Ashley Hackshaw, Author at Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

The Heat Wave and The Hook

June 30, 2013 by Ashley Hackshaw

The weather here is brutal. Notice the headline…that’s where we live….the hottest ever? I don’t think it actually got that hot today though:

We tried to cook an egg outside. It dried up within 15 minutes….but it didn’t cook.

We headed up to our friends’ ranch up in the mountains for the afternoon yesterday to keep cool.

Boo and her friends played in the pond:

I broke the treehouse rules:

And I was dared to cross the pond. I put the waders on over my dress….and I got about halfway. I stepped on a turtle and who knows what else. I felt faint and queasy. It didn’t help me conquer my fear of ponds at all.

Oh, my hair looks a little darker…..that’s because I thought I’d go blonde last Thursday and then changed my mind about an hour later. So I’m back brunette….just a few shades off for a while until it fades.

We drove back down the mountain late last night after dinner:

Me: Remember that urban legend about the kids making out in the car…..and the radio comes on saying there was a manhunt for a dangerous convict….who had a hook for a hand?
Mr. LBB: I think so.
Me: And then the girl hears a scratching noise but the boy doesn’t believe her…..
Mr. LBB: Stop.
Me: And then they drive off and when they get home he goes to open her car door….and there’s a HOOK!
Mr. LBB: You better hope our car doesn’t break down.

Then moments later….we passed a man walking on the side of the road….in the middle of nowhere:

Me: Do you think he broke down?
Mr. LBB: Have you seen a car for miles?
Me: Was he carrying a lantern?
Mr. LBB: It looked kind of like a head to me.

And my heart literally stopped for a total of 23 seconds. And then I thought about throwing a bottle of water out the window….you know….because dangerous convicts need water too. Then if we broke down he’d take pity on us….because I was kind to a convicted killer. But I didn’t have a water bottle. Then I realized if we broke down we’d probably die of thirst. And we’d be begging the dangerous convict with the lantern/head for water. And….maybe I’ve watched too many scary movies.

Oh and I don’t want you to worry about the dangerous convict….he’ll be fine……there are call boxes all over the mountain.

If Lump Equals Turtle

June 28, 2013 by Ashley Hackshaw

Mr. LBB: Are your boobs getting bigger?
Me: Just one.

Today I was convinced that I had breast cancer and face cancer. Dr. Y said I definitely don’t have face cancer….I just need to moisturize a little more. She said I probably don’t have breast cancer but just because of my history we should make sure. She did a breast exam and when she found the lump her eyes went wide…..so basically her face said “BREAST CANCER” and her mouth said “oh it’s probably just tissue”….and then she drew a big TUMOR LOOKING THING on the order form:

But looking closer at it I realized it was just a turtle.

Turtles are harmless. Unless they are snapping turtles….or worse: alligator snapping turtles:

But according to wikipedia no human deaths have been linked to an alligator snapping turtle.

So next week I get to go for my first mammogram and my gazillionth ultrasound!

And by my mathematical deduction:

If lump = turtle, and alligator snapping turtle = no human deaths, then I’ll be fine.

Logical to me.

[Read more…]

Summer Learning

June 28, 2013 by Ashley Hackshaw

It only takes 66 days to form a new habit, so summer is the perfect time to be forming good learning routines. A great resource for summer learning ideas, tips and tricks is Mom Minded, a new blog from Sylvan Learning. As a part of their 66 Days of Summer Learning I am sharing my ideas on how to keep the summer educational but still fun.

Remember Boo’s summer learning book last summer? I’ve been continuing it this year to keep her motivated throughout the summer. I made a daily checklist and instead of nagging her to do all of her chores I just ask her to make sure she checks off her boxes:

I tried to think of a goal for the summer that would help her in school. She goes to a Christian school so learning the books of the bible seemed perfect. I broke it down so she could learn about 5 or 6 books a week:

But she wanted more so she could just learn them a little faster so I ended up putting them all up. I repeat them in a fun way and she pretty much picks it up by hearing:

I have different worksheet activity books that I tear pages out of a week in advance so that she has 2 or 3 worksheets each day of review from Kindergarten. I’ve found some great books at the 99 cent store and Costco. Boo’s teacher also gave me some outdated ones. Ask your friends too who have older kids….they might have books that have half the pages unfinished. I hand all mine down to younger children because we never finish every single book.