Before you read this, I want to make it clear that I don't do research remotely similar to this. The last sentence makes reading it all worthwhile!!!!
http://www.the-scientist.com/2009/07/1/17/1/
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Part of growing up
Ben spilled a whole box of Trader Joe's cinnamon grahams in the back of my car yesterday afternoon on the way home.. It would have been bad enough, but he did it while he was shaking the box for some apparent reason. Sam had just cleaned out my car completely two days before and he had the misfortune of walking in on the middle of us getting home. Sam made Ben get the vacuum from the basement and clean out the whole back of the car to get rid of the crumbs. We figured it's definitely time Ben started to be more responsible and so we've decided that he needs to start helping around the house more. I also think it's time to start giving him an allowance and making him pay for some things out of his own money. It might give him more of an idea of just how much things cost and how hard you have to work to make money. Right now, Ben doesn't seem to get the difference between $10 and $100, hopefully we can start teaching him that difference.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Question of the day
As we were checking out in Target today, Ben asked me (in a very loud voice) "Mum, is Michael Jackson a girl or a boy?" Everyone around us started laughing and the guy at the checkout said "Don't worry, that happens all the time". I told Ben that Michael Jackson was a boy and then Ben asked me why he looked like a girl. I couldn't really answer that question, but I also can't answer my own question, which is why his son has white-blond hair....
Love him or not, Michael Jackson is going to be missed
Love him or not, Michael Jackson is going to be missed
Happy 4th July
We had a very wet start to the 4th of July this year. It rained all night and the morning until around 11 am. It seemed like a good day to go and see Ice Age 3 in 3D. It turned out to be a pretty good film-better than #2, not as good as #1, but the kids absolutely loved it & that's all that matters. Maggie is not too happy to wear 3D glasses through an entire film, but it's unwatchable without them. The kids made it through the whole day even though they were extremely sleep deprived from the night before. Maggie went up to her room to clear it up after the movie & I found her face down fast asleep on the floor!!!
We didn't even barbecue at night because the whole day threatened with rain, but we did do fireworks, courtesy of Dawn. This was the highlight of the day.
They love to watch the fireworks, but they don't like the noise, Maggie especially.
The kids love the smoke bombs more than anything and so Dawn had given us a huge amount of them. 
They are also into sparklers-I like the Black Cat ones the best because they remind me of my own childhood. 
This is my morning after the night before picture of all the fireworks left on the garden wall. It rained in the night again, so they were well and truly soaked and no danger to throw in the trash....
We didn't even barbecue at night because the whole day threatened with rain, but we did do fireworks, courtesy of Dawn. This was the highlight of the day.
They love to watch the fireworks, but they don't like the noise, Maggie especially.The kids love the smoke bombs more than anything and so Dawn had given us a huge amount of them. They are also into sparklers-I like the Black Cat ones the best because they remind me of my own childhood. This is my morning after the night before picture of all the fireworks left on the garden wall. It rained in the night again, so they were well and truly soaked and no danger to throw in the trash....
3rd July holiday
The 4th of July came early for us. The weather forecast for the weekend indicated that Friday was going to be the best pool day of the weekend, so I packed up Ben & Maggie, along with Ben's friend Tariq, and we headed over to the pool. We got there right as the pool opened only to find that we'd been beaten by a vast number of people that must have got there ages before the doors opened. The parking lot was full and people were streaming through the doors. It was the first time that we have ever had to spread out the towels on the ground as there were no chairs left (why don't I just buy one & take it with me?). The sun was hot, but the water was cold. Ben spent most of the afternoon getting in the water & lying in the sun-he really does not like cold water at all. Maggie & Tariq spent the whole time in the pool.
As soon as we got home from the pool, Jan & Julie came over and took Maggie & Ben to their house to camp out. Ben had missed the backyard campout with the scouts, so this was his make-up date. Jan & Julie have a camper trailer, which was lucky for them all as it rained all night. They had a great time though, they made hot dogs on the grill and s'mores. It sounds like there wasn't much sleeping done all night and the kids were very tired all the next day. Still, Sam & I had a chance to go out & eat on our own (Culpepper's chicken wings-yummy) and then we watched James Bond at home (Daniel Craig-yummy). It wasn't until the next day that we both realized we missed the opportunity to go and see Johnny Depp in Public Enemies-maybe next time....
As soon as we got home from the pool, Jan & Julie came over and took Maggie & Ben to their house to camp out. Ben had missed the backyard campout with the scouts, so this was his make-up date. Jan & Julie have a camper trailer, which was lucky for them all as it rained all night. They had a great time though, they made hot dogs on the grill and s'mores. It sounds like there wasn't much sleeping done all night and the kids were very tired all the next day. Still, Sam & I had a chance to go out & eat on our own (Culpepper's chicken wings-yummy) and then we watched James Bond at home (Daniel Craig-yummy). It wasn't until the next day that we both realized we missed the opportunity to go and see Johnny Depp in Public Enemies-maybe next time....
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Art night
Ben was on a roll with art tonight. First of all, he had Maggie go outside with him and they collected things from the garden to make a collage. They glued their treasures onto card and left them in the sun to dry. This is something that they had done at adventure club earlier in the week and obviously was a hit for the kids to do. 
Later on, Maggie & I were subjected to art class which started promptly at 8 pm and was to last for exactly 30 minutes. Apparently, this is a weekly event that will continue for 6 weeks. Last night, we made snowmen. Ben had us cut out 3 circles and then draw a face on the first one. We had to cut out a nose made of orange paper & stick it on the face. Then we drew buttons on the 2nd circle and we made twig arms out of brown paper. Finally, we decorated the 3rd circle and Ben assembled the finished project for us. He's really got the teaching routine down, he can get everyone organized and knows exactly what his plans are. Maggie sat and watched him with a "I can't believe I'm doing this" sneer on her face, but she was a good sport about the whole thing. Finally, Ben taped the finished product to his bedroom door, he's running out of room!!!!
Later on, Maggie & I were subjected to art class which started promptly at 8 pm and was to last for exactly 30 minutes. Apparently, this is a weekly event that will continue for 6 weeks. Last night, we made snowmen. Ben had us cut out 3 circles and then draw a face on the first one. We had to cut out a nose made of orange paper & stick it on the face. Then we drew buttons on the 2nd circle and we made twig arms out of brown paper. Finally, we decorated the 3rd circle and Ben assembled the finished project for us. He's really got the teaching routine down, he can get everyone organized and knows exactly what his plans are. Maggie sat and watched him with a "I can't believe I'm doing this" sneer on her face, but she was a good sport about the whole thing. Finally, Ben taped the finished product to his bedroom door, he's running out of room!!!!
The baseball boys of Summer
Baseball season is finally over for the Hudson Hawks. This is the first year that Ben has played and he insists it won't be happening again. He was very enthusiastic at the beginning, but when the momentum was lost with all the rain we had, he quickly decided he'd had enough. However, every time he gets to a game, he does absolutely fine and last night was the only one on our team that stayed behind and played with some of the boys off the other team. Usually he plays in the outfield, but last night they had him playing at first base and at third base for a change. 
He wasn't too impressed about that for a while, but soon got into it & I even saw him running for the ball a couple of times!!!! 
He really does pay attention to the game sometimes, but there are many other times where he's much more interested in the dirt. He is not the only one like that, it's interesting to watch the level of enthusiasm, understanding and capability of the boys. There is one boy on the team who is a natural (he has two older brothers), a few that are pretty good, some that are OK when it suits them (Ben's group) and some that are completely hopeless.
Of course, he loves to bat and last night he got on base twice and even got around the bases once. 
Even though it's fun to go and watch them play, and they really do look so cute out there in their uniforms, I have to admit that Ben isn't the only one that is glad the season is over. It always seems like we have other things going on and trying to fit in the games can ruin my other plans. Ben would have missed a lot more of the games if it hadn't been for them being cancelled because of the rain. There have been several times that we were going to do something else. I thought I was the only one that felt like that, but I talked to a couple of other families last night that aren't too sad to be at the last game of the season. Even if Ben decides he isn't playing again, I'm glad that he gave it a go and that we got to experience at least one season. When we were driving home, Ben said "I'm not going to play next year, I'm going to do gymnastics". I told him that I thought gymnastics would be great for him. then he changed his mind & said he wouldn't do gymnastics either. Maggie said "I'm going to do gymnastics and play baseball" and I bet she will....
He wasn't too impressed about that for a while, but soon got into it & I even saw him running for the ball a couple of times!!!! He really does pay attention to the game sometimes, but there are many other times where he's much more interested in the dirt. He is not the only one like that, it's interesting to watch the level of enthusiasm, understanding and capability of the boys. There is one boy on the team who is a natural (he has two older brothers), a few that are pretty good, some that are OK when it suits them (Ben's group) and some that are completely hopeless.Of course, he loves to bat and last night he got on base twice and even got around the bases once. Even though it's fun to go and watch them play, and they really do look so cute out there in their uniforms, I have to admit that Ben isn't the only one that is glad the season is over. It always seems like we have other things going on and trying to fit in the games can ruin my other plans. Ben would have missed a lot more of the games if it hadn't been for them being cancelled because of the rain. There have been several times that we were going to do something else. I thought I was the only one that felt like that, but I talked to a couple of other families last night that aren't too sad to be at the last game of the season. Even if Ben decides he isn't playing again, I'm glad that he gave it a go and that we got to experience at least one season. When we were driving home, Ben said "I'm not going to play next year, I'm going to do gymnastics". I told him that I thought gymnastics would be great for him. then he changed his mind & said he wouldn't do gymnastics either. Maggie said "I'm going to do gymnastics and play baseball" and I bet she will....
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