Deviled Egg Chicks

My Husband was all artsy on our deviled eggs for Easter.  He got the idea from the video below.  They really turned out adorable.



I think they turned out adorable.  He used pickle for the eyes.

Bird House Building

The boys built some birdhouses with Pappy this weekend.  They used cedar fence pickets to make the houses. I used the scrapbooking app Project Life for Android to make this page. It is so easy.  LOVED IT!

Easter Linky

College Student uses 3D printer to straighten his teeth for $60 - this one is for you Nonna

Why listening to Podcasts helps Kids Improve Reading - I thought this was interesting.  I just started listening to podcasts and I am hooked.

Smartphone Hacks - some really genius things here

A Letter to the Lonely Older Mom

Learning to Deal With Haters

Star Wars Rag Quilt AND MORE

I had a chance to meet a friend of friend of a friend that moved to my area over a year ago.  This new friend is pregnant and a Star Wars fan.  So much a fan, that her nursery for her baby is decorated in Star Wars.  That got me to thinking.  You know me.  This baby needs a quilt.  So the plotting started and this is the result. I think it is subtly Star Wars.

Front of Quilt

This quilt is a mix of cotton fabric on one side and flannel on the other.  This quilt ended up ragging extremely well.  I usually choose to do the quilt entirely in flannel but I wasn't thrilled with the Star Wars flannels so I decided to do flannel in regular baby flannel. My friend Mrs Epi lent her expertise in the layout. This was probably the most difficult layout to date.

Back of Quilt

A slight hijack of this post.  There is some really cool nursery ideas and whatnot out there on pinterest for Star Wars Stuff.


AT-AT Rocker

Interesting Post on a Star Wars Baby Shower

linky love

The Ultimate List of Books to Read if You Miss Downton Abbey - I am sad this series had to come to an end.  Downton Abbey was my little guilty pleasure. I have read a couple books on this list - The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn and non-fiction book The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan

Here's the REAL Reason People Get So Angry on Planes

Secrets of People with Zero Inboxes - For me, this just seems like a dream.

High School Dance Team Performance Goes Viral  This is super cool.

Motherhood is Not a Race

Long and Storied History of Leprechaun Gold Hunts

Leprechaun by Charlie 2014

Well it is tradition to hunt for leprechaun gold at our house.  The first recorded gold hunt for us was in 2008 but I am unable to link to that one. So if you need ideas, here are a few of our scavenger/gold hunts.  None of these required intense planning and no leprechauns were harmed.

2009 - Pot of Gold
2010 - Leprechaun Gold Hunt - I had one of the clues stuck to my mirror of my car for several days.

2011 -Pot of Gold - This is the hunt where a child made the clues. One of which referred to poo.

2012- Leprechaun Gold Hunt - This one involved leprechaun jokes and green foot prints
2015 - Leprechaun Gold Hunt - This is the one in which I mess with my teenagers.  Good Times!

WHO KNOWS IF THE LEPRECHAUN WILL STRIKE AGAIN THIS YEAR!

Pi Day 2016

Monday's after a time change are hard so I decided to play up Pi Day to the fullest with Chocolate Pudding Pie and Rigatoni Pie. Go Big or Go Home!

Rigatoni Pie in all it's glory

stacking the noodles in spring form pan

Previous Pi Day Celebration - 2013

What I Read March

If you are feeling like a little mystery The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling did not disappoint.

I might be in a little love with Cormoran Strike the private detective and main character. Strike is investigating the death or supposed suicide of Lula Landry a model superstar.  This story takes you on many twists and turns.  Like the best mysteries, I didn't see the ending coming.

I also read  In a Different Key - The Story of Autism.  I actually did a whole post on this book itself. (my review)  This book is receiving a lot of press this tome clocks in  at 552 pages of just text that doesn't include timelines and notes.  This is the exhaustive history of autism .

I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

***This post contains affiliate links

In a DIfferent Key

This book In a Different Key is HUGE.  This book clocks in at 552 pages of text which doesn't include the timeline, notes, or bibliography. I was a little daunted when I received it from the library.

I am interested in Autism because my son has  high functioning autism. My son was not diagnosed until age 14.

In a Different Key is written in a friendly approachable style so while large in size the reading is not terribly difficult.  The movement to understand Autism is largely because parents have pushed for more understanding, research, acceptance. 

What I learned:

Who to include in the spectrum has been complicated from the very beginning.  The definition and the criteria has changed numerous times.  Not all researchers agree on the diagnostic checklist.  So consequently some people have been included under one DSM to then been excluded under another version.

"Autism was, and would long remain, a diagnosis in the eye of the beholder." (In a Different Key)

Parents have been vital to autism being researched.  They were the first to form groups and fund raise for research in Autism.

Autism Speaks was founded by grandparents of an autistic child.  Critics of Autism Speaks has often cited that there are no Autistic people on their board.  Without a doubt Autism Speaks is the largest fundraising and information center on Autism.

I already knew but in case anyone out there is in the dark VACCINES DON'T CAUSE AUTISM!!!

I thought I knew a lot about the history of autism but I really learned a lot through this book.  This deepened my understanding of autism.  I think the quote sums things up nicely.

Indeed, the fact is that even with all the contentiousness attached to the word "autism," the momentum pushing all the argument has also, over time, pushed all the societies that have tried to deal with autism in the most commendable direction, which is toward ever greater recognition of the dignity of individuals who are different by virtue of fitting the label in some way. It is this interpretation of autism that has that having autism-being autistic- represents but one more wrinkle in the fabric of humanity, and that no one among us is living a life "unwrinkled." (In a Different Key)

The errors - revelations- in 2 major books about Autism - Interesting perspective on the two newly released books on Autism - In a Different Key and NeuroTribes.  I haven't had a chance to read NeuroTribes.

In a Different Key Traces History and Politics of Autism (NPR)

I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit

***This post contains affiliate links

Linky Love

This Ludicrous New Instrument Makes Music with 2,000 Marbles - all about the musician and instrument in the YouTube video above. This is so incredible.  I love he used Lego parts in it.

Deceleration : The Art of Slowing Down - Great perspective and so true

Complaining is Terrible for Your Health, According to Science - I think we all relieve how negative complaining people suck the air out of the room so this is not surprising to me.

March Linky

I can't wait for the all woman Ghostbusters.  It looks like a hoot!

10 Reasons Why All Kids Should Read Harry Potter Oh I love me some Harry Potter.  Recently my husband just for fun re-read the entire series.

All AP? Not for Me! Why Gifted Students Shouldn't Take All The Highest Level Classes

What Prodigies Could Teach Us About Autism  This is a interesting article

What Happens When a Whistle Blower Returns to Work - This is a sad but enlighting read about what happens when a government whistle blower gets his job back.  It says a lot of about the cost about doing the right thing.