Explosive Cardio

I love Exercise TV. I don't actually get it on my TV, but they have a Website from which you can watch a ton of free workout videos (or pay to download them, which I think is crazy, but I guess they're more portable that way). I just rediscovered it this morning, and I did this "explosive cardio" workout with Kendall Hogan (my favorite of all of their trainers): http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/explosive-cardio-6813. It's one of those workouts that start slow and trick you into thinking it's going to be a piece of cake, but by halfway through you're panting and sweating and wishing it was over. If you're like me and pretty much have to work out at home because of family logistics, you need to check out this site. I like to pick out one cardio and one strength workout per day, which ends up being about 50-60 minutes. You can do aerobics, kickboxing, abs, legs, arms, pilates...you name it. I'm not super-fit or anything, but I get a pretty challenging workout from most of them. When you're sick of your workout videos, this is an awesome alternative, and most of them don't require any equipment. Some use dumbells or an exercise ball, but that's about it.

Ice Cream in a Bag & Other Stuff

Have you ever heard of making ice cream in a Ziploc baggie? This is the coolest thing ever:

http://homeparents.about.com/od/recipesandcrafts/r/zip_icecream.htm
All you need are a small Ziploc bag, a large Ziploc bag, ice, salt, sugar, vanilla, and milk (or half and half). We are definitely trying this soon. I might have to add chocolate chips or Oreos or sprinkles or something too. Wouldn't this be fun for a birthday party?? I can't believe I've never heard of this, obsessed with ice cream as I am.
The cousins were over again yesterday, and we went to a puppet show at the library in the morning. It was hilarious. When we got home, I decided we should finally make these puppet kits that I've had for at least a couple of years. They're Martha Stewart and they are awesome - no cutting, no gluing, just peel and stick. Of course, I still had to help everyone with everything, but it was pretty simple. Afterward, I was treated to a wonderful, nonsensical puppet show orchestrated by Haley and boycotted by Sarah (because no one would give her any ROOM).

Links for homemade puppets:
http://www.savvyhomemade.com/homemade-puppets.html
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/talking-heads-710796/
http://www.squidoo.com/handpuppets

I wonder if I could find a pattern for a knit puppet...

A Compelling Reason to Home School

Is it necessary to categorize and teach about our historical figures according to their sexual orientation? Apparently, Senator Mark Leno in California thinks so. He's trying to pass a bill that would REQUIRE California schools to teach "LGBT history." The bill would also prevent schools from teaching anything that "reflects negatively" on LGBT Americans. I agree that we shouldn't exclude legitimately important historical figures from our kids' education just because they're gay, but why do we have to address the fact that they were gay at all? Why is that relevant? I don't know George Washington's dietary preferences, or whether he was a good horseman, or whether he liked brunettes...those things have nothing to do with his contribution to our nation or our history. If he had been gay, and I were taught that as a 10-year-old, would I have become more "tolerant" of homosexuality (which is one of the supposed goals of this bill)? Another of Senator Leno's goals is to teach kids that it's OK to be themselves. Is it really? What does that even mean? It's OK to do whatever you want to do, because that's just expressing your unique and treasured you-ness? I can't imagine anything more antithetical to what I'm trying to accomplish here at home with my kids. What's scary is that I think, at the root of it, my purpose is similar to Senator Leno's (his stated purpose, anyway) - we want to raise a generation of kids to be good people and good citizens. We just define "good" in totally, utterly, mystifyingly different ways.

Let's Do Something for Someone Else

One of the things I've wanted to do with the kids as a stay-at-home/homeschooling mom (which I haven't done at all) is find opportunities for us to do volunteer work as a family. I want the kids to grow up to be - as the Ezzos would say - "others-oriented," not self-oriented, and I want them to see that sometimes, the reward for hard work is something other than money. My excuse has been that I can't think of anything we could do with such little kids, but it turns out that this is kind of a lame excuse. Here's what I'm thinking we'll start with - We Care Kits through Hope Ministries in Des Moines. They're toiletry kits for a shelter, and you commit to making so many per month. You can write a little note with them, which is cool, and you can make them at home, which is even cooler.
The cousins are coming over today, and if we can get organized, we'll go to the store and each of us can make one.

Our Trip to Kansas City

We went to Kansas City
To see our lovely Aunt Ann
The 4-hour drive was pretty
From the inside of our van

We got to the hotel
And we screamed, "This is so nice!"
Our kids had their own bedroom
That's always worth the price

The Wiz was full of song and dance
It made us laugh and snort
Kaleidoscope let us create
Art of the Hallmark sort

The Olathe pool was enormous
It even had a lazy river
Aunt Ann treated us to so many fun things
That lady's a generous giver

We at a lot of tasty meals
Cinzetti's and Jack Stack
Best of all was dinner at Ann's
Believe me, we'll be back

We packed our things with sadness
And stopped for one last chat
On we went to Carroll
And that was the end of that

So here I am doing laundry
And mopping a sticky floor
I wonder, what's Aunt Ann doing
And when can we come back for more?

Bites Bite

I have a ton of bug bites right now, and they are ALL in places that I can't scratch when anyone is looking. I even have one on the most sensitive part of my breastfeeding mechanism, if you know what I mean. I didn't even know that was possible until now. I found a bunch of ways to try to stop the itching, although I'm feeling lazy and will probably just stick with my old standby (scratching) for now. Here they are - many of these are remedies you can concoct with ingredients in the pantry (vinegar, baking soda) or bathroom (deodorant, mouthwash):
http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Mosquito-Bites-from-Itching
I have GOT to get some serious bug repellant. Here are some organic/homemade solutions...which I'm willing to try, but I really, really like DEET (which only causes central nervous system problems if you use a concentration higher than 30% or put it on little babies):

• http://www.gardenmandy.com/5-homemade-chemical-free-bug-repellents-that-work/
• http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/homemade-insect-repellent.html
• http://crunchybetty.com/crunchy-kids-shoo-spray-homemade-insect-repellent
• http://1800recycling.com/2010/07/homemade-bug-repellent/

The easiest one of these is to dab vanilla extract on your wrists and behind your ears. I wonder if vanilla-scented lotion would do the same thing??

The Wiz

We're going to Kansas City this weekend to celebrate Aunt Ann's "mortgage burning" (something I fear I may never celebrate myself), and one of the things we're going to do is see the Wiz. Do you know what the Wiz is? Because I had no idea. It started as a Broadway musical in the 70s, then in 1978, it was made into a movie with Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Nipsy Russell. It's kind of a modern-day African-American version of the Wizard of Oz. Bizarre, you say? I agree. Apparently, the Emerald City is the World Trade Center Plaza in New York City, and Dorothy is a shy schoolteacher from Harlem.
Link to the play: http://www.coterietheatre.org/the_wiz.aspx
Link to "Ease on Down the Road", a famous song from the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5teusS_zvMw&feature=related
Link to the Wikipedia entry about the 1978 film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wiz_%28film%29
Just when you think you know everything there is to know about the Wizard of Oz (or Michael Jackson, for that matter), something like this pops up.