80's Girl Night

     I recently went with Chloe to her mother/daughter girls nite at her school. They had a spot to do your hair and nails. There was dancing and singing. It was a fun night to dress up to.

Outer Space Bedroom

    My son is currently into all things space. He loves star wars. He wanted a room to reflect his love for space. We started out by painting the walls a gray color that he chose. His furniture is black metal. The best feature is his space wall.

    I painted the upper half of his wall a glossy black in the shape of a windshield. He chose some pictures from a book of stars, planets, and galaxies that he liked. I made color copies and cut them out. I then decoupaged them to the wall. We used glow in the dark paint to make some stars. I simply used a fat marker and dipped the end in the paint and dotted the space area and his ceiling. It looks really fun in the dark.

    We bought a remote operated moon nightlight that hangs in space. He can change the phase of the moon by remote and it has a sleep function for night. It's educational and fun.

   He later added Star Wars wall clings, which makes it a bit cartoony but being his room, it's his choice.

   Lastly, what astronaut doesn't have a control panel? I had 2 steering wheels meant for outdoor play equipment. We attached them to a simple wood frame to make a dashboard. My son then painted and added buttons. We found a speedometer sign in a decor shop that works as a perfect accent piece. The seat is from a footstool destined for the dump. I bought new foam and covered it in spacey material and it is a soft place for him to sit.

Click Here to see Star Wars Villains Visit

Brad Wins Essay Contest

 

     Brad entered the "If I Were Mayor, I Would..." essay contest and competed against other seventh graders. He won 1st place and was asked to read his essay to the Ottawa City Commissioners and Mayor. He received $80 cash as a prize.

Click Here for Brad's essay followed by runners up

Click Here for Commission Meeting Video: Brad speaks about 5 minutes in

                                              If I Were Mayor
                                                  Brad Harris

    If I were mayor, I would do things to improve the city of Ottawa. I would make it appealing to the over 12,000 people who live here.

    The first thing I would look into as mayor is modifying stoplights so they can react to the opticons on ambulances. Not all stoplights in town have sensors to react to these invisible waves of light, but it is vital. Opticons are little lights that send invisible patterns to a stoplight sensor and turns the light green so emergency vehicles can respond to an emergency quicker. This could end up saving lives.

    The next thing I would cut the red ribbon on is getting an Arby's to move to Ottawa. An Arby's could boost economy with job openings and help the town's tourism. As a student at Ottawa Middle School I have noticed that kids my age would really appreciate an Arby's. I'm sure adults would too. In order to perform this operation we will most likely need to talk to the head of the Arby's-Wendy's corporation. We will tell them about our popular location on I-35. Many customers would go there because it is easily accessible from the highway.

    The last thing Ottawa needs is a shelter for the homeless. It can be paid for by tax money and could help financially challenged families to get back on track. I have learned over 60 families in Ottawa don't have a place to call home. This will end, with me as mayor.

Sledding Adventure

    We recently went sledding for the first time. We joined up with our aunt, cousins, and a few friends. We didnt have any sledding gear so we invented some things. Our fave was sledding down on old pool plastic. We can't wait to go out again after the newest snowstorm.

Chloe sledding on her daddy Scott

Scott wiping out on snowboard

Chloe sledding on pool

Johnny on snowboard

Johnny wiping out on snowboard



Johnny eating snow



Chloe on pool

Chloe zipping along

My turn on the pool

Chloe

Johnny on wooden sled

Johnny zipping by baby Hayden watching from her bin.

Brad and I on the pool

Too much fun.

Cole on snowboard

Johnny on wooden sled

Taylor and Ellie on wooden sled.

Cole on a plastic chair

Cole again

Chloe catching a ride with Johnny

Brad on wooden sled

Brad again

Brad, Chloe, and Johnny

Johnny Visits the Villains of Star Wars

    The Ottawa Library recently hosted the Villains of Star Wars. Johnny was super excited as he loves that stuff and he got to have his picture taken with them. He later ran home to put on his Darth Vader costume and went back for a few more pictures.

Johnny in costume with Darth Vader

Johnny with Imperial Guard

Johnny with Clone Trooper

Johnny with Boba Fett

Scott being arrested by Boba Fett

Johnny with Storm Trooper

Johnny with Darth Vader

Johnny discussing weapons with Boba Fett

Johnny with Boba Fett

Our Real Life Horror Story

  
     I was headed home from work, when I got a call from my 11 year old son. He says that there is a bird in the house and it was scaring him, so he went to neighbors house. I told him I'd be home in ten minutes. I pulled into driveway shortly after and went next door to pick up my son. I thanked the neighbor for letting him in and told him to put on his shoes so we could go home. He then tells me he didn't wear any shoes over and he is barefoot. I looked at him like he was crazy. There is a foot of snow on the ground. I walked back to my van and pulled out my snow boots for him to slip on.

    We walk up to the front porch together. I go to open the door and can't because it is chained from the inside. I turn to Brad and ask him how he got to neighbors house. He says the bird was flying by front door so he ran out the backdoor, climbed the fence, and ran to neighbors house barefoot in a foot of snow. Now I'm wondering what kind of bird got in the house to scare an 11 year old boy so badly, we have a pet cockatiel so this isn't anything new to him.

    I ask him to go around the house and unchain the door since he is wearing the snow boots. I wait and wait and wait. What is taking him sooo long? He finally comes back around the house. What now? He says he opened the back door and the bird was flapping around so he shut the door and came back. I asked if he at least let the bird out? No.

    So now I go around the house. I open the backdoor and there is nothing there. I unchain the front door and let my son in the house. We begin to look for the bird. After searching the house, there is no sign of  a bird. I am beginning to think my child needs medication. He swears up and down there was a bird and is starting to lose it.

    I tell him we will pretend to be cops. We will go through each room and closet together. If we don't see the bird we will yell clear. He nods his head and we begin. Room after room, closet after closet, we yell clear. There is nothing to be found. We get to the last room I say clear and begin to shut the door. Then, I stop. I ask my son, "why does your sister have dog crap on the top of her curtain"? He says that's not dog crap its the bird. I look closer. It's not a bird. It's a bat. We slam the door and run down the stairs.

    I call Scott and tell him to come home now and get this thing out. He arrives about 5 minutes later with a bucket and a fishing net. The bat has moved so it takes him awhile to find it. Then he comes down with it. You can hear it hissing in the bucket. He lets it loose outside, its wingspan is about a foot. No wonder it was scaring my son. He just didn't know what a bat was.

    We are glad it is gone. It has been a year and we still don't know how it got in the house and have never had a repeat performance. Looking back it's funny, at the time creepy.

What a difference a day makes!

 
   Yesterday was a snow day, no school. The kids were super excited! They bundled up and headed out. They would play for an hour at a time and only come in to warm up after I made them. They began to build an igloo. It was hard work and digging the doorway was exhausting. The solution...the dog. We have a Belgium/German shepherd mix. The kids took him out and showed him where to help dig out the doorway. The dog had great fun being needed and getting to play along.

     Later the kids built two forts and stockpiled their snowballs. The ensuing battle was intense. Not because wars are harsh. Not because one side was overpowered. But because the ammo wasn't hitting its intended targets. Why? The dog was intercepting the flying snowballs and eating them. Frustrating for the kids playing, hilarious to the mother watching from inside. Overall, the kids had a great day outside.

    Fast forward one day later, the wind chill is below zero. I decide to go out and shovel out driveway. The kids beg to go out and play. I tell them it is too cold but they don't believe me. I let them go out with me. After about 10 mins I am done with driveway and my fingers are burning. I head back inside with the kids on my heels. No forcing them to come in and warm up today. They are disappointed and are looking forward to a warmer day to go back out and play.

Shotgun

Mountains out of Mole Hills

    A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm.  ~Bill Vaughan

   Their is no better joy, than watching a child explore and discover new things. A hill becomes a mountain that must be hiked, conquered, and summitted; only to roll or sled back to the bottom repeatedly. Trash becomes a craft project. An old tree or bush, becomes a secret clubhouse. The wonders of this world are endless.

    Kisses heal all boo-boos and a case of the giggles brings pure happiness. Disappointments are short lived and pain never lasts long. The excitement of a child is contagious and definitely worth catching. The purity and innocence of a child is a wonderful gift. Watch a baby realize for the first time they have a hand, or if they throw something it falls and makes a noise. Toddlers have pure joy when they learn to toss a ball. Remember when you learned to ride a bike, the pure thrill?

    Take some time each day to find your inner child and bask in the warm feelings. Look at something mundane with the eyes of a child and recapture the wonder and awe.  Roll down a hill or jump in a puddle.

   

Snow Day Activities

   The following is a list of fun things you can do with your kids on a snow day.

• Give them a spray bottle with water and a few drops of food coloring. They can spray paint the snow. Just remind them not to do walkways as they will get icy. Koolaid can be substituted for dye.
• Do you have potato head pieces? They can make snowmen and push in the potato head body parts. Great fun!
• Build a fort or an igloo, show kids how to pack snow into pails and they can make snow castles.
• Play florist or farmer. Give the kids plastic or silk flowers and let them "plant" them in the snow. Can also use fruit and veggies from their play food. Give them some empty baskets to harvest the fields with.
• Snow angels are a classic.
• For older kids, let them build a fort and throw snowballs or take their Nerf guns out and play war games. Better outside than inside. Added bonus Nerf bullets wont get lost behind furniture and the bright orange color is sure to show up in the snow.
• Treasure hunt: kids can make map to find buried treasure. They can count their paces in the snow easily by looking at their footprints.
• Guess the object. Bring out a sack of items with distinct shapes. Have kids cover their eyes. Press an object in snow and then place back in bag. Can kids guess what the object was based on impression in snow?
• Polar Bears and Penguins: let kids run around and slide around like these great snow animals. Remind them that polar bears walk on all fours and that penguins waddle and slide on their bellies.
• Free play with plastic animals and dolls is also fun for kids. Getting to play in the snow is a novelty. Anything they may enjoy doing in sand, they can also try in snow.

Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow, And we, we were children once again. ~Bill Morgan, Jr.