesandyouknowthesearerealnicetiesandyou

basicallyrollthemupsotheystaysmooth' . . . and he was "asking" Mom's opinion about some things but he was more just talking to himself because he would answer himself before anybody else could say anything.  

Soon after, all of the other guests were there, so we went downstairs to say 'hi' to everybody.

Jessica had opened most of her presents earlier, but while we were all there she got three Starbucks cards and a super cute set of  tote bags with her initial on them.

Her candles were on a Cookie Cake that Susan made.  It was very delicious.  It was well decorated, also.  On the way home Mom was wondering were Susan got it; I said I thought that Susan made it.  Mom immediately called Susan and, of course, I was right!

It was fun!

JESSICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!

Jan and Flora Dell

Always smiling Flora Dell

Another thing that was going on on busy Tuesday: we were saying goodbye to Jan and Flora Dell. Jan is our neighbor, and her mom, Flora Dell, has been visiting. Jan was taking her mom to Georgia to visit her sister. Jan will be back today, but we won't see Flora Dell until next year! : (

Jan and Flora Dell make a lot of crafty things that they sell. One thing they make that they have given us is a kitchen scrubby. They make them by crocheting some scratchy nylon, in all colors. They package them in a ziploc bag with a little poem:

HI! I'M SCRUBBY

I'm not as fragile as you think.

I'll wash your dishes, clean your sink.

For washing veggies, I can't be beat.

In your bath, I'm great for your feet.

I can take the lint off your clothes.

I could probably even scratch your nose.

For bugs on your car, give me try.

Paint on your hands? Tell it goodbye!

I'm nylon soft, but tough as iron.

Just rinse me out when you're thru -

And

WHEN I'M DRY, I'M GOOD AS NEW!

We are really going to miss Flora Dell. At least Jan won't be gone that long.

Whew!

It's been a busy (in a good way) couple of days since my last post! And speaking of that - thanks for the great suggestions of bird names, keep them coming.

On Tuesday, we had Charlotte. Mom had to go get her because Jessica's tire was flat. Then, we were getting calls from Matt, looking for Dad, because his car was messing up. Then, Patsy came over to visit and to get Christopher's help loading some things she'd bought for her house in Union City. She was in town for an appointment and drove Uncle Frederick's red truck.

Then, Jessica R. came over after her writing class to spend the night. Jessica and I got Charlotte to go to sleep and then we played on the Wii. (Well, actually, Jessica played a little bit but then she started texting Scott). After I stopped playing on the Wii and Jessica stopped texting we started a game of Life.

Soon after though, we had to leave and take Charlotte back to Jessica and Matt. We had to take her back because Matt was supposed to pick her up, but he barely made it home since his car was acting funky. They were gonna change Jessica's flat and come and get her, but found out that the spare to the Saturn had a montrous hole in it. Mom, Jessica, and I stayed at their house while Matt and Christopher left to go to Gateway to get another tire. They got there too late so Gateway couldn't fix it.

Jessica and Matt were supposed to go to Susan's and Michael's and our car was not big enough drive everybody. They called Brandon and he happened to be close by so he came and picked them up to take them there. They were able to borrow their old van.

We took Christopher home, then Mom took Jessica and me to Lenny's. Afterwards, Jessica went to Starbuck's and got some Vanilla Latte thing. We left Starbuck's and went to Target to return some stuff and look around. Finally, we got back home, and because Jessica didn't want to watch American Idol with Mom and me, she decided to get Christopher to teach her how to solve a Rubik's cube.


Then, today, we had Charlotte for about twenty minutes in the morning while Jessica was getting groceries. Then, Jessica R. and I had to go to sewing class. We were able to finish our pajama pants and get all the pieces cut out for our pajama shirts. After sewing, we went our separate ways for bowling. When Christopher and I got home from bowling Mom and I started cooking dinner. After dinner we watched American Idol to see who would be eliminated. So, today was busy also, but now the day is over.

Charlotte when she doesn't get her way

Ditto

Jessica texting her Beloved

Poor little Saturn

Football Baby!

Hike!

Brandon! Great Timing!

Pajama pants

Wandom Wednesday

Oh, almost forgot with all the other stuff going on.

But for those insatiable trivia addicts out there, I'm not going to neglect you:

Here's some wandomness:

"Almost" is the longest commonly used word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

"Forty" is the only number which has its letters in alphabetical order. "One" is the only number with its letters in reverse alphabetical order.

"Four" is the only number whose number of letters in the name equals the number.

"Happy Birthday" was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.

The lunula is the half-moon shaped pale area at the bottom of finger nails (that is the part were cells are produced to make your nail grow).

"Ough" can be pronounced in eight different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully.

"Taxi" is spelled exactly the same in English, French, German, Swedish, Portuguese, and Dutch.

1 kg (2.2 pounds) of lemons contain more sugar than 1 kg of strawberries.

11% of the world is left-handed (including Mom, Charlotte, and ME!).

203 million dollars is spent on barbed wire each year in the U.S.

27% of Americans believe we never landed on the moon.

315 entries in Webster's 1996 dictionary were misspelled.

In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer to whom Mickey played an apprentice was named Yensid, which is Disney spelled backward.

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

That's all for now but next Wednesday there will be more!

Help Name the Birds!!!!

Go here and do this:

Name Sharon's birds

(or just go to MommySweetMom and look for that post)

Charlotte's Easter Dress

Confetti Eggs

Yesterday, we were at Kroger looking for Easter candy and Mom saw some confetti eggs on sale. They are made out of real colored eggshells: they broke the 'top' of each egg shell, put some confetti in there, then sealed the hole with matching tissue paper. Charlotte really liked breaking them! We even broke one over her head.

There was a big mess of confetti that Charlotte never got tired of playing with.

Jessica wasn't very happy; but we think that confetti is just proof of a good time!

Oh me, oh my

Easter

HAPPY EASTER!!!

This is something I made. I used a plant saucer, real moss (there is dirt under it), a small terracotta pot, sticks, a stone, and a piece of fabric.

"For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life"

John 3:16

CLOWNS

Today was my first clown "performance" of this year. We went to the Bellevue Impact Center (one of their satelite/outreach churches) and painted faces. I have a list of the things I can paint, and almost everybody wanted cherries. I don't know why people liked them so much. I probably painted about 40 cherries.

Now, I am going to show you how make a balloon animal dog. Because I'm SURE, all of you have a pump and balloons laying around.

Pump up the balloon leaving about one inch at the end, tie.

Make three bubbles, all the same size. Fold two of the bubbles down alongside the rest of the balloon.

Where the second two bubbles meet, twist two times

Make three more bubbles, the first a little smaller than the others

Do just like you did with the nose and ears, to make the neck and front legs

Make three more bubbles, but this time the first one bigger than the next two. The second and third bubbles are the back legs so make them the same size as the front legs.

Twist. . .

and VOILA!

Veggie Tales

Used to, whenever Charlotte came over she would want to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.  We decided she needed to be watching something better than Brobee and Foofa (gabba characters).  Christopher mentioned that Veggie Tales comes on TV so we have started recording it.  Charlotte really likes it.  It has music in it, is funny and it's wholesome and Christian.  We are glad Charlotte enjoys it.  Yo Gabba Gabba was getting pretty old. 

Wandom Wednesday

Do you collect anything?

Lots of people collect the little P.L.U labels on fruits and vegetables. There are more than thirty web sites and there are even conferences for people who collect P.L.U labels. More than 75 billion labels a year are stuck to fruit and vegetables. Conventionally grown produce has four numbers (4011); organically grown has five numbers and it starts with a 9 (94011); and genetically modified has five numbers and starts with an 8 (84011). Most collectors look for labels from one fruit or vegetable. One lady has almost 7,000 banana labels. So,if you want a hobby, you could always collect P.L.U labels.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Until a few minutes ago I did not know why you wear green today. Then Mom explained that if you didn't wear green you would get pinched. I am not wearing green, please don't pinch me.

About two weeks ago Mom bought a shamrock. The shamrock has leaves that look like clover along with little white flowers. Every day it has more and more flowers. The cool thing is that during the day there all the little flowers and the leaves are all spread out, but at night all the flowers close and the leaves look like they are wilting. It is a very nice plant so if you're thinking of putting a plant somewhere, the shamrock would be ideal.

Day

Night

Shoes & Skirt

Today Mom and I had to run some errands. We had to go to Hobby Lobby, Verizon, and Target. Mom needed some stickers for Sunday School, Christopher needed a battery cover for his cell phone, and I needed some spring/summer shoes.

We went to Hobby Lobby but couldn't find good Easter stickers. After that Christopher met us at Verizon. Yes, he is driving now, and AGAIN, if he only had a blog. Verizon was pretty fast so we were only there about ten minutes. Mom and I decided to go to Kohl's because we were so close. I ended up getting a skirt there. I really like it, and it is probably what I will wear Easter. Finally, we went to Target. Target is where I got three pairs of shoes and a white shirt to go with the skirt. Mom also printed some of the pictures of Charlotte (post below this).

Aren't my shoes cute??!!

Casual

Church / casual

Easter skirt

Charlotte

Today we had Charlotte. We showed her all the toys we'd bought her since the last time she was over here. Her new toys include: alphabet magnets, animal and number blocks, some Little People, a ball, a microphone (it makes you echo), and a baby with a stroller. She had a lot of fun with every single one of them. While she was busy playing, Mom went to Target. She came back with baby yogurt for Charlotte. Charlotte liked it so much she was sticking her hands in it trying to get every single last drop!

Then Mom, Charlotte, and I went over to Sharon's house (neighbor). She really likes it over there. After we came back she was watching Veggie Tales, so while she was actually sitting still we put her hair up. She started pushing her baby around, and Mom started taking pictures:

"dog-ears", " pigtails"

A ponytail



This is the ponytail, not a bun!

Country baby

Summer Cut

Today I got my hair cut. I only get my hair cut about two, maybe three, times a year. I usually get my hair cut as soon as it starts to get warm and it seems like it is going to stay that way. I don't get it cut very short, just to my shoulders. Our hairdresser's name is Melanie. She is really fast and super nice. We like her a lot.

Wow, that's long

So much better for the summer

MELANIE!

(Update: Melanie just started her own blog about her darling daughter Ava; visit them at avalayne.blogspot.com  )

ewwww...

Wandom Wednesday

Every Wednesday I am going to post about one random fact.  Since there isn't a day of the week that starts with the letter 'R', I am calling it Wandom (random) Wednesday.  

So far, there are 899 songs that all have something in common.  What is it?  They all include "Memphis" in their lyrics.  The Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum has concluded that "Memphis" is included in the lyrics of more songs than any other city in the world.  A list of some of the recording artists is: Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Justin Timberlake, Rod Stewart, Grateful Dead, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Alabama, Tim McGraw, Elton John, U2, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers, Nirvana, and Snoop Dog.

Click Here and then on the bottom of the page click on the "music" icon.

Book of Randomness for Girls

A few days before Christopher's birthday last month we were wandering around Costco (it's not Disneyworld, but it's what we've got).  Mom usually goes straight to the books section and she noticed a big stack of The Daring Book for Girls;  she'd heard or read something about how popular the book was, so she started flipping through it.  She showed it to me because it had some funny and relevant subjects. 

 

Well, I kept reading it, all through the store.  It one of those books where there's so much cool stuff you don't have time to look at all of them.  Here's just a sampling of the randomness the book covers: How to Whistle With Two Fingers, Putting Your Hair Up With a Pencil, A Short History of Women Inventors and Scientists, Building a Campfire, Reading a Tide Chart, How To Be a Spy, Math Tricks, Robert's Rules, How to Change a Tire, Japanese T-shirt Folding, States, Statehood, Capitals, Flowers, and Trees- Plus Canada!

I have already tried to put my hair up with a pencil.  My hair is long right now so it only holds up some of it, the rest falls down.  I have also TRIED to whistle with two fingers, I don't think 

I will ever be able to whistle unless I have an acorn top.  The one thing I have been able to successfully do is to fold a T-shirt, Japanese style.  

They also have this same kind of book for boys.  I gave Christopher the boy's version for his birthday.  It has all different things in it.  If he had a blog he could post about it, but NO!

Cake

Today I made a cake from scratch.  It was a recipe from Pioneer Woman.  It is easy to make and she also has a really easy icing recipe.  The icing recipe is cool because you can add nuts to it.  I don't like nuts so I didn't do that.  The cake itself is good.  It's kind of brownie like.  The recipe said to put it in a jelly roll pan, so that's probably the reason.  The cake has a nice chocolate taste though.  If I make it again I will probably put it in a baking pan instead of a jelly roll pan.

Do yourself a favor and check out the rest of Pioneer Woman's recipes and visit her blog.  She has TONS of recipes so I like to check there often for new stuff.  

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSE!!!!!

SNOW!!!!

It's actually snowing! It started around 2:00 at our house, and it is STILL snowing. When the weathermen said we were going to get 3 to 5 inches of snow, we all thought we'd better not get our hopes up.

When I first went outside to take something next door to Sharon's, the snow felt like pellets. After it started to accumulate I went back outside and found the snow to be soft and light and perfect for making snowballs. I did not have anyone to throw snow balls at because Christopher had left to go to Andy's house.  I did make a snowman. I made him when there wasn't very much snow yet.  I'm very happy that it snowed. I hope it doesn't melt before I have to time to go out

again tomorrow.

.

His name is Finian: it means fair, light, and white.

Sewing

This week Jessica and I started a new sewing project in our classes. We finished the letter pillow and the purse; they turned out great. Our new project is pajama pants.

I am making pants and Jessica is making shorts. She is very close to being finished, but I am not quite as close. The fabric I chose is a cow print; her fabric has small owls on it. Once we finish the pants we will start on a pajama top. I am using the same fabric for the shirt but Jessica is using a different fabric.

Sadly, it will be two weeks before we go back to sewing. We will miss next week because Jessica has to go out of town for basketball, and the week after that, because of spring break. We love sewing so much and the teacher is very nice. I can't wait to finish those pajama pants!

Flowers

Mom and I love fresh flowers. Yesterday, Mom was at Kroger and got these because they were only $5. We are glad we can look at beautiful, fresh flowers even if it is 34 degrees outside.