Princess Perky's Page

Europe that the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) in the UK is looking into banning cars from school zones, not to protect students from being hit by a car, but instead to get kids to walk more. And to be honest, the biggest reason they’re looking into it is to reduce the waistlines of kids in the UK, who are rapidly catching up to their counterparts in the U.S. by packing on the pounds due, in part, to a sedentary lifestyle facilitated by the good old-fashioned automobile.

See that our lazy lifestyle is catching on! even kids in other countries are getting into the anti health habits!!!

I have no idea how I ended up on this topic, but it hits home as my husband is about to start leaving earlier for work...not due to school buses, they are a minor addition to the upcoming traffic, instead to the VAST number of moms and dads who drive on in to schools (one of which is right outside our community)..the number of people idling in line to drop kids off less than one block from the door makes his commute 10 minutes longer than during the summer....

I feel compelled to point out that we live less than a mile from said school, and many of the cars in line come from our community....

Well I seem to be on a roll with the controversial topics, but these are funny IMO...







And I happen to have just spent a week working with public (and private) mass schooled kids...I have no idea what they do all day, but they don't even know what verbs are! (least not the majority of the not so random sampling of 45 Lutheran youth we worked with science on...)

All cartoons from

I have no desire to be in the middle of a day care debate, but I think this article is funny enough to share, so please keep your pro or con agreement of daycare to yourself and enjoy the onion satire:

I just got our local park program list in the mail and was looking thru it for all the events, there are a lot, and most are 3$ each...we will be taking advantage of a few this season...and enjoying the ability, I am remembering when the idea of having 6$ to spare for a class was way out of budget!

Then I thought I would check out our local library..hardly any programs for non preschoolers....compared to the library by my brother it is pathetic, but I branched out to other libraries and found even less listings.

I seem to be getting spoiled to think that a library with half a dozen free 'classes' is pathetic....

"but when is it my turn with you mommy?"

G came out of the room at 1pm today, and since I wasted more time than I was supposed to, I wasn't done on the computer (usually done by then)

I suggested he get a shower or something he needed to do (the hour he leaves me alone is our nap time arrangement)

He said "but mommy, when is it my turn with you?" I was surprised, I thought he just was bored and wanted something to do each day..but apparently he wanted me .

so of course I left my fun and work on the computer and went to spend time with him, I told him to meet me in my room with whatever he wanted to do with me...his pick...Goldbug the book we have been reading for oh 4 years. Though since h is older, we managed to find Gold bug on every single page, and then go back and see if Dingo Dog. Mistress Mouse, and Officer Flossy are on each page (no but cutely hidden on many)

Now no more time wasting, I do need to work.

First of all, how would I let him sleep in after a late night? Every Cubscout night is way to late, he doesn't nap, but he will sleep in.

And who would vacuum the boy room? It would still be used by UE and JC, but UE can't vacuum yet, and JC already does her own.

While on the subject, when would he dust? again, room would be used, but UE doesn't dust well (though better than he vacuums)

Moving along the morning, would I have to remind him to put his clothes away after dinner like I do daddy? I prefer having them put away right after they are folded (most often by him)

What about reading those nifty Ranger Rick mags...would seem silly to read them to UE alone, but with GMC makes sense....Or that cool book on King Tuts tomb, totally not JC's speed, but really interesting. Now way would I read that to myself, but hearing GMC read it...Somehow only reading at bedtime doesn't seem like enough. Especially since many evenings are full of company, music or cubscouts, or swimming and the story is cut out or at least shortened.

And who would I play Go with? JC is too young, and most adults I know don't play (not to mention they tend to work during the day)

What about Oregon trail! when would we get to try again to actually make it to Oregon?

And who would be Papa bear for the skit he wants to do with sock puppets?

When would I find the time to play with paper clay, or science experiments?

And would the cute things he say be enough if I only got to hear them from 3-7? I rather like the quiet breakfast with JC, and the later insights of GMC....(on days when he sleeps in, breakfast is late for him, JC NEVER sleeps in - but she napa)

Not to mention seeing him remake a optical illusion while drawing (draw two small pictures about 2 inches apart, look at the mid spot and move the paper closer to your nose, the two objects will move into each other) I would have to wait till 3 to see it, if he even remembered what on earth that window and guy was drawn for!

And that little aside while figuring out some division sums about how easy division is...wouldn't get to hear that if he was doing division for someone else...not to mention he wouldn't be allowed division in public school.

No I can't think of anything that would be better if he were gone all day....I don't even know what I would do with myself...

Since this is the first year he would legally be allowed to enter public school Kindergarten I am being asked a lot more why we don't send him....This week I was asked if I hadn't been looking forward to sending him to school. Nope.

ps

Child Brain Development
Measures of brain activity show that during the second half of a child's first year, the prefrontal cortex, the seat of forethought and logic, forms synapses at such a rate that it consumes twice as much energy as an adult brain. That furious pace continues for the child's first decade of life. from

Well there are some more expensive, but this will be the most expensive experiment I ever do.

For VBS we volunteered to do the science, I don't think that is a mistake I ever intend to repeat.

there are supposed to be 4 different experiments every day! We cut it down to 3 one for each age, but that still has my head spinning, I am used to one a day, all kids share, and no fancy supplies allowed (no budget)

Day one and each day after we are working on growing 'coral', which will actually be salt crystal formations, supposedly they look similar to certain kinds of coral.

the bottle of 'blueing' needed costs 7$...enough for 4 kids to make a batch....we have 50 coming...there is no way we are buying enough for all 50 kids!

Instead we are planning on putting several kids together in one tray and hoping to transfer the finished product at the end of the lesson...might get away with only 3 bottles.

I hate cooking, I really do, I like to bake, but I hate to cook. So every night there is the same old struggle to force myself to come up with something edible, and usually it adds to my desire to eat out...anywhere out so long as I don't have to cook!

Well I discovered that the more we have real food in the house, meaning meat to this carnivorous family. The more I am willing to cook. Not that I really like cooking or anything, just that I would rather cook 'real food' than just pasta or potatos. No offense to any vegetarians intended, just an observation about me.

So when we go to the store and see meat on sale for over 2$ a pound...I think we will be buying it a bit more often, so that I feel less desperate to run to the restaurant at every turn. That little splurge is keeping me from trying out more big splurges...like find dining.

Todays chapter of the smiling hill farm story involved storing food. First they built a store room, from the picture and description they built something about the size of a modern smallish bedroom, about 4 or 5 times the size of my pantry.

Then they proceeded to fill it with dried fruit (pie from dried apples? ugh!) nuts (you mean like off the dirty ground? eww) plus room for molasses (for sweetening, do you know how unsweet molasses are?) and salt (straight from a salt lick, eww) as well as lard salted meat, pumpkins (how many pumpkin pies can you eat anyway) beans (dried of course, you know how I fail at those) and oddmints like 'paw paws' and persimmons (hey that was just for seeds in a fairy tale, we don't eat those do we?)

Anyway after the read I sat there thinking of just what we devote space to in our homes, and I have more space devoted to clothing than food! Seems a bit odd since food is so much more important. I also have a stack of junk beside me (husbands) that is larger than my pantry!

What on earth happened that Americans have houses and values so far gone from the pioneers that we no longer feel the kitchen has to be large much less the pantry!

When we house shopped we saw so many homes with small kitchens, no room for a table full of guests, and matching small dining rooms, what on earth do I need a dining room for if it only seats 4 small folk? I have 5 in my family and love company!

Seems to me houses are built for what people pay for, and people aren't asking for big kitchens or a big pantry, they are paying for room counts and big closets to stuff with clothes.

We got a chance to see a 'birdman dave" show at Imaginon a library/theater for kids.

The show was slow to start, but the kids loved the birds, my youngest kept saying 'fly, fly!' because the birds got to show off their skills, the Macaw actually flew over the crowd twice, which is a pretty cool site. The owl I mostly felt sorry for, it had been hit by a car and was blind and deaf on the one side.

Sky the parakeet was cute and would hop onto kids hands, but in a crowd of 300 not to much chance of being chosen..would be cool if the kids could feel that though.

regardless the kids learned a bit about birds, the trip was made possible due to a wonderful friend coming all the way here well out of her way to pick all 4 of us up. That and tax supported education of course I am for that, just not public schools.

We are reading my mothers 3rd grade reader. I read it when I learned to read and now it is GMCs turn.

One line is 'mother thought herself rich in pans' she had three, a frying pan, a cast iron pot, and a 'spider' (like a frying pan, on legs, used for baking bread over a fire)

So I asked GMC how many I had, he said 'LOTS', and I defended myself, I don't have that many, I have a big one, and a medium one, and a umm ok fine, I have lots. Not to mention I bake bread in a bread pan, and cake in a cake pan, and have a 'brownie pan (square, that I never use for brownies, just force of habit call it that)

Even with all the reading about pioneer times and the constant urge to purge useless stuff I have the kitchen of a king compared to pioneer times or current day 3rd world countries (what exactly does that mean? 3rd down the line from USA? like there is USA, the couple competitors, and all them other ones...)

And yet....I know for a fact most of my 'peers' have more than I do, most have tons of pots pans or baking supplies, when I gave away a couple silicone liners I was offered purchase of more muffin cups...umm I have the number that fills my oven...after that I dump and re-pour. (love the silicone liners, makes that sooo easy to do)

Now I can't see getting rid of any more stuff, I use most all of what I have monthly at the least, and I can store it. But I can be thankful for how rich in pots I am (and I know this is a revisited topic, sorry)

While I know you can give every 8 weeks, I prefer to wait for the blood drive at church every 12 weeks, I know the staff of the nursery, and the folk 'taking' know us.

Which means they know my husband is not permitted to get up without first drinking juice, and eating and an escort...cause he fell once, or rather sat down fast.

I on the other hand changed my usual routine and managed to fill the bag in 6 minutes as opposed to the half hour it took last time. Hopefully this is a new tradition for me, and my husband not having trouble is a new tradition for him.

The secret might be in the food/drink, I had oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, he had about a gallon of orange juice while donating.

Either way it is a simple way to help out, and my oldest gets to learn all sorts of things about blood and donating and needles and iron, great education, the other two are too short yet.

My youngest shot site swelled up a bit yesterday, so we called and checked into it, apparently this is normal, and the cure is..swimming!

So we had to go swimming yesterday, Dr's orders!

I like that kind of prescription, free and fun. (though not really great tasting, but you aren't supposed to drink the water)

They were So good at the Dr, not just for the wait, though I had to keep suggesting new games, and not just for the checkup part, but all three were wonderful for the blood draws and the shots.

First my oldest, GMC (5 year old)sat up on the table for two shots, he didn't even blink! I am so proud of him.

Then we told him he was all done and it was JCs turn (middle kid, 3 year old) Only after a minute the nurse says she needs to draw JCs blood and the one shot, this was a mixup so she went out to double check the charts (always hard when you bring in three kids at one time)

She comes back and says it is GMC who needs blood drawn, Does JCs shot and JC was wonderful, just a mite of teary eyed, and a mite clingy after, I let her sit in my lap while GMC came back for the blood draw.

(remember we told him he was done?) he hopped back up for the blood draw and was very good, he blinked when the needle went in then a second later asked 'how long is that going to take' in a slightly distressed voice, but that was it!

Then came the kid we worried about UE is almost 2. He sat still for the blood, didn't even blink when the needle went in, and did nothing but wiggle his arm while she finished! Then for the shot the first went in fine, but as soon as she pushed the meds in he cried, and continued thru the second shot. he was done before she could close up the second needle and get the third out! Of course he started again when the third needle went in the other arm. but only for a minute, very quick, just letting us know it hurt.

When we visited family later that day he was talking about the shots "shot, ahlllll done" he was glad they were over! he also would point to his arm and say "buhd" where the blood came out.

The bad part is it cost us 90$ to get all kids up to date on checkups and shots, but the good news is they are adorable!

We are doing early research on swimming for the fall. The kids love it soo much but I hate to have them stop for the whole winter yet again. I thought I would check a membership to the Y. you ready for this?

150 start up fee and 74$ a month, plus a 75$ class fee! Absolutely no possible way we could afford that!

I called another place and found class prices to all run 75-150 for a month of classes with 5-8 kids per class.

I called one more place and got a direct number to the instructor, she mentioned they didn't have classes set up yet but that she would offer a private lesson for $20 for both kids. I felt like I was being led into a selling spiel where you tell what your competition costs to numb customers to the high price of your item (I sold cutco knives, that was the gimmick, tell em what other brands cost so the 100 dollar knife seems low in comparison)

But the more I think about it, $20 for a private lesson, not stuck in a group of 3-5 year olds who prolly don't swim at all, while our two can not only swim, but GMC can swim well...not to much time for one on one.

That is for both kids, whereas the other classes are 75 per kid...and that is totally individual instruction....

Not to mention I think we might be able to let gmas know that lessons would be a wonderful gift.

But then again..$20 per week?

For us. See if I ignore the amount exactly of money we have, I tend to spend less, assuming we don't have enough.

Which means surplus tends to pile up and I have to go schlep it around to pay off the car. I kinda like that problem! I would prefer not to ever have to deal with it at all, but if I have to have a problem this is it.

Course it isn't enough to pay off fully, just a nice double payment every other month or so.

Most of the surplus is due to overtime, and more would be going to the car, except we keep buying groceries. We buy more fruit and veggies than anyone I know, I have got to learn to grow some. ON a plus note the sunflowers are still alive. There is hope, so long as I choose hardy plants that like to live.

Now to find food that is that hardy (I know you can eat the seeds, but I don't.)

The kids picked favorite fruits and veggies last night, GMC picked tomatoes, JC picked nearly every fruit we eat!

Bananas and Apples are out (though I wonder on the apple tree...not anytime soon, but for the future?) Blueberries...I didn't think they grew around here...Strawberries do...I wonder if they are very thorny? I was kinda hoping for something the kids could pick.

Peppers are favorite veggie for my husband and GMC...I wonder if they are easy to grow. JC and I like peas, and green beans.

While my husband was working on some model terrain making he let GMC use some spare parts to make what he wanted..



Pretty impressive for no help, just three straight sticks (no cutting was allowed)


Now for this one I did some cutting for him. He asked me to cut a piece in half to make two like the two he had...I suggested it would be two a bit small, so I found him another scrap, and was able to make 4 approximately the same, and one small piece.

Here is the result when he put it all together:



The picture was taken before we glued the front piece on, so GMC is holding it.

Here is what JC made, I helped to cut the frame, and I tore the tape, but she put it all on...it is primer-ed, so later I will have to try and post when she paints it all up.



We plan to put a magnet on the back and 'hang' it on her tin doll house...err will a magnet stick properly to that? I'd better check.

The sunflowers are growing! I have to get the kids to stand by them so you can see how tall they are.



Course you might notice the one side is pretty tall, the other side is pretty short...not sure why, though it is two different seed packets.

And here is the prize GMC won for reading from the library.



total disguise

I took a survey and discovered I had no intention of changing my brand...I didn't even look at the price! Admittedly it was a product I rarely buy, and one I find quality to be top importance of. but still, how unfrugal!

I also discovered that out of sight is out of mind, I was asked about products we buy, but I don't use, the first question is 'what brands do you recall' I checked all that seemed familiar (I wish it was a fill in box, not a checklist) and then it asked what was in the house...I asked my husband and it was a brand I hadn't even remembered for the first question! sheesh..

When I was a kid a pack of gum was 25cents...for a big giant pack of 25 sticks....

Lately I have had the urge to munch and thought gum would solve that with less weight gain...At the store I discovered not a single pack less than 50 cents and most had 12 or less sticks (or pieces)

good grief...has there been a recent blight of rubber trees or something?

While watching the printer print a new batch of worksheets for the kids I found this:

That is an actual quote from my daughter last night. "people give me too many clothes."

I asked her what she would like to do about it and she said she wanted to give the extra to 'kids who need them'. So we headed off to her room and sorted out her pants drawer (the only one she was concerned with). Don't worry she is still a girly girl, all the neutral clothes were for donation, the pink and flowered clothes were kept.

But still warms a mommas heart to hear her little one wanting to share.

Today we were talking about Hawaii, did you know they have and alphabet with only 12 letters? And that the chain has 135 islands on it? In an effort to see the rest of the islands (beyond Maui, and such) I tried a Google map search..no real luck, I think if I knew the name I could zoom in and find one, but without a name they seem to be too small to see from the last view of the main islands.

In an effort not to disappoint the kids I let them zoom in and out and look all around. First came a request for Asia, simple and not to precise, then the great wall of china..since the books say you can see it and I told them it was a satellite picture....apparently the books lie...or rather I am not that good at finding a squiggly unnatural line, in among a mountain range full of squiggly lines...but Google to the rescue, just type in 'great wall of china' in the map search and it takes you right to the center of it!

After he asked for Russia and I suggested we go to the capital, he asked for lots of other capitals..eventually since I don't know the capital of India we Google searched that first (capital India...New Delhi) among many other capitals.

And later we remembered to search out Guatemala, since our church is sending a mission team over there at the end of the month, we had been talking about it and gathering supplies to send with them.


I love spending an afternoon learning with the kids..for free

From one of many email sap:

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

.....
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years.

Thought is was particularly financial related...more is often less.

[i]Decide what your time is worth: Take some time to calculate how much you your time is worth. Whatever you decide your hourly rate is worth, that is how much you must pay to watch each hour of TV over your allotted weekly free hours with the money going toward your savings.

This can be an excellent financial lesson for kids to determine their hourly worth as friends of mine with kids who adopted this strategy found out. If the kids set their worth too low in an attempt to watch TV on the cheap, you can hire them to do projects around the house for that same. low rate. On the other hand, if they demand too much money to do jobs that you want them to do, they won’t be able to afford to watch any additional TV over their allotted hours.]

Actually two are done, the firs is smaller and not in the slightest straight, the second is better and you can see it is supposed to be straight.

I am rather impressed with myself, not only did I finish...but I wouldn't be too terribly embarrassed to show it to someone.

before I wash it and find out how well it stands up to use I am going to show it to my teacher...just to prove I did it , and ask for advice on crooked edges.

Now I have half a skein of yarn, purple, and not sure what to do with it. I would like to make something for my daughter, since she loves purple, but I don't know how. And I do not want to wait till Sunday cause if I stop working I will forget how!

I actually learned around age 5, my mother taught me. But I never got past a chain stitch, and I never made anything more than a hair tie for my barbies.

Now I am working with the people at our church, I had a wonderful lesson Sunday and now have a nifty...not well made, washcloth. I am going to try and make another and follow the pattern better, but regardless if it works I will have a free dishcloth, and I have too many in tatters to pass that up. Only trouble is the free yarn I was offered is purple, I hate purple.

Though I might give the next one to my mother in law, she has a drawer full of dish clothes that she doesn't really use, cause she doesn't want to get them dirty....I on the other hand use mine for everything and anything..I avoid paper towel use at almost all costs. And it shows, she has a drawer stuffed full of pretty looks like new dish clothes and I have a drawer mostly empty of holey well used dish clothes...so for looks, she wins...but..cost wise, I think I win.

Now my son is asking me how to crochet...I don't think he needs any hair ties..so not sure what he is going to do with them, but I will let him try...and did I mention it was free? Education is more seeking out knowledge, than paying for classes IMO.

I joined the adult reading club when the kids joined, mostly to convince my nieces and nephews to join up.

And I won! I got a free T-shirt and a bag. All for logging the books I read.

First I am admitting my lousy slang, I did just say "wanna" instead of the proper, "would you like me to teach you" but well...no one said I am perfect.

Second, this is it, I am letting you all in on the big secret of how I 'make' my kids learn.....I don't. Really I don't. I just offered to show GMC a faster way to multiply double digit numbers...instead of adding 40 up 7 times....his reply "nope".

So here I am online, not teaching him. Might sound terrible, but what good would a battle be? Why bother fighting when he will come back eventually wanting a faster way. It worked when I waited for him to want to read, I have every reason to believe it will work now.

Actually immediately after refusing the lesson, he pulled out a reptile/amphibian word search. We read the top about what they are, and came to a mention of caecilians ..I said "I don't know what that is", he told me..."its like a lizard worm" which based on wiki