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Missing School

Mar

3

2011

One of the pieces of schoolwork that Alpha brought home this week was a March calendar. They were given a number of events that would be happening in March and they filled them in.

picture of a March calendar

Click on the picture for the full thing.

What I noticed first was that the school (or his class at least) celebrates Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I never knew when it was. Now I know, although I don’t know what good that does me.

But the second thing I noticed was his editorial note on March 9 – a day of no school. He drew a frowny face to denote his sadness at the prospect of no school.

I remember liking school. I liked summer break, but I also enjoyed the start of fall and going back to school. I could start waxing nostalgic here, but I’ll skip it. All that to say this: Alpha really does like school.

Beta, on the other hand, has been sick this week. He missed preschool on Monday. Tuesdays he doesn’t have preschool anyway. On Wednesday his cough was still prevalent, so we told him that he would be missing preschool again.

His response?

“Yeaaaa!”

They may look similar, Alpha and Beta, but looks can be deceiving.

So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.

Nehemiah 2:2

Posted in Family | 3 Comments »

Zhu Zhu Pet Land

Feb

21

2011

Here’s an update on our kids’ Zhu Zhu Pets (ZZP).

First of all, we added another ZZP to our family, since Gamma didn’t get one for Christmas like the older two did. So now they each have one and everyone is happy, at least in that regard. No picture for this one.

Second, we went to my parents’ house one fine weekend. It just so happens that my parents do not have hamsters, but they do have guinea pigs.

picture of a Zhu Zhu Pet meeting a real-life guinea pig

The guinea pig liked having company, but it thought the ZZP was rather rude.

Third, some of my siblings (and their families) also were at the homestead that weekend, which meant the cousins’ ZZPs (or ZZP cousins) were also there. Not only did they bring their ZZPs, but also they brought their ZZP habitat (or track or whatever you want to call it).

picture of a Zhu Zhu Pet habitat

We have a few of the circle rooms. Much cheaper on eBay or craigslist.

Last, the one ZZP accessory of which a parent should be especially wary is the hamster wheel.

picture of a Zhu Zhu Pet hamster wheel

It looks nice and all, but I believe the ZZP wheel was designed and sold by the battery companies. Think about it. A wheel makes sense for a hamster, so they can use their muscles and stay healthy.

But what purpose does a hamster wheel serve in a battery-powered toy? All it does is cause the batteries to be replaced often (it would be daily if we didn’t impose limits – the kids would leave them running on the wheel indefinitely).

Now a hamster ball – that could be entertaining. But a wheel?

Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.

Ezekiel 1:15

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Snow Pile

Feb

15

2011

Here’s another winter weather update.

Sled Runs

picture of sledding down a snow pileOur neighbor was nice and plowed all his snow into a pile. Our kids like using their sleds on that snow pile. Not the best (about 4 feet high), but it’s quick and convenient. Plus they don’t have far to walk to carry the sled to the top of the hill.

Normally, they’re out there after school and when I get home from work I’ll watch or help them until dinnertime. One day I arrived in time to hear Alpha describing all the options – the runs from the top of the pile.

  • Disaster
  • Daredevil
  • Tiny Terror

They’ve never been skiing, so I don’t know where he got the idea to name the different slopes. Maybe he has a future in marketing.

Gloves

What to do if your glove falls off in the snow?

picture of a child who lost his glove in the snow

If you’re a one- or two-year-old, your best bet is just to sit in the snow and cry.

picture of a crying child who lost his glove in the snow

Sledding Devices

Alpha has a favorite sled, which he likes to use. We bought the family a new sled, and Beta promptly claimed it as his. Since Alpha had already claimed his own, and since Gamma didn’t really care, Beta’s claim stuck.

But before all that, Beta was trying different sleds, including this:

photo of a child using a shovel for a sled

Yes, he sat on the shovel and slid down the hill. It worked, mostly.

When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Exodus 2:6

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Second Hockey Game

Jan

31

2011

Since Beta enjoyed last season’s hockey game so much, we scheduled another one for this year.

Parking

First off, parking was a hassle. It was very easy to get lost. Just look at this poor guy:

picture of a car driving on the hockey rink

And if not being able to find a parking spot wasn’t bad enough, people added insult to injury by throwing hockey pucks at the guy.

picture of a car driving on the hockey rink

(more…)

Posted in Family, Sports | 3 Comments »

Snow Shields

Jan

27

2011

Here’s another winter weather update.

Pulling Sleds

picture of the outside of Shedd Aquarium next to Lake MichiganThe boys love playing outside in the snow. Sometimes they sled by themselves; sometimes I pull them.

The other day we were outside and we watched the neighbor get out his 4-wheeler and use that to pull the kids’ sleds around. That seems like cheating, if you ask me, but it also seems like more fun.

Snow Pile

I normally try to pile all the snow in one area. That way, there’s a nice hill for the kids to play on and in. We also normally try to hollow out the hill to make a cave, which the boys are calling an igloo.
(more…)

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Winter Road Signs

Jan

19

2011

picture of a child pulling a snow shovelMy kids like to play in the snow. Most of the time that involves either sledding (which ends only when I announce “Time for hot chocolate!”) or snowball fights (them against me, which ends when someone starts crying).

The other week, though, I was busy clearing the driveway so they came up with some other way to amuse themselves. They cleared paths in the lawn to make roads and then Alpha wrote appropriate signage in the snow so you could tell where to go.

First up – the roads, being made by Alpha and Beta:

picture of roads drawn in the snow on the lawn

(more…)

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Christmas Card 2010

Dec

27

2010

Those of you who received a Christmas card from us can skip this post. Everyone has probably already received the Christmas letter (not everyone everyone, just those on our list), so if you have the letter there is no point in viewing the image below.

If you haven’t received our letter yet, then either you’re not on our list or the post office has some explaining to do. If you’re not on our list, the best way to get on our list is to send us a Christmas card or letter. Then we will feel compelled to return the favor.

For those of you interested in what our Christmas letter looks like this year but don’t want to involve the post office, here it is (redacted and blurred version for internet):

Christmas letter 2010

Source (in CorelDraw format) available upon request and for a small processing fee.

Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

Nehemiah 6:17

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