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.

Reflection and Resolution

I sit and reflect on the year past. Though only the outdoor lights and wreath upon the door are left to remind that Christmas has just passed. My children and I still work on a few of there Christmas vacation to-do lists, such as long lasting mini gingerbread houses, and lounging in our PJ's.

 I am reminded how blessed I am with three adorable angels that I have, and how (though I have to constantly complain about listening, doing what they are told, and cleaning up their room) I have wonderful children. Not to brag, but these are children that I do not have to worry about when they are staying at a friends house because I know without doubt they are well mannered and behave. These are also the children that when Mommy is sick, tuck the blanket back under her feet as she tries to watch them and is falling asleep on the couch from medication. I am blessed with the most wonderful husband who is quite simply a genius in the kitchen. He could more than likely make a PB and J fit for royalty in a matter of seconds.

Some days it can be very hard to remember all of these blessings, and the many more I have been given which leads me to Resolutions for the New Year.

For myself it will be becoming a more organized in attempts to better multitask as well as getting back in shape. People often think how nice it must be to be an artist and writer...Well in way's it is, we get to do the things we love, but if we aren't careful, we end up with fat pudgy waistlines that won't let us fit in our favorite jeans. (lol) So I browsed through my spirituality and well being Pinterest board and decided I would use a couple of neat finds to attempt my own version of weight watchers as well as share with you in case you also have get in shape bulleted on your own Resolution list.

So a quick breakdown for New Years resolutions:

• Become organized
• There are a multitude of places that have helpful advice on becoming organized. One I particularly love is A Bowl Full of Lemons which is over all home organization.
• Simple Dimples has a neat binder organization system that I love and think would be fab.
• The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking also has a great weekly planners for general as well as food planning available for free download.

• Get fit
• As I said before I will be trying to get into some sort of fitness routine, starting with changing how I eat. I spoke with my husband and he said he had had good weight loss on weight watchers before, but in these times, who can afford to pay to loose weight? Perhaps I'm being a cheapskate, but my favorite word as of late is FREE!
• So I found a great tracker/log over at Freckleberryfinds both a weekly meal tracker and a fitness tracker. This will help with monitoring food intake and daily point balance.
• Calculators: Points calculator , Activity calculator
• I have also located a really neat site called Fatsecret which allows you to find the nutritional values of the foods you eat if it is not available on the package.
• No one program is right for everyone, so find your own if this doesn't work for you.But please feel free to use any and all of the enclosed links. And let them know who sent you. ;)

• Become accountable
• If your a stay at home mommy like me accountability can be a difficult task. I am accountable for my own actions, but this proves tricky as I tend to let myself slack.
• Since I know without deadlines I dally, I will be making myself accountable through the use of a weekly binder system with check-offs, such as the above fitness and food log, but also creating one to ensure that I allow myself time to do the things I love such as scheduling in play time with the children, and personal craft time for myself.
• I already belong to a writing group Blooming Late which meets bi-weekly in my area, and have to tell my writing progress which helps ensure I am actually writing, but I will also be joining one on Google+ which is a specific accountability group for writers in order to accomplish my writing goals for this year.

• Complete a journal and write
• Personal journal as well as a spiritual journal
• This is for posterity's sake. I want my children to know what I was like as well as what they were like. So my intent is to write at least once a week, and jot funny happenings or sayings down as they occur to compile in a hardbound printed book for each child at the beginning of the next year.
• A spiritual journal is one for personal use. It is a way for me to become more enlightened though scriptural study as well as personal reflection.
• Write on my novels at least once a week and have one finished before the end of the year.

• Be Magical
• Remember to do fun just because activities that make me smile.
• Encorage others to remember that kid-like happiness and innocence
• Blowing bubbles outside on a sunny day
• Blowing bubbles with Strawberry Bazooka Bubblegum if its raining outside
• Watching dandelion seedpods blow in the breeze and looking for fairies dancing between them
• Wish upon falling stars and talk to the man in the moon

I apologize for the rather lengthy post. I'll try to have a shorter one next time. :D Please feel free to use the above links, and ideas for your own journey into 2013. Don't forget to be kid-like at least once a week and let the magic flow.