It's January and we have a lot of living to do before February hits!
Snow, hot-chocolate, robots, games, appointments, debates, youth government, meeting government officials, cross-country skiing, and Chinese New Year.
Year of the Rabbit!
新年快樂!
There was snow in the backyard.
Yay!
Then, back inside with caramel hot choccie.
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Badger Home Evening.
Robo Rally!
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Appointment.
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Her first Cross-Country Class of the Season.
After skiing dinner in the van.
*****
Another fun snow activity:
Homemade Snow-Frappacinnos...
'cause it tastes better that way.
My cup runneth over.
Yum.
Yes please.
*****
Another Monday means road schooling.
Math at Starbucks.
Picking up sis, from her robotics team meeting.
*****
Another cross-country skiing day...
Dinner prepped in bags for warm up.
Apres-ski dinner in the van.
Dinner+a Show!
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Starbucks MoDa Magic time.
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Magic Snacks from friends!
<3<3<3
<3
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Littlest Miss really wanted to create her own designer pillow.
So here she is hard at work with permanent markers.
She also still loves her some stuffies (as do I, apparently) and pretend.
And here was one of her assemblages with my Squishable frog and I got for Xmas...
*****
Waiting for a friend to pick her up to go to art class together.
<3
While waiting, she recruited me in sitting and listening to me the bird-song (from nearby trees).
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Another week...
And it's Thursday with yet another Math day on the road again!
Time at home with the birdies.
She was pleased to present her organized stuffies in bed.
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Another year, another world map on the kitchen table.
One might say that,
"We gave them the world".
;)
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Badger Home Evening
Hungry Hippos, because neither he nor I got to play this game when we were young.
It was always in such high demand at the school library and in the elementary school classrooms, that one never really got to play.
So here we are Hungry, Hungry Hippos...
And of course, this is a very popular game in our household as well.
Thanks Auntie Jess.
******
More cross-country skiing.
With poles, this time.
Directly after skiing class.
It's off to our next event.
An evening at the STEM center with Miss 2 meeting with her robotics team.
So many cool toys here...
STEM Action Center
<3
I don't know if the photo does it justice, but it's snowing again.
And time to go back home.
Long and lovely day.
*****
Making a salad.
With this little carrot-y
character.
Thank you Miss 2.
My salad is complete.
Deconstructing last year's feminist art calendars is one of my favorite things to do at the beginning of each year.
Now I have 12 new mini inspirational posters to paste all around our Feminista household.
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Dada is out of town with Miss 2 on a FTC robotics competion.
So I'm doing all of the driving for the next few days...
Photo courtesy of Erik.
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City Hall.
Miss 1 walking to city hall for her weekly city youth government meeting.
<3
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Enjoying her new pillow case.
birdie.
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It's Thursday again.
Time for food and Math and Writing at Starbucks.
Homeschooling on the road, while other sisters are at class.
Ahhh!
The Cheese sandwich is eating me Mama!
Now I will bite back.
Time for work.
But first, I must let Mama know my true evaluation of her quality.
Evil.
Gee. Thanks.
***
Thursday also means that Miss 1 has county student government.
So Miss 3 and I drop her off and its off to dinner we go!
Please squeeze the lemon in my Pho while I hide from the spray!
Yum!
*****
This articulated shark "Rawr" and this articulated banana slug "Jingly" are best friends in a bubble bath.
Courtesy of Miss 3.
Attempting to grow pumpkins indoors in the winter...
Another display by Miss 3.
Jingly and Rawr are going camping.
I wonder if Dino-vember influenced this?
Hmmm.
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Boba Tea at Tea Bar!
You would not believe the amount of driving I've had to do for these two with just the three of us at home!
Anyways, this outing is the very first during this whole time, where all three of us are together.
The through tunnel for foot traffic.
Walked over to Sugarhouse Park, braving some of the cold.
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Jingly and Rawr are up to shenanigans again!
A picnic fit for Queens.
A few of Miss 3's most recent work from art class.
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It's Saturday and Miss 1 and I attend a Planned Parenthood workshop on talking to lawmakers about abortion care access (how to lobby).
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Afterwards, I rushed home, exchanged children, and brought Miss 3 to a birthday party.
Birthday at the NHMU!
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Back at home, admiring the cool swag that we got from the Planned Parenthood event.
Check out the print on these bandanas!
All sorts of contraception.
Looking back over the years, it's an impressive the number of different types of contraception I can list on my on my resume.
Thank you PP.
Making gourmet French fries is actually a rather involved multi-step process, involving washing, cutting, pre-soaking, boiling, and then finally baking.
Yum.
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Dress rehearsal for Miss 3, for her Chinese dance troupe.
老師, teacher helping with her hair.
Miss 3 practices for their dance performance.
Meanwhile, Miss 1 and I get some coffee to go.
We actually drink it in the car, to avoid the crowds.
There's a tri-demic going 'round afterall.
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Miss 3 has taken a liking to diamond painting.
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The Badger Home Evening before CNY.
I've given everyone lantern kits.
And the directions are in Chinese.
Fun.
Year of..
the Bunny!
Success!
<3<3<3<3<3
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Jingly & Rawr are helping clean house.
We could really use it.
The help, that is!
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So, before the Pandemic of 2020, I had promised Miss 1 an ear piercing.
When the Pandemic hit, we decided it was best to wait pierce, thus reducing risk.
It felt like this was finally the appropriate time to finally take up the endeavor.
So I studied up (yes, on Youtube) and read-up also on instruments needed.
Given that I have had laboratory experience and biochemistry knowledge, I felt confident that I could meet the levels of sterile technique needed, given the circumstances.
I'm actually of the impression that the Pandemic drove a lot of folks to take up at home piercing.
Boiled instruments, in this case was sufficient, though autoclaving would have been better.
Sterile single-use piercing needles, of various gauges.
After studying up and of course doing manual gauge comparison with the surgical steel studs that bought, we opted to use gauge 14.
Front screw 10mm-rod surgical steel studs.
Success.
Happy customer.
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Miss has been learning to make Mama's coffee and experimenting to coffee top art as well.
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Miss 1 is coming along with Miss 3 and me on a tour of the Utah State Capital with Miss 3's Scout Troop.
Our capital is quite beautiful.
View from inside the House of Representatives Chambers, behind and over the lion's head.
It's foggy outside.
In the gallery above the House of Representatives.
Dinner in the car before we shoot off to our new stop.
Delivering Miss 1 to go and meet her city counsel representatives at City Hall.
Meeting her representatives with fellow student government participants.
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The next morning, back at the Utah State Capital again.
This time, I'm here to drop Miss 1 off for a day on the hill with Lawmakers and fellow student governments from all over the state.
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Meanwhile, back at home with these ones...
Never a dull moment...
Bread.
And yet another beautiful piece of coffee art for Mama.
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Rawr and pulling the boat.
While Jingly gets a ride.
Oh, and I believe that they are taking a tour of the house.
Here's the map.
TIme for snow painting.
Picking Miss 1 up from her student government, event.
Back at home.
At the end, there was a presentation by the author of:
We got silly.
Rehearsal time!
Winter wonderland.
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The event ended in downtown at the Sheraton with a fancy sit down lunch.
She was impressed and also had a lot of fun attending with her city youth government.
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I promised caramel hot chocolates after snow time, when I got home.
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This was printed.
<3
Birdie bath.
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Miss 1 and I attended a Planned Parenthood event where we helped fill post-abortion care package kits.
Coloring sheets, lots of pads, piddle sheets, granola bars, socks, ect.
They all go into the bags.
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion:
" https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982141565/ "
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Another morning, another delightful piece of coffee art.
And some other food art also, I discovered.
I have sentient brazil nuts.
Hmmm.
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It's crazy Friday and there are two of us drivers, Erik and me.
And all three girls are going to the various cardinal directions.
Good thing that we could multi-plex our drive duties.
Photo courtesy of Todd Hospodarsky.
Miss 2 went off to Robots on the Rotunda with her Robotics team.
It was an event to raise awareness with their representatives to let them know what their STEM dollars were going to support.
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These two were off to the county Winter Teen Ball.
Photo courtesy of S.Baker.
They made new friends.
It went well.
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Meanwhile Miss 3 and I: after picking her up from evening art class, it was off to dress rehearsal for her Chinese Dance group.
We got to the studio a little early...
So after eating dinner in the car and dressing...
And doing hair...
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The Tea Gathering dance.
*****
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Showtime.
Decided that it would be fun to start off the year with a giant coloring sheet.
A lovely end to a long evening.
I really enjoy seeing the dance and choreography progress from rehearsal to a more fully polished piece.
Plus being in the rehearsal studio afforded me some up close photo shots that I wouldn't even be able to get on performance day.
So this was an extra treat.
Was relieved to not have dropped any of the balls in terms of pick-ups and drop offs with all 3.
Its Saturday.
And they are again all scattering.
Miss 1: going to her day long debate tournment.
No photos.
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Miss 2: Robotics Scrimmage (also ends up being all day), at Rowland Hall.
Photo courtesy of Todd Hospodarsky.
Photo courtesy of Todd Hospodarsky.
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And finally Miss 3 has her Chinese Dance Troupe performance.
老師 (Teacher) helping with her stage makeup.
Marking on the stage.
If you'd like to see the dance:
" https://youtu.be/n5TXMJDr0fQ "
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New Year's Day.
I got a new set of markers and set this coloring sheet out as an invitation to color and art.
I'm going to leave it out for about a week and see how it takes.
Thus far, very popular.
I mean, who doesn't appreciate a fresh new box of markers?
Yum.
A colorful (and perhaps slightly apocalyptic) success!
My house has been, up to this point plagued by wayward-un-bussed dishes.
A bonus is that this coloring sheet has helped to encourage the bussing of dishes from the kitchen table.
;)
