Dancing for the Fish, and Soggy Basements

We have two Beta fish.  If you've seen Saving LiZZy Fish, you've seen them.  One of them was double cast with my daughter, Elizabeth.  =)  They are both blue, and quite beautiful, as beta fish usually are.  One is name Lizzy and the other is Popo.  

The fish belong to Elizabeth, and she usually feeds them herself.  But she's been nannying every day for a couple of weeks, so other family members have been stepping up.  Literally, in Peter's case.  

He pulls over a chair to the tall cabinet on top of which the fish reside in their little plastic containers and steps up to be able to see them.  But, unlike the rest of us, Peter does not just feed the fish.  He has a captive audience.  Not only do the fish love to watch whoever is standing in front of them-- probably hoping for another food pellet-- but since they have no eyelids, they can't even blink.  And Peter loves this.  He does magic tricks for the fish, holding a small ball in his had and passing it slowly before their staring eyes, he quickly tucking it behind his back, holding out his now empty hands and exclaims, "Ta-da!"  He sings songs he makes up on the spot, and dances, wiggling his little hips and waving his arms above his head.  He tells jokes and generally provides about the best stand-up comedy I've ever seen.  The fish have yet to clap, but I'm sure they love it as much as I do.  After all, they haven't missed a performance yet!

Now, the Soggy Basement part.  Ugh.

It rained on Sunday while we were in church, and by the time we got home the power was out and the basement was flooded.  But unlike other times when the basement has flooded (yes, this happens fairly regularly) the water was not coming in the window wells.  Since the power was out, we assumed the problem was that the sump pump had stopped working.  (That may still prove to be part of the problem.)  But, on closer investigation, the kids announced that the water appeared to be coming from a huge blue water storage container in the corner of the basement.  

Now, I thought this was a little odd.  What are the chances that this heavy, thick-walled thing would start leaking during a rain storm when the power goes out?  And then stop leaking when the power comes back on?  Pretty slim.  Yet, I could see for myself that the corner with the storage container was wet, and the area around the sump pump was dry.

(Ok, slightly separate rant:  According to all I've read online about sump pumps in the past few days, the basement floor should be slanted ever so slightly toward the sump pump, so any water from other places gets pumped out.  That would be logical.  But ours slants away from the pump.  Really.  Water puddles up all around the other walls and the furnace, but we have to push it uphill to get it back to the pump.  I can not get over the amazing skills of the master craftsmen who built this house.)

So, several ponderings later, and I conclude the sump pump did stop working, and the increased water around our foundation leaked in through the walls behind the blue water storage container. 

Wonderful.

Not only does our pump apparently not have a back-up power source (something that must be remedied), but the foundation is apparently cracked enough to be pouring gallons of water into the basement.  And this is apart from the window well problem we were already aware of and working to fix.  

I am so ready to move to a secluded island and live off coconuts and pineapple and teach my children to roast fish on a little fire behind the hut and do native dances.  Peter's got the dancing part down pretty well already.  And think of the laundry we wouldn't have to wash and fold.  We could all just wear grass skirts.  And never have a flooded basement again.

Rebecca  =)      

writing from suburbia-- not a remote island, unfortunately        

Intelligence

The test of intelligence is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do.  - John Holt

Bethany is on the computer right now doing her math for tomorrow.  (We do school-light over the summer.)  She's got a computer program called Descartes' Cove that includes 6 CDs of math problems.  She's been stumped on a problem, working it out over and over and getting the same answer each time.  She just realized what she did wrong and is working it out again.  And it's still not working.  

I am really working on not showing my kids how to do things, but on letting them find out how to find the answers themselves.  Far too often they come to me asking questions, and I tell them the answer.  (silly me!) Clearly, they can't do this their whole lives.  And yet, it's so easy!  Just ask mom!  She knows.  She'll tell me.  And I won't have to look any further.  College research papers will be a nightmare at this rate.  Not to mention life.

So Research Rehab 101 is the other name for our house this summer.  Ask a question-- and don't get an answer!  At least not from Mom.  =)  

I heard Amy Barr from the Lukeion Project speak recently on preparing homeschoolers (and other teens) for college.  She had some interesting points.  (My notes from her talk are below) She and her husband are college professors and polled other university professors on what bugs them about incoming freshmen.  The number one response was....

Parents calling the professors!  Can you believe it?  Parents calling to say, "Johnny was sick and couldn't hand in his paper.  Can he have an extension?"  Ok.  I'm not that bad.  

Her list of unrealistic thoughts homeschoolers (and others) have about college are:

-The most important thing is to get accepted

Fact: 50% of kids who begin college do not graduate.  Getting in is the easy part.

-Mom and Dad are still my teacher and principal.

See the number one thing that bugs professors about incoming freshmen.  (And these are not just homeschoolers whose parents are calling.  These are freshmen across the board.)

-Time management is optional.

Parents: How to teach time management: Don't manage their time!  Let them be late, fail, make mistakes and get embarrassed. Butter now than later.

-Schedules are flexible (You can see where we would get these ideas as homeschoolers)

Parents: Teach "Project Skills" -or- "How not to Procrastinate" 

-Give lots of long term projects

-Make a syllabus for your homeschool classes

-Assign consequences that matter to the kids

-No nagging! (AKA reminding) Hand them the syllabus and don't mention it again.

-No shifting deadlines, even if they are sick.  Really.

-No reduction in chores when due date approaches. 

-Big rewards if the get the project in on time

-Projects may need to be objectively evaluated by someone other than Mom 

Kids: In college, something is always better than nothing.  Hand in what you have.  50% is better than a 0%.

-Creative writing is good enough.

Fact: The number two thing that bugged professors about incoming freshmen is that nobody knows how to write a research paper. Amaze your professors.  Write well!

-Data is cheap.  They won't be impressed that you can Google something.

-Cheating is easy and widespread.

-They want to see how well you can evaluate the data you find and express a complex conclusion from the data you've gathered.

-Failure is not an option

Fact: Oh, yes it is!

Thing that bugs professors number 3: Kids have failed to fail.  They have been praised for everything they have ever done, made every team they try out for, and have never been blessed with the opportunity to figure out what to do after they've failed.

-Failure comes to everyone.  Academic failure comes to everyone.  You will not get A's on everything you do.

-Failure is paralyzing to kids who have never experienced it.

-Practice some failure daily.

Parents: Turn up the heat. Do not shield your kids from failure.  Demonstrate healthy recovery. Shielding kids from failure causes low self esteem.  Never do your kids work for them.  Give them the gift of success and failure, both.  There is a current crisis in the failure to fail.  Kids are not growing up-- are not experiencing growth-- because they are paralyzed by a fear of failure.

Praise determination, not smartness!!

-Success is determined by giftedness.

Fact: Success in college is determined by determination.  Not giftedness.

Quick Quiz:

Which is most memorable to a college professor?

-The silent, straight A student on the front row?

-The constant question asker in the back?

-The office hour visitor?

Answer: Not the first one.  If you don't go see your professor at least four times a semester, you have let your parents down.  Pop in and say, "I have an idea for my paper.  What do you think?"  Your professors will love you, hire you, name their kids after you!  Ask questions!  They will know someone was listening and will go home singing.  

When time comes for professors to write letters of recommendation, they will think of the office visitor first, the question asker second, and will wonder who the silent straight-A student on the front row is. 

Those are my notes from Amy's talk.  As Josh said, "She's a great teacher!"  (He was sad that I got to meet her in person while he was at EFY.  He takes her history classes online and loves them.  I love the skills she teaches-- oh yes, and the history, too.)  

Now, if I can just apply everything I learned...  Like I said, Research Rehab 101 this summer. 

Rebecca  =)

Book recommendation of the day: Olivia, by Ian Falconer.  I don't know why I have never read this before, but for some reason I didn't.  Until yesterday.  Then I read it, and read it again, and read it again!  It is wonderful!  I started laughing today when I was driving as I remembered the line, "And moved the cat".  =)  And the picture after she spends time in the sun!  LOL!    If you haven't read it, take 5 minutes to do so.  And then another 5 to read it again.  It's a delight.      

        

Oh, sweet!

I just read an article on Science News for Kids (see link at the bottom of the blog) about honey as a cough suppressant.  According to a recent study, honey may be a *better* cough suppressant than dextromethorphan(DM) or codeine.   Oh, happy day!  =)  And oh that my parents had had this info when I was little.  

I have particular sympathies with any child made to swallow a spoonful of cough medicine.  For some unexplained reason I coughed, and Coughed, and COUGHED from about October to April while I was growing up, and cough syrup played a hefty part in my diet.  I would have given just about anything to swallow a spoonful of honey instead.  

I have often wondered what I would do with a time machine if I had one.  I now know one stop I would make-- 1358 Almond Ave, mid 1970's, to drop off a hint on sweet cough remedies. 

Rebecca  =)  

Clearing the Cobwebs, or Carnage in the Kitchen

We have, as some of you may know, 3 cats, a dog, and two beta fish.  (Oh!  I should include the link to the Saving Lizzy Fish Preview!  Check the bottom of the blog for the added link.  It's cool!)  But recently, a new creature has come to live in our kitchen window.  It's a spider, and since I don't want to open the kitchen window and remove the glass between myself and it (serious arachniphobia), and from the outside there is a screen in the way, it is still there.  And it is collecting a food storage of june bugs.

When we first moved here I thought june bugs were cockroaches, and I was totally grossed out by them.  They flew in our front door in the summer!  Who ever heard of cockroaches flying in your front door by the dozens?  Ugh.  I set traps, I cleaned everything like you would not believe, I gagged and squashed them, and still they were here.  Then one of Bethany's friends stood on our front porch one night and said, "Hey, look! A june bug!"  I stared at her.  "What did you call it?"  "A june bug."  "They're not cockroaches?"  She just looked at me like I was nuts.  I didn't grow up here, ok?  We don't have bugs like this in Minnesota!  

So, now I know what they are.  But they are still gross.  And the eight-legged creature in our kitchen window is killing, devouring and storing them.  Ugh!  Really ugh!  It makes me shudder.  But still, I can't get up the courage to open the kitchen window and deal with the whole situation.  I am such a wimp.

The other cobwebs I'm dealing with are the mental type.  My brian feels So fuzzy lately.  It's like I've been drugged.  But I can't think of who would be doing that.  (Any confessions?)  But really, my eyes are fuzzy, my thoughts are fuzzy, I feel like I am struggling to stay awake, my limbs are weak, and I forget everything.  I was also craving berries.  So I bought several of those larger containers of blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. There are no raspberries available in the area.  They are my favorite.  I ate and ate berries, and for a few days my head cleared.  Isn't that weird?  What on earth would there be in berries that would do that?  I don't think it's the antioxidants.  I don't think my brain gets rusty that fast.  But maybe I'm wrong.  

Anyway, now we're out of berries again, and my mental cobwebs are coming back.  Perhaps I should go get some more.  

Some things I've found, besides berries, that help various things are:

-Drinking at least one small bottle of Vitamin Water a day helps me not feel like I'm bout to pass out, and to not see stars.

-Taking a fish oil a day along with a good multivitamin helps me not get sick.  When I stop taking them regularly I get the next passing round of the flu or nasty cold.

-Exercising helps me feel more awake and happy.

-Reading scriptures daily helps me not be a wicked witch, and to make good choices.

-Limiting how much white bread and sugar I eat helps me not be so sleepy.

-Practicing Yoga Nidra as I'm falling asleep helps me sleep better and feel more awake in the morning.

-Stretching daily, especially my back, helps me not to hurt all over.

-Spending a little bit of time daily in the sun helps me be happy and awake.

Now the real questions are... Aren't these all things everyone should just be doing all the time?  and what would possess me to ever not do them? 

Yes.  and I don't know.

Today, BTW, is Rachel's 20th birthday!  

Happy Birthday Rachel! 

We're about to go to the park.  (Exercise and sunshine, both.  I already read my scriptures today and I'll take a vitamin and a fish oil before we go.)

-Rebecca Pi

Book recommendation of the day: Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier.  Five adventurous sisters... Four dark creatures... Three magical gifts... Two forbidden lovers... One enchanted frog...  Magic, daring, betrayal, and true love.  It's a fun read, although not the best written book I've ever read, the story is so fun it makes up for it. 

Working

I've about decided Candlewick is never going to respond.  I know, I know, patience is a virtue and all that, but it feels like they've had this manuscript (ms) forever.  Actually it's only been about a month. And a watched mailbox never... um... delivers?

And besides, who has ever sold a novel to the first publisher they send it to?  (Answer: almost no one)  50 rejection letters from now I'll look through my blog archives (something I almost never do), read this post, and think, "What was my problem?  Did I really think it would be that easy?"  Hope spring eternal.

The picture above is a poor photo, taken with my webcam (the only digital camera I have that works with my laptop right now) of a painting I did of the Washington DC temple.  It was really hard to get the camera (above the screen on my laptop) to hold still, to get the picture framed right, etc.  I am tired of the boring, almost colorless temple pictures. So I did one of my own.  My favorite part of the painting didn't get into the photo.  It would be to your left, in the blue part of the sky, but it got cut out.  Nevertheless, you get the idea.

Book recommendation of the day: Three Cups of Tea.  It's an inspiring true story about a guy who builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  It was a good, fun, read that made me want to do more, be better, and change the world. 

Rebecca Pi  =)

The Missing Boy...part 2

So, this morning Dakota did not show up.  I waited almost an hour, decided he really was not coming, and got into the shower.  (Deep thinking, you know.)  I decided something had to be done.  If I waited until tomorrow, his mom would, presumably, be in Germany, and there would be no way to contact her.

So I left another message on her cell phone and called her office again.  Still no answer.  I wondered if her coworkers were worried about her.  I called her office number again, but changed the last digit, hoping to get the person in the desk next to her.  It worked-- sort of.  I got a guy in her office who said he would pass a message along to her secretary.  (She has her own secretary?)  I waited about half an hour, but with little hope of anything coming of it.  Nothing did.

So I jumped in the car and, with Rachel's help (she had been there before), drove to their house.  Their car was not in its place.  I decided if there was no answer at the door, I would call the police and ask them to find out what was going on.  

I knocked, and got no answer.  I knocked again.  Waited.  Rang the bell.  Waited.  

The door opened!  And there was Dakota!  and a nanny!  I stared at them, and Dakota looked confused.  He said, "Who are you?"  

huh?  

I said, "I'm Rebecca.  Remember, you stayed at my house last week.  And you were supposed to be there this week."  The nanny was looking totally confused.  I'm sure I was looking worse.  Dakota just stared at us both.

It turns out, the nanny had not left (like his mom said she had), she had just taken a week off.  at least according to the nanny.  She claims Dakota's mom knew where she was the whole time, had her cell phone number, and had talked with the nanny several times over the week.  Which may be possible.  But that does not explain why D's mom called Rachel looking for a new nanny to start immediately, said she had fired her old nanny, and then left D's things at our house for the following week, along with a check for the next two weeks.  She made plans for him to stay at our house, paid for the time she would be gone, left his clothes here, and then never came back.

When I asked about the plans for the time D's mom was gone, Dakota and the nanny both said D was staying at Sam's house, and when sam couldn't watch D, the nanny was filling in.  She said these plans had been in place for a couple of months.  

Holy cow.  I don't know what the real story is.  I don't know why she is not returning my phone calls.  And I really don't know if/when she was planning to return for his stuff and her money.  

I left another message-- this one in the form of a note on her entry way table-- saying to call me ASAP.  I dropped of Dakota's bag of stuff, and if she calls, we'll talk about the money.  (Check was deposited the day she wrote it.) 

I hope she sorts out whatever the issues are.   And I am so glad they are both, apparently, alive and well.  At least physically.  

What an odd, odd situation.  

Ok, I'm off to the library.  We'll return the books Dakota checked out to read while his mom was in Germany, along with our books that we've already read.  We're each reading, (besides our usual diet of fiction) at least one non-fiction picture book a week.  I've read about oil production, jellyfish, asthma, the presidents of the US, and how jelly beans are made.  Cool stuff.

Rebecca  =)

Oh, wait!  Special thanks to JaNae M for the tips on how to get a cool background!  You should see her blog.  Maybe someday I'll make time....  =)   

Mystery of the missing boy...

We are babysitting, nannying, providing day care for... (pick one) a 10 year old boy.  He came for the first time last week, his mom paid for the next two weeks, she is leaving for a short overseas job in a few days and he's supposed to be staying here while she's gone.  But today, he didn't come.  No phone call, nothing.

I called his mom's cell.  No answer.  I left a message.  A couple of hours later, I left another message.  No return calls.  Nothing.  I called her office and got her voice mail.  Still nothing.

Now, most likely she went out of town unexpectedly, brought her son along, and forgot to take her cell phone with her.  She is probably, at this minute, thinking "Boy I wish I had their phone number with me so I could call them!  I bet they're worried!"  (She would be right.)  Or she forgot to tell me she had Monday off work and was taking him to the beach.  She's probably going to show up tomorrow morning with a perfectly logical, no-need-to-worry type explanation.  And I will know that all the horrible scenarios running through my mind were products of an overactive imagination.  (No doubt that I have an overactive imagination.)

But still... 

I hope he shows up, talking Pokemon non-stop, happy to tell me about his fun Monday with Mom.  

I hope it very much.

Rebecca

Oh happy day!

I figured out how to get a couple of pictures up!  =)  The bad news is, all my photos are on our old computer, and after uploading two pictures, it had had enough.  I had to get back onto my laptop to get the photos where I wanted them.  But two is better than none!

Sunday Thoughts

Mike and I spoke in church today on service.  Something I've thought a lot about recently.  

Why is it so hard to receive service?  Even if, or especially when, we really need it?  Is that simply pride?  The church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) says people should do work in exchange for goods or services received, in order to preserve dignity.  So, if someone brings food to our door, and we have not done anything to repay them, how do we preserve our dignity?    

If charity is the pure love of Christ (see Moroni 7), then is accepting food donations the equivalent of accepting the pure love of Christ?  Is saying "no thank you" to help, saying "no thank you" to the pure love of Christ?

Is there a time when it is inappropriate to accept help?  Or appropriate to say, "no thank you"?

On a different note, Mike's Grandma Watson (Lillian) died on Friday.  She was 95, and I think she must be very happy to have moved on.  As Josh said, Grandpa Watson is probably happy, too. =)  Services are on Saturday.  Mike is going to Utah for the funeral.

And on a third note, we are watching a 10 year old boy for the next two weeks while his mom in in Germany.  He's a very nice, polite young man who has Asperger's, loves Pokemon, and loves to talk.  He does his list of "jobs" (including playing a math game on the computer, practicing handwriting, and exercising for 1/2 hour) very quickly in the morning so he can play his DS for an hour.  

We're about to have Family Home Evening, including a lesson by Peter and a card game chosen by Mom.  I think we'll play Fluxx or Chrononauts.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Rebecca Pi  =)    

The Tricky Bit About Blogging...

I often think, while standing in the shower, of things I could write on this blog.  Many of them are deep, personal thoughts, and while standing in the shower, they feel inspiring.  

But then I dry off, get dressed, and remember that I live in the real world.  Oh yeah!  People might actually read what I write!  People I know!  There is no way I'm going to confess the things I was just thinking of in a public forum.  What if Joe Shmoe were to read what I thought of him?  What if my kids become famous and someone links my blog to their life, and brings up the stuff I wrote in a national debate?  

Ok.  Ok.  Very unlikely.  I know.  But still... the internet is such a public place.  Nothing like my shower. 

So I decide to keep it simple.  Leave out the deep, personal stuff.  But that leaves... umm... nothing.  Or at least nothing interesting.  

The weather is pleasant today.  Elizabeth is making crepes for breakfast.  I think I'll attend the homeschool conference this afternoon.  Bethany met with a robotics group yesterday and had fun.  Rachel is working several jobs and will most certainly have enough $$ to return to BYU in the fall.  Our cats are still alive.

About our cats... They are being held, against their wills, in the grass-less, bird- and small hunt-able creature-less, limited fresh-air, confined and insanity-causing prison.  AKA, our house.  And they are NOT happy about it.  They can see the chipmunks in the yard, the birds flitting from bush to bush, and the insects lighting on the outside of the windows.  And they desperately want out!  

But there are also foxes outside. We have tried to communicate this to the cats.  But they don't seem to be getting it, even though one of them (Carly) was almost eaten by a fox a few weeks ago. A neighbor came to tell us a fox was chasing Carly through her backyard, so Bethany dashed off for the kitty treats and ran out the front door.  She came back in with our tiny cat trembling in her arms.  Carly was crying actual tears that dripped onto Bethany's arms.  Not long after, we got a report from our neighborhood that there are foxes in the area (really?) and that cats have been eaten.  My question:  What would cause a fox to be hungry enough to eat a cat?  We have squirrels, chipmunks, moles, opossums, raccoons (well, ok, I'd rather try to eat a cat than a raccoon if I were a fox, but still-- there are other options!) fish, ducks and turtles.  No need to eat my cats.  Really.

I'm trying to get enough free brain time to begin another novel.  I'm bouncing four ideas around in my head, and working on some non-fiction picture books about physics in the mean time.  Untangling String Theory, What's in the Particle Zoo?, and Leaping into Quantum Mechanics. 

Speaking of which, I saw a cute quote the other day.

Quantum Mechanics... the dreams stuff is made of.

=)  

All right.  I'm off to get into the shower.  More deep, personal thoughts.  Sorry, I can't share them. 

Rebecca  =)

book thought: I'm only on page 155, but I believe John Adams is the best book I've ever read.          

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  This has been a crazy week.  

We hosted a family reunion here at our house, enjoyed the fourth of July =), picked Bethany up from girl's camp, got Josh ready for EFY, and Rachel started a new job... all with 20 people in the house.  

I recently finished my second-ever novel, The Other Side of Jacob's Peak!  It took about a year and a half to write and edit and is a 90,000 word young adult novel about discovering who you are, and changing to become the person you are meant to be.  Rachel, Elizabeth, Josh, my sisters Emily and ELizabeth, and a friend named Emma read, edited and provided invaluable feedback.  Mike and the kids gave me the time to write. We'll see if it is ever published.  I also have a picture book, Moonflowers, out right now, and a query letter for three nonfiction picture books on physics.  

Here is a short excerpt from Jacob's Peak.

I stared at him and dropped the knife.  It fell to the ground with a clatter that rang loudly, even amid the wails of the mourning songs.

"What in Ada's name are you talking about? I'm not a killer!"

"Hush," he hissed.  "Shut your stupid mouth!"

I took a step back and shook my head.  "You're crazy.  I won't do it."

He crouched awkwardly in his black robes and snatched up the knife.  "And you didn't kill hundreds of innocent people, either, did you?"  He turned me around, giving me a clear view of the funeral pyre and the mourners wailing.  A small body was being placed on the fire and I became aware of the smell of burnt flesh wafting across the night.  I turned away, trembling, refusing to see what I had done.

"Just take the knife!"

The edge of insanity in his voice was alarming.  I reached out and took the knife from his shaking hands, hiding it quickly beneath my tunic.

All right, it's after midnight and I'd better go to bed.  My pillow is calling to me.

=)

Book I'm currently reading: John Adams  (I like it a lot)