Let's Play Music

For the past year, Scotty has been part of a class called Let's Play Music taught by a good friend. It teaches some basics about music, mostly through singing, activity, and playing bells, but mostly just lets him have fun with something that I love. Bless his heart, he's pretty much tone deaf and I think he knows it because he tends to not sing. Now he can somewhat match pitch and he seems to enjoy music more, so I consider it a win. He has also picked up a lot of information about rhythm, intervals, recognizing parts and counter-melody, and is starting to learn the basics of reading music from a staff.

A few weeks ago he had his recital. I get to go to class with him every other week so it's all familiar to me, but the rest of the gang (Eric, Nani, and Papa) got a kick of seeing him jump around. He is very enthusiastic and he definitely stands out--he's not the loudest singer, but he's the one bouncing up and down the whole time :o)

he's the only one dancing ;o)

all 3 classes combined

jumping out a scale

demonstrating "skips"

major chords

playing the bells

Alyssa had a good time too

WyzAnt Tutoring

I love being a mom (aka domestic engineer, aka Chief Domestic Officer, aka "everything and the kitchen sink"), but it's nice to remind myself occasionally that my brain is good for things other than reciting Brown Bear, Brown Bear from memory or keeping track of nap times and feeding schedules and the addresses of the other preschoolers in the carpool.

I worked hard for the 2.8 college degrees that I earned, and I figured I should do more than just hang my degrees on the wall. (and if you're wondering about that .8 degree....well, it's a long story but you're welcome to email me if you really want to know and aren't already privy to the whole saga). Anyway, shortly after moving down to Phoenix, I started tutoring a family friend in chemistry. The next year, I worked with her in math, and added her older brother for college chemistry. I also tutored several students I had student taught. I LOVED tutoring, which is good because my 2nd degree is a master's in education. Unfortunately, I did my job well, so at the end of the year my students appreciated my work but no longer needed me :o)

So I realized I needed another way to find new students. I checked out a few tutoring businesses, tried a craigslist ad (nada), and found a few online tutoring databases before I settled on WyzAnt. Their business model is simple: it's free for tutors to set up a profile, so I pay no upfront costs. Students can be confident in tutors' abilities because each tutor is required to take a certification test for each subject or write an extensive description of your qualification for subjects that don't have an online test to pass. Here's how WyzAnt makes money: they take a % of your tutoring rate for every lesson you submit. It starts fairly hefty--I only took home 60% of my initial pay until I had taught for 20 hours through their site. To make it worth my while, I simply raised my tutoring rate so I still made what I had before. Today I celebrate a special occasion: I have taught 50+ hours through their site since starting in April. I now take home 70% of my hourly rate ;o). I've also made over $1,400 these past 6 months...

Besides producing a steady stream of potential clients (I only take a few at a time so I don't overload myself--I regularly turn down 1 or 2 people per week), I LOVE how their site is set up. Each student I work with has a profile with all of their contact information, a map to their house, any email correspondence between us, and any other notes I have made on their file. After each lesson, I write a short summary either with tips for them to remember or explaining to their parents what material we covered and what they need to do before our next session. Payment is made by credit card on their end and I get the money direct deposited into my checking account with 5 days. I can encourage more business by running a blog with tutoring helps through my profile on their site and even post videos.

It's also important that no student gets my personal info unless I personally give it to them. All email routes through WyzAnt to my personal account so I don't have to worry about what happens with my personal data after the student moves on.

With that long-winded explanation out of my system, anyone looking for a math or chemistry tutor in the Phoenix area? Check out my profile.

Looking for a little help in a different subject? Want to set up your own tutoring business? I bet you'll love it. (FYI if you ARE planning on using the site, click through the links above or let me know, as I do get a bonus for referring people. BUT I would recommend it anyway, because it's awesome).

CLICK HERE to check out WyzAnt

P.S. I made my own linking buttons in my left sidebar because I'm just that cool.

Crayon Frustration

Scotty has been going to preschool twice a week for several months now, and it's a great break for both of us. I am very impressed with all of the things he is learning, and now I REALLY never know what will come out of his mouth. Saturday, it was the Pledge of Allegiance ("One nation, under God, invisible, with justice for all"). Many days it is funny Halloween songs (see this post) or nursery rhymes. This morning, it was crayon frustration.

Me, watching him draw a goldfish: "That is great, Scotty! You drew a great smooth line and even drew a happy face!"
Scotty, with a very sad look on his face: "But my goldfish turned into a sock!"
(it did only have one tail fin, so the boy had a point)

While writing his name, I noticed that the "O" had a tail...so I asked him about it.
Scotty: "That's the ladder for it to stand on because it didn't make it down to the line."
Makes perfect sense to me....

Coming Full Circle

Life is full of twists, turns, and unexpected dips. Over the past few months, many things have reappeared in my life, running a parallel course that makes me remember who I was the last time I charted that course.

In high school I was a member of the dance company for three years, after missing company by 1 point as a freshman. During those four years I got to know my dance teacher very well--her husband was even my calculus teacher! When I returned home in the summer after college I visited her students and taught them a beginning dance routine. Years later, when I student taught at my former high school, I got to show her pictures of my adorable little boy. She retired that year, and was killed in a car accident in August 2010. We staged a tribute concert for her last February and the money we raised was used to fund a dance education scholarship for a graduating company member. Last week I had the privilege of attending the dedication of a beautiful dance room that now bears her name. The building was constructed in 2003, so I never got to enjoy it, but I worked along side her in the year leading up to construction; for my AP statistics class I did a study of dance programs in our district and discovered that we had the largest program (nearly double the amount of dancers) and 1/8th the dancing space of any other school.

This is a perfect tribute to her years of hard work.

Rounding another curve, I find this:

We affectionately termed it "The Cottage." I would look out the windows as friends and family approached for the first time, smiles plastered over the terror in their eyes. They always let out a sigh of relief when I opened the door: "It's actually really nice on the inside!" In reality, that was only a half truth. Compared to the outside, four standing interior walls would have been reassuring. Before moving in 2 weeks before Scotty was born, we laid laminate flooring over the flood damaged concrete. We had new carpet installed in the bedroom. And we conquered a serious case of mold with bleach, mold-inhibitor paint, mold-prevention drywall (yes, we DRYWALLED) in Scotty's room. Which was also the only closet in the house. (He is still disturbed by the idea that he lived in our closet.....)

We lived in The Cottage for 2 years, through the addition of a power pole in the backyard (the day I returned home from the hospital after a rough delivery!), a constant battle with roots in the pipes, and semi-annual "pour stuff down all the drains in the house to prevent additional buildup." If we forgot our semi-annual ritual.....well, let's just say it all came up the tub. Which had only one handle that would stay attached. We kept rebuilding the pipe, reattaching the handle, and making it look nice--but by the end we resorted to showering with a handy pair of pliers to turn the water on and off. The first year we battled the chest high weeds in the backyard with a borrowed rototiller and spread seed by the bucket. Nothing grew, except more weeds. And maybe rocks. The next summer I pulled weeds in the front yard by hand, spread seed and fertilizer, and carefully watered. Obsessively watered. Nothing grew. Except for some patches of grass in the backyard!

Getting a power pole in the backyard right after Scotty was born

We graduated from school, packed up the house, and moved to Arizona. I had mixed emotions, as the prospect of a "real" house was so enticing, but the friends, neighbors, and memories were hard to leave behind. After we left, the original historic adobe walls went from structurally sound but really ugly and peeling to a built in fan letting the drafts through. The house had seen enough, held enough, and needed to go. It was condemned by the city a year after we left and, finally, met its demise.

The view from the front street, looking down the walk to the front door

Part of me wants to stand on this pile of rubbish and raise my arms in triumph.
We conquered that house!
We tamed the wild beast!
 And part of me feels like I could sift my memories out of the dust like pictures. Our first night as a family of three. Scotty's first smile. His first laugh. He would crawl around and push his toys down the radically sloped floors. He learned to pull himself up on the child-danger of an exposed furnace. I can still hear him clicking around the wood floor wearing a pear of my high heels. I can't begin to count the number of baths in that old pink tub, or the times I found myself on hands and knees scrubbing the floor.

Driving the pink tub

We may have conquered the Cottage, but it still feels like an old friend, and a part of me, the part of me that paints life into beautiful soft focus, will miss it.

Scary Eyes

He learned this at preschool. We love preschool around here. Scotty has a great time and comes home talking a mile a minute. Alyssa gets to take a morning nap without the chaos. And I actually get some time to get things done, so Eric gets dinner occasionally and clean clothes.

NSTA Conference

Yesterday I attended a regional NSTA (National Science Teacher's Association) Conference here in Phoenix, and it was a great experience. I attended as many seminars and lectures as I could fit in, wandered product exhibits and came home with a bunch of cool science loot (including an egg carton of rocks mined in AZ for Eric, the family's new mining expert). One of the main speakers was the science reporter from Science Friday on NPR and he gave an outstanding presentation on the role of science in the media...really made me think and get a little fired up about Americans who think they don't need science.

Over the past week you probably heard about the couple that "gate-crashed" a white house state dinner and heard "news updates" about a Tiger Woods late-night car crash, but did you hear about this?

President Obama, at a press conference on November 23, 2009: (watch 0:42-1:17)




"And today, I'm announcing that we're going to have an annual science fair at the White House with the winners of national competitions in science and technology.  If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House.  Well, if you're a young person and you've produced the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.  Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models, and here at the White House we're going to lead by example.  We're going to show young people how cool science can be."

Watching this I can hardly contain myself from cheering--it's about time!

The Non-Event.

Well, it came and went last week, completely unannounced, unheralded, and uncelebrated: my last day of student teaching. It apparently has already been 60 days since early August, and I am no longer required to show up at 7am and teach 130 high school students every day for no money. And I literally mean no money--student teaching is completely "voluntary" though my cooperating teacher bought me lunch a few times.

Unfortunately I was busy dying of the flu last week and simply trying to survive and I missed my moment of triumph. At least Thursday was better than Monday, when I threw up in a trash can under my desk. (and why didn't I take time off? I kept thinking it was just a fluke and I wasn't really sick.....I didn't admit defeat under Friday, when on my first day of freedom I volunteered to substitute for my cooperating teacher while she took her boys on vacation).

I caved halfway through first period on Friday, begged my department chair to find a sub, and went home to rest by taking care of my overactive toddler. My mom and I finally limped into the doctor's office Friday afternoon, and headed the pharmacy to fill prescription strength cough drops and syrup with codeine. The doctor said I had the most positive test for flu she'd ever seen.

On the bright side, I'm now a better parent: I own a cool-mist humidifier. Never mind that I bought it for myself and not my child....he can have it when I'm done with it!

In case any of you were sitting on the fence: get a flu shot.

Trust me, it's worth it.

Moviegoing

We rarely go out to movies, as we could use that money to feed our family for a week and a half. We made an exception to see the new Harry Potter but are restraining ourselves from seeing it a second time until it hits a cheaper theater.

With that in mind, we were so excited to see that this

finally hit the dollar theater! And by dollar I mean $3.00 a ticket, cash only. We wanted to take Scotty and felt we couldn't risk it with people paying so much to hear our child freak out. Turns out our worries were in vain because he was RIVETED the entire time, cuddling on my lap, bouncing to the music, and excitedly pointing out every dog, balloon, bird, and airplane on the screen (and for those of you who have seen it, there are LOTS of dogs, balloons, airplanes and a very large bird).

If you haven't seen it it's definitely worth the money as we all loved it. It will make you laugh and it might even make you cry...at least a little bit. Even Scotty felt inclined to give me some sweet hugs and pats at appropriate times.

The other reason we like this theater (besides cheaper tickets) is that it is full of cool statues and life-size movie figurines....

I've been caught!

Need any more reason to come visit us besides checking out a life-size storm trooper pointing a gun at you? Didn't think so. Come on down, the water's fine.

(P.S. I'm wearing a DV shirt that says "Thunder" on the back, which is our school's mascot. And the pink haze is from neon track lighting; the shirt and the storm trooper are realistically white.)

New milestones

The past few months I've heard friend after friend tell me how worried they were about transitioning their child from a crib to a toddler bed--and how it turned out to be so quick and easy. I always thought to myself: "there's NO WAY my monkey would switch that easy. Not confined? Free to roam and climb? Wander around the house in the middle of the night? RIGHT."

Our plan when we moved was the pack up his crib and put him in my mom's pack and play until we switched him to the toddler bed we already had set up in his room. Friday night I decided that we didn't gain anything by putting off the miserable transition and that should we all have a horrible night, no one had to get up early Saturday morning.

I took precautions, like making his room was thoroughly toddler proofed and minimally distracting (i.e. toys laying out on the floor). I also put a baby gate across the doorframe so even if he opened the door he couldn't get out of his room.

Results? After having to put him back in bed once, he stayed in bed and slept happily all night! Eric tells me he was still in his bed in the morning.

Since then he has happily gone to sleep in his "big bed" every night and for naps without any major problems. Who would have thought? It really was a quick and easy transition.

He was so ready for bed tonight that he was in his bed before I even made it to his room. I didn't put the gate up, so we'll see where we find him tomorrow morning!

(sorry, I don't have pictures because I'm afraid to wake him up, but he looks so grown up in a "real" bed instead of a crib...)

P.S. Eric is taking the super intense Financial section of the CPA exam tomorrow--wish him luck!

P.P.S. You're all invited to this:

A week in review

It has been a full week here in Larsenland!

Meg spent her whole week here,

reliving her high school experience (Go Thunder!)

and trying to look like a teacher instead of a student. For the most part the students can tell I'm not one of them, the teachers are surprised that I'm old enough to have a 2-year old without being a teenage mom, and the security guards are starting to recognize my face and stop eyeing me suspiciously in the hallways.

I've also done a little bit of this:

My favorite part :o) I'm lucky to have a great mentor teacher who gives me lots of freedom mixed with helpful feedback. I have 2 AP Chemistry classes and 3 Honors classes.

Eric is busting these out just about every spare minute:

He's taking the financial section of the CPA exam next Thursday and is feeling the pressure,
so I see a lot of this:

In other news, our testimonies of revelation and consistency in the church have been strengthened. It's amazing that anywhere you go you learn the same values,
hear the same lessons....

...and have pretty much the same callings. I am the official Relief Society pianist and Eric is the Elder's Quorum secretary.

Scotty turned 2 on Wednesday! We're celebrating with cake and a BBQ swim party with friends next weekend (hopefully we can find some friends by then) but we gave him a few things to open.
Unlike previous birthdays, he was actually able to open his own presents.

He is so into anything that moves right now, including trucks, trains, firetrucks, airplanes, helicopters, motorcycles, the movie Cars... Thanks Mom and Dad Larsen for the books!
(He's grumpy in this picture because Eric took the book away to hold it up)

We've all had the honor to read them at least 10 times already.

You are welcome to come read them to him anytime.

Nana and Papa got him this cool "bite" for him to learn to pedal.
He sleeps with it next to his bed.

There's also this:

Anyone want to give our talks on Sunday? We're speaking on charity and virtue.
Now we just have to decide which one of us is charitable and which one is virtuous.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up.

This kid cracks me up. We had some friends and family over for a BBQ on Saturday after the parade and the kids were running around outside. Marian took a spill on the sidewalk and was laying there crying about a scraped knee. I scooped her up to make sure she was okay and give her a little hug. That little bit of attention must have kicked in Scotty's jealous gene...

he sat down on the sidewalk, carefully laid down on his back, and proceeded to cry about the owie on his leg and tell me he fell down.

Such a ham. Maybe he'll have a future in the dramatic arts. He's already practicing his vocalization through whining. Instead of making us mad, however, Eric and I laugh every time he starts whining because his favorite word is "shoes." It lends itself so perfectly to exaggerated whining!

Now that he's talking more (and giving me the running commentary on life as a toddler) I catch him saying funny things. Yesterday he was reading me his curious george book and telling me how we have to be "shhh" because george went "nite-nite." Then he turned the last page, closed the book, and said "A-Men!"

I had to laugh even more because he makes a big show of unfolding his arms when he says that.

Complete Randomness

I uploaded the newest pictures from my camera and have decided that there isn't much a storyline to accompany them. So, here you are: complete randomness.

Scotty's friend Marian came over to play.

She "read" a book to Scotty by pointing at the pictures and saying "what is that? what does that cow say?" Hmm...exactly what I do all day! I guess I'm replaceable :o) She saw me taking a picture and asked for a picture of just her--isn't she cute?

We've known her since day one and will really miss the Birk's when we move in a month!


While Eric's been taking CPA review courses all day Saturday in Salt Lake, Scotty and I have taken a few trips up north to visit family. Two weeks ago we got to go to my cousin's wife's baby shower. She's avoided any "belly pictures" so I of course took a few :o) She looks super cute so I don't know what she's hiding!

Scotty had a great time borrowing Kyler's new dog and jumping all over family members. Here he is with my aunt Peggy.



One more picture...tada! I whacked all my hair off again! I'm still learning how to do it because it's been a few years since I had short hair but I LOVE it. Besides, I finally look more than 25 than 16...
I got my student teaching assignment for fall and am excited to get started! I'm a litle anxious about blending in with the 14 year-olds but I'm sure it will be a great experience. I'm teaching with Kris Radamacher-Gorowitz at Desert Vista High School. I graduated from there in 2002 and know Kris by name as she was the cheer coach. Wish me luck!

Graduation Highlights

Well, it's official. Eric has graduated!

The whole family attended his convocation last night and even Scotty managed pretty well. Luckily it was at the Marriott Center so we took a little play break on the lawn
(with the 500 other kids there!) while everyone else walked.
We even ran into my old roommate and her husband--it was so good to see you Mel!

His mom, Leanne, has been working on finishing her degree in general studies for the past two years and we were so excited for the two of them to walk together! Her coworkers are throwing her a much deserved graduation party, so Eric and I contributed to the fun by making a few photo collages of the pictures I took this week.

Aren't they tremendous?

Congradulations!

We're finally done!

Numbers

What a whirlwind weekend! My mom flew up for my cousin's bridal shower and endowment and Scotty and I drove all over Utah. Sunday morning I started up in Ogden, drove down just in time for a quick shower before church, and then headed down to Santaquin for a family dinner with Eric's grandparents.

Miles driven: 416.2
People visited: Meg's family: mom, grandma, 3 aunts, 1 uncle, 10 cousins (my cousins span the generations: 2 are my age, 3 in high school, and 5 young ones....my youngest cousin is only a year older than Scotty!), 2 dogs, 2 cats. Eric's family: one set of grandparents, two brothers, one sister, 5 cousins, one cat.
Books read: one 600 page historical novel about King Henry VIII
Naps taken: 2, both for Scotty
Meals cooked: ZERO! WOO! that's a nice change of pace
Movies watched: ZERO. Scotty lasted four whole days without The Little Mermaid and we all survived.
Finals taken: 4, all Eric
Papers written: 4 by Meg, 1 by Eric, plus some scribbles from Scotty with a pen on his bare legs

Pictures forthcoming!

Only in Utah

So, I spend a lot of time working in the chemistry department at Provo High to complete my observation hours (which I've now finished 97! only three more to go!!). I help out in one main classroom tutoring, grading, filing, prepping demonstrations, and even teaching occasionally. Today I was grading lab reports about nuclear chemistry when I read something that cracked me up and could only happen here in Utah.

Let me explain the background. In chemistry, mass is conserved in reactions, meaning you can't create or destroy matter. This is called the Law of Conservation of Mass. In nuclear chemistry, the amount of energy and heat released is so great that some mass is actually converted to energy (ever heard of E=mc^2? E is energy and m is mass....) so nuclear chemistry doesn't follow the same conservation of mass as regular chemistry.

This student's response?

"Nuclear chemistry doesn't follow the law of consecration."

Taking out student loans and juggling a toddler with completing a master's program: Expensive. Capturing moments like this: Priceless.

Getting so big!

Ok, so Scotty has been a little behind the talking curve, but he's up on his game when it comes to sound effects! Driving Eric to campus the other day we even heard beat-boxing coming from the backseat... right now he's really into imitation so we're teaching him important life skills, like howling at the moon and the wolf whistle.

He is starting to say more words in English (and not just sign language), including ball, dog, and fish. I can tell that he gets what he's saying because he'll say the word while he's signing.

Scotty showing off his tremendous piano skills and his bashed nose.

Other than Scotty's antics, life is pretty much the same here in the Larsen household. Eric is swamped with presentations, tests, and papers leading up to graduation in just a few weeks. He starts his first CPA review course the day of commencement and will be putting in more hours at work this summer, so no breaks there! We are still working a weekend a month at the treatment center, including last weekend and this weekend. I've also been picking up some extra hours as the live-in couple just quit and we're waiting to get a new couple moved in and trained. It feels nice to have a little extra income, and I pretty much do the same thing there as I do at home--and get paid for it. Scotty LOVES it there and keeps himself occupied with the other kids and all the toys, and he loves the playground out back. Makes me wish we had a playground and a fence in our backyard! Someday...

In other news, I took my AEPA Chemistry test last weekend to get certified to teach high school chemistry. Assuming I passed (and I'm pretty sure I did), they'll submit my application to the districts in Phoenix and I'll finally know where I'll be student teaching in the fall! It's all starting to seem very real.

WOW this is a really dry laundry list of life's boring details. On a fun note, I read a book last week that I found really interesting: How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer
It reminded me of Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. If you haven't read Blink, you definitely should!

Happy Mole Day!

So the chemist in me comes out: it's mole day! A mole is essentially a really really big number, and a convenient way of counting atoms (which after all are really really small). Since a mole is 6.022 x 10^23, Mole Day starts at 6:02 am on October 23rd.


How big is a mole? I'm glad you asked!

• If there were a mole of rice grains, all the land area in the whole world would be covered with rice to a depth of about 75 meters.
• One mole of rice grains is more grains than all the grain that has been grown since the beginning of time.
• A mole of marshmallows would cover the United States to a depth of 600 miles
• A mole of hockey pucks would be equal to the mass of the Moon.

• Assuming that each human being has 60 trillion body cells (6.0 x 10¹³) and the Earth's population is 6 billion (6 x 10⁹), the total number of living human body cells on the Earth at the present time is 3.6 x 10²³or a little over half of a mole.
• If one mole of pennies were divided up among the Earth's population, each person would receive 1 x 10¹⁴ pennies. Personal spending at the rate of one million dollars a day would use up each persons wealth in about three thousand years. Life would not be comfortable because the surface of the Earth would be covered in copper coins to a depth of at least 400 meters.
• If you had a mole of pennies and wanted to buy kite string at the rate of a million dollars per inch, you would get your money's worth. After stretching your string around the Earth one million times, and to the Moon and back twenty-five times, you would have enough string left over to sell back at a dollar an inch (a decided loss) to gain enough money to buy every man, woman and child in the US a $50,000 automobile and enough gasoline to run it at 55 mph for a year. After those purchases, you would still have enough money left over to give every man, woman, and child in the whole world about $5000.

Basis for calculations:

Earth's circumference = 25,000 miles
Distance to moon = 240,000 miles
Cost of gasoline = $2.50 per gallon
Gasoline mileage = 20 miles per gallon
U.S. population = 220,000,000
World population = 6,000,000,000

Another chemistry funny: