Celebrate Arbor Day April 30th!

The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. It was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska journalist and politician originally from Michigan.  Throughout his long and productive career, Morton worked to improve agricultural techniques in his adopted state and throughout the United States when he served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. But his most important legacy is Arbor Day. 

~ Trees absorb pollution from the air ~

~ Trees make oxygen, which we need to breathe. ~

~ Trees stop soil erosion, prevents floods, and filter water ~

~ Trees create food and provide protection from the wind ~

~ Trees provide home, shelter, and food for birds and other wildlife ~

~ Fallen tree leaves eventually turn into soil, for other plants to grow in ~

~ Trees provide shade to keep our houses, schools and cities cooler ~

~ Shaded buildings need less energy for air conditioning. ~

~ Trees reduce noise pollution. ~

Trees provide:

nuts, fruit,

wood,

paper,

syrup,

cork, soap,

paint, film,

polish, lotions,

medicine, dyes,

pencils, crayons,

toothpaste, perfume,

~and 5,000 other products~

Arbor Tree by Ruth Fritts for HotChalk
Find Lesson Plans here.
Visit ArborDay.org for more info on this holiday.

Quotable Sunday - On Parenting and Kids

Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.
-Plato

The beauty of “spacing” children many years apart lies in the fact that parents have time to learn the mistakes that were made with the older ones—which permits them to make exactly the opposite mistakes with the younger ones.
-Sydney J Harris "Leaving the Surface"

The persons hardest to convince that they're at the retirement age are children at bedtime.
-Shannon Fife

The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached to someone who isn't getting enough sleep.
-John Fiebig

Children are gleeful barbarians.
-Joseph Morgenstern, 1968

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?
-Ed Dussault

In general, my children refuse to eat anything that hasn't danced on television. -Erma Bombeck

No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids.
-Bill Cosby

If your kids are giving you a headache, follow the directions on the aspirin bottle, especially the part that says, "keep away from children."
-Susan Savannah

I love to play hide and seek with my kid, but some days my goal is to find a hiding place where he can't find me until after high school.
-Unknown

A child is a curly dimpled lunatic.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it.
-Jerry Seinfeld

Thanks for stopping by today! Your comments always brighten my day :)
For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Thought For The Day

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
~Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"

Look What Daddy Built For Us!

Yes, it came in a kit, but he still had to "build" it. I think the instructions said "easy assembly in just 5 hours!" Yeah, don't believe everything you read.  He worked a lot longer than that and he's no novice at construction. But, it's a great set and the kids are really enjoying it.  We plan on putting down some more sand and then mulch, but they couldn't wait to play! Hooray, hours of entertainment for the kidlets and, perhaps, a moment's peace for mom....yeah, I'm not holding my breath.

In case you're interested, we bought the set at The Home Depot. It is solid and sturdy and comes with everything except a few pieces of the lumber, and the slide was sold separately (there are a couple of options for that).  They had three different versions and we chose the middle priced option. We also got a military discount so if you are a military family and shop Home Depot, be sure to ask about that.

Aloha Friday!

Greetings good friends. It is a beautiful sunny day here and I hope the same is true in your neck of the woods. I'm looking forward to the weekend and visiting friends. Which brings me to my question of the day:

Where is your best friend and do you see him or her often?

One of my best, and lifelong friends, moved here about a year and a half ago and I couldn't have been more thrilled. She recently told me that she and her family have sold their house and are moving to Miami very soon. I couldn't have been more sad at the news. I realized that I have only seen her a handful of times since she moved home. We've made plans, rescheduled and rescheduled, canceled and tried again, but only managed a few good visits. We both have young kids and life just seems to get in the way. I can't believe she's leaving again so soon and I will miss her terribly. What about you? Aside from your spouse/significant other, where is your best friend?


Thanks for stopping by today! If you are playing along, be sure to leave your linky. And visit Kailani at An Island Life for more Aloha Friday fun!

A Thousand Words Thursday - Earth Day Edition

I thought I'd post a few "nature" pics today, since it is Earth Day and all. I'm not a very talented photographer and I have a decent camera but nothing too fancy so don't expect to be awed. But, here are a few pics of nature's beauty, as seen from my little corner of the world...

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
For more Thousand Words Thursday stop by Cheaper Than Therapy