Smellyann Strikes Again

Train Of Thought

Rob's mom, my dear MIL, recently suggested that we take Jack on a short train ride like Chloë did in September for her 10th birthday trip up to D.C. He is a fan of all things that go, especially if they have wheels and engines an' sech, so she rightly figured he would get a big kick out of it. To get the best prices, we had to go on weekdays, which meant Rob couldn't go along. So, I invited Jenny From the Block and her kids, M & G, along for our train trip to Richmond last week. Here are G and Jack playing Legos in the Newport News train station as we waited for our turn to embark. We got there waaaay early, so there was lots of time for that. Oops. I had counted on lots more traffic.

 

It was a splendid idea. Jack was positively giddy with excitement, and I think I heard the words, "Thanks for taking us on this train trip, Mommy," about 47K times in those coupla days. Not that I got sick of it, mind you. He was a born grump, so to make him really happy is one of my greatest pleasures.

 

Well, we were all pretty excited, truth be told. I'd love to take a cross-country train trip, with sleeper cars and the whole bit, some day. How fun would that be?!

It was hard to keep the kids confined to their seats, so fortunately they were free to get up and walk around, because they all wanted to watch the world go by as the train flew from Newport News to Williamsburg and then our final destination. (It was a very short trip, but the train tickets were cheaper than the gas to drive there, I swear!)

It took us a minute to figure out where to go for the proper bus, and I almost got into a smackdown with a woman at a different stop across the street, who was not listening to what I was telling her while I was busy not listening to what she was telling me. Heh. Eventually we got it sorted out and, thanks to her help and that of the actual bus drivers, we soon (not, more like two hours later) ended up at the hotel I'd gotten super-cheaply on Priceline. Woot!

 

While we waited for the bus, we watched more trains go by. I forget how many cars they counted, but this was a super-duper long one!

The hotel was mostly pretty nice, with respectful and attentive staff, but there were a few snafus, like the fact that they wanted a $50 deposit - which I didn't happen to have - and weren't going to waive the policy even though we'd already paid for the room (Jenny saved the day, thankfully), and the pool being closed for our entire first day, even though that's what the kids really wanted to go do most of all. So when we got in our room, finally, Jenny and the girls played cards on her bed, the boys played Legos some more, and I took a wee nap.

For dinner, we went across the street to the Chick-fil-A, because we wanted to let the kids burn off all their energy in the play place. They made friends with a gorgeous, statuesque young girl who is destined to be a model, from the looks of her. She was down-to-earth, though, and really enjoyed playing with our unsocialized, homeschooled kidlets. ;)

 

Jenny treated all the kids to ice cream after dinner, at the same place. Oh, there, you can see Chloë's necklace from her beau, S, can't you?

Before long, it was time to head back to the hotel and start getting ready for bed. Chloë & M both had "cute" sayings on their jammies, so they were all happy about that and posed for this "I'm Snow Cute as a Kitten" picture together. Then, after they had all brushed teeth, gotten their respective medicines and jammies on and found places to sleep, Miss Jenny read the five of them a bedtime story. It worked like a charm! I timed it: by 9:28 PM, all of them were sleeping soundly. Meanwhile, here it is 0420 right now and my daughters are still wide awake. What is the magic formula? A stricter bedtime routine, and a story. We used to do it. I think we will be starting that again, after this night. Ridiculous!

The following morning, we had a leisurely breakfast in our room (we'd both packed plenty of food) before heading to the finally-reopened pool for what was supposed to be most of the day. Um, hmm, seems they forgot to make it warm and not crank up the air conditioning in the pool room at the same time. We all froze! Even Jenny and I, and we didn't swim! Still, they braved it for as long as they could stand it, petering out one by one to wrap up in towels on the lounge chairs. Sophia's the second-youngest and yet the only one who could really swim. She was pretty dang cute swimming around with the other four hovering around the stairs together!

Oh, a funny: Sophia decided they were going to play spa, and she was giving all of the other kids massages on their chaises when an employee walked through the courtyard where we were. She jokingly asked if she could make an appointment for a massage, too, and Sophia didn't skip a beat before taking over to an imaginary sign and pointing out that it read, "For kids 10 and under only!" Just like that. There was no sign, let alone one saying anything about 10 and under; she's just quick with the humor like that. Love that kid!

To warm up the kids, Jenny decided to take us all next door to the restaurant, which was plenty warm, and treat us to lunch there. The décor was really cool and gave me some ideas...

Since we were in a "fancy" restaurant, M and Jenny decided we had to drink from our cups with our pinky fingers up and speak in British accents. Everyone but grumpy-boy participated, so it was a bit of a giggle-fest there for a minute. We were having a good time - even Jack, though he'd never have admitted it.

 

After lunch, we tried the pool again, but it was still too cold, despite the Engineer's best efforts to warm it up for us. So we went back up to the room, where Sophie and M took a "hot tub" together. M told met they were pretending to be two elbow macaronis cooking in hot water, which I found to be particularly amusing!

For dinner, we had the hotel shuttle drive us sort of across the street to the Steak 'n' Shake for a dinner of, um, ice cream milkshakes. Yup. That's all. Even I got in on that one, knowing full well it would make me sick to my guts. (And it did.) The cool part was I saw a Mattaponi Indian's truck, which I know it was because it said something about "Custalow Landscaping," and that's the last name of pretty much all of the Mattaponi tribe. I tried to find the owner, so s/he could pass a message on to Ol' George for me (remember our field trip to the reservation?), but I couldn't determine who it was. And, you know, I didn't want to assume too much. I did ask one darker-skinned man, but he was from New York and recognized me as a fellow New Yawka by my accent, too. Weird that I still have enough of a Hudson Valley accent to be recognized, though I haven't lived there since I was six! Anyway, blah blah blah.

 

The next day, our shuttle driver drove us to the bus stop we needed, after we checked out at noon. Time to get home again. We waited a while for the bus, so the kids checked out the mushrooms growing all around and had a quick lesson from us moms about different kinds of fungi. Hey, it's always schooltime 'round these parts.

 

Finally, we caught our bus, and no transfers this time. Only, the driver pointed out the wrong place for us to take a "short cut," and it turned out to be a really LONG cut, which wasn't terribly fun with all the baggage we were lugging around. Super annoying. And we couldn't find a bathroom soon enough for poor Sophia, who had a little accident and had to change in a dark stairwell during our trek to the right location. Thank goodness I'd brought a pack of wipes with us to clean her up well!

We eventually made it to the real, newer Richmond Amtrak station, which is actually quite nice. We found a parlor-type room unoccupied, so we claimed it for our rambunctious crew. We had a three-hour wait for our train! There was no place to stow our luggage and go wander around town, and neither of us had the energy to take it with us, so we sat and "needled," while the kids played various games with each other. It worked out okay; we were even eventually joined by a brave college student who we nicknamed "Anime Freak," because, well, that's what his shirt said. Shout out to Anime Freak!

I knit while Jenny crocheted, and then we made our way over to the platform when our train was called. There was another 20 or so minutes of waiting time there, where two elderly women glared at us, sniffed the air repeatedly and generally disapproved of our mere existence. Jenny later sent me this link on Pinterest for those women. Hee. When it was time to board, we lined up the kids between us, with a mom on either end as we'd been doing throughout the journey, and walked past those two snobby women. I couldn't resist. I smiled cheerfully at them and said, loudly, "Thanks for all the disapproving glares!" before marching past them with the rest of the gang. Anime Freak caught up to me and said, "Nice job! I hate people like that." I wonder what side the rest of the travelers were on?

For the rest of the journey home, it was pretty uneventful as the two mommies kept needling and the kids kept needling us to entertain them. Ha. No. So they busied themselves somehow, and we soon reached Newport News once again. Jenny had driven us up there, so as she drove home, I entertained the kids with that "A my name is Alice" game. M really liked that; she and Chloë played it between themselves about three more times while the younger three children dozed and chillaxed.

All in all, it was a pretty swell time. The seven of us survived each other, public transportation, the state capital, and non-child-friendly old maids. Win.

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you're fragmenting with Mrs. 4444 today!

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Is anyone else shocked it's May already? For Heaven's sake, our pool will be open in 3 weeks already! I can't believe how fast the time is flying. We are so busy all of the time, it's almost hard to keep up with flipping the calendar pages, I swear. Man. I wish I could clap my hands and stop time temporarily, and just... breathe.

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I haven't been here in a few weeks, again, because of our packed schedule. Aside from our usual nutso routines, we've had a billion and one doctors' appointment, and Rob's had an accident that has kept me occupied carting him to those, work, and everywhere else, so... I am off my blog routine again. But! I am here now, and that's what counts, amiriiight?

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If you've ever thought about visiting my town, Virginia Beach, I just wrote this sponsored blog post about many of my favorite places and things to do here. Check it out if you're interested!

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I love this cute picture of Jack eating wings during a mystery shop a couple of days ago.  With the watch and everything, he looks so grown up! For a nine-year-old shrimp, that is. I've been doing lots of mystery shopping again lately to make some much-needed extra fundage. It's fun, but man, all the reports! Ugh.

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I swear, Virginia must be the vanity plate capital of the world. They're so cheap here, after all. Even I have one! I'm going to start taking pictures of the ones that amuse or interest me and posting them as part of my Fragments posts each week (or month, as it were). Can you see this one that I snapped today? It says "RR M8T." Arggghh, Matey! Hee. Do you have vanity plates?

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On Wednesday, the kids took part in the coolest thing. We drove up to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA, to attend a special event: a ham radio chat - which NASA said couldn't be done - with International Space Station Astronaut Donald Pettit! Here, the kids first learned about the early age of exploration, in the times before, during and after Columbus' life, so they could later relate that Age of Exploration to the current Space Exploration.

Then, we migrated over to the closed studio, where we connected with three classes (in New York, Michigan, and Louisiana) and the astronaut in outer space, about 400 km above Earth, over Italy. Selected students were able to ask questions and hear Pettit's answers in real time, and we learned a lot about living aboard the ISS. Did you know it only takes eight minutes to get up there, but two days to transfer into the space station? Wow. I would kill to have that opportunity. Maybe one day they'll take an old fart like me and see what they can do with me. I'll be like the female John Glenn. Anyway, it was really cool, and my kids - especially Jack up there - got a lot out of the experience. Way cool!

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I took Rob in for his Neuro follow-up today, after his mini-stroke scares and subsequent finding of a benign brain tumor back in November. I was hoping for a more thorough check-up than the five minute "How are you? Fine? See you in six months" that he got, but I guess no news is good news. He hasn't had any weird things going on like he did six months ago, even after his accident, so I suppose all is well for now. He'll go back in another six months.

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Also today, I went in for a my regular dental check-up, fully expecting to have two new cavities. My teeth have been ultra-sensitive lately, especially in two places, so I thought fillings were going to be the order of the day, if not a full root canal or some badness. But the diagnosis was surprising: I grind and clench my jaw and teeth so much that it's causing my gums to recede, and my enamel to wear, which is causing the pain and discomfort. The dentist said he'd be happy to sell me a $600 mouth guard, or I can go pick one up at any drug or sporting goods store for five or ten bucks and try that. Hmm. Tough choice. But yay for no new cavities!

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Stay tuned for a post about our train trip up to Richmond last week; we had so much fun in our two short days. I'm so glad MIL suggested it!

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Aren't these newsprint nails so cool?! I am totes going to do this as soon as I find where I put the rubbing alcohol. Hopefully that'll work, since Rob drank all the vodka and stuff. Kidding. There's probably not even a beer in this house. I love this manicure, though. Trés cool.

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And finally, my 10½-year-old, Chloë, has a "boyfriend," S. Yeah. We've reached that stage. They're mad about each other. I even had to go on a ride with them to make sure they didn't kiss!!! WHAT?! She's TEN, FPS. I'm keeping a tight rein on this one and don't let them hold hands or anything, but S did recently give her a necklace in her favorite color, with hearts on it... oh, my word. I'm not ready for this part!

Since Chloë had a photo shoot for her acting and modeling "career" recently, my friend Saritah - S's mom - was joking about, "Great, my son is dating a model. That'll go to his head..." but yeah. He is. Hee.

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Well, I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll be back in a bit with my Aloha Friday question & some more updates from our latest travels and adventures. Ciao for now!

Fin.

Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Us Away

Once upon a time, also known as Friday morning, Jenny from The Block, her kids, and my kids, piled into Penelope (my Odyssey) and took a road trip up the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The main purpose of the shop was to do a mystery shop for which I was well-paid, but we got, shall we say, side-tracked, after that was finished. Had ourselves a little adventure, we did. Would you like to hear about it? Good. Grab a seat, your beverage of choice, and your mouse, because you're gonna need to do some scrollin'. For once, I had the Nikon with me and got over my camnesia!

So we meandered down the road a piece and, after talking to the scarcely-toothed manager of a local convenience shop, found our way here. You know the book Misty of Chincoteague? It's about the wild horses that roam this area. Well, I've been meaning to bring the kids up here for the entire, oh, nine years we've been living in the Beach o' Virginia to look for them. Finally, we made it. Too bad our respective Rons weren't with us. (Which is Jenny-and-me speak for "Rob," both our husbands' name...) Eventually, we plan to return for longer than a few hours and do the trip proper justice.

The first creature we spotted wasn't a horse, though. It wasn't even a vertebrate. The flutter-by captivated the five children's attention for a good few minutes before we went hiking in search of the Assateague Lighthouse, our first conquest.

I love watching the kids on a mission. Look how big Sophia is - she's the second-youngest, too! Jenny's kids are peanuts like Jack and Chloë. ♥

Ooh, looky! There it is, just over yonder!

Oh, whoops. Hang on, Moms. We have to stop and do a kickline together. The kids came up with that on their own, and then the did it about six more times during the day, in various places. Too cute. Especially the way Jack can barely stand up to do it. He's kind of, um, awkward. You should see him run. I can say it, because I'm his mother. The boy runs funny.

In short order, we found the clearing where the lighthouse lives, in all its resplendent glory. Or something.

Jenny and the kids checked out the structure, while I checked out... them.

I love that the cinderblock seemed to have been placed there just for my wee laddie!

Here's what he was so fixated upon: acres and acres of pure, unadulterated Nature. Gotta love it!

Yeah, welcome. Except, what village? I must've missed that part. It was the blink-and-you-miss-it type of town.

More signage. You can read it. I don't need to describe it. It was there, so I took its picture. That's what we perfeshunul photographers do, y'know.

The entrance of the lighthouse was all one-room schoolhouse-looking. I liked it. All old and historical. Pretty cool.

The Assateague Lighthouse. And some other little building. The keeper's quarters? I don't know.

We found a nice lady to take a picture of the seven of us together. Look, you can see the kids doing their kickline again. Hee.

 

Sophia taking a quick breather... (edited in Picasa for coolness)

Curly Sue had a look-see through the thingamajig, too. Nature at its finest, ready for its close-up!

Sitting on the bench near the lighthouse, Sophia deduced that the logs used for it were cut down by the late Mr. Jones memorialized thereon, and I was pretty impressed by that. Maybe you had to be there, but it was a great example of logic and reasoning for an almost-seven-year-old!

(Click pic to embiggerate) The kids all sat on the bench for another rest, and while they did so, I had them show me all the emotions I could think of. The funny part was, Jack was super-grumpy at the moment (tired), and all his expressions were exactly the same while the other four were being theatrical. Goof.

Hiking back to the van, we spotted this flash of white in the distance. Could it be a pony? We had to go see.

Oh. Nah. It was just a log. A log that proved to be quite entertaining to the shorties for several moments.

Gavin: "Get your hands out of my butt!" Madison: "Get your butt off my hands!" Okay, I made that up. Paraphrasing from the movie G-Force... ah. I entertain myself.

Cutie-pie little Gavin... he's such a sweety-kins!

More walkin', and lookin', and standin' around... And yes, we drove all the way up there and forgot to shoe poor Sophia. I carried her around a lot that day, and she is decidedly not a lightweight. Whew.

Another Gavin capture, looking cutesy-pie

Okay, yet another one, but I just love seeing little kids crouching like that! We were trying to decide whether a nearby plant was poison ivy. (It wasn't.)

 

All right, back to Penelope, to go find us some horsies!

I just love a van full of bebes!

This was the view out my driver's side window, when we were watching the horses, of which I did not actually obtain one dang picture, because they were so far away and well-covered by the brush and trees. Poopsticks. But it was still cool being out there and watching them. It was like being on safari. For horses. In Virginia. That was my fantasy.

Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight.. okay, it was daytime, and now I'm going to have that song in my head. Anyway, out there is where the ponies were roaming. We probably saw 6-8 of them. It was all very exciting. I can't wait to go again!

After we left the Assateague/Chincoteague area and did a little souvie shopping, we found the NASA Visitor Center and decided to go in there and check things out. And behold, it was good. A very good idea.

Yeah. The boys were in seventh heaven with all there was to see and do, rocketry-related. It wasn't lost on the girls, either. Fun times!

Curls will pose with any old satellite model if you train a camera lens on her. A born model.

A big ol' NASA balloon model, which is ginormous compared to the Washington Monument model. How come I've never seen one of these floating around? I guess maybe I wasn't paying attention, because, um, they're really big. BIG.

Madi and Gavin checking out a rocket trajectory

Chloë was transfixed by the astronaut-guy, who was all Madame Tussaud's-looking. Kind of creepy, but cool. Kind of.

I had fun following Jack around while he ran here-to-there, pointing out all the things hanging from the ceiling. It was too cute!

More walking and pointing. No talking, just the pointing.

At some "point," I wondered if he really cared where he was aiming that finger and just got into the habit of doing it!

A-ha! A center just for the wee folk, in the middle of the museum. There was all kinds of nifty stuff in there for the quintet.

 

Right after this was taken, Sophia accidentally leaned on that lid Gavin was lifting, while his bitty fingers were underneath it! Ouch! Poor little fellow.

There's Jack, doing his engineer thing, figuring things out, making 'em work. He spent a good chunk of our time there at this propulsion exhibit.

Finally, he had enough and went to go look at models of Naval ships. Jenny's husband works on this kind when he's away... but I'm blanking on what it's called at the moment.

 

And of course, we have an aircraft carrier here, which Jack stepped aside for me to snap, knowing it was his Daddy's kind of ship.

Then Gavin came over and found the ship his Daddy goes on, whilst Jenny brought over some free educational loot materials for us to use in our respective homeschool pursuits. Sweet!

A quiet moment for Soap

Chloë was watching a video about I don't know what, because I was too busy admiring her curls and ringlets.

Sophia kept insisting the two bacteria samples on the right were mixed together to form the color on the left, despite my continually telling her that it was three different organisms. Stubborn girl!

Here's what they actually were. ;)

The kids learning about El Niño and La Niña

Hey look, Gavin's a pointer, too! Must be a boy thing.

Jenny wanted to pose with the astronaut suit thingy, so I told her to "look spacey," and this is what she did. Ha! She's a hoot, that Jen.

At the end of our impromptu field trip, we stopped in the gift shop. Of course, Jack wanted one of every. single. thing. he saw in there. Little did he know I'd already scooped up some goodies from the souvenir shop we'd visited in Chincoteague, so it was killing me that he waaaaaanted something so badly and I (thought I) had left my wallet in the car. (Turns out I didn't, but that is probably a really good thing, since I kinda wanted one of everything, too!)

 

What? The back of his head is pretty cute, too - especially since you can tell his eyes are bugging out in the front, right?

*sigh* All right, all right, I can't stand it anymore. I whispered in his ear that I had something special just for him out in the car, and it was our little secret, and I'd show him later, and shh-shh-shh-shh-shhhhhh!

Oops, one more last pointy-point before we headed out to Penelope and back home.

 

When we got home that night, and the girls weren't looking, I gave Jack his pressies. He was pretty excited, so much so that the first thing he did was go show his sisters. D'oh! Jack! Good thing I'd gotten them each a Chincoteague/Assateague snow globe to make up for it, but they (rightly) felt shortchanged. Ah well. I just said it was "late birthday presents," and that seemed to do the trick.

And that was the end of that little jaunt.

Fin.

P.S. Sophia's snow globe is already broken. Le sigh.

Friday Fragments

Hey, y'all, link up with Mrs. 4444s if you're fragmenting today!

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My husband texted the following to me, but he didn't ID which kid said it, so I can't give proper credit (my Mommy senses tell me it was 6yo Sophia, though): "Unicorns are real. They're just fat and gray and we call them rhinos." I was out shopping when I got his text, and I split a gut laughing and had to share it with the other person shopping near me, lest they think (correctly) that I was loony! Too funny!

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I shared this gorgeous yarn I received from The Knitting Goddess (in the UK, so shipping took what seemed like forEVER) the other day on Wordless Wednesday, but it's so beautious, I wanted to see it again. Hehe. Tell me those aren't some luscious colors?! I'll be using these for hexipuffs on my Beekeeper's Quilt. Why haven't I started yet? That's a darn good question. I will today, I think.

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My husband's alarm has been going off for 45 minutes now (it's currently 0645). Why don't I wake him up, you ask? Because. It's IMPOSSIBLE to rouse that beast. Hence the 45 minutes. Are you easy or difficult to awaken? Most of the time, I'm hard to wake, too. I don't sleep well or often, but when I do, I want to stay that way, thank you!

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My gardening friend, Miss C., was a guest presenter at my Daisy meeting yesterday, and while I was editing the pictures, this one popped up as the first one. Yes, that's MY kid disrupting the group, not in uniform (she had it on but yanked it off, as she always does) and being a total goose. Sophia!! She is such a pill. Or as Miss C diplomatically put it, "She's spirited." Oh, I'm so glad I'm the Leader, because I'd be mortified if she behaved that way for others meeting after meeting (and she does). Argh!

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As far as what Miss C. did with the girls, she read them the next chapter in our yearlong story (aka our "Journey," "Between Earth and Sky) and then talked to them about how plants clean the soil and air. She then gave them a project that I'm sure we've all seen before, if not done a time or two: made pinecone bird feeders with peanut butter and birdseed. However, her yard had a dearth of pine cones but plenty of gum balls, so she brought those instead, and they worked great to clump up with PB and seeds. Sophia rushed right home and tied hers to her special 4th birthday tree, out front, and waited immediately for the birds. And did they come! Mostly gulls and crows (?) or some sort, but we're hoping for something a little more exciting colorful. Anyway, it was a great meeting, and I'm glad we did it!

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Jack, who will be 9 in a month and a half or so, has been asking for his own digital camera like his sisters for ages. I mean, forEVER (I used that one already, right? So what) - and I found a killer steal on one for him the other day. I'm even going to get $40 back in rewards for it, making it an even sweeter deal. I didn't pay a cent for it, because I am one of those crazy coupon deal girls, when I get the chance, and I'm so ecstatic about both (a) the fact that I'm going to make him SUPER happy and (b) my great deal, I just had to share it with you!

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Speaking of deals, kids and birthday presents, I got a robotic penguin toy for Sophia of a Plum District deal the other day, too, as she is a penguin fanatic. I mean, she is nuts for them. She likes all birds (and bugs!), but penguins are her absolute favorite. So yay me for scoring goodies - with slick deals - to make their upcoming birthdays fantabulous! (She'll be 7 a month after Jack's birthday; my gosh!!!! I can't even stand it that my baby will be that old. I wish I could make another one or three. Hehe.)

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So I've had that iron transfusion, confirmed with the oncologist/hematologist that I do NOT need to continue taking oral Fe supplements daily, and yet I still get so dizzy I almost pass out when I stand up half the time. What gives? My blood pressure is on the low side, but still within normal range. It's wicked annoying. I mean, if I'm gonna get that dizzy, can't I have the fun of passing straight out, already? That would make for a much more interesting fragment, at least. I did it once, in 8th grade. I was the talk of my class. What fun! Haha.

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By the way, if you're a frequent www.Amazon.com shopper (hello, Swagbucks money!) and you know about their Prime free shipping but don't want to lay out the moolah to pay for that service, here's something I scored that you might want to know: If you have an .edu email address - even if you're a college alum! - you can sign up for Amazon Student and get free Prime shipping! I've been taking loads of advantage of that sweet deal, since I do get tons of Amazon GCs from Swagbucks, surveys and other things I do on- and off-line to save a buck, and it is Teh Awesome. Check it out. Rats. I just went to go link you to Amazon Student here, and the free offer is now gone and replaced by a half-off deal. Still, better than $79, right?

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It's 0708. Hubby finally woke up. Just keeping you updated, since I knew you were in suspense about that!

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If you're at all interested in Native American culture, be sure and check out my post here about our field trip last Saturday to the Mattaponi ("matt-upon-AYE) Indian Resevation 90 minutes north of here. It was cool as all-get-out, and I can't wait to go back up in June for their annual Pow-wow. Worth a read, I'm told!

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And, as long as you're here and I'm in demanding begging mode, answer my Aloha Friday questions, will ya? I'm nosy interested. And I like strikethrough.

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I've been struggling with constant, daily migraines the past few weeks again, so schooling has been sketchy lately. Anyway, a recent day last week was quite warm, but rainy. Once the rain cleared, I was ready to get up out of the house and go for a walk to get some exercise for my and the kids' young bodies. Instead of just walking, though, we did a lot of running and jumping and splashing in the ubiquitous mud puddles around our neighborhood lake. It was too fun, and Chloë declared it, "The BEST rainy day EVER!" I had to agree. Sometimes, you just gotta be a kid again, right? We were so soaked (and muddy), we jumped right into warm showers when we got home. But what a memory that should make for all of us!

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Guess I'm out of fragments for now - lucky you!! I'm off to email my Girl Scout troop about Thinking Day, which is coming up. It's a day when we think about the Girl Scouts and Guides around the world, every year, and we always participate. Anyway, blah blah.

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Have a great week! 'Til next time...

Fin.

Field Trip: Mattaponi Indian Reservation

The leader of one of the homeschooling groups to which we belong set up this field trip today (Saturday) to the Mattaponi Reservation Museum near West Point, VA, and the price was right, so we decided to go along for the adventure. It took 90 minutes to get there, and it was turned out to be worth every second of the trip. We had an awesome time, and I have lots of pictures to share with you. So sit back, grab a cuppa, and scroll down. We arrived 30 minutes before the rest of our group, all of the rest of whom lived much closer, so we sat and parked at the Reservation church, facing the small cemetery. 

I noted with interest that nearly all of the last names on the headstones was "Custalow," which turned out to be the significant, main last name of the Mattaponi Tribe, which is the last remnanat of one of the 32 tribes once ruled by the great Chief Powhatan. (If that name doesn't sound familiar, it should if you've been reading here, as we learned about him on our field trip to the Jamestown Settlement earlier this school year.)

The girls went on the swings of the Reservation school with some of the other children while we waited on a few more families. Jack hung back, cranky and tired, with his dad.

I really didn't know exactly what to expect from this field trip, other than that we were visiting an Indian Reservation. I didn't know we were going inside what seemed like this teeny-weeny museum, or what else we would be doing. So I just went with the flow. Here we are, entering the Mattaponi Indian Museum, which was much larger inside than it looked from afuera.

As you can see from the sign just inside, on the front door, Custalow was indeed the major last name of the Mattaponi Indian tribe, once ruled by the powerful Chief Powhatan.

A more descriptive explanation of the tribe; George, who you'll "meet" at the end of the post, was the son of the Chief who died in 1969. Two of his brothers later became Chief of the tribe.

I took this picture of Jack examining the bear's head, then listened to him telling me how dry the tongue was, and then noticed the "Do Not Touch" sign he was obscuring. Whoops.

There were several old wasps' nests hanging inside the museum ceiling. The children were very concerned about this at first, until I explained they were no longer inhabited by their former owners, and no stings would be happening this day.

Having touched a much smaller living specimen at the Living Museum a week prior, Sophia was fascinated by this "ginormous" horseshoe crab!

Jack, still unsure about those wasp nests...

A small diorama of a Mattaponi homestead provided interest to the girls. In front of another family's dad, I asked Sophia what she saw there. She said, "It's about Jesus' birth!" and the other dad laughed and laughed. She was so embarrassed, she ran away and hid, almost in tears. He felt bad about it, and so did I, but it was pretty cute.

"Mom, look at all these spears!"

The girls had no reservations (sorry) about touching the mounted deer head, and they were especially curious about touching his eyes and how cold he was.

There was a plethora of relics and artifacts to capture the eye and keep our attention throughout the visit. I'll show you plenty, up close. George "W." Wa-huh-sun-a-cock Custalow, museum curator and son of the chief who died in '69, told us that he kept the museum open on weekends only, unless a large group was coming, because daily opening wouldn't pay enough. He also shared that Richmond government helped pay for the display cases to keep the treasures preserved, since the tribe couldn't afford to do so alone.

The card reads, "Mercy Tomahawk used for mercy killing when braves were wounded in battle" - yowza. How'd you like that?

Spelling variants and errors were common in the museum, because, of course, English was not their, um, native language, and common spellings varied regionally. Anyway, do you remember the picture of Sophia dressed up like Pocahontas at Jamestown, with the necklace and all? We come full circle. I just have found all the learning we've done on this subject this year so fascinating and incredibly, richly educational - for me, personally. I just hope the kids have gotten as much out of it.

Incredible beadwork on a leather bag

I found a few things like this and thought they were, to be quite trite, very cool.

The club Captain Smith was supposed to have been executed with before Pocahontas pleaded on his behalf

A rudimentary canoe, for which Richmond supplied the preserving case

Sharks' teeth found "90 feet below the Mattaponi River Bed" (how??) and some yellow jasper found on the Res.

More sharks' teeth (still, how??), semi-precious stones, and yellow jasper found in Oklahoma in 1962. How they all wound up here was not explained.

I didn't see anything explaining whose skull and bones were in this case; I was just glad they weren't mine!

The card reads, "Statue of Chief Powhatan as he stood on the banks of Jamestown in 1607 to welcome the settlers."

A petrified turtle body, which invited an explanation of the different meanings of "petrified" to the kids

The card reads, "Indian Hunting Outfit: Quivver [sic], arrows, tommahawk [sic] and bow."

More native dress

The card tells us that these ornately beaded moccasins were passed down for three generations over 135 years, the beads were put on with "strip sinews of red deer" and last worn by a Mattaponi Indian princess.

Old coins

An eel pot, which George said they used for catching turtles, a better tasting meat, along with a Pomogan war weapon

The card reads, "Feathered Head-Dress (with horns symbolizing war" worn by Indian Warrior Opechaneough in 1622."

More heavily beaded bags, along with come "Japenese [sic] cigarettes" from 1943, evidently brought back from war by one of the Custalow sons.

Beaded bags; as someone who does handwork, I can appreciate how much time it must have taken to create these works.

Some arrows, weapons and pottery, among other relics

Various tools and weaponry hung from the museum ceiling, near the front.

I'm not exactly sure now what it was, but the card reads, "Hand Made by Brodia Newton, Father of Elizabeth Newton Custalow." Speaking of the Newtons, they were cousins to the Mattaponi Tribe out of Fredericksburg, and one famous Newton you'll know is Wayne, the Las Vegas relic himself, who denied his heritage for years and claimed to have come from Virginia Beach. George W. did not have a lot of good things to say about Wayne Newton, not at all.

An English-made portrait of Pocahontas and her son, Thomas Rolfe

Newspaper articles about Chief Custalow - George W.'s father - and the Pamunkey Tribe, also formerly ruled by the powerful chief Powhatan

The card reads, "Morter-Pestal [sic] used for grinding corn by hand"

As I made my way up to the front to find some postcards to send to my good friend Erin, who has a collection, I snapped some photos of the other items for sale in the small museum. Here are a few:

Mini-totems

 

Dreamcatchers, which prompted Jack to ask George W., "How do they catch your dreams? I mean, how do the dreams get out of your head?" We all kind of just looked at each other and laughed, leaving the boy to wander off, scratching his sweet head...

Gorgeous beaded earrings, which I admit, I coveted a bit.

Thunderbird Necklaces, which made me think of my mamacita, Rob's mom, and her Boy Scout Camp Thunderbird...

More beaded handiwork; admittedly not the best photo...

I'm not sure where the $6 Head-dress was, but the canoes were $5 each, and a little girl proudly bought one with her own money while we spoke with George.

I found this trio of Cherokee prayers on wooden tablets; I could see these in my home:

I was amused when the jolly former chief's son, George, asked me about 3/4 of the way through our lengthy conversation if I believed in the "Great Spirit," pointing upward, telling me he didn't want to talk to me anymore if I didn't. I assured him that indeed, I did; I do. His father was also a minister; it was very important to him.

 

I made my way quickly around the small museum again, snapping anything of interest I missed on the first pass through, when I was equally interested in keeping the kids from touching anything they oughtn't. By this point, they were exploring outside, and I was free to do my exploring unpestered. I mean, uh,... yeah.

It reads, "Jewelry, Treasured, Belongs, for the women and girls, was kept in this {turtle} shell."

This one reads, "Treasure Chest used by the squaws of the Chiefs 1607 - ??46"

Self-explanatory!

"Historic Mattaponi Indian Tom-Tom - over 200 yrs. old"

See the leaf-shaped white objects? The card reads, "Teeth from indian Marsh Hog used for necklaces." Cool.

 

A tray of various-sized arrowheads

Click to embiggerate, if you can't read the sign here.

I'm not sure if this was an Indian girl skirt or just what. The letter was a thank-you note for a visit from a long-ago group, so it wasn't any help, but still, it's beautiful.

This was a portrait of George W.'s mother, who died when he was 8, having hemmorhaged to death hours after giving birth to her 13th child. Very sad. Chief Custalow later remarried and had a 14th child. (I believe George was #8 or 9 in the family. He shared that five of his brothers then went to war at the same time, and as a young boy, he couldn't understand why his father spent so much time by himself, crying.)

A carving of Chief O.T. Custalow

Photograph of Powhatan's Chimney

I didn't see this on the first tour 'round the museum, but I sure caught how it sparkled in the light on the second pass. I've seen plenty of this sort of artwork for sale at the Pow-Wows we've attended here in the Beach.

This was an actual treaty! Fascinating. I love the peace pipes, and trying to figure out the rest. Fascinating!

A similarly-depicted of the story of Pocahontas' intercedence on behalf of John Smith. Priceless.

 

Oh, here's another kind of eel-pot. George, having discovered that I don't eat raw tomatoes, or mayo, or beef or pork, asked me if I had ever eaten eel. No, of course not, but now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I have had eel sushi. We've exchanged phone numbers; maybe I'll call him up and let him know, because his next question was an amused-but-demanding, "Well, what DO you eat?" to which Rob replied, "Not much!" I redeemed myself by sharing that I had eaten frog legs on a cruise once, which started George on another story about gigging for frogs.

 

This hand-carved canoe also hung from the ceiling.

I'm not sure what the sign fully says, but it belonged to George W.'s dad, the Chief O.T. Custalow - the weapon, that is.

The card reads, "The back scales of a 200-lb sturgeon caught by Chief Custalow May 8, 1964."

A carving by a Seminole (blah!) Indian. Sorry for the (blah!) but I'm a Hurricane; it's a learned response.

At that point, I went out to check on the kids, who were out there with their dad. The Littles were swinging lazily in the sun, so I went off to find Chloë.

She had come in while we were engaged in conversation with George W. the first time, carrying one of these things, and he said he had no idea what it was. He immediately broke off a piece and ate it, telling us it tasted bitter, "like acorns. Have you ever eaten an acorn?" he asked me. I admitted that I had, as a young kid. Mattaponi eat them regularly, or at least they once did. Anyway, we're supposed to look up these things, because the childrenc collected bunches of them, but I haven't done that yet...

 

Small teepees in the yard outside the museum. Want a closer look? Okay:

I wanted to crawl inside, but I dared not.

How cool is this? I'll tell you how cool: pretty cool. Hee.

The kids were happy and safe playing outside the back of the museum, and I wanted to talk to the captivating chief's son some more, so I went back in and stole his attention for another hour or two. Really! Until Jack rammed his head into me one too many times, telling me how hungry he was, I chatted him up. I told Rob they could go have lunch and come back for me later, and I was only half-kidding!

This was behind the counter with George Custalow, who told me that it was funeral regalia, stressing the "regalia" and somberly cautioning me against ever calling it a "costume." (I hadn't. He was just warning me how offensive it was to Native Americans.)

This was the old car George had, which had a tree fall on it during the recent Hurricane Irene. He and his son are fixing it up. He said they wanted to haul it away to auction and give him $900 for it, but he stood his ground, got much more insurance money for it than that, and kept the car. Then he pointed to his head and said, "This isn't a hat rack; I use it for thinking!" with a wink.

I look terrible in this picture, but George, who recently turned 79, looks great. He kissed me on the cheek several times as we were saying our good-byes, and when Rob left the building to get the kids in the van, he told me, "now turn your face to me," and when I did, he planted one right on the lips! I just laughed giddily. He was sweet on me, definitely. I told Rob about it later, but he didn't believe me! What a guy. Both of them.

Hope you enjoyed our tour a fraction as much as I did. We'll definitely be seeing this guy again; keep your eyes open for a return to the Mattaponi later this year for their annual Pow-wow, the day before Father's Day.

Fin.

Are You Lookin' At My Ass?

This is what you're in for tonight. (Click to embiggerate, as usual.) What? You want to see the pics individually? Well, all righty, then, I think we can manage that...

But first, I'm up to some, oh, 43 hexipuffs, and I've been asked several times what I plan to do with the darn things. Oh, but didin't I link you here, to the Beekeeper's Quilt, already? Eventually, they'll be sewn together for a fun, poofy, multi-colored and -textured blanket, and I simply cannot wait to do that. I'm hexipuffing every free moment and enjoying every minute of it. Won't you join me, oh, ye knitters of the world? You don't knit, you say? Well, there's also a free Ravelry crochet equivalent, if you're so inclined... but anyway, that's what they're for. Aren't they cool? (Say yes or I'll cry.)

So anyway... (ugh, I'm full. Chloë has been all about baking bread in the bread machine lately, and her latest creation, chocolate chip-honey-oat bread just finished baking. I had a rather-too-large hunk of it with nary a chocolate chip in the slice. Life is so unfair. But I digress yet again...)

We had a homeschoolers' field trip to the Hunt Club Farm Winter Wonderland tonight, so the first thing our kids ran to do after we got our wristbands and entered through the lighted arch was run through the light maze. Lots of these pictures are blurry, and I apologize for that, but I'm still learning the settings on my Nikon. Yes, I got it in February, and no, I have not yet read the instruction manual. All in due time. These were all taken on the nighttime setting, which would have been great if the little people were not in constant freaking motion...!

Sophia, as usual, was the fastest. You'd think she was running through a laser security light field thingy.

She did pause for a quick smile at Mom after the maze, though. Time to cut the bangs again, eh?

After the light maze, we happened upon the Nativity scene, where Jack was pointing at the donkey and saying,...

..."Hey! You ass!" Then, to us, "What? That's what they're called!" What could we do but agree?

 

Apparently there were llamas and alpacas at the birth of Jesus, too. Who knew?

The children running through the archway on the way to the Wonderland workshop

They were here last year, too, and it was very similar then, but that didn't stop them from being amazed and wanting to touch everything in sight.

I do like me some cocks. Peacocks, people. Peacocks. Sheesh. (Heh heh)

Sophia was the most hands-on of the kids, as usual. She's very handsy. She's not the type of kid you bring to a glassware store, you know what I'm sayin'?

There were lots of little vignettes set up of elves working at various tasks. I didn't care what they were doing. I just wanted to get all three kids in one decent shot. Watch. I tried again and again.

I don't know what Jack was looking at, but in this picture, my eye keeps being drawn to the fact that it looks like the fawn is trying to nurse from his daddy. Um...

My attempt at an artsy picture

There's just something about a praying mantis that screams "Christmas!" isn't there?

 

Another awesome shot of the back of the three kidlets. Hey, whatever, man. They're cute from any angle, I maintain.

Soapster petting the swan

The swan's nest of 'eggs'

Chloë's always reliable for a good pose, huh? The polar bear was pretty compliant, too.

More of the the three children's backs, as they admire the doll factory

What the hell is that? A bunny? Yeah, a bunny. And an unnaturally bright child. Maybe this is Sophie's audition for Twilight.

I forget what this was that was flying around, but I think it was penguins. Yeah, that's the ticket. Rob was mocking them, because, ah, penguins. Flying. You know?

Three faces! Score! Ten points for me. Nothing for you, except eleventy more pictures.

So this elf was totally drunk on moonshine, a fact that tickled Rob and I mercilessly. I mean, we weren't falling down laughing, but we had a few good giggles over it. I mean, this was supposed to be for the kids, wasn't it? And there was a damn drunk elf! Nice.

El niño, Jackalope

Oh, here we go, back to the backs of the chirren. Looking at skiing bears. You know, I've never gone downhill skiing in my life. That's on my bucket list, too. It's a rather long list. But I'm going on yet another tangent...

So I did a freaking spectactular job of capturing the three kids in a billion pictures, where NONE of their faces were visible. Go, me!!

Sophia admiring more elfin (elvish?) scenery

Train-obsessed Jack couldn't help but get down on all fours to admire this little set-up. Give that boy anything that goes and he's a happy little mofo boy.

 

Hey, guys, stand in front of that tree and smile! Or, well, do that!

Santa wasn't on his couch when we got up front to take pictures with him, so I had the kids pose in his absence. They no longer believe in him anyway, so they didn't care much. They were happy just to get the candy cane out of his basket and leave, but then...

 

...he showed up, like, a minute later. He asked them what they wanted for Christmas. Sophia told him, "Oh, you wouldn't know what it was if I told you." I died laughing. As if! Santa knows everything. He's like the god of toys. I forget what it was she thought would stump him, but it was something to do with Barbies. That girl is Barbie-crazy.

 

Immediately outside, Rob and the kids were drawn to this Blacksmith Shop, which was cool and all, except for this one creepy thing Rob found on the ledge:

A severed hand, with a missing finger! What in the hell? Merry, merry, ho, ho, ho!

Time to go back through the lighted archway to head toward the bonfires. We brought our own bag of marshmallows. We paid just over a buck for a whole bag. They were selling them there for five for a dollar. Um, yeah. This place is making BANK.

"Kids, run through the arches, so I can get a picture of your heads looking invisible like in Back to the Future!" Okay, so that's not exactly what I said, but it might as well have been.

The kids wanted to stop and look at the turkey in the chicken coop. So here are four turkeys...

I always have the kids say something when I take their picture, something silly, so they're smiling and laughing (theoretically) when I make the snap. Half the time, I catch them mid-phrase, so it looks like this. I'm no Annie Leibovitz, what can I say?

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for: marshmallow roasting time! I ate about six too many. I think I had seven. I like them on fire, roasted to a crisp. It's the only food I like burnt. Otherwise, blech. The kids, they like them practically raw, with no brown on them or anything. Rob has it down to an art form. They were disappointed we didn't get hot dogs this year, but hey, we were on a tight budget, and the 'mallows themselves were a splurge we could barely afford, this being the first half of the month, after all. But anyway, anyhow.

These are mine. This is how I like my marshmallows roasted. Crispy. Fried. Mmm. Hot and black, like I like my men... ;P (That will elicit a mock-indignant "uh!" out of the hubs, I know.)

Smoke gets in your eyes... and hers... and mine... and all of ours...

Chloë in the obligatory, singular black-and-white pose. of which I don't do enough, I think....

One last marshmallow-roasting picture before we decided to pack it in for the night. We'd have stayed longer, but I was freezing. It really is time for me to pack in the Crocs flip-flops, but I love them so dearly, I haven't had the heart to break out the sneakers or boots yet...

And so, we left. Good-bye, Hunt Club Farm. Until next year.

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you're fragmenting along with Mrs. 4444 this week!

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I had, like, the worst headache ever yesterday, for half the day. Coincidentally or otherwise, I was also in the worst mood ever. Every single thing pissed me off royally. You ever get in that mood? I Hate it!! Even being mad makes me mad. Ah well. I'm over it now. But still, very annoying. I had to text Rob to steer clear, to give him fair warning!

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We went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, for the third time, earlier this week. It was our early Christmas celebration. I enjoyed it immensely, though our budget for this trip was more strict than ever, because the kids were old enough to let loose in the waterpark. This allowed Rob and I to go on the more grown-up slides plenty of times without worrying about the kids. I gave them two rules: No leaving the waterpark area without a parent, and if you needed one of us, meet at our table and wait until one of us showed up. I checked back frequently, and it worked out well. Other than finding Sophia with some lifeguards getting a bandage after a scrape, there were no issues, and we all had a fantastic time. I've been SO stressed and anxious lately, and it was a nice little 24-hour escape from that for me. I needed it!  (Pictures to follow in a separate post.)

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Speaking of GWL, while there, we gave Chloë her big Christmas present: a cell phone. She's SO excited about it and wants to use it like crazy, but we've reined her in pretty well. She understands, at ten, that there are strict rules about usage, but we felt that the time was right for her to have one, especially since we occasionally leave her home for very brief periods and don't have a landline. Peace of mind, basically. Do your kids have their own phones? How old were they when they got one?

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Tonight, we're going to the Pumpkin Farm for their Christmas celebration, as part of a homeschool field trip. We went last year, too, to visit the farm animals, see the lights, and - to the kids' utter delight - roast marshmallows and hot dogs. They don't know yet that we're going, so it'll be a lovely surprise for them later in the day. Hopefully we can get plenty of school done first, since this week has largely been a bust on that front!

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If you do yoga, can you give me some tips for getting started? I used to do it years ago, but it's been so long, I don't know where to get started. We have it on the Wii Fit, but the Wii Remote has vanished, so I can't do that, argh. I need to do it to help control my anxiety. I'm more worried I'll be stressed about my form, but I guess I just need to let that one go and concentrate on the breathing and meditation aspects, eh?

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I guess that's all I've got for now. I think I'll go knit a hexipuff before getting back to the work I was doing before: getting my list of bills together. Exciting stuff, bills. The hexipuffs are way more fun:

 

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On that note, see you next week and have a great weekend!

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you're fragmenting with Mrs. 4444 today!

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So if you've been following my saga here, on Facebook, in real life, or via ESP, you know I've been dealing with the fear that the cervical cancer that led to my complete hysterectomy in 2008 (save one ovary) had returned. Well, I finally got in to see my GYN/oncologist yesterday, and the news was very good: there's no "Big C" in there, my "cuff" (what's left after they remove your lady bits) is well-healed, and I have a completely healthy, normal, uh, vah-jay-jay. So, yay! I'm celebrating today. How, you ask? By being happy. Smiling. Being content. And I'm going to practice what I preach to my children, by being "nice, kind, sweet and loving," to them and everyone else I may meet today. And hopefully, every day.

One last woot: Woot!

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Tomorrow, I'm finally taking the Instructor's Course for the American Red Cross CPR/First Aid certification, so I can teach it to other Girl Scout volunteers and, if I want, whomever else may be interest. I've already gotten interest from the parents and teens in my homeschooling co-op, so maybe someday soon I'll be up in FRONT of the class demonstrating lifesaving techniques to my friends, instead of being the nervous fake-lifesaver on the floor, scared my dummy is going to expire before I can save it. Hee. Anyway, I'm excited. I just feel like this is one more step in the "growing" course I set myself on last year, to step out of my comfort zone and be more in charge of my life, instead of taking the back seat and letting others drive me around. If that makes any sense to you and not just me, good. It's early, yet.

The one thing I'm a little nervous about is, I have to give a brief presentation on the topic of my choice to my fellow classmates, and the only thing that's coming to me to talk about is what I know well: Loss. Grief. Bereavement. So... I'm not sure that will be the most fun topic for them to hear about, but I think I'm gonna stick with it.

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After the course is over, the busyness continues. My family and I are headed for a full-on mystery shopping weekend in DC, complete with dinner at a fun restaurant, a hotel stay in Rockville, Maryland, breakfast at the hotel, lunch in the District at a well-known, huge restaurant, and then home again to run around doing about a half-dozen fast food mystery shops for dinner. I've been cutting way back on the mystery shopping now that school, co-op, and Scouting are back in full swing, but this will be fun. I like to travel, and I need to do it frequently or I get depressed and feel like I'm stagnating. Plus, I love DC. I just wish we had more time to go around and "do," y'know?

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Oh! Sophia's saga continues as well. She's my 6yo daughter, who has struggled with breathing issues over the past year or so. She has had daytime issues as well as, we discovered through a sleep study ordered by the pulmonologist at Children's, central sleep apnea. After a recent MRI, we went back to the neurologist yesterday to discover that there are absolutely no anatomical abnormalities within her brain, which is great news. And her labs were all perfect. So, we don't have a concreet reason why she has the apnea, but it's minor enough that I don't have to fret and watch her sleep every night. We just have to watch and see. It's still a little nerve-wracking, but the Neuro. assured me that I can relax and not worry, and I believe her. Now, we go back to Pulm. with these results and see what they want to do next.

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This afternoon, we have a field trip to the pumpkin patch with members of our homeschooling co-op, and I can't wait. Hayrides are one of my favorite things ever. I could go on one every single day. I don't know what it is about sitting on a bale of scratchy hay, being pulled around by a tractor going 3 mph, but I love it. The kids do, as well, but they're more excited about the petting zoo and pumpkin picking process (say that 5x fast) to follow. Can't wait!

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My JAFRA business continues to grow and go well, although now everyone is getting busy, so I'm trying to find new and creative ways to meet people and get them to sit down with me. We went to the mall the other day, and I handed out candy bags with my card and an offer for a free pampering session in them. So far, no response from that, but if I can just get one, just one, then it will be worth it. Meanwhile, I'll be doing a few holiday craft shows/bazaars with my product front and center, so hopefully that will be a great way to get the JAFRA name out there and some clients for me!

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Well, I guess I'm out of fragments for the time being, so here's to hoping a great weekend is ahead for all of you! Cheers!

Fin.

Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

Eight and a half years. That's how long we've lived here. But we've never done the whole colonial thing, even last year when we first started homeschooling and were heavily involved in doing field trips (by my design), so I decided to go ahead and do it (Jamestown and Yorktown) this year while we had the chance. (We'll do Colonial Williamsburg, which is distinct from this program, later in the school year.) The homeschool days run from 10 to 25 September, so technically we still have two more days, since you get unlimited access to both locations with your tickets, but we'll have to pass since we're quite literally out of gas, and it's an hour or so drive to each location & the programs are only on weekdays. (And yes, I know that was a huge run-on sentence. I don't care.)

Along with your unlimited admission, you get one class per child plus one family tour at each location, so it was an awesome deal that I couldn't pass up. While Rob was off work last week, we went up on Tuesday to do the Jamestown location. Unfortunately, I misjudged traffic, so we missed our 0900 classes and had to reschedule them. We did so for yesterday (Friday) when we finally did get there, along with scheduling Yorktown tour and classes for Thursday (two days ago), once I understood that you get classes and tour for both locations, not either/or.

Anyway. So there's your background. Time for photos!

Team Odette at the fountain outside Jamestown Settlement, minus moi of course

Near the fountain, the flag path was representative of all 50 states... we didn't get a close enough look to see if territories were represented, too, but I don't think so.

Right after that, my Nikon battery died (and as usual, I forgot the replacement), so the rest of the pictures from that day were using the iPhone Instagram app, which I lurve.

Heading into the museum

We did manage to get our family tour that day, of the Powhatan Village, and this was our fabulous guide, Mary. She was excellent.

So that we didn't get mobbed by the other groups touring at the same time, Mary took us down to the ships, first. The is the Susan Constant, which we later boarded.

Mary really brought to life what it was like for the early colonists traveling to the New World from England. Here, she's showing them the routes and explaining what life was like on the ship during that time. She was entertaining and enthusiastic, never boring. (Listen to me, like I'm doing a mystery shop report. Hee.)

More ships. I apologize for the darkness of the photograph; I guess my 'save' in Picasa didn't take... Anyway, I think this is the Godspeed, with Discovery in the back.

Aboard the Susan Constant, on the bridge where only the captain was normally allowed unless he invited someone up personally. Lucky us.

There were re-enactors throughout the Settlement, of course, and they're there to be engaged. Here, one "sailor" was sewing a bag, and the kids talked to him about life during the long trans-Atlantic voyage back in the 1600s.

A powder keg, down below - not really filled now, of course

We made our way toward the Powhatan Village then. Here, Mary tells us how the Powhatans would burn down the trees, since they didn't have metal axes like the English, to chop down a tree for making canoes. Then they would char one side and scrape the inside out with oyster shells.

A Powhatan re-enactor talking to the kids about his job in the tribe

In the English settlement, life was hard, too. Mary tells about how the settlers survived, what they did in their daily lives, and let a female re-enactor talk to us briefly before we moved on.

This woman talked about how she may have had to constantly be sewing, repairing clothing (as opposed to sails, like the sailor on the Susan Constant) and repurposing material as things wore out.

Mary explains how they disposed of their artifacts, which turned out to be beneficial for those of us who came later and found them.

Real tobacky, drying on the ceiling, like it would have been back then. It's long been a cash crop here.

(Real) meat curing in another building - Each year, I think she said at Thanksgiving time, they actually butcher a pig in the village, in front of everyone, and cure the meat for the following year's tourists... eww. I don't think I want to revisit for that occasion.

This re-enactor thoroughly explained how his gun worked, fired two shots (LOUD!) and told us when to take the picture (a second or two after the firing). The kids loved this part. I got pictures, but they're missing...hmmm.

Inside the settlers' church, Mary explained how they took frequent breaks to "worship," whether they wanted to or not, and if they missed a session, their food was taken away. That'll teach 'em to miss church!

Here we are, approaching the Powhatan Yehakins, the homes they built. Nope, not all "Indians" lived in teepee structures, but you knew that.

Furs drying everywhere inside one yehakin

Mary explaining how they used oyster shells, once again, but this time to scrape the fur off the skins, so they were useable for clothing and other things, like pouches

Raffia was twisted to make rope. Each family was given a piece, so the children could learn how to do this. We messed ours up, so Mary stepped in to assist!

This Powhatan re-enactor showed us how deer antlers, rocks, and other found objects were used to make effective, strong tools and weapons.

Oh, and bone was used, too...I left that out. So, every part of the deer (or whatever animal they could catch) was used by the Powhatan.

That concluded our tour, so we went inside to use the powder rooms and found this big list on the wall of the earlist Jamestown settlers. Pretty cool, especially if you can read some of their names.

We went home for lunch after that, and we missed our Yorktown visit this past Thursday. I was just too exhausted after co-op on Wednesday, so we skipped it. Plus, we wouldn't have had the gas to go both days anyway. So we went up to Yorktown Victory Center on Friday (yesterday) to take in as much as we could, before heading back to Jamestown Settlement for the kids' classes.

Obligatory arrival pose ;P

In contrast to the 50 state flags at Jamestown, Yorktown's entrance featured flags from the 13 original colonies.

We checked in quickly and then were sent outside to explore as much as we could before the rains came. Before we got started on the tour, I informed the surprised kids that it was the first day of Autumn already. Then we found all these leaves already fallen, with more dropping while I took the picture(s). Hey, Mother Nature - slow down, will ya?

The self-guided tour we took was of the long, outdoor timeline explaining the events leading up to the start of the Revolutionary War. I think I did a pretty good job of explaining each part to the kids, if I do say so myself. We talked about duties/taxes, why the settlers didn't appreciate that so much, and how it was that each side (English vs. Colonists) became so angry at each other. The kids really seemed to get into it and understand, and Sophia relived the story for me later on the long three-hour drive home through the pouring rain. I explained to the kids how important this quote was, and they really got it. I told them they'd probably hear it again many times over the courses of their lives!

Amen! We also discussed whether the kids would rather have a King or a President, and why. They all eventually came to the conclusion that having a President is better - though first Sophia chose King/Queen, probably because it's a more romanticized idea in her mind. (She's fixated lately on the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.)

We talked about how the colonists pulled down the equestrian lead statue of King George and melted down the metal to make bullets for fighting the British. What ingenuity!

Representative bullets from the statue

The mold for making the bullets

I realized later I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures inside here, but at least I had my flash turned off... the kids weren't interested in this part very much, so we hurried through without really getting to figure out who this soldier was.

Chloë did take an interest in this weaving loom, which she thought was enormous. I told her they come much bigger than that!

Outside, we visited the tents where the soldiers camped, learning that in each small tent, 5-6 privates would sleep practically on top of each other. Eesh! I would not have enjoyed that. I need to spread out! This was a kind of "MWR" tent, and the kids are playing the "Close the Box" game here.

A Patriot re-enactor shows the kids how to play "Solitaire," as this other game is sometimes called. He explained that the nails were each hand-made, not molded, and informed the kids that you can find this game at restaurants sometimes. Yup, of course.

The Patriot then explained how the fife and drums were used in the war camps to give commands, sort of in "code," over the noise of the gunfire and other commotion. He explained all about his uniform, too, and told us that everything the soldiers had, they were responsible for and owned. This wasn't a problem for the wealthy officers, but he was an enlisted man, and this would sometimes create a hardship. Yeah, I can relate...

Sophia modeling a tricorner hat, in the more spacious and comfortable junior officers' quarters

Inside the captain's tent, the kids looked at the charts and maps and explored the other artifacts there.

They were fascinated by all the tools in the surgeon's tent. I explained how, sometimes, a soldier would have to "bite the bullet," literally, while an embedded bullet was yanked out of an arm or leg. Much cringing followed that story.

 

Before we left Yorktown, we saw this female re-enactor holding a gun. The children asked why, so I presumed that the women and kids who were left behind while the menfolk fought the British had to be armed to defend themselves, as well.

After that, we dodged raindrops as we headed back to the van. The kids ate their sandwiches in the car during the half-hour drive through the deluge, back to Jamestown, for their scheduled classes. Here, they're showing off their wristbands from each location. (I had to wear them, too, and I still had mine on when I went to my therapy session that evening. My therapist was all concerned I'd been to the hospital.)

I sat in on Sophia's class, sending Jack and Chloë off to theirs next door, so I don't really know what went on in theirs. In our class, there was more learning about what it was like to be a Powhatan. I forget the instructor's name, but she was pretty great, too. 

I must've messed with the settings of my camera and not realized it, because most of my pictures didn't turn out. Bummer. Here, Teach is showing the kids how the Powhatan women could garden with a "hoe" made out of a wooden handle with the shoulder of a deer for the bottom.

Here, she's telling kids about the Indians' three main food crops: corn, squash and... a third thing I'm completely forgetting.

And here is an axe, made out of wood and rock, carefully hewn to be sharp.

After her presentation, the kids were allowed to try certain things she had demonstrated. Sophia is pounding deer sinew with a rock, which they used for strong string with various purposes.

Here, trying to start a fire with a bow and cord. Thankfully, no one was successful!

Wearing a bobcat fur around her neck, Sophia is dressed as a Powhatan boy.

Sophia modeling a necklace that the Powhatan girls might have traded food to the English settlers for, with little bells for jingling music

Exploring the Indian corn

Showing me pieces of antler and bone, used for tools

Sophia's class finished earlier, so we went next door to finish watching the older kids' class. When we walked in, Chloë was up front with her instructor, demonstrating something I missed as we were finding our seats. None of the pictures of the rest of their class - or Jack and Chlo - turned out, but I did get this one of Sophia wearing some armor the Jamestown settlers might have worn.

Afterward, we had to go to the gift shop to turn in our evaluations and get tickets for a drawing, and we found a penny press. It made four pennies, but I only had enough for two. I missed four back at Yorktown, too. Oh well, yet another reason to need to go back next time, in addition to all the great stuff we missed!

Chloë using all her might to crank out a penny

In all, I found it was a wonderful educational experience for the kids. I think they got a lot out of it, and I know I did. We'll definitely do it again next time, and explore the areas we didn't get to see. There's plenty left!

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here with Mrs.4444 if you're feeling fragmented today!

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Happy Autumn! Good-bye, 100º days with NO air conditioning, hello, well, 65º days so far... Much more tolerable. Better get the HVAC fixed soon, though, or we'll (I'll) be miserable come Winter!

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Check out my Aloha Friday question on the previous post for a special offer! I'm running a Jafra promotion for my blog readers only and it ends in one week, so hurry!

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Wednesdays are homeschool co-op days for Team Odette, and while the kids are in their classes, I'm in the kitchen all day teaching cooking to children from age five to 14. Last week was the first week and quite chaotic (but fun); yesterday went much more smoothly and was a blast. Still, it wears me out. I had more errands to run and finally crashed before midnight, and I slept late late late today. We were supposed to spend the day up in Yorktown for their homeschool days events, for which we had tickets, but I was just too pooped. I think we'll have to think about taking Thursdays off from doing school, because last week was the same. Can always make it up Sat & Sun, though technically, we "do school" ALL the time, if you count the lessons the kids learn on-the-go, in the car, at the store, and so forth. Yeah. Let's count that.

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Tomorrow, we WILL be going up to Jamestown for the kids' classes, since Jamestown/Yorktown Homeschool days end this weekend and I want to get our money's worth, but since we already went to J-town last week, we might either go early or stay late (or both, what the hey) and venture over to Yorktown. We've never seen Y-town, and it's unlimited free admission during this event, so I'd like to go check it out. Have y'all ever been to the "Historic Triangle," as they call it (Colonial Williamsburg is included in that)?

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Saturday is free museum day! Learn about that here and get your two free tickets if you haven't already! We plan on going to the Children's Museum of VA in Portsmouth until Jack has to go home and get ready for his Cub Scout popcorn show & sell (a booth sale, as we Girl Scouts call it), and then a friend's having a birthday party for her husband after that, so... another busy weekend!

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Oh yeah, and the Girl Scout Fall Product sale (candy and nuts) starts on Saturday, too. Phew, it never stops. My dad always complains that our life is too chaotic and hectic. I guess he can't seem to remember what life was like with four teenaged girls going in all different directions all the time?

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If you want to read about my trip with Chloë to D.C. for her 10th birthday celebration, read the two posts prior to my Aloha Friday one. We had a grand weekend at American Girl, taking the train, going to the National Zoo, and staying in a hotel in the middle of the District. And I left her alone for her very first time while I slipped out and did a mystery shop at a restaurant and bar with a friend who lives there. Chloë did great, except she was upset that she couldn't get the laptop OR the TV to work, so she ended up taking a bath to calm down and missed my check-in phone call. By the time I got back, after watching the Mayweather-Ortiz fight at the restaurant, she and her AG doll, Faith, were sound asleep in their bed. (Speaking of the fight, did you see that? I kept cringing while the men cheered; it's the mother in me, I guess!)

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I'm back in therapy at least twice a week now, and it's helping considerably. I adore my therapist and think it's the best-working relationship I've ever had with one (and I've had a bunch).  My psychopharmacologist, "Paypal," has changed up one of my meds, from Side-Effexor to Pristiq, and it's not going so well... plus he was out of town and unable to take any of my "what should I do?!?!" phone calls. Luckily, my therapist was there and able to help me cope. I ♥ her.

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So, my 8yo son, Jack, had his latest appointment with the new pediatric endocrinologist this week, and that went as expected, with the medication refill put in and new needles ordered. However, apparently we're supposed to be physically seen in the office every 4-6 months - as opposed to the 12 we've been asked in the past - and he's supposed to get an IGF-1 test every other visit or so. Now, like you I'm guessing, I'd never heard of this test, so someone has been dropping the ball. At least this new endo is on top of things. Basically it tells us whether his med dosage is correct, according to liver function after taking some marker meds. I love finding this kind of thing out after, what? Five, six years of being following for his growth hormone deficiency? Nice. (In the "good news" category, though, he's grown 8½ cm since Feb. 2010, which is fantastic! It would be 0 cm without the meds, more than likely.)

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Chloë, at age 10 and smaller than her 6yo sister Sophia, weighs less than 50 lbs and has barely grown herself, so at the end of the endo visit, I asked the doc if she should be re-evaluated. She'd been checked a few years ago and was "borderline" for the condition, but I remained concerned. He took a height check on her and then pored over her medical records. Doc called me himself within the same day and told me that, yes, she definitely needs to be seen again and will probably end up taking the shots herself. I broke the news to her a little while later, and she was fairly calm about it, saying she kind of knew that was coming. She just doesn't want her shots "in the butt" and asked if she could have them in her arms and legs instead. I don't know, but since she's not very meaty in those places, I'm guessing that'll be a "no."

{Note to Grandma: her appointment is October 18th at zero-dark-hundred.}

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Since we're talking medical stuff now, I visited my PCM myself this week to ask for referrals for both a new sleep study (do I still need the CPAP, which I don't use anyway, for apnea since I've lost 205 lbs??) and for the breast cancer gene test. Normally, they don't approve the gene test unless there is a "strong family history," which to Tricare means a mother or sister with the disease. Well, my maternal grandmother had it both in her 30s and 50s, and my mother died too young, at age 33, to know whether she would have gotten it. Since Sis and I have both had lumps checked out, I was able to talk my way into getting the referral submitted. I found out tonight that I've been referred out for an oncologist-geneticist appointment. Woot! (Meanwhile, the sleep study referral is still "under review," which I think is ridick. Whatevs.)

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At Jack's Cub Scout pack meeting tonight, he earned belt loops for Gymnastics, BB-gun shooting, and Archery, along with his first Popcorn patch for this current sale, and his Wolf badge, which he somehow didn't get last year. (He's a Bear now.) We don't know what those arrow point-thingies are for, though. Grandma, help?

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Ehh, I guess that's way more crap than you really wanted to know about me/us this week, so I'll shut up now. I really need to go do some cleaning, since we're having house guests (a friend and her three doggies) all next week. With four cats, this should prove interesting!

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Hie thee here to link up with Mrs.4444 if ye be fragmentin' today!

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Look at me! Fragmenting two weeks in a row! I'm on a roll, kids. You should feel blessed to have me in your presence. I jest. But I'm working on being a more consistent blahgess, so "here my am!" as I once heard an exuberant two-year-old exclaim.

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So I'm pretty sure that one of our two twin kittens - or maybe both of them - just went potty on my kids' books that were left layin' on the floor. I'm utterly NOT in the mood to go check it out, mainly because I don't want to clean it up for the umpteenth time. These two kitties, Cupcake and Muffin, are 6 months old and quickly running out of chances with me. Unfortunately, we tried the SPCA, but we were told they were unadoptable with this behavior and would immediately be euthanized, so our options are limited. Seriously, though, I have just enough OCD that I'm about to lose my shit over it. No pun intended.

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I had a major manic episode last Friday, and it involved lots of visual hallucinations, suicidal ideation, and severe anxiety. I saw my psychopharmacologist, who basically put me to sleep for the next two days. I woke up feeling much better, but it was a freaky thing. My husband took emergency leave for both the kids' sake and mine. This bipolar disorder is for the birds. I'm not looking forward to living with this crap for the rest of  my life, but I suppose I don't have much of a choice. (Please don't leave me a comment saying I DO have a choice and leave me a bunch of religious mumbo-jumbo about it. So not in the mood to be hearing that. If you wouldn't say it to a diabetic or a cancer patient, then don't say it to me. Thanks.)

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I'm back in therapy 2x a week, after a two-month hiatus on my shrink's part. I'm so glad to be back. She and I hit it off like peanut butter and Nutella, and she helps me tremendously. I feel so much better, so much relief, after talking to her. She asked me, do I want to stick to twice weekly sessions or go down to one? I chose to stick with the two, since, um, six was apparently out of the question. Heh.

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We've been taking some time away from our regular studies in order to participate in the Colonial Homeschool Days at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center in the Historic Triangle up by Williamsburg. We'll get to Williamsburg later in the semester for their homeschool day(s), but today, we're headed to the Mariner's Museum in Newport News for more fun and edumacation. I'm looking forward to it - except for the waking the kids up early part. They don't do so well with that, being night owls like their Mama. (Click on over here to answer my Aloha Friday question about Colonial stuff, please-and-thanks!)

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And in the evening, I'm having a JAFRA party to celebrate my return to that oh-so-wondrous of skin care and cosmetics companies. It's truly an awesome company with fabulous products - and I would know, as I've been using them since I was a young lass of 22 years! (I just turned 35 a week ago, so that should tell you how much I believe in the benefits of both Jafra the company and Jafra the product!) If you've never tried it and would be interested in doing so, give me a hollah! Even if you're not local to me, we can work out a hostess plan for you to try some samples and get some free gifts. Your skin will thank you!  Here's my site, although it won't be active until sometime in the next couple of days - check me out (soon)!

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Finalmente, the eldest girl-child, who just turned 10 (!!) and I will be heading up to D.C. this weekend via train. I'm taking her shopping for her first (and probably only) American Girl doll and some spa time, like getting the doll's ears pierced if that's what she decides (and I think she will). Now if I could just get their dang personal shopper to call me back, that would be glorious!

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So our first day of co-op on Wednesday when really well, I think! It was hectic, and there was some chaos, and I was way exhausted afterward, but I'm looking forward to what the next 9 weeks will bring for both the kids in their classes and me in mine (I'm teaching cooking to kids from 5 to 14 in three different time slots). I'm so glad to be back in the group, after leaving prematurely last spring!

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That's all I've got for fragments, but I may be back later with pictures from our Powhatan Indian Village tour in Jamestown, among other gems. Come back and see me if you get a chance. ☺

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Fin.

Aloha Friday

Link up here if you're playing along today!

My question(s) for you this week are:

Have you ever been to Colonial Williamsburg (VA)?

If so, what did you think of it? If not, do you want to go?

We've lived here 8½ years and are just now doing the Colonial thing. We're starting with Jamestown and Yorktown, actually, but we'll get to "Billburg" soon, later this year. I think the timing is just right now that our kids are older and will remember it, anyway. Any earlier and it would have been wasted on them, I think!

Have a great weekend! "Curls" and I are headed to American Girl in D.C. by train, so I'm excited - as is she!

Fin.

Field Trip: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum

Earlier in the afternoon on Tuesday, we had to be down the road at the Naval Hospital for a referral appointment for Jack and Sophia. That's when the earthquake hit. The whole hospital shook. It wasn't scary - not for me, at least. It's the first quake I've felt in my almost-35 years, and I thought it was pretty cool. Once the kids understood what was happening and that it wasn't one of them trying to annoy the others by shaking their table and chairs, they thought it was exciting, too. But I digress.

After the hospital, we took a field trip over to the above-referenced Naval Shipyard Museum, which was literally three minutes away. (I planned it that way. I'm so smart.) The museum is part of the Blue Star Museums Initiative, which provides free admission to participating venues for military families. If you're military, take a look at the site now, because the program ends on Labor Day! It started on Memorial Day, but I forgot about it, so now I'm trying to make up for lost time. D'oh, me!

 

After I carefully parallel parked - which I'm not altogether great at, I admit - behind a local police officer (without hitting the car, whew), we headed across the street to the museum. I was prepared to be completely bored out of my gourd. Despite being married to a sailor, military things don't interest me much, sorry to say.

 

After we were let into the somewhat-teeny museum by the lovely Katie, who diligently checked my military ID to make sure we were freebies, the kids were given scavenger hunt papers to find things around the museum. I guess this was in an effort to make the trip more interesting to them, but my kiddos didn't need it. Their excitement was engaging and contagious, and I even found myself having a good time going 'round all the maritime exhibits.

Jack's favorite things were all the various ship models. This should surprise no one. Chloë snuck into the picture at the last moment, because she is a camera whore. This should also surprise not a soul.

 

Sophia's favorite things were all the cannons. She kept pretending to operate them.

The girls had no idea what they were posing over (a stone block to memorialize a purchase of land by the U.S. government from a private couple), but they felt it was a Kodak moment, anyway. Or, shall we say, a "Nikon moment"? Nah. That's cheesy. I'll probably say it again in the future, anyway. Heh.

 

Oh, Sophia's found another cannon to run. 

Chloë, finding the bell on her scavenger sheet

And now it's her turn to pose with the cannon. Hey, who can resist a giant cannon? Another joke I'm not going to pursue.

Jack, entranced by another model ship, left nose-breath marks on the glass. That's what I see every time I look at this photo, anyway.

Sophia makes a scavenger hunt find!

I kept telling them not to sit on this wagon thingy, but they wouldn't listen to me. I mean, why should they? I'm just the mother. *le sigh*

 

This diorama was actually 3-D, so it was pretty cool. Hard to tell from the pic, though. Jack loved looking at that thing. He kept going back to it.

The girls thought this Fresnel lens was absolutely beautiful. I guess it is, too.

After the lens, they discovered a little side partition where a video was being shown about old-timey Naval life. They actually sat and watched it, shocker of shockers. 

This kid was completely entranced. That's his "TV face."

These two thought the old shipyard fire alarm system was awesome. I had to read to them all about it, from the plaque. They asked me lots of questions to which I didn't know the answers, but no matter. They were soon off to the next thing.

Chloë was way too excited about this old Naval uniform. I do like the dapper hat, though. Er, "cover."

 

Uncle Sam wants YOU - and Sophia wants Uncle Sam.

I asked Chloë if she was playing Vanna White, the way she posed next to this excavated silver stuff, and she responded, "Mooooommmm, I don't even know what that is." I felt old.

I took this photo of a Mark V dive helmet for Rob, who would love to have one himself.

After a quick perusal of the small gift shop wares, the kids were ready to head back outdoors. I voluntold them to pose in front of this ginormous anchor. Hey, they listened to me for once! Where's the calendar?!

 

There's a joke here about Jack being a little dinghy, but apparently I'm all out of funny at the moment. Three points if you can make one, in the comments.

 

Meanwhile, the girls were entertaining themselves (as well as the folks relaxing nearby) running up and down, scaring off the gulls and pigeons. Normally, I wouldn't allow such a thing, but I was tired and wanted to sit for a minute. So I did, right there on the stone pathway, and I burned my butt, thanks to my short shorts. Hmph.

Jack wanted to know what that ship was out there. I told him it looked like a small aircraft carrier to me, but I didn't really know. Later, Rob told me the name of it, but basically, he said, it was like a mini aircraft carrier. Ha!

 

So while I was sitting there, burning my butt and thighs (hey, I was tired), I felt this tickling on my leg. Turns out it was this poor little spider who'd lost SIX of his eight legs. What a trooper. Looks like some are growing back, though. Good for him, persevering like that in the face of adversity. No, I didn't squash him after that. Would you have?

 

"Time to go!" I hollered out presently. We headed back to our van, but not before one more look at yet another well-patinaed cannon. This one was Spanish, in case ya care.

Back at the van, the Littles called out, "A tugboat! Look, Mom, a tugboat!" so I was obligated to photograph it, natch. Chloë then insisted it couldn't be a tugboat, because it was pushing instead of pulling, but I informed her she was wrong and it was, indeed, a tugboat. Back at home, our authority on the subject (Daddy, obviously) informed her that it was, indeed, a boat of the tug variety, and that they usually do push more than they pull. She was not happy about being wrong. Nyah, nyah.

Well, I should do something of the sleep variety, but I don't know if I have any in me at the moment. I do have a meeting in six hours, so maybe I'll go lie down with Rob and drool on his chest a little. (I'm so sexy like that.)

Fin.

Field Trip: Bloom

We started our back-to-school homeschooling here at Sweet Pea Academy on August first, and the kids have already accomplished a lot. So, with that in mind, I feel comfortable with taking the this week and the next few and scheduling lots of field trips in, around our at-home lessons.

On Monday, we had our first field trip of the year at the Bloom grocery store in Chesapeake, which we scheduled through a neat little Box Tops for Education-connected site, Field Trip Factory:

I'd never been to a Bloom before, and judging by their tagline, there, I had no idea what to expect. Turns out, it's, like, a regular grocery store, pretty much. Except they do cool field trips. So, there's that.

David was our tour guide. He talked about shopping the perimeter and took us first to the Deli. At each store department, he asked if the kids knew what was sold in that department. Since they shop with me all the time, the children were pretty good at answering those questions. Sophia's holding her face here because Jack was examining the rotisserie chicken, of which she is most definitely not a fan.

Each department also features products with stars, the number of which indicate how healthy the product it is. They range from none to three. We tried to find three-star items in every area. Here, they were allowed to watch how the deli meat was sliced after selecting Dietz & Watson turkey, ask questions, and of course, get a sample. Sophie didn't like hers, so I ate it. Yummy stuff!

  

Next, we visited the Bakery. It was, of course, very hard to find products with any stars there, but they eventually discovered some on the whole wheat breads. They selected one and put it in the cart for later. They also got to watch a cake being decorated, and all were vocal about informing the decorator and our tour guide, David, that Mommy does that, too.

 

The third department was Produce, where of course it was easy to find lots of three-star items. Chloë beat the other children to it, so here they were running to see what she found and find some three-stars of their own.

Chloë checking out some items for stars - she happily pointed out artichokes for me, since I love those, and broccoli for the three of them. All three kids LOVE broccoli. I think it's their favorite veggie.

 

David was telling them to shake the coconuts so they could hear the milk inside. They got a big kick out of that.

 

My kids have never had a fresh coconut. I've never bought one! I'll have to rectify that soon, since they were really interested in figuring how how you get one open, get the milk, and eat the meat. If they don't like it, no big loss, since I LOVE the stuff!

In the Produce Department, David was also trying to teach them - when they were paying attention and not going off in three different directions - about the benefits of organic foods vs. traditionally grown produce. Chloë, naturally, was outspoken about what she knew on that subject and how we used to eat a lot of it. I wish we still did! We'll get there again...

David then took us to the preparation room of Produce, to show them how they slice, package, weigh, and mark the watermelons for people who don't want to buy a whole one. Here, he was explaining why he had to wear gloves and a hairnet.

 

THWACK! That melon didn't stand a chance.

 

David made quick work of the melon. There's probably a joke there, but I'm not going to make it. You're welcome.

 

Jack didn't want any watermelon, so here's Chloë offering his slice to me. That was some good stuff, too. I'm normally not a huge fan - I could take it or leave it - but this was definitely a 'take' occasion.

 

Next, David showed the kids how to use the heat wrapper thingy. I used to do that all the time in the various groceries in which I've worked, so I wanted to show off my skillz on the machine, but then I decided it wasn't my show to steal. 

Then they were shown the produce scale, and how to ring in the codes to produce the right sticker and pricing information.

 

They were each allowed to put a sticker on a package of watermelon. Simple pleasures...

 

After that, David had each child try two kinds of "baby" carrots - regular and organic, and they had to guess which was which based on the taste. I sampled, too, and I would've gotten it wrong, but they all got it right! I was kind of impressed by that.

 

Lastly, they were allowed to taste some pineapple chunks. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the freakin' huge piece Jack selected. He wolfed it down too quickly, though. It was bigger than he was, practically. I tried some, too, and oh, my word, it was delish!

 

The kids noticed some fruit flies in the back area, so then David went into this explanation of how the store tries to keep the pests at bay and showed them the bug zapper. They would've spent all day on just that if we'd let them!

At last, we were finished with Produce and took a visit through the back to peek into the meat-cutting area. Of course, they weren't allowed in there, but they liked looking at and asking all about the machinery! I was glad it wasn't butchering time. I really didn't want to see that part, myself. Blech.

 

Here, David was explaining about the back stockroom while I did my best to keep them off the various birds, floats, and other moving objects. Really didn't want a trip to the ER instead of the supermarket!

 

Another source of excitement was the cardboard box baler. They were all able guess correctly why that was used instead of throwing away the boxes and shared that Mom is really 'big' on recycling!

 

Watching the baler smush the boxes was fun.

 

We stepped into the walk-in freezer for the frozen food section after that. Here's Chloë exclaiming, "Oh, my gosh! It's a lifetime supply of ICE CREAM!!" She was disappointed there were samples of that!

Fortunately, David was able to lure them away from the ice cream with samples of Colby-Jack cheese, which Jack again declined because he hates the stuff. (Crazy kid.) The girls, on the other hand, begged about five chunks each off of poor David, who was helpless against their pleas. I snagged a piece, too, and so my pouch was quite full after all my own samples!

In the Dairy section, they were asked to find an orange juice with three stars to add to our cart. They chose Minute Maid and were schooled on what, exactly, is pulp. Do you like a pulpy OJ? I do. Mmm.

After Dairy, we stopped in the Meat Department. Poor David was trying to explain all about the different meats available there and get them to find one with multiple stars, but I discovered a sign promoting a sale on Butt Roast. Hello! I couldn't resist that, so I interrupted, giggling: "Hey, kids! Come read this sign! What does it say?" They read the sign and, between fits of laughter at their reaction, I informed David that I was not the most mature parent in the world. He laughed, too, and allowed them to pick a butt roast for our cart, instead of the lean meats he had been trying to steer them to choose. Hee!

 

Next stop: Seafood! Chloë was drooling over the shrimp, which she could eat on a daily basis, and showing me the crab legs, which I could eat on a similarly frequent schedule. I won't turn down many kinds of seafood, though. It's my weakness.

 

David called over one of the Seafood clerks to fish out a lobster for the kids to observe up close. Later, they couldn't decide whether that or sampling all the yummy food was the highlight of their visit.

Since we studied Vertebrates last year, I couldn't resist throwing in a quick review lesson while they were petting the lobster. Two out of three correctly guessed that a lobster is an INvertebrate - I think Chloë was the one who got it wrong, but she redeemed herself by then remembering the word "exoskeleton" and explaining that that was why it wasn't a vertebrate. David wanted to move on from there, so that's as far as we got with that, or I'd have been there all day!

 

After a quick stop in the Grocery department to find a three-star can of beans, we headed up front to allow the kids to learn how to be cashiers. Chloë enjoyed that so much, she informed me she wanted to be one when she grows up. I started to blurt out, "Let's aim a little higher, shall we?" but refrained, remembering my place. And hey, as long as she's happy, I don't care. Besides, I like being a cashier, too! It's fun.

 

 

Chloë was up first, and she scanned the can of beans.

 

After Sophia scanned the wheat bread they'd picked from the Bakery Department, David showed them how the lower belt worked to deliver the food down to the bagging area. They got a thrill out of turning on and off the belts, naturally.

 

Jack got a turn in, scanning the orange juice from the Dairy. He could've used a stool!

 

Sophia was the lucky girl who got to scan the Butt Roast. Butt Roast. Hehehehehe. That still amuses me. I've worked in lots of groceries along the way, and finding "butt" for sale was always funny to me. It still is. Butt.

That was the end of our tour, but wait! There's more! David went behind the Guest Services counter and got them each a nice drawstring gift bag with activity books, pencils, and a toothbrush in each one. 

David looking on as Sophia checks out the contents of her goody bag

 

One of the kids - Jack, I think - turned around then and asked what the helium tanks were. Of course, that led to an offer for a balloon for each of them. Sucker! They even got to be picky about what colors they received. I should've taught David one of my favorite go-to Mommy/Daisy Leader phrases: "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!" Works every time.

 

And now that was really the end of our Bloom field trip. What a great experience - for free, no less! I totally recommend checking it out, or anything else on Field Trip Factory. It's an awesome resource for parents, homeschooling or not, and educators in the public realm.

Stay tuned, I've got more to come. ;)

Fin.

Learning Barge On The Elizabeth River

Tuesday, we joined some fellow homeschoolers for a field trip to The Learning Barge, on our local Elizabeth River.  It was a really great program, and I'm so thrilled that we had a chance to participate. We got there just as it was starting, and we listened to the facilitator talk about the Elizabeth River, its relative health, and what the kids would be doing.

 

After splitting up into three groups of learners, the kids went to their first station at the heart of the barge. They learned about checking the salinity of the brackish water that makes up the E. River (today, it was 19; ocean water is about 32-33), and they looked for tiny annelid worms using pipets and large petrie dishes. Sophia and Chloë both managed to find some, so they were excited to share that with the group.

 

 

They also learned about the oysters growing in the river, along with the types of seagrasses there.

 

 

The Learning Barge is very "green," in that no electricity or gas is used to move it (they rely on tug boats to change location!) or power it, and each child waited in line to use the water pump for the sea grasses. Chloë, of course, found it the most difficult, while Sophia wanted to do it all day long.

 

Here are the girls pipetting for the tiny annelids.

 

Jack had a more difficult time finding some. He was pretty grumpy during the whole morning excursion, too. He does NOT like to be awakened, and he doesn't like being on a boat. So I dealt with his mood the whole time, but I didn't let it put a damper on my spirits, which were high at the time. I love being on the water and, of course, learning about marine and estuary life.

 

After that, they went inside another chamber of the barge to paint what they hope the Elizabeth River will look like in 2020, when the goal is for it to be swimmable and fishable. Chloë did not deign to show me her finished work; she's often secretive about her art projects!

 

Next, we headed back outside, where the kids were allowed to dunk sampling buckets into the river, in order for us to test whether bacteria from, well, poop was present there. They also listened about how it's important for dog-owners to "Scoop the Poop" instead of letting it sit in the yard, to keep run-off clean and help the river be accessible.

 

The kids each dumped their collection buckets into an aquarium for testing.

 

Yup, the water tested positive for the E. coli bacterium. Ick.

Here, they learned about the zones of land that are affected by - and, in turn, affect - the Elizabeth River, and each of its four branches.

Sophia showed me the cool tattoo she received, while waiting to move on to our next station.

The kids were then shown the eight 200 Watt solar panels that are used to harness energy on the barge, and the big battery compartment where that energy is stored.

 

The barge also uses a wind turbine to collect wind energy, which the facilitator demonstrated with a pinwheel, before pointing out the big mill on top of the boat.

Then, the kids were shown the rainwater collection site, and the 5-gallon gauge there on the wall. Each was allowed to pump some water from the rainwater collection, to see how the sink and toilet operated in the head.

 

They each washed their hands in the sink - hard to see there, because I didn't have a good photo-taking spot!

Right outside the head, the kids were told that the plants filtered the soap out of the water coming down the drain from the sink, so that it could be of further use. Pretty cool, huh?

 

The kids were then shown some more grasses and asked if they could find any that were currently pollinating.

Here's some! Once they knew what to look for, each kid was quickly able to find some pollinating plants.

 
 

The kids were turned around and shown the barnacles on the pilings where we were moored, and a little bit about their lifestyle was described for the children.

 

At our next station, the captain showed the kids some critters caught just that morning in the river. Of course, they all wanted to reach in and touch them right away!

There were a few shrimp, which some children decided were delicious and some, not so much. Chloë was a "yum"-mer.

This crab was particularly feisty when I tried to take his picture. I tried to get him snapping at me, but it was too fast and then he wouldn't do it again - 'least not without me sticking a phlange in there, and I wasn't going to do that for you!

And of course, some jellies, which had all of us moms quoting from Finding Nemo, about touching only the tops, because, "...they won't... sting... you!!" 

The captain then lowered a secchi disk, and explained about measuring turbidity to the group of kids, most of whom probably didn't grasp the concept at this point, but that's okay.

It was 4 decimeters, by the way, but they just wrote that down dutifully on their clipboard papers and moved on to the next thing. I tried to tell Chloë that meant 40 centimeters, but she got too easily confused, so I dropped it. For now. 

 

It was explained to the kids how the old-time sailors used to determine wind speed by looking at the waves and ripples of the water. We only had ripples, so they were told that was about 5 knots.

Oh, and somewhere along the way, we measured the air and water temperature, which were 84ºF and 79ºF, respectively.

 

Lastly, we all got back together for the "River Rock," a fun little ditty with hand motions about cleaning up the river and making it swimmable and fishable by 2020. Here's to that!

We said our good-byes to the ones we knew and headed home for lunch. The kids were grumpy and hungry by that point, but I was happy and contented about our morning spent learning about the environment of the Elizabeth River. 

Fin.

Bound To Travel

This, here, is a pile of three books I made for my kids. I worked for months, long hours, on them, and I am SUPER proud of them. So I thought I'd show them to you.

The books each have a plastic cover and are coil-bound for durability. The map of the USA is on the front (I didn't go for territories, except for DC, but we can always add those in later), along with the child's name. When the child has been to or through a new state, they will be able to shade in the state on the map. It's my hope that they'll keep these books - their passports to the 50 States and D.C. - with them always, and eventually get the whole map shaded.

Sorry for the glare on the shiny pages, but these were quickie photos. I made the pages - two states per page - in Word, with lots of help from Paint, so they're pretty low-tech and imitable, if you feel lke doing the same. If you want my copy, maybe I'll sell it to you for a nominal fee. ;) Anyway, this is Georgia's page. Each state's page has a representative map, the state tree, state seal and quarter, and the flag. There is also a place for notes on when they were there, where they visited, and what they liked best. The backs of each page are blank for more notes, if desired.

The flag of New Mexico provides the backdrop for its page. I got a little more artsy as I went along. Sorry, Alabama.

I learned a lot about each state, myself, while making the books. It was pretty fun and interesting, and a worthy project. Oklahoma, for instance, has more "state this and state that" than any other, I think. Also, almost ALL states have "milk" as the official beverage. 

For Rhode Island, the Red Maple leaf provides the backdrop. I love this page; it's so pretty to me.

 

 

The back of the book is made of vinyl.

And that's it! I plan to stamp the year on each state's page for the kids, when it has been visited. We have a lot of stamping to do, given all our travels this past year!

I hope you like my little project for my wee travelers.

Fin.

Defiance

Sophia.

Let me tell you about that girl: Smart as all get out, maybe the smartest of the bunch (and they are a pretty smart bunch). Funny as hell. A good-time girl.

But today?

 

We went on a field trip to watch (and listen to) the Virginia Symphony Orchestra take us on a musical world tour. It was pretty awesome. I'm so glad we went. Totally worth the five bucks a pop that I paid at least two months ago.

Anyway, at almost-six, the thumb in the mouth is still a constant for Soap.

(If you look past her in the picture, you can see the same is true for Jack, and on occasion, I'll still catch Chloë with her thumb in, too. I know they say that it's indicative of emotional problems if they suck their thumbs past five years old, but as someone who sucked hers until she was nine - okay, I probably DID have my share of emotional problems, but still - I can say from experience that it's pretty much just a comforting habit by that point. Anyway.)

Since I was sitting right next to her on the balcony, I gave her a whack on the shoulder and a quick, "Thumb out." 

Her response? Shove the thumb in even harder and hold it in place with the other hand.

That kid. 

Gotta love her.

Fin.

Makin' Stuff

We've been in the middle of a semi-major crisis (again), which either will or won't come to a head this afternoon. Hopefully the whole thing will just quietly go away, like it should, and all my anxiety will have been for naught. But in the meantime, I've been knitting and crafting, which is what I do when my stomach (what's left of it) is in knots. So I've got some stuff to show ya, 'k?

 

This was made from the beautiful beaded silk from Artyarns that I picked up at the Loopy Ewe in St. Louis. Remember? If you're on Ravelry, the pattern is the Sagebrush Shrug, and I loved making it (although I screwed it up and kept doing 3 pattern repeats instead of 4, but I did the math and worked it out). I think I'll make it again in a less-fancy (read: less majorly expensive) yarn, just because I really like the pattern. As far as the yarn, it makes an absolutely gorgeous product, but man, oh man, is it ever fiddly. It would have to be something really special for me to work with it again. Sirrusly. I totally love every Artyarns product I've ever worked with - and there have been a bunch - but this was a total pain in my arse. Hopefully, when I wear it with the dress I made it expressly to go with (listen, it's not even 0800 and I don't feel like making that grammatically correct), I'll get some better snaps. And it'll look beautiful. And people will say nice things about it. And actually notice the beads. Because if they don't notice the beads, well, then, shit.

Hey, do you remember I was making this thing, back in November or something? I'll be darned if I didn't tag that post with any of the usual suspects, so I can't find it, but I know you remember, 'cause you hang on my every word. It's a knitted dodecahedron! How cool is that? If you're a math fan like I am, anyway. I made about 7 of the bumps and then set it aside for, oh... five months. I picked Celestine back up on Monday or so, and I finished it in the wee hours of this morning. Fun knit! I loved almost every minute of it, except for maybe that last nubby, which made my hands cramp up something fierce. No, I can't lie, I liked that, too. It made me feel alive. ALIVE! (Caffeine on board, can you tell?) Anyway, it's a big mother, compared to that chapstick there, so we won't be using it for an ornament like I originally planned. I may list it on Etsy. I can't decide. The kids love it though, so maybe I shan't. Hmm.

Oh, PS, this was also made with Artyarns, in their ultramerino flavor. I've had this yarn for ages and have made several projects out of it. A little goes a long way! Now this, this yarn, I love. It's divine.

 

Speaking of my Etsy shop, I got a bug up my rear in the middle of the night, after I finished tidying up, to do some crafting. I got a bunch of bottle caps from various people, intending to do crafts with my Daisy troop with them, but (a) I don't think we will anymore and (b) I was given a LOT more than I needed at the time, so I've been looking at them and looking at them, wondering what I'd do with them all. Magnets! And thumbtacks! That's what I made, just looking around my craft room and grabbing this, that an' the other. The one above is from the last batch.  I really like it, and if they don't sell, fine by me! I'll just use them myself.

I think these turned out really cool.  Kinda wish I had a cork bulletin board, to stick the tacks on and use... Guess I have another project to add to my (crazy long) list of... projects.

 

I love these, too!! I think they turned out super cute, and I only wish I had more flowers to make more of these guys. Well, anyway, it was a fast and fun project and satisfied my little bout of midnight mania. And I only burned myself once on the high-temp glue gun. Note to self: Restock low-temp glue sticks!

Hey, I just made a coupon code for you blog readers: If you would like to order from my Etsy shop, get free shipping with your order! Use code SSA0311 and have yourself a little gift on me. Thanks!

********

As for us, we're going to be missing our military homeschool co-op classes for the third time today in, like, six weeks. Kind of ridick, but it can't be helped. I signed up for this field trip to hear the Virginia Symphony Orchestra long before the co-op started, so that'll be nice. Think I can get away with wearing a sweatshirt to the concert? I don't feel like changing.

Fin.

Wordless Wednesday III: The Making Of The Soap

So who wants a bar? It's orange-scented!

Link up here if you're Wordless today!

Fin.

Thomas Gets Me Alone

There's this local homeschooling Yahoo group that's set up just for inexpensive local field trips, and I sign up with them regularly to get my kiddos out and about. Thomas the Tank Engine's live show was this morning, and I bought tickets for Rob and all the kids to go.

Why not me?

Well. Heh. I was supposed to be in CPR Instructor class all day, but I kinda-sorta slept through my wake-up call. I'm really surprised, because I slept all afternoon, half the evening, and all night, so I should've been quite perky come 0700. Not so much, though!

Anyway, I sent the rest of Team Odette off to their little show and spent the next two hours all by my lonesome. Rob and I texted back and forth, I read emails, looked at Facebook, and generally accomplished a whole lotta nothin'.

It was fab.

And that picture up there? Is the only good one Rob managed to get. Which is why he rarely mans the camera.

Fin. 

P.S. Oh, right, right. Yes, the kids had a good time. Of course!