Another Halloween Intermission! Review: Lulu and the Witch Baby

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I was pleased to meet Lulu and her extremely squishable little sister last year. As you can guess from the title, little sister is front and center in this one, but Lulu is NOT finding her nearly as adorable as I am. Of course, I do not have Witch Baby spitting food at me and tearing up my best drawings. Then again, I also do not have a book of spells for making things disappear...

Anyone with a little sibling will appreciate Lulu's frustrations, and Sinclair's illustrations are, again, just too darn cute! You may be seeing this soon at a story time near you.

Halloween Intermission: Monster Buddies Series by Shannon Knudson

A slight intermission from our Christmas gift-giving series to highlight some books perfect for Halloween - or any other time!

      

As the name implies, these are not meant to be terribly scary books. I would give them to children who are curious about scary creatures, but who still need the reassurance that they are not real. Text and pictures are just on the edge of gory - Roscoe the zombie talks about eating brains, but all we see on the table are glasses of bubbly red liquid, which we can presume is blood (looks more like Fanta), and closed take-out containers of "Brain Nuggets". Each has a little bit of historical information (Egyptian mummies, Chinese dragons), but focuses on the movie versions. At the end you'll find a simple art project (mostly drawing), a glossary, index, and further resources.

Other titles in the series cover ghosts, vampires, witches, werewolves, and aliens. We will be getting them all soon!

P.S. The mummy and I share the same first name. She even spells it right!

72 Shopping Days Left! Review: Party Time Series

Okay, look, we can't all be the queen of Pinterest. Most of us aren't ridiculously rich, either. Our kids' birthday parties can't all involve pony rides and bouncy houses and rock bands. Fortunately, my kids and their friends all being mountain kids means I can put out a cake, fill a trash can outside with water, and say, "Have a ball. Don't bite the mountain lion."

As kids get older, though, they start to want something a bit different. Fortunately, at that stage they can start doing some of the planning themselves! This series from Lerner, aimed at teens/preteens, gives some great ideas to start the brainstorming and get the creative juices flowing.

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In "Plan a Birthday Party", Stephanie Watson gives suggestions for locations (from mundane to unusual), cake alternatives (sundae bar!), and entertainment (henna!). A simple checklist helps really put the responsibility on the party planner. A few etiquette tips are mentioned gently, but can't go amiss. 

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I was hoping this one would have ideas for all seasons, but it focuses on summer time. Again, there are suggestions for food (to BBQ or not to BBQ?), creating a guest list without drama, and the helpful checklist. Pest control (including pets and siblings) is addressed, as well as house rules, and not overscheduling - things that might not be first on a teen's mind, but which can help things run SO much more smoothly!

Other titles in the series include Holiday and Sleepover parties, and we will be purchasing those as well. My only concern is that I may have to hand sell them at first, simply because it's not a section teens think to look at. A good collection for a special display!

Gift accompaniment? A party, of course! If you have a birthday coming up, you are all set (Shane's and Sheridan's are both around Christmas, but so far they are in the earlier, easy to please category!). Or, plan a party together for Christmas break - something to beat the post-holiday, miss-my-friends doldrums. And make sure to invite me!

500? Seriously??

Would you believe this is my 500th post? Who would have thought I would have that much to say?

Don't answer that.

What can I do to celebrate? 

I don't have $500 to give away. I don't have $5.00.

List my 500 favorite books? Maybe not.

Let's do an internet search for "500"and see if we get any ideas...

According to Wikipedia, 500 is  "the natural number following 499 and preceding 501" Gee, thanks for that news flash. Very helpful.

Wikipedia also lists the year 500 as a leap year. Did they have leap years back then? Must check Wikipedia to find out...

500 years ago, around this date, Mary Tudor wed King Louis XII of France. Not sure what to do with that information. I'm already married.

Try to get on the Fortune 500 list? I'll keep working on that.

Wax poetical about the Indy 500? Um...

Pledge to run 500 miles this year? 500 yards? 500 feet? Never mind.

500 appears to be the name of a card game...which looks way too complicated for my brain to grasp right now. "Go Fish" is too complicated for my brain these days.

Ooh, this is a Harley 500:

I wonder if that comes with car seats?

Go golfing at the 500 Club? Or stick a fork in my eye 500 times? Decisions, decisions...

Ooh, here's another 500 Club that looks to be a little more lively. Quite a drive for a drink, though (even if it does promise 'ne'er-do-wells')

Post 500 pictures of cute kittens? (This is the internet, after all.)

Apparently, 500 degrees is "the optimal temperature of a burger-ready cooking surface". Who knew? Perhaps I should make burgers tonight?

This internet searching isn't helping me much...think I could sneak time to read for 500 minutes straight? Nap for 500 minutes straight? What could I eat 500 of (not burgers)? 

Type 500 words amounting to basically nothing, but qualifying somehow as a blog post anyway? Hey, I can do that!*

*Did you seriously just count the words? Seriously?? You are even worse than I am at wasting time, aren't you? And you came up with too few words and you are about to call me out on it. Well, guess what, buddy: at the end of this next sentence it will be 500 words, and you will have to say that you are really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really sorry for doubting me. So there.

Fire Prevention Week - or, why I didn't get the dishes done this morning

Oh, no! The fire department was just paged out for a fire at the Elementary School!

Fortunately, my new portable comes equipped with a time travel device, so I was able to arrive at the school before the alarm actually went off.

This gave Logan time to don appropriate protective clothing.

Mrs. Shaw even had time to start the timer on her cell phone before pulling the alarm.

And in exactly 54 seconds, everyone was out of the building and had their cameras ready.

The fire trucks arrived lickety split, and the firefighters started suiting up.

Oh, no! Word just came that one of the fifth graders (okay, the only fifth grader) was left behind! Good thing the ambulance came, too!

Some of the firefighters make entry, while others ready the stretcher just in case.

I think I see someone coming!

They found him! Whew!

Into the ambulance to get checked out...

Um...there appears to be a small house in the ambulance...

That's okay, he seems to have recovered nicely!

Mrs. B is quite relieved. He is her favorite fifth grader, after all. Okay, only. But, still.

Note junior firefighter supervising:

On to the cafeteria for Tommy's fire safety talk...

The entire student body. Plus some home schoolers. And my baby. I love our school!

...which Christopher appears to be sleeping through.

 Someone seems to have stolen my baby.

But, he has stolen her glasses, so there.

Christopher woke up for the good stuff.

like Mark showing how firefighters search for people:

Many toes were grabbed, but none were squished in the making of this blog post.

Boo!

 See, fire fighters aren't scary!

Strange, but not scary!

Some of them are pretty hot, too:

We're pretty partial to this one.

Some of that hotness comes from all the gear.

Enough of this! 

That feels much better!

Good listeners:

Explaining what to do in a fire.

A REALLY junior fire fighter:

Time for everybody to try it out! And there just happens to be another building on fire outside.

Hose ready?

We're ready!

Fire away!

 

Hey, Mom's distracted taking pictures, let's see how high we can get up this wall...

I know this handsome boy - 

This young lady makes it look so effortless:

This one has more of a take-no-prisoners approach!

And, who was behind that house, putting the flames back up each time?

Thanks, Alex! High fives all around!

Aaaaaaand, back to math class. Actually, they went straight into recess - we pick the smart teachers for our school. Thanks to the firefighters for a great morning, and thanks to the school for letting us come play again!