new toys

Springtime brings us outdoors, and the lawn becomes littered with all sorts of toys. Then the garage sales start, and more toys become part of the whole mess. At least they aren't watching tv...

Here are our favorites so far:


The arrowcopter, which we found at the homeschool fair. This simple toy sort of replicates the helicoper seeds that spin down from the trees, with the exception that you must first launch it like an arrow, by way of a rubber band and short wood dowel.










DominoRally, which is alot of work for such a short - but fun - result. The kids like to set this up and watch it go off. Thankfully Dot can do it by herself!









Perfection is just the game for Jamie. He loves puzzles and he loves to have things "blow up," so he plays this over and over again.
And, of course, Wiffle Ball, which we've posted about before. I'm sure we'll be playing more of that this summer. Anything that makes the kids like baseball is a good toy for Jim.
This is one of the best parts of having kids - we get to be kids again, too. What is your favorite game?

A great sorrow across the land

Last week I discovered terrible news... Walmart is removing their fabric departments! Our local store had only one wall of fabric left, and all of it was on clearance. I, of course, bought many, many yards of fabric due to the low price. Like 40 yards. I was happy to find such a bargain, but saddened to know that resource was going to be gone forever when the fabric sold out.

Quick Change Operation

Being the parent of two kids has taught me alot. One thing stands out today - kids are good at changing quickly. And I don't mean clothing.

This morning seemed fairly normal, and the beautiful warm weather beckoned. I let the kids play outside while I mopped the kitchen floor, and then I joined them for some outdoors work. They really liked cleaning the kitchen rug - we hung it over the deck rail, sprayed it with the hose, and left it to dry in the sun. I did some gardening as Dot and Jamie watered the flowers - and each other. The next thing I know is the kids are inside, tired of outdoor play.

This afternoon was Dot's gym class, and it hasn't been much fun this year. They have been trying out the different sports, spending a few weeks on each one. Dot hasn't had much skill at any of them. Perhaps she isn't an athelete. Jamie likes it, though. He gets to play with friends while she is in class. It is softball season, and Dot seemed a bit reticent. We paid for this class, though, and she has to participate! Jamie and I went off to play on the playground with his friend. He played hard for most of the hour, but seemed to deflate when we walked back to the softball field. We had just enough time to watch Dot come up for her last pitch - and she connected! The first baseman missed the catch, so she was safe. Yay! The game ended soon after, and Dot excitedly asked for her own mitt. She likes softball! Jamie, on the other hand, was not excited, but did excite things as he threw up down my back. Thankfully we are all experienced moms, and many wipes were handed out freely for clean-up.

After a bath Jamie decided he wants pizza tonight. No nap, please. He's just fine. What a quick change.

Lawnwork

We are trying to beat the storm that is coming through our area later today. Things are growing, despite the cooler weather we have been having, so we need to get our new bulbs planted, and the lawn mown. It is a nice morning to be outside.

de-evolution

Last week I cleaned the house in preparation for company on Sunday. It looked good. The food was good, and the fellowship was great. However, kids will be kids, and the house has quickly reverted to its normal chaos...

Catalog craze

The afternoon brings the mail, and the mail has brought us an afternoon of wishing. The new Playmobil catalog has arrived, chock full of new toys the kids want to add to their collections. The newest collection is based on ancient Rome, with gladiators and a warrior ship. Other new items include the Micro sets, with one being Noah's ark - perhaps a toy for quiet play in the church pew?

Weekend busy-ness

Ever since we bought this house, and discovered that it lacked storage options, we have been thinking of different ways to put in shelves. Most of our shelving has been in the form of solid wood bookshelves, which has done much to get out books out where we can enjoy them. Hurrah! Now, however, we need storage for more mundane items, such as the vacuum, coats, tools, and toys. It would be wonderful if we could get everything organized and neatly put away...
This past Saturday we did take a step in that direction. For less than $100, and in a little more than an hour, we installed shelving in Jamie's room. It's not solid wood, but it does give us a lot more in the way of storage.
The work was not hard, and even Jamie was able to help. He had a wonderful time playing with the tools. His favorite? The "knocker" (hammer), because he can "knock" things!

Childhood imagination

Last night, just before bed, Jamie told us about the aliens. Apparently there are aliens coming, aliens that are like Cookie Monster. They steal cookies and eat them all up. In an effort to save our cookies (freshly made oatmeal chocolate chip), Jamie said we should hide them in his closet, where the aliens would not be able to find them.
While we did leave the cookies in the kitchen overnight, we found them safe this morning. No aliens here.

Done!

I have finished Ivanhoe. It probably wouldn't have taken me so long, except it's a little hard to read when you get interrupted by kids all the time. And it's really hard to read while Winnie-the-Pooh is on.

Wee Garden

This past Saturday, while cold and windy, was the day for Dot to begin a garden. She, along with 8 or so other children, took part in a "wee garden" workshop at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. They were able to put 5 small plants and various decorations into their planters. A small mirror became a pond, and nearby there is a snake, lizard, and turtle. Included in her planter: "Dortheanthus."

The arboretum is free, and has a few parking lots (unlike many DC sites). We'll probably go back some day, when it is warmer. (Jim and Jamie tried to walk some of the grounds, but it was not a good day to be outdoors.) The bonsai museum is very interesting - so much work goes into such a small tree. You can find your state tree, walk up to the capital columns, find your favorite herb in the herb garden, wander the fern valley, be overwhelmed by azaelas, and so much more. Check it all out here.

Children's church

Are your children singing too many Patch songs in children's church? Should they be taught hymns instead? Here is an early children's hymn:

"Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For tis their nature to.

But, children, you should never let
Your angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other's eyes."

Perhaps this?
"1. Thou shalt have no more gods than me.
2. Before no idol bow thy knee.
3. Take not the name of God in vain;
4. Nor dare the Sabbath-day profane.
5. Give both thy parents honour due.
6. Take heed that thou no murder do.
7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean;
8. Nor steal, though thou art poor and mean;
9. Nor make a wilful lie nor love it.
10. What is thy neighbor's dare not covet."

both are found in The Church of Our Fathers by Roland H. Bainton

I have no idea what he's talking about

Guess who is speaking today at the SELinux Symposium?

Using GConf as an Example of How to Create an Userspace Object Manager

James Carter, National Security Agency

It has become apparent that many people want some of the benefits of MLS but in a way that is easier to use than the full MLS implementation.

There are various strategies that can be used to provide security controls over an application under SELinux. One strategy is to turn the program into a userspace object manager. Since the SELinux kernel object managers cannot control objects that are only visible in userspace, creating userspace object managers is a natural part of implementing the flask architecture on Linux. GConf is a configuration system for GNOME and controls configuration keys and values which are not visible to the kernel. This paper discusses the general process of providing SELinux controls over a program and the specific steps taken to provide SELinux controls over GConf.

Photos

For a moment this morning I found myself wishing for the "good old days" when the only thing you did with photos was stick them in a album and put it on the shelf. With digital cameras, photoshop, and the internet, I have so much more work to do. Oh well.
For those who care, I have started uploading my photos here. There aren't many there yet.

By the way, Happy Birthday, Fran!

Latest projects

(Sorry for the funny expressions- I was not feeling well when these photos were taken. I don't know what was wrong with Dot.)
Think I like green? I have finished these dresses, and I have more sewing left to do - at least three pairs of shorts have been cut out and prepped, I have quilt blocks to sew together and quilt, and Dot will need a few skirts for camp this summer.
I love to sew... but I hate to see the house after the kids have been left to their own devices.

Answered Prayer

For quite awhile Jamie has had a very simple, short prayer each night before bed - let Uncle Michael come home to our house. This weekend the prayer was answered. Mike arrived Saturday night and left after lunch today. Jamie cried when he saw that his bed was no longer made up for Uncle Michael.
Sunday ended up being more fun than they thought it would be due to snow. Our evening church service was cancelled, so we had a nice night at home. Our living room floor became a large train layout, and then a farm set-up.
On Monday we took a trip to Brookside Gardens Conservatory for their sculpture show. The two buildings were filled with beautiful plants - mostly tropicals and bulbs. It smelled amazing! It makes me long for spring, when all the tulips, daffodils, and other bulbs bloom. I can't wait to get into the garden again! We stopped at Ikea to walk through the store and have lunch. Jamie was not impressed by the long-awaited chance to play in the play area. I guess it's not as much fun as Dot made it seem.
Today we visited the pet store, where the kids dreamt of having many new pets. However, as I would be the one cleaning up after them and having to purchase their food and other supplies, I vetoed every one. Maybe when they are older... After lunch at Quiznos we headed home to say goodbye to Mike. The kids are sad that he is gone, and are a bit tired and whiney from the late nights, but they seem to be recovering - the dvd's I rented are a hit.

If we did it all over again...

Thankfully I am not in the middle of planning a wedding right now. I remember those days as being busy and a bit stressful. (And how is that different than my life right now?) However, I do like to look at those very pretty dresses (although I feel sorry forany modest bride-to-be right now, as all the dresses seem to be strapless).
I did run across this wedding ring option. It's a bit too modern for my taste, but it is interesting. Ah, well, we aren't doing it over again, and it is well out of our price range.

Modesty, Again

I have recently been working on a few dresses for this spring, and was a bit disappointed with how low the neckline was on one (it didn't seem that low on the pattern's picture). I was (and still am) looking for an idea of how to add to the dress to make it more modest without making it look funny. I have found many sites that talk about modesty, but don't give pictoral examples. I have found many sites that sell modest clothing (usually pretty expensive). The most interesting site yet, though, is a modesty survey. It has given me a lot to think about - most of the time we hear things along the lines of, "men are stimulated by sight, " or "make sure your clothing isn't a stumbling block to your Christian brothers." Not often are we females given practical examples. This survey, however, gives us the chance to read guys' minds as related to modesty. No pictures, but the questions are very specific, and the answers give even more info. Check it out, girls - you may be a little surprised.

Valentine's day as a snow day

Well, we did get some snow and ice, and some areas of Baltimore had power outages. Not us. We had the equivalent of a giant unflavored icee all over our neighborhood. Not fun to play in, not fun to clean up. And not a snow day... at least for Dot! Jim did have the day off, and used most of it shoveling icy slush. He has a four-hour delay this morning.
We did celebrate Valentine's day with a nice dinner: crumbed green beans, crab cakes and popcorn shrimp, mashed potatoes, homemade wheat rolls, and fudgy cherry chocolate cake. The kids did not like the crab cakes, but did stuff themselves with the rolls. (Jim actually bought that potted mini rose plant for me - without being "reminded" - how romantic!)
After dinner we all rested on the couch bed and enjoyed Disney's Alice in Wonderland. I had just finished reading the book to Jamie at nap time, so I thought he would like to see the movie. It is now favorite!

Do home-schoolers get snow days?

For the most part, we have not had real winter weather here. While we have had some cold temperatures (nothing like Minneapolis!), we have not had a good snow. The kids have been bemoaning the lack of sledding. My prediction has held true, and now that it is the week of Valentine's day we are getting a storm. (We've gotten big snow storms on past Valentine's weeks.) However, this storm hasn't been dropping much snow. The ping, ping, ping on the windows lets us know that we are getting freezing rain. Weather experts predict one-quarter- to one-half-inch of ice for our area, with the possibility of a bit more snow at the end of the storm tomorrow afternoon. Jim is pessimistic, and hopes we won't lose power.

Dot's art

Dot may be jealous of all the new and exciting things that Jamie has acquired and experienced, but we've spent more on her lately than on him. This Saturday she started in a new art class. First project - learning to draw an apple. She learned about shadows and highlights. She began with pencil, but finished with chalks. Here is one of her first week's projects: