Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Owl Pellets and Water Treatment


We had the funniest day yesterday. We went to the Bird Preserve which is located on a water treatment plant. I knew when I set the day up that it was a water treatment area but it never dawned on me how bad it would smell. Needless to say the boys were COMPLETELY grossed out but they were fascinated to find out where the water goes when you flush the toilet. Such a boy thing. Adding to the boys disgusting day (which they thought was incredibly AWESOME) they got to dissect owl pellets (which is owl vomit basically), they found three full sets of mouse bones in the pellet, and they discovered maggots growing on a decomposing animal on the walk. Yeah, I am going to throw up from it but to quote the boys "COOL!"
I love this picture because it shows my two boys but also one of my old students who is now homeschooling and hanging out with us!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Learning at Ceasars Palace


With the weather being funky lately we headed indoors to Ceasars Palace this weekend. R taught C1 how to play the big piano at FAO Schwartz...I time honored kid tradition. C2 and I played hide and seek in the four story Trojan Horse that sits at the entrance. C2 was really sad that we would not buy him a $125 lightsaber but got over it. We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory and watched the Atlantis show. Who says learning can't take place at the mall? The show prompted a huge discussion of Roman and Greek mythology and C1 compared it to the stories of the Shang dynasty. Pretty impressive for kids who don't do school, I think.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Tadpole Drama, Oh My!

I finally have my car back. I missed it but it was nice to be home and quiet for a while. So, what did we do? Well, we watched the tadpoles grow legs and turn into little froglets. They finally have legs! This has been a major drama in our house. C2 got an Uncle Milton's tadpole kit for his birthday in August. It took until November for them to arrive. We followed all the directions but the silly things would not grow. At this point I went and read all the horrible reviews for this kit on online. Not wanting to be an inhumane tadpole owner, we researched habitats and the boys built this with almost no help from me:

They had to learn about how to slope the rock and stack heavier than lighter. They found a way to camoflauge the pump by creating a waterfall. They made landings for when the tadpoles started to get legs.

I surprised them with the sign. C2 thought it was hysterical.

Here is Raphael. He has the biggest head of the two. I don't think you can see his legs in the picture but they are there! Success----so far! And to think this little experiment has only taken 6 months and $150 so far! How fabulous is that!?! (sarcasm intended)



Friday, February 15, 2008

Forced Down Time

Last week, it was apparent that flushing my transmission was not going to be the answer to my cars prayers. We took it in today to find out that the transmission is pretty much shot. The technician had some fancy name for it, but that is what I got out of the conversation. I hate when something goes wrong with the car mostly because you never know who to believe but R thinks this is a good move so since I know nothing about it and trusting him, I have to give up my car for almost a week!!!

To be honest, I am looking forward to the forced downtime. I have a lot of laundry to catch up on, work to do online, and some good movies to watch :) We may all be going crazy by next week but right now I am enjoying still being in my pj's at 4:15 pm.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Basketball

C1 just started playing for the Tarkanian Academy. He is really liking it but it is hard work. Here is a quick video of a great assist during a local league game. He is number 7 in the blue.

Look Mom, Something Healthy is Growing in My Kitchen!


So, last week at the boys bookclub meeting, my friend Amy gave me a sample of Kombucha. Kombucha is a drink of fermented tea and sugar. I was intrigued, C1 was completely grossed out and I wouldn't get it near C2 in fear he would throw up right then and there (he tends to do that without much provocation). Today, Amy brought me my own kombucha 'baby'. As Tara correctly described it as it looking like someone threw up their intestines. So, I am going to make this for R and I and see if it helps us on our road to good health. Worse comes to worse, the boys have a great science experiment on their hands. Lets just say it probably isn't the only thing growing in my fridge at the moment.

Park Days

Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying the great weather lately.

C2 and his friend A trade pokemon cards. It was VERY windy today.

C1 and his friends discover the simple joy of climbing a tree.



C1 on his beloved rip stick which is a skateboard with two wheels. These things are very hard to balance on and he has earned a lot of scrapes and bruises on this :( I hate it.
It is nice to see him out of his chair everyone once in a while :)

Monday, February 11, 2008

German Beer Garden


So, when we last met, I promised a picture of us at the Hofbraus House. Here is it. I like this one because it hides how ridiculously fat I am getting. We are there with our good friends and neighbors. The boys got to try German food, which they loved, C1 had a huge sausage and C2 had some sort of noodles. The grown ups had lots of beer. C2 learned that a glass is called a stein and we all had a great time raising them to the music!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

So, What is This All About???

If you know me personally, you are probably thinking "WTH is she doing now? She has enough sites to deal with. She can't handle another one!" and you might be right. But, I have recently met a great group of friends that have inspired me to blog about my time with the boys.

I plan to use this space to share what we are up to, how the boys are constantly growing and learning, and occasionally my random thoughts on things. I can't do that with my companies sites. This is my own little personal space to write what I want and not worry about keywords, metatags, and page design.

So, stick around. I am waiting for a friend to send me a video clip she shot tonight at a German Beer Garden. It could be interesting!