Chirstmas Gifts- Homeschool style

My kidlets are leafing through the Christmas catalogs we've received and I noticed today that there was only one toy my daughter marked in the big ol' Target toy catalog. 

I started thinking about how the best toys my kids have received aren't the typical toys found in catalogs.  So for your browsing pleasure, here are some of their favs:

GooseyGirl- she is artsy, loves to read and adores bathroom humor.  She is also into cats, horses and American Idol.  What are some of her top gift items from the last year?

Stinky Thinking- This book is nothing but bathroom jokes.  The twist is that the bathroom jokes are all disguised as math problems.  She willingly sits down and will do math p

roblems for 30 minutes just because they all center around fart jokes. 

 

The Fabulous Book of Paper Dolls by Klutz- 

She got this when she was six and played with it exclusively over her other toys for days.  There are gobs of outfits to punch out and backgrounds to place them all.  Plus the back of the book has storage bins for all the pieces.  She loved this book and used it thoroughly.  

Last year she got the

 next paper doll book by Klutz entitled Paper Fashions Kit.

  It is full of funky papers and sturdy cardstock patterns for all the stylish elements a sensible paper fashion doll needs.  This book was different from the one above since she could make all the decisions about pattern and style herself.  She still plays with this book and has made a binder with all her fashion creations.  I love the little metal hangers that come with the book- too cute!

Her next favorite gift is an Ipod.  Yep, I discovered that I can limit the types of music she is exposed to by keeping her download music list on my computer.  I would get uncomfortable with allowing her to listen to the radio.  There are some really trashy radio programs out there.  Plus, some of the songs that are broadcast- don't get me started.  

I bought a refurbished Ipod Nano from the Apple store for about $100 and she listens to it at least once a day.  It is so much fun listening to her sing along!  

Her favorite artists are from American Idol which is a must see show in this household!  I also upload Jim Weiss stories, Rabbit Ears Stories and First Language Lessons stories to her Ipod so she can listen to things we've talked about during school time.

I've heard the new Ipods even have a limiter on the volume level of the earbuds.  That would be a nice feature.  

Another great book she would pick up again and again is Look Alikes.  The entire book has photographs that are incredibly realistic.  It is only after you look deeply at them that you notice everything is made of common household items.  The sidewalk in the street scene?  Fig Newtons.  The arches in the train station?  Rackets from a badminton game.  

Click on the links and you can open up a sample page.  This series of books is perfect for your visual learner.  Check out the Christmas version too!  Smaller kiddos would like Look Alike Jr.

Other great toys include Groovy Girls and a box of office supplies- she loved all those post it notes!

Her favorite games so far include Apples to Apples, Rush Hour Jr. and Rat-a-Tat-Cat.

Happy Shopping!  I'll post BirdMan and RocketMan's list in the next day or two!  (If you subscribe to my feed via email or a news reader, you'll be notified ASAP- check out the boxes on the right!)

It's official. I'm newly single.

Well, after 13 months of enduring a contentious divorce, I got the final papers in the mail today.  

I'm newly single as of Nov. 13.

I feel like I should have some sort of ceremony or party or something to mark this transition but I can't seem to figure out what ceremony should be.  A friend of mine recommended that it should involve a large margarita with a cosmo on the side.  But that doesn't quite seem right.

I don't know.  Any thoughts?

A nest of pain and a nest for a conure

I haven't been posting much lately and I apologize.

My kidlets and I are surviving the pangs of divorce and the transition to public school from homeschooling.

Many days the thoughts and ideas I have aren't necessarily for public consumption.  Let's just say that I have discovered surviving a divorce is worse than surviving a death.  

 There doesn't seem to be an end to the emotional destruction caused by my ex-husbands choices for both myself and my children.

I do have one smile for you today, though.  BirdMan was walking around with Apollo, his pet conure.  The bird likes to sleep inside a hanging tent that kind of squishes him as he nestles up in the corners.  I suppose he feels safe with the pressure holding him in as he relaxes into sleep.

BirdMan had on his hoody and Appollo climbed up in between his ear and the fabric.  I guess Apollo was sleepy and this felt comfortable.  Everytime the flash went off, Apollo would poke his head out to see what the heck was going on!  Too cute!