Projects, Projects Everywhere.......

Last week was school project central. K1 had a History Fair entry due and K2 had a "game made out of a Simple Machine" project due - both on the same day. What's a simple machine? Well - good question!! There are lots of suspects, but the easiest one to make a game out of is the "incline plane" -
so K2 and her dad made a race track.



On Friday when it was due (along with the dwarf hamster exhibit), I got quite a kick out of all the parents carrying big old wooden incline plane games into the school. Very cute!

K1's history project was on Isabella of Spain. A good friend who got me into scrapbooking always told me that all the money I spent on supplies would also be "great for school projects" - oh boy, she wasn't kidding!! K1 got 3rd place individual out of 50 submissions. Pretty cool!




And then last night, as we were eating dinner and I felt our projects were behind us, K1 announced:

"oh, i found out when that memorial model is due"
"Really?"
"Yeah, Friday!"
"Friday next week?"
"No, Friday this week"
"You do realize it is 6:30 PM on a Thursday, right?"
(insert crickets chirping)

- apparently NOT!!


So, we brainstormed and decided to do Arlington National Cemetery. P thought K1 could "cut out some crosses" - oh yeah - right!! So - off to the Hobby Store and with a stroke of very good luck found a cross punch that would work. Love those scrapbook supplies! (and living close to shops! heavenly shops!)
So, K1 punched out 77 crosses, spray painted some Styrofoam (a gimpy dad project, as he has banged up his knee and is on crutches - no, I'm not ready for my 9 year old to be let loose with a can of paint) and glue sticked toothpicks on the back. (joint effort again, 9 year olds and hot glue guns aren't allowed to play together alone yet) Whew. It isn't gorgeous or elaborate - but it is better than a big fat zero.



Lets hope next week is project free. :) Aren't daily homework battles punishment enough for us parents?

Omnivore Meme

This is a a fun meme- post this list and bold what you've eaten. Some blogger somewhere decided that these are the 100 things every omnivore should eat before they die. Thanks to webfrau who got it from jww for this.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - a habenero, right? I haven't had a whole one but i did try a little at The Firehouse
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - oh yeah - in Monterrey - YUM
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whiskey from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear - in jam - does that count?
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Har
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake - boy scout jamboree as a child

hmm, some of these things i have no idea what they are! lol

Halloween 2008

We had the traditional pumpkin carving followed the next night by the hunt for the mostest candy. The girls got an impressive haul. K1 was a charm school witch and K2 was Zorro. Sawyer even got to go. They had a great time.

Flickr claims this slideshow will work, so i'm giving it a try......

Almost Rodent Free again

Last night I sent the girls up to get ready for bed and before i could join then, there were screams and cries and wailing of gigantic proportions. The Hamster cage had been knocked off the desk where it sat and was in pieces. (Two guesses who pushed it off) Hamsters no where in sight - which was a good sign. No fur, no little feet, no nothing. Looking around the room and thinking they could be anywhere, P sent K1 downstairs for a flashlight. From DOWNSTAIRS she screamed (not a mere yell, oh no) that the cats had one cornered in the front room.

Downstairs? How the heck did it get downstairs? Was it carried? Did it jump?

She grabbed it - it was Salsa, and aside from Post-traumatic-stress-syndrome, it appeared to be perfectly fine.

So, one found, but one still in some unimaginable terror so the wails and screams and drama continued. After about 30 minutes of looking, and watching the cats, and even letting the little dogs (which are SUPPOSED to be Ratters) in, P noticed that one cat, Scooter, kept returning to our bedroom. Belle the dog went in there a few times, but all the commotion made by the girls, kept her too distracted. Jasper - the other cat - likes his food well cooked and on a plate - he wasn't much help. Sawyer never once moved from his position on the floor - no help at all.

Tabasco was located behind the Highboy. (ALSO DOWNSTAIRS, What the heck!?) After much screaming and chasing him around the room (with him ending up on my foot and making me scream too) he was caught and looks in good health as well.

Go figure. I told the cats I was mighty disappointed in their feline abilities, but in this case - it was a good thing.