Rollercoaster

Things are cruising right along with the house. The new roof is on and it looks good. I'd been stressing because I did not just choose to replace the roof with the same color that was there. Sure, there were sample boards, but those are only so big and any color en masse is different. But it came out great. The FHA appraisal happened yesterday and so far we have not been contacted about any red flags, so we are taking the stance: no news is good news. We are scheduled to close on June 9th. So that's all good and we are looking forward to moving to the new house. It's tough waiting though.

We wondered if we should really invest in staying in Michigan though, but finally decided we should do it. Now we are on the hook with the house. So of course the other shoe drops. (I wonder where that expression even comes from? Anyways.) The state has decided to slash education to make up for its budget woes. I still can't understand why this is always an acceptable option to legislators. So they want to immediate cut salaries by 5% and then freeze salaries for three years for all teachers Kindergarten through college. To do this they actually have to amend the constitution and they know it won't be popular so they just made it public yesterday and they are pushing to vote by Friday.

So, we are kind of screwed if this goes through. We've notified our senator about our position, the teacher's unions are fighting, but the way politics roll nowadays, I have no confidence. For our kids, it means they are going to drive good teachers away from the state thereby hurting education. For Matt, well, it's going to hurt. It means all the plans we've laid our for the next five years are scraped and that I can't go back to school. Chi was going to start part-time day care so that I can work on my portfolio and get back to painting in general. That won't happen. I'm sad right now because it should be a happy time for us to have our own house, but now it feels more like an albatross.

Look

Chi has been saying a word a lot lately, but I've had no idea what he was really saying other than it wasn't what it sounded like. He's been saying "look" but he started the word with an F sound. I knew he didn't really have a dirty mouth, but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out! What a relief; now I can properly correct him.

Am I longer?

I forgot to post this story. On Saturday, after the festivities, I was hugging Gabe on my lap and I was talking about how great it was that he was six now. Then he said, "I think I must be longer now." And he stretched out (still on my lap) stiff as a board and asked me to check. I love that goofball. Longer. It's funny; he never quite says things the way you'd expect.

How to do a Science Party

Well, I'd like to offer the world the cure to a horrible disease, or end poverty, or something, but those are not the skills I was endowed with. So, I offer a post about Gabe's Science Party. So many people have given us positive feedback on the party, so I thought I would share the details so others could create the party for their kids or friends or whoever.

There are science party ideas out there, but they focus strongly on images of chemistry or biology. Being married to a physicist, I, of course, scoffed at this. But really what is a common physics image? So for Gabe's invites I focused on the number 6 (since that's how old he was turning). I simply made a postcard featuring the number six in orange and using a "tech" font and a simpler font wrote: Gabe is turning six, he's having a science party, and you're invited. Then I included the details of when and where. I used blue text. On the boarder I wrote in green: It's an Experimentation Celebration! I printed them on an inkjet printer on glossy photo paper (4 to a sheet), cut them apart and passed them out at school. But you could actually send them through US Post as a postcard, just fill out the addresses and stamp on the back side.

We did the baking soda and vinegar "volcanoes" as the kids arrived. We also did "Milky Fireworks" which is just whole milk with drops of food coloring on a plate. If you take a Q-tip dipped in dish soap and touch it to the center of the food coloring it bursts out like a firework. Once the kids had arrived, we gathered them together and Matt did some science demos. Things with fire, and shooting, you know, stuff we wouldn't want the kids to actually do themselves yet.

The next part of the party was set up in centers that they rotate between in small groups. One station was "Toothpick Towers." They were given toothpicks, cheese balls, gummi bears, and mini marshmallows and had to experiment with what worked best to build the tallest, most stable tower that they could build. The second station was all about balance, specifically "Throw Your Weight Around" which was about how we adjust our bodies to move without realizing it. They stood with one side pressed against a wall and had to try to pick up the outside leg. And go try it; you won't be able to because to pick up your leg you have to be able to shift your weight. They also did "Balancing Sticks" where they had to predict which was easier to balance, a short stick or a long one. Then they had to test it out to discover the long stick gives more time to make adjustments.

Then they went to "Super Slime" and made slime using the borax-glue recipe. This slime was then bagged up and put into their goody bags so they could take it home. Next was "Float My Boat" where they had a 6 in. square piece of aluminum foil that they had to form into a boat and predict how many pennies their boat could hold before sinking. After making predictions, they tried out their boats by adding pennies and counting up until it sank. They got to take home their boats in their goody bags too.

The last station was "Potato Launchers." With this station they had a lever that was marked in increments. They chose which number to place the fulcrum under. Placed a potato on one end and stomped on the other to see how far the potato would fly. As they took turns they were able to discover that when the fulcrum was farther from the potato, the potato flew farther. This was a big hit, but you have to be careful with it because it can get out of control easier. If you do this with kids, make sure you have a strong adult leader to keep everyone safe.

After that we had cake and other food. There are different science cake ideas. Cakes shaped like beakers, volcanoes, bugs. But again with the lean towards physics, so we opted to shape Gabe's cake into a number six. He wanted an ice cream cake anyway. So, I drew my six on a piece of sturdy cardboard, cut it out with an Xacto knife and covered it with foil. Then I molded foil walls, several inches high all around the number form. I used tape on the outside to keep them in place. I bought one of the big tubs of vanilla ice cream and left it out until it softened. Meanwhile I crushed a box of Graham crackers and mixed it with melted butter. I pressed this into the form to make the crust. Then I drizzled it with hot fudge. I didn't completely coat the crust.Then I crushed 8 mini Butterfingers. When the ice cream was soft, I used a large bowl and mixed in the Butterfinger. This was spread evenly on the fudge-drizzled crust. At this point, I had to put the cake into the freezer (and adjusted the freezer to coldest setting) for several hours. When the cake was solid, I pulled off the sides, situated the six on a larger platter and frosted it with thawed Cool Whip (Cool Whip is happy to be frozen and thawed, so it's a good frosting choice for ice cream cakes), and sprinkled with more Butterfinger. Then I popped it back into the freezer until the party. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone took a picture, so you'll have to use your imagination.

In the goody bags along with the slime and boats they made, they each got a Science booklet that detailed the experiments and why things worked the way they did. I included a list of science websites for kids on the back page. Then I included a pencil and a packet of Pop Rocks (because that is a "sciencey" sort of candy.

All in all we had a good time. Those who came had a good time. We were told by one parent that we had set the bar for birthday parties. But, you know what? Most people rent out places that do parties for you, and I can see the convenience in that, but we spent a lot less on our party. It only takes a little planning to throw a creative party.

Brick walls

I'm not sure why I even try. I want to be a person who stands up for what is right, who tries to make a positive impact on the world, who doesn't let things that are blatantly wrong go unchecked. But really, does it matter? Trying to get through to people anymore is like talking to brick walls. There doesn't seem to be much room for rational conversation anymore. If a person doesn't agree with you, they just refuse to speak to you. We don't have a free exchange of ideas anymore.

To top it off, so many people are trying to dig in and promote hatred in an effort to protect their own bigotry. It's all too much. We have become a society of selfish, self-absorbed, greedy, anti-intellectual brats. No one can step up and take responsibility for anything. And on top of that, we can't even count on a sane voice of reason from the religious groups because people are bastardizing everything Christianity is supposed to teach us. How is it possible that God is on the side of the people that say, "Get the &**%$ out of my way, I've got mine so screw you, I'll trash the hell out of this place because I won't be here when it's time to pay, if you are different than me, you must be bad"? And yet they convince themselves that they get to be this way because God blessed them.

It's really all too much. I don't know why I keep trying. It just makes me so angry and sad. But God help me, I still keep talking to brick walls...

Life with the boys

Chi says yes and nope a lot right now. If he really is upset he says "Noooooo!" It's never a simple no. If it is a simple no he says "nope." He also says "but" a lot. In the book Curious George there is a page where it ends with "George was curious. It looked easy. But -" then you turn the page. "Oh, what happened!..." So now, we don't know for sure what he means by it, but he says "but" all the time, seemingly in connection to some action taking place or something he wants to have happen. It's kind of funny. It reminds me of when Gabe was two and said "actually" all the time.

I also find it hilarious that Gabe thinks his PhD holding physicist dad is cool just because he once worked for Wendy's. See, to a five year old, fast food is something to aspire to. He also told me I was "magnificent" when I threw a double (the simplest toss) with my rifle the other day. With Gabe, it's the little things that impress him. I'm glad he doesn't set the bar too high.