Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Anna's Dollhouse
Nora and Anna found a little table lamp at a hobby store that Anna just had to have. It has a small electrical plug and the packaging claims it is compatible with all 9-volt systems. Having built Anna's house's electrical system, I have no idea how many volts it is (its 4 D batteries).
We've kept the lamp in its package in case I wasn't able to figure out a way to incorporate it into her house (in case it needed to be returned). But after a week, Anna started to get pretty desperate). Sunday night she and I decided to tackle the project together. Anna determined which room needed to have a "live" outlet and helped me measure and drill holes holes for the plug. We snipped a Pepsi can into two strips and created contact points that were glued to the back of the new outlet, then ran wires from them to the houses electrical junction.
Anna held the plug in place while we glued all the "outlet" connections in place. She did well, but was a little upset that we had to move the room's bookshelf while we got everything in place (it was in front of the outlet). She put up with it for a little while, but was really irritated when the glue wouldn't dry within a minute or two. She doesn't like her house messed up.
Unlike many of my projects, this one actually worked the first time. The lamp has a nice warm glow and turns on and off when the house's light switch is flicked. I think this concludes all work on the dollhouse. Its ready for permanent occupancy.
-Eric (Dad)
We've kept the lamp in its package in case I wasn't able to figure out a way to incorporate it into her house (in case it needed to be returned). But after a week, Anna started to get pretty desperate). Sunday night she and I decided to tackle the project together. Anna determined which room needed to have a "live" outlet and helped me measure and drill holes holes for the plug. We snipped a Pepsi can into two strips and created contact points that were glued to the back of the new outlet, then ran wires from them to the houses electrical junction.
Anna held the plug in place while we glued all the "outlet" connections in place. She did well, but was a little upset that we had to move the room's bookshelf while we got everything in place (it was in front of the outlet). She put up with it for a little while, but was really irritated when the glue wouldn't dry within a minute or two. She doesn't like her house messed up.
Unlike many of my projects, this one actually worked the first time. The lamp has a nice warm glow and turns on and off when the house's light switch is flicked. I think this concludes all work on the dollhouse. Its ready for permanent occupancy.
-Eric (Dad)
Pierce's Soccer game
Last Saturday was another of Pierce's soccer games. Pierce seems to have a general trend he follows. He typically plays twice in a game, once in the first half, once in the second. His first outing tends to be pretty strong, his second outing, whether because he's hot, tired, or lost interest, tends to be pretty poor. He's usually just stands facing the wrong direction with a general disinterest in what's going on.
This week was different.
His first time on the field he never moved his feet. His head was down and he was playing with something in his hands. The coaches and I were yelling from the sidelines for him to pay attention and go after the ball -to no avail. The ball whizzed past his feet and he didn't even notice.
When the half ended and he came in for a drink, I asked him if he'd picked a flower that he was looking at. He, rather indignantly, told me no. "So, what were you playing with?", I asked.
Pierce looked a little sheepish and replied...
"A booger."
That's my boy (he did do much better in the second, booger-free, half).
-Eric (Dad)
This week was different.
His first time on the field he never moved his feet. His head was down and he was playing with something in his hands. The coaches and I were yelling from the sidelines for him to pay attention and go after the ball -to no avail. The ball whizzed past his feet and he didn't even notice.
When the half ended and he came in for a drink, I asked him if he'd picked a flower that he was looking at. He, rather indignantly, told me no. "So, what were you playing with?", I asked.
Pierce looked a little sheepish and replied...
"A booger."
That's my boy (he did do much better in the second, booger-free, half).
-Eric (Dad)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Building Herbie
People searching the web for Halloween costumes have stumbled across the blog entry I made about Pierce's Herbie costume a couple of years ago. A very nice woman shot me an email to ask if I could give her any instructions. I like what I came up with so much, I post them here for your reading pleasure (to see the original blog entry, click here and scroll down)
At this point you should have a box with no top or bottom, with the profile of Herbie traced on both sides. The hood and trunk should extend all the way to the edge of the box. The bottom of the wheels should come down to the bottom of the box and the top of the roof should align with the top of the box. As long as the front and back extend to the edges of the box, you can cut the top or bottom of the box to meet the bottom of the tires and the top of the roof.
-Eric (Dad)
- Get a Herbie toy (if you don’t already have one), you’ll need it as a reference for when you’re drawing.
- Get a cardboard box that will be a good fit for your son. You’ll want something that will fit easily over his head and will allow him to walk easily. Don’t worry if the proportions are not exactly “Herbie”, a tall squished one or a long stretched one will still be a hit. Cut the top and bottom flaps off the box.
- Cut a piece of paper to be the same shape as the long side of the box, this will be Herbie’s profile
- Hopefully you have some artistic flair, because you’ll need to sketch the profile of Herbie onto the piece of paper, filling it all the way to the front, back, side and bottom. Use the Herbie toy for reference. Key things to watch for are the height of the windows and fenders. If you can get those in proportion, the rest will come pretty easily.
- If you really can’t draw, try scanning the profile of Herbie, then printing it “blown-up” to the scale you need it.
- Cut your profile drawing of Herbie so that its “Herbie-shaped”, then use the profile to trace the profile on the box. Then flip the drawing over to trace the shape on the other side of the box.
At this point you should have a box with no top or bottom, with the profile of Herbie traced on both sides. The hood and trunk should extend all the way to the edge of the box. The bottom of the wheels should come down to the bottom of the box and the top of the roof should align with the top of the box. As long as the front and back extend to the edges of the box, you can cut the top or bottom of the box to meet the bottom of the tires and the top of the roof.
- Cut all 4 corners of the box from the top down to where the car meets the edge of the box. For the front, cut down to the point where the hood meets the edge of the box. For the back, cut till you get to the top of the trunk. Make sure you leave about 4-6 inches of cardboard uncut, so that the box remains intact.
- The tricky part: with LOTS of packing tape, bend the front slat of cardboard to conform to the shape of the hood and windshield and secure it. I used high-gloss packing tape and it was very hard to paint, so you may want to use packing tape that has a matte, or masking tape type of surface.
- For the back, bend the cut cardboard piece to the contour of the trunk and back window and secure with tape.
- Congratulations, the hard part is mostly done.
- You’ll want to add some interior framing to strengthen the rectangular shape of the box. I used four dowel rods across the interior of the box. Two about where the tire’s axels would be (use wood screws to secure the end of the dowels through the cardboard) and two high so you can secure shoulder straps so that the costume can be “worn”. My two high ones were across the top of the windshield and back window, about 3 inches in.
- Cardboard absorbs a log of paint, so you’ll want to cover your masterpiece with primer, either spray paint or applied with a brush.
- Once the primer is applied, draw the details of Herbie on to your masterpiece. You should be well-practiced at drawing the profile, based on the stencil you created (by the way, keep that, Mathew will find all kinds of things to do with it).
- The front and back of Herbie should be should be drawn on the box (use the Herbie toy as a reference). Make sure that the front and rear fenders are at the same height and width as the profile drawings. Pay special attention to the width and placement of Herbie’s stripe.
- Paint it -I painted the car white, tires black, hubcaps and fenders silver, and his stripe red and blue. I left the primer uncovered for the windows. I used black paint and a (mostly) steady hand to hand-paint details like door handles, grill work and the license plate (customized to my son’s name) and so on. Magic markers probably would have worked equally well.
- Suspenders: buy a couple of nylon straps at the fabric store and safety pin/secure them to the upper dowels (I think my wife may have sewn them). You’ll need to do a couple of test fittings to get the height right.
-Eric (Dad)
Labels: Herbie build Halloween costume
Weekend Recap
Friday night was Driveway movie night. The featured film: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with Johnny Depp). We had great fall weather and very strong attendance. I think we had close to 20 kids. I didn’t remember the movie very well, so it was like watching it for the first time again. By the end of the movie we were all huddled in blankets. Maybe we should start putting on a big pot of hot chocolate…
Pierce had his second game last Saturday. The weather was not cooperative. He played on a cold rainy morning. Pierce actually played much better this time. He was far more involved, got his feet on the ball, and actually made a few plays. Towards the second half of the game he was back to his normal self, but I think that will improve over time. Pierce didn’t make his practice last week –we had “Father-figure and child pizza night” at his school. The school was looking for volunteer Dad’s to come in for one day during the school year. I’m scheduled to attend the day before Pierce’s birthday.
Saturday afternoon the weather cleared and the family went to Powell Gardens for their dinosaur exhibits. Our new neighbors also went (we caravanned). The exhibit featured life-size dinosaurs in “native” environments. We saw dinosaurs laying eggs, stealing eggs, running across logs, standing in meadows,.. It was very nicely done and everyone enjoyed it.
Saturday evening was dinner with Mike and Lizz. They seem to be falling into their parent roles quite nicely. Mike had done sole-parent duty the prior evening so that Lizz could catch up on sleep. It sounds like the twins took the opportunity to rake him over the coals. As always, Pierce and Anna fawned over the babies. Pierce sang a lullaby (Silver is the moonlight) to them prior to dinner. Anna made sure that all important toys were placed on their chests (we keeping asking her not to). Anna must have been pretty wiped out from the day, immediately after dinner she fell asleep on their couch. Pierce and Mike went downstairs to play trains. Mike always pulls out the best stuff to show to Pierce. Last night’s collection included several very cool steam engines as well as some engines Mike’s father had made several years ago.
Sunday was catch up day, with me mowing the lawn and Nora getting the linens changed out. Pierce has been enamored of the neighbors’ kick scooters for awhile, and I promised him that we’d get him one over the weekend. It took a couple of tries, the first one I bought was too small (he would have outgrown it by Spring). You can only imagine how excited he was. He spent most of the late afternoon tooling up and down the street with several of his friends. Of course, he had a couple of pretty significant wipeouts. He has a scraped toe and knee to show for them, but it didn’t seem to slow him down. Anna also got out her 3-wheel scooter and participated (it was very cute). She’s starting to become proficient with it. She went with Pierce and me to buy Pierce’s scooter and I told her that when she was ready for her own 2-wheel scooter I’d be happy to buy it for her. She insisted that she “loved” her Barbie scooter and was going to keep it until she is an adult.
We had some rain pass through on Sunday about 5 minutes in to the start of Anna’s soccer practice. The kids had just started to get a good groove going when we all had to run to our cars to get out of the downpour. I think all of us were pretty disappointed –but there’s always next week.
Nora introduced a new entrée into our growing list of meal options: sloppy joes. Surprisingly, both Pierce and Anna loved them (Nora and I are also pretty fond of them too). I think each kid ate 1 and a half “joes”. Nora was beaming from ear-to-ear.
We wound up the night with part of a documentary we’d gotten from the library, James Cameron’s Ghosts of the Abyss. It’s a very cool documentary about the Titanic. We only made it half way through before we had to stop for bed. But we enjoyed it. We knew Anna was tired, because she kept pestering us with silly questions, but she seemed to like it more than most of the Titanic documentaries we’ve watched. After turning it off, she and I spent a couple of minute’s leg wrestling. She needs to get a little bigger before she’s really competitive. We switched over to spider wrestling, with Pierce participating too.
-Eric (Dad)
Pierce had his second game last Saturday. The weather was not cooperative. He played on a cold rainy morning. Pierce actually played much better this time. He was far more involved, got his feet on the ball, and actually made a few plays. Towards the second half of the game he was back to his normal self, but I think that will improve over time. Pierce didn’t make his practice last week –we had “Father-figure and child pizza night” at his school. The school was looking for volunteer Dad’s to come in for one day during the school year. I’m scheduled to attend the day before Pierce’s birthday.
Saturday afternoon the weather cleared and the family went to Powell Gardens for their dinosaur exhibits. Our new neighbors also went (we caravanned). The exhibit featured life-size dinosaurs in “native” environments. We saw dinosaurs laying eggs, stealing eggs, running across logs, standing in meadows,.. It was very nicely done and everyone enjoyed it.
Saturday evening was dinner with Mike and Lizz. They seem to be falling into their parent roles quite nicely. Mike had done sole-parent duty the prior evening so that Lizz could catch up on sleep. It sounds like the twins took the opportunity to rake him over the coals. As always, Pierce and Anna fawned over the babies. Pierce sang a lullaby (Silver is the moonlight) to them prior to dinner. Anna made sure that all important toys were placed on their chests (we keeping asking her not to). Anna must have been pretty wiped out from the day, immediately after dinner she fell asleep on their couch. Pierce and Mike went downstairs to play trains. Mike always pulls out the best stuff to show to Pierce. Last night’s collection included several very cool steam engines as well as some engines Mike’s father had made several years ago.
Sunday was catch up day, with me mowing the lawn and Nora getting the linens changed out. Pierce has been enamored of the neighbors’ kick scooters for awhile, and I promised him that we’d get him one over the weekend. It took a couple of tries, the first one I bought was too small (he would have outgrown it by Spring). You can only imagine how excited he was. He spent most of the late afternoon tooling up and down the street with several of his friends. Of course, he had a couple of pretty significant wipeouts. He has a scraped toe and knee to show for them, but it didn’t seem to slow him down. Anna also got out her 3-wheel scooter and participated (it was very cute). She’s starting to become proficient with it. She went with Pierce and me to buy Pierce’s scooter and I told her that when she was ready for her own 2-wheel scooter I’d be happy to buy it for her. She insisted that she “loved” her Barbie scooter and was going to keep it until she is an adult.
We had some rain pass through on Sunday about 5 minutes in to the start of Anna’s soccer practice. The kids had just started to get a good groove going when we all had to run to our cars to get out of the downpour. I think all of us were pretty disappointed –but there’s always next week.
Nora introduced a new entrée into our growing list of meal options: sloppy joes. Surprisingly, both Pierce and Anna loved them (Nora and I are also pretty fond of them too). I think each kid ate 1 and a half “joes”. Nora was beaming from ear-to-ear.
We wound up the night with part of a documentary we’d gotten from the library, James Cameron’s Ghosts of the Abyss. It’s a very cool documentary about the Titanic. We only made it half way through before we had to stop for bed. But we enjoyed it. We knew Anna was tired, because she kept pestering us with silly questions, but she seemed to like it more than most of the Titanic documentaries we’ve watched. After turning it off, she and I spent a couple of minute’s leg wrestling. She needs to get a little bigger before she’s really competitive. We switched over to spider wrestling, with Pierce participating too.
-Eric (Dad)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Dollhouse projects
Last night I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures of the recent additions to Anna's dollhouse.
Supergirl is playing a game of Pacman on the house's arcade machine. The machine has a switch on the back that backlights the marquee and "video screen".
A friend of mine donated a large ziploc bag full of popsicle sticks. I figured they'd make good adirondack chairs. When I completed the chairs I put them on the house's roof/deck so Wonderwoman and Supergirl could relax and get some sun. Anna promptly moved the chairs down to the kitchen.
-Eric (Dad)
Supergirl is playing a game of Pacman on the house's arcade machine. The machine has a switch on the back that backlights the marquee and "video screen".
A friend of mine donated a large ziploc bag full of popsicle sticks. I figured they'd make good adirondack chairs. When I completed the chairs I put them on the house's roof/deck so Wonderwoman and Supergirl could relax and get some sun. Anna promptly moved the chairs down to the kitchen.
-Eric (Dad)
Soccer
Pierce started soccer a couple of weeks ago. He's moved out of the micro league and, due to more kids than available teams, is playing on a team of 2nd graders. He's about the same size as the other kids, but not quite as proficient in the game (they were all on the same team together last year).
The coach and assistant coach are very nice and I've been helping out too. So the practices are a lot of fun. Pierce had his first game last Saturday. I know he enjoyed it, but I'm afraid he's got too much Lindenberg in him. He's more interested in watching the sky than chasing the ball.
Anna's 1st soccer practice was Sunday. She's extremely proud of her new shin guards. It looks like she's going to be a natural. She dribbles the ball easily and is very good at listening to instructions and participating in the practice. Interestingly, when they spent the last 10 minutes of the practice playing a game, her Lindenberg tendencies came out too. I wonder if there's any hope...
-Eric (Dad)
The coach and assistant coach are very nice and I've been helping out too. So the practices are a lot of fun. Pierce had his first game last Saturday. I know he enjoyed it, but I'm afraid he's got too much Lindenberg in him. He's more interested in watching the sky than chasing the ball.
Anna's 1st soccer practice was Sunday. She's extremely proud of her new shin guards. It looks like she's going to be a natural. She dribbles the ball easily and is very good at listening to instructions and participating in the practice. Interestingly, when they spent the last 10 minutes of the practice playing a game, her Lindenberg tendencies came out too. I wonder if there's any hope...
-Eric (Dad)
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Random Acts of Kindness
Nora called me at work yesterday to relay a story about Anna.
After dropping Anna off at school yesterday, Nora had to double back to the house to get something and return. When she got back, Miss Blackford, Anna's teacher, pulled her aside and told her about Anna's actions that morning.
There is a new girl in Anna's class, Avory. After Avory was dropped off, she started to cry. Anna took it upon herself to go over to Avory, put her arm across her shoulders, and ask what was the matter. She consoled the girl, then walked her over to the gerbil cage and introduced her to the class pets. Apparently it worked like a charm and Avory was fine for the rest of the day.
Proud just doesn't seem like a big enough word to describe how Nora and I feel.
-Eric (Dad)
After dropping Anna off at school yesterday, Nora had to double back to the house to get something and return. When she got back, Miss Blackford, Anna's teacher, pulled her aside and told her about Anna's actions that morning.
There is a new girl in Anna's class, Avory. After Avory was dropped off, she started to cry. Anna took it upon herself to go over to Avory, put her arm across her shoulders, and ask what was the matter. She consoled the girl, then walked her over to the gerbil cage and introduced her to the class pets. Apparently it worked like a charm and Avory was fine for the rest of the day.
Proud just doesn't seem like a big enough word to describe how Nora and I feel.
-Eric (Dad)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Labor Day weekend
We had a very nice, low-key weekend. The weather was warm enough to go to the pool a couple of times –but the water was definitely cooler. We did our driveway movie setup both Saturday and Sunday night (Herbie Fully Loaded on Saturday, Iron Giant on Sunday). We had pretty modest crowds due to the travel weekend, but enough people there to make it fun. Anna’s dollhouse got a little more attention. I’m finishing off the roof and adding a chimney (Anna wants it to be blue).
I even found some time to squeeze in an afternoon nap after trimming the hedges and mowing the lawn. So success all around.
Last week we had an open house at Pierce's school. His teacher is very new to the area but seems to like it. After a rough couple of days, Pierce figured out the ground rules of 1st grade and has been doing well. It took him awhile to figure out that he shouldn't talk without raising his hand and needed to stay at his desk unless he had permission to get up. His teacher is interested in moving him into some accelerated programs (based on his obvious brilliance ;) She's already having him write his own stories rather than copy text of the board.
Anna started school on Friday. She's attending full days this year, but the first day was a short one (though she stayed for lunch). Anna was very excited to be going back -she's been asking when her school starts ever since Pierce started going a couple of weeks ago. I think she likes being one of the "senior" kids and has picked up the routine as if she had never gone on summer break. It sounds like Pierce is a little jealous that he's not seeing some of the same friends that she's going to school with.
-Eric (Dad)
I even found some time to squeeze in an afternoon nap after trimming the hedges and mowing the lawn. So success all around.
Last week we had an open house at Pierce's school. His teacher is very new to the area but seems to like it. After a rough couple of days, Pierce figured out the ground rules of 1st grade and has been doing well. It took him awhile to figure out that he shouldn't talk without raising his hand and needed to stay at his desk unless he had permission to get up. His teacher is interested in moving him into some accelerated programs (based on his obvious brilliance ;) She's already having him write his own stories rather than copy text of the board.
Anna started school on Friday. She's attending full days this year, but the first day was a short one (though she stayed for lunch). Anna was very excited to be going back -she's been asking when her school starts ever since Pierce started going a couple of weeks ago. I think she likes being one of the "senior" kids and has picked up the routine as if she had never gone on summer break. It sounds like Pierce is a little jealous that he's not seeing some of the same friends that she's going to school with.
-Eric (Dad)
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