Try out Hundred Day Headstart

This is my husband's newest venture - great news and information on weight loss and how he has been very successful in doing it! Who can't use that. Check out Hundred Day Headstart today!

Readers are Leaders!

Readers are Leaders! Our school principal likes to drive us all crazy with that little phrase, but she is right. We do have to work hard to keep the little buggers from having minds of mush over the summer of TV! I'm doing my part today to take them to our library's summer program kickoff! They do a little show and have an incentive program to get the kids to read each week. So off we'll go...what will you do?

Help Conserve Our Natural Resources - Be Green!

I just happened to run across this website, courtesy of blogger and thought it was a really cool idea. Basically, you help raise people's awareness of their use of paper products by stickering paper towel dispensers, copiers, etc. with their little stickers that say "these come from trees". I like it! I know my daughter will like it...even at 8 years old, she is very enviro-conscious which is inspiring! So check it out These Come from Trees!

It can all sound so bleak!

I just got finished reading two books on parenting gifted kids. I really liked the one authored by James Delisle, titled Parenting Gifted Kids. While both offered excellent ideas and overall strategies for dealing with the different issues of parenting and educating gifted children, they left me with an overwhelming sense of dread for the years of education to come. Over and over, they talk of fighting the system to get their kids an appropriate education for their highly-abled children. The current education system is clearly focused on the "average or below average" kid. Just look at standardized testing, especially with the FCAT here in Florida. There was even an article this week in Time Magazine that stated most curriculums have let other subjects slide or even dissappear so that they can teach to the test, i.e. math and reading to the exclusion of all other things. Don't get me wrong, math and reading are good, but once again, we are teaching to achieve "average" not greatness in those two subjects. What happened to preparing a person to be a well-rounded and well educated contributor to the world?

What is happening to the smarter children who can achieve more? Not very much I can tell you. Our child tested last year at an over 150 IQ. Everything I read says she will have a hard time getting much out of the current educational system. We have already run into the basic argument that they can meet her needs by just delving deeper into the existing curriculum, instead of accelerating her education to allow her to learn beyond what she has already mastered. We will taking a long journey here to try though. She is 8 now. So watch here and feel free to contribute your stories and saga regarding gifted kids. I'd like to hear them.

Review: The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide

My 8 year old daughter's review of The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide by Judy Galbraith



1) What did you like about the book the best? 4 great ways to turn on your brain. What did you find helpful? How to be the best you can be.



2) Would you recommend it? Yes. Why? It is helpful with tips you can use to handle problems in school.



Mom's comments: I bought this because she had been somewhat depressed lately with all she had to deal with as being marked "special" as a gifted kid in elementary school. She read it and told me that it was very helpful and that she found a lot to relate to in the comments from kids in the book. I would also recommend it as a parent of a gifted child

Keep Finding Missing Madeleine in the News

Help find Missing Madeleine! This is an update to a story I do hope everyone is following. It continues to be so heartbreaking that this small child is without her family after being kidnapped in Europe. Please pass her photo along, blog a few lines about it and try to keep her from becoming just one of the many missing kids who aren't ever found. One such case is still here in Florida, Tiffany Sessions. Her mother is still advocating for her and hoping for news so many years later.

I hope you and your family do have a cheerier Memorial Day and keep your own kids safe! Don't forget the missing ones!

Arghhhh! Abandon hope, all ye who enter...

Ok, it's my turn!

Here's something I picked up off of one of my RSS feeds:



Too Cool! I can't wait to check this puppy out!

If you want more info, here's the Pirate Parenting website.

Fun Blogs

Dark UFO I read this daily. Sometimes 100 times per day. Yes I am addicted to LOST. My daughter actually wrote in her cute Mother's Day card to me written at school "if my Mom were a TV show, she'd be LOST, cause it is her favorite show. She also said I'd be a Ford Explorer, but that is another story.

Workplace Like HOME I do work from home work part time and this is where we discuss how we are sometimes treated like dogs for not being full-time employees, yet we do earn some funds.

Hurricane City I am also a weather addict. When hurricane season starts I am here almost every day and then almost every hour when storms are approaching Florida. The message board is very good - you will get more information here earlier and faster than the national weather service.

Which brings me to:

Butterfly's Garden My oldest daughter's blog - kid stuff.

Florida Sun Dog My husband's fun Florida blog

Thats all for now! Enjoy

Last Day of School!

Today is the last day of school for oldest daughter, younger one's was last Monday! Why am I cheering - I really don't know! We have some "planned" activities but mostly a whole lot of free time. But maybe that is good.

I remember one summer of relaxation when I was young being spoiled by my mom saying "get off your behind - what are you gonna do all summer? Vegetate?" My second cousin, visiting at the time, found this quite amusing. Yes, I would be very, very happy to vegetate. Thank you very much.

Make someone's day...look up "vegetate" in the dictionary. I guess the Vegetate restaurant (funny to see this online) encourages vegetation by its patrons. I encourage you to vegetate by going to see this cool farm and buying the best corn on the planet!

By the way the kids in this generic photo definitely look ready to vegetate. Who knew it could turn into a festival?

Harry Potter to the Rescue of Missing Madeleine

It is wonderful that author J. K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, is donating what may be millions in reward money to help find little Madeleine McCann. Help us get her photo and this message out around the world.

Help Find Missing Madeleine in Europe

This just breaks my heart as a parent and as a human being. Please help find the missing girl Madeleine who was kidnapped by a probable pedophile ring from her parents' vacation villa in Portugal over a week ago.

Also please have that long overdue discussion with your children about stranger danger and how to handle an abduction or abduction attempt.

We used to live less than 20 miles from the poor Jessica Lunsford, who was tragically killed by a pedophile. We all hate to think about these things, especially on Mother's Day weekend, but we have to do it. Our children depend on us keeping them safe and teaching them how to be safe. Do it today!

The parents of the boy who saved this little girl from a pedophile recently at Disney World in Florida must have taught him the right thing to do.

One way to help internationally is to support the Ricky Martin Foundation. His organization helps to prevent and help victims of sexual trafficking worldwide. Consider a donation on behalf of the children and women forced to endur such horrors. Make a difference today.

Happy Baby and Happy Mother's Day!

This is the cutest thing 0 00000h, it was so long ago that ours were this little. Enjoy the happy baby video!

Summer Babies Poor Test Scores???

A recent article says that depending on when your baby is conceived affects how smart they are. Something about summer time creating more exposure to pesticides/chemicals in the mom-to-be's food/water. All I can tell you is that my oldest child was conceived in June and she is off the charts gifted with a tested IQ above 150. Does this mean she would be higher if conceived in lets say January? I don't know - but I think they tested people in Indiana ;)

Sick Sick Sick Kid

Our youngest daughter has been sick for a week now with some mysterious viral illness. Wouldn't it have been nice if the preschool had told us that it was going around? When I reported that she was deathly sick with a 104 fever last week, they nonchalantly said "oh there are three out now". Her preschool graduation is tonight - how much fun will that be with a kid standing (or possibly laying) there with snot running down her face in a lovely white cap and gown? ;) What joy! In our family sickness seems to be the norm rather than the exception. Everyone says they will outgrow it, but our second grader still gets sick almost as often as she did when she was small. It is frustrating because we've been to the doctor twice now and they don't give us anything. I am looking at my kid now and she has the darkest circles under her eyes and ashen complexion that I have ever seen. However, as of this a.m. her temp seems finally to have dropped in the normal range for the first time this week. And they say Bird Flu is bad - heck, we can't even manage a regular kid illness! Until next time - hope you and yours stay healthy. P. S. My kids think this photo is funny, so I had to put it on, it is NOT representative of my child's looks ;)