Think Back Thurday ~ Landscapes

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

If there is anything that we have an abundance of in Canada it is undisturbed landscapes. When we host students from other countries the first thing they comment on it the vast amount of space we have in Canada. As a result, some of my favorite photography moments are capturing the Canadian wild (and occasionally some of the beautiful villages nestled in the hillside). I’m linking up to Debbie’s Think Back Thursday meme as I have no shortage of landscape photos to share. I hope that you will take a moment to link up and share the beauty that can be found in your area! Here are just a few of my favorites from our time in eastern Canada.

I’ve only gone though about a fifth of my photos this morning choosing pictures, but it’s become clear that many of my landscapes are actually waterscapes. I guess that’s what you get when you live on one of the world’s most beautiful islands!

Point Aconi, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Victoria Mines Lighthouse, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Highland Village, Iona, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Top of Kelly’s Mountain, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Blue Rocks, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

Prince’s Inlet Retreat, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia (Ruadhan was born looking out over this view…though it was mid afternoon and rainy the day of his birth).

Port Morien, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Looking toward the site of the Swissair Flight 111 crash

There’s an eeriness to the area and I was moved to tears. There’s really something about the place.

The Road Less Travelled – Guysbourough County, NS

Goal Planning Monday’s New Home

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

I just wanted to take a moment to invite you to hop on over to Debbie’s Digest to continue participating in Goal Planning Monday. Debbie, who has not missed a single Goal Planning Monday in the nearly 2 1/2 years I’ve been hosting the meme, has graciously offered to carry on for me. I look forward to linking up there when I have the time and will be checking in to see how all my goal planning friends are doing!

Thank you so much for all the weeks you’ve joined in. We’ve accomplished thousands of goals together!

The Seven C’s ~ A Poem by Liam

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

SEVEN C’S by LIAM

We must sail
the seven C’s.
Seven C’s
we must sail.
Seven C’s C every other C.

C1!
The C of certain T’s
C2!
The C of several U’s
C3!
The C of many B’s
C4!
The C of the doors

We have sailed
4 C’s, and
3 C’s must
we sail.

We must sail
the seven C’s.
Seven C’s
we must sail.
Seven C’s C every other C.

C5!
The C of jolly G’s
C6!
The C of TNT

We have sailed
6 C’s, and
1 C must
we sail.

But C-seven
is always very rough
Even in the
calmest of waves,
No ship has gone
there and returned
Many have tried
to sail there,
But they did not
even get past C4.
So the C’s that
we have seeked
May have been hard,
but we have survived!

So on to the seventh
of the seven C’s
Everyone will cheer
right now, as none
have gotten here
So to C7 here
we go, ho!

C7!
The C of no return

And we saw a
tidal wave
Rushing strait
towards us.
And it crashed into
the courageous men

But we survived -
The tsunami was a test
A test of courage of
which we had shone
All of them who even
got here, the tidal
wave drowned them
They were afraid -
the one problem
of which we
did not carry

We sailed back to the shore,
And fame was our prize
There was now one
who had ever survived
And along our trip we
gained adventure

So I’d say it was good!

We must sail
the seven C’s
Seven C’s
we have sailed
the seven C’s
Seven C’s see every
person of our ship
who have gained
fame and glory!

Friday Fave Fives ~ May 17th, 2013

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

It’s Friday again! This week just flew by. I didn’t get a lot accomplished, but there were some moments to be thankful for that I want to share so I am linking up with Friday Fave Fives over at Living to Tell the Story and I hope that you will join me in highlighting some of the most special moments of your week.

1. Having a husband that was able and willing to take over household responsibilities for me. I’ve suddenly been struck down with cannot hold anything down migraines after years of virtually not having to worry about them. Mike has been wonderful with keeping the kids occupied and getting everyone fed. I’m not sure what I would have done last weekend without him.

2. A moment of sunshine. It has been a painfully grey week, but I walked into my bedroom to glorious sunlight a few days ago and it was soooooo nice.

Mikula and little one enjoyed the moment of sunshine, too. I had to go get my camera and snap a couple pictures.

3. Having a TEN year old. Isn’t that crazy? We celebrated Liam’s birthday yesterday by bringing him into the city to Chapters. He loves to read and is becoming quite the young man (okay, not quite, but he is maturing quite nicely). I look forward to sharing a poem that he wrote with you very soon. I was quite surprised by it and it was another highlight of my week.

4. This dog.

Need I say more?

5. These videos by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. Yes, you probably saw them, but I am a really proud Canadian and the Space Oddity video inspired talk about space with the children and then ended up with a marathon of 80ies (and earlier) videos. The kids think that the artists Mike and I enjoyed are totally weird. Oh well, Mike and I had fun.

Goal Planning Monday ~ On Hiatus

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

I’m sad to be putting Goal Planning Monday on hiatus. I cannot seem to get my act together to post a linky in a timely manner and quite frankly, find myself struggling to come up with goals each week just so I have something to post. My main goal is to keep my head above water and keep my kids happy, healthy and cared for, anything else is extra. If anyone would like to post a link up for Goal Planning Monday so that you can still find encouragement from each other please feel free to contact me and I will give you my blessing. I do know that a few of you still check in here regularly and I don’t want to leave you without a place to link if you are still interested in participating.

Thank you for the last couple of years, it has been fun to see how much we have all been able to accomplish each week!

Ooka Island ~ A Review

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

A couple of years ago, I had the chance to review Ooka Island and I was happy to get the opportunity to do so again via Mosaic Reviews. My daughter had loved the program when she was younger and I now had a little one that was getting to be old enough to try it out for himself.

Set up was even easier this time as we were supplied a memory stick with the program included on it. All we had to do was plug in the USB and drag the files into our App folder. A username and password was supplied and we were all set to go! Not much had changed on the website. The theme song was as catchy as ever as it plays through my head as I write this review!

We did run in to some issues this time around as my daughter is getting a little bit too old for this program. While she isn’t a fluent reader, yet, she is more advanced than the early levels of this program. My son, who has just turned 3, is very much ready to learn some basic phonics, but he mouse control wasn’t all that accurate so it was frustrating to him. In the end, I had him tell his older sister what to do and they were able to make it work that way. It was a good exercise in cooperation for them and for that reason, it would have been valuable.

The clicker The pointer.

This worked better in the earlier days as my son could get up and point to the things on the screen, but for the last 3 weeks he’s been unable to do so as he fractured his tibia. Just out of his cast, we was still unable to sit on his knees to play for this picture.

However, there are a lot of redeeming characteristics to the actual program itself and I think that is a good program for your early readers that are just beginning to use the computer. The activities are well structured and educational and the free play can be fun, but it well regulated so that your child has to do a fair bit of learning each time before they can play with their rescued characters. Letter and sound recognition is the basis of the game and children have the chance to read short stories and answer comprehension questions. I think this is ideal for early readers, but may be a bit tedious for children that already have good letter/sound recognition. When my daughter was just learning she enjoyed this program, but this time around she found that it did not progress fast enough for her.

There were a few technical issues that we were faced with, but nothing that restarting the program couldn’t fix, so all in all I would be happy to recommend this program for early readers. The Ooka Method is quite sound and kids will play along without realizing that they are learning as they rescue the Ooka Elves from the mean Fligs that wouldn’t teach them to read. I do find that it is priced at the higher end of what I would be willing to pay for what you get, but at the same time, it is a program that is quite engaging and may be worth the price even if you decide to pay for it on a month to month basis of 12.95$ or an annual price of 124.95$. I encourage you to take some time to look at the website and decide for yourself.

Friday Fave Five ~ May 3rd, 2013

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

This week has been one of ups and downs. So much goodness happened, but at the same time I’ve been unwell with the same issues that have plagued me for the better part of the last year. It’s beginning to feel like I just got a little reprieve from the medication/hormones I took (a reset of the system), the the actual problem has not changed and it’s not something I’m terribly trilled to live with. It’s made me feel rather poorly at times and interferred a bit with plans earlier in the week, but as I said, there was a lot of good and today was really a perfect day so I wanted to take the time to share some of my Friday Fave Fives along with others at Living to Tell the Story. If you would like to take part in our (hopefully) weekly attempts to look at the brightness in out lives, I encourage you to check out this blog. Everyone’s posts always make me smile.

1. We’ve taken to the trails behind our house for the first time since moving here. It is awesomely amazing to be able to walk out the door and be in nature. This afternoon our neighbour, who owns the land, joined us and it was really lovely to just spend time together and chat while the kids got to be with nature. The little one was quite happy to be carried in the Ergo so everyone was content and we got to see a lot of things that the children have never seen before – bear tracks, moose track, a partridge, a wild rabbit just to name a few.

I didn’t take my camera today, but this is one from a couple days ago. Isn’t it like a piece of paradise? I can just open my door and walk for miles. Definitely taking my telephoto lens next time. The photo opportunities today were just amazing!

2. Word that steak is coming home with my husband tonight. It has been ages since I’ve had a good piece of red meat and I’ve been craving it. Yum. I cannot wait. Only about 45 more minutes!

3. Taking the time to organize my homeschooling area today. There will be a blog post coming about it soon, so I won’t share right now, but it is sooooooooo good and I am glad I came home and did it this afternoon.

4. The knowledge that my son is getting more confident around our dog again. He’s been a little bit nervous since he had an accident a couple of weeks ago. There been a couple freak outs over the dog (one day Mum told the dog to “go fly a kite” without thinking and that was not good).

Still best of friends (and the cutest pair I ever did see).

5. I’m going to leave you with this video from Walk off The Earth. This band, in general, make me feel amazingly cheery, but this song in particular has been playing and awful lot around here this week and everyone runs to hear it when it comes on. It’s our feel good song right now and I’ve got it on repeat this evening.

Saving Memories Forever – A Review

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

Over the years, we’ve lost some very important people in our family. My Mum died when I was just a child, and I’ll admit that I waited every year for some kind of message from her. I thought maybe something was saved to give me when I was older or at certain events (like you see in the movies) but that wasn’t the case. A few years ago, my husband’s dear grandmother died at at 98 and oh, the stories she had. We were lucky that she did write each child and grandchild a letter that shared the story of her life and her wishes for her family, but it would have been amazing to have a recording of her voice as she told her stories as well. When were were given the opportunity to review the Saving Memories Forever App these were the two things that came to mind.

Downloading the app on our iPhone was easy and so was setting up an account on their website. However, trying to get my family to record their stories proved difficult so in the end I wasn’t able to get a good feel for the power of the program. I did have time to browse around though and the site is very easy to navigate. You just set up Story teller accounts for each person that you want to interview. Then you can choose which stories to share with your friends and family via Facebook, e-mail or other media. Simple and fun. It is really nice how everything is organized into accounts and categories. It makes it very easy to find and share what you are looking for.

While this app was not a perfect fit for my immediate family (and I doubt it would be for my extended family either….we are all quite shy), I think that it would be interesting to use with my husband’s family. They are much more likely to share stories and memories than my family is. We will be visiting with them over the summer and you never know, I might just get my husband to pull out the iPhone and give it a shot. I think the would have fun listening to each other’s accounts of certain events!

I invite you to visit this page for pricing options, as they are explained well there. You can get the app and account for free and then just pay to download the recordings or you can pay and monthly or yearly fee. This app works on most devices (Android, iPhone, etc), but I encourage you to check out some other reviews to see the differences between operating systems as I can only vouch for it working well on iPhone. I definitely think that it would

Check it out and start saving your precious memories!

Hey, God..the Whale’s Side of the Story ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

I recently had to opportunity to review the book Hey God, I’ve Got Some Guy Named Jonah in My Stomach and I Think I’m Gonna Throw Up! The Whale Tells His Side of the Story. This book is a cutesy take on the story of Jonah told from the perspective of the whale that swallowed him. Thing is, we don’t really do cutesy Bible stories so it didn’t really appeal to us all that much. The kids were like “that character doesn’t look at all like we would expect Jonah to look” and I didn’t like how they use “asleep” to mean dead. We kind of tell it like it is in this house, but I can see how others might appreciate it. It was okay to read once or twice, but it is not likely to be a book that we will come back to time and again. I did appreciate how the compared the whales journey to Jonah’s and it did teach the basics of Jonah’s story, but it was just a wee bit too cutesy for me. If this story interests you, be sure to see below for your chance to win a copy!

I’d love to leave you a bit more from the publisher:
Oh sure, we’ve all heard the story of Jonah and the Whale a hundred times. But have we heard it from the perspective of the whale who experienced that history-making event? Hey God, I’ve Got Some Guy Named Jonah in My Stomach and I Think I’m Gonna Throw Up! imagines how that great sea creature from the incident might tell his
side of the story, helping kids ages 4 to 8 discover a creative way of
learning about that guy who was supposed to go to Ninevah.
The “Parent Connection” feature (inside the book) will help moms and dads
take the story further with scripture references and tips on how to talk
with their children about what really happened.

Brought to you by B&H Kids

This book is just $9.99 and will entertain you and your kids!

About the Author:

Troy Schmidt has writing and video production credits ranging from assignments with Disney (The Mickey Mouse Club) and Nickelodeon to Max Lucado’s Hermie franchise. He is currently the lead writer for The American Bible Challenge hosted by Jeff Foxworthy on the Game Show Network. Troy and his wife have three sons.

The Series:

This is just the first in a series! Other books available include Hey God, Can You Stop the Rain so I Can Get off Noah’s Smelly Ark? and Hey God, I’m having an Awful Vacation in Egypt Thanks to Moses!

Website: http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/book /products.asp?p=9781433679643

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troyeschmidt

For a chance to win, just let me know that you’d love a copy!

Addition entries (please leave a comment for each).

1) Like Mama Manuscripts on facebook and tell me about it.

2) Follow @mamamanuscripts on twitter and tell me your twitter ID so I can follow you.

3) Tweet/retweet about this giveaway and let me know.

4) Blog about this contest and give me your link (3 entries) – Don’t forget to comment 3 times for this one!

Comments will close Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 and a winner will be selected at random.

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Goal Planning Monday ~ April 29th, 2013

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Mama Manuscripts

Welcome to Goal Planning Monday!

If you are new here be sure to check out the guidelines before you join in. We would love to have you! If you are returning, I hope you had a good week. Thank you for stopping in and sharing with us. Be sure to keep sharing with your friends as we all could use some accountability from time to time! I hope to see some new members this week. Keep spreading the word as we could all use some encouragement and support as we go about achieving our goals. If you have a moment get sure to hop over and see what others are doing.

Last week’s goals

1. Keep wee boy as happy as possible. DONE! He is actually amazing, despite a broken leg. The nights are occasionally hard as he has occasionally had nightmares, but the days are fine and he is going about his normal business.

2. Attend lego for homeschoolers this week. DONE! It was nice. We’ll probably try to go regularly. It was nice to see kids all the way from nearly new to their early twenties all hanging out together.

3. Cook a few big batch meals to freeze. Not done. Mike has actually found work here so he will not be gone for long and I may return to Sydney Mines to finish up business there. We haven’t really decided, yet, but I have a lot of hope that Ruadhan will be healed either way and that Mike will not be gone long.

4. Keep up with my seedlings. DONE! They are doing well.

5. Decide whether or not to continue with my coursera classes. DONE! I am not doing them for the certificate of completion. It isn’t going to happen, but I’ll likely keep up as best I can and try to take them again when they are offered another time.

6. Write a whole bunch of reviews. Partially done. I only wrote one and there is a lot more that I need to do. So many writing obligations and for the more part I’m not feeling terrible inspired.

This week’s goals

1. Clean out the fridge.

2. Get done with at least 3 of my writing obligations.

3. Sleep. Lots. I’m tired.

4. Help the kids stay on track with chores now that Daddy is here. It seems they forget to try when he is home. I still need the help (and maybe more so).

5. Come back and post a few more goals.

Mama Manuscripts

Balancing the Wild and Wonderful World of Parenting with a Passion for Writing

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