Penapedia

**Warning--HIGH GEEK LEVEL DETECTED** Do you love pens, markers, pencils? Take this quiz:

1. Do you know the width of the tip of your pen?
2. Have you been known to turn your nose up at a Bic?
3. Have you ever spent over $5 on a package of pens? (or even just a single one?)
4. Do you have a definite preference between liquid ink or ballpoint?
5. Do you have a special place where you store only YOUR pens?
6. Do you know all the good spots to buy writing utensils in town?
7. Have you ever mourned the loss of your favorite mechanical pencil for a week?
8. Do you keep more than one writing utensil in your bag and switch between them while taking notes or working on projects?
9. Can you get lost in the office supplies section of the BYU Bookstore or Staples or spend ridiculous amounts of time there?
10. Do any of these names ring a bell: Gelly Roll, Zig, Pentel, Zebra, Cross, Pilot?

If you answered YES to 5 or more, you may be a Marker Maniac, a Preferential Pencil user, or even a Penaphile (ill, something about that sounds so wrong) so read on. The rest of you weirdos might want to skip until the next post. Come take a walk with me down my road of pen evolution: My brother goes to Japan on business quite often. Japan might be one of the greatest pen meccas ever. As a souvenir from one of his trips, he brought me these beauties by Pilot. They are called Hi-Tech. They range in color from yellow (which is awesome on black paper) to black. + They write like a dream come true. You never thought you could write so small and so clearly. +They don't bleed through paper (these are awesome use on your scriptures). -They are one high maintenance pen. They dry up fast and if the tip is pushed too hard by your child (just saying) the tip will sink in. -They are hard to find. -They are on the expensive side. **Not to be confused with pinnipeds which of course we all know are members of the seal, walrus family.

Going Batty!

Presenting...

Bernard!

Barbara!

Betty!

and Bam Bam!

I love decorating for Halloween. If you're looking for a fun family project, here's one we did.

Check it out. This project took us 2 days because of glue drying time. If you use a glue gun I bet you could do it all in one day.

What you'll need:

• One black sock/bat
• Googly Eyes
• Small bit of white fabric (fangs)
  
• Small piece of string (smile)
  
• Black construction paper (wings)
  
• Embroidery floss (in Halloween colors) or yarn (decoration/hold the sock closed)
  
• Newspaper or paper towel (stuffing)
  
• Elmer's glue
• A big stick
• Some twine
  

Here's how to do it:

1. Get some old black socks. Stuff them with newspaper, paper towels, or other old socks. Stuff them to the desired size of your batty.
   
2. Tie off the sock with embroidery floss or yard then cut off the excess sock off with scissors.
3. Decorate your sock with googly eyes, string for smile, flannel for fangs, embroidery floss eyelashes, embroidery floss hair bows, an old bracelet your child doesn't wear for a necklace, small triangles for ears, etc. We just used normal good ole Elmer's white glue.
4. Get 2 pieces of black construction paper or card stock for each pair of wings (depending on how big you want your wings to be). Each wing needs a front and back. Draw the wing design with a white crayon on a doubled (folded) paper. Then cut out. We taped bits of pipe cleaners onto one side of the paper to look sorta like the wing bones and also to give it some strength. Then we glue sticked around the edges and stuck together.
5. Before finishing up the very ends of the wings, we inserted a popsicle stick into each side of the wing so if you held a popsicle stick in the middle, you'd have wing on either side.
6. Fastening the wings was the hardest part. We finally used velcro. One piece of velcro on the popsicle stick (in between the wings) and one piece on the bat body. With velcro you can make them more packable for the following year too.
7. Finally you just hang them on the stick. Put the string on the stick first and hang it on the wall to figure out how long you want each bat to hang. Hang them at different levels and different distances. I tried to hang each bat right next to a knot in the wood to give them support and also so they wouldn't move.

If you make some, send me a pic and make sure to tell me their names.

How was your morning?

5:30-Woke up to Stinka crying. Listened to her cry for a few minutes before she fell back asleep.

6:30-Woke up to Stinka crying again. Yea for Daddy getting up to get her some milk. Listen to her gulp, gulp as I drift off to sleep again.

6:45-Woke up to Stinka crying again. Yea for Daddy getting up to bring her to our bed. Had Stinka cozy up to me and drifted off to sleep again.

6:58-Woke up to Stinka crying again. Finally got up.

7:00-Started laundry! Woo-hoo for me. Even made a bucket of Oxyclean to soak some stained items.

7:30-Big sis gets up and comes downstairs dressed in an interesting outfit that she picked out herself.

7:30-8:00-Make breakfast for two girls, prepare snack for kindergarten, sweep AND get dressed.

8:00-Get Stinka's diaper changed, have her sit on the Dora toilet seat for a minute and congratulate her for a good effort, get her dressed and do her hair.

8:10-Do big sister's hair in a quick, not super cute style. I figure it matches her "interesting" outfit.

8:15-Realize it is quite cold outside and we need some gloves and hats out. Don't know where they are in our ultra "organized" basement*. Call for nice Daddy to help though maybe I didn't call so nicely.

8:20-Bundle up Stinka and put her in the baby backpack since she's having a stroller revolt. I sell out because I really want to exercise.

8:25-Try to figure out where I'm going to carry my water. Remember about my camelback and ask Daddy to find it in the basement.* Scarf down a banana and brush my teeth.

8:30-Finally leave the door. Walk to the tree and realize it is sunny and I forgot my sunglasses. Run back home to get sunglasses which were hiding in the bottom of the diaper bag INSIDE the sunglasses holder. Of course that's where they were.

8:32-Out the door again.

8:42-Get to school late. Walk Chloe to her classroom. Apologize to her for getting her to school late.

8:45-Leave the school and notice my walking partner has left thinking I'm not coming.

8:55-Arrive at walking partner's house and tell her I do want to exercise even if my back does already hurt from carrying around Stinka instead of pushing her in a stroller. I'm not giving up now.

8:57-Stare in disbelief as my friend tells me she figured I was running late because it was Picture Day at school.

8:58-Finally react to it being Picture Day. Wonder what kind of idiot makes Picture Day on a Monday.

8:59- Wonder what kind of idiot doesn't write "Picture Day" on the family calendar.

9:00-Leave on our walk.

9:55-My friend asks me where Stinka's boot and sock are.
9:55-I feel Stinka's poor ice cube foot and feel horrible. Also start to wonder how long it has been off and wonder why she is so happy with an ice foot.

9:56-Debate whether or not to rush home or go and look for the sock and cute pink Ugg boot that were bought on clearance at Target for child #1 in 2004 that she never wore because weather and shoe size never corresponded to each other.

9:57-Nice friend volunteers to walk back a bit and look for lost boot.

10:05-Arrive home and break in because I don't have my keys.

10:07-Take off the backpack and quickly busy myself rubbing the "pioneer" foot back to human body temperature.

10:10-Sit down to blog about morning and Stinka starts crying again.

10:11-Sadly realize that I'm one of the reasons that Picture Day retakes are scheduled.

All Hail the Mighty Kale!

I've become a big fan of kale. Have you ever heard of it? You don't see many recipes with kale in them but I think it will start to be more common and not just Racheal Ray threw some in one of her 30 minute meals recently. Here are some facts about kale.

• It’s a member of the Brassica family of vegetables, which include cabbage and Brussels sprouts. (Beware though if you're of the vein who gets "gassy" from this family.)
• Helps prevent cancer.
• Can protect you from second-hand smoke.
• Helps your body cleanse and detoxify.
• Tastes good.
• Is hearty.
• Can be grown in your garden. (Often people grow it as a decoration. If you do grow it to eat, you have to harvest it young so it doesn't turn bitter.)
• And some more professional facts here and here.

Kale should cost around $1.00 a bunch at the store. It will of course fluctuate throughout the year. Kale is cheapest now and through winter. Sometimes, the kale looks a little sad at the store and wilty. If it does look grim, you're in luck. You can usually get it for cheaper if you mention it to your cashier. Let you can do this trick to revive it. (P.S. I'm pretty sure I made this up. ) PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A ONE HIT WONDER TRICK. It will only revive once.

Mark My Words

Someday this girl is going to make some man really happy.

I mean, just look at her gardening outfit!

A Great Catch!

Just like her Mama ;-)

One man's trash...

Is another man's treasure.

That's what they say.

Do you believe it?

Are you trash picker?

I AM!

It may have all started when I was little and we lived behind Pic-n-Save (now known as Big Lots) and we'd go with our friends and trash pick generic Barbies and toys. (Yes, we'd always get in trouble if we got caught). Or it might be from always thrift store shopping growing up. Or it might come from a mother who would always make my dad slow down as we passed by a yard sale. But wherever it came from, it is fun and when you really find something great, it is quite satisfying. Who needs craigslist when you live here?

Wanna know what is up for grabs this week at "my" garbage? Well, here we go:

• vintage t.v.
• trunk freezer
• don't like a trunk freezer? Ok, how about a stand up freezer?
• swiffer wet mop
• aquarium
• sectional couch with hide-a-bed
• a single bed frame
• a recliner of sorts
• an entertainment center (I saw on the internet a girl who made a homemade kitchen out of an old entertainment center. If I find the link, I'll put it here.)
  
• paint in various colors
  
• firewood
• a mattress and boxspring (just saying--got to draw that line somewhere though, right?)
• a work bench
• a weight bench
  
• a shopping cart
  

Wondering if I live next to a dump? Well, I don't...technically. I actually live in this really mysterious place called the ghetto. It is amazing what you see here and what is normal here. When we first moved here we thought that the garbage was like this because a lot of people were moving in at the same time as us. But nope, it is like this all the time. People actually come from far and wide to look for treasures amongst our trash. I know this because no treasure lasts for too long here. They disappear fast and then all that is left is the trash. Plus, technically if treasure is left too long with the trash, it resembles trash more than it does treasure. Want to know what I've picked? Ok, as Yo Gabba Gabba says, I'll "A BREAK IT DOWN!"

• Our finest treasure was a Chariot stroller. (The link is the new one but it will give you an idea.) It is just a one childer but it is in peak shape although several years old. All we had to do was clean it (majorly disinfect it), pump up the tires and out of luxury buy some swivel wheels. Now that I own one, I dare say they are really worth all the hype and even more dare I say they are worth the price tag. (Easy for me to say huh?) Also, not to sound too ungrateful but brother, what would I do for a double of these strollers?!
  
• A kitchen table*
• 4 kitchen chairs*
• A rocking chair*
• A lamp with lampshade and light bulb included*
• A kid bike
• A kid scooter (razor)
• A book shelf*
• An end table*
• A bed with a plug (massager)*
• A lounge chair back support thingy
  
• A trunk freezer (We had a stand up freezer but it would never totally freeze the ice cream. We saw this one out there and decided to give it a try. Our ice cream is solid now. Luxury. We sold our upright freezer though, for $40.)

*There was a family who just moved here from Mexico so we found a lot of stuff for them. I thought the massager bed but gross but they thought it was fantastic. One man's trash...


Looking for a good garbage book for your kids? Although I would've guessed that this would be a boy book only, I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't love this book. I don't know what it is about it from the detailed descriptions of the nasty garbage the truck eats to the random onomatopoeia's (sound effects) throughout the book but check it out.

And just when you thought you couldn't find another weird book. The authors just came out with a new one. This one is all about a back hoe.

(For my loyal readers, I really think Dylan and Wally and Weston would love these.)

KINDERGARTEN!

Chloe started kindergarten this week. She has been so excited. We did a few fun things to make it all the more memorable.

We did the "Kindergarten Count-down" which just meant she could tear off a new ring each day and the last chain said, "First day of school" on it.
We had a special delicious dinner the night before. We had a roast, mashed potatoes, carrot ribbons and peas and dessert.

I let her have a few friends come over and they did their last day of summer vacation playing in the sprinklers and then we made cupcakes and I let them decorate them with whichever and however many of all my Christmas sprinkles. I really should get some more holiday universal sprinkles. Anyway, they had a blast. We had the rest for dinner dessert.

We had a special family night talking about being a good student, making new friends, listening to and obeying the teacher, growing up, etc. Then we ended the whole night with her Daddy giving her a special Daddy's blessing. It was so cute and I think it made her feel sooooo grown up.

The day of was mostly rough for Mommy. Greg was all worried that if Chloe saw me crying it was going to set her off but I had warned her for a few days prior that I would probably be a little sad even though I was happy and excited for her. I think it made her feel extra tough to have to comfort me a little bit. She squeezed me so hard before we left and told me that I was going to be ok. What a switch huh? I didn't cry there though or afterward although I did get a little misty eyed before and maybe a few days before while we were preparing all the school stuff.

The time actually flies. I just have enough time to do a little exercise with Tati in the stroller, go home, get her down for a nap, shower and then BOOM, it is time to pick Chloe up.

So here are some Canada things that might be different for us than you.

• Chloe is in the French Immersion program which means the teacher is supposed to build to speaking the whole time in French. It was a hard choice to make because their is a school that teaches Spanish but I didn't want her to have to ride a bus for at least an hour a day. She is just five!
• The kids have to have special "inside shoes" that stay at school. They also have to be tennis shoes (AKA "runners" here) incase they do any sort of physical fitness stuff in class.
• The school has signs everywhere that say, "We are a peanut and nut free school!". Did any of you know anybody with a nut allergy when you were little? I didn't. Also, does anybody else give their children a spoonful of peanut butter as a snack or is that just a "my family" thing? And lastly is a sunflower seed considered a nut? [Flashback, when I was a teacher I had one student with a nut allergy. His name was Andrew. He was an 8th grader. He came up to me on the first day of school and said,

"Hi. I'm Andrew. I am allergic to all tree nuts. If I start acting really strange in class like passing out then here in my backpack I have this (pulls out his epi-pen) and you need to stick it into my thigh and then probably call for help."
"So Andrew, what happens if I don't put this in your thigh?"
"I'll probably die."
"Oh. Ok." (he non-chalantly walks away) As you can imagine I looked at him a lot to see if he was acting weird. He had my class right after lunch but thankfully I never had to stick anything into anybody's thigh.]

• The outside of each classroom has a big metal shoe rack (looks like a big book shelf) and a park bench where they put their "outside" shoes on before recess.
• We have to pay a $100 field trip fee. Man, those better be some fun and frequent trips for that.
  
• Also, I bet your welcome packet didn't say this: "Please note that children will be kept indoors during heavy rain or extremely cold conditions. 'Extremely cold conditions' would be when the temperature reaches -23 degrees Celsius with the wind chill factor." Yowie zowie.

So far Chloe says her favorite part is recess. Big shocker. When do they ever say something besides that? I guess in Jr. High when recess starts being called P.E. and then it isn't so fun like it used to be.