The Color of Boogers

Spawn: "Mommy, what color are your boogers? Mine are greenish-yellow. I thought everybody's boogers were that color, but I saw a commercial with green boogers in it that don't look like MY boogers."

Me: ::sigh:: "I think everybody has a different nose, so everybody must make their very own shade of boogers. That's why not all boogers look like yours."

Spawn: "Ohhh...that makes sense." He gets up, starts to run upstairs...

Me: "Wait, where are you going?"

Spawn: "Upstairs. I'm going to look into Daddy's nose to see if his boogers are purple! That would be awesome!"

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom

What Spawn is Reading This Week - 4/26/2011

Spawn just began reading this book today, so I don't have much to say about it yet. It includes three stories and is the first of the 3rd grade independent reading books he's chosen. I tend to gravitate towards mysteries for him because comprehension is a stumbling block for Spawn due to his ADHD. So, every few months, we hit the book store or thrift store and stock up on mysteries to keep him challenged and engaged in his reading. Mysteries force him to give more time and thought to the details and force him to follow the thread of the story, rather than trying to figure out just the theme or moral to a story. (After all, what fun is reading a mystery if you aren't trying to figure it out before the hero does?) Kids with ADHD are great at seeing the big picture, but the details can get lost. Mysteries helps him practice focusing on those details instead and put them front and center.

This is a fairly advanced reading level. The publisher's website says it's intended for Grades 3 - 8,  but it's pretty advanced reading for a 3rd grader. Spawn is an excellent reader, so I don't have any worries there. He's tackling this one in blocks - 20 minutes at a time, so you'll be hearing about this one for a few weeks. =D It has just three chapters because each chapter is a different story/mystery. Here's a peek at the beginning of the first chapter, "The Red-Headed League": The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom

This one is just for my fellow Parrotheads...

With thanks to my friend, Debbie, for reminding me. =D

Happy Jimmy Buffett Day!!!

 

How are you celebrating today? 

We've watched the Concert for the Gulf Coast (we TiVo'd it when it first aired) and we made these: Margarita Popsicles with Salt 

Incidentally, it's also National Eggs Benedict Day and I forgot to go out for some this morning. :( Next year. ;)

Fins up!

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom

25¢ Word of the Week - Paraprosdokian

Paraprosdokian. It's a great word, isn't it? It's derived from Greek, meaning "a figure of speech that ends despite expectation".

The examples from Wiki are fantastic! And they show that Winston Churchill was a speaker who was fond of the use of paraprosdokian turns of phrase:

• "He was at his best when the going was good." - Alistair Cooke on the Duke of Windsor.
• "There but for the grace of God— goes God." - Winston Churchill

• "If I am reading this graph correctly—I'd be very surprised." - Stephen Colbert

• "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing—after they have tried everything else." - Winston Churchill

• "If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised." - Dorothy Parker

• "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

• "A modest man, who has much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill

• "She looks as though she's been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say 'when'." - P.G. Wodehouse

• "I like going to the park and watching the children run around because they don't know I'm using blanks." - Emo Phillips

• "If I could say a few words, I'd be a better public speaker." - Homer Simpson

• "I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long." - Mitch Hedburg

• "I sleep eight hours a day and at least ten at night." - Bill Hicks

Have you learned any new, fun, 25¢ words this week?

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom

Stocked up on the basics...

I may be out of shampoo, toothpaste, and deodorant all at the same time, but, BY GOD, there are three 1 lb. packages of bacon in my freezer because there are some staples you just don't want to risk running out of. :P A girl's gotta keep her priorities straight!

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom

Avoiding the Booby Traps: Preparing to Succeed at Breastfeeding

A friend asked me to be her doula (a labor and birth support person) and I've been doing a little research on the pitfalls of exclusive breastfeeding and how to overcome them. I found an amazing site and ALL these links are from the same site! I thought they were worth sharing:

Booby Traps 101

Prepare: How to Overcome the Booby Traps 

Ultimate Breastfeeding Preparation Checklist

Prepare: The Learning Curve of Breastfeeding

GAME ON 

Booby Traps Series: Does your OB follow Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine protocols?

Fast Facts: How to Deal with Common Breastfeeding Issues

If you only have time to read one list about how to prepare to breastfeed, read this one.

The one piece of advice that can't be overlooked is going to a mother-to-mother support group to actually see other mothers nursing and learn by example. EVERY mother should attend at least one or two mom support group meetings related to breastfeeding before giving birth. Learning by example is how mothers learned to nurse for millions of years. Millions of years of evolutionary success can't be wrong!

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom

P.S. A poem I found that my nursing friends may enjoy:

"Suess" for Nursing Mothers 

from The Compleat Mother Magazine

Mother's milk is just the thing!
Would you nurse her at the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a Boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?
I would nurse him in the park,
I would nurse her in the dark.
I'd nurse with or without a Boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.

Can you nurse
with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her 'till she's full!

Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy strong and smart,
Mommy's milk is the best start!

Would you nurse him at the game?
Would  you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare to complain?
I would nurse him at the game.
I would nurse her in the rain.

As for those who protest lactation,
I have a perfect explanation.
Mommy milk is tailor made
It's perfect food, you need no aid.

Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast's the perfect food!

I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would not be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!

We make the right amount we need,
The perfect temp for every feed.
There's no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest. 

Those nursing smiles are oh so sweet,
Mommy milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can't be beat. 

I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry,
I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.
It's not about what's good for you,
It's best for babies, through and through.

I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads, leave me be ma'am.
I will nurse her, Mom I am.

It's SNOT the most wonderful time of the year...

If it weren't so aggravating, it would be funny. Allergy season hit the CSMD Ranch today. Every single one of us has been sneezing every 3 - 5 minutes all day. It's almost funny...except that it' snot. :P

I know how much you guys enjoy a snot joke for allergy season. ;)

Chrissi, (the sniffly) Cyber School Mom