last chance to give!!!

Last chance to give to the fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Nicholas’ jump rope for the heart activities are this week during PE.

Here’s his web page if you haven’t given yet!!!!

In other news. Pastor Nathan and Erin announced that they’re going to have a baby in October!!! Yipeee! Congratulations to our wonderful friends!!!

My thesis is coming along well I suppose. Some days I feel totally ready, some days not so much!!! The final draft is due to my committee on the 6^th. Then I have my oral defense on the 20^th!! So far I’m on page 104. We’ll see how big this monster gets!!!

Hard to believe that in a little over a month I will virtually be finished with school. I have to get a few applications in for some positions at ASU this week. Still no word from Samaritan’s Purse, (where I’d really like to be). And the career fair is in March too. Too much too fast.

a pink card...What?

Early one morning I am up with the children snuggling on the couch. Robin notices that I don’t have my glasses one so she asks, “Mommy, you don’t have you sun glasses on?” I explain that I do not sleep with my glasses on. After her questioning why, Nicholas responds quickly with “because they keep her eyes open all night long.”

Robin:

Toaster Strudel = “toastry” (with no attempt at Strudel)
Oatmeal = “oakmilk”

Everyone seems to be doing well. I am the latest patient with a cold and sinus issues, but noting that a lot of sleep wont fix. Heck, I want a lot of sleep all the time, what an I talking about?

Haven’t had time to clean off the camera. Lots of fun snow pictures on there from last weekend. I’ll have to get those posted soon.

Today Nicholas had to pull ALL of his cards at school and got in trouble on the buss for poking holes in the seats with a pen. After picking up Robin and Rob we were having this conversation in the car. It started with Nicholas telling daddy “I have some bad news Daddy”. After some explanation Robin chimes in “I didn’t have to pull my pink card today” [Robin has no card system]

P.S. here's Ray's Weather Trampoline Snow Contest Winners
Ninety people submitted answers in yesterday's contest. There are LOTS of budding scientist out there! The correct answers were:
Weight of the snow: 196 lbs
Many of you accurately computed the total volume of snow but used a snow-liquid ratio that was too low. The actual snow-liquid ration was between 16:1 and 15:1. The clue on this was that Sunday was very cold creating somewhat higher than normal snow-liquid ratio.
Time of Photo: 2:22 PM
Many of you guessed AM. The clue on this was snow on the tree truck in the photo. Sunday's winds were predominately from the west putting some snow on the west side of the tree trunk. From that you could have determined that the sun was in the west, thus afternoon.

Here is details form Dr. Tashakkori about how the answers were computed. Many thanks to him for providing the fun problem.

And the winners are (pause and drum rolll please):
Best Weight Estimate: A tie between Claxton Graham (192 lbs), Nathan Faulks (192 lbs), and Jonathan Trivette (199.9278 lbs) Best Time Estimate: Jonathan Loss (2:15 PM)
Best Overall Estimates (the smallest error total considering weight and time): Kim Greer (175 lbs and 2:30 PM)

Many thanks to everyone who submitted answers. This was a lot of fun. Hope you learned something. If it weren't so much work, we'd do it more often.

Ray's challenge

Don't know how many of you saw this today...or how many of you care. BUT, here is today's photo and post from Ray's weather center...any takers?

We have not had a contest in ages, and I'm fearful of the amount of email I'm about to receive... but here we go. Students think that college professors just sit around all day thinking of mean things to assign; well, sometimes that's correct. In our faculty lounge Monday (Computer Science Dept. at ASU) Dr. Rahman Tashakkori (Dr. Jay Fenwick was chiming in too with this evil plot) and I decided that it was not good that students were out of school missing all the education they would have received otherwise. So the three of us decided you needed make-up homework.
Here's the challenge...

Below is a photo of the snow taken at Dr. Tashakkori's house Sunday February 12. There was about 4" of snow on the trampoline at the time. He wondered if the weight of the snow was over the advertised 250 lb weight limit for the trampoline. The trampoline is slightly over 14' in diameter. Your assignment is to answer two questions: 1) What is the weight of the snow on the trampoline? and Exactly when (time of day) was the photo taken?
Send your answers to ray@raysweather.com with the word "Contest" in the subject field. In the text of the email, put only the following information (in this order, each item on a seperate line):

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your estimate of the snow's weight
• Your estimate of the time of day

Don't send me email asking for more information--college professors are mean like that. I'll give a T-shirt to the persons who have the most accurate estimates. Children of ALL ages are eligible to win (even if you did not have to miss school Monday, you can call this "extra credit").

Yes, Dr. Tashakkori sampled the snow, melted it, weighed the water, and calculated the weight of the snow. College professors are like that sometimes! Many thanks to him for providing the problem.

Now, what are doing reading this... Go calculate!

Where will you be in 2012?

It's kinda crazy and rather ambitious, none the less...look what I did today....

"Thank you for you interest in London 2012. If you are responding to a specific role as advertised on our website , thank you very much for your application. We will contact you if you are selected to go forward for interview. Further details regarding any future opportunities with London 2012 will be released via the website as they arise. In the meantime, please note that we will not be processing or retaining any speculative applications that we receive.

HR & Recruitment Team The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games Limited. Thank you London, Thank you UK - London 2012"

hmmm....? Is it possible I will be here???

misc...

Have to write while I’m thinking of it. Another Robin-ism: She has recently discovered an older video of children singing bible songs. One of them says, “I read about it in the book of Revelation, you read it too”. (“do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me….”) anyway, it’s a rather fast song and she LOVES it. She tries to sing it and it comes out “I read about it in the book-a-vation…you too”

I’m trying to get some of a paper written. Thankfully this will be that last one for a couple of weeks. YIPEE!!! I can really focus on my Thesis.

I got bored with writing Chapter 4 last night do I began tinkering with the Acknowledgements and Dedication pages. I don’t know... that may be tougher than any other part.

Finally, I’ve had a recommendation to move away from table salt and only use Kosher for cooking. I just might do that. I like the taste much better…and heck, I have about 5 pounds worth!!

please, no more salt...

How many different kinds of Salt do you have in your house?

I have four different kinds of salt (inside my house).

• There’s the obvious, table salt, used for….well you know.
  
• Then there’s Kosher salt, recently purchased to make soft pretzels for the “tailgate” party with the Taylors. (by the way, I had to buy a HUGE box for topping just 6 pretzels!).
• Next there’s Rock salt. Purchased for making home made ice cream. (E-mail me if you want a really cool recipe for making it with your children using a coffee can and a 5 gallon bucket!).
• Finally, we have a few bags of Epsom salt, purchased for soaking body parts. Yeh..."gross"....I know.

That doesn’t account for the side-walk salt under the stairs outside (not to mention all over the sidewalk and parking lot….did you see Ray’s weather for this weekend!!!).

We have salt!

…then I have “salt-free” seasoning in my cabinets. I can’t even go there right now.

It’s been a crazy day! Among some other events, I had a job interview with ASU’s Webmaster’s office. (located in ITS). That went well. I am over educated and under qualified. (Yep …it can happen). So, we’ll see. There are lots more options on the horizon. I submitted an application to Samaritan’s Purse, BMW, Duke Energies, and Staples. This week I will get my act together to apply for another position at ASU in the College of Business.

I have to close with a Robin-ism.

When anyone goes anywhere in our family, Robin has to have a hug and kiss. Well, Rob had a fever a few days ago and told Robin to kiss on the cheek only (she demands, “no, kiss me on the lips”). Her reasoning is :”Daddy, your lips are sick?”

Check this out…

Nicholas, January 2005

...and January 2006

Robin, January 2005

...and January 2006

how do you let go?

I have given away most of the children’s clothes and baby bottles, sold the smaller car seats, the walker, and bouncy seat. Nicholas sleeps in a double bed and Robin in a day-bed. Every transition made easily and naturally, with no hesitation…until today.

A friend is having a baby and I offered my child carriers….both of them. Robin can still fit in the backpack, but she’s to independent. So as I walked from my apartment to the Technology building carrying my items to a friend, I stopped a few to contemplate my decision, and I turned around a few more times to go back home.

This all took me by enormous surprise as I had not been emotional about anything child related in the past. Not their births, not their steps, teeth, potty training….(not that I shouldn’t have been…I’m just not used to having these emotions). So when I spent most of the day fighting the tears (even now) I feel like I should acknowledge my feelings as real, and more so natural!

I think this was a more substantial transition for me because I was very attached to the freedom that these products gave me in motherhood. From long wilderness walks, strolls to the mailbox, easier shopping, participation in fundraising events, and even lawn mowing…these wonderful inventions allowed me a certain freedom and encouraged fitness. In a weird way I feel like I have lost both while in school.

So in tribute to my children’s infant and toddler years and all of the adventure they shared with me, here are a few memories…(this is more for me than for you…sorry!)

Walkin around campus wiht Robin, August 2004

Weekend day hike with Nichlas and Robin, Fall 2003

Aquarium in Southport, NC summer 2003 (with Robin)

A wise woman (and mother of 2) has recently replied with the following advice:

Hang onto them…. It’s important to have some reminders, and this clearly meant something more to you than the other stuff you have already given away.

life is full of life

Have to take a break from typing my cross-culture interview for Tec and Culture class to share some photos.

Well, tonight we had some new friends over for a “tailgate” party as Nicholas calls it. After being inspired by the Food Network this week. He asked to “have a tailgate”. So we invited the Taylors over (Chad, Jeriane, Matt, and Molly). Here are a few shots.

Everyone played together (Matt and Nicholas on the bed, Molly and Robin in the middle of the floor and Sasha in fronto of the window!)

Then the boys got too rowdy...So the girls played in the living room...
Everyone ate so nicely...do you really believe that!?!?
Nicholas and Matt...they like eachother a lot.

Almost as much as Robin and Molly!

Dad took the children to church today and I stayed home to work on my Thesis. After nap, not mine unfortunately, we went sledding. The snow was to fluffy to make a snowman but we tried. Some guy asked to take our pictures…hmm. Wonder who he was? Anyway, we had fun.

Now I know why Eskimos like to kiss so much!
This is what it look like when you would otherwise be runing away form the snowball.
Nicholas' Snow Angel...
Robin making a Snow Angel with Daddy.
The she got her first lesson in Snow Angels!
A whole family of Snow Angels...(from bottom) Robin, Mommy, Niicholas, and Daddy!

Earlier in the week, Robin decide to wear Nicholas Fantastic 4 boxers. How cute is she?!?! (Isn't this going to look great next to her wedding portrait one day!!!)