Homemade Rocket

You need:
Paper
Film canister with lid
Alka-Seltzer tablet
warm water

Tightly roll an entire piece of paper around the film canister. The canister should be upside down at the bottom of the roll. Make sure the lid can be removed easily.



Cut a circle of paper large enough to be the top of the rocket. Cut a section from the circle and form paper into a cone. Attach the cone to the top of the rocket.



Cut 3 triangles out of the paper and tape them to the bottom of the rocket (fins).

Decorate the rocket, if you want.



Go outside and find a good place to set off the rocket. We only had an Alka-Seltzer cold tablet so I don't know if the other kind is stronger, but the rocket didn't go very high. Maybe 2-3 feet.

Now would be a good time to put on some goggles for eye protection.

Hold the rocket upside down and take the lid off the film canister. Fill canister with warm water and pop the tablet in it. Replace the lid quickly, and set the rocket down (rightside up) while you move back.

POP!!



We were able to put the tablet back in and launch our rocket one more time. It didn't make it to Mars like the boys hoped, but they enjoyed it anyway.



The project took about 15 minutes from start to finish so it was great fun with very little time investment. The boys were able to do all of the work(another plus) except the launching. At the end, the rocket was in good shape so we may try it again with regular Alka-Seltzer and possibly a film canister with a different top that may fit a little tighter. You must try this at home!!

Tuesday Ten: If only I had the time...

...this is what I would do.

Ten Things I Wish I Had Time To Do

1. Doing Nothing. Just nothing. Staring at the ceiling--or the sky. Maybe I could lay in bed sometime instead of getting up in the morning. No guilt, no thinking I really should be doing something else. Just ten minutes, I promise.

2. Cross stitch. I still haven't finished my cross stitch project that I started before last Christmas. In fact, I haven't even worked on it since Christmas. I need to take it with me to work on in the car while waiting for soccer practice to end. Instead I take a book. Uh, not that I read it, because I am busy watching my soccer stars kick the ball. Wow, I wish there were more hours in a day for that.

3.Reading to my kids. We used to read at lunch and breakfast time. We used to read before bed at night. That was about 3 kids and a lot of noise ago. Now it seems impossible to find a book that they all enjoy. Then I had a child that would holler her way through mealtimes so no more reading at those times. Then I had another child start doing gymnastics 4 days a week until 7:30 at night so she doesn't get home until after the younger kids' bedtimes. No one really seemed all that interested so I stopped. No one asked to start again. There isn't time to do it anyhow. I do read library books to the youngest ones on some nights I am home to do it, but not like I used to. The bedtime story used to be an absolute must. Now it is a treat.

4. Hiking. I am the only one in my family that enjoys hiking. I don't want to go by myself. I don't have time anyway.

5. Fiddle lessons. My dad gave me a fiddle a few years back and I started learning to play. I loved it. It was so much fun. I pictured us playing together at the Old Time Fiddler's Contest. Then we moved and there was no way to practice at a time that wouldn't wake up kids. Then we moved again and when I picked up the fiddle it sounded like a dying cat. I don't have time to play anyway.

6. Making quilts. I have about 3 unfinished quilt projects and a dozen more I would like to start. I just need to make the time.

7. I would have a spectacular garden. Not a weed in sight. Beautiful, lush, green, large plants. My pole beans would have poles. My pumpkins would weigh 100 pounds. My tomatoes would ripen in August. THERE WOULD BE NO WEEDS!! Oh well, at least I have a garden.

8. I would be able to take a shower in the morning. Instead of at night before bed. Going to bed with a wet head in the winter is not ideal. But by the time I get up at 6am, go walking, take oldest son to bus stop, feed the animals, and eat my breakfast, the kids are up. Off goes the day. I suppose I could shower instead of eat breakfast, or worse, get up earlier. No thank you.

9. Clean the refrigerator. Ha. I really have no hope that I will ever have time to do more than wipe it down now and then.

10. Teach 8 year old son to tie his shoes. This is shameful. But there never seems to be time, at least not when I am thinking of it, which is when we are walking out the door to go somewhere. Teaching a child to tie their shoes when you are in a hurry is not ideal. Solution: slip-on shoes.


One thing that I don't have time for but I may do anyway is take a photography class. The class meets on Wednesday nights, the only weekday with no gymnastics. The only night that we are usually all home. Except during soccer season, but practice is only from 5:30-7 or so. So I am not sure if I should be gone on the one day that I should stay home. The class is only 8 weeks long though. I don't know.

Riding horses

My 3 year old daughter has found a new passion. When she is not talking about Build-a-Bears, or going to see Cinderella, or all things pink, she is talking about horses. Specifically riding horses, more specifically, riding a horse in a horse show.

Up until 2 weeks ago she had never even ridden a horse. But, boy, was she going to. She was going to the horse arena and Carrie was going to let her ride a horse in the horse show. "I can wear my new boots!" she proclaimed. "Carrie will let me." Carrie is my older daughter's teacher for horseback riding lessons. She is now my littlest daughter's Best Friend Forever.

What about me? Sob.

"Carrie let me ride a horse, Mom." I was told. Now is probably not a good time to point out to her all the pain and toil I went through during childbirth with her. Plenty of time for that later.

I figured this would be one of those things where she will talk about it but when it comes time to do it she will chicken out. Kids can be like that sometimes. But a few weeks ago when at the ranch with her daddy, she hopped right up on a horse like she had been doing it all her life. She was held on one side by Carrie and the other side by her dad, and off they went. She learned "Walk, Dakota" and "Whoa, Dakota". Afterwards, she said to Carrie, "You're my Best Friend!" I missed it all because of the gymnastics meet.

Last weekend, while my husband and I were up on the mountaintop making out...JUST KIDDING!!...having a picnic, big sister and little sister walked from Grandma's house down to the horse barn. Since we hadn't given prior permission for my youngest daughter to ride, she just had to watch for a while. No big deal, she had gotten to ride the weekend before, and her and Carrie are best buds, so she sat and chatted with her BFF while big sister rode.

But the second I showed up she was ready to go. "Mom, I can ride a horse! I am going to ride Guardie (Guardian)! Mom, here is my water bottle! Mom, I am sitting right here! Mom, I can ride! Where is my helmet! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

This time she got to sit up on Guardian with my oldest daughter. She did all the commanding (she is particularly good at that part of it).

"Elbow, elbow...wrist, wrist..."
"Elbow, elbow..."

"...blow a kiss!"

You may notice she is not looking at ME, rather she is looking at Carrie. Hmpff.



And of course when done riding a horse, you must give him a treat.

Now my little one says "Guardie is mine, Mom!"

Yes, dear.

Honor Star

My oldest daughter recently completed the Assembly of God Missionettes Stars program. She started in 6th grade although the program is for 3rd-5th grade girls (our church didn't have enough girls for the older programs) and she went ahead and finished it out this year in 8th grade.

She had to complete 27 different units, memorizing 27 different Bible verses. She went before members of the church board to recite her 27 verses, doing 12 one time and 15 the next. Also, in order to earn her Honor Star, she had to read the New Testament, memorize the statement of faith, and complete the honor step in 9 of the 27 units. In all it took her 3 years to finish the program with half of the time being long distance since we moved.

Last Sunday we were invited to a special ceremony at our old church to crown the three girls that finished the program as honor stars. I am so proud of her for continuing to follow through with something that she had committed to finishing even though it would have been easy to quit when we moved away. What a beautiful young lady she is becoming!!

Tuesday Ten: Spring!!

Ten Things I Love About Spring:

1. Green, growing things. Even skunk cabbage.




2. My Dad. I like my dad all year long, but the first day of Spring (today) is his birthday. So he is on my list.

3. Daffodils. The cheeriest flowers I know.






4. More eggs. My chickens laid 25 eggs yesterday. Up from 15 a day the last few weeks. Up from 9 a day all winter. Anyone need some eggs?



5. It gets light earlier in the morning. This drastically reduces my chances of being run over by a dump truck. A big plus, in my opinion. I try to walk for 30 minutes every morning but the winter time makes it hard when it is so dark out. In spring, not only is it lighter, but it isn't so cold. Two pluses.

6. Kids get to play outside. Wheeee! I love Spring! Even when Daddy is supposed to be watching littlest guy but instead is doing something else and I look out and see LG standing in the mudpuddle in his tennies. I don't care! It's Spring!





7. Rainy days. I live in Oregon, where it rains a lot. If it didn't rain, everything wouldn't be so pretty and green. Spring rain is the best kind. Unless you are standing outside at a soccer game.

8. Gardening. Uh, duh, can't wait to plant the garden. It is still in the planning stages right now. And pretty ugly.



This is what it looks like now, but not for long.

9. It stays light later in the evening. Kids can go out and play after dinner. I can go out and work in the yard. My husband could work on the garage after he gets home from work. Ya think?

10. Soccer weather. Trying to look on the bright side here. At least it isn't freezing cold winter weather when we are outside at soccer practices and games. If we HAVE to do soccer, at least the weather isn't usually too nasty. How was that? Did my absolute and total dislike of soccer show through at all? I am working on that. Can you tell soccer practices start TODAY? AGH.

Here is what Cathy and Megan love about Spring.

He is a keeper

Flashback to March 18, 1988: My husband to be is late to the church. We are supposed to be taking pictures before the ceremony and he is nowhere to be seen. At last report he was washing his car--a red 1959 Chevrolet Impala--the one we were to drive away from the church after the wedding.

Then, when he finally does show up, he stands out in the parking lot talking to my grandparents. It is the polite thing to do, since they have never met, but we have pictures to take. Meanwhile, I, being an EXTREMELY punctual personality, am getting crabbier and crabbier. I don't have any doubts even at that point that I want to marry him, I just wish he is not always late everywhere.

Soon we are in the church getting the wedding pictures taken. I am nervous and afraid, not of marriage, but of having to stand up in front of all the people. He takes my hands and he talks to me and soon I am not afraid any more. He is pretty good that way.

Yesterday was my and my husband's 19th wedding anniversary. At the last minute we decided to take a lunch up on the hill at the ranch. We meant to do this last year, but the weather didn't cooperate. This year, after a little morning rain, the weather was perfect.

Going up on the hill involved getting out the four-wheelers and driving about 30 minutes up old logging roads and trails where no one had been in a long time (this would probably be a good time to mention how much I LOVE my 4-wheeler. It is a big and hefty 4 wheel drive, and I never have to worry about tipping over. Plus, it is a 600 which means it is faster than my husband's machine. Heh.) But when we got to the top the view was worth it.





My husband still has no concept of time or how fast it can pass. If it weren't for me (and cell phones) he would still be late everywhere. But, like most other things, that can be worked out, and it has ceased to be a serious issue for us.

Yes, he is definately a keeper.

Trampoline

We told the kids

We have a tendency to hold back telling about fun outings until the last minute. It makes things easier that way. I have been saving my extra money for the last year and a half for a trip to Disneyland, but never mentioned it to the kids. Why, for heaven's sake? What if the plans had to change? (They did) What if we decide to do something different? (We did) So now that the plans have been finalized we decided to go ahead and tell them. Two LONG months early.

In some ways this is a good thing--the anticipation, which is tortuous for them, is kind of fun for me. In other ways, bad. Questions, questions, questions. Daily. For 7 more weeks.

Will we stay in a hotel? Yes.

Are we driving there? Yes.

Are we going to just Disneyland? No, we are also going to California Adventures, Legoland, and Knott's Berry Farm. (Everyone nearly faints with joy at hearing of not only FOUR amusement parks, but the mere mention of LEGOLAND)

Do we get to play with legos? Sure.

Will we get to buy any legos? Yes. (More raptures)

You get the idea.

I happened to have the camera on hand at the time of the telling:













Obviously some are more enthused than others.

I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Shhh, don't tell.

Sparks

Tuesday Ten: Things to do with my kids before they are 10.

I am afraid I am going to have to take a pass on this one. I am just too tired to even think. All I can think of is stuff like teach them to tie their shoes, or give them a bath. Or take them to Disneyland because once they turn 11 they get charged the adult price for admission. Stuff like that. Bor-ing.

I hope I'm not being rude by skipping this week. My brain is so fried I feel like a zombie. Really. Well, I'm not sure what zombies feel like, in fact zombies aren't real so they must feel unreal and sort of not all there, which is what I feel like. So I guess I do feel like a zombie.


Cathy's Tuesday Ten

It's over. Finally.

Emerald Team Challenge. Three days. Fourteen sessions. Eleven hundred gymnasts from five states. Boys. Girls. Compulsories. Optionals. This is THE meet for our gym. Out of the four meets a year the gym holds, this is the big one.

Usually I volunteer my three required sessions, help with set up and tear down (also required of each gym family) and go home, happy to have done my part. This year was different. Less than two weeks before the event, the meet director asked me to take over running the parent club store and I said yes. Actually what I really said was "Sure, but I have never done something like this before, so I don't know how good it will be." That way, if it was bad it wouldn't be MY fault, right? Right.

With less than two weeks to prepare there wasn't a lot I could do other than look over the current inventory and organize it. I was able to order a few things that I thought would sell well and reorder some things that we were low on. I also had to make signs and price lists.

From Thursday evening at 5:00 until Sunday night at 11:30 I lived and breathed Emerald Team Challenge. I didn't even see my five youngest children from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

Saturday evening I took a break from working at the meet and sat down and watched the meet from the spectator section. My eleven year old daughter got her best all around score yet as a level six, and placed 17th out of 40 girls in her age group. She placed 9th on floor.





Even with a fall from the beam she got a 9.05.


Thank goodness other people signed up to work in the store so I didn't have to sit there the entire time, but it was hard to let go and let someone else mess with my store. I didn't want to just go home and not be available so I stayed at the meet all three days. From start to finish. That way if there was a problem I would not be 40 minutes away at home. So I did score entering in 2 sessions, helped in awards, searched for missing goodie bags, picked up garbage, and helped in hospitality making dinner for the judges and coaches (I scored some lunch when I did that, which was nice because I hadn't eaten all day). Besides working in the store selling flowers, pins, grip bags, and other gymnastics items that little (and big) girls can't do without.

By Sunday afternoon I was so exhausted that after I talked to my little 3 year old on the phone and she said "Mommy, I miss you!" I started to cry because I missed her too. Normally I am fine with getting away from my kids for a while. I miss them, but not enough for tears.

I enjoyed doing the store. I don't know if they will ask me to do it again, but if they did, I would probably say yes. I kind of liked being in charge of something.



Last night I went to bed at 12:30am. I didn't wake up until 8:40am. Oops.

I think I will go take a nap.

Legos

I can't resist chiming in on Cathy's Lego discussion.
My comments are a little more lengthy than would be appropriate for her comment section so I decided to put them here. And I am not commenting on her post, just putting in my thoughts on the Lego article.

My boys play with Legos every day. Every single day, without fail, the Legos come out. Having just had Christmas and 3 birthdays in the last 2 1/2 months we have gobs of new Legos.

I can't make playing with the legos fair. There is absolutely NO way that I can accomplish that. We have only one rule about the Legos (besides use plain old courtesy and common sense): If they start to fight over them, I tell them they have to work it out or put them away. The end. They need to learn that you can't always have your way. You can't always have the same as everyone else. If there is something you want, negotiate. Or move on to something else that you CAN have.

If you aren't in charge now, there will come a time when you will be. Being the oldest has its perks, at least here in my house. Being the oldest also comes with responsibilities. If I notice that the power is being abused, I remove it.

Making up endless rules about playing with Legos is stupid. Play with the gol-danged things and be done with it.



I understand that using Legos in a classroom situation is much, much different than using them at home. I applaud the school for wanting to find a solution in order that they may bring the Legos back into the classroom. But I don't agree with their solution. Playing with the Legos had to be fair or no one could play with them. So they made up rules to make it fair. Rules that are teaching the kids that unless everyone has the same thing, it isn't fair.

Here is the definition of socialism: An "economic, social and political doctrine which expresses the struggle for the equal distribution of wealth by eliminating private property and the exploitative ruling class. In practice, such a distribution of wealth is achieved by social ownership of the means of production, exchange and diffusion."

While the school's solution doesn't follow that definition exactly, it is close enough for me to say--No way, not in my house. I refuse to squelch my kids' creativity for the greater good.

I will stick to our one Lego rule. Get along, or put it away.

Tuesday Ten: I've got the heebie-jeebies

This week was supposed to be "things that make me feel like vomiting", but my dear sister Megan chickened out after her list made her feel like vomiting. So now we are listing things that give us the willies instead. Which is fine. Or would be if I hadn't already thought of NINE things that make me feel ill. I have since thought of another so I have TEN gross things wheeling around in my head, making me dizzy.

Therefore I have decided that not only will I list 10 things that creep me out, I will also list 10 things that make me want to vomit. Hurl. Blow Chunks. Toss my cookies. Spew. Heave. Lose my lunch. Yeah, puke.

Ten Things That Give Me The Heebie-Jeebies

1. Spiders. Or bugs of any kind. I realize that technically spiders are not bugs, but for this purpose, they are. Especially those ginormous garden spiders.

2. Cleaning the soap dish. Congealed soap is just gross. Occasionally I have to check on the kid's bathroom to make sure it is getting cleaned properly (it isn't) and I will end up cleaning the gooey soap off the soap dish. Yuck.

3. Hotel rooms. Clean looking or not, they still...well, just yuck. I don't want to think about it.

4. Avocados. I am not a fan of most green food, and this is one of the worst. Green and slimy. Nasty. I don't have to know what they taste like to know I don't like them.

5. Scary movies. A different kind of creepy, and I can't watch them. No Hannibal, no Freddy, no Chucky. I did watch Children of the Corn many years ago and that cured me of scary movies FOREVER. And ever and ever and ever. Amen.

6. Bad teeth. I always look at people's teeth, I can't help it. Some people should brush more often, I am thinking. Do you think I should mention it to them? Heh heh.

7. Chalk. Not the little stick kind, as long as it is smooth, I am talking about the block kind they use in gymnastics. My daughter rubs her hands with it all the time at the gym and it sends chills down my spine. I can't stand the feel of chalk.

8. Eating noises. Or mouth noises in general. I can't stand sitting next to someone who is eating. Namely my husband. He isn't gross or rude, I am just...sensitive. If there is enough background noise in the room, it doesn't bother me. Just if it is quiet or we are sitting together watching tv.

9. Dirty hands. If I work in the dirt I MUST wear gloves. All the cement work I am doing would not be possible without gloves. I only need to think about getting dirt on my hands and I start clenching them and rubbing my fingers on my palms.

10. Me. I am truly weird. Staring at people's teeth? Needing to leave the room when my husband is having a snack? Can't get dirt on my hands? Creepy. I may as well check myself in to a mental institution right now.

---

If you don't want to read about what makes me feel ill, please feel free to stop reading now. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Oh, grow up, it isn't going to be THAT bad.

Ten Things That Make Me Feel Like Vomiting

1. Many, many foods. I could probably use up all ten items on food alone, so I will stick them all under one: Chili, spaghetti, soft cheeses (they taste like horse sweat), braunschweiger, avocados, mushrooms, squash, any cooked vegetable except corn and potatoes (they are too vegetables), oh, lordy, I could go on and on and on. So I won't.

2. Sharing forks or straws. With anyone, including my husband. I have to wipe it off on a napkin. Especially if there is any food left on it. I think it is an aversion to saliva that isn't mine. Excuse me while I go throw up.

3. Cleaning hair out of the shower drain. I'm not looking...I'm not looking.

4. Hearing someone else vomit. My husband was sick a few years back so he decided to go watch a movie in the living room while I lay in bed reading. Pretty soon he came running back and into the bathroom to throw up. I had to hide my head under my pillow and sing "la la la la la la" really loud so I could keep from joining him.

5. Pepto Bismol. When I was a little girl and I had a stomach ache or felt sick, my mother would give me Pepto Bismol. If I hadn't already thrown up, I for sure did then. It seems after the first time or so my mother would have gotten the idea that it was working the opposite way intended, but no. I will not touch that stuff with a ten foot pole.

6. Child molesters. I would like to throw up ON these monsters and then castrate them with a pair of hedge clippers.

7. Public speaking. I prefer to sit in the audience, thank you. I am shy and don't do well speaking in groups of more than one person. Counting myself.

8. Merry-go-rounds. I can't even watch a merry-go-round. It makes me dizzy. Riding on one is a hundred times worse. Urp.

9. Cleaning old leftovers out of the refrigerator. I know I am not the only person in the world that leaves things in the refrigerator until they are unrecognizable. Dang if I can't get through one stinking post without having to spell refrigerator.

10. Gross crusty socks in the laundry. It wouldn't be so bad if people would uncrumple their own crusty socks. But NO, they have to throw them into the basket all in a ball and I have to undo them so they can get clean. Yuck.

Well, that was liberating. Excuse me now while I go throw up. Hurl. Blow Chunks. Toss my cookies. Spew. Heave. Lose my lunch. Yeah, puke.

---

Cathy's Tuesday Ten list
Megan's Tuesday Ten list

Rock path

You may remember last fall I cut a path through my lawn (which at that time was pretty pathetic looking but seems to be shaping up pretty well now--the lawn, that is).

Here is what it looked like:



At that point the weather got cold and rainy so I couldn't finish the path. The next step was to get a load of sand and put down about 2 inches.

This past weekend my husband and I went to his shop and fixed the trailer so we could go to get a load of sand. The trailer holds exactly one cubic yard of sand or gravel--if you only have about 2 miles to travel. On a back road. Any further than that and I'm not sure we would have made it.



I put down all the sand and smoothed it with a piece of 2x4. The cats love it.

Remember my rock wall? The one that really isn't a wall, but an edge? Well, my rock path isn't really a rock path, I just call it that. I have a mold that will make fake rocks so I can make a fake rock path out of concrete. Pretty tricky.



Next I mixed the concrete. One bucket of Portland cement, 2.5 buckets of sand, 1.5 buckets of gravel, and 1/2 bucket of water.




Mix with a hoe until you think your arms will fall off and then mix some more. This is where my husband would have come in handy but he was off finding me a trowel.

Now I positioned the form where I wanted the rocks. It actually makes the rocks separate so they can be moved around a bit, but it is best to put them where you want them to begin with. I will be doing some moving and positioning later since I want to put other things in the path with the rocks.

Then I started plopping the concrete into the form. This is pretty hard because it has to be jiggled into all the corners without pushing the form down into the sand.





It helps to slap the trowel on the surface of the concrete to jiggle the rocks down and bring the water to the surface. This makes the top smoother and easier to scrape level. When I was done getting everything smooth (with help from my husband) we removed the form and moved on to the next section.



The batch of concrete made enough for 2 sections plus part of another. I will need some extra rocks for filling in edges and so on, so we will use the extras there. Hopefully I will get better and quicker as I go on, because I was so slow. Of course the little guy was playing in the yard so I kept getting distracted. Babies are so time consuming. Always falling over or getting into things.



It got to dark to do any more so I had to quit, but here is what it looked like this morning.



The next step is to get another load of sand--I used up the first load for the foundation--and finish the stones. I am adding other things as I go. Bricks, a glass block or two, and large grinding stone that is broken in half. Hopefully my very creative husband will be able to pitch in and help his not very creative wife. Then we will fill in the cracks with dirt or sand and plant a few ground cover plants in the bigger spaces.

I hope to be done before the year 2010.

In case anyone is wondering, my husband did work on the garage this weekend. Between running to the horse barn to watch his niece and nephew compete in a horse show and running errands for me. We hope to be done with the garage sometime before the year 2010, too.