I may be offline for a while--but I'll be back ASAP. :)

While We've Been Packing...

Gerrick has been having a blast in his "house" made of boxes. The only problem is that he keeps trying to confiscate more boxes!:)

Roasted Chicken

Click here for some great information from Whole Foods Market about what to do with a whole chicken. I am completely clueless in the kitchen, but this podcast alleviated my fears of a whole bird. I may actually buy one once I get settled into my new kitchen. :)

Parent Picnic

After completing our final walk-through at the house this morning, Rickey and I went to the annual Parent Picnic at Gerrick's preschool. Gerrick was excited to show Rickey the pirate ship and helicopter on the playground and the science center in his classroom.

Dinosaur Zoo Class

Today we went to our first homeschool afternoon at the zoo. It was for ages 4-5, and the theme was dinosaurs! Gerrick got to touch a Kenyan Sand Boa, a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, and a Bearded Dragon. Later on he met another zoo keeper, and they discussed camels. As we were leaving, a T-Rex shadow tried to sneak up on us! Here are some pictures; click on the image to make it larger:



Before we went this morning Gerrick colored one of the dinosaur pictures the teacher emailed him. He says that it's a camouflaged Tyranosaurus Rex (apparently it lived among colorful flowers). :) Notice the gash he added to his belly. Gerrick says this is where an anklyosaurus cut him, and you can see his hip bone.

White Cells Attack!

Gerrick's allergies have been really bothering him. Yesterday afternoon he said, "I feel like the white cells are attacking some germs around my brain."

I thought about this for a few seconds, then said, "Your head hurts?"

He said, "Yes!" This is definitely the most interesting way I've ever heard someone describe a headache! :)

Junk Drink

Yesterday afternoon Gerrick and I stopped by the apartment office to pick up a package that had been delivered for us. Gerrick had a cup with him and the lady at the office asked (in condescending baby talk that Gerrick & I both equally abhor) if he was drinking his juice.

Gerrick said, "No, it's powerade."

She said, "Oh does it make you big and strong (as she flexed her bicep)?"

He said, "No, it's junk."

She...,"It's what?"

He..."It's a junk drink. You know, like junk food--it's not good for your body."

Her expression was priceless. :)

We Love Our Dyson!

I just tried out my new Dyson DC25, and I LOVE IT!!!. You can watch an ad about it here. I have never been so excited about a household appliance! Vacuuming no longer kills my back, and the carpet seems cleaner than ever before--yahoo!! (Plus I used a coupon at Bed, Bath, & Beyond that saved us $100!!!) :)

Gerrick is really fascinated with this new machine as well. He loves that you can see what is sucked into the cylinder and is amazed by the cyclonic action. He also loves pushing it around (not turned on, of course). He was terrified of our old Hoover--to the point that I couldn't even use it with him at home. He wouldn't even go near it when it was off, but he really likes this one. :)...

A Wildebeest

Gerrick turned his horse into, of all things, a wildebeest! :)

Tired of Circle Time

When I picked Gerrick up from preschool today, his teacher told me that he asked her why they always do the same thing at circle time. She said that she explained to him what repetition is and how it helps people learn. She asked him if that was okay with him (MISTAKE!), to which he replied, "Well I'm getting kind of tired of it." She said she told him she was sorry but they had to give everyone time to learn. This was only his 5th day in this class!!!! :( At least circle time is only a very short portion of the day and he seems to be enjoying everything else.

Free LegoClub Magazine Subscription

As I was changing our address on magazine subscriptions online this morning, I thought some of you might like to know about this 2-year free subscription to LegoClub Magazine. Gerrick has gotten a couple of issues and has been really excited each time it showed up in the mail. So far each issue has also included a pull-out Bionicle comic book, so older kids would probably enjoy this freebie even more than Gerrick does.

Willy Wonka Fun

A few weeks ago I read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Gerrick. He liked it a lot, and even added it to his wishlist. (We read a library copy.)



Last week we watched the 70's movie with Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Gerrick enjoyed it, and he particularly liked the Oompa Loompa songs (which I really didn't do justice in the reading). I was so proud when he told me that he liked the movie, but he liked the book better. :)



This afternoon we watched the latest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie in which Johnny Depp played the role of Wonka. It was really interesting to listen to Gerrick make comparisons throughout the movie. I had to hold the remote and just keep my finger on the pause button, because he wanted to talk SO much. :) We also talked about Johnny Depp being the actor who also played Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caribbean movies.





In honor of Wonka's chocolate factory we made chocolate pudding today.

We also made a playlist of songs from both movies. Click here to listen to it.

Library Rocket

The local library is getting ready to move to its new building. This rocket was sitting next to a table of FREE stuff. I'm so glad Gerrick didn't realize they were trying to give it away or he definitely would have begged to take it home!

Back Dirt

Nashville Zoo