Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Froggy Algebra


Not only do July frogs eat cornflakes with sporks, but they are also very good at solving equations with variables on both sides of the equations. Its good that the frog can do this, because the Mommy is struggling with the word problem. Help please?



"A 2000L tank containing 550L of water is being filled with water at the rae of 75L per minute from a full 1600L tank. How long will it be before both tanks have the same amount of water?"


I set up my equation: 1600 - 75 / m = 550 + 75 / m

This is wrong. Why is it wrong? This is also frustrating, because this is a simple rate problem, and I used to do physic problems way more complicated than this. But the key phrase there is "used to do". Now I'm going to go see if the July frog would like to share another cup of hot chocolate with me.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Fabulous Five

One more day in Buffalo, one more night at the hotel.

So far, here are our  top five picks of the trip.

Toa of Boy:

1. Lunch on Friday at the Indian food place. It was so yummy. I could eat 18 mango lassies.

2. Dinner last night. The chicken was good and the mild and honey good.

3. Rainbow. Good.  I wish I wish I was going over the rainbow.

4. The stuff I buyed. I did like the chick. The chickie chickie.

5. The beach. It was fun. I like getting wet!

Sweetling:

1.  I liked the Maid of the Mist. It was fun and wet.

2. The hotel is really nice It looks really homey, the beds are comfy, and it has a cool indoor swimming pool.

3. The Journey behind the Falls was neat. It was really cool to walk down the tunnel and look at the waterfalls from the other side.

4. I like spending time with family.

5. The pizza place that we went to is an amazing restaurant. It makes good pizza.

Mommy:

1. This has been an awesome and amazing family vacation. I have loved loved loved all the things we've seen and done, but most of all, I've loved doing them together. I've loved the car games we've played. I've loved watching Sweetling and the Jedi walk hand in hand along Niagra Falls. I've loved listening to Toa of Boy say, "This is the best vacation ever," even if he has said it again and again and again, in his best Dash voice and often while flopping himself backward. I love how patient the Jedi has been with two very exciteable personalies (and no, Sweetling isn't one of them.) I love being a family together.

2. The Maid of the Mist. This was by far the most awesome, most unforgetable activity of the trip so far....and I can't imagine anything else will be able to top it. I'm really glad we started our day in Niagra off with this boat ride. It far surpassed all my expectations for it.

3. I liked Sarah's restaurant. It was a fun throw back to a 50's diner and really encapsulated the spirit of the family road trip.

4. I got a kick out of driving over all the bridges. I love the marvels of engineering that they represent, I love the view from the middle of them, and I love the sounds the wheels make on them. Bridges...awesome. I'm even considering driving over the Buffalo skyway again today just to do it. I have a Tom Tom, how hard could it be?

5. Niagra Falls was breathtaking in its beauty and majesty.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Rocking Like Peanuts

On the way back from the pool this evening, Toa of Boy asked, "Whose idea was this? This was a good idea!"

"This is all Daddy's idea," I said. "Daddy got on the internet and did all the research and planned all the activities and found all the places we could go and all the things we could do."

"That's because," added Sweetling, "Daddy rocks."

To which Toa of Boy exclaimed, "Daddy rocks like peanuts!"

Now, I am sitting in the hotel room waiting for the Jedi to get back from his certification class. The children are in bed, but not asleep. If I were in bed, I would surely be asleep.

Brief highlights of how our trip has rocked like peanuts--
German food is very filling. German buffets consist of multiple types of meat (four different sausages, meatloaf, and two different meaty stews) with sides of mashed potatoes, two kinds of hot potato salads, cabbage, sourkraut, and mac and cheese. Over in the corner there was a lonely pan of green beans...with potato pieces and crumbled bacon.

The Fudge Haus across the street had their hours posted in German and the "push" and "pull" signs on their door in German as well. The Jedi got a kick out of that. We all got a kick out of the delicious samples we were treated too....including penache fudge, for which I must now find some recipes. The Jedi spent an unmentionable sum of money treating us to all kids of wonderful fudge goodness. He made sure each of us got to pick a few favorite items and candies from each of the tempting displays....though we did draw the line at the $28 dollar lollipop that was bigger than Toa of Boy's head. (Toa of Boy very kindly offered to share it with the whole family. Mommy still said no.)

And we spent half an hour or so wondering around the old neighborhood around the restaurant with its brick streets and brick sidewalks and neat and tiny gardens. Toa of Boy collected several leaves, which he stuffed in the largest pocket of his seat organizer. Sweetling and I browsed through the art and craft shop together and oooed and awed over many lovely items.

The Yellow Car Game and the state lisence plate search are going wonderfully. Both of the kids are excited and into the games. We took a break from them today while driving on the toll highway between Erie and Buffalo and did round robin story telling instead....featuring the penguins of madagascar in our tale of course.

Today was packed full of activities. ....but the Jedi is back (and I munched on the awesome food he brought home from class. I asked him if that was his homework, and then I chowed down.) So, I'm off to bed. I'm only a day behind with my updates. For me, that's almost like being on time.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...To Buffalo We Go!!!

(March 19, 2011--edit to add. A friend asked for some travel tips for her family vacation to Buffalo. I wanted to just send her the link to this post, but I have some post travel comments and observations to add. So, look for the italicized edit to add comments for the scoop on what we thought of each stop. I'm also throwing in one or two of my favorite photos from some of the stops.)

The laundry is almost done...though I think the monster under the bed must be eating Toa's underwear. I need to buy him another pack before we leave.

The Jedi is printing google map after google map.

The house shall remain occupied during our vacation. (Hear that, creepy people? The house isn't empty. Swiper no swiping!)

So, as the creepy people are snapping their fingers and saying "oh man!", I am safe in posting our trip itinerary. Wow. I even spelled that correctly on the first try. Will wonders never cease.

We're leaving on Wednesday, and stopping in Columbus to eat at a Schmidt's Sausage Haus, highlighted on Man Vs Food. (edit to add: The Jedi liked this restaurant. The kids and I aren't as big of sausage fans, so not so much. Walking around the German section of Columbus was very cool and the fudge shop was super yummy.)

We're stopping for a sleepover at Nana and Bapa's house in Canton, Ohio...then leaving early Thursday morning.

Thursday late morning should bring us to Presque Isle Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. After an hour or so of exploring the beach, we're having lunch in a little restaurant close the park....hot dogs, chicken fingers, onion rings, and vanilla-orange swirl ice cream served in a little red and beach side diner.


(edit to add: WELL WORTH THE STOP. The kids loved playing in the sand on the beach. The little road side 50's style hamburger stand was a real treat. This was old-school family road trip all the way.)

Back on the road, and hopefully we'll hit Buffalo early enough to visit the Buffalo & Erie Canal Military and Naval Park.  Can you say, Battleship? I knew you could. I think there's a submarine there too.
(edit to add: If you are in Buffalo, take an hour or two to do the self -guided tour of these three naval vessels. It is really interesting and well done. Many thumbs up for this one.)

Then, Thursday evening, the Jedi is going to his barbeque judge certification class, which was the imputus for the trip. (Hey, I spelled impuptus on the first try too!) While the Jedi is learning the fine art of being a bbq judge, the kids and I are going swimming in our hotel's indoor pool.

Friday morning kicks off with a brief visit to the Iron Island Museum, of Ghosthunters fame.(edit to add: We decided to skip this in favor of more time at the falls. We didn't think the kids would really be interested, and honestly, the day we spent at the falls was busy enough without adding something extra.)

Then we are on to Niagara Falls, where we will begin our visit with a ride on the Maid of the Mist. After a change of clothes and shoes, we'll grab lunch somewhere.  


(edit to add: If you do NOTHING ELSE in Buffalo, YOU MUST RIDE ON THE MAID OF THE MIST. This was by far the coolest experience of Niagara Falls. DO NOT buy your tickets at the jacked-up prices at the info desks inside the tourist trap buildings by the parking lots. Instead, walk into the park...we got ours on the America side...and find the departure site for the Maid of the Mist. Buy your tickets there. The tourist trap info desk wanted ~$30 for an adult ticket rather than the ~$12 the park was selling them for. ALSO, a change of shoes is a must, especially if you are going in cooler weather. Be prepared to get drenched. Soaked. Imagine getting into a multi-directional shower in a wind tunnel fully clothed. It's like that. We don't have as many pictures, for fear of water damage to the camera. Of note though is that Maid of the Mist also gets you access to a section of trail at the foot of the American falls which was really neat and not open to the general public.)





Then its on to the platform viewing and Journey Behind the Falls.
Another change of clothes and shoes (I don't know where I think I'm getting all these extra pairs of shoes from,) and then perhaps a snack. Well fed children are happier children. A kind soul gave us a big bag of Canadian coins to split between the children, so we're hitting some souvenir shops on the Canadian side.



(edit to add: The viewing platform of Journey Behind the Falls was really cool. This photo was taken there, despite the 'maid of the mist' information plaque beside Sweetling. The tunnel behind the falls was not so cool. It was worth it for us, for the viewing platform under the falls. Again, a change of shoes and socks. We got soaked. BUT if we had gone in the height of tourist season and had to stand in a narrow, long, boring tunnel in a huge slowly shuffling line of people, it would have been a waste. In the middle of a weekday in September, we just strolled through the empty tunnels and spent most of our time on the viewing platform. But it would have been a totally different, and unpleasant, experience in a crowd. IF YOU MUST GO IN THE SUMMER, go on a weekday. I was given a tip, from the elevator operator in the tunnel, that the crowds on summer weekends are so thick most people can't even get close to the railings at the park overlooks to even see the falls for the sheer mass of people.)

Sunset that night is around 7. We're debating whether we should stay until sunset to see the falls with lights OR hit dinner first and come back for the falls after dark. Either way, dinner is going to be at LaNova Wings. (edit to add: We didn't go back at night. We were wet and cold and tired. Also, I recommend a different restaurant. We picked this one so we could grab some Buffalo wings and go back to our hotel room with them, but the prep was slow, and the wings not that great.)


Are you tired yet? We are. Something calm and quiet at the hotel that night. Maybe a couple of Penguins of Madagaskar cartoons.

 After breakfast on Saturday, we drop the Jedi off at Oinktoberfest, where he will be judging in the big barbeque contest. Then the kids and I are heading to the Buffalo Museum of Science.We'll explore and play and eat lunch at the Brown Bear Bistro inside the museum. (edit to add: The kids were still young enough to really love this museum. It has a lot of hands on activities geared for elementary, and young elementary, aged children. Several favorite family quotes came from our time there. The staff, one worker in particular, really made our time there super-fun. Adults and older youth would be bored and not very impressed. Hands-on younger learners will be totally in their element here. If you have museum membership to your local museum, this museum is on a reciprocal list...so you can likely get in free with your membership. )

Sometime that afternoon, we'll head back to Oinktoberfest and meet up with the Jedi. We'll wonder around Oinktoberfest together and dine on many delicious foods sold at the various vendors and competitors.

Another dip in the hotel pool will wrap up Saturday.

Sunday will see our departure from Buffalo. Our last stop before heading home will be Letchworth State Park, home of the "Grand Canyon of the East". After a nice hike along the scenic gorge, lunch at some nearby restuarant, we'll turn the van towards the long drive home. We're planning on driving strait through, stopping only for dinner. When it gets late, the kids can bunk down in the van. 

(edit to add: Totally worth the extra drive time. After Niagara Falls, we thought any other state park would be anticlimatic. It wasn't. It was beautiful, it was scenic, it was full of breath-taking views and lovely trails.)

Monday....home sweet home! (and the long process of unpacking and doing all the laundry we generated!)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Facebook...um...Sunday?

If you're already on Facebook with me, don't read this. There, you have been warned.

This is for me, so that when I'm rereading my blogs, I get the snippets of my week otherwise lost on Facebook.

This is for my sister, who is too much of a smurfen smurf to visit me on Facebook.

This is two weeks worth of Facebook updates, cause I didn't do this on 9-11.

September 5 at 10:27am
woo hoo! The Jedi showed me how to get cameras off my camera and onto my computer! Happy day!
Pinkie's Mom:
you had cameras on your camera? No wonder you needed his help!

September 5 at 11:51pm
The Jellicle Moon is shining bright--Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball!

September 6 at 4:35pm
Thought I had a can of manwich, but I don't. Now I'm googling for a sloppy joe sauce from scratch.

September 6 at 4:43pm
It just occured to me, next Sunday, at this EXACT time, we need to be heading back to church. How's that going to work? Plus, there is such a thing as eating too many donut holes in one day. Thanks, Tracie. ;)

September 7 at 8:26pm
I haven't gotten any personal email all weekend. But my inbox has been full of junk spam mail multiple times a day :(

September 8 at 2:27am
sign that you *might* have a problem: At 2:30 am, you're up and using a flashlight to find a book on the bookshelf (you can't turn on a light of course, because that would wake your husband.)

September 8 at 12:08pm
There are no children here. Only guinea pigs.

September 9 at 8:48am
Sweetling: This is Susan, not Xuan's results. Xuan would not get these results, oh no no no. Which Gilligan's Island Character are you? The Professor

September 9 at 9:01am
This is Xuan's result. Let it never be said, "like mother like daughter". Plus I just dripped hot chocolate on my white sweater :( Which Gilligan's Island Character are you? Gilligan
 

September 9 at 10:38am
Just got finished having an algebra lesson with Susan and "Eggy". It gives a whole new meaning to the term, "egg-head".

September 9 at 1:04pm
Toa of Boy's favorite time of the day is "food". To go along with this, we just got back from meijer with 12 big brown bags of groceries and a 10lb bag of potatoes for $94 :)

September 10 at 7:49am
First day of co-op calls for penguin earrings, n'est-ce pas?

September 10 at 3:53pm
so, I lied on my blog last night. I said the house was clean. In good faith, I thought it was. But no, no, I realized this morning that the sink was absolutely overflowing with dirty dishes. Yes, I am just this fascinating, thank you. Now that the ki...tchen is *actually* clean, I'm debating between chocolate, a nap, and mariokart. Decisions, decisions....

September 11 at 8:19am
can't find my devotion notebook. :(

September 11 at 1:44pm
I want cookies, therefore, we shall make some. It's good to be the Mommy.
September 11 at 1:48pm
The flip side to this is, while the cookies are in the oven, I got to scrub out and scrub down the disgusting kitchen trash can. The moral? With great kitchen power comes great kitchen responsibility.

September 11 at 3:37pm
I found my devotion notebook, but I lost my van key.
September 11 at 4:01pm
Good news, I found the van key. Bad news, its inside the locked van.

September 14 at 9:36am
I hate computers. I don't know how many times a day I say that, but I'm pretty sure I mean it every time.

September 14 at 9:46am
It is fun to have fun but you have to know how....
Xuan took the Dr. Seuss Personality Test quiz and the result is Cat in the Hat

September 14 at 5:21pm
i filled a pint blood bag in 8 minutes...but they forgot to give me a sticker:(

September 16 at 4:46am
Being up since 4am with a stuffed up nose is not on my list of favorite things to do. The universe should know this by now and stop putting this activity in my weekly agenda.

September 16 at 5:08am
So, someone explain to me why I can log into facebook from the laptop that's mounted to my kitchen wall, but not from the laptop that's sitting on my kitchen table. I hate computers. And I can't login to school from either place.

September 16 at 5:39am
Ha! The computer has met its match now! The Jedi is awake and he rescued me! Though, considering the only computer thing I've been able to do is update Facebook, and I've been up and unhappy for at least an hour now, I think the fact that ...I restrained myself to only three updates shows remarkable self-control.

September 16 at 6:40am
building a fort out of couch cushions in a friend's family room should count as school. what subject can I log that under? What about chess? Chess should totally count for school. What subject does that go under?

September 16 at 2:46pm
Toa of Boy's rubber lizard is now down to just one foot. Tape is not an effective surgical tool in this case.

Thursday at 2:25pm via Mobile Texts
Dear co-op leadership, I am sitting in class being well-behaved, but I'm out of chocolate, so I can't promise this will last long.

Thursday at 5:56pm
Toa of Boy's learing about matter. We've been going through the list of what is made out of matter. Trees? Yes. Skin? Yes. Bubbles? Yes. "Everything is made out of matter," say I. "How about electricity?" counters Toa of Boy.

Thursday at 7:51pm
zuan, Youlook so nice today! Sorry I didn't tell you before now, and Please tell Toa of Boy thank you, thank you, thank you, for his wonderful hug!

Friday at 11:58am
hooray! I'm remembering to put dinner in the crock pot early enough in the day for it to cook! Sadly, now I no longer want the ham. I want fried chicken and waffles.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Chuck Cluck's Home Alone Rules

I've been awake since 4am. Therefore, I am completely justified in a list of home alone rules for a chicken. (As dictated to me by said chicken, of course.)

1. Don't stop anybody from doing the chicken dance.
2. Be good.
3. Don't dance on the table if you've got mud on your feet.
4. Don't feed the stray chizzpurfles. (WHAT??? says Chuck Cluck.)
4. (for real)-- Try to keep Sweetling on track.
5. Don't mess with the eggs. They want to be snuggled, but they are frag-ile. And messy.
6. Always eat your chicken feed.
7. Don't try to fly away.

In other news, I've been up since 4am (have I mentioned that?) And we didn't start school till 11:45. Why, cause someone loaned us the 5th Harry Potter book, that's why. And cause someone else started blogging. And cause webkinz world released a new activity today and club penguin had the sensai's scavenger hunt going. We are a house of school-dodgers is what we are today.

Sweetling says I'd make a good Beater if schoolwork was a bludger.

Quick Quotes

From a greeting card cousin Charlotte shared--

"My cookbook says I can substitute three egg whites for two eggs.....I don't think my cookbook understands my problem."

From Monday night dinner--

Me: Please keep the lizard out of your spaghetti.
Toa of Boy: The lizard is Spaghetti!
Sweetling: Please keep the green lizard named spaghetti out of you plate of red, real spaghetti.

From Saturday's trip to McD's with Grandma:

Getting stung
On the tongue
By a bee
Is no fun.

(Toa of Boy's assessment of Mommy's poetry: "It's not funny, Mommy. It's sad." And since Toa of boy was the victem of said bee sting, he was very qualified to judge the emotional content of the verse. The bee climbed in the straw of his strawberry milkshake. Poor Toa of Boy.)

From yesterday's Target Trip:

Sweetling: I think you have trained Toa of Boy to be a "P".
Me: Mais oui, Jean-Claude, mais oui.
Sweetling: Not that kind of pea. A "P" from that personality index thing. [the Meyers-Briggs index]
Me: Not so fast tomatoe. Won't you join me in my irrating little song?
Sweetling: Nevermind.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

My Challenge to You: Please read!

If you were one of the many people who helped fill Facebook and the Blogworld with rememberences about 9-11 last Friday, my compliments to you. Thank you. Thank you for helping us all remember for a day not only the lives that were lost, but the heroism of the men and women who served our country then, and are still serving our country now. Those who are overseas in harms way; those who regularly run into burning buildings when the everyone else is running out; those who daily leave a spouse and children at home while they patrol the streets to protect and defend and never know when a situation will turn violent; those who daily race against time and fate trying to save a life threatened by accident or illness. If you posted and helped us remember these heros, thank you.

But I have one further challenge for you. Please keep reading.

The same day that we were all busy typing up a few words of rememberence, I got a phone call from our local blood bank. The blood supplies are critically low. They need all bloodtypes, and they need them soon. At the time, the magnitude of the date on which I received the call didn't occur to me. I simply scheduled an appointment to donate for the following Monday, and went on about my day.

I arrived at the neighborhood Hoxworth Blood Center branch in the afternoon. Two elderly men were just finishing their juice and crackers and preparing to leave as I walked in. I took time settling my little boy in a chair and approached the desk. To be honest, I can't remember if it was something I heard the men say, or if (as I strongly suspect) I caught a glimpse of a patch or a pin worn on a ball cap donned before the men walked out the door, but I firmly believe the two older, grandpa looking, likely retired men were military veterans. In other words, men who had already given blood, sweat, and tears for their country. There they were, in the twilight of their lives, still willing to bleed to save the lives of others.

And that's when I remembered it was 9-11 when I received the call to give blood.

Do you remember eight years ago when people lined up for hours to donate blood after the tragedy? Do you remember how local blood banks had to start turning people away because they had filled to capacity their blood storage facilities?

Here's my challenge to all my Facebook and Blog friends. If you wrote anything at all about 9-11, and if your eligible to be a blood donor....call your local hospital or blood bank TODAY and set up an appointment to give blood sometime in the month of September. And pass the word along.

What if America could fill her blood banks to capacity every September? How much more meaningful would our words be, if we would back them up with something that each of us can do that would actually save a life. Even if medically you cannot give your own blood, you can help save lives by raising awareness.

Thank you for reading this far. You know that I don't often use my blog as a soap box, so thank you for indulging me this one time. Regardless of your political stand in the current debates, please help save a life by donating blood and by inspiring others to do so.

If you'd like to learn more about donating blood, including how to find a donation center near you, please visit https://www.givelife.org/index_flash.cfm?thisHB=09/15/2009%2005:14:31

If you live in the Cincinnati area, you can also call or visit the Hoxworth Blood Center

Is giving blood easy?  No, not really. I've done it twice now, and neither time was it a walk in the park.

Is giving blood painless? No, not really. You get stuck with needles twice. Once as a finger prick to test for anemia before donating and then the actual draw itself (which hurts a little both when the needle goes in and when the needle comes out, but can't be felt at all in the few minutes that the blood is flowing.)

Is giving blood convenient? No, not really. We all have busy schedules and sometimes adding one more thing into our list seems crazy. But, you can make an appointment that fits your schedule and works around your other activities and obligations.

Is giving blood quick? No, not really. You should probably block 45 minutes to an hour for the entire process of filling out the paper work, being screened (blood pressure, temperature, and finger prick), doing the actual draw, and then eating a light snackand resting for a few minutes afterward.

Is giving blood worth all the other issues? You bet.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Road Trip

We're heading to Buffalo NY in less than two weeks. The Jedi has put together an awesome iternary for us, and I'm super excited about the trip. I'll share links of the places we'll be seeing later, but first...

I want to talk about the trip itself. Granted, our van has a DVD player and a Gameboy Advanced AND both the kids have a DS (well, Sweetling has a DSi)....AND Sweetling loves to read and has her own laptop. So, we could sail through the trip relying on electronics to keep everyone happy. But, I don't want to.

I want to have a family road trip.

Here are my ideas for car games. Some are my own, and some are the Jedi's, and some are borrowed from various places.

First, we are going to have The Ultimate Yellow Car Marathon Championship.
 
We play yellow car all the time....though not in its "SlugBug" version. So, why not an ultimate yellow car show down? Normally, the game of yellow car lasts only from the time we leave the house until the car is parked at our destination, or, conversly, from the time we leave whatever location until we arrive back home at our house. The first person to see and call a yellow car gets a point. Whoever has the most points when we reach our destination wins. The game starts over again when we get back in the car to go home. But for this road trip, I'll be keeping a clipboard with a running score for each family member. The game is on from the time we leave our driveway until we get back five days later. At the bottom of the clipboard, I'll make a note of any other unusual yellow objects we see during the trip. We haven't decided yet what the victor should claim as a prize.

Second, we will also be playing a State License Plate Game.

This one isn't a competition, but a co-operative game. Each of the kids will have a map of the US on their clipboard. We're going to color in a state when we spot a car sporting its license plate. The goal is to see how many states we can find and fill in. We'll bring along some field glasses for this one.



Third, I want to play some form of Landscape I Spy, or I Spy...Along the Road.

I haven't quite worked out the details yet. One possibility it to make a list from A to Z of things we think we might see....and then trade lists. Or, we could work cooperatively to spot interesting things, and then keep one master list where we jot down objects next to the appropriate letter. Hmmm....


Last, I want to print out Trip Maps for each of the kids so they can mark our journey as we move along.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Simple Woman's Daybook, Sept 9th

FOR TODAY
(Wednesday, September 9th, 10:54 pm)...

Outside my window...the crickets and tree frogs? are singing. Otherwise the windows are dark mirrors.

I am thinking...that I should be in bed. But here I am, because I haven't blogged in a while, and addictions are cruel masters.

I am thankful for...my husband. I know, I know. Jedi stories always dominate this space, but this week is no different. Sweetling has been unhappy recently with school. The work load this year is a lot tougher, and more of my time this year is needed by Toa of Boy, so Sweetling has been trudging through her assignments by herself. The Jedi commented last night that her schooling used to incorporate and make use of her imagination and creativity, whereas this year it has really been more "seriously academic." He wondered if there was someway to bring back the "make believe" element with her school. We talked about it, and I launched operation "Daydreaming Scholar" today. It was a huge success. Sweetling taught "Eggy" all day today. (Eggy was a large ball whom she adopted for the day, carried around, made a nest for, and filled its day with cognitive enrichment.) Sweetling was a happy cheerful girl all day, and she got her school work finished by noon.

From the learning rooms...three big updates. Operation Daydream Scholar is a go. Toa of Boy is as bouncy as ever and is really reading. Tomorrow is our co-op kickoff day.

From the kitchen...Daniel Boone Chicken. It was absolutely delicious. Of course, I dropped and spilled rice grains all over the kitchen floor, but Toa of Boy said, "Don't worry Mommy! I'll go get the mop!" And he got the broom and dustpan and swept up the kitchen floor for me.

I am wearing...a white summer weight sweater, tan shorts, teal necklace and earrings.

I am creating...ten unique labels for the 6th graders' co-op supply box. Each label has the meaning of their name, their name in cunneiform, and their name in hieroglyphs. I'm especially proud of what a good job I did on the heiroglyphs, because I managed to encorporate symbols for both the phonemes in their names as well as the meaning of their names. I'll have to do one for myself and ask the Jedi to scan it in so I can post it.

I am going...to co-op. Hi ho, hi ho! I love co-op :)

I am reading...just finished "The Girl who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester. I highly recommend this book for anyone in the 5th through 7th grades or so. It would make a great addition to a homeschooling curriculum. Or, Nora, your gifted kids would really like it.  I can't tell you why without giving away the plot, so you'll have to trust me and check it out from the library and read it yourself.

I am hoping...for something personal. Really though, I know what I need to do next in the process and just have been dragging my feet on it. No one is surprised by this revelation, but at least I'm taking ownership of the situation!

I am hearing...crickets and tree frogs and whatever it is that makes so much noise on a summer night. I love their noises, but I'm always amazed by how loud it is, and by how vague my knowledge of the source of these sounds is.

Around the house...everyone but the naughty Mommy is asleep. But the Mommy isn't too naughty, because the house is clean and the laundry is done and folded and the kids are packed for the first day of co-op and my project was done an HOUR before midnight. (Ok, technically, there are still 4 bags of non-perishable groceries sitting on top of the washer machine that need to get put away in the pantry, but still, I have kicked butt today. Which is probably why I walked out of the girls bathroom at church carrying the soap dispenser. The universe must maintain its cosmic balance somehow.)

One of my favorite things...my seventh grade life group girls at church. I really love everyone's personality and comments. We are like a wonderful ethnic dish, with a rich variety of flavors that are each distinct and yet complimentary to each other.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Thursday: co-op, Incredibles, library, Tae Kwon Do (where I have just about mastered the fifth form!)
Friday: school, family night
Saturday: Vaya's baby shower. I've decided I'm not ready to be a grandma. That just sounds old and stuffy. But I'd love to be a Meemaw. Meemaws are fun and quirky. The Jedi is going to a 9-12 rally in BlueAsh.
Sunday: Sweetling goes to youth instead of the sanctuary. Toa of Boy is in Kidzone instead of Clubhouse. (He has told everyone, and I do mean everyone, that he is now with Miss Bethann.) Sunday night we are all supposed to be back at church by 5. I have no idea how that's going to happen.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...hmmm...no heiroglyphs for you so....

Saturday, September 05, 2009

To Fill Flash or Not to Fill Flash?

Not that I have a fill flash, just my built in flash. Anyway, here's some pics from our art museum outing and our lunch at Twin Lakes in Eden Park. If I can figure out where the aperature settings and such are stored, I'll post that with the pic.

The first pic, and the next couple pics, are all outside the museum. I think Mango lied to me. She claims that the aperature settings and all that razmajaz is saved with the jpg file somehow, but darned if I can find it.



They both look so thrilled to be sitting still while I tried to figure out how to adjust camera settings. Of course, I only posted one of each pose, in reality, I snapped several pics of each shot....to compare how different settings looked. All of that does me no good now, cause I can't figure out which setting got used for which shot. Next time, I'll make them hold up a white board with the settings written on it for each shot.

Its good to be the Mommy, cause you get to make the rules.

Lunch was at Twin Lakes, which over looks the Ohio River.
Toa of Boy proudly displays his mango. Once with a flash.....











And once without. His face is much more visible with the flash, but does the lighting look unnatural?

Without the face, the details of his face are lost, but the element of natural light directionality is retained.

What do others think? What should I do with these?









And my Sweetling
being contemplative. No flash used here either.











Back inside the museum, where the children finally get to do what they really wanted to....just sit and draw the art.

Again, no flash, because I liked the color of the light and the wood as it was, but I think I went with the absolute wrong camera setting.









 And Toa of Boy.....

I like this one. The natural colors of the wood makes Toa in the foreground really visible. The figures in the background are blurred, since they were walking, but I think that helps to keep the importance on Toa.

Plus, on a non-photography related note, let me state how amazing it is that Toa is SO focused on his work that he remains pretty clear, despite the slow shutter speed. For someone who is a living illustration of Heisenburg's Uncertainty Principle....that is an amazing, rarely duplicated feat.

Facebook Friday, even though its now Saturday

Friday, August 28 at 4:55pm
my pink tablespoon measure is hiding from me. Now, why would it do that?

Saturday, August 29 at 7:13pm
Did you know meijer sells dry ice? Ed's in buying dry ice so we can bring ice cream home with us from cold stone.

Sunday, August 30 at 10:13am
The bad news: my right earring keeps leaping out of my ear. The "good" news: My culry hair is tangled enough to catch the hook evey time.

Sunday, August 20 at 2:22pm
Today's science experiment: exploding a plastic bottle using dry ice. Why? Cause dry ice is the gift that keeps on giving.

Sunday, August 30 at 2:45pm
warning: blast shields would be a good idea for this one.

The Jedi, August 30 at 4:54pm
Do it from a safe distance, say 200' or so, or from the other side of a window. The bottle shot off like a rocket and smacked Toa of Boy in the face.

(And I'm adding right now, Toa of Boy was ok. We thought we were at a safe distance, at the top of the driveway with the bottle near the bottom of the driveway, but we had seriously underestimated the pressure that the CO2 was building up. And no, I'm not looking up how to make the "2" do the little subscript thing. Anyway, Toa of Boy cried, and had a red mark on his face, but thankfully was not seriously hurt. Sweetling, who pointed out the safety warning that came with the dry ice at least twice before we commenced this experiment, was vindicated in her assessment that this might not be the best idea.)

Monday, August 31 at 12:34pm
I want a new blog skin. How hard is it to learn html?

Monday, August 31 at 1:06pm
Sigh. My lunch time project was to kill my blog. Poor blog. Now I just need to find bloggers "undo" button.

Monday, August 31 at 3:43pm
question of the afternoon: if you are a monkey playing baseball, are you allowed to hold the bat with your tail?

Tuesday, September 1 at 7:53am
oday's to do list: school with two kids, fold all the laundry, bleach the rubber duck collection, put together a grocery list, clip and sort coupons, go to the library, and then tae kwon do tonight. Time for a cup of motivational hot chocolate.

Tuesday, September 1 at 9:25am
must resist a second cup of hot chocolate....

Tuesday, September 1 at 5:49pm
Toa of Boy's meal-time objective: Get as much food into his mouth as quickly as possible. Mommy's meal-time objective: Maintain at least a minimal level of polite decorum and decency. The Food's meal-time objective: Go out in style by hitti...ng as many surfaces between the plate and its final demise as possible, and a few surfaces that should have been impossible.

Wednesday, Septermeber 2 at 9:12pm
Just played in the first football game that ever had to be postponned because of bats flying over the field.

Thursday, September 3 at 9:51am
Toa of Boy's first question to me this morning: "Mommy, where's my [Awana] handbook?"

Friday, September 4 at 10:52am
Did you know that lobsters migrate? Look at this video of what Toa of Boy and I are learning!

Friday, September 4 at 5:11pm
I bet my whole family would object if I tried to serve brownies for dinner. Darn. It's ten after five. What else can I make?

Friday, September 04, 2009

Making Memories: How-to Build a Fairy House

Fairies, as you probably know, are rather flighty creatures. Granted, there are many types of fairies, and some are more sensible and practical than others...but I am speaking here specifically of the forest fairies. The wild fairies of the deep woods are, by and large, not known for being practical. Instead, they are best known for their endless frolics during the long, lazy days of summer. Whether they are busy playing tricks on each other, or on unfortunate forest travelers, or whether they are dancing the warm evenings away by the lights of countless fireflies, forest fairies love fun above all else.

But what happens to these free-spirited fairies when the leaves fall and the air turns crisp and cool? What happens when the days grow short and the nights grow long and cold? Where do they go when snow blankets the earth?

Some suspect that fairies can simply move between the fairy realm and the world we know. And to a large extent, I expect this is true. But I am not so sure that the journey between the two realities is as easy as wishing oneself from one realm to another. I think, even for a fairy, moving between worlds is a journey, and one that is only undertaken under specific conditions...perhaps the window between the worlds only opens when certain requirements are in place.

Whatever the details are concerning fairies moving between our world and their own realm, I think it is a safe assumption that a few, a very few, forest fairies do not return to a magical land of endless summer in our autumn. Perhaps they tarry too long and miss the open window between the realms. Perhaps, and this is what I believe, a handful of summer fairies choose to remain behind, having found that autumn and winter hold their own wonders and delights.

Yet the fairies of the summer forest are not particularly suited to the colder weather, and they must have some shelter from the rough winter winds and the long cold nights. In a pinch, the fairies can share a nest with a friendly squirrel, or a stay snug in a chipmunk's burrow, but these habitations, though safe and warm, hardly provide the amenities the lovers of gatherings and festivities most desire.

Fairies much prefer custom built fairy houses in which to over-winter.

Here is how to build one.

Preparation
1. Pick a warm fall day when the weather is inviting for a walk in the woods.
2. Take a small bag or a shoe box for holding "found objects." One container per child works best.
3. Pack a healthy snack and water bottle or juice box. You may bring these items with you to consume on the trail (in which case you also need to bring disinfecting wipes.) Or you may leave the snack in your vehicle at the trail head, but if there isn't a restroom nearby, the disinfecting wipes are still a good idea!

Collection

As you walk along the trail, keep a sharp eye out for objects to include in your fairy house. Fairies like--
pretty leaves,
interesting rocks,
acorn caps,
flat pieces of bark,
pinecones,
and the like.

Do NOT pick any wildflowers. Only collect items you find already laying along the path.


Location

Site your fairy house near, but not directly on, the path. Remember, fairies are reclusive creatures, at least around humans. They will not want to dwell too close to where people and pets (especially nosey dogs) are walking.

Also, fairies will need a storm shelter of some kind. While the house you will build for them will keep them warm and dry most of the time, during the fiercest of winter storms, its good to have a deeper, more secure shelter in the worst of inclement weather. This deep shelter also doubles as a location to store a winter food supply, which is thoughtfully gathered for the fairies by neighboring squirrels and chipmunks, in exchange for invitations to numerous winter balls.

Fallen logs, hollow tree trunks, trees with deep spaces between their roots, and hollow stumps all make for locations providing a natural storm shelter and food storage for the fairies. Plus, using something like this for a base of your fairy house makes the construction of the house a lot easier.

CAUTION:  When leaving the trail, proceed with caution. Have an adult check for poison ivy and for safe footing. Also, do not stick a hand into any hollow spot in a tree trunk or under a log. You don't want to startle any creature already in residence!!!

Construction

1. Clear your location of any debris and leaf litter. Fairies are tidy creatures.

2. Use your found objects to set up the interior of the house.
----Large flat rocks make nice tables when surrounded by small stones and set with acorn caps.
----Colorful leaves can make a nice carpet. And fairy circles are always fashionable.
----Feathers can be tucked into crevices to make a soft bed.

3. Use your imagination and have fun.

4. The walls and ceiling of your fairy house can be constructed as a lean-to, using sticks found on location. --Use a nearby tree or fallen log as your primary support. Remember, use only sticks laying on the ground, please don't go breaking living twigs off trees!
--Large sticks can be shoved into the ground to form vertical support. Large rocks can be propped around the base of these sticks for extra strength and stability.

--Smaller sticks and twigs can lay or be leaned against the main frame to form a roof and walls.

--Large pieces of bark also makes good roofing, but again, don't pull bark off of a living tree!

5. Don't worry if your house is not completely enclosed and if large gaps exist in your walls and your ceiling. The fairies themselves are quite capable of using their own fairy magic to seal up the house. They just need a framework to begin weaving their magic on.

Completion

Be sure to take a picture of the workers with the finished abode!


One added note.....
according to Sweetling, there has been a recent discovery of a new type of fairy, a realtor fairy. These fairies specialize in finding suitable fairy houses and matching seeking fairies to these locations. While most summer forest fairies wait until autumn to being house hunting, realtor fairies like to get a jump on the market, and begin searching for houses in late August or early September. So, it's not too early to begin thinking about building a fairy house. The realtor fairies are already looking for them!

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Daybook at the Park

For today, Monday, August 31st

I am...sitting at the park. I've kicked my shoes off and am enjoying the last of the summer sun. Sweetling and Toa of Boy were playing Secret Agent on the elaborate wooden castle. Heir game has been taken over by another little boy, who very politrly asked if he could join, and then transformrd the game into "Jumangi". Though in all fairness, they want climbing past me several minutes before that, talking about "bonus levels", so I,m sure the game has gone throuh several other transformations as well. Even as I typw, yet another child has begun following the trio at a discreet ditance chanting "I9 a ghost, I will find you...."

I,'m thinking...that the tiny little keypad on my phone yields a lot of typos. Plus, it appears blogger mobile must be set up from my desktop first, before I can actually blog from my phone. Silly people, that requires advance planing. So, I shall email this to myself, and copy and paste it into my blog later.

From the kitchen...we've discovered sveral new dinner possibilities while watching man vs food. (and i'm supposd to ignore the bee slowly crwling across my leg, right? Ok, its gone.) So, dinners... Fried chicken and waffles, yes, together...and; dinner number two... monster burger, which is a cheeseburger topped with bacon, a fried egg, another slice of cheese, and then served between two grilled cheese sandwiches instead of a bun.