kicking cancer’s ass one science post at a time
If you don’t know WhyMommy, well, you should. And if you do know her then you know why I’m doing this.
I was very fortunate to meet and hug (and eat chocolate-dipped fruit with!) Susan aka WhyMommy at BlogHer this summer, but I feel like I’ve known her for oh so much longer. I’ve been a reader of her blog Toddler Planet for years, long before I was a blogger myself. One thing that has always been clear in her writing is that throughout her trials with cancer, Susan is first a mother. She’s also, quite literally, a rocket scientist.
Some of you may know that Susan has recently been diagnosed with cancer again, and is undergoing surgery again, today. We wanted to do a little something to support her, in the way only bloggers know how. In the spirit of Susan’s love for her kids and for teaching them science we bring you Team WhyMommy’s Virtual Science Fair! (Thanks to the amazing Stimey for the putting it all together!)
So the science fair project I did with Josh was one he didn’t actually know was happening. I stealth-scienced him. 
My goal for this last week was to fit any science topics I could more into our daily life and conversations, whenever and wherever they seemed to fit. Here’s a few of the highlights!
First we took a walk in the swamp behind our house. It’s early for the frogs yet, (and for mosquitoes for that matter! Yay!) but even without spotting any wildlife we enjoyed it. Clearly he did:
It’s so pretty back there, and we’ve never really taken the time to appreciate it. I’m so glad we did. And we’ll be going back weekly to watch the changes as spring and summer progress.
While we were up in Maine this weekend, we had a chance to stop by my friend’s house to see her new baby cow named DC. Short for Diet Coke, the cow was only 3 days old, (!!) and as cute as can be. I don’t think Josh has ever petted a cow before, at least not a tiny one. I wish I had gotten pictures though! I didn’t even think of it. He also got to pet one of her chickens, which she picks up and holds just like I do with my cat. (She’s been known to comment under the alias “Cluckers” here. I wonder why?)
When we got back to my parent’s house from visiting Cluckers, it was dark and the sky was full of stars. Josh and I really don’t get to see that very often. We have too many trees, and far too much light pollution around our own house. So I made him stop and look. I pointed out Orion, and Cassiopeia, and he asked where the Big Dipper was. Now I’m planning an evening out with him, with a star map in hand, and we’re going to look at the stars for as long he wants to!
One of the most fun things we did this week was taking a walk by a nearby brook that looked more like a river from the heavy rains we’ve had.
Whoa! Of course we talked about the flooding, and we inspected the edges to see how high the waters had come up just a few days before.
See where he’s standing? All of that was underwater!
Then he found a clearing and danced like a leprechaun! So much for real science.
This week has made me realize that I really don’t do enough of this stuff with my kid. Sure we spend lots of time together, and he loves to read science books, but we don’t experience it as much as we should. I think we just forget to stop and pay attention to things during our usual hectic days, but now that we’ve started I’m not going to stop our science adventures, it’s been too much fun!
Thank you Susan, for inspiring us in so many ways! I hope you can look at the stars with your boys again soon. xo
ps. Go check out all of the other Team WhyMommy’s Virtual Science fair posts!
Filed Under blogging, photos, the boy Tagged blog friends, photos, science, the boy
snuggles
Most evenings we let Josh have one tv show before bed. Usually he has a snack and plays Legos while he watches, but once in awhile I have the pleasure of cuddles instead. Tonight was one of those rare nights, and I don’t ever take them for granted. Damon has been out of town for a few days, and Josh needed some mommy time.
Josh cozied up to me on the couch, and then George snuggled up to him. Sigh.
Josh loves his cat, and George loves his boy.
My foot fell asleep but I didn’t move an inch. There was no way I was going to be the one to disturb them!
Filed Under life, photos, the boy, the cat Tagged life, photos, the boy, the cat
Santa Claws
I just can’t help myself. Josh has all these little hats from his multitude of stuffed animals lying about the house. I pick them up, look at them and think how purrfectly they would fit on George. And they do. As long as he sits still.
I swear it’s not photoshopped! Damon and Josh witnessed George posing for a good 10 minutes so I could get the perfect shot. Yes, I managed to hold in my lap and take the photo at the same time…
I am an old cat lady.
Filed Under the cat Tagged christmas, george, holidays, photos, the cat
keep scrolling
Seeing as I’m going to a blogging conference I probably ought to post something on this here blog eh?
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Nope.
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Got nothing.
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Um. So what are you doin’ this week?
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I’m packing….sort of.
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Flying alone. Yep. I am. Not worried though. Nope.
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Oh, and did you know stupid United Airlines charges $15 extra to check just ONE bag? The outrage!
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Yeah, I really got nothin’.
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Oh, wait! News! I actually changed my twitter avatar to a REAL picture! I know! It’s so people at BlogHer can, you know, recognize me. If they can recognize me off a itty bitty thumbnail that is.
Anyway. I’m working, and packing, and generally getting ready for my first alone vacation in, well, um, ever. Ever. Alone. Can’t wait. Can’t wait. Can’t wait. I wish I was leaving NOW instead of Thursday.
Let me leave you with this. In my pre-BlogHer preparations today, I charged up my camera battery and cleaned off the memory card. And found…the reason I need a vacation:
There’s a whole SERIES of them. And of the cat, and of his toys, of the back of my head, and of half-black bananas and…you get the picture. (~Snort~ I crack myself up.)
God I love this kid.
But I am soooo tired.
The continuing saga of Batman in Vegas
(See part one of the saga here.)
So Josh and I are surviving Damon’s absence but it sure hasn’t helped that the weather is really cruddy this week.
The only things entertaining us are Josh’s extremely loose tooth, and the random photos of mini-Batman that Damon’s been taking all over Las Vegas the conference hotel. Note to hubby – more actual VEGAS please. Ahem. I’m trying to live vicariously here.
So apparently Batman really can fly:
Oh wait, he’s just stuck the window with gum. Nevermind.
Batman prefers Macs. So do I, I just can’t afford one!
Are all photographers generally messy or just the ones I know? Not that I’m judging mind you, after all, they are my kind of people.
I think Batman is a bit anti-social, turning his back on our friends and all.
Hey Russ, long time no see!
Batman is tired and needs a nap. Ooooo, let’s ride the escalators first!
Good night Batman, I’m sure we’ll see more of you soon. Especially since I have nothing better to blog about.
PS. to Damon, Happy Birthday babe. Love you, miss you, and hate that you’re gone on your birthday. We might have to have cake in your honor. Heh.
skunks, pinatas, and Batman, oh my
It’s been a little crazy around here.
How am I supposed to get any work done when I’m constantly on call to rescue stuff?
And then I wasn’t home to see this visitor, but my boys caught it on film for me. Good thing George wasn’t outside! He really is dumb enough to chase a skunk. Been there, done that.
That’s just great. Not. Guess we’re avoiding the backyard at dusk for awhile.
Yesterday was busy partying with some friends:
He spent over an hour in an extremely cold lake and didn’t mind a bit. He’s also changed his mind about swimming lessons! Woot! Good thing, because he really didn’t have a choice. He’s going like it or not, but it’s easier if he likes it.
And now today, DH is a plane for Vegas for a week long business trip. The one that I *was* supposed to go on until the Star Trek Experience closed and I decided going to BlogHer was better after all.
Batman went with him to document the journey for Josh:
At the airport, and on the plane:
It’s gonna be a long week, but most likely an entertaining one!
what I did yesterday
I got my hands dirty!
And I loved every minute of it.
Filed Under gardening, photos Tagged flowers, gardening, pansies, photos
roly poly mii
As promised, I’m posting pics of my Wii Fit Mii today! It’s roly poly, it’s chubby, and frankly it looks just like me!
Sorry it’s grainy – it was a little harder to shoot than I hoped.
Here’s another view so you can see the belly overhang a little better – ahem.
And my favorite view which tell you exactly what I think of how my Mii, and I, look:
I think a few of you said you were brave enough do this with me, and anyone else who want to join in please do! Put up a post with your Mii either today or tomorrow, link back here, and make sure you let me know in comments what your permalink is so I can do a round up post on Monday!
Updated to add: I didn’t think anyone was going to do this with me but it looks like it’s just taking a few extra days for everyone to get their posts up. I’ll do the round up post on Wednesday instead!
yeah, more snow pictures
It’s not like there’s anything else to take a picture of out there.
We got a lot of snow yesterday. I stopped caring how much once it was beyond a foot. I just don’t wanna know anymore.
Makes you cold just looking at it doesn’t it?
That’s my poor trellis and fence that blew over in a windstorm late last fall. This is the prettiest it’s looked in a long time!
I think the trees are as tired and beat down by winter as I am. Brrrrr.
I’ll be lucky if this azalea survives. It almost didn’t make it last year. I miss its little pink flowers.
But is sure is pretty isn’t it? Darn snow.
And I really don’t want to hear it if you already have crocuses or daffodils popping up. Seriously.
6 things that make me happy
I know I’m a very bad blogger. I have owed a meme to Liz for way over a month now! Liz is a sweetheart, she’s a great writer, and she has a fantastic blog design! If you’re not reading her, you should be.
This is one of those memes that I really wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach it. (Liz set the bar a little high with the Buffy drawing!)
I’ve been told that I haven’t had enough pictures on my site lately (~ahem~ Cluckers) so I decided to do my “Six Things That Make Me Happy” in photos – of things around my house that I love.
First, of course, is my boy, but especially when I catch him reading.
It makes me happy that he’s learning to love books as much as I do.
Just above that sofa is something else that makes me smile. It’s an oil painting made by my father. He has become an amazing artist in his retirement and my house is full of his paintings. Here is the oil and another that I love.
I can’t remember if this one was done in watercolors or acrylics, but it is a print of the original. All of his kids loved it so much he made just enough prints for us to each have one. That’s what you call a limited edition!
I actually picked these two because they are the only ones that aren’t under glass so they’re the easiest to photograph. It was the only way I could choose what to post out of all the painting I have of his.
The room these two particular paintings are hanging in is my favorite spot in the house, there’s no tv in there, just a stereo, a piano, lots of sunshine, and my cactus collection. These cacti make me very happy.
This is my very favorite houseplant. It’s a huge Christmas Cactus that is so old it was originally owned by my father-in-law’s grandmother. (I hope I remembered that right!) Until I was given this, I never knew that plants could be passed down from generation to generation. I can’t tell you how happy this cactus makes me, especially to see the new little sprouts growing out of the old trunk.
I love to sit in that room in my Canadian rocker and look at those paintings and plants with a cup of coffee in my hands. And when my coffee is done right, it makes me very, very, happy.
My favorite coffee, my favorite creamer, and my favorite humongous mug means life is good.
My coffee pot isn’t the only kitchen appliance that makes me happy. I love my kitchen aid mixer, my bread machine, and this:
My favorite of my four (yep four) crock pots. Making my own chicken stock in a slow cooker makes me very happy.
Last, what could make me happier than my cat hanging out with me and letting me take cute pictures of him?
Why that would George in my lap, purring his little heart out while I scratch behind his ear.
What makes you happy? Tell me in comments, or if you decide to do this meme, make sure you leave me the link to your post so I can read it!
Filed Under meme, photos Tagged family, houseplants, life, meme, photos, the boy, the cat