Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Our Little Archeologist

Dayton has more than just laundromats. Although the laundromat was truly a hit, we continued our exploration of Dayton at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. It was full of exhibits and learning activities geared to preschoolers and young children. We all loved it! Here, you can see our little archeologist brushing for dinosaur fossils...

...exploring life as a turtle...
...and discovering animal habitats.
There was so much to see and do that speeding through it in 2 hours really wasn't the best way to experience it, but at the same time we had lunch on our minds and naps to be taken. And our little archeologist found some areas to be worth spending half and hour in, while others not worth stopping.

Boonshoft "Top 5" list (by a 4-year old's report):

.5. Wild Ohio live animal exhibit

.4. Indoor playland

.3. Gravity: Build-it-better-yourself ball maze

.2. Water power with levees and dams

.1. Digging for dinosaur fossils

If you ever find yourself in Dayton with preschoolers, the Boonshoft Discovery Museum should make your "Must-do" list.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Fun at the Laundromat!


We headed to Dayton, OH for the weekend to see our favorite Laundry Man. He had a 2-week training there for his Project Lead the Way classes at school. And we just couldn't stay away! Our first item of business on Saturday morning was...laundry! The three of us headed to the laundromat. It was a first-time experience for one of us. And he was mesmerized. The front-load washers were a highlight of our trip. I believe the picture says it all.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Fair... still a favorite!

A day at the fair was always a highlight of the summer for me. There's not just one thing that stands out as a favorite... it was the sights, the sounds, the flavors, and the excitement. But, I grew up with the Elkhart County 4-H Fair... the biggest and best county fair in Indiana! Honestly, it's rated the 3rd biggest event in Indiana... only outdone by the Indy 500 and the state fair.

Two nights ago I gave the Marshall County Fair a chance. It was nice. It was managed in 2 hours. It was family friendly. And as I expected, the rides were the highlight for my soon-to-be kindergartener. And I got to enjoy my yearly elephant ear!






Thursday, July 17, 2008

You've never seen us like this before...

I found the following video, "Dance with us!" in my inbox this morning and got such a kick out of it that I had to share it here. Thank you, Laundry Man.

And...I know you're tempted to just push that play button, but before you do, scroll all the way to the bottom of my blog to turn off the music you hear now, or you won't be able to hear the video.

Dance with us!

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Back in the water...

We like to cool off in our 12x30 inflatable pool. But since last Friday it got greener and greener. So, after testing the chemical levels and trying to get it under control, last night we threw in the towel and let most of the water out to start new again. This morning we came out to re-fill it... and found this cute green tree frog on the edge, perched as pretty as you please as if he owned it. He may as well have... but, hopefully we're on our way again to clean, clear waters that we too can enjoy.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Not My First Foot Problem...

Some of you may know me well enough to recall that my current "foot problem" is not the only foot problem I've had to deal with. Evidently, I'm prone to foot injury.

First, I was born with asymetrical feet. The left is half a shoe-size larger than the right. And for that reason I have a hard time buying shoes. I have to try on both and decide if I want the 7 1/2 or the 8. Additionally, the right foot is ugly with shorter, stubby toes... not to mention a thick, corny second toenail. I know I was born with it, but I've always had a hard time accepting it. It's gnarly. So, I tend to wear closed-toe shoes or socks.

Then, when I was 4 years old I had my first foot injury. It was bad! Our rustic living room had exposed wooden beams above. And from it hung a shallow fishbowl in a thick braided sling made for that purpose. I loved the fish... and the hanging fishbowl holder. I stood on the raised fireplace hearth/seat and had an idea. I watched the braided cords twist up high as I turned it with both hands and then I'd let go and smiled as it un-spun around around, faster and faster. But it only worked successfully one time. Unknowingly, I had unscrewed the hook holding the sling to the beam above me and... CRASH! The weight of the hook, the fishbowl holder, and the fish bowl smashed my foot. Not to mention there was water and rocks all over the floor and tiny goldfish flopping around on their sides flexing their gills as they gasped their last breaths. It was sad. Not only did the accident leave me with skin sliced and peeled open on the top of my big toe, but also I had killed the family pets and made a terrible mess. And I'm left with a half-inch square scar to remember the whole thing.

A few years later, when I was in the second grade at Harrison Elementary School, I earned my second foot scar. This time, I was sliding down the "curly slide" on a hot day. The metal scorched skin when the sun beat down on the slide, but I didn't care much for monkey bars or the teeter-totter. So, I risked it with dozens of other kids. I went down feet first and when I came to a stop at the bottom, I quickly flipped to my tummy so that I could hop off backwards without getting burnt and... RIP! Somehow I snagged the skin on the top of my right ankle. Classmates had to carry me in to the school nurse.

Many years went by without another injury, but then at my older brother's high school graduation party, I was asked to go inside to get a bag of 2-liter pops for the punch. I retrieved the bag and handed it to my sister. The plastic bag was too heavy and the 3 2-liters ripped out the bottom, landing directly on top of my foot. Everyone who saw, gasped. I was embarrassed and in severe pain. It bruised and swelled and remained that way for about 2 weeks. Very painful.

Fast forward about 3 more years. I was a junior in high school and didn't have a date for the prom. I wanted to go, but what was my plan? Unfortunately, my mom was the high school Spanish teacher and took it upon herself to solve this dilemma. She asked a boy for me... one of her students and a friendly acquaintance of mine. She would transform the dress I had just worn for my brother's wedding and with the leftover material, she would make Aaron a cumberbund and bowtie. Embarassed by how the whole thing evolved, but excited to be going to the prom with a date, I was happy until... 2 weeks before the prom, I ran downstairs through my mom's sewing area to answer the ringing telephone. I picked up the receiver before the answering machine kicked on, but felt like I had just gotten stung on the sole of my left foot by a bee. I'd never been stung before, but I was sure that's what it was. Even though I couldn't find the bee. Hmm? So, still limping around 2 weeks later, right before the prom, I asked my mom to take me to the doctor. At this point it was too tender to stand on and strangely bruised and tender on top. It was x-rayed and behold a sewing needle, completely intact! When I had run through my mom's sewing area, I had stepped on a needle and it went straight up through the fatty tissues and very nearly emerged on the top side. I was scheduled to have it surgically removed the next day at the hospital, only days before prom.

Which leads me to my senior year in high school. Now, my brother and sister were at college in Kansas. My parents said I could take a college visit and invite a friend. I invited Jen, a hyper-active and adventurous friend since elementary school that made everything more fun. We enjoyed the trip and had fun watching the college scene. We went to a basketball game and watched my sister perform with the dance team in the halftime show. It was great. Then, we all packed into the car to try out this new Mexican restaraunt in town. And that's when it happened. I was sitting behind the passenger seat with my long-legged brother in the seat in front of me. He pulled up on the lever to slide his seat back enough to give him some leg room. My foot was under his seat and got dragged back several inches by a thin wire underneath. Unable to speak, I winced in pain and lifted my foot with my hands. No one knew what had happened. I couldn't cry. My foot was still stuck! I shook my foot with my hands and wiggled it back toward me. The wire bent far enough that it finally snapped up out of the top of my foot. It hurt... and bled...and bled some more. Needless to say, I don't remember much else about the rest of the weekend.

I do consider my feet to be accident prone, but oddly I don't seem to get hurt anywhere else. I'm generally healthy despite my feet. Anyway, if any of you can top these embarassing injuries, I'd love to read your stories. I find strange accidents intriguing and humbling. I'll be checking my comments to see who has the best story.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Foot Problem


About 3 weeks ago, my little boy and I spent the day at my sister's house. She's pregnant and feeling big. We were sitting on the floor playing with our kids when she realized how difficult it was going to be getting up.

I was amused when she asked, "Can you get up off the floor without using your hands?" Was she joking? No. Sadly, she was serious.

Of course, I can get up without using my hands. I took it as a dare. And I quickly moved to prove my point. From sitting on my heels with my knees bent under me, I shifted my weight to my right foot. Pulled my left foot out from under me. And I raised my left leg to swing my left foot in front of me. Without using my hands, I balanced my weight between my left foot (now flat on the floor) and my right foot (still under my butt with the top of my arch against her carpet).


Well, as you can tell from my last post (remember the Star Search photos?), I'm not so embarrassed by the stupid things I do that I can't write about them here. So, let me continue...

I pushed hard off both feet. And I made it! I was proud of myself. I showed her!

Feeling somewhat ashamed of myself for showing off my non-pregnant physical athleticism, I felt compelled to speak honestly... "If I made that look painless, just know that it wasn't."

In fact, the top of my right foot hurt pretty bad. It never bruised. But it ached for 10 days before I went to the doctor. She suspected a ganglion cyst. I had a hard, bony bump that hurt terribly when touched. And now I felt like I was losing feeling to my second toe... like someone wrapped a rubberband around it. The x-ray technician took pictures and the doctor sent me to an orthopedist... a specialist at the sports' medicine clinic.

Sports medicine? Wow. Besides church league softball, I've never played sports in my life. What an impressive "sporting" injury. I guess getting off the floor with no hands is a sport now. Anyone want to play?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Treasures Found...

I have the great fortune of being married to a man who does the laundry. It's true! In the last 2 years I've only started the washing machine once. And...he does it without me even asking. So, I rarely go down to the basement. It's unfinished and it has a nice big closed-off woodshop on one half and the laundry/deep freeze/furnace/storage on the other.

Well, last weekend my sweet laundry man came up from starting a load of laundry with a mysterious wet cardboard box. I began to dig through it. My husband had un-earthed a box of treasures from my past.

A handmade cloth doll with black yarn hair that was given to me when I was a little girl on a family vacation to a Navajo mission in Lybrook, New Mexico. So special I NEVER played with it.




A collection of tiny corked bottles that I saved from my grandma's auction after my grandpa passed away. All interestingly textured- the blue one like a chicken leg, green like a scaly fish, and gold square with apples on the front. Click the image to see what I mean.




A book. One of the beloved few and over-read books I remember having as a child. Kids these days (at least mine) have gobs of books cluttering the floors and seem to bring a new one for you to read every 5 minutes. But in the early 80's we just had a few that we read over and over. We relied on the school library.

A shoebox of snapshots from my first film camera, a 110. With pictures taken when I was in the 5th grade. Some girls "played house." My sister and I played "Star Search." It was the hot show at the time. And we were sure if we posed for some glamour shots in our own garage, we could make it to the top. So we modeled in our finest swimwear (please, tell me that we weren't the only ones who did this).



All of these things were treasures to me. I'm fortunate they weren't damaged by the water that had collected on our basement floor (most likely condensation). I'm not sure I want to put any of them back in the box. They deserve better. They deserve a place in my home... with the exception of the never-before seen, never-submitted Star Search photos.

And you may enjoy them here.

Sink or Float?


A quick experiment for you to try:

Question---
Will Coke float?
How about Diet Coke?

What you will need---
1 large, plastic storage box
Water
1 can of Coke or Pepsi
1 can of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi

Directions---
-Part 1-
Fill a large, plastic storage box with water. Place a can of Coke or Pepsi in the water, on its side or upright (doesn't matter).
Did it sink or did it float?

-Part 2-
Place a can of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi in the water.
Did it sink or did it float?

Observations---
Kids seem to love experiments. You can do this one for an audience by using a clear box which allows kids to see from any angle and without needing to come up close. The results will make them think.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Mindless Tasks

Some people have to be busy all the time. My husband, for example, becomes very irritable when he has a day off. Being school employees, we both have the summers off. He accepts odd jobs and has a long list of projects to get done at home as well. I, on the other hand, keep my days relatively free from obligations. I don't mind sitting outside in a lawn chair watching cotton from cottonwood trees float through the air until they're out of site. Or doing some mindless task that doesn't necessarily "have to" be done.

I don't consider my husband a work-aholic. Nor do I consider myself a slacker. But clearly we're different in this respect.

Yesterday and most of the morning today, I moved rocks. I saw how crazy and out-of-control our big flower garden had become. When we bought the house, we didn't know what to do about the massive area in our back yard. We've added some flowers and occassionally weeded, but we haven't put the necessary thought or time into it to really see it's beauty. So without a solid plan, I started by moving rocks. BIG, BIG rocks. I put the little ones in the wheelbarrow, and kept moving the big ones. Slowly, the flower garden began to take shape for me. A large oval around two gigantic pine trees. Miscellaneous flowers and vegetation remained inside the oval rock line. And outside of it. I don't want to keep the ones on the outside. I think we needed the downsize. So, now it's about half it's original size.

So this was my latest mindless task. Moving rocks. And was I was completely happy doing it.

Val's Tunes


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