Coat of Arms

During today's lesson on the history of Johannesburg, we learnt about coats of arms.

We then found a site where we could design our own coat of arms and here is the product:

The shield has three stars (mom and the twin stars).

The lion and unicorn represent the power and magic of home education.

The crown is there for decoration.

The slogan, Per Ardua Ad Astra, means Through Effort to the Stars!

Cool Maths Game

Usefull Links

Great games for kids:

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/index.html

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/index.html

Great sites for teachers/moms:

http://www.sitesforteachers.com/index.html

http://www.onlinedegrees4teachers.com/

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/grade_2.php

That's why you were blessed with hands!

I was folding laundry this morning whilst my kids were cleaning up their room next door. Having become used to bickering at tidying-up-time, I didn't pay much attention to what was being said - I usually just listen out for those (usually fake) heart-wrenching yells that indicate someone was injured in the line of duty.

My 6-year old daughter seems to be under the impression that she's the mommy in the house and just loves bossing her twin brother (who was first born) around and his typical male laziness lends itself to plenty frustration for us girls.

This is the conversation that took place:

Debbie: "Lift that up." (no, I don't know what he had to lift up and I'd rather not speculate - I could have been anything from a toy to the bed, ceiling or the entire house - I don't know!)

JR, meanwhile, was playing with a stick, practicing how he would defeat all the Superheroes known to man.

Debbie (in a strict, Mommy-voice): "No man, not with the stick, use your hands! That is why you were blessed with hands!"

My beautiful mommy

Telling young children about life's issues has never been easy. "Where do babies come from?" and "Why does my body look different to yours?" used to be tough questions to answer. Add to that all the issues caused by the constant evolution of modern technology and the constant urge to be richer, thinner and more beautiful and you have a dilemma on your hands.
Never fear when Dr. Micheal Salzhauer is near! Dr. Salzhauer, a Florida, US plastic surgeon comes to the rescue on Mother's Day when his new book "My Beautiful Mommy" is launched. This book is perfect for the mommy who likes to have herself being nipped and tucked to perfection.
In the book, the beautiful mommy explains to her daughter that Dr. Michael is going to help her fit back into her clothes and make her feel better again by giving her a smaller tummy. The book doesn't mention the reason for the mommy's noticeably larger breasts when she returns home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with bandages on her nose an around her waist.

Dr. Michael explains, "I tried to skirt that issue in the text itself. The tummy lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin and can't fit into your clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a six-year-old.

On a more serious note, an Italian study found that Botox, the wrinkle 'cure' that has taken Hollywood by storm, can travel into the brain via neurons. The study was performed on lab-rats and mice that were injected in their whisker muscles. Within three days, the toxin had migrated from the whisker muscles to the brain stem, where it disrupted neuronal activity. "The discovery was quite serendipitous ... and surprising," Matteo Caleo, who led the study, told the journal Science. "A significant portion of the toxin is active where it's not intended to be."

Botox's manufacturer, Allergan, thinks those older studies are more credible. "This study is not conclusive," says spokesperson Cathy Taylor, "and other published studies using botulinum toxin type A contradict these findings."

In 2005 the USFDA (food and drug administration) investigated 1493 cases of hospitalisation after the use of botox for the period 1989 to 2003. Botox was first used to treat eye spasms and later to erase wrinkles. 28 deaths occurred during this period and those were all people who received botox for medical reasons.

Personally, I have never seen a photo of a celebrity who looked better after having wrinkles erased or had "work done", so I'll just stick to my natural beauty!