Kids and their pants

Every so often I am reminded of this (rather forcefully) and have to wonder at the parents. I was walking one 10 year old walk through the halls yesterday morning. She had on tights and a t-shirt that barely came below her bottom. There was no real coverage. Why would a parent allow their child to go out like this?

Then there are the kids that I watched during PE. They had to constantly hold their pants while they ran. If they didn't, the pants would be below their knees quickly. If the pants are that loose, at least add a belt! I love the zip ties you can get. If you have a boy walking down the hall with their pants hanging on their bottom, you can use one as a make-shift belt. Hopefully, the parent then learns that the child needs a belt! The child (usually the older ones) *might* reconsider wearing pants that fit. Probably not, but you can hope.

Cool Tool

When I substitute at the elementary school, some times I get a chance to look for new things while my kids are in their Specials class. Yesterday, I was surfing around looking at homeschool tools and came across CEISMC at Georgia Tech. They have a bunch of cool things for kids, but what I had fun playing with was the "Family Learning Nook".

It looks like some of it is still under development, but in the meantime, it's a cool tool.

Peek at the Penguins

The penguins at the Aquarium are behind the scenes. You can take a really cool behind the scenes tour to see them and you'll also get to see the top of the Ocean Voyager exhibit and more. It's definitely worth the money. If, however, you're like me and don't have the extra money, you have an alternative.. at least for now. You can visit between 11:30-3:30 and get to "Peek at the Penguins". You ONLY get to go behind the scenes to see the penguins, so you miss A LOT of what's back there. However, it is free. It's first come, first served, no sign up. Check at the booth in the atrium for information.

Ticketmonster

I have to wonder just what those added fees that Ticketmaster adds on to ticket prices are really for. I mean, really, $11/ticket as an added fee on top of the ticket price? I keep finding shows that I'd love to go to, but end up having to pass on. The initial ticket fees are bad enough, it's just insult to have to pay to get them in the first place. I've tried bypassing the ticketmonster and getting them directly from the facility in question, but you still have to pay the ticketmonster prices. For example, I'd love to go see Stomp. Ticket prices run at $52-58/person for a good seat. Then add on the $11/ticket. You're looking at $63-$69 per person. Then add on the $3 fee to print your own tickets at home and a family of four ends up paying $255-279 to go see a show. Thanks, but I'll pass.

Pinewood Derby

Here are some of the cars on check-in night.. My son's car won 2nd show for scouts.. My car won 3rd show for non-scouts..

Dr. bouncing

I started this about 2 years ago with suspecting to have carpal tunnel. Primary physician referred me to a neurologist who did nerve conduction. He confirmed mild carpal tunnel but suspected main issue to be circulatory. Took the time to try the solutions for carpal tunnel, switched insurance, finally decided to follow up. Saw a cardiovascular surgeon who decided there's nothing wrong there, he sent me back to a neurologist. So new neurologist has done blood work to check my thyroid and b12 levels and wants to redo my nerve conduction testing. Ugh. That was unpleasant the first time.. now I know what to expect.

Fun with Photoshop

I took this picture with my phone at the aquarium. His nose was pressed against the acrylic, even without flash there was light feedback. So, I edited it for clarity then I played with it in photoshop.

It's that time of year again! We'll be at the Pack Pinewood Derby today. The boys'll perform skits, watch their cars race and receive their monthly awards. It'll be a blast!

Aquarium Construction

There's plenty of change going on at the Aquarium. This change is happening in the Georgia Explorer Gallery. It's where the touch pools were for the horseshoe crabs and sea stars. This change is where the long nose gar were in River Scout. This is outside where the new dolphin exhibit will be. Woo Hoo! Change can be very good!

Kinda Ironic

I was talking in the teacher's lounge last week with another sub about how few calls I've received to actually work. For the month of January I had a total of 3 days planned to work. Then, not two days later, I had a teacher who happened to have been there call for me to work. She had a fever. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't doing so hot myself. Ugh. The only other day I've been asked to work but declined was my birthday. I just couldn't see myself working.

So, we'll see how much extra work I end up with. I tend to pre-schedule myself when I've nothing else planned to go in to the aquarium to volunteer instead. Those days I have to give a day's notice or they get a little perturbed with me. I have two of those days scheduled this week and one next. The one next week is at the Flower Show. That one I really look forward to. It'll give me a chance to wander while still working.

Ocmulgee National Monument

The second day of our trip with the pack this past weekend was to Ocmulgee National Monument. It was raining, but the boys were fascinated. One of the rangers was nice enough to talk to the boys at the start about the mounds and the history. There was a 17minute video about it as well. We weren't sure the boys would sit for it, but amazingly enough they did. They'd already looked at the exhibits before the video, but after they had to make a point and go back and look again.

The first stop when we went out was to the Earth Lodge. Inside the Earth Lodge. The floor is original, the timbers are not.

From there we went to the Great Temple Mound. It has a gorgeous view on a good day of the wetlands to one side and downtown Macon on the other.

Wetlands

I want to go back and do this one again on a pretty day. We didn't get to tour the other mounds thanks to the rain.

Warner Robins

Saturday the pack went to Warner Robins. Unfortunately, most of my inside shots didn't come out. Here are two pictures that did ok, though. This first one is of my son in the cockpit of one of the planes.

This one is my son and one of his best friends in front of a jet outside.

The weather was rather cool when we went, but the boys seemed to enjoy it regardless. We left to head down around 8:30-9a and got there around 10:30. The boys toured the Eagle building first, then we stopped for pre-arranged box lunches. After that, we toured the outside display and watched a few of the remaining marathoners cross the finish line.

The Museum of Aviation at Warner Robins has 4 buildings, so when we'd finished outside we stopped into each of the remaining buildings. From what I saw, the highlights for most of the boys were the outside displays, the mock-ups and the simulators. We spent the entire day (from 10:30 to museum close at 5p) out there. Definitely a fun trip.

Random picture

Sand Tiger Shark!

Choral Reading

My son's school had literacy night for 3rd-5th grades Thursday night. My son participated as a representative from his class. I don't have a video of it, but I did catch a picture of him with my phone.

Warner Robins

We're going here today. It's a pack trip down to the museum, have a box lunch and tour, kinda trip. It should be a lot of fun. I've got to say, though, that planning it (my job this time) wasn't enjoyable. I turned in my notice to the powers that be in our pack that at the end of the school year I'm stepping down as outings chair for the pack. This will hopefully give us plenty of time to find a replacement before the next school year starts.

As to this trip, though, hopefully I'll have some good pics when we get back.

Off Day

Today is what I'd call an "off" day. I'm not working at the school, nor am I at the Aquarium. I suppose today will be 'clean the office' day so that I can start finding all the stuff for taxes. I don't know how much of that I'll get done. Then again, my kids' playroom needs help with organization. My kids can't figure out how to add their stuff from Christmas neatly into their room. I could take the time to help them out. There's also the laundry that needs to be done so that we have clean clothes to wear. The vacuuming that needs to happen so that the crumbs my family spill get cleaned up. The bird cage needs cleaning as does the room it's in.

More importantly, there's Wii Fit to play and Animal Crossing to conquer. Now that I've had a chance to go visit someone, I may have to go get the Wii-Speak.

My oh my. What shall I do with my off day..?

My birthday/Christmas..

My husband is good to me. I may get annoyed with him (frequently), but he has his moments.. generally pretty big ones. There's very little that I generally ask for for my birthday or for Christmas.. usually books and CDs with an occasional 'big' gift. This past Christmas he decided to spoil me a bit.. he bought me a gift certificate to Spa Sydell.. so I used it on my birthday.. mm... what a way to spend a 40th birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Then: Now:

Contemplating Torture

My dad has suggested we try to do the 1/2 marathon again in January 2010. We took this year off due to lack of preparation and just to take a year off. If we want to do it, though, we have to sign up by March or all the slots will be gone.

Animal Crossing - City Folk

OK, I have to confess I'm rather addicted to this game. I'm not sure why, it's a very simple game. You create a character, create your town, then move in. From there it's a matter of meeting your neighbors, earning "bells" and buying stuff. You can discover fossils, go fishing, catch bugs and go to the city. I don't have any friend codes which would let me go explore other towns, though maybe eventually I will. In the meantime, my kids want to create their own files on my game. So far, I haven't been able to let them. My condition was that they clean their bedrooms and playroom. As much as they bug me about wanting to play, it's not apparently enough to get those chores done. Instead, they've been watching me play and trying to tell me what I need to have my character do. I did go out and get the book that goes along with it. It was a good move. It lets me know what things I should be doing and what I can do. Some of it is seasonal, so it's a good reference.

So, I recommend it if you like that sort of game.

Gymnastics Results

My camera was giving me fits yesterday. It was constantly wanting to shut off. I tried new batteries, but it didn't help. I think it may be time to get a new one. *sigh*. Anyway, here are a few of the shots I did get. They're not the greatest, but you get the idea. The boys were able to try parallel bars, floor and use the spring board. They had a blast. One of the boys was extremely flexible. My son was nicely flexible, his best friend had a bit more flexibility. They soon discovered, though, that what looked easy in the pictures, was a lot harder to do.

Forward rolls..

Parallel bars..

Bridges..

Many thanks to our instructor for letting us give this a try.

Boys and Gymnastics

I'm taking my Cub Scout den to a gymnasium today. They're going to get to try gymnastics for about 2 hours. It ought to be quite the sight to see.

Review: Bedtime Stories

I took my kids this past Sunday morning to the early show. They had arguments about whether to go see Tales of Desperaux or Bedtime Stories. They finally semi-agreed on Bedtime Stories. It's a cute movie. It wasn't quite what I expected, but then I don't know exactly what I did expect.

The movie was two tales in one that were intertwined. One story is about the niece and nephew, their mom (a school principal) and a fellow teacher. Their father has left and their school is being torn down. The other is the uncle (Skeeter) who works as a maintenance man at a hotel. Skeeter's father originally owned a motel that was purchased and redeveloped into a hotel. The children's mom must leave them with Skeeter for a week to go on interviews. Skeeter, on the other hand, is trying to figure out how to move up in his world. Skeeter has no experience with kids, but remembers his dad telling him bedtime stories as a boy. So when it's time for bed, he creates new stories for his niece and nephew. The twist is that the portions that the children put in "come true". Though, the actual implementation of those portions can be unexpected (and humorous).

My daughter wasn't sure she wanted to see the ending, but decided she really liked it when it was over. My son told me it was "a great movie". Now he wants to see "Race to Witch Mountain" which Disney is putting out later this year. I think first I'll have to get hold of the original movies and have him watch those.

My daughter..

is somewhat pleased to announce that her worms had babies. I don't know that I'd count these as pets, per se, but she started the project at a Brownie event at Fernbank. There's not a lot of maintenance on them, but they've moved up from a small $1 tub found at Target to a Tidy Cat tub that was empty. Now, we wait for them to get bigger so we can go fishing.

Sometimes..

I just have to wonder about my husband. I realize he works all day and can't get to many of the tasks he'd like to in a "timely" manner. However, when he gets home at 9:45 and then decides he's going to go out (in the pitch dark) and clean the gutters on the house because it's going to rain, I just really have to ask.. "WHY?" Yes, the gutters will otherwise over flow, but they did that earlier this weekend when you didn't go out and clean them. Then again, I've known my husband to go out and clean the gutters when it's storming too. On the roof, in the storm. Ugh. Something about my husband and gutters..

The McLures..

So, I did my side of the family, this time it's the other side. To say my kids get it from both sides is an understatement.

My husband and his uncle decided to take pictures of each other simultaneously.

The newest McLure with her great grandmother Taylor. You can see a family resemblance already.

The whole crew.

Back to School

So it's back to school, the holidays are over. In a way it's a good thing, getting the kids out from under foot. But it's sad too. I enjoyed having the family together, doing whatever took our fancy. Like the kids, I'm now looking forward to Spring Break.

Meet my side of the family..

My sister and her SO. She's currently active duty army, he's retired.

My oldest niece. Also referred to as GothGirl, though she's not as goth as the name implies. She likes dyeing her hair random colors. She's also a bargain hunter for clothes. She's one of those who can style herself after the stars for pennies on the dollar. She's also a major brain.
My youngest nephew. He's the style meister. Note the hat he received for Christmas.

Sadly, other than the pics from Old Town, I don't have pictures of my oldest nephew, he's the jock. Into football and skateboarding. If he puts himself into it, he can also be classified as a smart jock.

What we did Christmas Eve

My family is not "normal". If anyone asks "so what'd you do Christmas Eve?", we'd have to answer "We went to Old Town." For those of you that have been to Kissimee or have been to Celebration, Old Town is an old carnival/fair that is permanently placed on 192. We got there early, bought wrist bands for the kids and stayed until 9pm. When they went back to the condo, they crashed. It made for an "easy" Christmas Eve that the kids loved. I picked these pictures out of hubby's stash.

My son and my oldest nephew on the swinging boat.

My niece loves penguins, so she decided she needed to win the Pokemon equivalent.

My son and my oldest nephew, dropping rapidly.

They all had to play Laser Tag.

My oldest nephew decided to be a goof and ride the carousel.

The rest of us waiting while the boys rode the roller coaster 6 times and my daughter rode the tilt-a-wheel.

My Christmas

I actually had two Christmas celebrations this year. The first, we drove down to Florida to visit with my parents and my sister and her family. It was a blast to be able to have us all together for the holidays. It didn't last long enough. Here are some of my shots that I enjoyed taking. I haven't seen hubby's shots yet. Unfortunately, in the excitement of it all, I didn't really get any good people shots with Christmas gifts et al.

A great sight to see, approx. 2 miles from my parents' condo..

The otter that has taken up residence in the lake/pond across from my parents' condo..

A bird common to the area..

My son caught his first fish.. all the times we've been fishing, his sister has caught fish but he hasn't. He finally caught up.

Happy New Year!