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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A First Pinterest Project - Oobleck

As M is now old enough to enjoy sensory play, I decided to go with some Oobleck, also known as goop and "silly slime" among other things. I made it as a child and really enjoyed playing in it. It's supposed to work a bit like quick sand, where it is extremely liquidy if you have it in your hands, but it solidifies in a container; if you stick your fingers in it is harder to pull them out.

Because M is only 13 months, I wanted it to be a little less "sticky" so that it wasn't awful to clean up. So instead of the traditional recipe I altered it a bit.


Oobleck Recipe

  • 1 1/2 - 2 cups of Flour (my alteration)
  • 2 cups of Corn Starch
  • 2 cups Water
  • Marker Ink (my alteration)

In the original recipe, you are supposed to use only corn starch. I diluted it with flour to keep it from being too sticky. I estimated my cups so use your own discretion when diluting it. Also, the original recipe calls for food coloring, which we were out of. I search for substitutes on Google, and someone said that they successfully substituted food coloring with marker ink diluted in water. Unfortunately, this didn't work for me, and it ran right off the Oobleck and into the drain. 

Because I didn't want to spend two hours mopping, wiping, and bathing M, I just let her play with it in the bathtub. It was perfect, and it was 5 minutes total of clean up!!

Anyways, here are some pictures of her playing in it. She LOVED it! The pictures are not great quality because the bathroom has virtually no natural light.

~Rose

A Review of Sprout

For many Americans, Sprout is one of the most popular and widely-available toddler-preschool-acceptable channel on cable television. It breaks the day up into several smaller "shows" during the day where episodes are played. The Wiggly Waffle is hosted by The Wiggles, from 6-9 AM, followed by the live Sunny Side Up Show who has several  rotating hosts from 9 AM until 12 PM, then The 2-hour SuperSproutlet Show which was recently added and hosted by Bean and Sportacus (from LazyTown), followed by The 2-hour Super Sharing Show hosted by three puppets named Patty, Ricky, and Curtis E. Owl, and lastly; The Goodnight Show which plays from 6 PM - 6 AM in 3 hour loops hosted by Nina and two puppets, Star and Lucy.

The number of shows played on this channel on a daily basis are extremely wonderfully diverse with new shows added every few months. Some include the ever-popular Angelina Ballerina, Barney & Friends, The Berenstein Bears, Bob the Builder, Caillou, Chloe's Closet, Driver Dan's Story Train, Fifi and the Flowertots, Fireman Sam, Kipper, LazyTown, Nina's Little Fables, Pajanamals, Play With Me Sesame (Sesame Street spin-off), Poppy Cat, Sesame Street, Super WHY!, and The Wiggles. Many of these shows are Canadian, Australian, or English in origin, mostly Angelina Ballerina, Caillou, Chloe's Closet, Fireman Sam, Kipper, Poppy Cat, and The Wiggles. This past year they've added 2-3 new shows already or altered ones they already show. They've even announced new shows this year to be added to their schedule.

I enjoy this channel due to the animated characters - human and puppet alike. I enjoy this channel because my daughter enjoys these characters as well - they are charismatic and funny. She loves Chica, the new host Carly, and Nina and Star. She loves to sing in the morning with Chica and stretch with Nina at night. The shows are educational and have few downsides, unlike, for example "Max & Ruby" which is plays on Nick Jr. In "Max & Ruby," Max is 3 and Ruby is 7; and they live alone without supervision. I don't believe their parents have been shown in any of the five seasons. Ruby is often bossy and abusive to Max, ignoring him and constantly lecturing him over nothing. None of the shows played on Sprout have that kind of nonsense.

If I were to rate this channel, I would give it a four out of five stars, only because there is always room for improvement. I truly enjoy this channel and only allow M to watch a few other shows from other channels. This is the number one channel I recommend to other parents with young children.

~Rose



Disclaimer: I was not paid or asked to review this channel or any of the shows mention, I did not receive any gifts or items from the sponsors or producers of the channel or any of the shows. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Do Not Stand At My Grave

I needed to hear this today. It's a frank reminder that even when we miss someone, they aren't gone. They are here, just not in the form we are used to. I still talk to my grandmother when I need to, aloud, because I know that somewhere...she can hear me.

Do Not Stand At My Grave -- Mary Elizabeth Frye


Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave bereft
I am not there. I have not left.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Born This Way



This image was posted on a really beloved support group on Facebook today. I love it there, and I am so proud of the owner for sharing this image.

The responses? Not so much. The typical "this is against Christianity", "this is offensive", "people aren't born gay", etc followed of course.

This bothers me - in 2012 that such ignorance is still bred. Yep, IGNORANCE.

To those who continue to claim that being gay is a lifestyle choice and not genetic, you should actually do some research. There have been several recent studies linking brain activity in response to smelling pheromones (male to male, female to female) which is part of our sexual responses, it is innate and not learned OR chosen. Researchers have also found that gay male brains are shaped differently than straight men's, and the same for women's, again they were BORN like that. The American Psychological Association has said "Homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus there is no need for a /cure/." Also, they've said encouraging homosexuals to change their orientation is mentally HARMFUL.

As far as religion, Jesus NEVER spoke about it, the Jewish Prophets never spoke of it, only six (seven?) out of over a million verses ever reference or talk about homosexual behavior - and it is not in reference to sexual "orientation" as its understood today. In fact, in those times, bisexuality was a given and if it was SUCH a problem with Jesus or God, I'm sure it would be referenced and talked about much more. However, I'm not Christian, and I don't claim to know what the divine says or doesn't say. The Bible was written by mankind, and men are flawed and have agendas, even Christians. Scripture has been twisted for agendas for centuries, Slavery, Aparteid, segregation, anyone? Even those who wrote the Bible CANNOT claim to know everything about what God believes or doesn't believe. And neither should anyone else feel entitled to do so, and to judge others (doesn't the Bible also say not to judge others, for God will do so? Doesn't it say love thy neighbor? Why is it that people feel entitled to deny others rights they are born with, because of THEIR religion and beliefs?)

Even if the scripture is "without error" human understanding is NOT and we cannot pretend that we know it all, that we know what god believes and use that to discriminate. Were all of you virgins until the day you were married? No? Well then be lucky you weren't stoned as it says for your husband to do so in Deuteronomy. The same goes for adulterers, and divorce and remarriage...also sins. A man can sleep with prostitutes but the wife may be killed if she does so, polygamy is okay for men and not for women. Treating women like property was ok and it was recommended girls 11-13 be married off. Do you agree with those sexual teachings too? No? Okay then. In the scripture it IS Adam and Eve and god does say it is "natural" for a man and woman to come together to create children. So Homosexuality must therefore be "unnatural"? Does that also mean single people, couples who can't have children, couples who are too old to have children, and couples who choose not to have children are also "unnatural?" "Well what about Leviticus?" Leviticus was written well over 3,000 years ago and is a holy code (list of things not acceptable in a faith at a certain time or place). It was written for PRIESTS only, and both Jesus AND Paul said it didn't pertain to Christians. Do you know what an "abomination" was translated as? The Hebrew word was To'ebah, which are just behaviors that were unacceptable socially in certain places or times. NOT like a modern "abomination" as we use the word.

What about "malaokois" and "arsenkoitai" aka "effeminate call boys/male prostitutes" and "homosexuals" being referred to by Paul? Okay, yes, he condemned "malaokois" in reference to effeminate call boys (NOT male prostitutes as is commonly believed), but arsenkoitai has NEVER been translated. There is no such word in Hebrew OR Greek. It was ONE person who translated it to mean "homosexual" based on his OWN interpretation and people just followed it because they couldn't crack it, either. What Paul, or even Moses, talked about it being "unnatural" it is perhaps because of their lack of understanding and not because God propheted this to them. They also thought the Earth was flat, the Sun moved up and down, and that the semen of man was the only component of child-making, that a woman was only an incubator for the already-made child. Should we be trusting them in matters of science? No.

We are governed by a Bill of Rights and NOT by the Bible, since not everyone is Christian or should have to follow what the Bible says. Everyone is born with inherent rights in the United States - those rights do not vanish if they turn out to be part of a minority. It is not right or okay to try and take them away in the name of religion. Marriage is NOT a sanctity of only Christians, it is an idea that goes far far further back, the Pagans were usually handfasted (more serious than an engagement, less serious than a marriage) for 1 year and 1 day, and then permanently bound in marriage. It does not "cheapen" marriage, and marriage does not "belong" to any one religion. It is a given right to every man and every woman, and there should be NO questions or objections. Remember, church and state are separate and should be.

Christians, remember...only the Christian God may judge you and thy neighbor. It is not your job to approve or disapprove, it is your job to love them like Jesus loves you. Jesus said that is the bottom line. Follow it.