Predicting the Weather

Every once in a while I run across a blog or some information on the net that I find interesting. It is at these moments I have to decide whether I want to share it on my blog or just wait for my kids to get old enough to figure out for themselves that Mom is a little strange.

I couldn't resist reading this post on 'How To: Predict the weather without checking the forecast'...

Which gave a teaser like:

Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and smell the air.

• Plants release their waste in a low pressure atmosphere, generating a smell like compost and indicating an upcoming rain.
• Swamps will release methane just before a storm because of the lower pressure, which leads to unpleasant smells.
• A proverb says "Flowers smell best just before a rain." Scents are stronger in moist air, associated with rainy weather.

And proceeded to send you HERE.

Interesting...

How Not to Train Your Son to Put on Underwear

Seems there are some things you should not use to help teach your son how to put on underwear. Like explaining there is a pe-nis hole in the front. No matter how many times I explain that it is to be used when you are pee'ing... he still has to show me that he got it on the right way by sticking it out the hole. Please, someone explain to me how to get him to stop that!!!!

Weeding Adventures

Always entertaining when I decided to weed in my yard...

Nope, do not know what kind of snake that is... but I do have a lot of these little frogs around the house. This one scared me as I was weeding around the tree and he was at face level. Phew. Glad he didn't jump.

University of What?

h/t CalTechGirl

You're the University of Washington!

A visionary for your area, you truly can see it all. At the
same time, you used to be prone to burning out and trying to do it all. You
have to remember that you're just one person, and can't be responsible for a
whole community. But this is a lesson you've managed to learn long ago and
now you rely on all sorts of people. Many of them really enjoy looking at you.
Even though it seems like an out-of-date phrase, you're a big fan of dubbing
things.


Take the University Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Some People Just Make Me Laugh

click to enlarge picture.

Humor on another Day

HOW TO CALL THE POLICE WHEN YOU'RE OLD AND DON'T MOVE FAST ANYMORE.

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window.

George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?" and he said "no". Then they said that all patrols were busy and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available. George said, "Okay," hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I've just shot them." Then he hung up.

Within five minutes three police cars, an Armed Response Unit, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George: "I thought you said that you'd shot them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

Moral: Don't mess with old people!!

Make Me Barf

Tink is on a roll... first she sends me a link that is really cool on making bubbles and now one on roaches.

The bejeweled insects are kept on a leash, giving them room to roam over your coordinated top.

Folks, I am terrified of roaches. I can handle spiders, lizards, worms, bees, and more... but I hate roaches. And a live one moving around on my blouse??? EWWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

UPDATE: She just couldn't stop... here is another LINK to the roach jewelry.

Bubbles!

This was fun... Tink sent me a web site for bubble recipes. It worked great... well after I called ddpup and found where to find glycerin in the store. Sigh... some reason I had gelatin on the mind and the two are NOT located in the same place. Thanks to ddpup, I found it! And we had a blast.

Tater told me he was blowing bubbles into the pool for the Gungan city...

That pool has been the best $15 we spent all summer... even when we weren't playing in it, it had great uses. Stories about Star Wars made up by my kids. Gotta love it.

101 vs 88

You have got to be joking... but that is really the way it is here today. UGH!

Humor for Dreaded Wednesday

STOCK TIPS

Investment tips for 2007 For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG bucks.

Watch for these consolidations in 2007-8.

1.) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R.Grace Co. Will merge and become:
Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.

2.) Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become:
Poly, Warner Cracker.

3.) 3M will merge with Goodyear and and become:
MMMGood.

4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will me rge and become:
ZipAudiDoDa.

5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become:
FedUP.

6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become:
Fairwell Honeychi ld.

7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become:
Poupon Pants.

8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become:
Knott NOW!

And finally ....

9. Victoria 'S Secret and Smith & Wesson will merge under the new name:
Titty Titty Bang Bang

Now Why Didn't Someone Invite Me?

Seems there was a VW Bug convention and I wasn't told!

Which one would best suit me??? Picture 3? Picture 8? Picture 9? Picture 13?

Anyone that knew me in college would remember my Honda CRX... it had a sound system that was able to move the car... This bug reminded me of it.

Next time, I need to attend!!! ;-)

Tadpoles

We have been watching some tadpoles grow in our swale. While it was at a heat index of 103... we went out and moved some from one side that had only a little water left to the other side which had more.

A close up of the swale with very little water...

The boys had to give it a shot...

Then Tot asked me to catch him some...

Next was Tater wanted some...

Now we were able to find a tadpole with 4 legs instead of just two...

Rain, rain, rain. Means we now have lots of water for the tadpoles and mosquitoes. Hopefully, I can get pictures of the kids with some small frogs. Then the kids and I can make a 'journal' of our adventure. High hopes... we'll see how it goes in reality. ;-)

A Talking Clock

This is a paid review from Review Me for the Talking Atomic Alarm Clock. Now that is out of the way, let's talk about this talking clock...

My laptop is on most every day, all day and it sits somewhere in the kitchen area... the thought of an alarm clock that would remind me of stuff sounded good. I was a palm pilot, outlook calendar geeky woman when working outside the home. After kids, I use a calendar on the wall and the oven timer. No joke. Since I have my pc on all day, I thought I would give this a try.

I did not like the install. It was easy... but it put stuff on my pc that my virus protection decided to 'quarantine'. Even though I let the quarantined happen, the clock still works.

I like the fact that I can set it up to announce the hour with a voice. I don't stand in front of the pc all day... I am usually around and about. It is nice to hear it announce the time so that I can keep up with stuff. I have swimming, speech therapy, gymnastics and playdates to go to on a weekly basis right now. My house is also fairly quiet when the kids aren't fighting so hearing something is usually not a problem and I need to know the time.

It is very easy to set up reminders. They will pop up on the screen as well as be announced. It also allows weekly, monthly and the like. Sure I miss a few now and then because I'm in the laundry room or the kids are screaming... but for the last week, it has been useful. Besides, as soon as I look at the pc, I know if I have missed them since it pops up a reminder window as well.

The program seems to be very flexible and easy to use. It has a stopwatch, notes and more. I haven't used it enough to try those options out and I'm not sure I would really use them. The reminders and verbal time is what I need and like... much better than what comes with winxp.

The alarm clock download is available for a free trial. Give it a try if you can handle machines talking to you... ;-)

technorati: say the time : alarm clock : review me

Now This Is Funny

My sense of humor is a little odd. I found this particularly funny this morning...

Since Bugs are a Theme Lately

Between the spiders, grasshoppers and

slugs...

I thought some comic relief would be nice... like a place for all those bugs to live away from me!

or maybe they could live here:

and then I could use this one to visit them in the swamp:

Never a dull moment around our house.

It's Ogre's Fault

From Ogre here is another quiz...

What Kind of Geek Are You?

You are a bookworm of the bunch; the know-it-all, the brainiac, the evil genius. You know what the longest word in the English language is and can use it in a proper sentence. When you're not busy studying up on the ecology of the coatl you're privately lording your intelligence over those who're less bright than you.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Tater's 5 Now

It is hard to believe I have a 5 year old son. I spent the afternoon looking through old pictures. I made the following online scrapbook pages:

= =

= =

= =

I love his smile. Always so kind and caring. My how Tater has grown. I miss my little boy with the great big Michelin tire legs. I love who he is turning into as he grows.

Geek Food

Found THIS over at Contagion's place. I am going to have to give this a try next time we have a party!!! Very very cool!

technorati: humor

One Of Those Games

Alex has a fantasy game that he has asked people to participate in and I had to laugh. I suck at remembering names.

If you ever wanted to put your own band together, go check out Alex and his questions. Then we can sneak over and decide which band we would like best.

Noble?

h/t from Mrs. Who... somehow I don't think my kids would agree. ;-)

Your Score: The Otter

Here's your results! Your spirit animal has a Nobility ranking of 11 out of 18.

Your spirit animal is the otter. Playful, curious and fun animals, they are truly the start of what can be considered a noble creature. Otters are good at figuring things out, and make great friends. You are lucky to have one as a spirit animal. Otters are fairly rare as spirit animals.

***Wondering how this animal was chosen for you? These questions were carefully thought out to see how important you hold certain virtues such as: humanism, self-knowledge, rationalism, the love of freedom and other somewhat Hellenic ideals. Some of the questions were very subtle. Your score was then matched with an animal of corresponding nobility. However, you shouldn't think this was a right/wrong sort of test, but more of an idealistic values test. It's ok to not hold these values, you'll just get an animal spirit of lower stature if you do!***

Random 8

Tag'd again. The Gray Monk got me on the meme for eight random things about myself. I'm fairly open about myself with my friends and have a hard time thinking of anything interesting about myself to put out here... with a little help from Mamaw and Tink... here is what I have for you:

1. I had a pet rock when I was 4 or 5 years old. This was around '69 or '70... way before there was such a thing on the market.

2. After my mom specifically told me not to play catcher one day for a softball game... I did. I got hit in the back of the head by a bat when I bent down to get a softball that the pitcher pitched too short and it rolled to home base. The batter was going to 'golf' it back to the pitcher the same time I was reaching for it.

3. In high school Sticks and I would sword fight in the hall ways between classes.

4. While bike riding with Sticks, a bumble bee hit me in the chest, went down my shirt and got caught in the bra between the boobs. I proceeded to take off my shirt in the road with cars going by. I got the bee out. As Sticks pointed out... I was already well endowed.

5. To this day, my hubby does not want to play Monopoly with me. While dating, Sticks came to visit. This was when we both drank alcohol. My soon to be hubby offered to chaperon. The three of us ended up playing Monopoly at my place. I was allowed to be banker. Sticks was losing. I got money out of the bank and handed it to her. A couple of times I did this so she could pay him. After about the 3rd or 4th time, he realized what was going on. GRIN.

6. When we had Coco, the poodle, I cried for hours after it's first haircut because I thought it wasn't our dog.

7. At 3 or 4 years old I had the medicine they used to knock me out for the EEG didn't last as long as they thought and I was one drunk toddler with the giggles

8. About 3 years of age, I thought every man in an Air Force uniform was my dad. Even a black man.

Dominios

Something to do when it is raining outside:

= = =

And this decided to visit our back porch to get out of the rain...

It won I ran.

More Humor for Dreaded Wednesday

Oldies but Goodies:

1. How many honest, intelligent, caring men in the world does it take to do the dishes?
Both of them.

2. Why did the man cross the road?
He heard the chicken was a slut.

3. Why don't women blink during foreplay?
They don't have time.

4. Why does it take 1 million sperm to fertilize one egg?
They don't stop and ask for directions.

5. How does a man show that he is planning for the future?
He buys two cases of beer.

6. What is the difference between men and government bonds?
The bonds mature.

7. Why are blonde jokes so short?
So men can remember them.

8. How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?
We don't know; it has never happened.

9. Why is it difficult to find men who are sensitive, caring and good looking?
They already have boyfriends.

10. What do you call a woman who knows where her husband is every night?
A widow.

11. When do you care for a man's company?
When he owns it.

12. Why are married women heavier than single women?
Single women come home, see what's in the fridge and go to bed.
Married women come home, see what's in bed and go to the fridge.

13. How do you get a man to do sit-ups?
Put the remote control between his toes.

14. What is the one thing that all men at singles bars have in common?
They're married.

15. Man says to God:; "God, why did you make woman so beautiful?"
God says: "So you would love her."
"But God," the man says, "why did you make her so dumb?"
God says: "So she would love you."

Humor for Dreaded Wednesday

I think Bubba is Blonde!

A doctor in Kentucky wanted to get off work and go hunting, so he told his assistant, "Bubba, I am going hunting tomorrow and we don't want to close the clinic. I want you to take care of the clinic and take care of our patients".

"Yes, sir..." answers Bubba.

The doctor goes hunting and returns the next day and asks: "So Bubba, how was your day?"

Bubba tells him he took care of three patients. "The first one had a headache, so I gave him TYLENOL."

"Bravo Bubba! and the second one?" says the doctor.

"The second one had stomach burning, and I gave him MAALOX, sir," says Bubba.

"Bravo, bravo Bubba! You're good at this and what about the third one?" asks the doctor.

"Sir, I was sitting here, and suddenly the door opens, and a woman enters like a flame. She undresses herself, taking off her bra and her panties and lies down on the table, spread her legs and shouts: "HELP ME! For five years I have not seen any man!!"

"And what did you do Bubba?" asks the doctor.

"I put eye drops in her eyes."

Bathroom Talk

There is nothing like having small children to keep you humble. Tater decided he had to go the bathroom while we were in Michaels. Which was fine until I discovered he had to poop. Ugh. Trying to keep Tot entertained in a strange bathroom while not allowing him to touch anything is always a treat... add a 5 to 15 minute wait due to pooping... not fun.

This time... it was humbling. There were only two stalls in the bathroom. Tater had one and some lady on a cell phone had the other (the handicapped stall). I am usually surprised by people who talk on the phone while in a bathroom, but this time I was happy she was talking. Particularly when a conversation something like this started with Tot using his 'outside voice':

Tot: Mom, is she pee'ing?
Mom: I don't know. Try hopping 3 tiles.
Tot: Mom, is she pooping?
Mom: Tot, this is really not something we need to discuss. How about hopping some tiles?
Tot: Mom, she must be pee'ing, I can't hear her pooping.
Mom: **blink**

Schmoozeville

Tag'd... I was tag'd!!! And it couldn't have been by a more schmooz-er-ific person... Pamibe. She saves any animal (what a softie), and keeps up with current affairs while making me laugh. And the best part??? She thought I was Schmoozable. GRIN

Hmmmm... self-absorbed, narcissistic, attention craving bloggers... hmmmm.... ok, how about the following:

AWTM? She has beautiful schmoochie children and wonderful experiences with them... wait that doesn't fit the bill for self-absorbed, narcissistic and attention craving...

Ohh... Boudicca! I just saw it on TV the other night... Seems that she should fit the bill... but then again, anyone that has children that purposely eat food to have stinky farts and finds it hilarious how it 'backfired'... can't be self-absorbed, narcissistic and attention craving... not with three boys.

Nope... let's try again... ahhh... Contagion! Darn... he is willing to make a fool of himself in front of the whole blog world... guess that means he is not very narcissistic... sigh.

How about Dazd? He's got commenters looking for weird science items. He has really interesting Caption Contests. Doesn't seem to be self-absorbed... geeze.

I give up. I enjoy schmoozing those that I read... but I give up after those 4. I just don't think I'm going to find any self-absorbed, narcissistic, attention craving bloggers in my blog roll. Just lots of good reading. Tag... your you're it.

Early Birthday Party

On this coming Sunday, Tater will turn 5. The problem was that only one friend would be in town and available that weekend. Hence, we had it Saturday... 7 kids, 8 adults and great weather. Phew....

First, some pictures of my attempt to make Optimus Prime (from the Transformer cartoon) on a cake:

The next day, he puts on his only Transformer shirt and poses with the cake (no way is Tot going to be left out... even if he hasn't gotten dressed yet!)

Time to blow out the candles!

Luckily, kids can be entertained by any kind of water. Even if it is just spraying a little in the air... along with water guns... of course!

= = =

It was very enjoyable. I have good friends. They brought food, helped clean up and are always good company when it comes to conversation. We talked about poop, farts, burps and all the other good things that comes with having children. Yep, need more days like that.

And this weekend, Uncle Bobby should be down to visit and we can have another 'party'. Lucky kid!

Get Out Your Calendars!

Looks like that time of year is getting close...

Thanks to Tink for sending me the link.

Nonsense but Fun

Stolen from CalTechGirl

Write down which word you first think of after reading the first word.

1. Happen ::

2. Terribly ::

3. History ::

4. Master ::

5. Petrified ::

6. Moan ::

7. Attack ::

8. Picture ::

9. Students ::

10. Potter ::

My answers are in the 'More Pawprints'... I'd love to see your answers as well!

1. Happen ::stance
2. Terribly ::sad
3. History ::repeats
4. Master ::mind
5. Petrified ::wood
6. Moan ::groan
7. Attack ::stance
8. Picture ::this
9. Students ::teacher
10. Potter ::harry

AWTM Is Older

A little late today, but it is still fun and important to wish her a birthday wishes! She has a party going on over at Tammi's and I wanted to bring Kahlua Cake for her. Might as well enjoy something chocolatie and alcoholic at the same time!

Hope you have a great Birthday AWTM!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Seems I'm still tired... take a look at this picture... I was trying to mix some icing up early for Tater's birthday party this weekend...

Figure it out? I'll post the answer later.

UPDATE: And the answer is??? I picked up the mixer and turned it on... to notice that the mixer blades were missing. Sigh. It was only 9pm.

We love to decorate... here are some cupcakes and a cake from the 4th! We had a friend of Tot's over to help. GRIN

That night, I made a flag cake. I couldn't get the stars right, but there are 50 of them. I had problems deciding on a border as well. Before border and after:

= = =

and now I'm trying to figure out which image to use on Tater's cake for the Transformers. Any suggestions are appreciated. Tink has sent me some ideas... my hubby suggested the Autobot logo. Will depend on what I can 'free hand' with icing. ;-)

Humor for Dreaded Wednesday

Mrs. Jenkins comes to visit her son Anthony for dinner...who lives with a female roommate Vikki. During the course of the meal, his mother couldn't help but notice how pretty Anthony's roommate was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between the two, and this had only made her more curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Anthony and his roommate than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, Anthony volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Vikki and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Vikki came to Anthony saying, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver sugar bowl. You don't suppose she took it, do you?"

"Well, I doubt it, but I'll email her, just to be sure." Anthony responded

So he sat down and wrote:

Dear Mama,

I'm not saying that you 'did' take the sugar bowl from my house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take it. But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.

Love, Anthony

============= ===============
Several days later, Anthony received a response email from his Mama, which read:

Dear Son,

I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Vikki, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with her. But the fact remains that if she were sleeping in her OWN bed, she would have found the sugar bowl by now.

Love, Mama.

What You Didn't Want to Know About Stents

Seems life is interesting after getting a kidney stone removed. Mine was stuck in the ureter. The piece between the kidney and the bladder. Sucker wasn't going to move. Lodged in nice and tight. What a pain. Literally.

My decision was to have surgery and have it removed. I cannot express the kind of pain I have been in off and on for the last 2 months. And I wanted to do anything to get rid of it. If you have a queezy stomach, read no further.

The rest is after the 'More Pawprints'

Then I found out that I had a stent put in to help with any 'pieces' that might come out. I had no idea what a stent was... and it took everything in my power not to take a picture of the string coming out of my urethra and taped to my belly.

Being overweight, with a stretched out belly... did not help anything. You really, really don't want to pull that string. And the first day... My body actually decided it didn't want to pee. Yaa, my bladder was full, it was begging to be relieved and I wasn't able to go. No joke. It hurt that bad. Only for the first day, Friday. And I did go. And I drank even MORE water. Really. I knew it was going to help in the long run. Also, all pain will end eventually.

Didn't think much more of it. It got less painful each day. Only when that darn string got pulled did I notice it on the last day.

Time to have the stent removed. I'm a chicken. A big chicken. I went in and asked about it. The nurse said they just yank it out. Gulp. Ok. And she did. It hurt but not as bad as the kidney stone. Hmmm. She showed it to me. I almost fainted. Sucker was about 9 inches long. I found a picture of one... forgot to bring my camera to get a picture of it...

See those curled ends? One is stuck in your kidney, the other is stuck in your bladder. Those little holes help with the urination getting through. Yaa... I can't help but ask questions. The string is attached on the curled side in your bladder.

Not something I wish to do anytime soon. Actually I n.e.v.e.r want to go through that process again. At least childbirth gave me a child.

Enough... I'm alive. Still not quite up to speed... seems I don't react well to stents and surgery. Silly thing like a fever that won't go away and some pain left. Sigh. Just a little longer and all should be healed... or I get to have better antibiotics! Luckily, most of the blood in the urine is gone. Nothing like it has been for the last couple of days. See, things are getting better already.

Thanks again to everyone for their prayers and wonderful good thoughts... it certainly helped.

The Emails Come To an End for RCT-6

Thank you to everyone that participated! Wonderful. Just wonderful.

From blackfive:

Email 20,000 came in today, from a corporal in the British Army. Sgt. Deboard writes:

We've flown the 6k and 10k flags but still waiting on certificates. Flew the flags on July 4th... oh man, how ironic would it have been if I'd flown the 20k flag on Independence Day then shipped it to an Englishman?

That's highly satisfying. But not quite as satisfying as this:

The bandwidth demands for the inflow of emails have become so severe that the RCT's staff has been forced to order the end of the project for security reasons. Sgt. Deboard regretfully informs us that, after next Sunday, the address will be closed.

I told you at the beginning of this project that I wanted to hear Marines grunting with pain from having to deal with so many emails.

You got us there. I'm proud of you.

If you have a last message of support you've been wanting to send, you've got a week to send it in. All good things come to an end, and I can't imagine a better ending than this one: having to close down because there are just too many letters of support for the Marines to handle, while fighting a war at the same time.

We can keep in touch with the RCT-6 team going forward by using the comments section at their blog. I guarantee you they'll always be happy to hear from a Black Five reader who stops in to chat.

Thank you Everyone

Just a quick post to say Thank you for the kind thoughts and wishes. Still not on-line for long. And I will answer all those comments in a day or two. Just need a little more rest.

Home from Surgery

I just spoke to VW and she is fine. She feels like crap, but she's fine.

I'll take her feeling like crap any day over any of the other possibilities. What she didn't mention on her post was the urologist had gone through various possibilities that could have caused her kidney to be in the shape it was in... polyps, cancer, and kidney stones.

So she left a message for me on my cell that day and if I'd not been worried enough about her, that made me sit up, take notice, and... go directly to Google to figure out if she could really have something has horrible as kidney cancer.

I called her back and said, "Unless you've had high exposure to cadmium or it runs in your family, or you're a male between the ages of 50 and 70, its slim that its cancer. Besides, it can't be because, making this about me, *I* can't deal with the thought that that's what it is. So... I'm sure its kidney stones."

And it was. Thankfully... because as painful and awful as kidney stones are the other alternative was just unthinkable.

So she is on her way home right now, stopping by CVS where the pharmacist will be her new best friend in providing her with what she needs with good rest and no pain.

I know she's happy and her family is ecstatic that she will be fine. But just after them, is me. I come in a very close third...

No, No, No!!!

Woke up this morning with my chest feeling tight. I hope it is stress and NOT a cold. They will cancel the surgery if I have a cold. Never a dull moment around here.

Yesterday was a blast. Had friends over with their two boys. As you can see, her oldest was being a sweetie and playing with them all...

Humor for Dreaded Wednesday

Stolen Copied from Fourth of July Humor:

What quacks, has webbed feet, and betrays his country?
Beneduck Arnold!

What did Paul Revere say at the end of his ride?
"I gotta get a softer saddle!"

What protest by a group of dogs occurred in 1773?
The Boston Flea Party!

What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?
The Americans licked the British!

Why did Paul Revere ride his horse from Boston to Lexington?
Because the horse was too heavy to carry!

Why did the British cross the Atlantic?
To get to the other tide!

What do you call a parade of German mercenaries?
A Hessian procession!

What would you get if you crossed a patriot with a small curly-haired dog?
Yankee Poodle!

Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell?
Yeah, it cracked me up!

What would you get if you crossed George Washington with cattle feed?
The Fodder of Our Country!

What's red, white, blue, and almost as ugly as a dog?
A revolutionary warthog!

What did one flag say to the other flag?
Nothing. It just waved!

What's red, white, black and blue?
Uncle Sam falling down the steps!

Where did George Washington buy his hatchet?
At the chopping mall!

What kind of tea did the American colonists thirst for?
Liberty!

What was General Washington's favourite tree?
The infantry!

Which colonists told the most jokes?
Punsylvanians!

What would you get if you crossed Washington's home with nasty insects?
Mt. Vermin!

What did a patriot put on his dry skin?
Revo-lotion!

UltraSound, MRIs, and Surgery

Seems my life has been full of ups and downs. The last couple of months have been down for me. Just say a prayer for me and you can ignore the rest. I am documenting this for future reference!

I have been in a lot of pain and not the nicest person or mother. No I haven't beaten my kids, but they do seem to yell now a days. Another bad habit I will have to break along with trying to deal with the normal growth, independence thing.

Starting at the beginning of May I was in a lot of pain. I played bounce between doctors and ended up at an Urologist. During this time I got 2 Ultrasounds, and an MRI of my lower body. My bad luck, not the best staff at this one. After a month, I switch urologists. Good move on my part. Got some medicine that seemed to actually work.

A couple of weeks ago, I got severe back pain. Went to my General Practitioner. I like the guy. He took a look at me. Pressed on my back, helped me get off the floor. Pressed on my belly and heard me say it was uncomfortable. Hmmm must be a pulled muscle. Take medicine and call back if it doesn't get better in 48 hours. Did I mention 48 hours took me into the weekend? Sigh. Went back on a Monday, he sent me for another MRI... but this one required 'contrast'. Nasty nasty. Took 3 days for the MRI place to get it to my doctor... and you guessed it... a Friday. Late Friday I got a call, Kidney problems... call a urologist.

Uhh. Told the doctor I was seeing one already, had a follow up visit scheduled for yesterday along with a cystoscopy. They faxed over the MRI and told me to make sure I made that appointment. Sigh.

I made the appointment. They canceled the cystoscopy and I am now scheduled for surgery on Friday. Yep, kidney stones. The last MRI didn't show it, just the swollen, distended kidney. The people doing the MRI didn't go any further down than my kidneys. No joke. The tube that connects the kidney to the bladder was not visible nor the bladder. I was given the option to have yet ANOTHER MRI to locate the stone or stones exactly. Hmmmm. NO. Let's just get this done. I am tired of being in pain, being unable to sleep and being a witch because of the pain... not just because I want to be one. GRIN.

Your prayers and good thoughts are requested. Thanks!

Math and Science

From Decrepit Old Fool I found the following questions:

1. What in our current education system stands in the way of teaching math and science?
2. How can we stimulate kids’ interest in math and science?
3. Would anyone like to share an especially good or particularly bad personal experience in math or science education?

The answer to number 1 is ... I don't know, my kids are not in public education yet... just preschool.

2. By doing different things on a daily basis and occasionally on special basis to show them the math and science around us. See the answer to 3...

3. Not sure if it is good or bad, but here are some of the things I do with my kids and I find to be a great experience for me!:

a. When they as ask for some treat... like jelly beans... I'll give them 2 or 3.. when they ask for more... I ask for how many and then we 'add' them together. 2 plus 4 more is ??? 6! Great.

b. We make volcanoes or play with magnets. While we have fun doing it, I also point out stuff. Like the magnets, we'll get toys and see it they will stick to them. If not, why not. If yes, why.

c. Cooking. We talk about the measuring of ingredients. Why when we mix them together you get something different than all the individual ingredients.

d. We go on 'nature walks' and discuss animals. Who eats who, why we have flowers, why they are different colors.

Is it fun? You bet. If I get too technical or I lose their interest, we stop any 'discussion' and go on to do 'fun' things. Usually they ask to do this stuff again and again.

Talking about nature walks... we took one the other day. I swear we find more 'nature' around my house than we do on these walks!

Spider with egg sack on it's back:

Baby lizard (one of many):

Here a baby frog:

There a baby frog:

Everywhere baby frogs:

And I 'rescued' more worms than I care to count:

We also listened. I had the boys close their eyes and tell me what they could hear. From cars to frogs to birds. It was entertaining.