Back to the Future... Waayyy back

Thanks to Netflix, we got to expose Aaron to some retro sci-fi goodness last night!

Photo Credit

First, I did not remember it being so racy way back when.  Hopefully my sweet, innocent son missed the peeping tom, questionable language, and the attempted rape scene.  Wow.  It's crazy how differently you see something when you are a parent vs. a pre-teen.  There were several times Pressly and I shared a surprised glance.

Second, Pressly had to explain to the young 'un what a cassette tape was.  Oh geez.

If I had a working Walkman, I might buy Aaron this cassette.

I think Aaron love the soundtrack to the movie more than the actual content.  He was dancing around all over the living room at the end, and when I giggled he said, "What?  It's Rock and Roll!   I have to move!!"  Looks like we need to download some Huey Lewis and the News for him.  That's my boy!

Frolicking With the Fishes

 Aaron has been begging to go to the Dallas World Aquarium for several weeks.  We've been half a dozen times, but he just loves it.  Or the idea of it.  The problem is that we can only go there when the rest of the free world is also available to go.  C.R.O.W.D.E.D.  We decided on the spur of the moment today to head over there.  If you get there early (within an hour of opening), parking is not too bad and the line to get in isn't horrendous. 

 This Sloth lives on some trees in the middle of the walkway.  It is not separated from the public by rope, wire, a cage, or anything.  I could have reached out and touched it, but there were ample signs discouraging such behavior.  Don't think I wasn't tempted, though.  It was down lower this time than I've ever seen it, just about eye-level.  Sooo hard to mind the rules.  And apparently my phone LOVED the lighting here, because this picture turned out pretty great.

The talks and feedings (especially the feedings!) are awesome, but if you want a good spot, you have to arrive at the exhibit early and camp out while people crush in around you.  Aaron does not do well in crowds, so we don't hang around for the feedings.  We did stumble upon a talk on the Two-Toed Sloth.  Pretty cool to watch those critters eat green beans and carrots and learn a little about them.  Aaron was especially impressed to learn that because of a really slow metabolism, they poop only once a week.  I did have to clue him in on the definition of defecate.  Then he giggled.  A lot.

 Contrary to its name, it is not JUST an aquarium.  

In fact, it's mostly not an aquarium. It's very educational if you take time to stop and read about the exhibits.

 

I couldn't get a shot of the giant anteater, but here's a picture of Aaron reading about it.

All of these photos are from my phone.  The quality isn't fantastic, but we've been so many times we didn't feel like hauling around a camera today.  Plus my neck's been telling me to lighten up my purse lately, so I didn't have room in the micro bag I carried today.

 

Aaron's most favorite thing at the DWA are these garden eels.  They are pretty darn cool!  They almost never leave their burrows, and they are very territorial.  They are also very scared of fish that swim by. 

I'm pretty sure Oscar the Grouch's friend Slimey was actually a garden eel. 

 This Jaguar doesn't need a mate.  He's taking care of himself just fine...  Incidentally, this is a different one than they had last year.  She was a she.  And solid black.  I remember feeling so sorry for her because she just paced the perimeter of her glass cage the entire time we were there.

Shhhh.... I'm hidin' under this leaf.  I learned it from the chameleon:

 

 

I can't remember the name of this fish bit it was a something-nose something-or-other.  I caught it sticking its tongue out at me.

 

And that little blue streak near its gill is another fish that it would let swim INSIDE its gill, presumably for a mutually beneficial munchy.  (I'm pretty sure it's not dead.  It just likes the way the water feels flowing over its tongue.  Or something.)

 This is a fish.  It's swimming in some water.

Teehee.  Piggybacking...er...

 

Aaron thinks it's both funny and cruel that the flamingoes' habitat abuts the lip of the 21' deep shark tank.  I'm pretty sure he keeps asking to go back to the DWA because he wants to see one fall in and get eaten.

 

This is wildlife was on temporary loan to the DWA.  It probably will not be on exhibit when you visit.  (That expression?  It's his this better not end up of Facebook look.)  No worries, hon...

 

Cute, TINY tortoises!

 

Black-footed penguins.  These live in warm climates, so they are perfectly suited to the Texas heat!

 

Look toward the left on the edge of the rock - there is a penguin lying down.  He is very, very old and blind.  The penguin standing at the center of the rock appeared to be protecting the old one and refused to leave that spot, even when the others swam by.

 

Don't worry, the Manatee did not actually fall on Aaron's head.  

 

Or emerge from his chest.

 

Seahorses! They're my favorite.

 

See?  Awesomesauce.

After the DWA, we headed to Dave & Buster's for lunch and a little more fun. 

 

Pressly will probably divorce me for putting two photos of him on the internets in one day, but look how intent he is on winning that game! 

In an apparent attempt to prolong the sealife experience, Aaron ordered shrimp.  It had to be cut into tiny pieces before he could eat it because his mouth is still sore.

The day wasn't ALL fun and games.  I made them help me get groceries at Walmart on the way home, after which Pressly felt it necessary to reaffirm his complete and total hatred for that establishment.

Fun with the Cricut

Pressly bought me the Cricut Expression for Christmas in 2008, along with Make The Cut software so I could cut a variety of fonts not available through Provo Craft / Cricut and manipulate the layout on my computer before cutting.  My very first project was to make layered folder labels for my next semester of school.  As you might imagine, I was the envy of all my School of Education peeps.  Yes, we are a crafty (and covetous) bunch.  :)

I've made a number of other things, including some great layered letter cutouts for my student teaching mentor.  And now I'm using it to create for my very own classroom!  I'm so excited to be able to choose different fonts and cut them in any color combo I choose, instead of being relegated to whatever is available at the teacher supply stores.

The layered letter process is a multi-step one that involves choosing a font, laying out the design with the computer software to get the best use of each 12"x12" sheet of paper, choosing the paper(s), cutting, then gluing the layers together.

Sometimes too much choice is not necessarily a good thing.  I started pulling paper out of my stash and realized I might have a small addiction. 

Okay, let's be real.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I love paper.  Lots and lots of paper.  In different textures, colors, weights, and patterns.  Love.  

So of course, I got the paper out first and fondled it...erm...studied my choices...

Then I actually powered on the Cricut and opened my handy dandy software.

First up - for the bulletin board outside my classroom:

 (No, my bulletin board does not look like 18" floor tiles.  That's on my floor because I can't get into my classroom to work for another week or so.)

First, I laid out the letters using my software, then chose papers, mounted them on the cutting mats, and started the cutting:

This software is really cool because it shows you what it's cutting as it cuts!  Too bad Provo Craft (the company who makes the Cricut) sued Make The Cut and they can no longer sell their software for the Cricut platform.

After cutting four separate sheets, everything was ready to assemble:

The mat you see standing up is an example of what I have after I pull off all the excess paper.  I then have to carefully remove each letter from the mat.

I applied adhesive to the backs of the smaller top layer pieces, then applied them to the fatter bottom layer:

I use Elmer's no-wrinkle rubber cement because if I get sloppy, I can rub off the excess after it dries.  Plus, no wrinkles.  

(The letters, not necessarily me.)

And, then, like cooking-show majick, the final product:

 I also made letters for my read around kiosk:

 See the two "&" signs?  That's because they will be mounted in a circle and the phrase will never end.  "Look around and read and look around and read and..."  Get it?  I need to laminate these before I attach them to the kiosk; I'll post a picture of that once it's done.

I also plan to make letters for my Word Wall and my Academic Vocabulary wall, but I need to find out whether I have time to paint my room first.  The walls are currently purple, yellow, blue and pink.  I'd like to change the color scheme, so whether I have time to paint will dictate the colors of those letters.

Next up? Buckets of Fun...

Gettin' Crafty

As I've been preparing for my first year teaching, I've had a great time crafting several things for my classroom.  I saw someone else's idea for a round "kiosk" where the teacher and students could post real-life examples of things we read every day.  I loved the idea, but there were no instructions on the website for constructing one.  I noodled on it for a while, then thought I needed to find some aluminum sheet I could fashion into a tube.  I asked Pressly's advice, and he suggested any kind of metal would probably end up being way too heavy.  I told him I needed a tube at least 18" in diameter and 4 feet long.  He suggested the round cardboard forms used for pouring concrete pillars.  That sounded like a great idea!

I did what anyone who lives in the boondocks does:  I searched online for it.  I did find some, but I also found that anything larger than a 12" diameter was really too expensive.  One day a few weeks later we were at Home Depot where they carry 12".  After looking at them I decided that was plenty big.  We bought one, then I headed to Hobby Lobby for paint, ribbon, a roll of cork board, and "some kind of circular wood" for the top.

After gathering up all my supplies, they sat for a week or so as I considered how the project would best be achieved.  I finally started by priming and painting the tube.  That part went pretty well, so I painted the round wood plate I bought for the topper.  Another success!

Then I decided it was time to break out the 3M permanent spray adhesive and attach the cork board.  Uh.  Not such a success.  I ended up getting the cork on crooked.  Did I mention the adhesive was permanent?  Yeah.  Thankfully it was only off by 1/4" or so, and I easily used my high-temp glue gun to cover the crooked line with a ribbon border.  Only the ribbon was also crooked.  WAY, WAY crooked. 

So I pulled out a measuring tape and a red marker and measured off a straight line all the way around.  Then I went back to Hobby Lobby and bought some fabric and some more ribbon.  This time I slowed down and made sure to attach the fabric in a straight line around the top of the cork board, and viola!  Success!  I then used my handy-dandy high temp glue gun to attach the top.  Now I just need to buy a 5 gallon bucket and a bag of playground sand to create a weighted base and it's all ready!  I'm super excited about the possibilities.

 Next up?  Fun with the Cricut...

Ant Update

Got a call about 12:15 from the tech for the supposedly local exterminator I called this morning.  He needed to know how far toward Rockwall he had to go on 149 out of Terrell since his GPS wasn't finding the address.  First, that's FM 148 in Terrell, and it changes to FM 205 if you head toward Rockwall.  Second, I live on County Road 149.  In Kaufman.  Third, I'm certain the words "toward Kemp" and "near Becker" came out of my mouth when I scheduled the appointment this morning.  Both of those would have been HUGE location clues to any local company.

This is the company who did our pest inspection when we bought the house.  Apparently they have been sold since then.

It is now 12:50 p.m., and I can see a slow-moving white vehicle rounding the big curve on CR 146.   That's either our pokey neighbors who drive 15 MPH all the time, or I gave good directions...  Back in a few with a report...

...Okay, I'm back and need to eat some crow.  I'm a negative nelly.  They are still local, they've just changed the name of their pest control branch.  The guy was super, duper nice  and the dispatcher gave him the wrong address, so it wasn't his fault at all.

He sprayed the entire outside of the house, roof to foundation and the inside, paying special attention to the bathroom, and he guaranteed his work for 3 months.  And his eyes lit up when I mentioned something about spiders not grooming, and therefore only being affected by a contact kill.  Sometimes all this useless trivia comes in handy.  Like when I need to impress the bug guy with my vast knowledge.  *chuckle* 

The culprits are Pharaoh's Ants:

This awesome photo was taken by Alex Wild

Makes perfect sense, because one of the things they feed on is toothpaste.  Guess what gets splattered all over Aaron's countertop on a regular basis?  Here's hoping it won't take the full 2 weeks for them to be gone.  On the flip-side, I am more than a little bit sad that all our Praying Mantises will probably croak. I do love those little buggers and have enjoyed finding lots of babies as I've worked in the flower beds this summer.

This one's from National Geographic, and if you click the link you can read more about the Mantis religiosa.

Ants

And not the cute animated kind, either.  Aaron's bathroom has been overrun by them.  Our super-duper-kill-everything bug killer only takes care of the ones that are around.  By 8:30 p.m., more start moving in.  Last night, they covered the entire vanity inside and out and made weird clusters up the walls.  ICK.  This was the third night in a row we had seen and sprayed them.  And each subsequent night they have come back in larger numbers.

Pressly looked at me and said, "I know when I'm in over my head.  Call an exterminator tomorrow."

So I did.  He'll be here at 12:30.  Hopefully it's an easy fix due to a mound under the foundation.  And not a colony in the walls.

The good news:  They don't bite.  I don't know what kind they are, but they sort of look like what my mom used to call sugar ants.  And the boy down the road called piss ants.

That's "Metal Mouth" To You.

We are done for now and he did great! We have to go back in 2 weeks for expander fittings - they will have to be custom made because his mouth and teeth are small.

Good thing he's excited about having these because he looks pretty goofy!

I've been informed that I am allowed to call him Metal Mouth as often as I wish, but never, ever, ever Brace Face. Or Baby.

p.s. Those orange bands glow in the dark. Pretty cool, huh?

Brace Face

Soooo... Aaron's getting braces today. It's something HE has been asking for since he was 8 when his permanent teeth started coming in all wonky. I just hope he holds it together at the orthodontist's office. He seems to be very cool about going to the dentist these days (such a nice change from the screaming-through-the-sedation visits of his early childhood). And he adores his chiropractor, so doctor visits seem like something he has under control. Except...

After years of optometrist visits, he doesn't even blink when it's time for an eye exam. Until we switched doctors and this new one wanted to put stinging drops in his eyes. Not. Good. I think part of it was nerves over going to a new doctor. And part of it was those dang stinging drops. In his eyes.

He really, really wants braces. He's been self-conscious about his teeth for several years. I hope that desire holds him over if there's any discomfort in the chair today. I don't even know what to tell him to expect because I never had braces.