Odds and Ends from Winter

Despite the abundant snow and cold weather that last winter brought, we had some nice days as well . . . some more Kentucky-like winter days, as it were. In January, we did some urban hiking and started geocaching, something that the kids really enjoy.

Lutece is standing on the ice in the fountain, thus proving that it really is winter.

The Arboretum has a couple of geocaches, so that was a good destination.

We also rang in the New Year with fondue. Natch.

And since this is a random post of "odds and ends from winter," I need no transition to write about my own MOST MEMORABLE event from last winter. In February, I smashed my face against a plaster wall in our house and ended up with some pretty nasty bruises and a gnarly black eye.* Here is a not-so-scary picture of me about a week after the incident.

This is the scary picture I took of myself because the plastic surgeon told me to take one without make-up just in case I needed any further work done. Yup, this is me in all my 44-year-old injured glory . . . for posterity. I really need to get better at taking selfies :).

* I was running up the stairs in an attempt to straighten up the house before my visiting teacher arrived. I tripped near the top of the landing and stopped my fall with my face (cheekbone and brow). It was excruciatingly painful and I honestly thought I had shattered my cheekbone, or at least fractured it. If I hadn't already been in shock, I would have been scared witless . . . well, I think I was that too. Luckily, I have a friend at Church who is a plastic surgeon. He checked over my face and told me everything seemed fine, that the swelling would be worst on the third day, that the bruising would go away after about three weeks, and to call him if I was still worried. Everything happened just as he'd said, except that the pain persisted for at least two months. I must have severely bruised the bones in my face. I still have a small hematoma on my brow fully FIVE months later. Unreal! 

Boredom Breeds Creativity

Along with the snow days came lots of indoor activities. Fortunately, the kids are old enough, and (mostly) independent enough, to come up with their own ideas and activities. Lutece decided that a week of no school was a perfect time to hone her crafting skills.

We went to the library and checked out some crafting books, and she got to work. First up on the docket were a couple of duct tape projects, notably, the purse/bag shown above. She still uses it to store all of her sewing projects.

She used a book to get her started on some sewing projects, then she started to create things on her own. A hand warmer (filled with rice . . . you can heat it up in the microwave).

A little stuffy.

She made a couple of these little cats.

Then, when she couldn't find a pattern for a penguin (her favorite), she designed and executed this penguin stuffed animal completely on her own. I love it!

While Lutece was sewing, Phoenix and I got our origami on.

I tried to get Phoenix to help me with his origami valentines, but it was like pulling teeth. I finally just did them on my own. Sigh.

In addition to the crafting, there was baking as well. Seriously, ONE WHOLE WEEK stuck indoors with no school. We definitely needed some sugar cookies to help pass the time.

And not to be forgotten, the key lime pie that the kids begged me to make for Pi day on March 14 (3.1415 . . . get it?). Yup, boredom definitely breeds creativity.

Snow Days

We had our first good snow on a Saturday in January, followed by many, many snow days . . . not always on Saturdays. All in all, we ended up with just a week's worth of snow days to make up at the end of the school year. Not too bad.

That first big snowy Saturday, we all walked to the local hardware store and bought two new (cheap) sleds with which to enjoy a season worth of snow.

Pig on a hill.

Then we drove over to the big hill at Shriner's Children's Hospital (just a mile away in the other direction) and got down to business sledding.

The kids had a blast. Thank goodness I invested in snow gear the year before. Those snow pants and snow boots sure make a difference! (And by difference, I mean the difference between 1/2 hour of fun in the snow and 3 hours of fun in the snow.)

A few weeks later when the huge blizzard came though in February that canceled school for an ENTIRE week, the kids got many more hours of snowy fun in.

Snow angels, more sledding, and of course . . .

Snow forts!

"There's no bad weather, only bad clothing." That's my new motto.

A Month of Science

This is the second year in a row (and only the second of many more years to come) that we have spent a good chunk of Christmas vacation working on Science Fair projects. Both the kids had some great ideas that they were very enthusiastic about so it felt more like fun than work (until, of course, the actual work of writing it all down came along . . . ugh).

Phoenix had been wanting to experiment with fruit batteries for a long time, so that's what he did his project on. However, he thought that wasn't enough, so he decided to add another element: Does the acidity (or pH level) of a fruit or vegetable affect the amount of voltage that a fruit or vegetable produces?

It was an awesome (and interesting) project He did three separate trials (over three weeks . . . we had to eat all the fruit after all) and found that, surprisingly and despite what many sites say, there is no direct connection between pH and voltage. His board looked fantastic and he did the whole thing by HIMSELF.

Are you ready to see me go into full-on crazy mom mode now?

He did not win a prize for his project!!!!!!!!!! Not first prize, not any prize!!! TRAVESTY!!!!!!!!!! If he had simply not won because maybe the judges didn't like the premise of his project, that would have been one thing. But TWO other kids won first prizes with similar (but not as detailed, not as layered, not as good) projects. Both of those kids just tested which fruit produces more voltage. That's it. Seriously!?!?!?! Argggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

I never thought I would be this type of mom, but there it is. It's been three weeks now, and Stayc and I still can't talk about it without getting angry. (We think that maybe the judges thought Phoenix didn't do the work on his own . . . which he DID!!!) &%$#&# judges! 

Mostly, it's just hard to see your child work so hard on something and not get any credit for his hard work. Sigh. However, even kids have to learn to deal with disappointment (gracefully). (Clearly something he's not getting from his parents. :)

Lutece's project was equally interesting (perhaps more, if the judges are any indication), and DID earn her some accolades. She decided to test which toothpaste most effectively inhibits oral bacterial growth. She did quite a bit of research on toothpastes and their ingredients before selecting seven different options.

She learned all about growing bacteria, including Petri dishes, nutrient agar, sterile swabs, etc. and she set up the agar solution in 40 Petri dishes. She used me as her test subject and swabbed me over and over and over again. 40 times. Fun stuff!

 Then she swabbed the toothpaste covered agar with my saliva and let the bacteria grow.

What she found is that the "natural" toothpastes were much less effective at controlling bacterial growth. No surprise there. The Colgate and adult Crest were the best at inhibiting bacteria, but both had disturbing facts about them that she discovered in her research (Colgate contains triclosan, which is an antibacterial used in hand soaps; Crest contains non-biodegradable plastic microbeads for coloring purposes.) Kid's Crest did NOT do well . . . too many sugars is what Lutece thinks. And don't EVER brush your teeth with sea salt (a natural mouth cleanser)! Ugh, SO. MUCH. BACTERIA.

She spent fully three hours counting the bacterial colonies in her Petri dishes, and then she wrote up a 12-page paper that included her literature review, results, conclusions, procedures, bibliography, and abstract.

She was one of four 6th graders from her school selected by her science teacher to represent their middle school at the District Science Fair.

Discussing her project with the judges.

And guess what? She won first place in Microbiology . . . for the second year in a row!! Awesome little girl.

Sadly, she didn't do as well at Regionals, not placing at all. There may have been some tears involved afterward. Lutece takes Science Fair very seriously! We, however, are extremely proud of her.

Ice Skating at Triangle Park

The day Grandma Terry was to leave (sniffle), we all packed into the car, drove her the 15 minutes to the Lexington Airport, and then drove back into downtown Lexington to go ice skating in Triangle Park.

This was our first time at the rink, and we were impressed by what a nice setting it was. The rink is small and very imperfect, but the location is great amidst the historic shopping and high rise buildings that characterize Lexington's downtown.  

Not to mention that even though it was a chilly 30 degress, the sun was out, which made for a lovely afternoon.

Thanks to ice skating lessons last winter (and some natural talent), both of the kids are pretty good at ice skating . . . at least enough to play a rousing game of tag on the ice without knocking over any other patrons.

Lucky Lutece has her very own ice skates since we found a nearly brand new pair at a garage sale last summer. At least they'll fit her this year. Hmm, we may have to go ice skating a time or two more before this winter ends.

 

All said, it was a fun family activity. At the end of our time on the rink, just as the kids were starting to complain about cold toes, Grandma texted me from the airport to tell me that her flight had been cancelled (mechanical problems with the plane). So we drove the 10 minutes back to the airport, picked her up, and took her back home with us.

It worked out perfectly . . . well, except for the 2 hours Grandma Terry had to sit at the airport. Her new flight left the next day at noon, and we got to have her around for another day!

What to Do on Another Snow Day?

A play date with shrinky dinks, of course.

I think all the snow days are are behind us now. Looking forward to warmer weather, more sunshine, and better times.

Walking to Church ~ Winter Edition

Lest you think we only walk to Church when the weather is sunny and bright, I give you photographic proof that we are sturdier stock than that.

I tell you, these new snow boots have improved our lives considerably.* There is no excuse that can withstand a good pair of snow boots. (Well, except maybe a solid ice storm . . . we did drive to Church that day).

I am definitely getting myself and Stayc a pair of good snow boots next year.

* I got them for half the regular price at Sierra Trading Post.

Of Snow Days and Snow Gear

Oh my goodness, we have had SO MANY snow days this winter. There was a point in January that the kids had only been to school five days in the previous five weeks! (Ok, so that included Winter break and the kids' staying home from school because of the stomach flu, but STILL.)

 In nearly eight years of living in Kentucky, I have never had to buy the kids snow gear. We just never get enough snow to make it worth the money (because, dang, snow gear is expensive).

If ever there was a year to buy snow gear, this is the year. So finally, in January, after a full week of no school due to weather conditions (some of that ice storms, some of it frigid temperatures, and only some of it snow), I broke down and bought the kids some snow pants and snow boots online.

When Lutece first tried them on, she said, "They make me look fat." I responded that there was not a thing in the world that could make her look fat. Impossible.

All I can say is, "What took me so long!?" Seriously?! These things are the BEST! The first day the kids wore the snow pants, they stayed outside for FIVE hours (three hours in the morning, two in the afternoon). There is no price you can put on that.

Now they shovel the back patio.

Create snowy mountains.

Dig snow tunnels.

And paint the snow different colors.

All without much complaining.

Snow days are still hard . . . but they are much better when you can actually enjoy the snow.