Simply... LIFE Saturday: One year ago...

A year ago, Nashville experienced a rainstorm like no other.

Within 48 hours, over 13 inches of rain had fallen, and the Cumberland River rose to record heights. Places that were no where near the river were suddenly major waterways -- submerging everything in its path.

The river swelled so much that the dam was going to overflow unless the floodgates were fully opened -- in the middle of the night. As a result the homes downstream had no idea that they were about to be under water, and many neighbors had to go door-to-door to warn their neighbors of the horrible news.

photo credit: The City Paper

We sat in our home, praying our house didn't flood, as so many neighborhoods seem to have been disappearing under water. Everything was closed... the only thing to do was to watch what was unfolding on TV and pray.

We watched a school's portable building float DOWN the interstate, hit a semi truck, and disintegrate into unrecognizable pieces. (photo to the right -- you see the vehicles on the interstate, with the portable classroom roof adjacent to the upper semi)

photo credit: WKRN news

We saw others helped strangers flee from the rapid waters. We saw people helping animals to safety. We watched and watched and watched, as the water kept rising...

My husband was one of the brave ones. You see, he's a police officer. He stayed on watch for 12 hour shifts for over a week, making sure there was no looting, no injuries, no danger to the safety of the public.

This week, the police department and City celebrated the those hardworking officer, and honored them with a badge. (His badge number has been removed to protect his identity.)

Thank you, my wonderful husband, for risking your safety for that of our community!

What we get to look forward to each Tuesday and Friday night...

Yep, it's much more entertaining to dig in the dirt than watch for the ball! Gotta love 4 year old tee-ball!

The Curiosity Files: Blue-Footed Booby review

I was recently given the opportunity to review the The Curiosity Files: Blue-Footed Booby from The Old Schoolhouse.

The 98-page ebook "Blue-Footed Booby" is an all-inclusive unit study designed for ages 8-13, and is includes a comprehensive study of the Galapagos Island booby (bird), interrelating Bible, science, writing, math, geography, arts/crafts, and critical thinking into one unit. Other additions to this unit include scripture memorywork/copywork, spelling, literature connections, introductory Spanish, and Internet links for further study.

Honestly, when I was initially asked to review this product, my first thought was, "How in THE world am I going to get a 4 year old to effectively use this product, so that I can review it?" Well, was I surprised how easily this unit study was adaptable to younger children... without ANY trouble at all! Within the unit study, the writers included their own modifications that allowed for multiple learning styles, including activities for my over-active Pre-Ker!

For instance, the unit study included information about the wingspan and diving habits of the booby. The study recommended measuring off 84 feet -- how far a booby will often dive in order to catch a fish.

So, we took that idea, and measured off 84 feet diagonally across our back yard.

Here's Aikman 84 feet away....

... and here he is, with his blue booby shoes and wings a-flying, diving down 84 feet to catch a fish.

While we had the yardstick out, we also measured the wingspan of a booby, and then compared our own "wingspans" with that of the bird.

There were SO many other wonderful parts of this unit study that we used to study the booby -- a coloring page, "parts of a blue-footed booby" labeling worksheet, and create your own unique booby "dance," to name a few.

Aikman's reaction: he LOVED this unit, as it gave him permission to say "booby" which is a "bad word" at our house. Needless to say, I cannot tell you how many times I've heard, "blue-footed booby booby booby bird" come from his mouth! Seems like someone was taking FULL advantage of the opportunity!

Personally, I am actually contemplating buying other Curiosity Files unit studies, since this one was so successful, and it also allows plenty of room for him to study this bird in more detail in the future. Likewise, I truly appreciated that everything was already organized, researched, and prepared for me... all I had to do was read it to Aikman and get involved with learning more about this interesting bird.

You can purchase the Blue-Footed Booby unit study for $6.95, or as a part of a 9-pack e-book bundle for $46 or on CD for $49.

Currently, the other Curiosity Files unit studies include: cicada-killing wasps, the blue diamond, the dung beetle, MRSA, the platypus, the puffer fish, quicksand, snow rollers, red tide, and zombie fire ants. As an e-book, these unit studies typically sell for $6.95 each, but right now, you can purchase several of these for $1 each! WHAT A BARGAIN!

So, head on over to The Old Schoolhouse Store (a part of the Old Schoolhouse) and check out this wonderful series.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free from The Old Schoolhouse, in order to review it. I am offering my honest opinion of this product as a part of the review.

Does your kiddo confuse b and d?

Aikman sometimes confuses b and d, and Little Learning Lovies posted this wonderful game to practice letter recognition.

Little Learning Lovies included a 4-sided paper die, but I decided to make my own.... I didn't want to give away what the letter was by the die (she has both the uppercase and the lowercase letter on the sides of the die), so I grabbed a blank die and stuck uppercase scrapbooking letters on the die.

Since the game concentrates on the 4 letters -- b, d, p, and q -- I stuck one letter on each side, and then decided to add an additional B and D to the remaining 2 blank sides. (ie 2B's, 2D's, 1P, 1Q)

Aikman LOVED the game, and we had to play it multiple times that day. As you can see, the bakugon toys had to be the board markers.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Thanks Little Learning Lovies for sharing it!

Simply... LIFE Saturday: Disney World

A few weeks ago, I posted about a pancake recipe that our family LOVED. It became one of my most commented posts. So, I'm starting a new Saturday series that is called "Simply... Life." Twice a month, I will share with you something that is going on in our life... from recipes, to organization, to ... well, whatever is going on in our life.

So, this week's "Simply... LIFE" question: What are you favorite places to eat at Disney???

2007 trip -- age 15 months

We're taking a vacation to Disney World in October, and will be getting the Dining Your Way (basic) dining plan. Part of this package consists of 1 snack, 1 quick service (counter service) meal, and 1 table service (nicer, sit-down) meal per person, per day.

We will be spending about a week there, and I have a good idea of several table services that we want to get reservations for. However, we do have several openings that we need to fill.

Here's the ones that we're planning on going to:

- Ohana's (TWICE... it is my husband's favorite restaurant)

- Chef Mickey's

- Donald's Safari Breakfast at the Tusker House

2009 trip-- age 3

Here's places we've been in the past that we probably will not be returning to...

- Biergarten (Epcot)

- Coral Reef (Epcot)

- Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) -- I loved the food, but no one else in my family did.

- Teppan Edo (Epcot)

- Le Cellier (Epcot) -- evening meal now requires 2 TS per person :-(

- Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) -- Everyone else loves this Character Dinner, but we were not impressed on our last visit.

Others that we've liked, and are "maybes" in terms of returning...

- Play and Dine at Hollywood and Vine (Hollywood Studios)

- Whispering Canyon Cafe (Wilderness Lodge)

- Mama Melrose's (Hollywood Studios)

- Wolfgang Pucks (Downtown Disney)

So, I wanna know... what are your favorite dining places at Disney? This can be quick service OR table service meals.

Looking forward to hearing what you like and why...

Trekking across the States -- One day only Link

So, we haven't gotten to Kentucky yet, but we will be there in 4 short weeks. However, I just saw this posted for TODAY only!

On Homeschool Freebie of the Day, the download of the day features several mp3's of the music of Stephen Foster. Stephen Foster is considered the "Father of American music," as he penned a multitude of traditional American songs, including...

OH! Susanna
Camptown Races
Sewanee River
My Old Kentucky Home
Beautiful Dreamer

One of the MP3 files that is available TODAY ONLY is the story behind "My Old Kentucky Home," Kentucky's state song.

Don't forget to download it today!

Technical difficulties at the moment...

Hello everyone. We are still here, and working away!

However, I am having a bit of technical difficulties at the moment, which is why I haven't posted in a while. My laptop had a chip to go bad on the motherboard, and as a result, my battery will not charge. Likewise, I've been using the power cord (without a battery) for SO long now that it has caused the connection to my computer to become loose and often falls out with the least bit of movement. Needless to say, it has become extremely difficult to get enough information typed up and SAVED before the cord falls out.

My sweet hubby has ordered me a new charger for my laptop battery, but it has not yet come it. Here's to hoping that I can get back to posting within the next week!