Getting Centered

SECOND OF JULY: Independence Day is just a couple of days away, and I thought it would be appropriate to help the kids learn a little more about what those fireworks are all about.

We started off by visiting the History Channel's Web site, which you can always count on to give you a solid 3- or 4-minute synopsis of a given topic. First, the kids viewed a video about the history of the Fourth of July , in which I learned Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, on the 50th anniversary of the day they signed the Declaration of Independence. Pretty wild.

We also checked out a video about the Declaration of Independence and one about the origin of fireworks (the first fireworks were real live bombs!).

Next, we turned to good ol' BrainPOP, where we learned about US symbols - everything from the American flag to the Liberty Bell to the bald eagle (the photo here is from our FLA trip).

Then, we hopped to the Seattle Public Library site, and the kids read along with a couple of books online via the BookFlix feature. They read "George Washington" by Will Mara and "So You Want to be the President" (which had a very annoying epilogue about how G.W. Bush "won" the presidency because he "won" Florida - but I digress).

EYE OF THE NEEDLE: At noon, the kids had a playdate with CJ's BFF (a very sweet girl with a really nice mom) from John Hay. We met at the big, central fountain at Seattle Center. The kids played around on the grassy expanse and clambered over a whale sculpture for awhile before we migrated over to the Children's Museum.

The museum was lots of fun. The kids had fun playing in the storytelling room (which they had all to themselves, despite a good crowd on hand today), and they explored the larger-than life books place, too. There, we found a few things we didn't see on our last visit there, including this neat-o estimation station. There were several jars full of cookies and you had to guess how many cookies were in each.

There was also a display where you could place "chocolate chips" in cookies. A sign on the display asked which cookie you'd want to eat most. For CJ, I'm guessing it's lower right corner ...

Before too much longer, it was our turn in the art center (you have to have a time-slot ticket for entry, which is a good idea, because having too many people in there would just ruin it for everyone). I was surprised that Annabelle skipped painting today, instead opting to go with recycled arts and clay. Here's her olive pizza. CJ spent most of his time at his favorite station - a plastic panel you can paint on and then clean. It's very fluid and dynamic - I can see why he's drawn to it ...
Almost the whole time we were in the Children's Museum, Mr. Bionic Nose (a.k.a. CJ) was picking up scents wafting down from the food court overhead. He was VERY happy when we finally went upstairs so he could get something to eat. On display in the food court was a LEGO Statue of Liberty.

After we ate, CJ's friend and her mother introduced us to a couple of spots we'd never seen before, upstairs, above the food court. One was a playroom.
I'm guessing the place is a pretty tightly kept secret because despite the food court being full of families, our three kids were the only ones in it!

Also, on a landing adjacent to the playroom, were over-sized checkers and chessboards. There, CJ waged an epic battle on the chessboard.

Afterward, we ventured back outside and to the fountain where we started. Even though they just had their street clothes with them, I encouraged the kids to get as wet as they wanted. We were just heading home, a short trip, afterward.

Can you spot CJ & Annabelle in the photo below?



And here is a gratuitious Space Needle shot. Hey, it's Seattle Center -we gotta include a Needle shot!

YOGA STORY: A couple weeks back, a woman who works at Lotus Yoga, where the kids take classes, asked parents' permissions to take photos for a story she was writing for a blog. I just found that story and some photos online. It's a nice write up, and does a good job of capturing the weekly class CeeJ and Bee participate in.

If you look at the photos closely, you'll spot Annabelle in a couple (one a face shot, the other is the back of her head). And I found CJ's foot in one. :)

Shadowy Figures

CLEVER KITTY: It's July and the Seattle Public Libraries' Summer Reading Program is in full swing. That means every day of the week we have our pick from musical performances, plays, arts and crafts activities and more.

Today we chose to attend a performance of Puss in Boots at the Central Library. The library's promo described it this way: "The ethnic diversity and rich musical traditions of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayous are the background for Oregon Shadow Theatre's version of the classic French fairy tale."

We got there a little early because I wanted to make sure the kids had a great view of the action. The library is not a bad place to wait in line because there are around a bazillion books nearby that can help you pass the time! As luck would have it, I was even able to find a couple of versions of "Puss in Boots" for the kids to look at while waiting.

The show was most definitely worth waiting for. On stage was a one man band (he must have had at least 20 instruments - all kinds of whistles, percussion instruments and an accordion. He also provided the voice of Puss and several other characters.

Behind the partition was a woman who operated all of the shadow puppets and provided the rest of the voices. Between the two of them, they put on one heckuva show. Here are a few scenes. ...
There was action, drama, comedy and good lessons about being resourceful and the power of positive thinking.

After the show, the performers brought some of the puppets to the front of the performance area and talked a little bit about their construction and operation.
Before we left, the kids even got to touch a few of them. Pretty neat! (I was proud of CJ & Annabelle - they both thanked the performers for the show. I didn't hear any other kids doing that.)

If you get a chance to see Oregon Shadow Theatre, you should. They have several performances in the Pacific Northwest on their calendar.

STATE OF MIND: This evening during dinner, I turned on the History Channel as the program guide said a show called "The States" would be profiling Florida and Washington.

The Florida segment was a flashback to our vacation. Many of the elements they mentioned (everything from swamps to thunderstorms to Disney World) were things we experienced firsthand.

Man, that was SUCH a good time. I think about it every day, I swear.

During the segment on Washington, we learned that the area's shipbuilders were key to Boeing's success in the early years. Boat builders constructed the airplanes' fuselages, and sail makers worked on the wings.

We also learned that though Seattle, Washington is synonymous with rain, that in reality New York, NY has 10 more inches of rain a year. The rub is, Seattle has 200 cloudy days a year. So, not as wet but not as sunny.

On the Move

SAY CHEESE(BURGER): This morning CJ's mind was still on his bad cheeseburger from our visit to the Crab Pot the night before. He was right back to talk of it turning into fungus, and asked me about how we could grow some - using his bad burger as a basis. Of course, I was going to accommodate him.

Though I know how to stick bread in a Ziploc bag and shove it in a drawer and forget about it for a couple of weeks without a tutorial, I thought the kids would benefit with something a bit flashier. I turned to the Internet. There, I discovered the "So Cool Science Show" starring Crazy Chris (an aspiring Bill Nye the Science Guy type).

Of course me being me, I dig deeper and find out that Chris isn't an official scientist (he's supposedly working toward a teaching degree) but I figure that's quite alright. We here at MPA aren't bona fide scientists, either, and we can still do experiments and such.

Anyway, Crazy Chris has a bread mold tutorial, which I showed the kids, and they loved it. Afterward, we did what we needed to do to get the fungus going. Stay tuned. :)

GAME GIRL: In case you haven't been following along at home, CJ is a Nintendo aficionado. He can tell you the order in which every Nintendo platform was introduced to market, as well as the order of every game involving Mario.

Annabelle is definitely interested in the games, too, but usually just passively - until Super Mario 64 for the DS arrived via Amazon.com this week. While it's definitely a game in the traditional sense of beating bad guys and acquiring stars and such, there are also not-so-traditional aspects. Annabelle's favorite is one where you can draw a character and then the game software will allow you to animate it as well as morph it. So, so cool! I can't even imagine having access to something like that when I was a kid. ...

TREASURE HUNT: It has been weeks since we've hit a Goodwill or a garage sale. Since we've spent lots of the last few days running from hardware store to hardware store, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to hit Value Village. I was glad we did!

Our finds included books (of course), including a great Van Gogh related picture book. And for just $12, I scored a brand-new looking 5-DVD set about the history of NASA missions. How awesome is that?! I can't wait to watch and learn!

FIRECRACKERS: This afternoon Annabelle had a bonus ballet experience - a special, themed dance session entitled "Stars & Stripes." By my eye, she was the youngest one there. When we got there, another little girl was standing in the hallway, eating a Rice Krispies treat. The girl said she'd been there a long, long time and was VERY happy to see Annabelle. The ballet teacher later told me the girl had been dropped off there 45 minutes before. The girl was all of 6 years old. What kind of parent just dumps their 6 year old off at a community center and takes off? Seriously? All KINDS of people are in and out of the center all day long. It just blows my mind.

Later, when I went to pick Annabelle up, this 3 or so year old boy was being a complete hellion, hitting and biting the man whose shoulders he was riding on, pouring water all over the hallway, etc. The man was at his wits' end and said to me, "I think I've made a mistake." He then explained that he just graduated from high school (he looked older) in Alabama and his aunt invited him out to Seattle for the summer to help with her kids. The guy clearly didn't know how to handle the little darling and the little kid was clearly in the driver's seat. The recent graduate said to me, "I can't talk to him the way I would normally." (In other words, tell the little *&^*& to cut that *&^* out.) I said to him, "Oh yes you most certainly CAN talk to him like he's a real person, which he is, and frankly you NEED to talk to him that way. You have got to be in charge or this is going to be a long, horrible summer for you."

The graduate then told me that until this week, his biggest concern was trying to make his college soccer team, but that babysitting was way harder and more exhausting. I laughed and told him the reason it's so tiring is because it's not just a physical challenge, but it's mentally exhausting too - especially if you're letting the whims of a 3-year-old run the show.

The graduate, clearly struggling for something he was familiar with, then said something to the effect of, "Should I talk to him like he's a dog?" (And he wasn't being sarcastic or facetious.) I thought about it and said, "Well in a way, yes. He needs to know that YOU are in charge and that YOU are calling the shots and that you care about him and if he follows your lead, everyone's going to have a great time." Just because you have rules and enforce them doesn't mean you're mean or the kids don't have fun. Quite the opposite, really. Rules are our friends. :)

In happier news, Annabelle enjoyed the camp, and when I went to pick her up, she was wearing this "fabulous" (her word) shiny satin (loaner) skirt over a red tulle tutu. I would have included a photo of Annabelle wearing her oh-so-patriotic (keeper) headband with stars on springs atop it but, um, well, Kirby ate it. No, not all of it, but she destroyed the blue star, that's for sure.

Annabelle took it pretty well. Through her tears she did hear me tell her that I was pretty sure we could score a replacement at the dollar store ...

MOVIN' ON: This has exactly zero to do with our learning here at MPA, but the big happening in the household was CeeJ & Bee's big bro Ken got to move into his new place today!

CJ & Annabelle helped carry some of the stuff into his new place. (Poor CJ - one of the things he was carrying was a toolbox. Little did he know it had drawers that would freely open. And open they did. I heard a crash followed by a quick, "Sorry, Ken!!") But that was the only oops of the evening, so not too bad.

CJ was mortified that Ken's place didn't have a TV immediately. No TV = no video games. The HORROR!

After a quick toast and a test drive of Ken's bed, we left him to spend his first night there. CJ and Annabelle are looking forward to a future sleepover. :)

It's a great neighborhood (Fremont) and he has a nice (big!) space and the price is right. As long as his neighbors aren't PSYCHO, I think Ken will be very happy there.

City Scenes

MIX IT UP: I'd have to say "creamy" is the best adjective to describe our math lesson for this morning.

An impulse purchase, I picked up some Oreo Cookies & Cream Jell-O pudding mix yesterday at Albertsons. I thought the kids would enjoy making and eating it. I was right on one count ... I decided that this was a recipe they could tackle in its entirety on their own. It had two ingredients (the Jell-o mix and 2 cups of milk), and instructions to stir it for two minutes.

CJ did a yeoman's job of getting the milk and measuring cup out and carefully pouring the milk. "Perfect!" he declared with a measure of pride. Annabelle poured the milk in the bowl and the mystery mix in and then they took turns stirring it briskly with a whisk. The instructions said to stir it for 2 minutes. I told them to take 30 second turns, so they had to figure out how many turns each of them got to meet the 2 minute mark.

After that it was into the fridge for a few minutes. I was certain they'd love it - they both dig Oreos and regularly eat yogurt, I figured Oreo pudding HAD to be a home run. Yeah, well, not so much. The both eagerly dug into their servings but two spoonfuls was enough before they were politely but definitely pushing it aside. Go figure.

CITY SLICKERS: We spent another couple of hours on construction and beautification today. We had several buildings to transform from raw scrap lumber into eye catching buildings befitting C & A City.

One of the buildings CJ was most interested in was CJ Donald's, his fast food joint. He put his "brand" on it and then studied it and declared that if people were willing to take a "risk walk" along a narrow ledge between its stories, they should earn a special meal. He directed me to write as much on each the side of his building.

In other city news, I instructed the kids to find their pinwheels because we needed them for the city. Annabelle caught on almost immediately. She said, "We're going to make a wind farm!" (Kudos to Nonnie for the inspiration!)

We spent the balance of our city time today looking for appropriate vehicles and coloring buildings. The kids even let me color a couple. :)

RECESS: Our lawn (small clover patch, and cliffside, really) needed mowin' BADLY and today was the day. This, of course, meant that CJ and Annabelle got to spend 90 minutes outside playing while I treacherously wrestled the mower and weed eater around our steeply sloped lot.

Toward the end of my laboring, I suggested the kids use the hose to water our peas, apple trees and green roof since we've been a couple of days without significant rain. They did that and, as you might imagine, it degenerated into hosing one another down, which was fine by me.

TOURISTS: Tonight, an old Army buddy of Christian's came to town along with his wife, and we got a chance to play tour guides for a couple of hours. We suggested they meet us for dinner at the Crab Pot, on Pier 57. It's not the best food (or the best value!) in Seattle, but its waterfront location is excellent and the seafeast (complete with bibs and mallets) is a novelty.


The Crab Pot is, however, apparently not the place to order a cheeseburger. CJ was less than halfway in to his when he asked, "Is a fungus a plant? Is it alive?" I told him a fungus isn't a plant, but it is alive. He said something about his cheeseburger being dry (it was - and it was - and it was also pink in the middle, which was not a good thing for a kids' meal especially) and he asked me if it would turn into a fungus. I told him if we let it sit long enough, mold would grow on the bread and mold is a fungus. He then declared his dinner a scientific experiment. Let the record reflect, CJ has NEVER not finished a cheeseburger (yes, I know, a double negative, sorry). Unfortunately, his cheeseburger was just that bad.


Annabelle is a bit more adventurous in ordering and asked for "cob & chips" (that's cod & chips to the rest of you). : ) She ate a few bites of "cob" and half her chips.

From the kids' standpoint, the evening improved after dinner, when we ventured to the back of Pier 57, where a merry go round awaits.

Then, we ventured out to the waterfront.

Though we've been on Pier 57 several (dozens?) of times, tonight was the first time I spied a statue just to the north.

From a distance, I thought it to be Joan of Arc. Upon closer examination, I learned it's supposed to represent Christopher Columbus. Um, OK. It looked part Egyptian, semi-tribal,part pilgrim ... it was just, well, odd ...

OH YEAH: The kids had yoga class today. When we were leaving, CJ looked down the stairwell through the glass panel door at the bottom and declared, "There's a kid doing something risky!"

Boy was he right. A yoga classmate was scaling, perching on and sliding down the A-frame yoga studio sign on the sidewalk. Definitely NOT safe. Fortunately, it didn't end in disaster for the kid - this time.

We Built This City

RESOURCEFUL: First thing this morning I found myself standing in the basement and cursing (softly, under my breath, but definitely cursing).

After a weekend full of unfulfilling, dirty, back and and spirit breaking work on the house, yet another full day of remodeling horrors stretched out ahead of me. And, unlike this weekend, I refused to just 'autopilot' the kids for yet another day. I vowed today would be different.

But how to combine this big remodeling mess with my sawing and hammering and painting, meanwhile enriching the kids? I scanned the dingy basement in search of inspiration. I found it in a roll of paper (for covering flooring during construction). I pulled off about a 10-foot section and headed upstairs, not sure what we'd be doing with it. Somewhere between the basement and the main level, I struck upon the idea of having the kids plan a city. (I recalled doing something similar when I was a fourth grader.)

When I told the kids they would be building a city, CJ immediately suggested it be named CJopolis. :) I told him the name was a good one, but Annabelle might have something to say about that. She did. The two struck a balance at C & A City.

I grabbed our white board and convened a meeting of the city planning commission. I asked the kids what kinds of structures they thought would be necessary to have in C & A City. They both said a restaurant right off the bat. :/

However, with a little prompting from me, they did come up with a pretty decent list (homes, fire station, police station, post office, a mall, a chocolate factory, a pizza place, a park, a lighthouse, a utilities company, a museum, a library, a hospital, a farm, a grocery store and so on).

They started laying out their city using 3x5 cards and small toys as placeholders. Placing the buildings prompted some interesting conversations. There was much talk about what made the most sense, as well as lots of considering the pros and cons of proximity. For instance, would the farm really be in the center of town, or would it be more likely to be on the outskirts, where there's more space? And does it really make sense to have the utility company near the park/seashore, or should homes or businesses be on that prime real estate?

One siting wasn't up for negotiation - there would be a CJopolis tower and it would be the tallest building in town and it would be in the center of town. :)

When they had a pretty good idea of what was going where, I reminded them that before they could make any final decisions they had to make sure there was room enough for roads. I think they were surprised by just how wide a swath the roads cut through town. They had to do some major realigning of their buildings in order to accommodate room for two lanes of traffic, plus shoulders/sidewalks. And speaking of cars, I reminded them that certain types of structures (the grocery store and hospital, for example) would definitely need parking lots.

CJ cut and pasted the sections of road in place. Meanwhile, Annabelle and I assembled buildings. ...

Initially I was stymied about what to use for our structures. The kids don't have any real building blocks, and I don't store small boxes, we recycle them. In the "Duh, Ralph!" moment of the day, I realized that we do, however, have a plethora of raw wood blocks - from all the construction we've been doing. Time to break out the power tools!

I used the chop saw to quickly make blocks and triangles of all shapes and sizes, and then I used the (compressed-air driven) finish nailer to connect 'em in various configurations. Worked like a charm!

We put in about four hours of work on our city today, and we're definitely not done. We only got a couple of buildings decorated (the lighthouse, the barn and CJopolis). But, as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. We'll be back at the construction of C & A City tomorrow.

As an aside, can I just say that this project had one very nasty by-product? All damn day I had arguably the worst rock song in history stuck in my head. A song that, according to the magazine Blender "seems to inspire the most virulent feelings of outrage." A "good" example of what nearly killed rock in the '80s, this song was number one on VH1's "The 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever." You know you want to hear it!

UP ON THE ROOFTOP: While it isn't super sunny out, summer does seem to be trying to make an appearance. Weeds are growing like, well, weeds. This weekend we took the time to survey our plantings. Our tomato and pepper plants are starting to perk up and our new green roof looks gorgeous (IMHO). CALLING ALL GAMERS: Lord knows CJ loves a good video game (and his sister is fond of them, too). I got a press release from NASA today I thought the two of them might be interested in. It was about "Moonbase Alpha," an online game "with single and multiplayer options where players step into the role of an exploration team member in a futuristic 3-D lunar settlement. Their mission is to restore critical systems and oxygen flow after a nearby meteor strike cripples a solar array and life support equipment."

According to the NASA folks, "The game is a proof of concept to show how NASA content could be combined with a cutting-edge game engine to produce an experience that inspires interest in science, technology, engineering and math -- skills critical to achieving NASA's exploration goals."

We watched the game trailer on NASA's Web site and boy oh boy does it look rad! The game releases on Tuesday, July 6 on Valve's Steam network. The game was produced by the Army (yes, that Army) Game Studio with development by Virtual Heroes, a division of Applied Research Associates in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
image (screenshot): NASA