The Sphinx Model

This last term, Brad's class (grade 3) learnt about different structures of the world. They were assigned a project to either build a diorama or make a poster of a structure of their choice, and parents were totally allowed to help if they wanted to. Brad chose the Sphinx.

I have to admit, he educated me on it; rambling off little facts from his research during class time. It was pretty cool.

Together, he and Dustin built a model out of Styrofoam, and Brad spray painted it gold. Then he and I stapled fabric to the outside of a box, and Dustin screwed the model to it.
Brad and I decided that it needed sand to be complete, so Dad dug into our sump-pit and hauled out some fine wet silt (yes, for real! The ground was covered in snow when we did this - no available sand anywhere else!). It took a few days to dry out, but after that, Brad and I smeared glue over the whole project and sprinkled sand all over it.
Ta-Dah! One sandy structure from Egypt.

Oh, and he got top marks on it! Dustin and I were a little worried that we had helped too much until we went and saw some of the other projects! Some looked completely age appropriate and it was easy to guess those kids did not have adult help, while others looked similar to ours -and clearly Mom and Dad had been in on the fun! (The Golden Gate Bridge for example was made from popsicle sticks and toothpicks!! No grade 3 I know did that by themself!)

Anyway, we all had fun with this project ...

Tougher than I look?

When the last time you fell? I mean, like really bit it and wiped out?
For me, it was about 2 hours ago and my inlaws "cabin". The boys were playing outside while us 'grown ups' were inside visiting. All we heard was a ear-piercing scream that we quickly discerned to be Zachary. Dustin rushed out the front door to check what was wrong and a few seconds later, when the screaming hadn't stopped, I ran through the patio door thinking maybe Zach was closer to the back yard.
I completely wiped out running down the deck steps, (and I don't mean stumbled, or tripped, I mean I was eating crushed rock from the walkway below.) BUT, my baby was still screaming around the house, so I scrambled to my feet and kept going. I brushed a little of the dirt off myself before getting to Dustin and the boys, but not enough. Dustin instantly asked "What happened to you?!"
Forget about me! I'm thinking, What's wrong with Zachary??!
I was quickly shown the reason for the horrific screeching just a minute ago - a scraped shin. No joke, the kid was screaming as though he was dying over a small break in the skin. No blood, no broken bones, a scrape. Now I'm not saying it didn't deserve a tear or two, or a 'boo-boo-all-better kiss' from Mom, maybe even a Transformer's bandaid - but it did not deserve the ridiculous cries he let out; most kids couldn't scream like that with a megaphone!

On the drive home, we had a good talk about what is an acceptable decibel level in reaction to a scrape or skinned knee, so as not to strike immeasurable fear into the heart of his mother. I showed off my 'gravel burn' on my hands and the big (which will be massive by tomorrow) bruise on my knee and pointed out that neither of them would have even known I had wiped out if Dad hadn't noticed first.

My hip, knee, and shoulder will surely be in need of some TLC tomorrow, hopefully nothing more than a few Advil will take care of though. And Zach has promised to try and keep his volume of screaming relative to the size of "owie" he has.
We'll see if that actually happens, Zach is not known for his subtlety.

On a positive note, besides the fact that Dustin is completely babying me now and this made for a good blog post, Brad seemed pretty impressed with his dear ol' Mom... he asked what I did after I kissed the pavement, and when I told him I got up, brushed myself off and rushed to see if Zach was ok - he seemed a little awed.
I may not be as wimpy as he thought I was.... what a strange thought that must be for him.

Sold in 4 Hours with this ad!

This car HAS to go please!
I was away with our kids for a week and my hubby bought this car out of sheer boredom. We have no use for it (cool as it is) and would really like the shop space back!
He told me if I sold it, I could keep the cash. Seriously.

So here's the the deal with the car (don't worry, hubby helped with it, so it's accurate and will actually sound intelligent -hopefully!)

It's a 1980 Camaro, with 170,000 original kms. 267 V8.
It is NOT saftied, and we have not had it looked it, and are not going to. Hubby says it will need some body work around rocker panels for sure, but has no idea what else. Interior is in decent shape, comes with two sets of original keys.
Starts up and runs great.

Ok, here's the chick version of that: It's orange and loud. It has reallly smelly exhaust that most men want bottled as cologne. It goes like snot and is really cool looking - if it were yellow, it would look like Bumblebee from Transformers, before he changed to a brand new one.

Hubby paid $1700 for it, I will take $1500 (and will consider other offers)

Oh, I would also consider taking a dirt bike (or bikes) in trade- we have 2 boys that would freak for that. Smaller type (50 - 80 CC) Honda, Yamaha, etc. (No Canadian Tire specials please.)
Then I'd be the cooler parent for once, "MOM bought me a dirt bike!"

Please email me if you are interested or have questions/trade options. I will ask my hubby for you because I won't know the answer.

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long ad, and someone - PLEASE buy this car!

Visits: 569

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Did you notice the number of visits? That's not even within 24 hours yet! HAHA! Apparently a little whining goes a long way! (I had a lot more pics on the ad too, but it copied stupid so I took them out and just put back one in now on the blog.)
No joke, we had more than one person looking at it at the same time last night! The response and panic to get here first was ridiculous! And we've had it online for a while before, just with a basic info-only type ad.
It was sold within 4 hours of posting my ad. Dustin and my mom both suggested I should do this as a career - hmmm, whining for other people could be fun right? Lol, no I'll save it for the stuff we want to sell. I'm sure there'll be more eventually!

Anyway, yes - I really do get to keep the cash- mainly because I want it for some landscaping items on the yard, and it's money we'd spend this year anyway.
I AM going to blow some of it on a supper out tonight to celebrate finally selling it- we have coupons for McDonalds!

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Final number of views when I deleted the ad 27 hours later (when the car was picked up): 634!! W-O-W!! That's hilarious!

Another Casserole

Here's another recipe for a 'one dish' meal. You know how much I love those!!
It's not as quick to prepare as the other ones, but I made it ahead of time and still used it on a day I baby-sat.
It's a combination of a few recipes I've made before. Overall, it's our favourite 'one disher' so far.

Chicken Casserole

2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp. oregano
1 can mushrooms, drained well
pepper

Pasta
Mixed Veggies
Shredded cheese


-Mix first 7 all together with 1/2 cup water.

-Cook desired pasta according to package directions (I used rigatoni, but Penne would be great too) I used about 3 cups of dry pasta for 6 people and we cleaned the pan out. I'd use more next time.

-While the pasta is cooking, cook 2 cups of mixed veggies to almost tender.
Drain both pasta and veggies. Mix with sauce.

-Spread in a greased 9x13 pan and top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 375 F covered for 30ish minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. It's all pre-cooked so it just needs to be warmed.

We loved it, hope you do too! ENJOY!

My Makeover

First off, I didn't know I needed one, or would be about to get one! My sister-in-law Sheri (fabulous hairstylist and the only person I trust my locks with) trimmed the front of my hair for me the other week. No biggie. Then, we saw that we could easily take a little more off and I would have bangs, and they were actually pretty cute. Snip Snip - POOF!
I've got a whole new look with bangs!
THEN, I saw my optometrist like two days later. Whaddya know, those headaches I've been having for months ARE a result of my eyesight. And with a more expensive POOF, I am now the "proud" owner of glasses. My mother-in-law helped me pick them out, and I love the dramatic change in how I look - but it definitely needs some getting used to!
The day after I got my glasses, Zachary was wandering around the school yard looking for me (while I was waving madly at him) and when he finally saw me, he told me "You don't look like you anymore!".