Paul is crabby with his RSS reader. He’s saying to it, “No, I’LL tell YOU when to ‘mark as read’ KAY-THANX!” Apparently it keeps marking things as read when he hasn’t even clicked on them yet, and that is highly annoying. He shouldn’t give it such a hard time for malfunctioning, though: he should just be glad his RSS feeder is there with him, rather than on someone else’s computer. TEE HEE.
This afternoon I supervised the making of a baking-soda-and-vinegar “volcano.” AND I made a big batch of Corn Starch Muck for the kids to play with. AND I’ve been dumping my used coffee grounds into a gross little baggie every day because William says he needs ” a cup of grinds” for another messy project. Pls send mothering medal kthanx.
Have you ever made Corn Starch Muck? I believe “Magical Mixture” is its preferred name. You take corn starch, maybe half a box, and mix it with jusssst enough water to moisten it and stick it together. You get this weird play clay that will break like chocolate if you snap it suddenly, but will dribble like liquid through your fingers if you hold it still. Freaky! And messy! (Play with it in a bowl, and put the bowl on newspapers. And maybe put the newspapers outside. Perhaps in another state.) But fun for kids. Seriously, they’ll be out of your hair for hours, and then you give them wet washcloths and make them clean up the drying white powdery clumps and flakes all over the floor, and that buys you another hour.
I filed my taxes (*smug expression*) and this year I have too many children for the form. I use TurboTax software, so I don’t fill in actual forms with an actual writing implement, but I saw on the print-out that it had to file a separate form for additional dependents, because the main form only has room for four.
Those of you who have been hanging out around here for awhile know my feelings about Walllmart, which is that it is the kind of place where you take a deep breath, run in, do your shopping as fast as you can, and get the helll out. But look what I found there:
DINOSAUR SHIRTS. Marked down to only $2 each! Elizabeth LOVES dinosaurs; I got her one of each shirt, but then got some for Edward too so they could coordinate.
ROAR! Glad to know there is something worthwhile at the Walllmart (though around here it’s pronounced Walllmarts with an inexplicable “s”).
LOVE the dino shirts! And I also love that Elizabeth is the one who really digs them.
Good job with the taxes – that is one awesome picture of your bonus dependent.
When I first heard about the tax rebates and that people with children would get an additional $300 per child, the first thing I thought was “Damn! Swistle’s going to totally cash in.”
Oobleck is the name I have seen for that corn starch stuff – it is from a Dr Seuss book. Aren’t yo glad to know my years of teaching preschool weren’t a total waste?
I am now going to have to head to walmart to see if I can find some of those dinosaur shirts…we are nutty for dinos around here!
I love all 3 shirts! D’s got that blue shirt. I think I paid $2.50 for it, too.
I am going to have to try and waste the last 1/3 or so of a cup of cornstarch I have, just because I myself am curious about this stuff. Someone gave my kids moon sand for Christmas. They can play with that instead.
thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!
my word, you have many children, and they are freaking adorable!
Maggie beat me to the punch in telling you that the stuff is called oobleck by many, but here’s something I bet you didn’t know: Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid. See, a Newtonian fluid has a constant viscosity but the viscosity of oobleck changes depending on the stress you apply, so it is NOT Newtonian. (You apply “stress” by hitting, pushing, or letting your hands rest gently on the oobleck.)
Sorry! But I have to put my degree to use somehow!
I am using the tax deduction argument with my husband as a reason to have more children. I don’t think it’s working though.
And seriously? I could eat Henry. With a side of gravy and taters.
P.S. You turn me on when you’re passive aggressive. :)
Dr. Maureen- You’ve got Paul all engaged in the discussion now, and as I’m typing this comment he’s telling me all about thixotropic and rheopectic and dilatant, and something about ketchup, and I’m nodding and saying, “Ohhhhhhh! Of COURSE!”
AndreAnna- P.S. HA HA HA HA!
Aaah! I never go to Evilmart if I can help it, and now you’ve tempted me terribly with those dinosaur shirts. I have a dinosaur-loving girl too, who needs shirts.
Okay, see now, Dr. Maureen and your husband have given me horribly icky flashbacks to highschool chem class (where “everyone gets a C- as long as she/he shows up”). That picture of Henry is quite possibly…well with the exception of the starry eyed one around Christmastime… the best yet. My tax filing this year consisted of a bunch of “huh?” and “how do I..” and many calls to the helpless helpline and a trip to meet my new tax preparer. She is nice and I feel like a grown up now, with my own “people”…well…”person”.
Cute dino shirts, I like that they coordinate. Also, Henry’s shirt? CUUUUTE!
Go you for doing your taxes. I just got back from WM myself and it does suck, but it’s close and cheap.
I’m going to try that cornstarch stuff. d would love that…
Aww, Henry looks so adorable in his tax deduction onesie!
With my little 3-5 year old campers, we learned the hard way that Oobleck & nubbly carpet do not mix!
Have you seen this pop-up dinosaur book? It is AWESOME.
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Prehistorica-Dinosaurs-Definitive-Pop-Up/dp/0763622281
p.s. Also awesome are those T-shirts.
The corn starch mixture is the stuff of my elementary school dreams. Oh how I loved that goop. In my neck of the woods though we called it ‘umlick’. Which, now makes me think of many inappropriate remarks but in my innocent youth I just thought it was a fun word to say.
Dude, I gotta get me one a them tax deductions. ;)
In all seriousness, though, THE CUTENESS. OMG.
Dude, those are the cutest damn kids I ever saw. Henry is such a moose, he is so big and cute! And if I *have* to go to Walmart this week I will totally look for dinosaur T-shirts.
I have a love/hate with the Mart as well. We have a Super WalMart and they have very very low prices on groceries. The only problem is you have to deal with all the worst of humanity to get there. So, I like buying things form there, I just don’t like going there. And god help me if I have to return something.
Thanks for the shopping tip at Walllmart. My daughter loves dinosaurs too. I think I’ll have to make the trip.
I DESPISE Wallmart, but it’s almost worth running in there for dinosaur shirts. To friggin cute. Plus I have a gift card from Christmas languishing in my wallet.
Coffee grounds? Oh, that is horrifying. Cleaning up those things is like trying to vaccuum after a beanbag chair explodes.
I hope neither of those “dinosaurs” is a PTERANODON. That would be JUST LIKE WalllMart.
I LOVE your comment about the RSS feeder. And I especially love the “Tee hee” afterward. You are BRILLIANT. Best subtle response ever.
God, Henry is just adorable!
And did they have dino shirts for adults? Because I kind of want one now.
God, Henry is just adorable!
And did they have dino shirts for adults? Because I kind of want one now.
God, Henry is just adorable!
And did they have dino shirts for adults? Because I kind of want one now.
eh crap I might have to end my Walmart boycott for those shirts. that place makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry though
CUTE pictures!
Magical mixture sounds fun, but definitely more of an outside activity, preferably near a hose.
Kudos on getting the taxes done.
Oh, I bought Eli one of the dinosaur shirts at Wal Mart awhile back- the one Elizabeth’s wearing, actually. But they’re unisex-ish, right?
You know what else is fun for kids? Spraying down the whole kitchen table with shaving cream and letting them go crazy playing in it. My mom used to do this quite often, and now that I have children and a kitchen that I have to clean myself, I can only say, “WHAAA?”
Yeah, other people’s RSS readers have just left them! (And, they would apparently GIVE ANYTHING to have those readers back, despite said abandonment.) Sheesh, Paul. So selfish.
Also? I heart that onesie. SO cute.
Anonymous- I know! It’s really SAD that he thinks when there’s a problem he should try to FIX it. He should just let it STAY that way. He must be bitter.
Semi-des- I think the shirts are made for boys: they were in the boy shirt section, and they fit Elizabeth a little strangely—but I’m definitely considering them unisex. I’d love to find a dinosaur on a girl-cut shirt!
it’s bad that i sort of want to have a kid SPECIFICALLY to dress him in that onsie henry’s wearing, right?
Check this out on cafepress swistle:
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/dinosaur/-/pv_design_prod/p_2573418.200841499/pNo_200841499/id_24508929/fpt_/opt_/c_666/pg_1#
Ah, yes, ketchup. Another interesting fluid. Also see: ice cream, toothpaste. (Toothpaste is a Bingham fluid which means it loses viscosity as stress is applied!)
Also, have you seen this:
Also also, I forgot to mention that Henry is quite amazingly adorable.
Dammit. I hate Blogger sometimes.
Here’s the link, all linkified:
Running on oobleck
I live so far away from Wal-Mart now but Ironflower would just die for those shirts! I love them. I must go drive for an hour so I can shop in affordable-land instead of boutique-land.
I want to hold your adorable tax deduction. Could you ship him out west for a few weeks? Thanks.
Love those shirts refuse to set foot into Wally world for err moral reasons BUT I love those shirts!
My hubby was all over taxes this year – seriously I think he was first person in the country to file and he is not even an American citizen (come on now – he has a green card so he legite and all!)
Love those shirts refuse to set foot into Wally world for err moral reasons BUT I love those shirts!
My hubby was all over taxes this year – seriously I think he was first person in the country to file and he is not even an American citizen (come on now – he has a green card so he legite and all!)
Love those shirts refuse to set foot into Wally world for err moral reasons BUT I love those shirts!
My hubby was all over taxes this year – seriously I think he was first person in the country to file and he is not even an American citizen (come on now – he has a green card so he legite and all!)
I love the cornstarch stuff!! I learned to make it a the prek I worked at in college, and we just called it Slime. We always put food coloring in it, too, so it looked like a giant booger or something.
You know, tax rebates are the government’s way of ensuring we don’t all go insane and kill our kids when they pester us nonstop with their cabin fever. Whenever I get mad at them at this time of year, I just try to remember to see the dollar signs!
Oh, I love Oobleck. It’s great to read with the Dr. Seuss book. I used to use it with Elementary kiddos.
Speaking of kiddos…yours are adorable in their cute attire. Fun.
Can one of my daughters marry Henry? Please?
Mairzy- I’m sorry, but Henry is already betrothed to Erica‘s daughter. The other three boys are still available.
I love dino clothes! And MATCHING dino clothes… AHH!
I did my taxes yesterday too. It is a great feeling. Especially knowing a big fat refund check is in the mail.
Oh, that’s fine. All your boys are cute — I’ll take another. Of course, considering Edward also means considering Elizabeth as a sister-in-law, so I’ll have to choose the daughter with a good, strong personality. Hm. Poor Edward.
I love the “Tax Deduction” shirt