Things that Blow your Mind...

I found something today...something that I was certain was gone. Something that I wasn't even looking for. To anyone who isn't a member of my household, it's absolutely meaningless but when I saw it I was just floored.

Nearly 2 years ago at our old house, my husband helped the boys put together a super top secret (no girls aloud) lair. But since I'm mommy I got a free pass to enter. Or it could have just been that they needed an evil villain to fight...I don't know. When you entered their top secret lair there were a couple planks of wood that were hung from a tree by rope. On one it said "top secret" and on the other was a "key pad" and 2 "hand scanners." About a month and a half before we moved some neighbor kids went up into the area and trashed everything (teens...pft). After that the boys didn't play up there any more. Admittedly, we also didn't clean up the mess that the teens left. The rope, planks, and anything else that was up there at the time was left to nature.

Fast forward to today...almost a year and a half after the destruction of the secret lair and our move to a neighboring town. I still work not far from where we used to live. There are a lot of really great hills near by and I thought I would go for a walk today. As I got near the area where we used to live I saw something on the ground next to the sidewalk. I was standing across the street walking towards it and it took a couple of seconds for my brain to register what it was. There, laying on top of the ground, nothing on it, barely dirty, still painted clear as day, was the plank of wood with the boys hand prints on it and the key pad.

Keep in mind its been well over a year since anyone of us has seen this! Not to mention that our old landlord had the hill where the top secret lair was cleaned and cleared shortly after we moved out. So to say I was surprised to see this just sitting there is a terrible understatement. I sent my husband a quick message with a picture of it and explained to him that the way it was sitting, the lack of debris on it, its good condition...it felt like someone had walked by a few minutes before I did and sat it there for me to find. It was a mind blowing experience for me cause I really don't know how it still exists.

Needless to say I lugged it all the way back to my office and its sitting on the floor next to me right now. The child like part of me is afraid that if I look away it will disappear as quickly as it reappeared. Tonight I will show it to the boys and see if they remember it. After that it will go up as art work in their room. Probably hung at a level where it can still be "used" to enter their new lair. It's sentimental to no one else but us...but boy does it now have an even cooler story to go along with all our original memories of it.



Finding treasure in unexpected places,

Rachel B.

Couples Fitness Challenge

So for anyone who doesn't know my husband and I personally, we are really competitive with one another. Most of the time it's in good ways, some times it's bad. (Like the fact that we bet on pretty much every single presidential election...yeah...we're those kind of people.) It's always in good fun though which I think is important and we never get upset about losing to one another. (Unless it's scrabble...neither one of us EVER wants to lose at scrabble.)

How I look losing at Scrabble...lol

Anyways...

Competition runs in our veins. Now this would be nice if we could harness it for something useful. 10+ years of marriage and that hasn't happened yet. Rewind to last night...we're setting in the front room and I make my all too frequent comment that I'm going to get up early and work out in the morning. Without missing a beat William scoffs at me and chuckles. Okay...so I say this a lot and never actually do it...so sue me.

I may have been feeling a little mischievous (with a capital M) when I turned to him and said "Oh yeah...why don't we have a competition..." and so it begins. After much deliberation about rules and dates and guidelines and such...and of course getting input from our facebook friends (who are probably shaking their collective heads at us right now) we finally settled on our latest game.

On July 1st 2014 (our 11 year wedding anniversary...YAY! We're still alive...lmao!) we will post "after" pictures of ourselves on Facebook. This will happen whether or not any change has occurred (so if we don't do any work we are up for some embarrassment). The catch is that we will be wearing a swimming suit that the other one picks for us. Can you say YIKES!!! I've already vetoed William's first choice. We do get some say after all.

I guess the good part about this is 1) we are putting our competitive energies to good use (my pictures are going to be way better than his...lol) 2) we are doing something fun together as a couple and 3) we are being held accountable for working out and staying healthy to a larger audience. My hope is that this will be a positive experience for both of us.

Now if only I could find a way to get up early and work out...


Rachel B.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Game Review

My youngest son Gryphy is a huge fan of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Last year I happened across the game around Christmas time and snatched it up. Before today we had only really played the game seriously once. Mainly because we tried playing it on Christmas day and there were other toys that commanded their attention. Since that time life has gotten busy and we have made attempts to incorporate family games into our routine but for whatever reason, this game migrated to the bottom of the pile. While the boys were doing homework I hopped into the game cabinet to see what I could pull out and this is what I settled on. Needless to say it was a huge hit! We only played one round but even Phoenix (who's 8) was asking for another round.

My overall opinion of the game is that its very simple. But most kids games are. The game is rated 3+ and I would say that is about right. However, if you have a Caterpillar obsessed 5 year old like I do then its still a great fit. My kids both love it and I am sure we will be playing it more in the future. It is only four players so if you have a large family it probably wont work so well. The majority of reviews I saw for it online were pretty negative, most focusing on the simplicity of the game. I disagree with them. Board games for kids should be simple, engaging and fun. This game is all three of those things. If you are interested in purchasing the game here is the link for it on Amazon.com. (Ahh...Amazon...) Although, I did not pay $18 for it at Toys R Us and I wouldn't pay that much. I bought it on a game sale during the holidays. If you can find it for less then I would recommend getting it. Your little ones will love it.

Here are some pics of my two little birds enjoying post homework game time...

Gotta love the chipmunk look of concentration...lol

Uh Oh! Grypy pulls ahead of bubba!

Its neck in neck...

Mommy for the win!! Poor Phoenix finally pulled ahead two spaces from the finish only to have me roll the magic number 4 right after him. I asked him to give me his angriest "how dare you face"...this is what I got...lol.

So close to victory, yet so far away...

The game ended and led to an impromptu reading session. Yay for books!!

Happy Learning!

Rachel B.

Defiying Nature: Growing Tomatos Indoors in the Winter

Living in the Pacific Northwest has its upsides and its downsides. On the upside, you absolutely cannot beat our outdoors. There are so many trails and natural oddities just within 100 miles of where I live that it would take a lifetime to explore them all. On the downside though, we really only have two seasons, Spring and Fall. Anyone who tells you we have a Summer is lying. Summer does not exist here. Our short seasons and mild weather leave me firmly planted in Hardiness Zone 6B where the growing season runs from about May to August. Granted this is largely dependent on rain levels. We get an outrageous amount of rain every year. One year I planted my garden at the end of May thinking it would be safe from rain storms and it was drowned out within a week. Sigh* So needless to say, being November right now, the growing season is over...or is it?

Right around the beginning of October I got a huge case of cabin fever, which I normally don't get until around January. While rummaging through the house upending and re-potting any plant I could get my hands on, I stumbled across an old packet of tomato seeds. I figured, why not try to grow them indoors. I had never tried that before but I have a great south facing window that gets full sun all day long so I went with it. It is now November 4th and my little indoor gardening experiment is paying off. I have 11 tomato plants growing in my windowsill. Yesterday I had to transplant them into their own little containers. I took pictures of this process but for whatever reason everything turned out blurry even though it looked fine on my viewfinder, so I apologize ahead of time.

Here are the pictures of the transplanting adventure:

To begin collect your supplies and sprouts.

For transplanting I used plastic cups, a bowl full of dirt, a knife and some scissors. The mason jar full of white stuff is crushed egg shells. Rumors in the gardening world has it that the calcium in egg shells is like crack to tomato plants so I've been collecting them for a while.

Sprouts (about 3 weeks old) and crushed egg shells

Recycled dirt

Plain ol' plastic cups for potting containers

After you have your supplies, look through your sprouts and determine which ones you want to use. From there, prepare one plastic cup for each sprout. To prepare the cups puncture a hole in the bottom for drainage and then fill with dirt.

Hole in cup for drainage

Next, take a long something or another (I used a paint brush) and swirl it in the middle of the cup to create a deep hole for the plant. You want it to be deep enough that you can fit all of the roots into the hole and the plant. 

Paint brush stick used to create hole in dirt for roots and plant

If you have an egg shell collection, add them now. I sprinkled them into the bottom of the hole so that the roots could get the calcium from them. 

Egg shells crushed into dirt

Next carefully take the sprouts that you chose out of their original container. The sprouts that grew in my tiny little flower pot actually had the best leaves. So these were the ones I transplanted first. You want to gently separate the plants so that you don't go ripping off every root. The object is to gently untangle the roots and separate the plants with as little damage as possible. 

Baby tomato plants...aren't they cute!!

Once you have separated out the plants that you want, carefully tuck the roots of the plant into the hole followed by the whole plant. And by whole plant, I mean, you need to bury the plant all the way up to the bottom of the two smooth leaves. 

Plant buried deep in the dirt.

Once you have buried the plant, cut off the two smooth bottom leaves from the plant.

Snip, snip...

Once you have done all of that, water the plants enough to wet the soil through and then find a nice sunny windowsill to put them in. 

Happy plants sitting in full sun...

And there you have it...tomatoes in November. I am hoping that these will grow to be full on plants that will produce tomatoes for us over the course of the winter. Time will only tell though. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on their progress.


Happy Planting,

Rachel B. 

Ghostly Adventures in the Gorge...

My oldest son Phoenix and I both share a love for ghosts. Now...I've never seen a ghost and still hold a little skepticism but all in all I think the "idea" of ghosts existing is pretty cool.  Phoenix on the other hand swears up and down that he's seen a ghost. He calls him the "terrible terror" and no matter how many times he tells the story, it never changes. That's pretty important given the fact its the recollection of a 7 year old.

This year for his 8th birthday we were talking about what he wanted to do. He's really been stuck on visiting a ghost town. I found one that would be perfect to visit but given the fact that it's nearly four hours away, a trip there would require a little planning. So we needed something close and immediate. Lucky us...we live in the Columbia River Gorge where history runs deep. Knowing there had to be somewhere local with a reputation for haunting I set out to find our first ghost hunt.

Main building no longer houses guests.

The location that was eventually chosen was the Carson Mineral Hot Springs. The hot springs is one of the longest running hotels in the state of Washington and is reported to be super haunted. The worst haunting stories take place in the bath house but since Phoenix is not 18 we cant go in there...bummer. Other haunting reports come from the second floor of the main building but due to age, the current owners had to shut down that portion of the building because they couldn't keep it up to code. There are however cabins that run along the side of the main drive in that are still open and functioning. These cabins are great because, although not original, they sit in the very same spot that cabins have sat since the hotel opened.

The main reason that the hotel is haunted or reported to be haunted is the fact that the original owner Isador St. Martin was murdered on the property during a fight. His wife died shortly after him from heart break. The wife is the one reported to be on the second floor of the main building. As for the bathhouse, no one knows who haunts that spot. The only reports are that it is incredibly eery and slightly negative. 

I figured that this would be a really great location for our first ghost hunt and made reservations. I have also purchased Phoenix a tape recorder (for EVP's) and an EMF detector. Our plan is to record our little adventure on the two video cameras that we own and take tons of still images as well. We will then put together our own little ghost show for our family and friends to watch.

There is a part of me that hopes we don't find something cause I'm a pretty big chicken and then there is another part of me that wants Phoenix to have an awesome birthday and he seems to want the experience. (To each their own.) All I have to remember is that I am the adult and no matter how much we freak ourselves out, I have to be the one to offer comfort. Overall though I am really looking forward to the adventure. If nothing else Phoenix and I will have spent some really great bonding time together and will be able to share the memory of our first ghost hunt together. Memories are what matter.

Here is a link to a longer blog post about the Carson Mineral Hot Springs and it's ghosts...
http://www.thegorge.com/carson-hot-springs/



Rachel B.

NAKED EGGS!!!

I am a HUGE fan of all things science. Because of that I am constantly trying to instill in my boys a love for the subject. So far I have been hugely successful. Yay for Team Mommy! Every once in a while we break out in scientific fever and must experiment on something. Yesterday we decided to try out the naked egg experiment. If you are not familiar with the naked egg experiment you can read about it or watch a video here or watch the following video:

If you want to try this experiment here is what you need:

Egg
Jar
Vinegar

Yes...its that simple!

Pour the Vinegar into the jar and then place the egg inside. Let that sit for 12-24 hours and then dump out the vinegar and enjoy your super awesome naked egg!

What exactly is happening in this experiment?

Well...egg shells are made out of calcium carbonate. Vinegar has in it a substance called acidic acid. By putting the egg into the vinegar you are creating a chemical reaction. The way I explained it to my boys was that the acidic acid "eats" calcium carbonate, so you could say that the vinegar is eating the eggs shell. Because the egg has a "skin" inside called a membrane, it holds everything together when the shell is gone, creating a naked egg...an egg that you can see through. The guy in the above video says it takes 5-7 days but that's not the case. Ours was in the vinegar for less than 24 hours and it turned out great. There is another really great video in the other link provided that explains why the egg actually gets bigger once the shell is gone...(hint: osmosis!)

They absolutely loved this experiment and had a blast doing it from start to finish. Take a look at our pictures and then try it out for yourself!

Phoenix's egg before

Gryphon's egg before...he looks a little worried

Vinegar and our containers...gotta love Mason Jars!

The bubbles is the vinegar eating the shell...

Mesmerized!

The next day...the foam is the shell

Soft and squishy...eww...

Naked eggs are bigger than the regular egg

Squish!

Gryphon impaling his egg with a skewer

A popped naked egg: the membrane looks like pacman. lol

Phoenix holding up the membrane

Gryphon stirring up the left overs.

Happy Experimenting!

Rachel B.

A mothers rant about education today...

Trending on MSN today there is an article titled "Academic thinks there's no need for kids to lern how to spel anymore." Yesterday, I saw and read a longer, more in depth version of this article. Oh buddy! Did this story get me all worked up! To have a teacher, one who is actually very well known for his ability to advance education around the globe, come out and say something like this is mind blowing. Whats next...oh you don't really need to know basic math. That's what calculators are for. Are you kidding me?! Please tell me he's kidding!

Today's kids are probably well on their way to becoming our dumbest generation ever. Why? Because of stupid adults like this who think its okay to let technology think for us. The sad thing is, its not the kids fault either. We adults are allowing this to happen. Spelling, math, reading, all of those subjects are core to a basic education. Without them we are setting our children up for failure. As a mom, this is extremely painful to watch.

My son has actually brought work home from school that was given out in class that he did not finish. Didn't finish! Yet, he got a passing grade on it and earned top grades in all of his subjects, including the ones he routinely did not finish work for. This has lead to the new rule for this upcoming school year that if you don't finish it in class, you will finish it at home, in addition to any homework you bring home with you. Sorry but I don't want lazy kids. I want kids who know the value of hard work. I expect my children to get a good education whether that is at home or at school and I expect them to work at it. They are not going to want to take education seriously if the adults around them do not.

I think one of the biggest wake up moments for me came during college while I was interning at a local high school. I was in a science class where 9th and 10th graders were performing an experiment to find out the calories in a peanut and a marshmallow. I was grading papers and found myself actually having a hard time focusing on the task. I was distracted by poor grammar and poor spelling. On over half of the papers the words peanut and marshmallow were spelled wrong. Don't even get me started on the handwriting. The sad thing was when I mentioned it to the teacher they said that they are not an English teacher. It is not appropriate for them to mark up students work for spelling and grammar. They are there to teach and grade science work. What! Your a teacher...who cares what subject you teach. I realized in that moment that me becoming a teacher was probably a bad idea. If I was going to become a science teacher and have to grade papers like that without commenting, I was going to have some serious issues loving my job.

That's not saying I'm perfect. I'm not. But I know the value of a good education and I want my children to have that knowledge as well. This is why we are very active in our children's education. My husband and I are both on the PTA. We both attend every single parent teacher conference and we actually make our kids do their homework. If they fail to finish their homework, we walk with them into class and stand there to make sure they explain correctly to their teacher why their homework did not get finished. (Teaching accountability) If they are struggling in a subject we ask for extra work for them to do at home or we create our own work for them to do. Is it a little on the harsh side? I don't know. Compared to how involved my parents were (not at all) its certainly at the other side of the spectrum. Do we hover over the kids as they do their work or do it for them? Absolutely not. They have to do it themselves. I guess you could say I want my kids to know that I am there watching and making sure they are doing what they need to do to be the best student possible.

So in regards to the article the incited my anger, if I were to ever hear that the schools were going to stop focusing on spelling and grammar while my children are there...you can bet your bottom dollar I will be raising some serious fuss. Not to mention my kids homework load would just get bigger because I absolutely refuse to allow them to not know the basics.


Rachel B.