Beep, Beep Beep

As a music lover, one of my goals is to introduce my children to all kinds of music and to have them learn to enjoy it as much as I have.  From the time they were babies, our Munchkins have been exposed to a wide variety of sounds, including classical, choral, Broadway, pretty much anything except Light Jazz (which makes me cringe).

One of the fun ways we’ve found to hook our kids on some classical tunes is through the Beethoven’s Wig series of CDs.  They are a little goofy and a lot of fun.  There are 4 out now and we borrowed the latest from the library last week.  One of our favorite songs on this album is set to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.  You can hear it here (click Track 12).

Others worth a listen include:

Beethoven’s Wig (Track 1)

Musical B’s (Track 4)


Warning, they are rather silly.  And once you've heard them, you may never listen to the music again without hearing the words in your head.  But if you need a laugh on a long trip, they are worth a listen!

Take the Next Left

 http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/google_maps.png

 

Cat got Your Brain?

 I've seen this happen in real life. :)

 http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cat_proximity.png

 

Love This.

Check out this adorable camera stap cover made by Shealyn. I would totally wear this (HINT, HINT Dear). She gave a strap or two to Ree recently. What a perfect gift! (nudge, nudge Dear)

These are my business colors. OK, so I don't actually have a business yet, but if I did, these would be the colors. :)

Pests, Be Gone!

Amy over at the Idea Room, posted the most ingenious idea yesterday. It has restored sanity to my home. Thank you Amy!

Wild

We never get tired of seeing animals near our home in the country. Every evening, a lone bat has been flying in ellipses around our front porch, snacking on the bugs drawn to our porchlight. More often than not, an owl or hawk will be waiting near our mailbox to escort us home. And earlier this week, the Master saw "a six-pack of deer" in the field across from our driveway. :)

Praise Indeed

Every once in awhile I'll come across a product that I like so much that I need to share it with you.

I picked up a few Zing Bars for my daughter, who is on a gluten and dairy-free diet. She's an active teenager who is always looking for an easy snack to grab. I made the mistake of "trying" one of them and now she needs to hide them from me because they are that good!

Creamy, crunchy organic peanut butter covered in a mouthwatering organic dark chocolate coating. Pinch yourself... it's healthy.

I was also thrilled to find that Betty Crocker has come out with a line of gluten-free mixes. These are priced less than the usual gf cake mixes that I've found. Thank you Betty, you've just made my life a little easier.


And lastly,

I love Method cleaning products. They use only natural and non-toxic ingredients. Check out these dryer sheets. Aren't they cute?

Have you come across a new product lately that you absolutely love?

Words Will Never Hurt You, Eh?

With summer comes roadtrips and, if you have kids, you are probably always on the lookout for ways to keep them busy in the car. I wanted to share what I came across today:

The wooden tiles are on elastic bands so you just flip them over. No pieces to lose! How clever is that?!

Sign

I drove by a sign at a veterinary clinic the other day that cracked me up.

"If you don't talk to your cat about catnip, who will?"

Recycling

Today I am recycling some of my past posts that have made me smile. Enjoy!

Chocolate Bunnies

Spider Pig

Whazzup! Teletubby style

Christmas Card Rejects

Wrist Control

Press 12

I had a voicemail on my cell phone the other day. After dutifully listening to it, I was cheerfully given several options:

To listen to your message again, press 2.
To delete your message, press 7.
To undelete your message, press 4.

How distressing! What if I make a mistake or change my mind? I think there should be more options. How about:

To reundelete message, press 5.
To unreundelete your message, press 6.
To reundelete your message in Spanish, press 3.

Master Munchkin thinks there should be even a few additional options:

To blow up your phone, press 10.
To reblow up your phone, press 12.
To blow up your phone in Spanish, press 13.

One Bite Won't Kill You

The hoot I was telling you about earlier is none other than Ann Hodgman. She's written 3 cookbooks called, Beat This!, Beat That! and One Bite Won't Kill You. These aren't your ordinary cookbooks. Ok, yes, they have yummy recipes in them, but she writes them in a way that will have you taking them to bed at night only to laugh so much that your husband will insist on knowing why you are cracking up, and then you'll have to read entire sections out loud to him. But you'll enjoy every minute.

A few more quotes to wet your appetite:

You won't be able to stuff this turkey. But wouldn't you secretly prefer that?

Is there anything more hateful than mint jelly?

I'm only saying 25 minutes per pound because I don't want anyone suing me.

You may be suspicious of the Miracle Whip. I was too.

Nothing makes me angrier than spooning through vats of broth and turning up just potatoes.

Immoderation in all things, as my father never says.

I'm not sure where you can buy Beat This! and Beat That! these days, but I've seen them used from time to time. If you see a copy, snatch one up!

Beat This!

There is a set of cookbooks that is perfect for this time of year. Not only is the food incredible, the author is a hoot! I'm off to pick up the Munchkins, but I will leave you with a few quotes to sustain you till I return and reveal all. I may even post one of her recipes for you to try.

For maximum guest intimidation, there's nothing like homemade crackers.

People bolt these down without chewing, like seals catching fish.

My friends would eat this dip with ladles if they could.

This will make you seem very cutting-edge and kamikaze-ish.

"I don't want to sound like The Bad For You Cookbook here. I'm not telling you that you have to use lard. I'm just saying it makes the best fried chicken. Same with the MSG. No one is making you use it! But as long as you're using lard, for God's sake, you might as well use the MSG too."

Wrist Control

I know, I have a strange sense of humor. This cracked me up.

Fear Can be a Mitey Thing

One morning I found the Master curled into a small ball, lying entirely on top of his pillow.

"Hello. What are you doing?"

"Trying to keep away from the Dust Mites."

"Huh?"

"Since Dust Mites are so small, it will take them longer to crawl up here," he explained.

Curse you, Science Channel! He had recently watched a show about these creepy bugs and, apparently, had developed an acute awareness of them. Very acute. I guess that's what happens when you see something that God never intended us to look upon with our naked eyes.

"Will you wash my sheets today?"

"Ooookay...."
Rats, I was hoping to let them go a few more weeks a little longer.

"In hot water. It has to be hot."

I told him about the sanitary cycle on my washing machine.
(I'm happy that, in addition to killing dust mites, it helps mothers of little boys stay sane.)

After his clean, mite-free sheets were put on his bed, he was fine and slept soundly.

Which reminds me, I'd better go see what's coming up on the Science Channel....

Gently Now

The Master:
Why does my sister want to become a Gentle Hi-Dentist?

(she actually wants to be a Dental Hygienist, but I rather prefer the Master's version)

But I'm A Special Duck

It started with a game of "Animal, Vegetable or Mineral". The conversation turned to Humans and how to classify them.

Me: Well, Science classifies people as "animals", but we're different from the rest of the animals - we're special.

Master Munchkin: But a duck thinks it's special too.

Me: No, they don't think like we do. We are different than all of the animals. We're not like anything else on Earth.

The Master, wryly: Yeah, right now there's probably a duck somewhere thinking the exact same thing.

NUMB3RS

My husband had a captive audience during a recent car ride and took the opportunity to talk to the Munchkins about one of his favorite subjects - Math. He started out teaching them about square roots then the topic somehow turned to numbers that have decimals that do not end or repeat themselves.

He asked Miss Munchkin if she knew what they were called.
"They start with the letter 'I'. You are this, sometimes, " he prompted.

Miss M: intelligent?
The Master: irritating?
Miss M: interesting?
The Master: interrupting?
Miss M: ingenious?
The Master: icky?
Miss M: incredible?

"Irrational!" my husband finally broke in.

The Munchkins, both a bit disappointed: Oh.

Austenbook

If you are familiar with Facebook and are a Jane Austen fan, here's a must-see for you. Read from top to bottom, all the way through.

Thanks, Ann, for showing this to me and Brava to DeeDee, for being so entirely clever.

Broccoli Boy

There is a distinct possibility that Master Munchkin watches a bit too much T.V.



"Broccoli: one of the most nutritious snacks you can eat. Remember, your mom will let you eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks in between. Do not call us at 1-800-00-000. Again, do not call us at 1-800-000-0000. And remember, this offer is always available at stores." (crunch!)