Lick the beaters, that is. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!
About Me
- Kim
- "Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." ~Unknown
my counter
<
Her job is a tough one...
Anytime I make cookies, Sammy wants to help...
Lick the beaters, that is. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!
Lick the beaters, that is. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!
Being unfaithful...
Tonight I did something terrible...
I made break-n-bake chocolate chip cookies instead of using my own (amazing) recipe.
I feel like I am cheating.
My recipe is tried and true and turns out great every time.
But tonight I wanted cookies to go on top of my ice cream and I just didn't have the energy to mix up the ingredients myself. Besides, these are the mini size cookies and how CUTE is that???
I promise it won't happen again.
At least not anytime soon.
I made break-n-bake chocolate chip cookies instead of using my own (amazing) recipe.
I feel like I am cheating.My recipe is tried and true and turns out great every time.
But tonight I wanted cookies to go on top of my ice cream and I just didn't have the energy to mix up the ingredients myself. Besides, these are the mini size cookies and how CUTE is that???
I promise it won't happen again.
At least not anytime soon.
My Best Friend, Lamar
It's a crazy story - how we met...
Lamar and I were both signed up on LDSMingle.com (a church dating website). One night I was "shopping online" for new members and I came across Lamar's profile. I've told him so many times since that I never would have clicked on him if he hadn't been listed as living in Woodbridge, VA. It sparked my interest because my family lived in that city for many years and I wondered if he had ever met them.
We started chatting online, and eventually we moved on to talking on the phone - for hours and hours at a time. We got to know each other as well as we could without ever meeting. It was fun talking to him because he is intelligent and funny and different from many guys I had met before. To make a long story a little shorter, Lamar quickly became one of my very best friends!
Over his kids' Spring Break, Lamar drove to Tennessee to visit me and the kids. We had such a great time together. I am super happy, and a lot of that is because I have found a man who can be caring, funny, loving, and honest. A man who also happens to be my very best friend.
Lamar and I were both signed up on LDSMingle.com (a church dating website). One night I was "shopping online" for new members and I came across Lamar's profile. I've told him so many times since that I never would have clicked on him if he hadn't been listed as living in Woodbridge, VA. It sparked my interest because my family lived in that city for many years and I wondered if he had ever met them.
We started chatting online, and eventually we moved on to talking on the phone - for hours and hours at a time. We got to know each other as well as we could without ever meeting. It was fun talking to him because he is intelligent and funny and different from many guys I had met before. To make a long story a little shorter, Lamar quickly became one of my very best friends!
Over his kids' Spring Break, Lamar drove to Tennessee to visit me and the kids. We had such a great time together. I am super happy, and a lot of that is because I have found a man who can be caring, funny, loving, and honest. A man who also happens to be my very best friend.
Lamar's Visit to Tennessee
While Lamar was here, I asked Jonathan to snap a bunch of pictures of the two of us. Most of them turned out cute. Even the ones where he was acting silly were fun
Jon did a good job of capturing our interactions. And used some creative techniques when composing the pictures - angles and repeated shots. Thanks, Jon!
Jon did a good job of capturing our interactions. And used some creative techniques when composing the pictures - angles and repeated shots. Thanks, Jon!
King of the Grill
Lamar loves to grill. And not only does he love to grill, but he is very good at it! His ribs are legendary. Really...
So when he came to visit, Lamar helped me pick out a nice charcoal grill and even worked all day to assemble it so we could host a big barbecue on Sunday. Jonathan (kinda) helped too.
At the barbecue, Lamar manned the grill. He cooked six slabs of ribs - complete with his own special BBQ sauce, a dozen chicken breasts - marinated in another secret concoction, hamburgers - made of ground sirloin and ground bison, and hot dogs - because there were a few kids (including Sammy) who wouldn't eat anything else. He must have been at the grill for almost two hours, but it was worth it!
I asked Lamar to show Jonathan how to get the grill started so that we could have cookouts even when he wasn't here. He shared some of his secret tricks for getting the meat cooked perfectly. Let's hope Jon took careful notes!
The cookout was a HUGE success! We ended up with over 20 guests and everyone had something positive to say about the food. Leftovers were sent home with the missionaries who admitted to eating ribs for breakfast the next day!
So when he came to visit, Lamar helped me pick out a nice charcoal grill and even worked all day to assemble it so we could host a big barbecue on Sunday. Jonathan (kinda) helped too.
At the barbecue, Lamar manned the grill. He cooked six slabs of ribs - complete with his own special BBQ sauce, a dozen chicken breasts - marinated in another secret concoction, hamburgers - made of ground sirloin and ground bison, and hot dogs - because there were a few kids (including Sammy) who wouldn't eat anything else. He must have been at the grill for almost two hours, but it was worth it!
I asked Lamar to show Jonathan how to get the grill started so that we could have cookouts even when he wasn't here. He shared some of his secret tricks for getting the meat cooked perfectly. Let's hope Jon took careful notes!
The cookout was a HUGE success! We ended up with over 20 guests and everyone had something positive to say about the food. Leftovers were sent home with the missionaries who admitted to eating ribs for breakfast the next day!I can hardly wait until Lamar and his kiddos come back for the Memorial Day weekend and we host another great barbecue!
Growing Up Without a Cell Phone
I saw the following message and thought it was too funny not to share.
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda. And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our butts! Nowhere was safe!
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, baby!
6) We didn't have fancy things like call waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
7) There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
8) And we didn't have fancy caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your couch and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh no, what's the world coming to?!?!
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!
12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!
14) And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda. And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our butts! Nowhere was safe!
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, baby!
6) We didn't have fancy things like call waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
7) There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
8) And we didn't have fancy caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your couch and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh no, what's the world coming to?!?!
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!
12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!
14) And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!
More Artwork by Jonathan
Jonathan and his friend, Pheobe, drew pictures on the driveway with chalk today. Jon drew a unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail. Pheobe drew a dragon. Both looked great!
The drawings on the driveway led to a debate on facebook about which fantastical creature is better - a unicorn or a dragon.
The unicorns won by two votes.
Congratulations, Jon!
Sqeeeeeze!
Jenn and I headed to Nashville for the day to do a little window shopping and have lunch at Cheesecake Factory. While we were walking through the mall, I found these skinny stairs and just had to squeeeeeze into the spot! Jenn wqas being a stick-in-the-mud and refused to let me take a picture of her on the little stairs.
At first we couldn't figure out why they would create a set of stairs so tiny, but upon further inspection we realized that it was actually just a narrow part of a wider staircase that was covered up because of the constructoin of a new store. It was still funny, though.
At first we couldn't figure out why they would create a set of stairs so tiny, but upon further inspection we realized that it was actually just a narrow part of a wider staircase that was covered up because of the constructoin of a new store. It was still funny, though.
A little bit of Texas
Part of my Spring Break was spent in Texas visiting Jen Oler, a friend from back in Indiana. We hadn't seen each other in almost two years. It was so much fun just hanging out and talking and doing some long overdue scrapbooking.
The day I left, Jen took me to Coyote Candle - a very Texan store. They had all kinds of lawn decorations, stars to hang on the wall, and some incredible large and "western" furniture.
I got such a kick out of some of the pieces that had animal fur all over them. Everything was oversized and overpriced. I guess everything IS bigger in Texas!
The day I left, Jen took me to Coyote Candle - a very Texan store. They had all kinds of lawn decorations, stars to hang on the wall, and some incredible large and "western" furniture.
I got such a kick out of some of the pieces that had animal fur all over them. Everything was oversized and overpriced. I guess everything IS bigger in Texas!
Natural Disaster
On most days it looks like a tornado hit Jon's room.
To deal with this, I try to spend very little time looking around when I am up there. Today, though, I just had to laugh because the scene from the doorway was so chaotic.
Most days, Jonathan just walks into his room and dumps everything from school on the ground. Once a week I require that he straighten up. It usually lasts all of ten minutes, but at least he makes the effort for me.
To deal with this, I try to spend very little time looking around when I am up there. Today, though, I just had to laugh because the scene from the doorway was so chaotic.
Most days, Jonathan just walks into his room and dumps everything from school on the ground. Once a week I require that he straighten up. It usually lasts all of ten minutes, but at least he makes the effort for me.
Service with added benefits
For one of her Young Women's projects, Sammy has decided to volunteer at the animal shelter. What this translates into is us visiting each Saturday for about an hour and taking different dogs outside to play for a while.
The great part is that Sammy is giving the dogs at the shelter some much needed attention while at the same time getting her "puppy fix". The tricky part is making it back home without adopting one of these cute dogs. If only having a pet wasn't so costly and time consuming...
The great part is that Sammy is giving the dogs at the shelter some much needed attention while at the same time getting her "puppy fix". The tricky part is making it back home without adopting one of these cute dogs. If only having a pet wasn't so costly and time consuming...
STRIKE!
So, Monday nights are "cheap nights" at Pinnacle Bowling Lanes. It only costs $2 a person and shoe rental is free. And since we have five kids between the tow of us, Mike and I decided to meet on Mondays for a night of bowling with everyone.
Jonathan gets a bit frustrated because he tends to get a pretty low score each time we bowl. But he keeps at it and really is starting to improve.
Sammy uses the gutter guards so that she has a better chance of hitting some pins. She and Chance take turns bowling and actually do pretty well. Sammy actually kneels down on the ground and shoves her ball down the lane. It makes me laugh, but it works for her.
Jonathan gets a bit frustrated because he tends to get a pretty low score each time we bowl. But he keeps at it and really is starting to improve.
Sammy uses the gutter guards so that she has a better chance of hitting some pins. She and Chance take turns bowling and actually do pretty well. Sammy actually kneels down on the ground and shoves her ball down the lane. It makes me laugh, but it works for her.Mike always amazes me because he bowls using only his two fingers. He doesn't use the thumb hole. And his ball spins and almost falls into the gutter but at the last minute will curve and hit all the pins down!
My high score is usually somewhere in the low 80's, but I am working on throwing the ball straighter and have been doing better. Mostly, we just enjoy hanging out together and having fun!
My high score is usually somewhere in the low 80's, but I am working on throwing the ball straighter and have been doing better. Mostly, we just enjoy hanging out together and having fun!
Another one bites the dust...
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who is celebrating today...I'm trying to think positively about this holiday.
Valentine's Day (in the past) has been kind of crummy, but today ended up being pretty good. I had a party at school, got some fun text messages from friends, surprised my kids with little goodies, and now I'm going to go work out for the first time in months.
Does working out tonight counteract the cookies I just gobbled down while I checked my email?
Snow (?) Days
I really don't think I can stand it much longer. We are on day 4 1/2 of snow days this week! That's right... I have taught for a grand total of five hours this week. I am in withdrawl. And worse yet, I have had to spend the week cooped up in my house with my two teenagers! Here is a picture of the snow outside our house.... About 4 inches. 
And here is a picture of the snow at Mom's house in Rockford, IL.
And here is a picture of the snow at Heidi's house in Wisconsin - where they didn't cancel school until there was about 20 inches on the ground! Now, that's a snow storm worthy of a snow day. 
Yes, we are pansies here in Tennessee. But while I have the time "off" I'll try to enjoy it and not go completely stir crazy.
And here is a picture of the snow at Mom's house in Rockford, IL.And here is a picture of the snow at Heidi's house in Wisconsin - where they didn't cancel school until there was about 20 inches on the ground! Now, that's a snow storm worthy of a snow day. Yes, we are pansies here in Tennessee. But while I have the time "off" I'll try to enjoy it and not go completely stir crazy.
What to look for...
I love this quote:
Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot
Who calls you back when you hang up on him
Who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat
Or will stay awake just to watch you sleep.
Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead
Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats
Who holds your hand in front of his friends
Who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup.
One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you.
The one who turns to his friends and says, "That's her."
Yeah, I'm a romantic at heart...
Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot
Who calls you back when you hang up on him
Who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat
Or will stay awake just to watch you sleep.
Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead
Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats
Who holds your hand in front of his friends
Who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup.
One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you.
The one who turns to his friends and says, "That's her."
Yeah, I'm a romantic at heart...
Like a pebble on the lake...
First, a disclaimer...
I am not a complete klutz. I know how to walk and even run pretty well. I generally stay on two feet and don't often injure myself. And I turn beet red when I am embarrassed.
Okay, on to the story...
NOTE: I really wish I had a picture (or better yet, a video) to accompany this post, but you'll have to just try to visualize this the nest you can without visual aids.
So, tonight was game night at Amanda's house. A bunch of girls from church and a few from other places (lol) get together to play board games and card games on Friday nights. Tonight was lots of fun - we played UNO MadDog...and I lost. But I always lose, so that is not the best part of the story.
Well, since I had brought the kids along with me, I couldn't stay too late. Around 11pm we said our goodbyes and headed out to the car. Jonathan asked if he could drive home, and I figured that if I got to the car first I would be the driver. So I started running to the car to beat him there.
Amanda's front yard has a pretty decent hill that angles toward the street and ends with a small ditch right by the road. Well, as I ran down the hill, I somehow tripped over my own feet and fell to my knees in the wet, muddy grass. But that is not the end of our sad tale. As soon as my knees hit the ground, I started to fall forward. My keys and the box of Oreo balls flew out of my hands and slid into the middle of the street. I tried to brace myself with my hands and ended up bouncing along the grass on my stomach like a pebble skips across the lake. I slid to a stop on the pavement behind my car.
OUCH!
My first reaction was shock and pain. I started to cry. By the time Jonathan reached me and asked if I was okay, I had moved on to laughing. I couldn't help myself. I must have looked so ridiculous falling and bouncing like that. I couldn't stop laughing - even as I headed back into Amanda's house to wash the blood and gravel off my hands.
Everyone got a good laugh at me, and that's okay since I was laughing the hardest of everyone anyway. After I got cleaned up and Amanda put a band aid on my hand, we left..again. This time I was careful to walk slowly and Amanda even supervised my trip to the car. A very embarrassing situation, but such a great story!
I am not a complete klutz. I know how to walk and even run pretty well. I generally stay on two feet and don't often injure myself. And I turn beet red when I am embarrassed.
Okay, on to the story...
NOTE: I really wish I had a picture (or better yet, a video) to accompany this post, but you'll have to just try to visualize this the nest you can without visual aids.
So, tonight was game night at Amanda's house. A bunch of girls from church and a few from other places (lol) get together to play board games and card games on Friday nights. Tonight was lots of fun - we played UNO MadDog...and I lost. But I always lose, so that is not the best part of the story.
Well, since I had brought the kids along with me, I couldn't stay too late. Around 11pm we said our goodbyes and headed out to the car. Jonathan asked if he could drive home, and I figured that if I got to the car first I would be the driver. So I started running to the car to beat him there.
Amanda's front yard has a pretty decent hill that angles toward the street and ends with a small ditch right by the road. Well, as I ran down the hill, I somehow tripped over my own feet and fell to my knees in the wet, muddy grass. But that is not the end of our sad tale. As soon as my knees hit the ground, I started to fall forward. My keys and the box of Oreo balls flew out of my hands and slid into the middle of the street. I tried to brace myself with my hands and ended up bouncing along the grass on my stomach like a pebble skips across the lake. I slid to a stop on the pavement behind my car.
OUCH!
My first reaction was shock and pain. I started to cry. By the time Jonathan reached me and asked if I was okay, I had moved on to laughing. I couldn't help myself. I must have looked so ridiculous falling and bouncing like that. I couldn't stop laughing - even as I headed back into Amanda's house to wash the blood and gravel off my hands.
Everyone got a good laugh at me, and that's okay since I was laughing the hardest of everyone anyway. After I got cleaned up and Amanda put a band aid on my hand, we left..again. This time I was careful to walk slowly and Amanda even supervised my trip to the car. A very embarrassing situation, but such a great story!
Happy Birthday, Sammy!
We kept things kind of simple for Sammy's birthday this year.
Nothing too complicated...except for the cake!
Sammy wanted a dog cake (big surprise, right?) so I worked on making one that was 3-D. It took me forever and the silly tail gave me fits, but it ended up looking pretty cute!
Sammy got lots of fun presents, but her absolute favorite was a Justin Bieber CD. She was such a nut tonight. Quite the cheeseball. But we love her! I still can't believe she is fourteen!
Nothing too complicated...except for the cake!
Sammy wanted a dog cake (big surprise, right?) so I worked on making one that was 3-D. It took me forever and the silly tail gave me fits, but it ended up looking pretty cute!
Sammy got lots of fun presents, but her absolute favorite was a Justin Bieber CD. She was such a nut tonight. Quite the cheeseball. But we love her! I still can't believe she is fourteen!
Special Visitor
Life has been really hard lately. I have been super lonely and very stressed out. One afternoon I broke down and called Mom and asked her to come stay with me for a while. I just needed the emotional support.
She wasn't too sure about such a long trip at first, but ultimately agreed to stay for a whole week. It was so nice having someone to talk to and help with the kids.
She wasn't too sure about such a long trip at first, but ultimately agreed to stay for a whole week. It was so nice having someone to talk to and help with the kids.
The greatest son on earth...
I can't even begin to count the number of times that people come up to me and tell me how awesome Jonathan is. Seriously. At least once a week at church.
I have to agree with them. Jonathan is such a kind, smart, caring, responsible, friendly, mature kid. I would love to take some of the credit for his amazing personality, but he came to earth that way! I just have the privilege of taking care of him. :)
I have to agree with them. Jonathan is such a kind, smart, caring, responsible, friendly, mature kid. I would love to take some of the credit for his amazing personality, but he came to earth that way! I just have the privilege of taking care of him. :)
The effects of gravity
At school I have been teaching about gravity and its effect on falling objects. My students conducted an experiment where they dropped various objects (paper, feather, tennis ball, golf ball) and recorded which object fell the fastest. The results were as expected...the paper took teh longest every time.After that experiment, I challenged my students to find a way to make the tennis ball and the paper fall to the ground at the same rate. It was interesting to see what they tried...dropping it sideways, dropping it with the ball on top, dropping it from a different height....
When they had been given a few minutes to complete the task, I showed them another option. I took a piece of paper and crunched in into a ball. When I dropped the crumpled paper and the tennis ball this time, they hit the ground at the same time. This got the kids' attention.
I next asked them to try to explain why the crumpled paper fell faster than the flat paper. I assumed they would talk about the shape and air resistance. What surprised me was that many of the students actually suggested that the crumpled paper weighed more than the flat one! It was at this point that I knew I had to address this misconception.
I tried relating it to something more familiar. I asked the students if I would weigh more on a bathroom scale if I crouched down than if I stood up straight. Most of them said that I would. Hmmmmm. They needed proof.
So.....
Today I actually brought in a bathroom scale and weighed myself...that's right...in front of my students. I stood up straight, I crouched down into a ball, I stood on one leg. They were surprised to discover that I weighed the same no matter what position I stood. Finally! They began to understand that an object (like me) did not change mass or weight just because it changes shape.
Unfortunately, now my students all know how much I weigh...and I am sure that by tomorrow so will half the parents! Oh well, all in the name of science education!
Bad Hair Day
Jon came into my room this morning and told me I just HAD to take a picture of him. That he was having a bad hair day.
Uh, yeah. It was a bad hair day alright. About the BEST bad hair day I have ever seen!
Uh, yeah. It was a bad hair day alright. About the BEST bad hair day I have ever seen!
Added "security"
Over Christmas break someone broke into our house and stole most of our valuable items. They took our big screen TV, our desktop computer, our Wii and all the games, our DVD/VHS player, our smaller TV, our fancy laser printer, my school issued laptop, my Scrabble game (I know, weird, right?), and almost all of our movies. All of these things can be replaced...it will be expensive, but they can be replaced eventually. What cannot be replaced is the sense of security that was taken away from me and the kids.
Sammy has always had a fear that someone would break into our house and rob us. I always told her that she didn't need to worry and that we were safe because we locked our doors. Now what can I tell her???
When we got home from our trip, Sammy was so terrified to go into our house that she was curled up in a ball under her blanket in the front seat of the car. It took Mike carrying her into the house and walking room to room with her to reassure her that it was okay. Even still, she was so scared that she didn't want to be left in a room alone.
So, while I unpacked and tried to deal with what needed to be done, Mike laid on the ground in the living room with Sammy and watched two of her movies with her so that she didn't have to be alone. Then at bedtime when she was still scared, he agreed to sleep on our couch so that she would feel safer. (It helped me to feel more secure as well.)
Sammy has always had a fear that someone would break into our house and rob us. I always told her that she didn't need to worry and that we were safe because we locked our doors. Now what can I tell her???
When we got home from our trip, Sammy was so terrified to go into our house that she was curled up in a ball under her blanket in the front seat of the car. It took Mike carrying her into the house and walking room to room with her to reassure her that it was okay. Even still, she was so scared that she didn't want to be left in a room alone.
So, while I unpacked and tried to deal with what needed to be done, Mike laid on the ground in the living room with Sammy and watched two of her movies with her so that she didn't have to be alone. Then at bedtime when she was still scared, he agreed to sleep on our couch so that she would feel safer. (It helped me to feel more secure as well.) NOTE: I love this picture of Sammy with Mike. They are so cute together!
Headbanded
While we were in West Virginia, we had to find clever ways to entertain ourselves. We played a lot of games. This one was called "Headbanded" and was pretty funny. Each player had to wear a headband with a card on it. By asking yes/no questions, each person had to try to guess what they were.
Some of the funniest questions came from Uncle Paul. At one point (while he was wearing a picture of a tomato) he asked "Do people keep me as a pet?" It was hard not to laugh at that one!
Some of the funniest questions came from Uncle Paul. At one point (while he was wearing a picture of a tomato) he asked "Do people keep me as a pet?" It was hard not to laugh at that one!
Personalized T-shirts
For Christmas this year, Uncle Pete created t-shirts for the kids. Jonathan's is a Harry Potter Puppet Pals shirt. He loves it! And Sammy's is a special creation - a shirt for "Sammy's Dog Walking Service". Rainbow colored, of course.
Probably the best compliment Pete could have received was the comment Jonathan made. He told me, "Mom, just so you know, I'm gonna wear this shirt every week!" Such a fun and creative gift!
Probably the best compliment Pete could have received was the comment Jonathan made. He told me, "Mom, just so you know, I'm gonna wear this shirt every week!" Such a fun and creative gift!
Christmas with Grandma Miller
We had a great time visiting Grandma before Christmas. She even put up a Christmas tree for the first time in years. We stayed up late talking, went shopping at the mall, and went out to eat at Red Robin. YUM!
It was a fun visit and we hope to get back out there again soon.
NOTE: Again, thank you to Jonathan for his willingness to snap photos with me in the shot. Proof that I was actually a participant in the event for a change.
It was a fun visit and we hope to get back out there again soon.NOTE: Again, thank you to Jonathan for his willingness to snap photos with me in the shot. Proof that I was actually a participant in the event for a change.