The Crazee Chick's View of Life

In lieu of butterfly updates, I am posting some pictures of some impromptu fabric painting and crafting that we did last week. Kiki has wanted to make a bolster pillow to store her pajamas in for about a month but we just haven't been able to get it completed, so last week I sat down and serged the ends of an old pair of jeans that she had cut off and then suggested that she put some fabric paint on it to 'spruce it up.' That lead to all kinds of wonderful things as Zee got out an old shirt and painted a face on his and Mo took a jean jacket that she'd been making for her Webkinz (Sammy) and decided to decorate it with some flames. I loved that this whole thing was unplanned and that everyone was able to participate. Also included is a picture of Mo's latest fashion creation for Kiki's Webkinz. It's an adorable little sundress. !

Big Momma and Launcher were re-born today as butterflies! We didn't see it happen; I checked at around 9:00am and when I checked again at 11:00-ish there they were! It was such an exciting moment. I feel like a proud momma all over again. In this video you will also see 'Twitchy' forming a chrysalis. I thought that they spun a chrysalis but after doing a bit of reading the kids and I learned that they actually split their skin and so the chrysalis seems to form from the inside out. I'll have to learn more about this. So...in the video you can hear us commenting about how he's hula hooping and spinning but in actuality he's splitting. Ick. After letting the butterflies dry their wings we took one out and hand fed it. What a neat experience to have a butterfly in your hands and then watch as it's proboscis comes out and begins drinking the sugar water. I gave each of the kids a taste of the water (we made a whole cup of it) and Zee loved it (figures eh?) and K

Okay, I admit to being shallow and materialistic today as I shopped and spent money until I actually got a buzz! It was CRAZY! Today was the BC Homeschool convention and I had the opportunity to purchase next year's homeschool materials via money from a purchase order. I didn't hold back! I bought a $300.00 K'nex kit; a $200.00 Thames and Kosmos science kit called PowerHouse (those were my biggies) and about $600.00 in curriculum (History, Latin, Math, Canadian Studies etc). I think shopping could be a wonderful diet for me as I found I was so busy looking and purchasing that I skipped lunch and didn't even notice. If I could shop every day with an unlimited budget I could conceivably end up looking like Kate Moss or some other sickly skinny supermodel. Hey...maybe I could market this idea, sell lots of books, make more money and consequently do more shopping: I could end up so skinny that I'd disappear when I turned sideways! Ha...how my imagination do wun

Well, all 30 of our caterpillars have moved on. They've passed the larvae stage and are now in the pupa stage. It's been amazing to watch how instinct takes over and causes the mature caterpillar to climb to the top of the lid, hang down and eat and then 'accordion' itself up and begin spinning a chrysalis. It is quite an aerobic exercise to do so. They 'hula-hoop' for a while and then rest. They repeat this process a number of times and then suddenly they begin to swing back and forth so hard that it's impossible to believe they don't fall off! It's the funniest thing to watch. As with a watched pot that never boils, it's hard to see the progress that the caterpillar is making but if you go away for awhile when you come back the whole process is complete! So now we sit and wait....watching the brown chrysalis with the gold markings hanging, hanging, hanging....until who knows when! Can't wait until they break forth as butterflies. I only h