Science Center

The kids are having a blast in at. Louis.
Here is a picture of them at the lego mindstorm exhibit. Maeve is finally old enough to try it out.
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Wicked

Here I am, using my mobile Blog. Just wanted to let you know that I'm going to see wicked in one minute from now. Were at the fox theatre and its just gorgeous! Here we go!
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Mobile blogging!

This is my first mobile Blog post. I just have to say that I love technology!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

my other "kids"

Everything Batman!

Lest you believe that my kids are obsessed with batman (and batgirl) I am here to tell you that they are not. I wonder where you would ever get an idea like that? First of all, Brennen picked his costume this year. He wasn't seeking out to be batman, but that costume was at the store, it was his size, it was the right price for mom, and it was kind of cool. Maeve on the other hand did her shopping online. I believe that she had her costume down to a top 20 list. She finally picked batgirl after a little pressure from mom to hurry up and decide. I always wanted the kids to "match" on Halloween and this time, I didn't have anything to do with it!

We celebrated Brennen's birthday with a friend this weekend. His real birthday was like three months ago. The family did celebrate but we never had a "party." It was a bit hectic over here b/c both kids were starting school, mom was starting school, and dad was transferring offices. We meant to have a party, but it just never happened.

So finally, Brennen agreed to be satisfied with a sleep over and his best friend, Michael. Dad took him to the store to pick out a cake, and this is what they came home with. Again, I had nothing to do with it. You would think that we are up to our eyeballs in batman videos and toys but we are not. These seemed to just be three separate but coincidental happenings!

They Said Something About Cookies

Here's a picture of an audiogram showing a "cookie-bite" hearing loss. Apparently, this is something I have. I was participating in a study a the University of Kansas. They were testing otoacoustic emissions (sounds generated by the inner ear). These are important because these are how one can test the hearing of a newborn. Anyway, I was a research participant and to get started, they tested my hearing. Technically, I don't have a "hearing loss." Technically, the student who tested me isn't an audiologist anyway. According to her test results, I am within normal range. I am however on the borderline for a mild hearing loss around the frequencies of 1000Hz. My audiogram makes a shape like this one. It looks as if someone took a bite out of a cookie. Usually, the audiograms will be sloping or a rising line. It would be straight across (at the top) for someone with no hearing loss. You can see from the audiogram with cartoons drawn in how different sounds are at different levels of frequencies (Hz) and noise levels (dB). So now the question is, do I go and get my hearing tested? What? Did you say something? I can't hear you.

Say my name, say my name!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Whiskey Prism

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Vanilla PB (Peanut Butter)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) J Shi

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal), Green Feline

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, hospital where you were born), Elizabeth Pendleton

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first), Shi-je

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),The Blue Pop

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers), Hilary Floyd

9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ), Mildred Floyd

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter), Singletary Salina

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower). Autumn Tulip

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)Watermelon Skirtie

13. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree), Oat Willow

14. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”), The Painting Wind Tour

Audiology?

So I started back to school this fall at KU. My ultimate goal was to apply to grad school in the Speech Pathology Program but I have to take about 30 credits of prerequisites before I can even apply!

The first class I had to take was Physics of Speech and boy did I almost chicken out! I had to force myself through the motions and just do it. (I keep thinking that if I had just started LAST year like I talked about doing, I would be almost done by now!).

So the interesting thing is that the two classes I am taking are both taught by audiologists. And not only do I enjoy both classes, but I am actually doing VERY well in them. As for my physics class, I have gotten a 100% on both exams. Out of the three exams given, we can drop the lowest grade so I guess I don't have to take the 3rd exam???

Now, if you know me, you know that I like to do things the HARD way. The more difficult, challenging, or expensive: I'm there! The point is this. Maybe I want to go to grad school for audiology instead of speech path. I just don't know. Speech path grad school is 2 years. Audiology is 4 years (Its a doctorate degree). Doesn't that sound cool?

I guess I have at least a year to decide. Since I am working full time AND going to school, these prereq's are going to take awhile.

I love deception!

Have you heard about Jessica Seinfeld's new book? She is the wife of Jerry Seinfeld (and we all know who he is). Well, her kids wouldn't eat veggies so she started to puree them and then hide them in foods that matched the color of the puree (squash in mac n cheese). And it worked!

Oprah had her on yesterday and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to buy that book. My kids, especially Maeve, will NOT eat a fruit or vegetable to save their life. Once I offered them a new bike if they would "try" some fruit salad. Nope. Not falling for it.

So if I can't bribe them, I'll decieve them! Well, Oprah was just on, hardly 24 hours ago, and did you know that the book is already SOLD OUT! I checked Topeka AND Lawrence. Then, I had the brilliant idea to stop by at Sams Club. My last hope. At first I thought they didn't have it either and was on my way out when I spotted a copy, up high and on it's side. All mine.

I can't wait to try it out on my kids. Even if they aren't choosing to eat veggies, at least they'll be eating some foods with nutrition.

Wicked

If you haven't heard of Wicked yet, then this is your lucky day! Let me tell you that my obsession with crocs was nothing compared to this! I love Wicked. I have read the book and have the soundtrack on my iPod. Even the kids and their friends beg me to play the music over and over again. And now, the best part....we have four tickets to see Wicked in St. Louis (thanks to my grandmother who had connections - THANKS MIMI!!). We tried to see it in Oklahoma this past summer but the tickets sold out FAST! My last resort was going to be flying to Chicago with or without the family. But luckily now it won't have to come to that. We can all see it together. Here is a preview:

The PHun stuff about PHYSICS

I'm taking a physics class at KU this semester. It is called the Physics of SPEECH. We are learning all about the nature of waves. This is a video of the Tacoma Bridge disaster. The wind caused the bridge to vibrate and on this day, the frequency of vibration matched a natural resonant frequency of the bridge, eventually causing it to break apart. From what I read online, the only fatality was a dog named Tubby who refused to jump out of the car.