Here is a Smilebox of some pictures of the kids on Christmas Day…
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An Insider’s Look on Black Friday
My completed bucket list of life's greatest moments contains such jewels as: biking down the volcano tour of Haleakala in Maui, to walking Jesus' footsteps on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. But truth be known, not even the birth of my third child Daniel, compares to the joy I get by putting on my elbow pads and wrestling some grandma to the ground to buy the latest door buster special on Dagger kayaks. I'm talking about that holiday of holidays, the coup de grace known to the garage sale savvy shoppers--as BLACK FRIDAY.
The Truth Fairy
Shower, PJs, and teeth brushing later, I was kneeling by her bed to pray. Afterward I got the following lecture: "Ok dad, I made it easier. The tooth box is here on the shelf by the clock. It's definitely worth at least a $20 since it fell out by itself. You can do the exchange without having to mess with my pillow before you go to bed. Don't forget now. Ok dad? I really love you."
Breaking a Fast without Losing your Breakfast
Ironically our word "breakfast" means "the conclusion of fasting since the previous day's last meal." However, not eating from the previous day's dinner and not eating any food for say, 10 days takes on a little different meaning. I was in my 20s the very first time I did a week-long "water only fast." When I ended that fast, I gorged myself on the largest chicken fried steak dinner I could find. Needless to say, I spent many hours in the bathroom and was sick for days thereafter.
I have some smart kids, but my middle 7 year old son, Zachary is classified as talented and gifted. It’s more than memorizing the periodic table, skipping a grade, beating you in chess, acting like Sheldon Cooper, or making straight ‘A’s (all of which he does). It’s a curse and sometimes a parenting nightmare to deal with and keep his mind busy–and busy is the tip to parental sanity.
Outside of having a very busy and structured day, here are my three recommended products to help busy/quiet the mind…
1. Think Fun Rush Hour Deluxe the Game.
2. Unblock Me the free or $0.99 iPhone app by Kiragames.
3. Vocabulary Power by Play Bac.
4. Complex story problems as additional school work/homework, your GT teacher or counselor can provide–daily.
Think you are smarter than a GT 3rd grader. Here’s Zachary’s homework from yesterday…
Problem: Keeping Fit
When Mary Ann, Paul, Rhonda, Cindy and Walter, whose last names are Hutton, Levin, Ray, Stuart, and Zanebauer, got together they discussed the different methods they were using to keep fit–jogging, swimming, tennis, golf, and bicycling. Their ages are 16, 18, 21, 22, and 23. Exercise your mind by jogging through these clues to arrive at all the proper solutions of names, ages, exercises for these six individuals.
Clues:
1. Hutton is older than her girlfriend who jogs and the boy who plays tennis, but younger than Cindy and the biker.
2. Mary Ann stays in shape with golf.
3. Paul, Levine, Cindy and Zanebauer are all neighbors.
4. Paul is older than Walter but younger than the swimmer.
5. Zanebauer is two years younger than the tennis player.
6. Ray is younger than Stuart.
It takes Zachary about 30 mins to solve this, so my wife can actually get dinner on the table. What techniques, products or games do you or your kids teachers use with your GT kid?
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T
here are literally hundreds of online note taking programs and sites. One of the best I have found is Evernote.com. I use this online service to track notes I take about nearly everything and anything. I use this resource to record, church notes, book notes, ideas, concepts, basically anything. I even take my @Fred24Live feeds into notes so that I can search on anything I have done online.
I know what your thinking… “This is simply crazy or way to geeky for me.” I agree, but the resource available to pull and research your history is incredible. As a sample of the diary I place inside my Evernote, below is a sample of today’s daily entries…
8a Having breakfast with my kids. They are learning all the countries and capitals of Central and South America. Welcome to my world.
10a Ready to worship with my family! (@Fellowship Church Grapevine w/ 6 others) http://4sq.com/ofW9Go
11a Church wad SO good. I say it every week… I do not know how people go through life without attending weekly Bible teaching church?
12p FunCity Social Media News is out! http://bit.ly/dLU8Y7
1p Took a great nap. I wonder why Sundays are the only day for naps? Ben Franklin took one every day–sounds like a good plan.
2p Cleaning house for hometeam Bible study tonight. Part 6 in our study of “Bout with Doubt” by @EdYoung.
3p Caitlyn and I just re-watch @BethanyHamliton on Fellowship Church’s page. She was great last week. http://ow.ly/6eXVt
7p Hometeam was fantastic! Now starting the evening routines.
7:30p Returning the movie, “The Tourist” to the Redbox. (@ Walgreens) http://4sq.com/ndxUg5
8p Kids are down, comparing notes and schedules with @SuperParentMom. Our traditional evening routine.
9p I’m up to chapter 6 of Walter Isaacson’s book “Einstein: His Life and Universe”. I am finding it quite fascinating.
10p Working and studying Evernote.com as a way to write down and capture ideas.
11p Reviewing my notes from “The Wow Factor” by Frances Cole Jones, pushing them into Evernote.com
How do you use Evernote.com? Do you take any personal notes or keep journals?
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