When I came across this, I found the story very inspiring as I have an 11 year old who would write and draw all day long if I let her. When I showed my daughter the book and told her that it was written by a 10 year-old girl her first respone was, “wow, I can do that!” It’s a geat story for little girls to read as well an inspiration to them to show they can do whatever they dream if they put their mind to it. Great job Natalie!
Ten-Year-Old Writes/Illustrates Book to Spread Message That Friendships Develop When You Have the Courage to Include Others
In Sewing a Friendship, four friends muster up the courage to include a fifth girl, one they don’t think is very nice, with some very gratifying results
She’s only ten years old, but California author and illustrator Natalie Tinti is wise beyond her years, as evidenced by her debut book Sewing a Friendship. Recently, Natalie’s gorgeously illustrated book was awarded a Silver Medal hosted by the nationally recognized Readers Favorite Book Reviews and Award Contest. In Sewing a Friendship, five very different girls come to the conclusion that taking a chance on one another and working together can help all of them.
The four BFF’s (best friends forever) in Sewing a Friendship have distinct personalities: Meeka, the science lover, likes to calculate the percentage of water in the air. Jonsy lives for gym class and hanging upside down on the bars. Nina likes to play the guitar and be noisy, and Sokron likes fashion magazines and designing girly-girl outfits. Then there’s Dogon. This spy-dog who likes to eat cat food supplies the shenanigans that lure the girls outside, directly into the path of Kiki.
She’s memorable too, but in a not-so-good way. As far as the four friends are concerned, she’s the meanest girl on the planet. Little do they know, Kiki sleeps in an old broken gray coach in her aunt and uncle’s living room, and she believes that those around her are always disappointed in her.
When the girls run into Kiki on the last day of school, she lives up to her reputation and brags that she’s entering a fashion show on the very first day of summer vacation. Predictably, the girls are green with envy. But when they decide to enter the fashion show themselves, life gets pretty interesting. For one thing, the rules state that each team must have five people. Soon, the four friends take a chance on Kiki and she takes a chance on them and all five girls are on their way to sewing a friendship that will help them realize their dreams and have lots of good fun in the process.
I was downloading some pictures off my camera today and came across a few pictures that I know I didn’t take. My camera was sitting on the kitchen counter over the last few days and the kids must have decided to have some fun and snap a few shots. Some where a bit x-rated, let’s just say I saw a few different moons. But this one, I have no idea what she was thinking!
The laugh will be on her because I have filed it away and will pull it out for her first date!!
That damn black cloud is hovering over our house again.
My son’s eyeglass prescription changed once again and the frames he had were shot. So, after spending $400 on his new spectacles (complete with new transition lenses and “cool” frames) and waiting nearly three weeks for them to come in, we finally went and picked them up.
The next day he came home from school very sad and asked me if I was in a good mood. I said, sure I’m in a good mood, why. It was at that moment I noticed he did not have his glasses on. When I asked where his glasses were he handed me an envelope with two lenses sitting at the bottom and his new frames all bent to hell. It hadn’t been 24 hours and already they were a destroyed. Apparently one of the girls had been messing with him at recess and knocked his glasses off then proceeded to step on them.
I was boiling on the inside but told him it was ok and tried to comfort him. I drove over to the eye doctor and one of the ladies inside worked on them for almost 45 minutes. She did a great job fixing them and saved me a ton of money on a new pair. When I got home, my son was very happy to see that his glasses were back in one piece. He looked at me and told me that it was a good thing that they were able to be fixed because he was going to go to school the next day and “take her out!”
When my boys were little they were fascinated with dinosaurs, they loved everything about them and knew about all the different species. For those of you who have a kid, a friend or someone else you know, that is into dinosaurs, you should check this out, it look’s pretty cool!
New York , February 2, 2010—The American Museum of Natural History announced today that DINOSAURS: American Museum of Natural History Collections, the first science and education photo mosaic application for iPhone and iPod Touch, is currently available for download on iTunes (http://bit.ly/bcRz2v). Free and easy to use, DINOSAURSwill capture the imagination of children everywhere, allowingdinosaur enthusiasts of all ages to explore the world’s largest collection of dinosaur fossils with a tap of the screen.
Combining scientific research with over 800 stunning images from the Museum’s vast archives, this pioneering interactive mosaic provides even the youngest paleontologists a new way to discover the Museum’s dinosaur collection—and to become experts in the process. Packed with information about six of the Museum’s most popular dinosaur fossils, including the famed Tyrannosaurus rex and the Barosaurus, DINOSAURS can be used as a learning tool, teaching children the science behind selected fossils, stories about their discoveries, and profiles of the fossil-hunters who uncovered them. The images are enhanced with social networking functionality, enabling users to share favorite images with family and friends, post comments, and view comments left by others.
Families can also use DINOSAURS: American Museum of Natural History Collections as a pocket field guide while exploring the Museum’s famous halls to learn more about the fascinating fossils on display. DINOSAURS will be updated with new “stories” with in-depth information about additional dinosaur species, including such favorites as the Triceratops.
DINOSAURS is the first in a series of applications that will be published by TheAmerican Museum of Natural History in collaboration with 33Delivered, which provides digital stewardship and development services for institutions and companies, to highlight the Museum’s storied collections and bring its world-class holdings to a global audience.
We always had a Nerf football growing up and I can still remember playing Nerf basketball on the back of my brother’s bedroom door.
BUT LET ME TELL YOU…those Nerf guns they have today are the best! We must have abouta dozen different guns in our house ranging from the little single shooter to the shotgun to the huge rapid fire machine gun.
We have family wars all the time. It just takes one of us to pick up a gun and it’s an all out free for all. There are darts flying all over the house and bodies hiding behind furniture in every room. It’s literally impossible to pick up all the 5oo or so darts that are in this house. Just when we thought we had picked them all up, I find them in the laundry baskets, up on the window sills, inside the kids sheets and the best…I found one floating in the toilet today. Personally, I think this particular one was planted by one of my kids so now it’s time to get even.
I’m not on carpool duty today so I have all the guns armed and ready to go so I can nail the kids when they come in the door and another battle will begin!
Hey, it’s a great way to relieve some stress and have some fun with your kids at the same time.
I read an article today from the Associated Press that just made me think back a few years and chuckle.
Back when I was pregnant with my first set of twins, I was still working full time. A few days before my maternity leave started, my vice president came over to my desk and apologized for missing the baby shower they had for me at the office. He was excited to tell me that he had gotten me the best gift ever since he had learned a lesson after seeing his wife go through a tough time while breastfeeding. The next thing I knew, he handed me a brown paper bag. I took a quick glance and inside was a tin of Bag Balm. I gave him a look as if to say what the heck is this. He leaned over into my cubicle and said, “they use this stuff on cows utters when the get irritated and after breastfeeding for a while, you’ll learn that the last thing your gonna want are cracked nipples. Use this stuff religiously and you’ll thank me later!”
A strange gift indeed but thoroughly thought through!
All I can say to this one is that I have become what I used to laugh at. When we moved to Southern California five and a half years ago, I used to laugh at the people who put clothes on their dogs. This morning it was 40 degrees and take a look at what the kids did to the dogs. I can’t believe I actually took them for a walk looking like this!
I wanted to pass along a wonderful idea to all our readers. I received an email from a girlfriend who has a good friend fighting cancer. She has a big surgery coming up and she wanted to give her something special as she recovers.
The gift to her friend is going to be a Jar of Joy. She emailed everyone she knew and summarized what her friend was going through. She then requested…
“Please share any thoughts of encouragement, faith, support, or joy and email it to me. Just one sentence or quote would be great! I am creating a“Jar of Joy” in hopes that she will know that many people are praying for her. I will write your thought or message of joy and place it in the jar so that she can read it. You can add your name or not, it doesn’t matter either way…it is really the message that counts. I am sure it will help her feel loved and feel the power of prayer as she recovers.”
The note on the jar will read as follows: This jar of joy was made especially for you! Some of your friends, and (even some that don’t know you, but are praying for you), want to give you a little love and happiness each day while you recover. Pick one heart a day and the message should put a little joy in your heart! Know that you are being prayed for by so many. May God bless you and watch over you.
I wasn’t feeling very well yesterday and it took all I had to get through the day. When it was time to go pick up the kids, my head was pounding and my stomach was upset but I managed to get everyone home. As moms, you’ll have to agree, we do whatever needs to be done no matter how bad we are feeling.
So after everyone was home and doing homework, that feeling hit me…get to bathroom fast because there was no bowl in sight that I could use. I got to the bathroom, dropped to my knees and hugged the bowl just in time.
One of my boys followed me and witnessed something he would have rather not. He asked if I was ok and then ran and got a wet paper towel. He sat and rubbed my back just as I also do in these situations and then took the paper towel and rubbed my forehead.
I sat back and said thanks. He looked at me and said, “mom you do so much for our family, I’m glad I was able to help you a little bit. Why don’t you go sit down on the couch and relax and let me know if I can get you some Jello or something.”
My gosh, he brought tears to my eyes, maybe I’m doing an alright job afterall.
My daughter and I went on a little field trip the other day and brought home a surprise. Unfortunately, we when arrived home, no one was there. We had to wait an hour until the rest of the family got home. The boys walked into the kitchen and smiled ear to ear, my husband, on the other hand, took one look at this…
and said…”What the he#* is that?”
This is our new addition, Morgan is a little 13 lb Dachshund that came from the Southern California Dachshund Rescue. With the state of the economy being in the toilet, one of the first things people give up on is their pets. He was left outside a shelter along with a poodle with a note that their owner couldn’t afford to take care of them any longer. Morgan is a great little boy, a little over a year old, loves my kids, is a big cuddler and follows our beagle Harley around like a little brother.
Whether you are looking to adopt or even foster a pet, I urge you to check out your local rescue organziations.
