ALD 2011.2

The Anna Language Dictionary has recently released its' 2nd edition for 2011, with 2 new additions to the pages of vernacular.  (This is also a shameless excuse to post some ADORABLE pictures I snapped of Anna recently. ;o)

Po-po (noun)

Pronunciation:  poe-poe

A person that is silly.  A slightly off beat character who may make odd sounds and faces in order to make their child laugh.

Usage:  Daddy is a po-po. Berzert (noun)

Pronunciation:  ber-zert

A sound made with the lips against another’s flesh by buzzing the lips at a high rate of speed while releasing expelled air from one’s lungs.  Also known as a zerbert, a raspberry, a buzzing kiss.

Usage:  No MORE BERZERTS, Daddy!

want a word game?

1.  Have your kids grab some of their favorite color paint strips at the local home improvement store.

2. I used the light colored strips, cut them down to one each, and then used a square punch to punch holes in the left side of each strip.

3.  Using a sharpie, write common word families on the light colored strips with the square holes.

4.  On the narrow strips, write the alphabetic consonants, common blends (letters that are regularly used together) and digraphs (letters that are placed together to make a brand new sound – wh/sh/ch….)  Note:  I used similar colors for similar categories.

5.  Pick a word family to read and and slide the strip under the square to see if it is a “real” word or a “silly” word.

This is a fun game that I used while teaching and recently made for Hudson – it helps not only with word building, but recognition of “chunks” in words and a lot of other skills that are technical – if you really want to know, I’ll email you, but I didn’t want to bore the rest of the world.

I also found that at this site there are more detailed instructions and a list of phonograms (letter or combination of letters that represent a sound) that I used.

And this word is made of  2 phonograms:

       ARGH!

melting….

These shots make my heart melt…I wanted to share them with you!  This past Thursday and Friday, the weather was incredible. The warmth of the sun and the temperatures melted the 3 foot snow piles in our yard and we had so much fun we couldn’t contain ourselves – we squeezed as much fun in as possible.  I say that my heart and the snow melted, but alas, as I type this, there is more snow falling – up to 8 inches.  At least my heart is warm.

see the snow melting in the background as we eat popsicles outside?

WAHOOOO!!!

Yea, I just checked the weather and this is what came up.  I am seriously stoked.  Bring on Spring…(I know it’s too early for real, we are due for another storm before April, but don’t burst my bubble).  It beats the bitter cold wind today that made me feel like my ears were freezing off when I took my yittle kindergartener to the bus stop this morning!

Thursday

58°F | 42°F

Friday

69°F | 37°F

I may well break out the bikini and run around in snow boots in the leftover snow banks!   Just kidding – maybe shorts and a tank top.

the good….well, and the not so good

I’m choosing to focus on the positives here…so here are the GOODS!

I got to clean out my deep freeze – and really, who can do that in the winter, or feels up to it because you can’t just step out on the driveway to warm up your fingers?  Doesn’t it look great?

It’s cold enough and we have enough snow that I could pack up the food and put it in the snow for a few hours.

My husband is a good sport and grills in the snow…with his boots on

God has blessed us with a convection oven – and I can cook more than one thing at a time.

The “not so good”….well – Chris went to grab the burgers we were planning on having for dinner and found that the freezer in the garage was off.  The outlet had tripped and we didn’t know it.  Good?  It was winter!  Bad, it had been off for a few days, so we still lost stuff…but not all that we would have if it was 90 in the garage.

Good?  I got to meal plan for a week from the freezer because I had to cook a TON of stuff.  Some of it was lost for good.  So, I am ISO of an alarm that beeps audibly when the outlet stops working.  They have to have that somewhere!  If not, I’ll be a millionaire because I am going to invent one.

If you want a blueberry muffin, stop by – I had to make four batches with defrosted blueberries – I could refreeze some of them – some were still frosty.  I’d be glad to share!!!!

contemplating

So…I need some help y’all. 

I am contemplating joining that awful social network that every person on the planet belongs to (or so it seems).  I like my privacy.  I don’t feel the need to share every thought that enters my brain, nor do I need to report when I wake up, sleep, take a visit to the loo.  In fact, to this point, I’ve enjoyed my “resistance” with joy.

BUT, I am missing some friends in AZ.  And I am missing friends in other parts of the world that I don’t get to see on a daily basis.  AND, that means, that when they post pictures to their profiles (or whatever they are called), the usually don’t have time to post them in an email to me to see them.  So I want to do it for this reason alone.

So this is where I need your help….IF I CONTEMPLATE AND DECIDE TO… what should my alias be?  Cuz I ain’t joinin’ under my real name.  Give me your ideas ….as whackadoodle as you can think of, or as serious as you think.

Banana’s first movie

So honestly, I was a little hesitant to take Anna to see her first movie.  Not that I didn’t think she would do a great job (she giggled through the whole thing and kept hitting my arm to repeat the line she just heard that made her laugh), but I wanted it to be special…like Hudson’s.  He waited 5 years.  5 years to get to see Toy Story 3.

She’s a second child.  Enough said, I guess.  Armed with a box of Mike & Ike’s to share, she was grinning ear to ear.  She was shaking she could hardly contain her excitement.

We were tired of being stuck inside and looking for something to do a couple of weekends ago and thought we’d frequent the local discount theater.  We paid 15.00 for 4 movie tickets, kid’s popcorn, a kid’s drink and an adult drink (with free refills on all drinks)….so it was a cheap family night.

 

We saw Despicable Me and she had a great time – in fact, we all did.  I am somehow in my head trying to rectify the fact that when I take her to a “real” movie theater (that isn’t crusty and have 2nd run movies AND costs a ridiculous amount for a ticket) that it will be for a princess movie or something that she really wants to see.  Girly.  Just like her ;o)

winter just improved

my life in winter,

in the cold frore,

just got better. Can I get a witness!?!?!?!

My favorite – all – time – best – in – the- world smoothie place has now started to send small packets of frozen love to the freezer section of my local Wally-world.  And the fact that they knew that Razzmatazz was in my top five on the menu at my ultimate smoothie joint?  How thoughtful they were!  And just in time for a killer sore throat?   They know I’ve poured money into them all over Phoenix, California, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and NYC.

So, hint to all of you who love me:  want to make my day?  Send a case of these my way – any flavor – they’re all good.

Thanks, Momma!  You ROCK!

(PS.  If you don’t think frore is a word, look it up :)

wordless wednesday

  Mozart in training…in a snow tunnel….

feeling sassy and very “Belle” of the ball paging Dr. Hudson…

facebook….

cause this is pretty much how I feel about facebook most of the time…hence the reason I just look at my husband’s every once in a while to spy in on new pics of oddly associated people.

if you can’t see it, click on the picture.  or go to the actual website, because this guy is hilarious.  seriously.  CLICK HERE.