WE'RE BACK...WITH RESOLVE!!!!!

Good Morning Friends…

Krumbs and I want to wish everyone a

Happy New Year!!!!  It’s 2013!!!

We can’t believe a whole year has gone by already.  We’ve been talking about our NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS a lot.  We think of RESOLUTIONS as promises we make to ourselves that will help make us better people.  When Krumbs and I make our RESOLUTIONS, we think about all the good things we’ve done over the past year and then we think about the things we could do a little bit better.  Here’s a rundown of the things we think we did well and the things we think we can work on…

THE GOOD: 

We volunteered a lot this year.  We raised money for the ASPCA to help dogs and cats and other animals.  We donated our old toys to a special home for children whose parents can’t pay for new toys and we collected lots of canned food for the food pantry where we live. 

 We spent lots of time with our friends and worked hard to keep in touch with our friends who have moved away.  I did a great job keeping up with all my work in school and Krumbs and I helped out a little bit around our house (well…maybe we didn’t help out that much!

THINGS THAT NEED WORK: 

Okay. ..Well, we already said we didn’t help out around the house as much as we should.  (Is it just us, or do you think it’s really hard to help out around the house?)

 
OUR FIRST RESOLUTION FOR 2013 We will try to be better about cleaning our room (me), picking up dog bones (Krumbs), putting dishes in the dishwasher (me), and keeping food in the food bowl (Krumbs).

We learned a lot about healthy eating choices in school this year and we learned about changes that will make our school lunch menu healthier.  We haven’t done a great job balancing junk food with healthy foods.  (Is it just us, or does it seem like there are more junk foods around and sometimes they just taste a little better?) 

OUR SECOND RESOLUTION FOR 2013 We will try to be better about choosing healthier foods if we are going to eat some “junkie” foods.  We know healthy foods will keep us healthy and junk foods should be “treats” and we RESOLVE to try to remember that every day… and to try not to complain when our school and our parents offer us healthy foods and drinks.  We are going to be on the "look out" for more fun, tasty, healthy foods!

That’s it…our 2013 RESOLUTIONS.  What are your resolutions?  What have you done really well this year?  What are you working on in 2013?  CLICK HERE to join us at Klub Krumbs in the Imagination Café and share your resolutions.

LATKES AND MATZAH BALLS MAKE SLOSHING GOOD FUN!

Happy Hanukkah, Everyone!!!

Krumbs and I have been away for a few days…and we haven’t exactly been very good about communicating, have we?  Well, here’s our excuse—it’s

Hanukkah!

We’ve been visiting family and celebrating “the festival of lights”.  Every night we light candles on our menorah, open presents and eat yummy potato latkes and matzoh ball soup-mmm, mmm, mmm.  The best part of all is that we spend the whole time celebrating with our family—people and pets!

That means Krumbs, and our African Water Frogs (Yankee and Frogilina) travel all the way to New Jersey to celebrate with our cousins, grandparents and friends—Yahoo!  (Try to imagine a three hour drive in a small car with two adults, one child, a dog and two frogs in two tanks filled with water…it is sloshing good fun!)

So….what holidays do you celebrate?  Do you have any crazy family traditions?  The “sloshing good fun” in the car with two frogs and a dog is one of our crazier traditions.  The family “get-together” with cousins and really good food is one of our nicer traditions.  Share your family holiday traditions at the Café by joining Klub Krumbs. Just click here to join.

While you visit the Café, remember to vote in today’s “MY OPINION” poll.  Today we’re asking, “Who deserves the most dough?”  So, what do you think?  Does the president deserve millions?  How about firefighters?  Or maybe, your mom deserves the dough.  Click here to vote and make your opinion count!

THE CAFE IS HOPPING!

Hey everyone…I cannot believe how much things are hopping over at the Imagination Café.   When was your last visit?  Over the past few weeks, the editors have added a bunch of new articles, interviews and surveys.   Krumbs and I found 3 new amazing animal stories on the “Doggy Bag” section, 2 new science and sports articles in the “Weekly Specials” section and 2 super cool interviews on the “Book-tastic” page. 

The newest opinion poll is pretty cool too.  It asks a question that I can’t stop hearing everywhere I go—

Are We Going Over the Fiscal Cliff?

So, what do you know about the fiscal cliff?  Are we going over it?  Krumbs wants to know if he can jump off it, but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.  I think I’m going to do just a little bit of research before I vote.  How about you?  Have you voted yet?  Click here to let us know what you know about the government’s “fiscal cliff”.

Sorry, we’ve got to go play at the Imagination Café!  (Maybe we’ll “see” you there!)  Check back soon for more from me (Cookie) and my super-duper dog (Krumbs)!

HOW DOES SHE KNOW MY DOG?!?

I think Imagination Café author, Krista Noble knows Krumbs!  We were reading Ms. Noble’s article called, “The Knowing Nose: How Canine Sniffers Help Humans” and do know what she wrote in the opening paragraph?

“How does your dog spend his days?  Chasing squirrels?  Learning tricks?  Snoozing on the couch and begging for treats?”

That is a woman who knows my dog!  I couldn’t believe it…and neither could Krumbs.  He bounced around like a crazy dog, spinning in circles and jumping three feet off the ground!  He was thrilled to think an author really knew him and, let’s face it, Krumbs is a squirrel chaser, a trick learner, a couch snoozer and a treat beggar.

Krumbs is my hero…but he’s not a hero to the rest of the world.  The dogs in Krista Nobles article are real heroes.  The article tells about dogs who risk their lives helping people.  These dogs don’t chase squirrels or nap all day because they have real jobs that involve DANGER!  They sniff out bombs, search for hurt and lost people, hunt for illegal drugs and even help doctors diagnose diseases!

Click the article title below to check out SUPER HERO DOG JOBS:

“The Knowing Nose: How Canine Sniffers Help Humans”

Remember to check back with us next week for more fun with Cookie and Krumbs!

IS IT BREAKFAST BLUES OR A BREAKFAST BONANZA?

GOOD MORNING!!!

Yes, it is a good morning.  Krumbs and I have recovered from the very wonderful “VACATION MODE” and are adjusting to the busily fun, never boring but sometimes challenging “SCHOOL MODE”.  HOW ABOUT YOU? 

ARE YOU BACK IN “SCHOOL MODE” YET?

We’re working on putting on a happy face when we first wake up…but it is hard to get up at 6:30 AM.  My parents say Krumbs and I are young and it should be easy to jump right out of bed…but it’s not.  Sure, we could go to bed earlier or drink giant cups of coffee every morning (sorry, mom!) but we’ve got things to do at night and caffeine is really not good for our young minds and bodies (at least that is what my parents tell me!)

Anyway…while mom and dad drink giant cups of coffee and race around getting ready for work, Krumbs and I have breakfast!!!  Breakfast is our favorite meal and we’re pretty dedicated to our cereal, juice and applesauce (with the occasional hardboiled egg thrown in for extra protein).  We think our super-duper breakfast bonanza gives us the same boost coffee gives my parents.  We are a lot more awake after each day’s breakfast bonanza, aren’t you? 

Is breakfast your first, best brain boost?  We really want to know because right now, as we write this post, the Imagination Café is running another super poll and we want you to vote!  The big question is below.  Click on the question to visit the Café homepage.  Find the "YOUR OPINION" section and vote!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL?

Click, vote, and visit us again soon for another super dose of Cookie and Krumbs!!

BEEP! BEEP! OH NO! PLEASE GO!

“Zzz…BEEP! …Zzz-OH!...BEEP!...Zzz-UGH!...BEEP!...Zzz-Nooo!”

 That is the sound of me, Cookie, and my dog, Krumbs, snoring and screaming as we are shaken from the depths of a really great sleep by the nasty beeping of our alarm clock—yep, I admit it, the idea of being thankful just drifted away because we were so, so tired! 

 

Was it the same way at your house this morning? 

We’re up now…we’re up!  We’re ready to go to school—sort of, ready, anyway.  We just had such a great five days. We celebrated THANKSGIVING and then we had such a long vacation…great food, tons of fun with family, followed by amazing lazy days.  We felt like we were “Living the Late Life” of summer all over again!  

One of the best parts of the whole week was that I had the chance to go horseback riding twice!  It was so awesome to see the horses again…and Krumbs had the chance to hang out with the other barn dogs.  They raced around, chasing mice in the barn and racing across the polo fields—the whole experience was truly just puppy paradise  for Krumbs!  We loved visiting with our friends from the barn and we couldn’t believe how much fun we had.  Krumbs says he would definitely switch to mouse menacing instead of chipmunk chasing, except there are no mice hanging around our yard.  I think they’re on to Krumbs—they know to stay hidden!

            Have you checked out the Café recently? 

We did!  I found a terrific new poem by Laura Wolfe called “A Horse for AnnieMae”.  It is perfect for me because I was feeling a lot like Annie Mae after I left the barn yesterday.  I wanted, needed, "had to have" a horse of my own.  Annie Mae wants a horse too…until she finds out way too much about keeping horses!  Does this sound a little like you, too?  Check out the story by clicking here.

            Krumbs and I hope your holiday weekend was wonderful and we hope it was easier for you to get up today than it was for us!  Enjoy your week and check back again soon…

A RAINFOREST IN OMAHA?!?!

Quick!  What covers only 6% of the Earth but holds 50% of the world's plants and animals?

If you answered "rainforests", you would be absolutely correct.  Krumbs and I are learning about rainforests in an enrichment program this week--and what we've found out is fascinating!  Rainforests supply us with medicines, plant extracts and foods we eat every day (like CHOCOLATE)! The world's rainforests are home to millions of animals...and scientists are discovering more every day.

So...with rainforests on our minds, Krumbs and I visited the Cafe.  Could Krumbs and I find some fun and interesting rainforest facts to share with my class?  The answer was YES, of course!  We stumbled on the greatest article about a rainforest in....Omaha, Nebraska!?!?!?  Impossible, you say?  Nope...entirely possible and absolutely true.  You can read all about it in Janice Bjornstad's article, "Jungle in the City: The Creation of an Indoor Rainforest".   Scientists, artists, horticulturists, construction workers, veterinarians and volunteers all worked together to create a living rainforest in Omaha, Nebraska!  You can find out all about this amazing creation, from how experts "built" trees to how they protected the animals and the visitors by clicking here.

Amazing and exciting stuff for great minds like us!