Clock making

Recently, the boys discovered Cyberchase. I've tried to watch it with them on PBS, but it was on Netflix that they wanted to watch it.

There are only 3 episodes available on Netflix, but one is fro season 4: "A Crinkle in Time".

In the episode, our intrepid mathematics-using heroes are sent to Ticktockia, a land of clocks. They use gears to solve puzzles. In the Cyberchase For Real segment, Bianca learns how the gears on a multi-speed bike work.

Wil was enthralled. He drew and cut out Ticktockians. And asked if we had any gears. He wanted to see the inside of a clock.

I found a clock-making kit on Think Geek.

Guess what arrived today? Yep, the clock-making kit.

Guess what Chris and the boys did after dinner?

If you said built a clock, you are correct.

They built the clock. I forgot to take pictures while they were putting the gears in, but the boys had a lot of fun - all three of them.

Sam adding the hands.

 They followed the directions, putting each piece in.

Wil finishing the hands.

They wound the clock when it was done. The look at pride and delight on Wil's face was priceless. 

Wil really liked putting the clock together. He followed the flow of movement, from the pendulum, to the first gear, to the second. Some move to slowly, he couldn't see their movement, but we traced how each gear turned the next.

Finished clock!

He enjoyed this so much, I won't be surprised if he starts taking clocks and radios and toasters apart in a few years to see how they work. Will we end up cruising garage sales for tinkering toys?

Oh, and while I was shopping at Think Geek, I found a stuffed Cthulhu for Sam. What could be a better way to end an evening than with a boy and his elder god?

Sam and Cthulhu.

Jumping into spring

We have certainly been taking advantage of the beautiful early spring weather - before spring is even officially here. The garbage haulers are probably thrilled with us - 2 weeks ago we had 9 bags or bins of yard waste. As of today, for Wednesday's pick-up, we have twelve. And there are a few more days until it gets picked up. Yep, we've been busy. It hasn't all been clearing leaves from beds and weeding, although there has been plenty of that (and plenty more to do). We've been removing grass to expand some of the beds and to clear around trees. The boys have planted spinach and carrot seeds (they love growing veggies). I planted a new rose (Mr. Lincoln) today. And we planted a second apple tree. Three years ago we planted a dwarf Liberty apple tree. We have a flowering crabapple, which will do in a pinch for pollination. Two years ago, we almost had our first apples, until the tree got damaged (I think the culprits may be of the 2-legged variety). It hasn't produced apples since. Today we bought a Honeycrisp apple tree. Hopefully it will survive and we'll get lots of yummy apples. (Honeycrisps are fantastic apples!) It did take trips to several places to find the tree. Mays Greenhouse only had Red Delicious and Golden Delicious (they don't have their full stock yet). Bloomington Valley Nursery only has Northstar and Sentinel. Ready to give up, figuring we would just have to try again in a few weeks, we stopped at Menards to buy a garden cart and a few other odds and ends. And we found several varieties of apple tree, including Honeycrisp, which was one of my top choices. Looking at blooming time, it is an acceptable pollinator for a Liberty (and vice versa). Plus, it's Honeycrisp! Seriously, have you eaten a Honeycrisp apple? The front and back yards are starting to take shape. There's still plenty to do, including a list of projects to work through this year. But I can see what they will look like in a few years. We don't need to be embarrassed by the disaster we had for a few years when we didn't have time to work on them. Plus, it's amazing what a little mulch (or a few yards) will do. Now to keep up this momentum!

Giraffe cake adventure

Wil loves giraffes. This year for his birthday, he wanted a giraffe cake. As any good parent would, I searched online for a giraffe cake pan.

Did you know giraffe cake pans are hard to find? There is the Wilton generic animal face pan, which is discontinued, but still to be found on eBay. And you can download directions on how to decorate it as just about any animal, including giraffes.

But that wasn't good enough. Because Wil saw a full body giraffe cake pan and wanted that. So I ordered it.

Imagine my surprise when I saw how tiny the pan is.

Yep, I didn't read the description thoroughly. The cake pan is not much bigger than a cupcake. 

On to plan B. What can you do when you realize your cake pan is not right and the birthday party is in less than a week? Well, I could have ordered something else online and paid for express shipping. But I decided to be Creative!

What did I come up with, you ask? Cupcake giraffes. 

Cupcake giraffes.

The birthday boy loves them. He especially loves that there are two! And that he gets a tiny giraffe cake all to himself while the rest of us have cupcakes.

Decorating the giraffes was pretty easy. I used some yellow dye left over from a previous Wilton cake I did for the frosting. Chris added cinnamon spots because he mastered the shaking technique.  We lined them up in vaguely giraffe shape. The long necks are the key.

Will they win any decorating contests? Nope. But they won the only one that counts. I have a happy kid.

Oh, and the cake is spice cake with cream cheese frosting, which we chose as Wil's special cake for his first birthday and have done ever since. It's a nice fall cake. (Sam gets strawberry cake since that's a nice summer cake and he loves strawberries.) 

Value of a quarter

When the boys were infants, we started savings accounts for them where we are saving for college. But we have also started a system where they can earn money for special treats.

The boys each have a jar. They earn quarters for doing little chores (their first job is feeding the cats). We've also recently added earning a quarter for picking a small bucket full of dandelions (because as much as I'd like to dig them all out, picking the flowers before they go to seed is more likely to happen). Grandma & Grandpa sometimes include a dollar or two in holiday cards and that money goes in their special jars.

Sam's earnings

When they have saved enough, we let them pick something special to buy. Sam is still getting the hang of it, but Wil is learning to wait.

Wil with his jar of earnings

Wil has a list of Thomas trains that he wants to buy. He asks me to count his quarters periodically to see if he has enough. Since he's 4, I don't make him save every penny to buy one. He had over $10 today, so we went to the store where he picked a train ($13). Yes, I covered the difference, but savings that $10 took a long time. At 4, we need to slowly work toward an eventual goal of having him earn the full $13. He's getting the point and doesn't yet understand the price stickers, so that lesson can wait while we build up endurance saving.

Sam had saved $7, so he chose a train too, only a less expensive Chuggington one. At 2, he has a lot less patience and doesn't quite understand waiting for a bigger reward. And that's ok. That is actually the point of this exercise.

Wil already has a list of the trains he is saving for next: Jack, Byron, Max and Monty. Sam really wanted to buy Wilson and Brewster today, so those are going on his list. (It was a fight explaining that he only had enough money to buy one. He's still learning.)

With their spoils: Alfie and Koko

At the store, I paid for the trains. I emptied their jars.... and put the money in their piggy banks. Yep, I'm still buying the toys, but they are learning the value of saving for something, learning to work for something they want, and that money is going into the college fund (their piggy banks get emptied and deposited in their savings accounts as needed).

The piggy banks

As they get older, we'll add complexity, such as saving the amount on the price tag (we'll pay sales tax), then saving enough to cover sales tax, and finally actually using the money they earned to pay for it. We're trying to keep the lessons suitable for their age and understanding.

How do you teach your kids the value of a quarter?

Walking for the homeless

I've signed up to do the Homeward Bound 5K walk again this year. Chris and I did it last year for the first time and had a good time. We didn't raise much since we signed up a week before the walk, but it was good to do it.

This year, my moms' group is forming a team and walking together. If you would like to support the 10 local agencies who benefit from the walk, you can donate to our team page or my individual page.

The 10 agencies are Amethyst House, Centerstone, Community Kitchen of Monroe County, Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Martha's House, Middle Way House, Monroe County United Ministries, Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, Shalom Community Center, Stepping Stones, and Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County.

Knitting

A few years ago, I started to teach myself to knit, using a book and occasional help from my mom. Other than scarves, I haven't done much since Wil was born, but I finally decided I needed to venture into something bigger. I don't have too many more people who need scarves, after all.

In December, I saw some really cool yarn that I just had to pick up. Then it was time to find a pattern to go with the yarn. Some searching online found a super easy baby blanket pattern that only required knit and purl stitches - nothing complicated, no cabling. And it calls for a thick wooly yarn. Perfect!

So, at Christmas I cast on my first stitches. I haven't worked too much on it. (Too many irons in the fire to dedicate a ton of time to it!) But I now have about six inches knit and I'm very happy with my progress.

When I started, I didn't have anyone in particular in mind to give it to, which is why the green was a perfect choice. But my moms group is planning on donating hand-made blankets to Project Linus. I think that's where this blanket will go when I finish. At this rate, it will take a while. Although I am getting faster. I knit 4 rows last night!

Artistic endeavors

Chris and I have both taken a turn into artistic ventures lately. He's working on filmmaking and I've been trying my hand at writing. 

A few friends and I have started a writers group, meeting once a month to share and critique each other's work. Our first meeting in January was mostly to figure out how to make this work, so next week will be the first time we actually share feedback. I posted to the group my short play and the prologue and first chapter of my NaNoWriMo novel that I mostly wrote in November. My parents have actually read the full first draft of the novel and my short play has had one reading with critique, although I have expanded it since then.

It's harder than you might think to share something you created. I'm baring a little bit of my soul by letting other people read what I've written.  Every word comes from within me. I let myself get into the characters as I write, which can lead to interesting emotional moments.

The first reading of the play was tough. It was well-received, but that first time, hearing what others had to think, hearing the actors read it..... well, I was a wreck. The play itself makes me cry while I'm writing it. Hearing it put me back in that emotional place. And then the critique came. I was happy that everyone understood what I was trying to do; I was thrilled that they wanted more. So, part of my revising on that is to expand it into a full one-act play. 

No one had read any of my NaNo novel until my parents, who loved the story. Now more people will be reading it and I'm hoping they all enjoy it and understand the story I was telling. I think it's a good story. The key is going to be polishing the writing. That's what I hope the group can help me with.

His first short 3D film wrapped in September and he's still tweaking the editing. His second 3D film is currently in preproduction. He's hoping to do some casting later this month. We're also looking at trying to use Kickstarter.com to help fund it. While the budget it very low, not having to rely entirely on our checking account would be a great help. So if you ever wanted to be part of a movie, watch for your opportunity! 

The second film is going to be a lot of fun to make. Each reading he has had while developing the script has produced laughter and delight. I think a lot of actors are looking forward to auditioning just to be a part of it. 

He's also working on a short documentary. Yes, it will also be filmed in 3D. That is his thing, after all. These are for the final project for his masters degree in video production. You can find out more about what Chris is doing at his 3D/4K blog.

SIREN Energy Challenge

Last year, we participated in the Southern Indiana Renewable Energy Network's (SIREN) Energy Challenge. The goal was to reduce electric energy usage.

Each month, I entered our current electric usage and the previous year's data into a spreadsheet. The reductions were based on an individual household's consumption, so the percentage reduction was calculated and a winner was declared each quarter. There were quarterly prizes.

We actually won the first quarter, with the largest percentage reduction of all the participants. We received a free solar assessment and a Kill-a-Watt meter as our prizes. Our energy use actually increased slightly during the summer due to the hotter temperatures, but we were back in the game for the 4th quarter. While we didn't win, we did manage to reduce our electricity consumption by an average 22% in 2010 compared to 2009.

Tonight, at SIREN's monthly meeting, they had a special presentation where they asked the quarterly winners to talk briefly about how they accomplished their energy reductions. The winner of the contest was announced - a family that saved an average 46%!

Many of the strategies were similar amongst the three of us who spoke (the same household won the 3rd and 4th quarters). What everyone found amazing in our story was that most of the major things we have done to reduce our energy consumption were made prior to 2009. We saved 22% the hard way, yet we didn't go to the extremes that one family did.

Are you wondering what the others did?

The winning family (2 parents, 7 year old twins) installed timers on everything. They raised the temperature on their central air conditioning to 85º, but used 2 window units (one in the main living area during the day and one in the kids' bedroom at night) which actually reduced the humidity more so that they were comfortable with the higher temperature. They cycled their pool pump on and off throughout the day rather than leaving it on all the time. They hung laundry out to dry. And so on.

The 3rd/4th quarter winners really went to extremes to reduce their consumption, using a camp shower all summer so they could turn their water heater off, not using air conditioning, setting their thermostat extremely low in winter (58º!). I don't remember all the things they did, but I am not willing to go to those extremes.

So what did we do?

• Well, after buying our house in December 2003, we noticed that the den and some other rooms were very drafty. In February and March of 2004 we replaced the original single pane windows with double pane windows. We could feel the difference in the comfort level immediately and our gas bill went down right away. 
• We have replaced almost every appliance in the house, which, with the exception of the 2002 water heater, dated to 1986. (2004: dishwasher and stove, 2006: washer and dryer, 2009: refrigerator). 
• We decommissioned a chest freezer that we were underutilizing in early 2009. 
• In 2006 we installed extra insulation in the attics. 
• Chris has the computer programmed to automatically shut down at night. 
• We turn the power strip that our stereo equipment is plugged in to off when it's not in use. 
• We've replaced the lightbulbs in the house with CFLs and have actually bought our first LED. 
• We set the air conditioning between 78º and 80º in the summer and the furnace to 68º to 70º during the winter. When we can, we open windows and run the ceiling fans Chris installed in 2006. 
• I hang laundry on the line outside, and occasionally in the basement, although not as often as I should. (Dryers use crazy amounts of electricity.)

Notice that the big things were all before 2009, except the refrigerator (which was probably responsible for much of our impressive savings) and the old freezer (which only effected January through March). Sometimes it is the little things, the habits we change. What's that saying? A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step? Well, energy reduction starts with a single switch (off).

We still have work to do. We are currently saving for a new HVAC system, which will do incredible things to reduce both electricity and gas (furnace and water heater are gas). We would love to install solar panels. We may replace more CFLs with LEDs as they burn out, although they aren't necessarily what we want everywhere. A big benefit there is that LEDs don't have mercury, so we don't have to worry about disposal. I need to try to hang laundry out more so we use the dryer less. (I did mention dryers are energy hogs, didn't I? Next time you run yours, go look at your meter spin. It will sicken you.)

Potty training: baby steps

I apologize to all who are offended, but this is a major part of our lives right now. You know the subject from the title, so read no further if you don't want to know. :)

We're slowly making progress with potty training. Wil is doing reasonably well if we leave him pantsless. He even earned Gordon, one of the "Thomas and Friends" trains, earlier in the week. We have had some accidents, and he feels bad about those. For example, the other day, he pooped on the playroom floor. When he finally peed in the potty later, he really needed to hear "yay!" - and mine wasn't enough. I think after the setback, positive reinforcement was very important.

The biggest step is that he sometimes tells me now that "the pee is coming!" and we get him on the potty and he pees right away. This is HUGE! Now if only he could recognize that feeling every time.... We do have false alarms, where he thinks he needs to pee, but he doesn't. But I am so happy that we have reached this step and it is only the beginning of July. At the rate we were going, I was afraid Sam would start school and Wil would have to stay home. I'm feeling more confident that he will get it by mid-August.

After a few more days of him telling me when he has to go, I think I will try putting underpants on him. We've tried off and on in the past, but he forgets and goes just like in a diaper. When he has pull-ups on, he will even tell me that he doesn't have to sit on the potty because he can go in the diaper, so we really need to get him in underpants, telling me he needs to go. For now, he's in pull-ups when we go out, because he's not ready for the next step yet.

I know a lot of kids learn in 3 days with a method where you watch them like a hawk. We've had so many backfires in the past and Wil has been so resistant that I am not even going to try that. What we're doing is working for him.

For anyone keeping score, to start, he got 1 sticker to pee, 2 to poop. We had daily prizes ($1 bin buys) and at 25 stickers he earned a train. It took over a month to get to 25. Now that he's getting it, we have added an additional sticker if he tells us he has to go and does, so he could earn a total of 4 at a time (which he just did!) and when he gets to 30 stickers he will get another train. Since this one is going much faster (he's at 17/30) than last time, we will probably change the metric or bump up to 50 stickers for the next one, but we can't change the rules mid-play so he'll probably have his next train in a week or so at this rate.

I know it is bribery, but it is making him interested and he is even starting to admit that it feels better to poop in the potty than to sit in a dirty diaper. Considering we were calling the grandparents every time he used the potty in the beginning and are up to updates every few days (other than when he really wants reinforcement), I hope that in a few more trains we can really stretch it out or he will forget altogether. Although he really wants trains and likes the idea of earning them. He has a whole list he wants to get: Thomas, James, Percy, Annie & Clarabel, the Express, Lady, Toby, Emily, Diesel 10, Henry, Edward.....

Potty training: a psychology experiment

I really think potty training is a psychology experiment. Each child has something different that makes them tick and discovering what works and what doesn't is frustrating in the extreme.

We're trying to potty train Wil this summer. He will be in the 3 year old class at school next year, which means he has to be potty trained by mid-August. We have tried potty training a few times before without success, so we're taking it easy this time and hoping it will stick.

We've watched videos, including the much-lauded Elmo potty video. While enjoyable, that didn't do the trick. We have potty books. He loves the pee book, but hasn't connected it to himself.

We've tried having him sit every hour. Nope, he has the control to hold it until he's off. We even tried dribbling warm water on him while he was sitting. Didn't work.

We have sticker charts with a reward for filling the chart in. That sort of works, as he tells me he gets a treat for filling the chart in, but I don't think it is concrete enough.

I think he is so used to going in a diaper, he doesn't feel comfortable going without one. So, we're trying leaving him commando until he goes. Right now, I am aiming for once a day. Once we have that down, we will try for more, but I don't want to push too hard and fail again. Between realizing that he would hold it until he had a diaper or underpants on, and his asking for a diaper, I think I might be on the right track.

We are also offering small prizes each time he goes because waiting for a big one was too long. He'll still get a big prize when he fills the chart, but he needs more positive reinforcement right now. I took him to the friends of the library book store to pick out his first prize, a 50¢ book, and picked up a few more for the next few days. Today I picked up a couple of inexpensive books at Barnes & Noble (they were buy 2, get the 3rd free) for when he fills a row on his chart. I can also get some small gifts at the dollar store or the dollar bin at Target. I'm hoping to drop the daily prize once he gets to a big prize and just have him get a reward for filling a chart in the next few weeks.

He definitely feels proud when he goes in the potty. He has told his grandmas and some neighbors that he peed in the potty. Having people he looks up to get excited helps him get excited.

One of the breakthroughs came the other evening when he told me Buzz Lightyear wears big boy underpants because he uses the potty. Maybe as we get closer to school, that will finally make an impression and motivate him.

So our experiment is continuing as we find the keys to making Wil want to use the potty. I am really looking forward to getting both boys out of diapers. I am over changing them, plus they are expensive. Our budget would definitely improve without spending $100/month on diapers and wipes.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I am willing to try them. Once Wil is well on his way, I am going to work on Sam. I was going to try both at the same time, but really needed to concentrate on Wil. I don't think Sam is quite ready, although he's motivated and interested, so waiting a few months with him is ok. He's not even 2 yet!

Swing!

After deciding that spending $1000 on a really cool play set at Sam's Club was just not in the budget, Chris decided to build a swing set for the boys. They really love to swing.

And then a few days later our neighbor offered us their old play set since their son wasn't using it anymore. Chris is still putting it back together (he didn't finish last night after recruiting a few neighbors to hop it over the fence.) But the boys already love it and we were able to pass the frame he built on to another neighbor. We did keep the swings, which were brand new and were actually the expensive part of the project.

We have great neighbors here.

Exploring religion

I've been exploring various religions recently to see what they have to say.

I started by trying to read the entire Bible, although I'm still in the Old Testament, because I'd like to read it myself rather than just have someone tell me what is in it. I will eventually finish. I'm also in the middle of The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Religions, which briefly skims the major religions of the world. I have finished Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism and am just getting into other religions around the world. It's interesting to read the basic tenets of each and there are parts to all that I find fascinating.

I won't go into what my personal take on religion is because I really don't want to get into a flame war. But Chris sent me a link to a YouTube video that fits with my current exploration, so I wanted to share it.

Putting faith in it's place

I will say that two of the reasons I started this learning quest are 1) the habit of believers of various faiths to try to push their particular religion without worrying about offending anyone who believes differently and yet getting offended if you try to state your point of view and 2) current events including a) insistence that the U.S. is a Christian nation and b) anti-Islamic sentiment. I really don't want to say more because I'd rather not start arguments. But the video above really fits with my quest.

How did my garden grow?

Well, this was a lousy year for vegetable gardens around here. I got some tomatoes; apparently I was lucky. A lot of people didn't get any either because of the unseasonably cool and wet weather or because deer ate the plants.

I didn't get a huge harvest, which is okay since I can only eat so many tomatoes, although I had hoped to take lot of extras to the local food pantry. Hopefully the weather will cooperate next summer.

Tomatoes were really my only crop since they choked out the peppers and eggplant and rosemary. The basil is ok; I still need to dry some.

Next year we need to plant fewer tomato plants and spread stuff out a little more. I would like a second box. For a first foray into square foot gardening, we did alright and can learn from this year's mistakes.

Potpourri

Just a few updates:

1) Here's a current picture of my square foot garden

2) Our June challenge has been challenging. We've made 2 1/2 weeks with a few slips (mostly by Chris, although I did have a slice of the garbage pizza when his parents were here Sunday - after a burger Saturday) and I have discovered I like falafel.

3) So far, I've gotten our neighborhood approved for an ice cream social grant from the city.

4) The semester is officially over, so after tonight (photo job), we should have a few more relaxed weeks (until the end of August when the fall semester starts.)

A tree grows in Bloomington

My Mother's Day present was an apple tree - a dwarf Liberty. Chris had, um, fun planting it:

      

Also, here are some pictures, finally, of the box Chris built for my vegetable garden:

    

We planted several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, basil, rosemary and a mystery plant (a neighbor gave me her starts) that I think is lettuce. I should ask.

How does your garden grow?

We've been busy with outdoor work this weekend, especially Chris. We borrowed a tiller from a neighbor to try to get the garden turned over. It's still a lot of work and the prospect of getting everything done and a garden planted was daunting, so Chris decided to try a planter box based on Square Foot Gardening. He has been busy building it today, so I will make sure he posts about it, along with the pictures I've taken. 

Another neighbor had tons of plant starts and offered some to us - several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and basil. I'd also like to plant some beans and a few more herbs, plus maybe some spinach. I can't wait to get stuff planted!

I've been hauling logs from the tree we had cut down 2 years ago. We thought we would use some, but there is way too much, so we are offering free wood at our garage sale in 2 weeks. We just need to move a bunch to the driveway so people see it. I also spent some time digging out invasive honeysuckle plants. They are a pain, incredibly resilient and prolific. 

Chris decided a better use of the tiller was to work on the area we want to tile as a chess board (it will function as another patio). It needs leveling, but he did a lot of work on it yesterday. Of course, we used a bunch of the tiles for our front patio, so we need to buy more. 

We still have a ton of work to do, but it all doesn't have to happen this summer. One thing I would like to accomplish this summer is to really get a play area set up for the boys.