One tired swimmer (and one proud mama)

Violet had her first level 3 swim class today. In this class they swim the entire length of the pool, over and over. In level 2 they only swim about half the width of the pool. 25 yards versus about 5 yards. She did really good. She had to stop frequently, but that is to be expected. She made it each time. They are learning breast stroke, back stroke and front crawl. They also tread water, which I had already taught her and she is pretty good at. But all that swimming isn't something she's use to. She's beat tonight.

The class was her worst nightmare in one respect. She was the only girl with three boys. The horror! But she held her own quite well. A couple of the boys were pretty good. They might be moving up to level 4 soon anyway.

Mr. Incredible went with us to see where the pool is and find out the procedure, in case he ever had to fill in and take her. He was really impressed with her swimming. I don't think he was expecting the progress she has made so quickly.

You all know how sensitive Violet is, well she did awesome in class. She kept trying and she did great. I'm so happy I can't say it enough. We've gone through some terrible nightmares of classes with Violet in tears most of the time. Not a single tear has been shed through swim lessons. I am so happy to have found something for her to have such a wonderful success! She's such a good, talented, smart kid. It is so nice to see her shine where others can see it too.

Where we went today

We went to Fermilab, a physics place (okay, there's a much bigger explanation as to what it is, but I don't have much time to blog and I don't really understand it anyway, click on the link if you are curious), to watch the Wonders of Science show. It was put on by Lee Marek and Weird Science. It was quite good and we really enjoyed it.

We hadn't been for a few years, but when we went before they had a science fair going on at the same time. They didn't this year and we were a little disappointed. But we don't know how many years ago they discontinued it. I'll have to ask around.

Our winter storm did hit. We had a few inches of freezing rain last night, then 4 inches of snow this morning. But since the weather has been so warm the road cleared up quickly and we were able to go. The only problem we had was that the stop lights were all covered with snow and you couldn't see the signals. We traveled through a lot of intersections to get there. By the time we came home it was clear.

After the show we stopped at American Science and Surplus. That is the coolest store ever. If you aren't in the Chicago area, check out their website or catalog. You won't be sorry. And if you are visiting the area, consider a side trip there, especially if you are a catalog fan. Their store looks like their catalog but in 3-D.

My father-in-law bought a bunch of parts (I forgot to ask him what he got). Violet got some marbles, 2 glass fish, and some rock samples. I bought a bunch of miniature poker chips to use as bingo markers and in other games (they were clearance, I paid 32c total for 4 bags of about 40 chips each). I also bought some pinch pots for cooking in cool pretty colors. The set of 4 was $1.56. In fact, click on the link and you'll see the exact set I bought. I should have bought more. Mr. Incredible didn't buy anything. I guess he was being frugal. Or maybe he has some bigger purchase in mind. I'd better be worried.

I finished most of my work tonight. Another thing came in while we were at the science show, but she forgot to attach the attachment. Oh darn. Can't do it tonight.

This was the last day of Spring Break. Back to the books for us tomorrow.

Funny, I don't feel rested.

Ice and Work

We're getting an ice storm. I'm a bit in denial. It is Spring. It can't be cold and icy. We'll have to see what it is like in the morning. We have tickets for an event. I'll tell you all about it afterward. My father-in-law is staying with us tonight to go with us. The cats are freaking out that there is another person in the house.

I have a lot of work to do this weekend. I'm being rather unsociable I'm afraid. I've been hanging out with my computer instead of our company. Violet's been entertaining him. It is the biggest work weekend of the year for our firm. There is a huge deadline on Tuesday. That's not what I'm working on though. I'm picking up all the other things that can't wait until after the deadline.

We went out for pizza this afternoon with father-in-law. We went early before the ice started. While we were gone, I got two more assignments from work, both due by Monday. I'm not sure how I'll get it all done.

But I've put in 8 hours already today and we have a guest. So I am clocking off for now and worrying about it tomorrow. It will get done. Either on time or reasonably soon afterward.

Photos

Finally I am posting some photos. I am so far behind, it is terrible. I thank you all for putting up with me and my tardiness.

First, let's go all the way back to Valentine's Day. Here is the heart shaped brownie Valentine we made for Mr. Incredible. It took two boxes of brownie mix. (Before anyone goes all high and mighty on me, Mr. Incredible swears he prefers brownie mix brownies over homemade.)



Here's the salad I made for dinner that night:



And our heart shaped pizza Mr. Incredible and Violet made. They like black olives, I don't.



Here is Mr. Incredible's birthday cake. It is a cherry chip cake with cherry frosting. It was very cherry. See my flowers in the background? Violet got them for me on Valentine's Day.



Here's Violet dipping various things into melted chocolate for her candy making badge. She tried pretzels, dried fruit, apple slices, marshmallows, Shortbread cookies (called Trefoils by some of you Girl Scouts who get your cookies from the other baker), and potato chips.


Here is some of the finished product. The green apples were a bit tart for the chocolate. The dried fruit was really good. The potato chips were....different.


Today Violet tried her hand at cake decorating. First she baked a cake. Then frosted it. Yesterday she had made some molded chocolates and she put those on first. Then she used a pastry bag to try piping icing. It wasn't easy, but she really liked doing it.


Here's the finished product. It wasn't meant to be anything in particular. Just an experiment with a few different tips and different techniques. The colored icing is supposed to be lavender. Violet tried to make the color with food color gel, but it didn't come out quite right. Again, just an experiment anyway.


We started eating the cake. It was delicious!

She's part fish

We got a call today from Violet's swim club, she's ready to move from level 2 to level 3. She starts the new class next week! She only had 3 lessons at level 2. I knew her swimming looked good last week, but I wasn't expecting them to move her for another week or two. This is wonderful!

We found an opening in a class taught by her same instructor, so she doesn't have to get used to/comfortable with a new teacher. I think that will help her a lot. Her new level swims the full length of the pool. I think Violet's going to be pretty tired the first few weeks of that. We still go on Monday nights, but a half an hour earlier.

I am glad she's doing so well. One, because I really wanted her swimming to improve. But also because Mr. I. was a little nervous about the cost of the lessons. They aren't cheap. But the small size classes really helps, I think. We've committed to keep going through May. We'll see how she keeps progressing and decide if she's going over the summer or not. If she likes it, I'd like to find the money to keep her in class. But I should stop getting ahead of myself and just enjoy that she's making good progress. A few more weeks and I won't worry about her swimming without me there. (But with a qualified lifeguard on duty, of course.)

I have a level 3 swimmer!

Non-Newtonian Fudge

Remember how Violet is working on her candy making badge for Girl Scouts? Well, one of the requirements is to make "at least one recipe of fudge." I've suggested she try three recipes. My reasoning is that fudge varies greatly, from no-cook varieties to the old fashion method of dropping some in cold water to see if it forms a hard or soft ball. I'd like her to see the differences and not think all fudge is the new fangled easy fudge. That, and I really like fudge.

Last week we made the fudge recipe out of the Strawberry Shortcake cookbook. It was no-cook fudge. It came out perfectly. Today we tried a recipe call, ironically enough, "Never Fail Fudge" from the Mallory website based on the books by Laurie Friedman. It failed. Big time.

It was a cook the fudge recipe, and maybe we didn't bring it to a strong enough boil, but whatever happened it didn't set. We have the oobleck of fudge. Not liquid. Not solid. But still delicious. We pulled a few pieces out and within an hour the fudge had resettled to fill in the empty spaces. Handy if you are trying to sneak a piece, but with sticky fudge all over the place you won't be able to sneak it.

Mr. Incredible suggested we transfer it to a jar and use it on hot fudge sundaes. I think he is on to something.

So while I'm not happy the fudge failed (did I mention I love fudge), I'm not unhappy either. Fudge, she is a fickle mistress. It is just a lesson one must learn early in one's cooking career. I find the lesson a complete success.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go eat our non-Newtonian fudge with a spoon.

Rest in peace

Violet's hamster, Harry, passed away earlier this evening. Harry was 3. Or just about. We're not sure of his exact birthdate. He was quite elderly.

The last couple of days Harry's age really started to show. He moved slowly. He didn't eat much. He slept a lot. He'd shake really badly when he tried to stand up. But he never seemed to be in pain, just very weak. Then all day today he didn't wake up. At one point he turned around in the nest he'd made himself of fluff. But by evening, he was gone.

Harry led a good life. He was a very active hamster until his last week or so. He would go for long runs in his ball. He especially loved crashing into and chasing the cats while he was in his ball. That really freaked them out. Tee hee. He loved eating, especially sunflower seeds. He'd stuff his cheeks so full that he could hardly fit into his tubes.

Harry was also an escape artist. Three times he opened the door to his cage, snuck out, fell off the table it sat on, and landed in the garbage can. He scared the begeebees out of me the first time I went in there and found his cage door open. The I saw him. Curled up in the garbage can sleeping. First we tried safety pins to hold the door closed. That had worked when we had parakeets to keep them from escaping the bird cage. No luck, he squeezed out. We tried twist ties, he chewed through those. Finally we had to use 2 binder clips to hold the door closed. It was like he was barred in. But we couldn't risk him getting out, getting lost or hurt. What if on the fourth time he didn't land in the garbage can? That's right, all three times his journey ended with him falling in the trash can.

Violet spent most of the last 2 days in the room with his cage (we call it "Harry's room" it is our homeschool room/guest bedroom). She read and played in there. I'm sure he liked that a lot.

So goodbye Harry Hamster, you'll be missed. You were a really cool hamster.