tamaragwen@gmail.com | Dashboard | Help | Sign out Gwen's Sententia * Posting * Settings * Template * View Blog * Edit HTML * Pick New * Customize Design * AdSense Change the Blogger NavBar The Blogger NavBar is a navigation bar and toolbar with a form that allows people to search just your weblog using Google's SiteSearch and gives you the ability to check out what's happening on other recently published blogs with one click. This bar replaces the advertisements that used to be displayed at the top of some blogs. Gwen's Sententia: February 2008

Gwen's Sententia

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Location: Broomfield, Colorado, United States

I'm a stay-at-home, homeschooling ex-engineer mother with a bunch of ferrets. My kids and I raise Guide Dog Puppies.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

An Oddly Themed Birthday

My daughter is turning seven at the end of March. She told me she wanted a ferret birthday.

She's had a dolphin birthday (5), a blue whale party (6), a butterfly party (4), a Thomas the Tank Engine party (3), a non-themed party (2), and an Easter themed party (1). The Thomas, butterfly, and dolphin parties were the easiest. It is very easy to find birthday paraphernalia like plates, cups, suckers, loot bag gifts, and party decorations for dolphins, butterflies, and Thomas. The blue whale party was a little more difficult. I had to attempt to draw on a cake. Luckily there was an artist at the party who fixed my blue whale and then drew blue whales on all the plastic cups. (Thank you Kent!)

This year's party will prove to be the hardest. For the dolphin, butterfly, and blue whale parties, I was able to go to Oriental Trading Company and buy a dozen stuffed toys for about a dollar each. They don't carry ferrets. Luckily, Dr. Fosters & Smith, an online pet store, carries stuffed ferrets as play toys for ferrets. I ordered a dozen. They were more than a dollar and I have yet to see what they look like.

My daughter asked for a ferret coloring book. Actually, she's been asking for that for a while. A search on "ferret coloring book" in google did not yield positive results. So, I made one for her. (Click on the picture to get the ferret coloring book.) She wants copies of the ferret coloring book in the loot bags for the kids.

She's agreed to let me take a photo of Simon (a ferret) to the bakery and let them print his picture on the frosting of her cake, so I won't have to try a ferret on a cake or make a ferret-shaped cake. (Whew!)

Anyway, if your kid wants a ferret coloring book, have at it.

Friday, February 22, 2008

The Nicodemus Field Guide

Around October or November 2007, we listened to the Spiderwick Chronicles. That is, I had purchased the audio CDs. At night, before we put the kids to bed, we'd turn off the lights, light candles, and listen to the "radio like Grandma and Grandpa did because they didn't have television." This is a nice family bonding experience, and the story was good to boot.

Naturally, when the movie came out, we saw it. We usually go to a museum of some sort once a week, but this week we ditched the museum and saw the Spiderwick Chronicles. While my kids thoroughly enjoyed it and haven't had any nightmares, I wouldn't recommend it for most little kids. At seven, Anna knows the difference between fact and fantasy. Quinn, who is four, also knows the difference, but it was still a bit much. I don't think I would have taken him if he hadn't heard the stories.

Anyway, the kids loved the show.

The movie shows Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical, and the idea immediately jumped into my head. I decided we'd make the Nicodemus Field Guide to the Fantastical. I didn't tell the kids straight away though. I bought some scrapbook paper and a brown scrapbook cover.

I had the kids sit down on the couch today and I told them, "It's come to my attention that there might be fantastical creatures in and around our house." Anna (7) got a smile on her face. Quinn (4) said, "Mommy, they're fake." I whispered to Quinn, "We're playing a fun game Quinn. We're pretending that we can see fantastical creatures." Quinn immediately got with the game.

I handed the kids card stock that I cut into quarters and asked them to draw pictures of some of the fantastical creatures they saw. They went around the backyard looking for critters, drew pictures, and told me elaborate stories about the critters they discovered. Anna got to pet a baby Dragusfair. Quinn saw Quaw eggs hatch.

This project is probably going to last a few months, and I think I'll be able to milk a lot of hidden schooling out of it. They have to draw (art), explain how their critters live (biology), and document and describe what they "see" (language arts).

I am so far impressed with their imagination and think this project is a hit.

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My Birthday


Birthdays are a big deal for me. I am frugal at Christmas and the kids open a total of two or three presents. I don't want Christmas to be about presents. I want Christmas to be about nice smells and family traditions. I make up for this at birthdays, however.

Birthdays are a special day. It's your day. So, when my kids' birthdays roll around, or the dog, cat, ferrets, and spouse, that person gets treated to a special day. The kids don't have to do chores on their birthdays. I throw them parties, make crazy cool loot bags, decorate like crazy, and take a lot of pictures. The birthday person gets to pick what's for dinner and gets to pick the nighttime stories. I start prepping for the kids' birthdays about three months in advance.

I expect my family to remember my birthday and treat me to a special day. A few days before my birthday Leon told me he had choir practice. I told him that he better bring me flowers then. He asked if I meant literal or figurative flowers. I told him literal.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I received literal and figurative flowers. My kids woke me up with gleeful "Happy Birthdays." While the kids did fight with each other all day, they made a point of being extra nice to me. They helped me clean without fighting. My husband came home with colorful flowers and he put them in a vase for me. He emptied the dishwasher and filled it again. He baked a cake for me. Even better, he let me take a book upstairs and hide. I had a two-hour bath and a nice read.

I think the birthday bath is going to become a tradition. It was nice.

After two hours, the kids couldn't take it anymore and the kids and Leon sang "Happy Birthday" outside the door. They wanted me to get out of the tub so they could have birthday cake.

While my literal flowers are beautiful, I think I'll remember the figurative ones longer.

And for those of you curious, I turned 0x25. (That's 37 for the non-nerds.)