Okay, I've come to realize, we may not be the most normal people around. The husband referred to me as "Dr. FrankenKelly" the other day. Looking at what going on in my kitchen today, I guess I can sort of see his point.
We've had an exciting day here at the Klingman Zoo and and wild experimentation center. Our caterpillar changed into a very beautiful moth and we released him, and our spider caught her dinner and we got to watch it not only paralyze the bug, but shoot out webbing and wrap the little suckers up for a little late night dining. But while realizing how exciting things are, I've realized NOT everyone has all this sitting around on the breakfast bar of their kitchen.
So let's review the current contents of our kitchen. We have a pass through that opens up and is a little counter/shelf area between the actual kitchen and the breakfast bar. On that sits:
*1 dead cockroach type bug in a bug jar
*2 exoskeletons of cicadas
*2 2"-3" turtles named Tom and Jerry (we inherited them from friends and they are actually leaving as soon as we finish the current reptile unit we are on.
*1 empty peanut butter jar that held the caterpillar which we watched change into a pupa and then into a butterfly. We actually released the moth this afternoon.
*1 critter keeper that is the home to Gary, the 3 1/2" Large African Snail. While we were on vacation in Singapore, Gary laid about 100 eggs. We got to watch them hatch and now have all these little mini Gary's in the bottom of the cage.
In the living room is the ant farm. It needs more ants, which I found and had in a peanut butter jar in the fridge, but I didn't get a chance to put those in the ant farm, and then we found something else so we dumped those ants and used the jar for something else.
In the fridge are the worms I collected the other night. We were supposed to do a worm experiment a number of weeks ago, but it was so dry I couldn't find any worms, and they don't sell night crawlers as bait here in Okinawa! So we collected these up after a heavy rain. We are going to layer different dirt and sand in a jar and see how stirred up it gets.
On the counter is our other exciting bit for tonight. The other day we started a spider unit. While at the park the other day I found a beautiful Golden Orb garden spider. So I dumped out my BK drink and scooped it up! At home I had a cereal box all ready and waiting! I had cut out the front cover of the box. I put two twigs off the bushes along the sides. I laid some saran wrap on the bottom (so the water wouldn't make the box mushy) and put in wet cotton balls for drinking. Then I covered the whole front with more saran wrap and taped it down with clear packing tape. We pulled back a corner and added our spider. She immediately set out to making a decent web, which she sits on directly in the center of the box. And she is SO cool looking! We know it's a she, especially since right away she spun a dense package of webbing. I'm guessing that's an egg sack. Currently it's in not one, but two ziplock bags (double bagged to help save the dear husband's sanity. The man does put up with a lot I guess!) and sitting in the freezer. I'm hoping we can cut it open and actually see something.
So anyway, I managed to catch a couple of small moths to feed her (not the one we grew in the other jar!) Well somehow they weren't exactly getting themselves caught in the web. I figured the poor girl was hungry, so I'm outside this after noon lifting up rocks and sandbags and scooping up little rolly polly pill bugs. I opened up the little slotted area I cut out and dumped them in. And BAM! She went right to work! They got caught up in the webbing right away. She rushes over and starts spinning them around and around, and the whole time you can actually see the web silk just shooting out of her spinners! It was so cool! After, we got to watch her go back over and inject them with the spider venom that dissolves their insides and then watch her suck it out.
And then to top it all off, on the other counter are 5 boxes of salt, 4 boxes of baking soda, 3 cans of baking powder and in the fridge is a partridge from a pear tree. No, just kidding, in the fridge is the smallest chicken I could find. I'm about to go clean him out with rubbing alcohol and start the mummification process on him. Yes, we are attempting to make a Chicken Mummy! I'll keep everyone updated on our progress! It was actually the realization that the chicken in the fridge was NOT for dinner and what it's actual purpose was that caused David to coin the
Dr. FrankenKelly phrase the other day. (As I said, the man does put up with a lot I guess! Good think he still thinks I'm cute!)
So looking at all that, I have to wonder. Are we that odd? Other people have stuff like this right? Granted not everybody has stuff like this, but I know there are SOME other people out there that have things like this. My friend is picking me up tomorrow night for something. Once she found out about the spider, she announced she wasn't coming in the house. EVER. She'll pull up and honk, but she's not coming in.
I think we're fairly normal. So I've got critters and mummies in my kitchen. If I got rid of all that, I'd have more counter space. But then, I might have to cook!
Hmmmm, if that's my option, I'll stick with the critters!
Talk to you later!
Kelly
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Finally - the unveiling of the Halloween Costume!
I finally have the Halloween pictures on my computer and can finally show the big Halloween costume! But first, a bit of background.
Originally Collin was going to go as Harry Potter. He already had a great robe, complete with Hogwarts tie (that Mommy painted the stripes onto!) and now he had the glasses, so he wanted to be Harry Potter. Great. Perfect. Super. No work for me at all, as it was already done last fall. No problem. Go for it!
Then it happened. 3 1/2 days before we left on vacation (a vacation that would bring us home late on Wednesday night, leaving me a full day of Thursday to actually sew) I read him a book on Davy Crockett. Suddenly he wants to be Davy Crockett. Well how do you say no to that? I mean it was real historic person, and he wanted to do it after reading a book. Had it been some stupid cartoon character or from some movie or something I would have said "No way!", but he was all excited about a book! So of course I gave in.
Luckily we have a friend who was given a raccoon hat for his birthday and he lent it to us. The whole thing wouldn't have worked without the hat, and I didn't think I'd be able to come up with the needed material at the local Japanese fabric store for that one. Collin however did graciously offer to help me hunt an deer and raccoon so we could make the outfit, but I told he we didn't have that kind of time.
So we headed off to the Japanese fabric store, and I was shocked at the fabric we ended up finding. It is absolutely perfect! It's got a sort of fake suede-ness to it, so it really had a deer skin look. Plus it wouldn't fray from lack of hems on the arms and legs and when I did the fringe.
Next problem - no pattern! So we head off to the thrift shop to find something we can rip apart and use as a pattern (I'm not very good at trying to figure out crotch seams and arm holes, for those I need some kind of pattern at least.) Mission accomplished. Came home ripped it up. Then had to explain to David that no, I was not going to sew his DC costume out of the red plaid shorts I just took apart, they were just a pattern.
Get that set, we go on vacation. Vacation was great, we had a lot of fun, but that's for another post. We came back, and late Thursday afternoon I started sewing. It went way better than I could have imagined! And here he is, Davy Crockett himself! Shooting himself a bear!
Originally Collin was going to go as Harry Potter. He already had a great robe, complete with Hogwarts tie (that Mommy painted the stripes onto!) and now he had the glasses, so he wanted to be Harry Potter. Great. Perfect. Super. No work for me at all, as it was already done last fall. No problem. Go for it!
Then it happened. 3 1/2 days before we left on vacation (a vacation that would bring us home late on Wednesday night, leaving me a full day of Thursday to actually sew) I read him a book on Davy Crockett. Suddenly he wants to be Davy Crockett. Well how do you say no to that? I mean it was real historic person, and he wanted to do it after reading a book. Had it been some stupid cartoon character or from some movie or something I would have said "No way!", but he was all excited about a book! So of course I gave in.
Luckily we have a friend who was given a raccoon hat for his birthday and he lent it to us. The whole thing wouldn't have worked without the hat, and I didn't think I'd be able to come up with the needed material at the local Japanese fabric store for that one. Collin however did graciously offer to help me hunt an deer and raccoon so we could make the outfit, but I told he we didn't have that kind of time.
So we headed off to the Japanese fabric store, and I was shocked at the fabric we ended up finding. It is absolutely perfect! It's got a sort of fake suede-ness to it, so it really had a deer skin look. Plus it wouldn't fray from lack of hems on the arms and legs and when I did the fringe.
Next problem - no pattern! So we head off to the thrift shop to find something we can rip apart and use as a pattern (I'm not very good at trying to figure out crotch seams and arm holes, for those I need some kind of pattern at least.) Mission accomplished. Came home ripped it up. Then had to explain to David that no, I was not going to sew his DC costume out of the red plaid shorts I just took apart, they were just a pattern.
Get that set, we go on vacation. Vacation was great, we had a lot of fun, but that's for another post. We came back, and late Thursday afternoon I started sewing. It went way better than I could have imagined! And here he is, Davy Crockett himself! Shooting himself a bear!
Complete with bow and arrow and bowie knife! Actually it's a pirate dagger that I wrapped in a long string of material that i colored with a sharpie before cutting it. I colored the knife holder with another marker, so it would stand out from the outfit some. My fingers were covered in marker for awhile after that!
But I must have done something right, he's worn it almost every day since Halloween. I think the only day he didn't wear it was because he got in trouble and I took it away for a day. He wanted to wear it to brunch on Sunday, but his father wouldn't let him. Oh and now I have to call him 'Davy' sometimes too. He'll walk in and say "Ma? Remember when I shot that bear when I was three?" and I have to answer "Yes, Davy."
Now you want to hear the irony of the whole story? He's so into it, I decided to get him somethings to go with for Christmas. Here's the ironic part. We used to live in San Antonio, Texas, 25 minutes from the Alamo. We were there maybe 10 times in the two years we lived there. Was he into any of this stuff then? When we lived there? When I could buy the stuff right there in town? Nooooooo! He waits till we're on the other side of the planet and I have to pay shipping! Doesn't it just figure! LOL!
Talk to you later!
Kelly
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Back from Singapore!
Well last Saturday we left for our vacation to Singapore! We got back last night (Wednesday). It was wonderful. Singapore is beautiful. Some of the buildings reminded me of Charleston, SC, but then again they were both built buy the British who were probably trying to not melt in the heat and humidity! But it was really, really nice.
We walked everywhere. Poor little Collin's legs were worn out. So much so he woke up crying tonight complaining about his legs hurting. But overall he did great. And he ate great too! And not a single chicken nugget the whole trip! Granted, we did stop in a McDonald's about once a day, but 25 minutes or so in the AC, with a small fry or a hashbrown and a drink at a "Collin place" goes a long way toward him getting his second (or third or fourth) wind. Plus McD's is a big deal for him, as we never go to the McD's here, since they are off base. (If we're eating off base, it certainly isn't going to be McDonald's!)
But our trip was great. The total flight time is under six hours, but we had to fly from here to Taiwan and then had a layover before the final 4 hours or so to Singapore.
For pictures and more about our trip, check out David's blog.
http://ddmd.livejournal.com/
I'm off to clean up the mess I made sewing the Halloween costume for tomorrow night! More on that later!
Kelly
We walked everywhere. Poor little Collin's legs were worn out. So much so he woke up crying tonight complaining about his legs hurting. But overall he did great. And he ate great too! And not a single chicken nugget the whole trip! Granted, we did stop in a McDonald's about once a day, but 25 minutes or so in the AC, with a small fry or a hashbrown and a drink at a "Collin place" goes a long way toward him getting his second (or third or fourth) wind. Plus McD's is a big deal for him, as we never go to the McD's here, since they are off base. (If we're eating off base, it certainly isn't going to be McDonald's!)
But our trip was great. The total flight time is under six hours, but we had to fly from here to Taiwan and then had a layover before the final 4 hours or so to Singapore.
For pictures and more about our trip, check out David's blog.
http://ddmd.livejournal.com/
I'm off to clean up the mess I made sewing the Halloween costume for tomorrow night! More on that later!
Kelly
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Collin scored a goal!!! And other random things I'm finally getting around to posting!
Okay, so I finally got some pictures uploaded to my computer, so some of this is sort of random, but it's stuff I've been meaning to post for awhile.
First off, we are thrilled to announce that today at soccer, Collin scored a goal! Unfortunately, it was for the other team. But hey, he got his foot on the ball, and did what he was supposed to do! Now we just need to work on his sense of direction!
Moving on with random things. David likes to read. Collin likes to read. I was out somewhere. Coming home and finding them both sitting in the bedroom reading was not a surprise. However I wasn't expecting to find them reading like this!
First off, we are thrilled to announce that today at soccer, Collin scored a goal! Unfortunately, it was for the other team. But hey, he got his foot on the ball, and did what he was supposed to do! Now we just need to work on his sense of direction!
Moving on with random things. David likes to read. Collin likes to read. I was out somewhere. Coming home and finding them both sitting in the bedroom reading was not a surprise. However I wasn't expecting to find them reading like this!
Next here's a picture of us dressed for the Air Force Ball. While Collin didn't go with us, he was done up as a pirate nija for the occasion!
Here's us at one of the base resturants. It over looks the golfcourse and the fligth line. That's the East China Sea behind us. 
Finally, we started studying Acient civilizations in history. Here's Collin dressed as an Ancient Mesopotamian Boy. Complete with his braclets and headband. Yes, they should be gold, but tin foil only comes in silver! And well, they probably didn't wear a beach sarong, but hey, you work with what you've got!
Here he is working on his weaving loom. 
We did some other projects to go along with history and science, but I could only get blogger to load up 5 pictures at a time, and that took forever in itself. So more next time.
Talk to you later!
Kelly
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Big Read
Yes, yes, I know. Get over it. Blogging on my part will never be a regular thing.
I've got a bunch of pictures to download from some fun stuff we did with school. I'm getting there. I promise. But for now - The Big Read! I got this off the smack board (so named by Jennifer and I because it is just so addictive!)
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. I guess I did okay, as I've read 16 of the list. Part of my thing is I don't go looking for books, I tend to read what I stumble across at the library, or in a paperback give away pile or because someone was getting rid of books before they move. Plus there were some that I started (The Hobbit, CS Lewis type things) that I never finished or only read parts of.
The Rules:
1) Look at the list and put one * by those you have read.
2) Put a % by those you intend to read.
3) Put two ** by the books you LOVE.
4) Put # by the books you HATE.
5) Post.
% 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen MAYBE SOMEDAY
2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien -YUCK NEVER
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
**4 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
**5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible THE WHOLE THING? UM, NO.
*7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
8 1984 - George Orwell
%9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman MAYBE, DAVID GOT A COPY AFTER THE MOVIE
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
*18 Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
%19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
*21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
**22 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams -
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh -
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
**28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
*30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
%33 Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO READ THIS TO COLLIN
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
%36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis -AGAIN READ TO COLLIN
*37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernières -
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
**40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
*42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins -
46 Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
*48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
**49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
%51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel BOOK CLUB READS THIS LATER THIS YEAR
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
%54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen I SHOULD, I LOVED THE MOVIE
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
#57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
%73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett PROBABLY READ TO COLLIN
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Émile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - A.S. Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
#85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
%87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White WE ARE READING THIS THIS WEEK
*88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
%99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl WE'LL PROBABLY END UP READING THIS ONE, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER DAHL I'D RATHER READ FIRST
%100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo LOVED THE PLAY SO i SHOULD READ IT
I've got a bunch of pictures to download from some fun stuff we did with school. I'm getting there. I promise. But for now - The Big Read! I got this off the smack board (so named by Jennifer and I because it is just so addictive!)
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. I guess I did okay, as I've read 16 of the list. Part of my thing is I don't go looking for books, I tend to read what I stumble across at the library, or in a paperback give away pile or because someone was getting rid of books before they move. Plus there were some that I started (The Hobbit, CS Lewis type things) that I never finished or only read parts of.
The Rules:
1) Look at the list and put one * by those you have read.
2) Put a % by those you intend to read.
3) Put two ** by the books you LOVE.
4) Put # by the books you HATE.
5) Post.
% 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen MAYBE SOMEDAY
2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien -YUCK NEVER
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
**4 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
**5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible THE WHOLE THING? UM, NO.
*7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
8 1984 - George Orwell
%9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman MAYBE, DAVID GOT A COPY AFTER THE MOVIE
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
*18 Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
%19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
*21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
**22 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams -
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh -
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
**28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
*30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
%33 Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO READ THIS TO COLLIN
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
%36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis -AGAIN READ TO COLLIN
*37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernières -
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
**40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
*42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins -
46 Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
*48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
**49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
%51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel BOOK CLUB READS THIS LATER THIS YEAR
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
%54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen I SHOULD, I LOVED THE MOVIE
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
#57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
%73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett PROBABLY READ TO COLLIN
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Émile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - A.S. Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
#85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
%87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White WE ARE READING THIS THIS WEEK
*88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
%99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl WE'LL PROBABLY END UP READING THIS ONE, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER DAHL I'D RATHER READ FIRST
%100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo LOVED THE PLAY SO i SHOULD READ IT
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Pictures of my buddy!
So once again, I've been a slacker on the posting. Just get used to it people! I'm working on it! Actually I've got a few things to post, but sometimes it requires pictures and well there is drama involved with both getting the pictures to my computer, and then getting them from my computer to the actual blog. But I'm trying to do better. Really. Tonight, the computer gods smiled on me and I managed to get the pictures I've been meaning to post on the blog!
First up, Collin and his new glasses! Okay, so they aren't that new now, he's had them over a month. But, like I said, I had picture issues. No sense mentioning it till I had pictures to go with it!
I took him to the eye doctor a year ago for a check up and the eye doctor said, yes, he'll need glasses. Didn't need them yet, but in the next few years. Not overly surprising since David was pretty young when he got his glasses and he's pretty blind. Well I was surprised when the eye doctor this year said he needed them now! I also wasn't prepared for the glasses tech to use the words "his prescription is pretty strong". What??? Granted my prescription is pretty light, but Collin's is stronger than mine.
So here he is with his glasses. He looks cute in them, but they make him look older! We had a little battle picking out frames. He originally wanted black frames because they made him look like Harry Potter! I convinced him Harry wore light brown ones later on!
School is also going very well. He seems to be enjoying it so far this year. He's also becoming quite the reader. But as you can see, he wasn't tired at all in this picture!
First up, Collin and his new glasses! Okay, so they aren't that new now, he's had them over a month. But, like I said, I had picture issues. No sense mentioning it till I had pictures to go with it!
I took him to the eye doctor a year ago for a check up and the eye doctor said, yes, he'll need glasses. Didn't need them yet, but in the next few years. Not overly surprising since David was pretty young when he got his glasses and he's pretty blind. Well I was surprised when the eye doctor this year said he needed them now! I also wasn't prepared for the glasses tech to use the words "his prescription is pretty strong". What??? Granted my prescription is pretty light, but Collin's is stronger than mine.
So here he is with his glasses. He looks cute in them, but they make him look older! We had a little battle picking out frames. He originally wanted black frames because they made him look like Harry Potter! I convinced him Harry wore light brown ones later on!
School is also going very well. He seems to be enjoying it so far this year. He's also becoming quite the reader. But as you can see, he wasn't tired at all in this picture!
This however was not what I was expecting when I walked in the room. I don't know where I had been, but when I came home and hollered for 'the boys', and was told "we're in the bedroom reading", I certainly wasn't expecting this! But hey, if that's the comfy way to read, go for it! You can also see David's new toy he got this summer. His tablet PC. He has really enjoyed being able to flip it around and read it like it is in this picture. He says he can keep it at regular 100% size, but still see the whole document when he has it flipped around and reading it like he is.
School is going great. We did some really cool things these past few days. Once I get the pictures up I'll post more on it.
For those of you following the story of our friend's 11 year old daughter that was medically evacuated off the island for the viral meningitis/encephalitis and then got bacterial meningitis, she is doing great! She finishes up her 21 days of IV antibiotics in the next day or so and will hopefully be discharged then. She's had a few mild strokes, but doesn't seem to be suffering any real problems from that. It's been a long, crazy, scary trip, but it looks like it's finally coming to a close. She was admitted to the hospital back on August 11th, and flown to Hawaii on August15th. From August 11th to September 11th, most of that time was spent in either ICU or PICU. But it looks like everything is going to be okay. Unfortunately, they are not coming back to Okinawa. There just isn't anyone here if she has any problems, so they are moving them to California. We'll get to see Keith, the dad, when he comes back to out process and get the house packed up, but Lori and all the kids are going straight to California and staying there. However I recently found out that there are a number of space A flights that go pretty much from here right to Travis AFB where they are going to be, so Collin and I may have to take a trip out there to see them. We'll have to see!
Talk to you later!
Kelly
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Latest: Us, School and Encephalitis girl
Okay, so I suck at blogging. I sort of suck at emailing too. But then I'm sure we've all pretty much figured this out. Life was easier for me in the states in this sense, because I just called everyone on the phone. Hey they make cellphone packages with 2000 minutes a month for a reason! But as David would often point out, there isn't much point of sending an email if then I'm going to get on the phone, call the person, say I sent you and email and then basically tell them what it is. But like I said in the states life with my phone was easier. Here, I'm struggling with the emailing and not having a phone thing. And yes, in our first days here I carried around my old, no longer hooked up to a network and not working phone. Partially because I felt VERY naked without it, and partially because I couldn't find my watch for a few days and I used it for the clock. But then none of this is surprising to those of you who know me!
Moving on: Here is a brief update as to what is going on.
Collin started school back on Aug. 11th. We were supposed to start with our friends next door, but that was the day Laci was admitted to the hospital. (More on that later.) School is going very well. And it is harder this year. We are not doing specials this year (the elective classes he took at the school down the street) which is good. He's got more things to do this year, and more writing. And for the most part he is taking to it quite well. I think even he realized this year is more of a challenge and is enjoying it. Last year was fun stuff that was more busy work. He's really liking it this year. Most of the time! LOL! We still of course have 'moments'!
David is off this Friday through Monday for Labor day. Not sure what we are doing this weekend. Monday David goes on his first dive since getting his certification. I'm excited for him. But still worried he'll be eaten by a shark. Yes I still have my irrational fear of sharks. No, you never really see sharks in these waters. Apparently divers feel they are lucky if they see a shark. (Those are the ones I think are certifiable!) But still, I grew up in the Jaws generation, and big, bloodthirsty sharks are just searching the ocean looking for someone to eat up. And David probably looks like a nice little between meal snack!
In other news Laci (encephalitis girl) was doing much better. On Sunday she got to leave the hospital for a few hours. She got to see the beach, ate some pizza and walked around a little. Monday she took a nose dive to point they did another spinal tap, thought she had bacterial meningitis and were going to give the whole family meds as a precaution. I just got the following email from her Dad. So you know, she had a shunt in the top of her head. That was the wound they were having a hard time getting to close up and that's what her Dad is talking about in the email.
Laci is holding steady right now. It took a little pushing but I think we got the right people involved in Laci's case again. The infectious disease doctor finally came to see her last night and a civilian pediatric infectious disease doc is coming on board. The pediatric came back in town yesterday and came straight from the plane to see her.
They initially misdiagnosed the bacteria. Instead of Neisseria the culture grew out another bacteria, Acentobacter, something like that. Anyway, this is good news and makes more sense for an infection that entered through the opening in her skull. It also means no contagious worries for us or the children. The bacteria has been tested and is susceptible to the antibiotic so that is good. The MRI yesterday showed very tiny bleeding spots all over the brain. This is believed to be caused by the bacterial meningitis. Laci has lost some function of her left hand probably due to the small bleeding in the brain. They are calling it a mild stroke. The strength in her hand seems to be improving so we are hopeful she will regain it.
It looks like we will be here longer now than we thought a few days ago. She will be on IV antibiotics for 2 to 3 weeks. She is not expected to start improving until maybe tomorrow. A friend of a friend has volunteered to watch the kids today so Lori and I will both get to spend some time together at the hospital today. That will be good.
So that is where everything is right now. Collin and I are still turtle sitting. He was all excited at first. The thrill has worn off! For both of us! Not much else we can do for them other than that, empty the dehumidifier and forward on the emails. So now we just wait. Collin and I went to the Med clinic (where David works) last week. They had an ambulance pulled up out front with the back doors open. Collin got all excited and said "Maybe they're bringing Laci back!" While I'd like to think it was because he's concerned about Laci, truthfully, I think it's the fact that when she gets better and gets to come home, her brother and sister get to come home. With them gone, and our other neighbors gone for a few weeks on vacation, he's running a little low on friends! All he's got left is my good friend Cheryl's kids, but they are unfortunately a car ride away, not just in our backyard! But he's surviving!
Talk to you later!
Moving on: Here is a brief update as to what is going on.
Collin started school back on Aug. 11th. We were supposed to start with our friends next door, but that was the day Laci was admitted to the hospital. (More on that later.) School is going very well. And it is harder this year. We are not doing specials this year (the elective classes he took at the school down the street) which is good. He's got more things to do this year, and more writing. And for the most part he is taking to it quite well. I think even he realized this year is more of a challenge and is enjoying it. Last year was fun stuff that was more busy work. He's really liking it this year. Most of the time! LOL! We still of course have 'moments'!
David is off this Friday through Monday for Labor day. Not sure what we are doing this weekend. Monday David goes on his first dive since getting his certification. I'm excited for him. But still worried he'll be eaten by a shark. Yes I still have my irrational fear of sharks. No, you never really see sharks in these waters. Apparently divers feel they are lucky if they see a shark. (Those are the ones I think are certifiable!) But still, I grew up in the Jaws generation, and big, bloodthirsty sharks are just searching the ocean looking for someone to eat up. And David probably looks like a nice little between meal snack!
In other news Laci (encephalitis girl) was doing much better. On Sunday she got to leave the hospital for a few hours. She got to see the beach, ate some pizza and walked around a little. Monday she took a nose dive to point they did another spinal tap, thought she had bacterial meningitis and were going to give the whole family meds as a precaution. I just got the following email from her Dad. So you know, she had a shunt in the top of her head. That was the wound they were having a hard time getting to close up and that's what her Dad is talking about in the email.
Laci is holding steady right now. It took a little pushing but I think we got the right people involved in Laci's case again. The infectious disease doctor finally came to see her last night and a civilian pediatric infectious disease doc is coming on board. The pediatric came back in town yesterday and came straight from the plane to see her.
They initially misdiagnosed the bacteria. Instead of Neisseria the culture grew out another bacteria, Acentobacter, something like that. Anyway, this is good news and makes more sense for an infection that entered through the opening in her skull. It also means no contagious worries for us or the children. The bacteria has been tested and is susceptible to the antibiotic so that is good. The MRI yesterday showed very tiny bleeding spots all over the brain. This is believed to be caused by the bacterial meningitis. Laci has lost some function of her left hand probably due to the small bleeding in the brain. They are calling it a mild stroke. The strength in her hand seems to be improving so we are hopeful she will regain it.
It looks like we will be here longer now than we thought a few days ago. She will be on IV antibiotics for 2 to 3 weeks. She is not expected to start improving until maybe tomorrow. A friend of a friend has volunteered to watch the kids today so Lori and I will both get to spend some time together at the hospital today. That will be good.
So that is where everything is right now. Collin and I are still turtle sitting. He was all excited at first. The thrill has worn off! For both of us! Not much else we can do for them other than that, empty the dehumidifier and forward on the emails. So now we just wait. Collin and I went to the Med clinic (where David works) last week. They had an ambulance pulled up out front with the back doors open. Collin got all excited and said "Maybe they're bringing Laci back!" While I'd like to think it was because he's concerned about Laci, truthfully, I think it's the fact that when she gets better and gets to come home, her brother and sister get to come home. With them gone, and our other neighbors gone for a few weeks on vacation, he's running a little low on friends! All he's got left is my good friend Cheryl's kids, but they are unfortunately a car ride away, not just in our backyard! But he's surviving!
Talk to you later!
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