Team Up Thursday

 

This week for Team Up Thursday, Megan and I followed the lead of other Team Up partners and tried our hand at "out of focus" for our theme.  It certainly adds a more artistic touch to the image.  It made my photo more soft but it made Megan's more dramatic.  

I didn't have time to comment on any dips last week so I'll surely make my rounds this evening.  Happy Thursday!

How To Be An Explorer

This is a stretch but the theme at Stacy's today is "Storyteller".  I have no storyteller pictures but I have been wanting to tell you about this book that I bought Natalya.  I bought this book strictly by the title which I rarely do.  But it sounded interesting and it really is.  And it's so perfect for my little explorer.

In a nutshell, it provides the reader with different ways to view the world differently.  One of the explorations that Natalya has done is to document all of the hidden faces that you see whether in nature or man-made objects.  The "World of Magic" exploration asks you to collect things for their "magic potential" and write a story about them.  For example, a magic pinecone could be planted to grow a magic tree that makes everyone who sits under it sleepy.  It's perfect for Natalya who is in the 2nd grade but I think that even preschoolers could use it with your help.  Vienne plays along sometimes.  It's really encourages creative thinking.  Go explore.

Idle

I haven't had a green post in awhile so Stacy's Theme this Thursday fit perfectly with something I think about everyday.  Idling our cars.  We all do it at some point and aren't even aware of it most of the time.  Yes, drive thrus and stop lights are unavoidable.  But we can limit the amount to time we sit idle most other times.  Did you know:

• Tailpipe exhaust from both gasoline and diesel burning vehicles contains the pollutants that produce ozone when combined with sunlight and heat. Ozone occurs mostly during the summer months. A warming planet means more hot days, and thus more ozone.  Hence,  global warming.
  
• Repeated exposure to ozone can reduce lung function and, reports show, can make asthma worse.  My little V has breathing problems and I'd hate to think that I was the reason.
  
• Today’s engines don’t need a warm-up period.  Idling at start up does not heat up the engine quicker.  And If you’re idling for more than 10 seconds, it uses more gasoline to idle than to restart.  It wastes fuel and money.
• In places where there are many idlers (like downtown areas, schools) it's worse because the pollutants are more concentrated and we are closer to the source.  Children's lungs are very susceptible to pollutants because they are still developing.
  

So, the recommendation is to turn off your car if you will be idle for more than 10 seconds.  Really, how inconvienced will you be? 

Let's Play

Hurricane Ike veered away from us but he has to be the reason we've been having such chilly weather.  And by chilly I mean, "Man, I'm cold" upper 50's waking up in the morning.  Sort of unusual.  But it also means glorious "Man, I'm cold" weather during the day and after dinner in the upper 70's, low 80's.  There's a reason we live in Texas.  The girls will play outside for hours when it's nice outside.  Sometimes I hate to be the one to say, "It's time to go in.  We have school tomorrow."

More playing around at Stacy's.

Momma's Girl

Vienne goes to school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  And while she gets a nap time there, I let her stay awake this week while she was home.  Frankly, it's because I want her to fall asleep around 7:30 instead of 9:00.  So last Friday, she asked if she could stay awake, I said "Yes" but that would mean that I would have to have some time on the computer while she played alone.  She kept asking me to play hide and seek.  I said, again, let me have just a little time on the computer.  So, maybe to remind me that she was waiting, she decided to set up camp behind my chair.  Blanket, pillow, friends.  And she waited.  But only for a short time before she was out like a light.  She still needs her rest but will fight it as hard as she can.