February 2015 Reflections

Sorry, y'all, I'm super late getting this posted (as in April), and it's pretty much post it with this limited info, or don't get it posted at all. I did throw in a few pictures for you, though, and they're clickable/enlargeable. Enjoy!


From the 2011 Year of Memories Brag Book by Dani Mogstad

Read, Listened, Watched

Been listening to lots of 40s on 4 (SXM radio).
Very little reading
Really not much watching, either; Suits and Mythbusters are running, usual shows
Did see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Fun with Family and Friends

Snow days. And Disney!

Milestones, Holidays, Special Events

Traditional snow day cookies.

Watched the Kitten Bowl again this year. Luke has been asking me about it for months (one of his friends is very into football, so he knew it was on, but no real sense of when the championship would be).

Our first time using MagicBands at Disney.

The Everyday and Routine

We all hate homework.

The Good, The Bad, The Unusual

Luke got called for his first foul in basketball. Only took 5 games! I think my husband might prefer a few more, actually. He got to play against his best friend (number 25) in one game, too, which was fun for everyone.

Progress on Goals

Plenty of stitching, not much else. Only one picture to show here, sorry.

Prompts by Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: not doing well at all on notes this month

Wordless Wednesday - February 25, 2015

Currently feeling: doesn't look like much, but school's out

Not Much February Blogging

Not sure what I've been doing in February, but blogging is obviously not it. Don't see much of it happening this week, either. Sorry! Hang in there with me. I'll try to get some stuff up by the first week in March or so. (Can you believe March is next week? ACK!!)

Currently feeling: wondering where the month went

Eggs: A Conversation With Luke

Luke was very cautiously eying the eggs I had sitting out on the counter overnight....

L: Are those bird eggs?
Me: Yes, they're chicken eggs.
L (slightly agog): Are they going to turn into chickens if you leave them there?!
Me: No.
L: Why not? [Side Note: I'm pretty sure he wanted to ask "are you sure," but chose this instead.]
Me: Ummmm.... because they aren't fertilized.
L: Oh. (pause) How do they get fertilized?
Me: Ummm..... roosters fertilize them.
L: Roosters?
Me: Yes, roosters are boy chickens, hens are girl chickens. Only hens lay eggs. (silently prays this will be the end of the conversation)
L: How do the roosters fertilize the eggs?
Me: I honestly don't know.
L: Do they sit on the eggs or something?
Me: I'm not sure. We can look it up later. We have to go now!

Currently feeling: not quite sure how to answer

Wordless Wednesday - February 18, 2015

Currently feeling: loving the traditional fresh snow day cookies

He gets it from me....

Alan Rickman - Die Hard and Harry Potter, respectively

Like mother, like son! I decided to try an experiment today. I showed Luke the scene in Die Hard near the beginning where Hans is walking among the party guests looking for Mr. Takagi. (It was "child safe.") He's seen the first two Harry Potter movies, including Chamber in the last week or so, but I wasn't sure if he would recognize Alan Rickman since he looks so different. Luke broke out into a huge grin in under 5 seconds. "That's Snape!" He said he mostly got it from the voice, which is fine with me! That is often the key to identifying people from other films they are in.
Currently feeling: pleased as punch

Homework Tales: Compound Words

Copyright: bonumopus / 123RF Stock Photo

Yet again, we have been stumped by elementary school homework. This happens much more frequently than I feel it should. Today's quandary was compound words. Now, I understand that this seems to be a straightforward concept. Doghouse, sailboat, homework. I get it, I really do. Until I got to this word: subway. I've always thought of "sub" as more of a prefix - subway, subzero, submarine - not a word all on its own. Because it is not a word all by itself, my instinct was to say no, subway is not a compound word. But then I read the instructions: they were given a list of words that had to be placed into four predetermined categories: ends in "er" sounds, ends in "el" sounds, irregular plurals/possessives, or compound words. Thus, subway would have to go in the compound word category because it clearly does NOT go in any of the other three (and I'm guessing adding a 5th "none of the above" category is against the rules).

Leave it to my friend Kelli, truly one of the smartest people I know (including scoring 800 verbal on the SAT) to seek a definitive solution. And I quote, "In my nerdy quest for a really authoritative answer, I just signed up for a free trial of the Chicago Manual of Style Online. They do indeed have a section on compound words formed with prefixes (7.85, section 4, in case anyone else cares). The examples given for "sub" are subbasement, subzero, and subcutaneous. Although the focus of the article is proper hyphenation rather than the precise linguistic meaning of "compound," I'm not about to argue with that source. (So yes, "prefix" and "unnatural" would both fall under that heading as compounds.)"

I am totally fine with being wrong. What I'm now annoyed about is that the above definition means they are teaching the definition of compound word incorrectly! Lovely. Another friend asked if it really matters. In the real world, no, I don't think it does. But if they are going to ask him on a test that determines whether or not he passes the 5th grade if the word "unnatural" is a compound word, then yes it matters!

Currently feeling: completely exasperated