Unicorn Sneezes and Goblin Bogies

So with school and the holiday schedule I have fallen a bit behind in posting. I apologize, one day I will be consistent with this, I promise...just probably not any time soon as an overwhelming load of college will be crashing down on me next week again. :(

But not to be discouraged, as I will be trying desperately to keep you updated on how to keep yourself young with that childlike happiness, and magic.

So to start out April, why don't you do something you haven't done in a while, or at the very least, try something new. Which is what the family and I did a few days ago. We made some wonderful homemade squishy Slime.

 

Isn't it absolutely fabulous? The girls had great fun with how slimy it was, and the fact that if they squished a lid down over it the most wonderful "fart" noises came out. I've pinned instructions for it up under my Pinterest board Successful Kiddo Projects. 

 

Now while playing with this stuff I had an epiphany that goes with the items that I will be placing in my Etsy shop (hopefully before Christmas). What would be better than wonderful Unicorn sneezes and Goblin Bogies? And of course their is the re-moistening agent of Troll Drool! Delightful if I do say so myself. Okay, perhaps I am a bit odd you are thinking to yourself, but this is what I am talking about this is the kid in me. The things that as a child I would have loved playing pretend with. (Okay well perhaps I wouldn't have pretended to play with Goblin Bogies, but I bet there is a little boy out their somewhere chasing little girls with something gooey on the end of a stick yelling "run princess or the goblin will snot on you!")

 

But as I was saying. These will be up in my shop as soon as I do field testing on them to see how long they are good for. I mean we wouldn't want moldy Unicorn sneezes now would we?

 

I have quite a few ideas that I will be working on as I take another leave of absence from you my wonderful followers. But I will give you a bit of a sneak at what will be coming up:

 

Dragon, Griffon, and Wyvern Eggs, fairy food and semi-live stories on YouTube! Keep your eyes peeled for the next few months, because I plan to be super busy, and I hope you will be involved with my escapades. So until next time...

 

Remember to keep the magic alive and become a child again.

Brian Russell Book Review

First I would apologize for a delay in blogging. I have been going through a bit related to my army days, and will address this issue in my next blog post.

 But for today I've got something quite fun for you all. I am going to be reviewing a book for author Brian Russell.

Now those of you who are not familiar with Mr. Russell, I'll give you a brief background. He is an author, illustrator, father, and has run an online comic since 2007 called The Underfold.

His new book What I Remember About Dinosaurs is now available on Amazon here and is well worth the read.

 

 

For me the book truly brought back memories of my own childhood learning. How I would spend hours drawing from my How to Draw Dinosaurs book, and devoted days to learning about what the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores were.

 What I Remember About Dinosaurs voices the opinions that I have often thought privately or only discussed in the confines of my car with my husband.

The drawings are simple and kid friendly. You loose yourself in the words that have been written and are immersed in a world where even the vicious T-rex looks a bit friendly. I allowed my mind to wander within the book, and rode on the back of a Triceratops, waved to the T-rex who returned it with a smile, and wiped away the tears of the Brontosaurus.

The truly magical thing about this book though is that it touches on the basics of dinosaurs and makes the reader want to learn more about them.

Sure there's Dinosaur Train that teaches what's going on with Scientists now and the ever changing world of the extinct dino's, but this book captures the essence of what dinosaurs were to those of us who grew up when they (dinosaurs) were all the rage.

I could carry on all day singing the praises of this book, and tell you how it is witty, and cleaver, but perhaps it is best for me to let you see how children actually feel about this book.

These are my own children who viewed the book, and loved it. See what they have to say.


Khyra (age 9) " I liked the book, parts of it were funny, and it was educational, I really liked the dinosaurs talking about the eggs, and swimming."

Amber (age 8) "I didn't like it. I loved it! I really liked the speech bubbles."

Cheyenne (age 3) "I want a dragon book." (I believe this is in response to part of mine and my husbands theory and discussion that dinosaurs were really dragons. I mean how else can you reason T-rex's tiny arms. He had to have been a Wyvern.)

I hope I have done justice in my short review, and hope you will pick up a copy for your kids, or grandkids, heck, pick the book up for yourself, because it is truly worth it.

Remember, sometimes to get in touch with your inner kid, you have to act like a kid yourself. While I don't mean go throw a tantrum; I do mean go find a kids book, preferably this one, and read just like you did as a child. Curled up in a window, or tree, upside down on the couch or with a flashlight snuggled up under bedsheets.

Birthday's and Fireflies

So the 15th was my Birthday. It's funny how once you pass a certain age, birthday's seem to serve only as a reminder of how old you are getting. But I remember when I was a kid, couldn't wait to get to thirteen, because then I would be a teenager. Couldn't wait to get to sweet 16. Couldn't wait to get to 18 and move out of the house. Couldn't wait to get to 21 because I could drink. (Though I really don't, it was just a principles thing, lol)

This year though, as I began to dread another nothing birthday, I happened to remember one of my favorite memories from my younger years. I had just started working dispatch at a sheriff's office, and every once in a while we would do a ride along for our shift. (This consisted of a dispatcher riding in plain clothes with a deputy in order to see things from their point of view, give us a break from the desk, and help promote inter-office unity.) Back to the story...

I ended up doing a ride along with an officer that had been on for probably around 5 years or so. He was new enough that the job hadn't gotten to him and turned him gruff, but had been around enough he had the on the job stories to tell that regular people wouldn't believe. The night was slow so we decided to do a couple of home checks for people that had gone on vacation. (This is where an officer goes by a house to make sure everything is still in correct order, no break-in's or suspicious activity.) It was just after dark when we made it to the house. We checked everything, all normal. As we headed back to the car a buzz went past his ear.

"What was that."
"I dunno, I didn't see anything."

His flashlight clicked back on, but there was nothing to see. He shrugged at me, I shrugged back. He clicked the flashlight back of and we headed for the car. Then we started to see them. Tiny specks of glowing light.

At first I didn't have a clue, then it dawned on me. Fireflies! I hadn't seen fireflies since I had been about 9 or 10.

"Fireflies!" We gasped in unison.
"Oh, they're so beautiful." I sighed. "I haven't seen them since I was small."
"Really?" he questioned.
"I know. I thought they were all gone with all the light pollution."
"We still have a few around."he replied. Then he began to flash the flashlight on and off similar to the lightning bugs. Soon there were tons of fireflies around him, he turned the light off, and tucked it into his belt. He swung his arms around trying to catch them for a few minutes. Then he brought cupped hands down in front of him.
"Come here."
Soon I was standing beside him peering into his cupped hands. He had caught a firefly just for me so I could see one up close.

Now to anyone else, I'm sure two grown adults huddled together staring at a beetle with a glowing butt must sound a bit odd, but it was in that moment that as an adult I remembered that magic is real if you know where to look. At that moment I watched a rugged cop magically turn back into a little boy. I don't know if he even remembers this moment as it was over 10 years ago now, but it was a very special moment for me, and one I am ashamed to admit I had forgotten until recently.

So with another birthday though true I am another year older, I am also another year younger as I remember it is the small and simple things that make us happy, and with happiness comes youth.

Be Happy, and Grow Young with me. :D