Museum-O-Fun

Today did not start well. (And it was all my fault. I stayed up late yesterday helping Odie with his homework...and then stayed up later cruising craigslist, pinterest, landscaping websites whose services I cannot afford, and whatever else until 2 in the morning. Bad, bad, bad.)

I postponed getting out of bed until I felt I absolutely had to (sadly, right after my big kids left for school - although I was awake enough to yell things like, "DID YOU FINISH YOUR HOMEWORK? DON'T FORGET YOUR LUNCH!" from the dark, comfortable room I was unwilling to leave.), drank a diet coke or two for breakfast (please, self, wake up!), and threw the little kids in the car. Off to the science museum in Baltimore. Free admission before 11am. I had already told the kids and felt committed.

I left in such a dang, sleep-deprived hurry that I forgot Cozy's shoes. (Yes, she ran around bare-footed the entire time. I'm a good mom. I know. You don't need to tell me.) ...and then we got there 1/2 hour before they opened. Good planning. I had factored bad Baltimore "race days" traffic into my drive time. Traffic-free.

We took a short walk, to kill time until the museum opened. Cute brownstones everywhere, cobbled alleys...no shoe stores. ...but we found something for Odie/Anthony.



For those of you who haven't ever been to Baltimore, it's deep in the Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the United States).


For someone who has lived on a peninsula for the last three years, it was nice to see the water and the boats.

So wonderful and relaxing to take children somewhere they're supposed to touch things.


Cozy adored the pendulums.

Jonny demonstrated why one pulley...


...is not as good as two.


We learned what happens to air when it heats up...it basically makes James break out in a fit of giggles.


In an act of extreme bravery, Jonny laid on a bed of nails. (Annika totally chickened out.)


Our favorite part - shooting foam noodle out into the 3-story foyer...and then racing down to fetch them again.



It was a wonderful day. We learned a lot of interesting new things and enjoyed our time together. I guess you can always end a day well, even if you can't manage to begin it well...sometimes it's worth it to drag your tired, lazy rear out of bed. :)

It makes me laugh when...

It makes me want to laugh when:

The littles and I were taking turns wearing Anthony's giant cowboy hat. Cozy wore it. "I'm the cowgirl!" James wore it. "You the cowboy, Bi-Boo." I wore it. "You the cow-mommy!" I can just picture a bunch of cow-mommys riding their horses. So can Cozy.



Kids tell me Sunday night that they need black shorts for PE the next day. At 7:30 AM
We don't live in Las Vegas. There are no open-all-night sporting goods stores.


Boo thinks a cardboard playhouse will support his weight - incurring no structural damage. (We read the 3 little pigs today. Maybe he was being the wolf, climbing down the chimney?)


Cozy wants to climb into my shirt and poke her head out of the neck hole. She wishes we were kangaroos.


How much Annika seems to look forward to each meal...(she just can't handle having lunch any later than 12 noon)...and how little she eats at them. I don't mind. It makes her my volunteer assistant cook.



In other vitally important news: We've started eating Indian food at least once a week, mainly due to the family-sized Indian entrees and fresh naan they sell at our Costco. I've started making basmati rice every time (to make the naan last longer), and tonight we had Mango Lassis too. (Honey in the lassis was a big hit, even thought everyone hated it in my banana bread. Live and learn.) Mmmm...mangos. :)

Spreading my mad skillz to other people like me...who will go completely overboard and cover a million composition books. The end.

So, you want to make your dismal school life prettier...


...all you need is 3 sheets of scrapbook paper, a sponge brush, a composition book (or twenty) and some Modge Podge (school glue is substitutable - but not as awesome).

First, I cut my 2 cover papers down to 9 x 12" each and my inside paper (which is usually cheaper 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock) in half, making two 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" pieces.
Questions? No? Good.

I then sponge-brush ample amounts of Modge on one side of the cover. (You can be more generous with it, depending on the thickness of your paper.)


I line up my 9x12" paper with the black binding, center it, and smooth it onto the cover.


I let mine sit a bit, while I do the previous steps on 4 or 5 other books. :) I then open up the cover and cut the corners off at an angle, leaving just a 1/4" or so of paper at the corners. (Oh, add scissors to your materials list. Oops.)


Like so!

Apply modge to the overhanging paper on one side and the corner bit.


Fold in the corner paper...


...and smooth down the side.


After modge-gluing both sides down, make sure everything is nice and tucked in. Then glue down the end. As my Sofia says, it's just like wrapping a Christmas present.
...but with glue...and we hope it will be REALLY hard to unwrap.


The hard part's behind you now! Grab one of your 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inside pieces, modge/glue the NOT pretty side and use it to cover up that big, empty, ugly place on the inside of your cover.


I like to modge around the edges of it - just so those edges stay pretty longer and hopefully don't dog-ear.


You want to let your book sit open until your glue is all clear and dried. This is where it's good to have 5 or 6 books in the works at time...or to be cooking dinner in between steps.

Once everything is good and dry, repeat on the back cover.

Label and decorate as desired...and then modge the heck out of that too. (I know - I have a problem.)


Annika labelled this herself...and it's actually quite legible when the flash isn't glaring off of the shiny finish. :)

There. Now go make something.

Composition Cuteness

My nice friend/sister-in-law Beth sent me this wonderful composition book for my birthday. She cutified it herself.


I immediately called her, thanked her, and demanded to know her secrets. Then we were off to the craft store for modge podge and scrapbook paper! (And I have to mention that the earthquake happened while we were at Michaels!)

I've been obsessively upcycling old composition books and prettifying new ones I got for cheap in back-to-school sales. This is going to be the best school year ever! ...or at least the most aesthetically pleasing.

I loved the bird print...


...but so did Sofia.


I thought this would be a fun project to do with the kids, but I couldn't even handle watching Sofia make one. My misplaced perfectionism - it's a curse. Still, it's easy. So you might like to do it with your kids.

I did let them each pick one. James chose the bombers (which was sort of my plan anyhow), and I finally talked Jonny into the stripes...instead of making him the eiffel tower print he wanted. (I know, I'm mean - but it was just too goofy.)


...and Sofia made one, complete with drawing, for her friend.



IN OTHER NEWS: Sofi and Odie went to "new student orientation" this morning. I didn't even have to drive them. The bus picked them up and dropped them off. They got to meet all of their teachers. Anthony was torn. Spanish sounded so fun...but so did orchestra...in the end, he decided to postpone taking Spanish. (I can't deny being pleased. I hated for him to give up violin.) Everyone is excited for school to start!

Baby Bear's Bed

Cozette's bed is finally assembled and she's up off of the floor! Sadly for Cozy, that also means that I can't lay in her bed and cuddle her at night. She has to settle for hand-holding. Life's rough.


All of my kids still like for me to come in at night, sit on their beds, and talk to them. My favorite time! Even my giant boy, who responds to an affectionate, "I love you!" with, "Ok." (not even a "Me too - but about you."), will peek around the corner into someone else's room and say, "Aren't you going to come in and ask me about my day?" That's boy code for "I love you".

Double Rainbow

...on my bookshelf. I've been organizing...but I thought, "It would be best to organize these books in an aesthetically pleasing way that might make things harder to find."

Actually, I stole the idea from my SIL. Even if they aren't organized topically, alphabetically, or by author, you have to admit that the rainbow method is still better than that "turn all of the books with their pages facing outward, instead of their spines" nonsense.




Speaking of rainbows, we've seen tons of them this summer...and lightning. Actually, we saw forked lightning in front of a double rainbow. I just had to brag about that. No picture for proof. Only a car full of eye-witnesses.

Getting There

Me: Honey, I moved the furniture.
Tony: I know.
Me: So...what do you think?
Tony: I'm still thinking about it.


Tony: ...it feels a little weird. The chairs are in the middle of the room.
Me: I know - that's so everyone can see each other...and put their feet on the ottoman.
(We're lazy. Everyone wants to put their feet up.)


Tony: Mmm...I still think it looks weird.
Me: That's because it needs a rug - to show you where all of the furniture belongs.


More livable, don't you think? It took me forever to find that rug...because I could afford to either buy a very cheap new 8x10 rug or a very nice used rug. I've been stalking craigslist for weeks now. ...and I finally got lucky.

The person who was selling these rugs posted "Pottery Barn Runner $50" and showed a tiny picture of about 2 feet of this runner.


...and then, at the very bottom of her post, she said, "and I have an 8x10 that matches it for $150." SWEET!

When we got to the neighborhood, we figured out why they weren't trying very hard with their ad. Palatial estates. Maid answered the door.
"Um, gosh, Hon, why didn't the agent show us any homes in this area?"

It's trickle-down economics for home decorating. The rugs aren't perfect (pre-broken-in) - but perfect for me. :)

New Shoes

I knew these were looking a little shabby...and getting a hole in the right sole...


...and yet I was still surprised when someone handed me the heel off of one of my shoes and said they had seen it fall off.


Guilt-free shoe shopping time.

This pair is comfy.


...and these are the cutest shoes in history - ever.


I solemnly swear not to garden in either pair.

Montgomery County Fair

Fairs are great places to get connected to your local 4H, Bee Club, Master Gardeners, and so forth. And, although farm animals are persona non grata in Rockville, they appear to be welcome in some parts of Montgomery County.


The funnel cakes weren't too shabby, and the chickens were awesome! Baby chicks were hatching...and the ones that were already out - would follow your finger around, like a cat following a laser pointer! James thought it was hilarious.


Among the huge variety of chickens, Jonny noticed a little bantam hen, who had laid an egg in her cage.She kept nudging it under her and trying to settle down on it...and it would roll away. Poor lady. Where's a nesting box when you need one?

Cozy rode her first pony. She was very solemn the entire time...because it was such an important occasion. She still talks about her horse, "Cupcake", and complains that her toy unicorn is not big enough to ride.


The cowgirl hat came with the ride. She wore it for the rest of our time at the fair.


...and then we lost it at Costco. :(

Doctor Stuff

Classes start on Monday...for Tony. (The rest of us have another week to be lazy.) Today, he was issued all of his doctor stuff.

Equipment that is supposedly very expensive.


One thing this career change has been good for - birthday gift ideas. Someone needs a doctor's bag, so he doesn't have to carry his stuff in a shoe box!

And these are the books he received today...


He had to carry those to his car! Amazingly, the sea bag he brought fit them all, but we're lucky he didn't do permanent damage to his back. They have their own bookshelf...and I think it's time to clean the office and make a place for it..and studying.

Yep, the office hasn't been a huge priority until now. It's where I've been throwing my "yard sale pile".


Anthony actually snatched one of Tony's books right away and dove right into it! Maybe we'll have two generations of doctors in the family...wait...


...two generations of zombie fighters. Someone in that school has a sense of humor.

Cabin John Park

We found another train park - because that's just what we do.


The track travels through the forest, just like at our last "train park". During our ride, we saw a little Bambi munching leaves!

...and I didn't get a picture of it, but someone has garden gnomes sitting on random stumps along the tracks. :)


Tony had the day off last Tuesday, so he helped me find the park...and we took the littles there for a test run.



Today, I forced everyone to go. Driving myself added some time to the trip...because I got lost and ended up in Bethesda.

My dear, dear son, Anthony is pleasant and compliant when you send him up ladders to clean the gutters. He will climb behing the stove to retrieve a dead mouse. Mow yards. Whatever. ....but - trying to get him to go on any sort of outing with the family lately...and he is the biggest pill!

I tried to explain to him that, while he might not miss us at all, the rest of us are sad that school is going to start and that we'll be seeing less of him. SO, try NOT to make us look FORWARD to it!

He was rewarded for his cooperation on our park trip by Cozette (who he adores) happily sitting on his lap during the entire train ride - mewing like a kitten (Cozy, not Anthony).

We also did some good squirrel-watching while we were there. We were trying to lure them down from trees with acorns...but other kids were trying to tackle them. The squirrels decided that the acorns weren't worth it. In the end, Jonny found a tree with a nice, big hole in it. We dubbed it "the squirrel's house" (creative, I know)and filled it up with our acorn bait. :)

...and Jonny got some good "ninja training" in at the playground. If he doesn't get outside time, he'll do his climbing and "parkour"ing in the house. Not good.


...and that, my friends, is your rambling, train-of-thought post for the day.