Are You Ready For St. Patrick's Day? {Review}

Around here, if you aren't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, you'll be seeing the business end of my shillelagh. Yeah, I have one and it comes out once a year, seeking out those who forget to dress properly. Now, my husband is one of those people who will try to get away with that lame, "I have a little speck of green on my underwear!" excuse-users. He gets a bonk on the head every year (will he ever learn?!)

This year, and in the future, he won't have to come up with any excuses to avoid a rap on the noggin. I received a t-shirt from KissMyShamrock.com to review and it turned out to be the perfect shirt for him:

(NOT my husband! LOL)

While we don't do the drinking thing on St. Patrick's Day (well, I do like a little Bailey's in my coffee or a nice Irish coffee with Jameson's and some whipped cream when it's available!), hubby is a stumbler. He stumbles over toys, rugs, even his own feet! So, not only does he have a nice green shirt from KissMyShamrock.com's selection of funny Irish t-shirts, he also has a pretty descriptive one, too!

So, don't get caught without your green on March 17th! Check out KissMyShamrock.com to find the perfect shirt for you. In addition to t-shirts, all of their designs come on your choice of style (hoodie, long-sleeve tee, tanks, and many more!) and you can choose from 16 shirt colors!

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will find interesting.

Looking For a Fun & Educational Book for the Kids? {@CowsCantJump}

I've always been interested in how children learn. With my oldest, I was amazed to find he could suddenly do things that he didn't know how to do the day before. He taught himself to read seemingly overnight just after he turned four. Well, really he didn't - I just wasn't paying close enough attention to notice all of the little signs of reading that he had been showing. With Little Guy, I've been much more keen on every little thing he learns. Witnessing his speech go from babbles and coos to actual words was amazing! And I loved finding out that, although he didn't have the physical ability to say certain words, he knew what they meant when I said them to him. One particular thing I noticed in his speech and vocabulary development was that nouns came first. I "tested" my theory that this is the same for most toddlers while watching and listening to them talking to each other at the library. Their speech was mostly made up of nouns, with a few verbs and adverbs thrown in (usually due to a phrase that they often used, such as "Go bye-bye.")

Now that he's speaking very well, using full sentences and a wide array of words to express himself, I wanted to introduce him to new words. Since I believe heavily in unschooling, I didn't want to sit down and "teach" him these words. I wanted him to learn them in a way that was natural and fun. Boy, did I jump for joy when I received an offer to review two children's books that contain a ton of new words. Cows Can't Jump and Cows Can't Quack, written by Dave Reisman and illustrated by Jason A. Maas, are the perfect fit!


Cows Can't Jump starts with, "Cows can't jump... but they can swim." It goes through many different animals, starting with what the animal can't do, then showing what it can. The book moves from familiar verbs, such as swing, to those that children don't often hear very often, such as wallow. Cows Can't Quack is similar, except it uses animal sounds. I loved showing little guy what each of these new words meant. We wallowed in the blankets on the bed. We grunted loudly. We laughed quite a bit!

After asking me to read the two books about a zillion times withing a couple of hours of receiving them, Little Guy decided to read them to me. Then to his stuffed animals. And, when my oldest came home, he just had to read the books to him! Later that evening, as he was playing with his cars, I listened in on Little Guy's narration (he is always talking!) His BMW was "pouncing" on the Cadillac. The tow truck was talking to the bus with a series of clicks, just like dolphins. I was watching my little one practice his new words!

Another thing I observed him doing was building up his cars' self-esteem. (Yeah, I know it sounds weird!) But, at one point, he was using a piece of cardboard with a block under it as a ramp. One car would speed down, but the other one kept crashing half-way down. After a few times, my empathetic kid picked up the crashing car and said, "You can't race fast, but you can so stunts!" I'll be willing to bet that he made that car feel much better! He's also used this way of dealing with shortcomings on the cat and even me. And, just last night, after he tried to keep up with my oldest while playing a football video game that he kept losing, he was feeling pretty low. My oldest, being the big brother, kept saying things like, "Ha, ha! I win!" to him. (Yeah, I thought that sibling rivalries would be non-existent with 10 1/2 years between the two.) Little Guy was getting frustrated and feeling sad and I was just waiting for him to lose his composure. He came close, then he thought of something. "I can't win, but I can make pizza!" My oldest lost his interest in cooking early, an Little Guy knows he doesn't know how to cook much more than Ramen or a bowl of cereal. He made himself feel better AND stood up for himself in one sentence - and my oldest was dumbfounded! LOL

I highly recommend these two books to anyone with infants through preschoolers - even up to kids in elementary school who are learning to read. The illustrations are hilarious. You can check out some preview pages of Cows Can't Jump and Cows Can't Quack by clicking on the links. The books are are easy to read and interesting - something you often don't find in easy-readers. And, as I started off saying, they're educational without being "teachy", if you know what I mean. I am especially impressed with how, just by reading these books, Little Guy has managed to figure out how to deal with blows to his self-esteem (and his cars', too!)

Cows Can't Jump comes in paperback or board book, and Cows Can't Quack is available in paperback.You can order these books at Jumping Cow Press HERE. Shipping is only $1.99 for ANY quantity order in the U.S.! You can also find these books online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. You can also find Jumping Cow Press on Twitter and Facebook.

I'd like to thank Dave Reisman for sending me a copy of each book to review. My little guy absolutely loves them both and so do I! I can't help but wonder if there is anything else cows can't do...

Disclaimer: I received paperback copies of Cows Can't Jump and Cows Can't Quack, and a board book copy of Cows Can't Jump (all signed! YAY!) from Jumping Cow Press for the purpose of this review. I did not receive any other form of compensation. All opinions are my own.

How Do You Thank a Coach? {Budugalee Giveaway!} (11/21) US

As many of you know, my oldest decided to join the Cross Country team this year. Now, I had absolutely no experience with high school sports (or any organized sports, for that matter.) I really had no idea what was expected from me or from my son. Well, one of the things, it turns out, was to be part of the parent carpool when these was no bus available for transportation. Another was to pick him up from his daily practice at a park nearly 4 miles from out home. And, finally, I was expected to show up at the meets with snacks and to cheer on the team. Um… we have no car. I prepared my son for the begging for rides from kids who live near us to both the track meets on Saturdays and home from practice Monday through Friday. I missed all but two of the meets because I managed to plot a route that included a bus ride and long walk. Oh, and thanks to my son, I had no idea that I was supposed to be sending snacks each week! ("I forgot.")

Let me tell you something – my idea of a coach used to be the ones you see on TV and in movies. You know the ones, they yell at and belittle the kids in order to “motivate” them and toughen them up. They act uncaring and apathetic toward any adversity a kid might face outside of the sport. My views have been changed forever! My son’s coach was a really nice guy. He could tell that my son really wanted to participate in Cross Country, so he worked out transportation. In fact, most of the time, the coach, himself, would drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction of his house in order to drive my son home from practice. Every. Day. Since he had to be at the Saturday meets extra early, he arranged rides for my son to be picked up and brought home. I only met the guy twice, and he was busy coaching at the time, so I never really got to know him. He was a quiet manly-man, from what I could tell… and that’s all I knew about him!

I really wanted to thank him for all of the extra things he’d done that made it possible for my son to be on the team, but what do you give to a guy like this? I thought on this for a couple of day, then I knew: My friend, Bernie, recently opened an Etsy shop and she makes some of the most interesting and unique cards I’ve seen. A “Thank You” card made by Bernie would be just right. She also loves doing custom jobs… She’d know exactly what kind of Personalized Greeting Card to make for this coach!

So, I got in touch with her on Etsy through her shop, Budugalee, and explained all of the nice things this coach has done (there’s more – I just don’t want to bore you all to death!) and asked if she’d be interested in creating a Thank You for him. Oh, she replied right away with quite a few great ideas!

She asked if I had any photos of the team’s jersey, running shoes, anything like that. So, I sent some and she worked out a design for me. In the meantime, I had looked up a few quotes about coaches and cross country and found the quote on the front of the card. Bernie suggested adding “Thanks for going the extra mile” inside the card – now, how perfect is THAT?!

Now, if you check out most of the cards that Bernie makes, they have pretty borders and sparkly paints on them. Mr. Bernie, who acted as the consultant with a male perspective, suggested she skip those thing – the recipient was a manly-man, athletic type, after all. I’m glad he did! The card came out just right. I sent it with my son to the last meet of the season. When my son turned in his uniform a few days later, he saw the card smack dab in the middle of the coach’s bulletin board in his office for everyone to see. Now, this tells me that the guy is quite proud of it – and deservedly so! I think that Bernie came up with the perfect Thank You card for the situation!

Front

Inside

If you are looking for the perfect card for someone special, you really need to check out Budugalee. Bernie’s card run from the weird to insightful, witty to serious. She starts with copies of old photos and then uses props, paint, cardstock… whatever she has, to add the perfect touch and set the mood of the card. Check out these...

GIVEAWAY!

Do you have someone special who you’d like to give one of Bernie’s personalized cards to? She’s offering to create the perfect personalized card for one winner! It will be a process similar to the one I experienced for the coach’s card. You can send you own photos, include any special sayings or messages, etc. Just let her know, and then stand back while the brainstorming begins! 

If the Rafflecopter form is wonky, please click on the title of this post. Do not attempt to enter on my home page because Rafflecopter has a glitch and you may end up entering a different giveaway!

Creepy-Crawlies - EEK! {#Spider Identification...PLEASE!}

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WARNING: 
This post includes spider pictures. If these images are going to haunt you for the rest of the day or give you nightmares, you may want to skip this post!

OK, so I really don't have a big dislike for spiders. They're kind of cool, actually. When one comes inside out house for a visit, I calmly escort him or her to the door. Smaller spiders who choose to take u residence right inside the door, or near  a hole in a screen are welcome to stay. They must follow two rules, though, or they will be evicted: 1) No making baby spiders inside, and 2) Stay in your designated area. My reason for this is simple - I don't want to get bit and I certainly don't want the kids to get bit. Most of the spiders around here are harmless, leaving just an itchy bite similar to a ginormous mosquito bite. I just don't want the trouble, you know?

Since our house is next to a large wooded area, we welcome the spiders that reside on our back porch. Hubby and I like to sit out there at night, but mosquitoes can be terrible around here in the summertime. BUT, we now have a very large and established colony of spiders out there now. They weave webs that essentially act as screens for our porch, catching all of the most annoying insects. I swear, I have had maybe 5 skeeter bites from sitting out there all summer!

Every once in a while, we run across a species of spider that is just plain different. Usually, its the shape of its body or its coloring. Every once in a while, it's the size. And, here is why I'm writing this post:

Oh, but wait! There's a story that goes along with this guy gal! Now, I'm the one who gets called whenever any type of creepy-crawly needs to be identified or removed from our home. So, when I heard, "Oh shit!" long pause, then wavering voice, "Honey, could you come down here?" I kind of knew what was coming. Hubby had been cleaning out under our porch. He stashed the stroller down there and was finally moving it to the basement (I've been nagging him for months to do this!) He was going to wipe some of the dust off of the stroller before storing it and opened it up. In the middle of the seat was this spider. Of course he jumped a mile. In fact, in his shock, he pushed the stroller out into the driveway... and down into the street. He called me because he was afraid to go get it. (Men!) I'm laughing at his "giant" spider as I walk to retrieve the stroller. I mean, come on - it's a spider and it's probably dead!

As I approach the stroller, I jumped. I really wasn't expecting this! Now hubby's laughing at me. So, what do I do? Yep, run up the driveway, pushing this spider toward hubby. I got a couple of inches from him and stopped. Spidey didn't. LMAO! I SO wish we had security cameras - I'd pay good money for a video of what happened next. Somehow, this spider bounced out of the stroller and... right - into hubby's hair. He's got long hair. It wasn't in a ponytail. He FREAKED OUT! This man was dancing around on the patio, shrieking, "GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!" I'm on the ground laughing. I literally peed myself a little! You see, the spider hit him on the top of the head and bounced off. It was laying a good 10 feet away from him while he did his heebie-jeebie dance. Well, maybe you had to be there. It was a great show!

After closer inspection (and some clean panties!), I ruled that the spider was dead. So, hubby, trying to recoup some of his manliness, picks it up and chases my stepson around the yard with it. He plays puppet show with it. He examines it. Now, I had only looked at the thing for a minute or so. When he finally gives it to me for my turn, I realize that the big white thing it's holding onto isn't a craft pom-pom. I don't know why I even thought that in the first place - spiders don't craft in their downtime, do they??? Yep - eggs. That's when I begin to suspect that it's possible that this spider might even still be alive. I don't know much about them or their behaviors. I quietly set the thing down and go upstairs for a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Over my shoulder, I tell my husband to not touch his little friend anymore and to keep an eye on it in case it moves. He turned three shades of pale!

So, here are some photos. I need to know if this spider is still alive. Look at the first photo, above, closely. See how the eye is reflecting the light from the camera flash? I think it might be. If it is, where can I put it so I don't kill it, but the eggs don't hatch near our house? This species is just too big for me to be comfortable with around the kids and the cat. Some of the pics are a little blurry, but I want to show you the size and coloring. Any help would be appreciated!

Do You Know Me?

UPDATE!

Through the link that Momma Jorje gave me to Bug Guide, I was able to upload an image and here is the first response I received from Eric R. Eaton:

"This is a female fishing spider, Dolomedes tenebrosus. She'll carry that egg sac around with her using her jaws and pedipalps. Eventually, when the spiderlings are about to emerge, she'll suspend the sac in a "nursery web" she spins in dense vegetation. She'll then guard the sac, and the spiderlings that emerge from it. After the spiderlings molt again, they will disperse and mom will be free to resume hunting large insects. Normally, fishing spiders are ambush hunters that lie in wait for inattentive prey to blunder within striking distance. Look for fishing spiders mostly on vertical surfaces such as tree trunks, fenceposts, and walls. Wolf spiders, with which fishing spiders are often confused, *can* climb, but are most often seen on the ground."

I asked him a few more questions (like is this thing still alicve?!) and am anxiously awaiting his reply! Eric is a natural history writer and illustrator and the primary author of Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. He also has a blog: Bug Eric