Investiture Ceremony

My troop did their first Investiture Ceremony!  I did a short introduction, then had the girls say the Promise (which most of them have memorized).

To help them do the Law, I assigned them each a couple of lines from the it.  I was a little disappointed that I was the only one who worked with my daughter on her portion of the Law.  Luckily, I am realistic, if not a little pessimistic, and I wrote out the sections of the Law and had the girls read from their script.

I then had the girls turn their pins upside down and I told them that they could turn it back the right way when they have done three good deeds and told the group what they have done.

I then awarded them each with their troop crest.  I had them vote on the meanings at a previous meeting.  They chose the Bluebird, which means "happiness and good fortune."  I had read on one site that it also meant "always singing" or "loves to sing" or something like that.  My girls do love singing and are a pretty happy group, so I think the Bluebird suits them well.

The ceremony was pretty short and simple.  I didn't want to do anything too long and elaborate, as this group is mostly Daisies.

After, we decorated Snickerdoodles and gave them to the staff at the retirement home where we meet as a "thank you" gift.  The staff appreciated their Halloween treat!

Thanks for reading,

 ~ Vanessa

Explaining TAPs

I am the the main leader of a Daisy and Brownie troop.  My co-leader leads the Daisies and I lead the Brownies.  With the exception of my daughter, a second year Daisy, the girls are all brand new to Girl Scouts.  The Brownies are approaching the end of their A World of Girls Journey.  We had sent out Flat Juliettes about two months ago, and had received no response, so we've had to move on with their TAP.

To help explain TAPs, I did an exercise with them to figure out wants versus needs and how they could build on that.  First, we started with humans.

These girls are more interested in animals, though, so we also did the same exercise with animals.

They actually came up with some great ideas that they could use for higher awards (Bronze, Silver, Gold)!  They were especially interested in per grooming.

In talking to each other, they discovered that they have both had snakes.  They decided to make educational snake posters and to make a climbing structure to be donated to Animal Services for snakes in foster care.  I was kind of leaning toward making the poster look more professional and have them tell me their ideas and I'd type it out, so it could be donated to Animal Services.  They vetoed me and said they wanted it to be hand written and drawn.  Oh well, it is their first TAP, and it is supposed to be girl-led.  Hopefully, the climbing structure will turn out well!  I've never really been around snakes.  I've done my research and talked to a snake expert at PetCo, so hopefully, it will be what Animal Services wants.

Animal Services was very surprised when I called them and asked what they could make for snakes!  Most Girl Scouts want to do something for the cute and cuddly animals.

I will post pictures of their completed TAP.

Thanks for reading!

 ~ Vanessa

First Award Ceremony

Last week, my Girl Scout troop had their first award ceremony.  They received the awards that they earned over the summer.

Summer was a very interesting time for our troop.  We lost nearly all of the girls from last year.  Their parents just weren't interested in having their kids continuing.  Unfortunately, there is nothing a leader can do in that situation.

However, we gained new girls!  This new group is great and their parents are very supportive!

Here are the awards they earned over the summer:

Thanks for reading!

 ~ Vanessa

Legitimate Reasons to "Un-friend" Someone (In Real Life and Online)

I am the type that takes relationships very seriously, including friendships.  I don't throw the word "friend" around lightly.  For me, friendship is a two-way street.  I am loyal and give people many chances, but once the trust is gone, it is not easily gained back.

I have several close acquaintances that I enjoy being around.  But, I really don't think I have any friends.  My kids and I are very active in our community.  I serve on several committees (Cub Scouts, Policy Council, etc.), am a Girl Scout Leader, and my kids are in many sports.  I have very good acquaintanceships in many of those.  I talk to the other parents about the kids' activities, school, etc.  But, would I call them out of the blue to hang out or vice versa?  Probably not.  I have tried setting up play dates, which people generally seem interested in at first, then either don't get back to me or flake out at the last minute.  That's fine, if that's who you are, but I'm not willing to invest too much time or energy  into this type of relationship.

1) Stealing.

When my hubby and I were on our honeymoon, we had his "best friend" houses-sit for us.  He was told that he was not to have extra people over.  His girlfriend at the time invited several people over.  They stole some of our wedding gifts and left used condoms in weird places.  He still considers him a very good friend.  I have less-than-nice thoughts about him.  If he were to apologize and reimburse us for the theft, I could have forgave him.  This was the beginning of the end of my friendship with this couple.

2) Interactions are no longer positive.

After seeing this person, you feel bad, instead of happy.  Or, the thought of upcoming plans fills you with dread.

3) They are not good for your spiritual health.

Maybe you are envious or jealous of this person or their life.  (One of the the 10 Commandments)  Or, every time you see that person, you want to deck them.  (Not one of the 10 Commandments, but still...)  Wishing ill will on them is probably not the best path to Heaven, either.  So, the less they are in my life, the better.

4) They are not good for your mental health.

My mom used to dread getting Christmas newsletters from one of her childhood best friends.  My parents always struggled with money, so getting this newsletter of her friend that was doing so much better always made her bitter for weeks.  Her jealousy of her friend's "perfect life" caused issues in my parents' marriage.

When I first learned of this rental going into foreclosure, I "un-friended" this couple about a week later.  I didn't want them to get offended by something someone said to me on Facebook.  (Yes, I was very worried about protecting their feelings at first)  I also couldn't express myself for this same reason.  Lastly, once the anger set in, I did not want to have to see their vacation pictures.  Vacations that I paid for.

5) No reciprocation.

As I said, I have several good acquaintanceships.  Mostly, these are based on proximity.  I have one former co-worker that was like a sister to me when we worked together.  When we no longer worked together, she stopped returning calls and other flaky behavior.  When she needs something, we are close again until she no longer is in need of something.  She has many good qualities, but reciprocating friendship is not one of them.

6) Flirting with your significant other/overprotective of their significant other.

Luckily, I have not had to deal with the first half of this since high school.  I was the only girl in my group of friends to date regularly.  I had friends that would "innocently" flirt with my boyfriends.  I also had girls that were nice to me to get closer to my high school sweetheart.

7) Putting down your significant other.

One of my high school BFFs constantly put down my boyfriends.  Granted, my taste in men left a lot to be desired, but still, she should have waited to bash them after the relationship was over.  My boyfriend right after high school, she would constantly call him my "insignificant other" to his face.  I later learned he was a cheater and other not nice things, but she should have addressed any concerns privately instead of antagonizing him.

8) Lying.

I am a very honest person, but I admit that I should learn how to do better with "white lies" to protect someone's feelings.  I don't enjoy being lied to, so I do not want to be around people that lie to me.

9) You don't condone their behavior.

My husband' best friend pretty much exclusively dates very large, very needy women.  He takes advantage of them and cheats on them.  I have told my husband that it worries me a little that he hangs out with him.  His last live-in girl friend and I became very close.  He wasn't happy that I took her side over his.

10) Gossiping.

When I made the decision to "un-friend" my "landlords," I also had to "un-friend" many mutual friends, both in real life and on Facebook.  I know that our mutual friends will repeat anything said or flat out make up things about us.
11) They are just plain toxic.

No matter your history with this person, who needs this in your life?  Even if only temporary, a break from such a relationship is necessary.

Like I said, I take friendships seriously and do not lightly end them.  But, there is no reason to continue being hurt/taken advantage of.

 ~ Vanessa

Sorry

Sorry I haven't posted anything in the past couple of months.  Life has been a roller coaster lately.

My family and I moved a couple of months ago and it's been a sea of drama and uncertainty ever since.  Our friend, D, remarried 4 months ago.  They had been officially together since his separation from his first wife a year ago.  It turns out that she played a role in their marriage ending.

Any way, our "friend" has a rental home that he and his first wife bought and lived in briefly.  He had issues with previous tenants and wanted to get more reliable tenants, so he contacted my husband.  It turns out that he first contacted another couple, C and F, about purchasing the home.  They had a handshake deal, but then offered it to us.  This friend decided to call me out on it one day.  I said that was between him and the homeowner, as we knew nothing about it.

So, from the beginning, their was lying and stabbing people in the back.  I knew it was a bad deal from the day before we moved in.  She one day decided to lecture me on what it means to be a tenant and implied that I've never rented.  Umm, I'm 31 years old and have been renting since I was 18.  I nicely told her this and she threw it in my face that the mortgage is $1100 and we'll only be paying $750 and implied that I use people.  I barely knew this chick!  I told her never mind and tried to excuse myself to call my previous landlord before he rented our previous home of 5 years.  She kind of apologized and I told her that if she ever mentioned it again, we'd move there.

It was supposed to benefit D and my family.  He'd get rental income and we'd be in a better neighborhood, which is important to me as a mother.  As I said, we were in our previous home for 5 years.  It wasn't world's nicest house or neighborhood, but it was all my kids can remember.  We also had to uproot the kids from the only school they had ever known.

The landlords constantly came over unannounced when they weren't on vacation.  We were never really that kind of friends, so it was weird.  On one of their vacations, I watched their kids for free.  They were supposed to pay me and provide food, but didn't.  When they came home, they bought lots of crap from a yard sale and were trying to show us what they bought.

I found especially tacky, since when they were on this vacation, the garbage service had been shut off.  This was supposed to be one of D's landlord responsibilities.  We didn't have garbage service for 2 out of the 3 months that we've lived here.  D had his wife come over once a week to collect the garbage.  She would call and text constantly to complain.  She also didn't like that we refused to keep the garbage in the house.  I really should have turned them in for failing to live up to their landlord duties, but I was trying to preserve our friendship with D.

Despite not having garbage service for almost the whole summer, they somehow had the money to go on vacations all summer.

Evidently, our rent money was their vacation fund.  Oh yeah, and D is a Longshoreman.  He makes $60,000 per year or so.  For a living, she defrauds the government and gets paid by the state to babysit kids that she's not really babysitting.  She gets $2,000 per month to not work!  And yet, they basically stole our money so they could live the high life all summer.

Even before this, we had decided that when we get our tax refund, we were going to move.  The final straw was when she showed up with the couple that they were supposed to sell the house to.  My hubby was at work, so there was no car here.  Since they saw there was no car here, they started walking around the back of the property.  I was scared and ready to call the police.  I really thought it was a home invasion or something.  They got out of a truck I'd never seen before and ran to the backyard.  I was peeking out the window and writing down the license plate when they saw me.  I was relieved, but weirded out that it was our landlord prowling around.

When they knew they were caught, she came up with some weird excuses.

Excuse #1 - They came over to get garbage, but it just started raining.
Fact - It had been raining all day and I told her this.

Excuse #2 - They came over to tell me it's raining.
??? I didn't even know how to respond to that one.

Excuse #3 - She wanted to introduce me to her friends.
Fact - I have known this couple for 10 years.  Much longer than I've known her.  Even they looked dumbfounded.

They hinted that it was cold and wanted to come in.  I said that my hubby was not home and the kids were taking naps, so I wouldn't let anyone in.

I seriously think that this chick is either mentally disturbed or on drugs.  That incident made no sense and I haven't slept well since.

It sucks that they have put us through all this useless drama all summer and basically stole our money.  I'll be glad to put these people behind us.  I'm just heartbroken for my kids, though.  There are some nice kids in this neighborhood that the kids have befriended.  My son was taught how to play Pokemon this summer and in exchange, he taught that kid how to play Magic the Gathering.  The kids also go to a great school right now!  My son told his teacher that we'll be moving and she emailed me, hoping it wasn't true.

We will probably end up back in the neighborhood where we were.  At least the kids will go back to their old school with all their old friends.

This is the second time that we've had to move due a landlord going into foreclosure!   I just don't get why things like this happen to my family.  My husband works hard.  I am a SAHM/college student.  I'm also very involved in my community.  I am on Head Start's Policy Council, a Committee Member of Cub Scouts, and a Girl Scout leader.  Last weekend, myself and another family from Girl Scouts dug up potatoes to donate to the food bank.  This is the type of stuff that we do for fun.  We are good people, so I just don't understand why we always manage to find so much trouble.

Thanks for letting me rant,

 - Vanessa

Growing Avocados (Wolf Cub Scout Elective 15 - Grow Something)

My kids and I decided to grow avocados.  Partly for one of my son's requirements to earn the Conservation Badge and partly just to give us something to do.  We ate the avocados (well, mostly me) on the same day and suspended them in water on the same day, but had vastly different results.  Here is our avocado journey:

Week One

Week 2 - Still nothing

Week 3 - One of the avocados starts sprouting a root!  the other one still looks like it did on day one)

Week 4 - No real change to speak of

Week 6 - Holy moly!  One of the avocados took off!  The second avocado finally starts to take root.

Week 7 - My camera was lost, so I really wish I had pics of this week.  The first plant sprouted up a lot and had leaves!  The second one had little change.

Week 8 - We transplanted one of the plants.  It is a little over a foot tall, but leggy from the lack of sunlight here in Washington state.  I pinched off the top three leaves, as I read that it will encourage the plant to fill out and be healthier.  The second plant is only about two inches tall.  This is definitely not for the impatient!

I've learned 3 things from attempting to grow avocados:
1) The best time (in doing this in a cloudy and rainy place) to start them is in the summer when there is plenty of sunlight.
2) This project requires a lot of patience, as well.  I did this project with my kids and put them on top of the entertainment center so they would get more light and be relatively out of sight and out of mind.
3) Keep out of reach of kids.  We attempted to do this last year and placed them on the kitchen table by a sunny window.  As they were at the table, though, the kids asked when they'd be grown at every meal.  With it being within their reach, the kids also sneaked into them and tore them apart to see if they were growing, so that was the end of those plants...
4) Every avocado grows differently.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

The Price of Karate

My son is pretty tiny for his age.  He is on the short side and skinny.  This is just how boys in my family start out.  Once they hit puberty, however, they grow a lot.  I don't have any male cousins or uncles under six feet tall.  I think the tallest once is 6'6".

My son has been having trouble with some boys at school lately, so I enrolled him in an introductory class at a local taekwondo academy that I am completely in love with.  The teachers are all highly qualified and it has a high quality curriculum.  However, the prices are very high.

I am a stay-at-home mom that is pursing my BA so that I can get a good job and my hubby works part time in a warehouse.  We have enough to get by, but we are far from rich.  The Black Belt program there runs $200 per month, plus a processing fee.  Tournaments and testing come with even more fees.  $200 is the price of a car payment!  It is just more than we can afford right now.  I can probably only afford 1/4 of that price.  That is the basic program, too.

My son took it well that it is just too expensive for right now, but I was near tears throughout his practice.  He has grown so much and has gained confidence while being there.  It just breaks my heart that I can't provide this for him.  I'm probably more attached to this program than he is, though.

He's also the type of kid that loves variety, though.  Even if we could afford it, that would be all that he would be able to do.  My kids play sports pretty much all year long and play a variety of sports.  He played basketball over the winter, both kids are in baseball right now, they will do soccer over the summer, and he says that he wants to try football this fall.

My parents put my sisters and I in a couple of classes through the city's Parks and Recreation program, but couldn't afford it as we got older.  I know that when my kids get older, we'll have to cut back to 1 or 2 sports per year, but I love that they have opportunities that I never had.

I am looking into small karate studios that would be more affordable.  I just hope that they will be just as knowledgeable and that my son will enjoy it as much.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

First Award Ceremony

Troop 44554 did their first official Awards Ceremony last night!  The girls received the majority of their badges last night.  We will continue to have monthly award presentations to give out awards as they are earned.  We did the award ceremony for the last half hour of the meeting. 

With my son's Cub Scout Pack, they hold Pack Meetings once a month and the first part is used for the award ceremony.  The parents also attend the meetings, however.  The scouts give their parents the badges and belt loops right after they are given them. 

With our Girl Scout troop, the parents have chose not to attend the meetings, as it is my neighbor girls and they just walk to my house.  So, I decided to use a small amount of hot glue to glue the awards to a section of poster board.  I wanted to make sure that the badges make it home in one piece, as well.

The girls were all really proud of all of the work that they have put in this year.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

Brownies WOW! Wonders of Water & Daisies Make the World a Better Place TAP

At last night's meeting, we wrapped up the Brownies' WOW! Wonders of Water Take Action Project and combined that activity with the Daisy petal Make the World a Better Place.  For this service project, they decided to clean up litter at the drainage field in our neighborhood that the kids call a pond.  It really is a cool wetland/drainage field.

I had the girls carry three bags:  one for recycling, one for garbage, and one to cover their hands to pick up icky stuff.  Some neighbor boys came down to the pond as we were almost done, as they were curious what we were doing.  The girls educated them about what we were doing and why.  We came back to reflect on what we did and who would benefit from beautifying our local "wetland."

In two years, when the Daisies are Brownies, I would like to do water quality testing on the pond, if we can afford it.  I think that taking care of this local example of a wetland brings home the ideas that they learned about this year while completing this journey.  I will also price Earth Day badges, as the whole troop participated and they discussed other things that they learned about taking care of the environment from learning about it at school.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

Funeral Potatoes

I decided to try out Funeral Potatoes today to go along with our Easter lunch.  I usually just make mashed potatoes, but wanted to try something new.  I grew up with many Mormon friends and heard about this recipe from them.  It's common at potlucks as well as wakes/funerals, hence the name.

I tried this recipe for it: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/04/funeral-potatoes/, only I didn't use onions and added bacon.  I also shredded potatoes myself instead of buying frozen ones.  The only thing that I will do differently next time is to use diced potatoes, but that's just a personal preference.

I hope everyone has a great Easter!

 ~Vanessa

Relative's Ungrateful Birthday Girl

Yesterday was my mom's youngest child's 5th birthday.  (In case I haven't mentioned it before, my mom had a 2-part mid-life crisis about 10 years ago.  She divorced my dad, then re-married a year later and had kids that are the same age as my kids.)  They had the party today.  It was pouring down rain all day, so I didn't really want to go, but it's family and these kids are the only people in our family that are close to their age.

As soon as we walk in (dripping wet), I hand the birthday girl her present and she immediately sets it down and says, "ewww, it's wet," and drops it like it has cooties.  Our mother is standing right there and says nothing.

The older child had a birthday in January, but they decided that they couldn't afford to have a party for her.  I felt bad for her, even if her own parents didn't, so I got the two girls Disney Princess Ballerina Barbies.  The oldest got Cinderella and the youngest got Belle.

When they opened them, the oldest mumbled something.  Maybe a "thank you?"  And went off and played video games.  The birthday girl shoved it away and announced that she didn't like it.  I told our mom that I'd just return it and I am done buying her kids presents.  They never show any appreciation.  I especially don't understand it as they live in a single wide trailer from the '70s that is falling apart.  They don't have electricity in half of their house.  I wouldn't be surprised if it gets condemned someday.  These kids are lucky when my mom and step dad choose to celebrate their birthdays, so it blows my mind that they act like stuck up snobs!

The birthday girl said that she'd only like the present if she got both of them, so our mom gave away the oldest's present to pacify her.  She should have paddled her butt right then and there!  Or at least corrected the ungrateful brat!  She is doing them no favors in life.  I don't know if it's my mom's age or if she really thinks that this is acceptable behavior.  I just can't believe that this is how these kids are being raised.  I'm so embarrassed of them and embarrassed for them.

I just don't get it.  I wonder if it's because my family is also low income or even because of my weight.  Regardless of how much someone makes or what they look like, that is no way to treat someone.  These kids are going to be so screwed up.

Sorry for the rant.  I promise to have a more positive one tomorrow.

~Vanessa

Brownies Painting Badge - Step 4

The whole troop participated in an exploration of painting without the use of paintbrushes.  Each girl made two paintings.  They utilized:  tin cans, yard, Q-tips, and cotton balls in place of paintbrushes.

For the first painting, I had them them dot primary colors of paint on their paper and roll the tin can across to spread the paint along the paper.  I really wanted them to be able to see the ridges from the cans on the painting when it dried.  For the second painting, they could create anything they wanted using the other household objects.

Here are their masterpieces:

I think the paintings were supposed to be abstract for the most part.  One of the Daisies said that she was making an Easter egg (the third painting).  A Brownie said that her painting (the bottom one) was supposed to be the Truffula Tree forest from The Lorax.

I only had to spend $2.38 for the project!  I already had paint, most of the household objects, and construction paper.  I only had to buy the cotton balls and two pieces of poster board from Dollar Tree!

They liked the paint covered tin cans and intended to keep them as pencil holders.  However, the water color paint flaked off and made a mess all over the table where I was letting everything dry.  We will have to figure out another type of paint that would work better for sticking to tin cans another time.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

St. Patrick's Day Traditions

My husband and I decided to start a St. Patrick's Day tradition about three years ago.  We wanted a tradition that is special to our family and won't interfere with other family traditions and plans.  His ancestry is:  Greek, Dutch, and Indonesian.  My ancestry is mostly Scotch-Irish, though my family just celebrates American holidays and traditions.

That first year, we decided to cut out green leprechaun footprints and make a trail through the house from the front door, though the living room, over the kitchen table, through the kitchen, and out the back door.  We sprinkled confetti and glitter over the trail of footprints.  Our leprechauns also leave a treat for the kids, usually a green candy and a juice.  The kids were 2 and 4 at the time, so we did this while they took a nap and they woke up to the leprechaun trail.

I almost forgot that it was St. Patrick's Day today!  The kids are next door at a birthday party right now, so I decided to make the leprechaun trail.  Since I almost forgot and I don't know how soon they'll be back, I used glittery shamrock table decorations and confetti.  I can't wait until they come home and find the leprechaun trail!

Do you have any special St. Patrick's Day traditions?

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

Clothing Swap Update

The kids and I had the opportunity last weekend to help out with their school's first Clothing Swap.  It was a great opportunity to go through my clothes and the kids' clothes.  I had gone through our clothes at the beginning of the school year, so there were only a few things that the kids had outgrown or I had missed.  I filled up a garbage bag with women's clothes, however.  I had gotten rid of the clothes that I wouldn't wear again due to the style.  I am tall and not at all into short shirts.  I had inherited clothes from my mother-in-law and one of my dad's friends.  They were all really nice, but I am nearly a foot taller than these ladies, so I donated these clothes.

I was there to donate my time and give back to their school (and my old one, as well) and my community.  I actually felt guilty taking a few items.  It was a rainy morning, so there wasn't a big turnout.  The leftover items were going to a local thrift store, so they really wanted to give as many items away for free as they could.  I got a few things for the kids.  I found one shirt that I liked, but I accidentally left it there.  Oh well.  I got a couple of items for my young half-sisters, also.

I hope that they try this again and I will be sure to save my kids' hand-me-downs.  I don't have friends with kids that are older than mine, so I never get a chance to get hand-me-downs.  I used to give my son's hand-me-downs to a neighbor boy that is three years older than him.  However, that boy is now nearly as tall as him and a little chubbier than mine, so they are in the same size of clothes.  I typically give my daughter's hand-me-downs to a local clothing bank.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

Clothing Swap

My son's teacher is organizing the first annual clothing swap at the kids' elementary school.  I think that this is a great cause and we donated the items that the kids and I outgrew or just didn't wear any more.  I went through the kids' clothes at the beginning of the school year and donated their clothes that were too small at that time.  My daughter and I will be helping out and volunteering at this event.

I typically donate clothes to the local St. Vincent de Paul's clothing bank.  I like the idea of my kids' hand-me-downs going to someone that can really use it and getting them for free.  The problem with clothing banks, though, is that clothes can sit there for a long time if no one is in need of that size of clothes.  I like that about this clothing swap, though.  My kids are in Kindergarten and and second grade, so I'm sure that there will be kids their size that will get use out of their hand-me-downs.

I don't really have any friends with kids that are older (and bigger around) than my kids, so we don't get to be recipients of hand-me-downs.  The few kids in our neighborhood that are bigger than my kids have large families, so there is little that makes it long enough to become a hand-me-down.  I used to give my son's hand-me-downs to a neighbor boy that is three years younger than him, but that kid is about his size now.

The only thing that I would change about this clothing swap is where the leftover clothing will be donated.  I'd rather they go to a clothing bank, but they will be donated to a thrift store, instead.  I still think that this is a great idea and will benefit children that really need it.

Thanks for reading!

 ~ Vanessa

Wrapping Cookie Boxes

My daughter decided that she wanted to wrap the boxes of Girl Scout cookies that were ordered through the pre-sale.  We decided to wrap them in ribbon to present them to her customers.  We mixed up the ribbons.  Some were spring colors and some were Seahawks colors.  After all, they did win the Superbowl :)

I attached a thank you note and curled the ribbon at the end.  I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

First Science Night for Girl Scouts

I usually plan a craft night for the last meeting of the month for Girl Scouts, but I decided to try out a science night, instead for this month.  We had also made Valentine's SWAPs earlier in the month, so I wanted to do something different.

Before the meeting, I went outside and gathered natural water pollutants (dirt, grass, leaves, and acorns), put them in a Mason jar, and filled the rest of the jar up with water.  I put a second empty jar next to it and draped a washcloth in between them to show water filtration.  Sure enough, it actually worked!  There were only a few drops of water, though, so if I ever do that again in the future, I'll start an hour or two before the meeting.  Magnifying glasses would be a fun addition, too.  I'll have to show them the picture to show them that it really worked.

We may explore how to purify water another time, as I would not want to drink the filtered dirty water.

While that was starting to filter, we explored water molecules.  My son had brought home Scientist in a Bag, which consisted of several books with experiments.  For the water molecules exploration, I had three jars, one with cold water, one with warm water, and one with hot water.  I added a little purple food coloring (since purple is my daughter's favorite color) to each jar.  The cold water jar's dye clumped together at the top.  The warm water jar's dye clung to the sides more.  The hot water jar's dye quickly separated and spread throughout the jar.  I further explained water molecule's movement by having them move around inside of a hula hoop.  When only one girl was inside the hula hoop, there was lots of room for movement and energy for heat, but not so much when all 5 girls were inside the hula hoop.

Lastly, we planted carrot seeds inside an empty Gatorade jug that I had.  They helped fill the jug, examined the seeds, and planted them.  Again, I'm really wanting magnifying glasses now.

Thanks for reading!

 ~Vanessa

Getting Ready for the Blue and Gold Banquet

Tomorrow is my son's B&G Banquet.  I really like how they make it fairly potluck-style.  His den is responsible for desserts, so the hubby came up with an idea of brownies with M&Ms inside and M&Ms and sprinkles on top.  I was also asked to make two of the table centerpieces.  This year's theme is the Olympics.  I went with red, white, and blue balloon weights surrounded by a gold garland.  They kinda remind me of sparklers, so I like how they turned out.

Thanks for reading!

 ~ Vanessa

Wolf Cub Scout Requirement 4E

My son's Den Leader modified this requirement, as he wanted proof of it, so he had everyone just keep track of the boys' chores for a month.  I am usually pretty creative and use a ruler to draw out a chart on bright construction paper.  This time, I decided to be a little more tech-savy and use Excel to keep track and chart his chores for the month.  I'm a big fan of Excel, especially when I get to play around with color schemes.  However, for this particular project, I am printing it off at the library, where the printer is black and white, so my primary objective with the data is legibility, instead of various shades of gray with hard to read words.  So, this isn't my prettiest work, but it's functional.

How did you keep track of your son's progress for this?

 ~ Vanessa

World Thinking Day

The Brownies and Daisies brainstormed ideas for their "What a Difference Kindergarten Makes!" booklet at last week's meeting. I typed up the ideas and printed them.  At tonight's meeting, they illustrated the booklet.

All of the girls attended Head Start.  My daughter attended there last year and I still serve as a Community Representative on their Policy Council.  I stopped there today and talked to her former teacher about donating the booklet.  She will contact us next month when they begin their Kindergarten readiness unit.  When they do this, she would like my daughter to come in and talk to the kids about Kindergarten and to donate the booklet!

There was enough time left in the meeting, so we read and discussed "Go to School for a Day in Namibia" (http://wws.peacecorps.gov/wws/multimedia/ebooks/namibia_school/nmb_school.pdf).  The girls had interesting perspectives, though their main interest were the animals that live in Africa.

We just have one Junior in our group, so unfortunately, things get a little dull for her.  She says that she will also pursue interviewing a teacher or principal about the importance of education for all children, especially girls.  I am really interested in what she will come up with!  I hope she follows through with this.

What ideas did your group come up with for World Thinking Day?

 ~ Vanessa