Swimming with Dolphins

It’s illegal to swim with wild dolphins in most oceans. So, if you want to swim with Flipper, you have to an aquarium with dolphins.

I had to get over the mental problem of “If I let my daughter swim with dolphins in an aquarium setting, then I am helping to pay for captive dolphins.” After a bit of research I came to the conclusion that in the United States the great majority of captive dolphins were either born in captivity or rescued and can’t be returned to the ocean. Whew.

Nevertheless, when we went to Disney World in January, we didn’t detour to Sea World to swim with dolphins. My daughter, Anna, who is the one obsessed with dolphins was not quite old enough. Sea World requires a kid to be 6 years old and 44″ tall.

A few months after our Disney trip my youngest sister told me that her family was going to rent a condo on the beach in San Diego, spend one day at Sea World, and our parents were going to join them. I invited myself and my family along.

This time I booked two reservations to swim with the dolphins. One reservation was for Anna and the other was for my husband. I didn’t think Anna would go near the dolphins without a parent present and I didn’t trust my husband to get proper photos and video.

The day came and I helped Anna don her wet suit and rubber booties. She was excited and nervous. I do think, however, that perhaps my husband enjoyed the experience more.

Anna and Leon enjoyed about 45 minutes with Maggie, a four-year-old bottlenose dolphin.

It was totally worth the cost.

I Don’t Want My Kids Socialized

I don’t want my kids socialized. For the most part, I think socialization is a bad thing.

Now, before you call social services, let’s talk semantics. There’s a big difference between socialization and social development.

Socialization is the process where people learn their place in society. For children, socialization means raising your hand to go to the bathroom, changing your mental frame of mind when a bell rings, and waiting in line.

Social development, on the other hand, is about creating and nurturing meaningful relationships with others and integrating into society in such a way to help yourself and society.

Some socialization is obviously necessary to survive in society. For instance, if a kid doesn’t know how to queue up, he’ll get tossed out of amusement parks and not get to ride roller coasters. If a kid doesn’t have the sense to respect other people’s property and lives, he’ll end up in jail.

Some aspects of socialization seem silly to me, though. Why, for instance, should a child spend a year in a classroom with 20 or more other kids of the same age? Where else in our lives does that happen besides school?

Instead of “socialization,” I am teaching my kids “good citizenship.” For social development, I am providing them with opportunities to make friends of their age, older, and younger; however, I’m also providing them opportunities to make friends with adults, seniors, and much younger children.

Post Vacation Blues

We’ve taken a lot of vacation time this year.

We started off the year with a week-long trip to Disney World. Fun was had by all. I liked Animal Kingdom the best; Leon liked Epcot; Quinn and Anna liked the Magic Kingdom the best-even though they got to meet Mater and Lightening McQueen at MGM.

When we came home from Disney World, I had my traditional post vacation blues. My theory is that I spend a bunch of time high on epinephrine (and spending money) and then I come home and I need to clean the house. Bye Bye Little High. My customary method of dealing with the post vacation blues is to give my husband a choice: take the kids and I out to dinner and a movie, or walk us to the park to play.

That method usually works fine. It’s sort of an intermediary. While dinner and a movie can be expensive, it’s not up there with plane tickets. If it’s sunny out, a walk to the park usually does the trick too. (It’s a treat to get Leon to walk with me to the park.)

My usual methods didn’t work for this last trip, however. We didn’t get home until 8:00 p.m. San Diego, Sea World, visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces–and staying in a penthouse with a wonderful view–was loads of fun. Coming home at 8:00 p.m. didn’t make either of my normal trip fixes much of an option. (When you split a penthouse ten ways it’s much less expensive.)

So I did the next best thing and read a bit (to keep my mind occupied so I didn’t cry) and went to sleep.

You know what? Sleep worked wonders.

That Nagging Question

When I was in grammar school, about thirty years ago, I was taught that a species was a group of animals that could mate and produce fertile offspring. That seemed like a reasonable, simple definition and I was content with it for about 29 years.

My definition of species has been tested over this last year, and it has failed. While writing a polar bear unit study (www.UnitStudiesByGwen.com) I discovered that polar bears can mate with brown bears and produce fertile offspring; however, polar bears are grouped as a separate species.

Polar bears have longer necks than brown bears. Polar bears have smaller ears and tails-a cold weather adaptation. Polar bears have re-developed their carnasial teeth and primarily eat meat. Brown bears have lost their carnasial teeth and are omnivores. Brown bears hibernate over the winter; polar bears never actually hibernate. Brown bears cannot survive in the arctic and polar bears don’t fare well in warmer areas.

The two types of bears definitely have a pile of differences-but, but, but they can mate and have fertile offspring.

So, “What is the modern definition of species” is my nagging question. I have started researching this, but I haven’t yet answered it to my satisfaction. I think I’ll end up with another unit study on Taxonomy before I have the answer.

Colorful Games

I like games. I like games with bright colors, a need for strategy, and an element of randomness.

Tetris was my game of choice in college. I attribute the surgery I had for tendinitis at the age of 21 to Tetris. Tetris had bright colored squares, you had to use a bit of strategy when dropping the shapes, and the next shape was more or less random.

Conquer was fun too; but it didn’t have bright colors.

I’ve gone in and out of game addictions over the years. For a spell I liked World of War, a Risk-like game. I’d have 20-30 games going at once, and it took a lot of energy to play. Additionally, it was turn based and not usually played live. So, it took forever to finish a game. It met the requirements though. It was colorful, had die, and involved a fair amount of strategy.

Kingdom of Loathing is fun too. Despite the lack of colors, it does have randomness and strategy. Plus, its content is cool and has spoofs on everything from pop culture to obscure computer games from the early eighties. Kingdom of Loathing is a game that you play a little bit everyday for a few days or years, depending on how much you like the game. This game can eat up a lot of time. For instance, my husband thinks about this game all the time, researches the game, and thinks about every turn he makes. Kingdom of Loathing is a very long-term game.

Sometimes it’s nice to play a game that’s over in an hour or two, or in an evening. There’s a board game called Settlers of Catan that’s fun to play in groups. It has the bright colors, strategy, and die. The game lasts about four hours when you play with people and an actual board with pieces. If, however, you play the game online, you don’t have to set up the board or place the hexagons. Online, this game can be played in less than an hour. There are multiple online variations, but I like asobrain the best.

Asobrain had a cool game for a while called “Brainiac,” but they had to take it down for legal reasons. Now that game was fun. The bright colored shapes looked like candy. I think it was based off a board game called Ingenious. I have never played the actual board game. While the game took about a half hour to play online, I think it would take hours to play it with a board and pieces.

I don’t have any friends with Ingenious at the moment, but I do have a friend with a game called Ticket to Ride. Each player gets 45 train wagons and based on the cards drawn, tries to complete rail routes.

Ticket to Ride is my latest addiction. It’s even better because my husband likes the game too, and we can play together. I think my daughter might be able to play the board game with us. My son might need another year or two.

I’m NewtMommy. If you try any of these games out and see me, say hello.

New Addition to the House

See my house? Notice the flat, black things on the roof? Those are solar panels and I’m really excited about them.

Those little babies should supply our house with 104% of our electrical needs, save about four tons of coal each year, and make us feel all responsible.

Colorado Sunflower installed them for us, and my experience with them has been pleasant.

These solar panels are under warranty for 20-something years, will pay for themselves in less than that time, and can theoretically last for up to 60 years.

What’s more, if the federal government passes a cool energy bill sponsoring alternative energy sources, we might get a big, hefty tax deduction.

Solar panels – they’re not just for Boulderites anymore.

Highlights From Homeschooling

I homeschool my kids. I have a ton of reasons for this, but I feel like sharing some of the rewards of homeschooling. Here are some conversations that have been had in my family.

Preface: My daughter, Anna, loves dolphins. She likes them so much I wrote a dolphin unit study on dolphins, and this has bought many lunches for the family. Anna understands that dolphins are mammals and that mammals have four chambers in their hearts. In fact, she’s seen plasticized hearts with four chambers at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature. Anna asked the following when she was five.
Anna: Mommy, how many chambers do sharks have in their hearts?
Me: I don’t know Anna. Let’s look it up.
(As it turns out, most fish have two-chambered hearts.)

Preface: Quinn did this just after he turned three.
Me: Quinn, why do you have ten glasses lined up on the window sill with sticks and grass in them?
Quinn: I’m doing an experiment mommy.
Me: What’s the experiment?
Quinn: I want to see what grows.

Preface: Anna asked this just before she turned six.
Anna: Mommy, how long do lady bugs live?
Me: I don’t know Anna. Let’s look it up when we get home. How do we look things up Anna?
Anna: Google, Mommy!
Me: How long do you think lady bugs live?
Anna: I think for three days, Mommy.
Me: I’m going to guess three months.
(As it turns out, lady bugs can live for a couple of years, so we were off a bit in our guess.)

Preface: Neither my husband nor I are religious; however, we do enjoy church and take the kids to Sunday school once in a while.
Anna: I think God is in outer space.
Quinn: I think God is in everything.
Me: Anna, why do you think God is in outer space?
Anna: Because teacher said he can see everything.
Me: Quinn, why do you think God is in everything?
Quinn: Because Daddy said so.
Me: Anna, can you see God?
Anna: No mommy.
Me: How do you know there’s a God then?
Anna: Because Aunt Amy and Mr. Nick said there is.
…
Anna: What happens when you die mommy?
Me: Your body gets buried and it disintegrates and turns to bones.
Anna: No, mommy, what happens to you?
Me: Well Anna, some people believe that people have souls.
Anna: What’s a soul?
Me: Well, it’s something you can’t see that has all the important parts of a person in it like their love. Anyway Anna, some people think that when you die your soul goes to heaven. Some people think the soul gets reborn in a different person or critter, and still others think that there isn’t a soul and when you die, that’s it. What do you think Anna?
Anna: I think that half the people’s souls go to heaven and half are reborn.

Lessons on Money and Life Style From the Kids

I wasn’t big on cars and other toys when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I read a few articles of Amy Dacyczyn’s The Complete Tightwad Gazette and decided that being frugal was cool. Being frugal was the environmental thing to do to boot. Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robins’ Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence promoted similar ideas. Why should I go out and buy a new plastic gizmo when my current gizmo works just fine?

That was my environmental and political phase. I did lots of things that many people consider crazy. I do believe my father called me a bleeding heart when I went five years without a car. Going without a car in Boulder, Colorado isn’t a big deal. My dad cooperated with my crazy recycling bin scheme when he visited. My sisters just thought I was nuts.

I was happy. The simplified lifestyle was also my choice.

For a few years, the lifestyle was forced on me, and it sucked.

I went crazy; I bought a car and toys I didn’t need as soon as my period of forced simplicity ended. There was a short period during which I even spent more money than I had. Egads, it was like I was a different person, and the rebellion wasn’t hurting anyone but me.

I eventually found a middle ground with money, lifestyle, and spending habits. I slide up and down the spectrum though. Sometimes I buy silly things that I don’t need. Sometimes I make something things last longer than I should; however, overall, I think I’ve reached a middle ground.

I think I need to take some lessons from my children. They are really good at “Mommy, this is broken. Will you fix it for me?” There are a few stuffed toys that have more of my stitches in them than the original manufacturer’s.

The kids are also good at creating something out of “nothing.” For instance, Anna decided to make her brother a stuffed shark toy. She took one of her dad’s old (and holey) socks, stuffed it with stuffing from a dead, giant stuffed dog, sewed up the end with yarn and a yard needle, and drew gills and fins on the sock. That shark is now her brother’s favorite toy.

The kids are even starting to understand when to use gorilla glue instead of super glue.

How long can I make things last with a needle, thread, duct tape, and some gorilla glue?

Even so, I draw the line at darning socks.

Pigeons

I can usually find about five pigeons outside my house; they fly around from roof to roof and gently wake the neighborhood up with pleasant coos. I have never seen more than five pigeons though.

San Francisco, on the other hand, has pigeons a plenty. When my dog, Valor, was a puppy, he was a Guide Dog in Training. He flew with me to San Francisco just after he was potty trained. On his first trip to San Francisco Valor demonstrated a fear of pigeons. (Being a Labrador, he also showed a strong like for pigeon output.) I took Valor to San Francisco again when he was a little older, probably about ten months old. Valor thought pigeons were fun to chase on that trip.

Valor’s trips to San Francisco were about ten years ago. Pigeons were abundant as they walked around The City with their cute little pigeon walk. It was easy to find dozens on any given street corner, and they looked like normal pigeons with a few different feather colors. Over the last ten years I had pretty much forgotten about San Francisco pigeons; after all, I hadn’t been to San Francisco during that time.

The annual IVAA conference was held in San Francisco, so back to The City I went. Alas, my favorite pooch was not permitted to attend this time.

At the end of the second day of the conference I went for a walk to meet up with some old friends for dinner. I got lost, of course, on the way so I had many miles of walk-time to observe the pigeons.

The pigeons were different.

There didn’t seem to be any more pigeons than before; however, they were fat.

They were really fat pigeons.

At that point, I decided that if I ever became homeless I’d move to San Francisco. San Francisco doesn’t actually get cold.

And, The City has really fat pigeons.

Gazingas Pins

A long time ago I read Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robins and Joe Dominguez. This is an excellent book that makes you think about what you really need, what’s important, and how to achieve Financial Independence (FI). I liked the book so much that I not only read the book again a few years later, but I incorporated much of it into my life and bought a few copies to give on hand to people who might be receptive to its teachings.

The book discusses the concept of the gazingas pin. Most people have gazingas pins. A gazingas pin is something you buy, collect, have a bunch of, and don’t actually need. (Maybe you need one, but not a collection.) What do you collect? Some people collect figurines, or pins, or socks, or can openers. My husband went through a stage where his gazingas pins were technical books and another stage of VHS tapes.

My gazingas pin is the purse. I have a basement full of purses and I can’t seem to stop myself from buying more. I don’t buy every purse I see. A purse has to meet a set of criteria for me to “need” it. Nevertheless, I have purchased many purses in my quest for the perfect purse, that purse that will be so awesome it will put a stop to my inane purchases.

We went to a birthday party today. On the way home I told my husband I wanted to go buy some shirts. I’m going to a conference in a few days and I didn’t have any appropriate clothes that fit and weren’t in style in the 80’s. We saw a Ross on the side of the road, and he let me go in and he stayed in the car, reading a book, with the sleeping kids.

I was in there a long time. It took me probably about an hour to try on 16 different things and walk out with a giant shopping bag.

My husband saw the purse immediately. (Ross has a lot of purses.)

He said, “That’s cute.”

Did I pick a winner or what?