Yard Art, Church, Twist on Favorite

Yard Art
This was Mr. Intensity's afternoon activity yesterday. He had a wooden mallet to bam the Montessori rods in the ground, along with a few wooden stakes and a sword from the Czech Republic.  Not sure we've used the Montessori rods correctly in a while.  :)  He also smashed several acorns with the mallet.  Love this kind of independent play.

Church
Secondly, our church service yesterday was very meaningful. The focus was on the Persecuted Church as well as orphans. One way to help the little man stay engaged was to write out a few words and let him copy.  Edith Schaeffer did a masterful job with her children in church services - she drew pictures that correlated with the sermon topic.  More details in her book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking.

Twist on a Favorite
While Hubby was in Rwanda a friend invited me and Mr. Intensity for dinner.


She made chicken salad and added shredded cheese. She put a dill pickle slice on top of the salad in a bun with then wrapped the whole thing with foil and baked in the oven till heated through.


OH MY.


It was super yummy.


We had it for dinner last night - Hubby loved it, too.


For lunch today, I heated my sandwich in the toaster oven - open faced, without foil - and it was just fine.  My sister reminded me that Martha doesn't let foil touch her food due to safety concerns.  She puts parchment paper on first then the foil. I'm crazy scared about Alzheimer's so I try not to use aluminum when I can avoid it.


[Another yummy I made over the weekend: Garam Masala Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk.]


Pregnancy Update
Today begins 14 weeks and I heard the heartbeat in the doctor's office.  I'm hopeful the nausea is coming to an end, as I feel better today than I have in a long while.

Mr. Intensity @ Work

Hubby made it home safe and sound.  He's adjusting to the seven-hour time differential which translates to an early bedtime.

Last night when I came to bed after him, I tried to slip into the bathroom and turn on the light without waking him.  The door wouldn't shut.

Mr. Intensity had been at work.

Competition: Boo @ the Zoo

Mr. Intensity was in heaven last night at Boo at the Zoo. He loved the attention his costume afforded him.

At the gate, I knew it would be a really fun night when lots of people stared at his costume then grinned.  One zoo worker said, "Oh!  You just have to enter the costume contest!"  I didn't know there would be a contest but of course he would be in it.  That would mean more attention.

He made it to the top five finalist.  Below, left to right: Man Bat, WWI soldier (whose mother sewed the entire costume!), Criminal Scene Investigator, Snow Princess (very elaborate hair and make-up) and Mr. Intensity as Declaration of Independence.

The women on stage interviewed the children and asked why they chose their costumes.  The 9-yr.old in the WWI costume was a real pill; totally cracked us all up.  One emcee even said, "This guy is going to be the next President, or at least governor."  He said he loved history and wars.  The Snow Princess, when asked about her choice said, "My mom bought the dress when I wasn't with her."  The crowd roared.  More than one mother has been through the agony of choosing a costume.

So, when it was finally Mr. Intensity's turn to explain, the emcee assumed that his parents had also chosen the theme.  He beamed and said, "No, I wanted to be the Declaration of Independence."  She had wrongly called him the Constitution.  The nine-year old WWI soldier gave her a quick differential between the two documents.

Mr. Intensity was asked, "Where did you get the document?"

The computer.

"You must have a really big printer."

No, silly, we printed it at Fed Ex.


At this point, I was holding my breath, hoping that he wouldn't tell the whole world that I almost died when FexEx told me it was $6.50 to print one piece of paper.  It was a BIG piece, but I am a tight wad.

Totally worth every penny.  And I guess I just told the whole world my secret.

Mr. Intensity won 3rd place.  He was happy with that, which made me glad but of course I thought he should win Grand Champion.

His prize was a stuffed platypus that he named Beaver.

Why I Love Rwanda

6. the reconciliation and forgiveness since the 1994 genocide
5. no plastic bags allowed
4. abundance of avocados
3. wonderful weather (70 degrees year-round)
2. silverback gorillas
1. my husband is there.

He'll be gone for two weeks, teaching a class on the book of John, at a seminary in the capital city, Kigali.

One of the super fun things about his trip is that he's taking a stack of pictures to give to Alphonse's family. He's the Rwandan college student we've befriended.  His family lives in a remote village, without internet access.  Alphonse's uncle will meet Hubby in Kigali to get the pictures.

The Costume

They worked well past bedtime to get it right.  He's the Declaration of Independence - and is soooo terribly excited about it.  Below is the pen that will be used for friends to sign the back.

It's made from Hubby's fly-tying days: a pheasant feather and peacock feathers.  The red craft feathers are for flair.

This morning Mr. Intensity told me he wanted to be Thomas Jefferson next year for Halloween, since he was the author of the Declaration of Independence.

Interrupt Costume Making

We interrupt the costume making to build a train. Or was it a submarine?

Halloween Costume

It was decided today what Mr. Intensity would be for Halloween.

Are you ready for this?

The Declaration of Independence.

Not sure why, but he has a sudden infatuation with it.

We're working on his costume this afternoon.  Stay tuned.

Ancient History Part 11 & 12

This video ends The Beginning of Time. It is my hope to bribe encourage Mr. Intensity to sing the entire song.

Butler Park

We played at Butler Park today after Comm. Central with a neighbor friend.  Mr. Intensity took off his socks and shoes the instant he got there.  In the photo they're building a rock wall, stuffing the cracks with clay and small pebbles.

Arkansas State Fair

Thankfully due to a break in the rain, we went to the State Fair on Friday. Due to some promotion, we got in free (with free parking!) and rode rides for free. Love free.

We saw some "exotic" animals at a petting zoo.

My mom sent him money to spend at the midway.  He was pumped beyond words to get this hammer (as a consolation prize).  Believe it or not, he carried it all day.

Of course we ate some fine fair delectables... on a hay bale, no less.

In the FFA barn he milked a cow,

and probably the highlight was this combine simulator.  He would have stayed in it all day.

There was a flat screen TV inside and buttons to push which Arkansas crop to harvest.  I learned that Arkansas farmers only get $0.14 for the pound of rice in a box of Rice Krispies.  We're the US's largest producer of rice, which explains to me the year-round problem of mosquitoes.

Yep, I caved and he had super sweet (and totally unnatural) carmel corn.  Look at that toothless grin.

The last event of the day (for us) was the Pig Race.  The winner for this race was Hama Montana.  I think Swillery Clinton won the second race.  The prize?  Pig Newtons.  Seriously.