The Five Senses and Money

It remains very cold outside today. We have had a fire going all day just to keep the house warm.

The kids got out their 5 senses kit today and we learned all about the tongue and tastebuds. We experimented with different tastes, bitter, salty, sweet...and touched them to different areas on our tongue and they were amazed how different area of the tongue tasted.  We then decided to paint our tongues with blue food coloring to see the tastebuds, we quickly learned that tongues tickle.

Musa and I are reading, My Side of the Mountain, and we are loving it. This was one of Shirah's favorite books as a child and she gave it to Musa for Christmas. Musa decided he wants to try to make some of the tools that Sam(the main character) is making along his adventure. I told Musa I thought he was old enough for his own pocket knife and he looked shocked. When he realized I was serious he was very proud. He wants to try some whittling (he just learned what that was today) and to make a fish hook out of wood like Sam did. We also decided that we should learn to make a fire with flint like you always see on the movies and in books. So ,I am on a search for flint rock.

Musa is also working on his counting money skills. This was always such a struggle for him when we used to do "school." He is trying to save for a memory card for his PS2 and has 11 dollars in bills and a whole jar of coins. He came and asked me to help him count it, so we worked on identifying and grouping and then counting. The lightbulb went off. It is clear that when a child has a reason to learn...it happens. He has been hanging around just counting piles of change. He is amazed that it adds up to a lot of money.

Retta wanted in on the action so I gave her a pile of coins. I started to show her the different coins...this is a penny...this is a nickel...she got very upset with me and blocked the area with her hands and said , "I got it Momma, I got it." In less than a minute she had sorted all the coins into piles and said pointing, "these are the nickels, these are the dimes..." Then she started counting them. She didn't get the different value thing (thank goodness, that would have freaked me out) but counted all the coins up to 56 without missing abeat. An unschooling note....I have never taught Retta how to count.

Retta is also working on her reading skills. She has been very upset the last several weeks because, "I don't know how to read."  She does actually know a lot of sight words but she really wants to learn more. I have gently tried introducing phonics but she gets very impatient and upset so I back off.  So, we are just adding more sight words and she is responding well. She read three sentences on her own today that I wrote down and can read several of her books. Unfortunately, it is not giving her a real sense of satisfaction. I can see it in her eyes,. I think she wants to know how to read all the words in the whole world TODAY and probably in all languages. (She asked her Daddy to teach her German so she is working on that with her) She is a tough kid. I am soooo glad she is not going to have to go to school. School would ruin her in a day!

It was a warm cozy laid back day. I am so happy that I have created the life I have. It is bliss.      

Who's Watching You?

                                                    

 

 

 

We had a great day. Musa, Retta, myself and Anna (she met us there) took the subway into DC and visited the International Spy Musuem.  ( http://www.spymuseum.org/siteintro.asp) It was a super terrific good time. I would definitely rate it as one of my favorite musuem experiences.  I would not recommend this musuem to most kids under the age of eight. Retta did well, there were enough buttons and computers to play on so it held her interest, but for the most part the whole spy thing was over her head. Musa loved it. So many gadgets, lipstick guns, cameras inside of buttons! Lots of great history, even traced espionage back to the days of Moses. If you or anyone is into spy stuff, as Musa is...this is the place to go. Very interactive.

We loved the interactive exibits about disguises. It is so amazing to think how they can completely change a person. It's actually a little scary.

This musuem is mostly all based in the past. It certainly makes one wonder what they are able to do today. By the time you leave this museum you start to feel paranoid. The statistics at the end of the musuem were overwhelming.... how many agents there are in a two block area of DC and NYC, the number of cameras, computer hackers...it is scary.

Some of the items listed in the "Standard spy kit" from the Cold War era are listed below. We stood at this exhibit for some time, imagining all the predicaments a spy could get caught in and how these items would  be of use. We would love to see a 2005 standard spy kit.

chisel and punch    gimilet     crayon     lipstick     sponge     eraser     hammer     chisel     test tubes with wooden holders     candle     measuring tape     matches     soap     tacks     rag     cord     glass bottle     compass     map     roller     putty     rubbergloves     colored pencils     flashlight     brush     pliers 

Addendum: Musa and I both woke up this morning and related the spy dreams we had last night. It was a night full of fast cars, cool black clothes, ninjas, and espionage. Too funny.   

 

 

 

Shhhhhhhh

We are off to the Spy Musuem to spend a day........shhhhhh it's a secret.    

  

Brrrrrr

Science questions and answers for today...

1. How many layers of clothes does it take to stay warm with temps in the single digits and winds of 35-40 miles per hours? (wind chills of -14)

After some expermentation this is what we concluded:

For the 10 and under crowd: two layers of clothes, down jacket, mittens and all the usual garb was good for about 30 minutes......sleding.

For the over 40 crowd: There is not enough down on the face of the Earth or layers of clothing that could keep one warm. Even wrapping oneself in a electric blanket with an extra long extension cord would not prevent teeth chattering and occasional spicey adjectives being yelled somewhere towards the direction of the wind.

2. How much faster will a sled go on sheets of ice rather than snow pack?

This is what we concluded:

For the under ten crowd, you go so fast that it requires being unwrapped from the trunk of a tree and bandaged.

For the over 40 crowd. Are you serious...I couldn't even stand up on a flat surface. Had I attempted a sled I would be laying, intubated in extensive care.

3. Why do the young handle the cold better than the old?

After much scientific observation and discussion and research we could only come up with one logical explanation:

              The Young lack judgement!

                                                

 

Northeast Winters

Ahhhhh.....there she is......I knew winter would happen sooner or later.

Nothing like a Northeastern US snowstorm. We had a mix of snow and freezing rain today, not sure what to expect overnight. For those of you that have seen our property....you know it is sled heaven. So many hills, where does one start.

The kids had a blast...and Dad was flying down those hills also. I would have loved to..but my disablities do not allow. It was a little of a bummer to stand and watch from afar..but it could be worse..and I am thankful and happy I have the ability to at least stand and watch and enjoy the glee.

These first storms are always so traditional. Bundling up kids and hot cocoa and a warm fire after the cold. I never really grow tired of it.

So to Mrs. Winter I say...Welcome, go ahead and stay awhile, just don't get to comfortable!

 

Reasons

There are times, I struggle to find the words that portray my thoughts and feelings about why I chose to unschool. Sometimes it is easier than others, and sometimes I stumble across someone that says it much better than I. Below, I have copied, (with permission) a message from Melissa, posted to an unschooling listserv, after the question had been asked, **What do you hope to gain from unschooling?**

Thanks for posing this question and giving me the impetus to reflect
on this. On one level, what I hoped to gain by unschooling was for
us to have the chance to be together in an unpressured and loving
environment and not to miss out on each other's lives - I really
like my family and like spending time with us all together. There is
a deeper gain I'm hoping for though. We have only come to
unschooling in the past year and my eldest daughter spent 6 months
at school in 2002. I was so dismayed to find the public school
system, which I had not until then questioned, was brainwashing my
daughter. The school preached tolerance and diversity but in fact
its overiding philosophy taught that the rights and welfare of the
group was more important than any of the individuals in its 'care'.
This really disturbed me. Since I found out about the Holocaust when
I was a pre-teen, I had spent time thinking about how it comes about
that humans can abdicate their responsibility to think and act well,
and make a fascist or totalitarian state function in all their
horror. Yes, a long way from lining up for morning assembly or
singing the school song or reciting the school anthem, but at the
far end of that spectrum.  What I want for myself and my family is
to preserve our freedom from indoctrination as much as possible - to
create and preserve intellectual, artistic, emotional freedoms.  I'm
sure I am only doing a halfway good job of it so far as my own
deschooling is very much a work in progress. I try to take a long
term view. If I do an OK job with my kids, they may find it easier
to unschool their kids and so on, until the freedom to think, to do,
to feel, to speak come naturally and assume their proper importance
despite what the 'majority' think about it or demand.
Hey, hope that wasn't too much of a waffle. As I said, I also just
really like being with my kids and doing stuff together, and I think
its nice if kids grow up knowing they are liked by their parents as
well as loved.
Melissa.

Life with Retta

We have lost a remote. Of course, this is the remote that you need to be able to watch a movie on the TV. 

I asked Retta last night:

Me: Honey, do you have any idea where that remote is?

Her: Yes

Me: You do?

Retta: Yes

Me: Where is it?

Retta: no answer

Me: Retta, where is it?

Retta: Mom, I am thinking!

Me: Well, come on, you either know where it is or you don't.

Retta: Ooookkkkaaaay.  It's at 36 Crickedy Lane......but, it's broken.

Me: What?

Retta: Mom, you know, Crickedy Lane.

Me: No Retta, I don't know where that is.

Retta: You go to Asher, take a right, when you get to a yellow light, go straight and when you see a bendy tree, stop there.

Me: Is that Crickedy Lane?

Retta: No Momma, Crickedy Lane is 13 miles up a hill!

Me: Retta, is that where I will find the remote?

Retta: Yep, but remember it is broken.

 

 

Learning Disabled

Today Musa decided he wanted to be the *teacher.*  He said I had to sit down and learn whatever he chose for me to learn. I told him this was not really keeping with the idea of unschooling and he further explained that unschooling only refers to the kids. I am not to sure I like that explanation, but for whatever reason, it was obvious he had a need to be in control so I went with it.

He decided that I needed to learn how to play the Playstation. Excuse me I stand corrected, Playstation2. (See, I am already an unruly student) Now...let me first shed a little background...I was born in the 50's. I have a VERY clear memory of when the coolest techno thing around was when we got a COLOR television. Not only was I born in the time of the caveman, I was also raised in a town of 1,200 in Montana. Even tho we finally got color TV we only had two stations. CBS was one and NBC/ABC shared the othe station. I am NOT kidding. The next big techno excitement was when I got my orange stereo for Christmas when I was 15. It had round speakers with orange polka dots and a orange transparent dust cover for the turntable. (Musa's eyes are rolling back in his head) Now this doesn't mean I don't know a thing about Playstations...I did have an Atari, for God's sake.

So Musa sat me down and gave me the general lesson, he started me out easy with Monsters. INC. He was a great teacher, very patient with me, explaining things clearly, even encouraging me (lying to me) and told me often I was doing a good job. The truth is I suck. I CAN'T DO IT. I AM A DORK.

I have a completely new admiration for these video games. I can totally see their value. You really have to do like 8 things at once, and it helps much if you don't suffer from short term memory loss. How am I supposed to remember what door I just came through? (Musa was in hysterics at this point) 

I finally gave up. Stomping my feet, waving my arms in the air, almost coming to tears, " I CAN"T DO THIS, IT IS JUST TOO HARD, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" To which Musa smiled slyly and said, "Now, you know how I felt when we used to do spelling."

I really do understand...... 

A boy and his washing machine.

Dad and Musa picked up the old washer from a friends house yesterday and Musa spent the ENTIRE day taking it apart. He would run in the house at intervals and give me a progress report. He was truly excited. He was pleased he got to use Dad's rachet set and wire cutters. His goal for yesterday was to get to the motor, which he finally did. He was a little disappointed because he was hoping it would have gears, but was happy when he figured out the pulley system. We are going to see if we can make something cool out of the drum, you never know what you might see in my yard the next time you come buy.

When he took the back off of the top panel he found a mouse nest. He would have been happy to see the mouse. Not me. Had it been me, that would have been the end of the project, but for Musa it was an added bonus. He checked carefully to see if the mouse had eaten through any of the wires. We didn't see any evidence of that. I was amazed that a mouse could even get in there. It looked pretty tight to me.

I have NEVER in the 8 years Musa and I have been together, have I ever seen him with the energy, and patience he had with this project. He was in the garage for 6 hours. I am not sure what all he learned, but he was sure doing it his way.  

Maryland Science Cntr again

We spent the day in Baltimore yesterday, at where else.... the Science Center.

                                             

 It was a great day because the public school kids haven't had a chance to get their field trips going again, so we mostly had the place to ourselves. We started by seeing the IMAX movie--Forces of Nature.  If you get a chance, see it. Very powerful film.

 

We just took our time looking around. Retta got some great one on one time with a geology student. Retta was impressed with the student and the student was impresed with Retta, especially when she learned Retta was four.

    

 

Musa feel in love with the underwater robot cam. He said he felt like he was working with the Titanic crew.

                         

 

It was 70 degrees yesterday so we just walked around the waterfront a little and enjoyed the day. It's a good thing we did because today we are under a flood watch and it is about 33 degrees, and windy. 

Burrrrr...        

Art Alive and Family Therapy

Retta loves the "Art Alive" segments that are aired on the Noggin station. She keeps hoping she will be selected to go on the show. So tonight I told her I was bored and asked her if we could do something. She exclaimed: 'Let's do art alive with playdoh."

We started building roads and cars and the next thing I knew Musa was involved. There were car accidents, and tow trucks and lakes to build that needed fish, of course the fish needed a market, the town needed a doctor so Retta built an ambulance and a hospital. The next thing we knew Dad was at the table with us. He added a race car (what else). Retta and I tried to get the garden planted peacefully with the bunnies when suddenly the volcano erupted from down at the end of the Road of Darkness. (can you tell the males are involved at this point.) We continued on with our ice cream palace trying to ignore the expolsions and wreckage from the otherside of the world, when suddenly I felt the need to hurl a mound of playdoh at Musa's forehead. The war was on.

Ahhhh...the frustrations that can be released hurling balls of playdoh at the members of one's family!!! (and the clean-up is a breeze)

The key

The bad news.........There is no key to the universe!

The good news.......It was never locked.

                                        Swami Beyondananda

                                                                                 

If you give a pig a pancake...

All of you with young children are most likely familiar with the book, If You Give a Pig a Pancake...

I watched this unfold in my house today...

If you give unschooled children some paper, scissors, glue and markers and ask them if they want to make Thank you notes for Christmas....they might say yes, and while they are working away and having fun...if you put on the soundtrack to the Polar Express...they might get up and start building a train out of the kitchen chairs and trying to get the large sheepdog Elwood and the retreiver Bella to come, "ALL ABOARD"....and when that becomes an unsurmountable task...they might start creating their own dance routines, one hip hop and one creative movement (I'll let you guess which kid did which dance)...then they might find their way back to the table to finish the thank you notes...or they might decide that dot to dot books are sooo much fun...and if you put some grapes on the table for a snack...it most likely will turn into a competitive math game to see how many grapes one can fit in his or her mouth at one time...which leads Mom to talk about choking...which leads them to run and get the Somebody game and look at the "two pipes" leading from your mouth the esopagus which goes to your stomach and the trachea which leads to their lungs...which leads to a demonstration of the Heimlich Maneuver...which then digresses into a contest of throwing the grapes into the air to see if they can catch them in their mouths and at the same time keep them away from Bella and Elwood because we just learned that green grapes are toxic to dogs....which then leads to a discussion of gravity...which then leads into a theater of what it would be like to throw grapes in space to try to catch them..which makes one of them think of the spaceship toy at our local park...so we end up at the park and while we are swinging...they began to wonder when the first swing was made...which turns into a deep discussion of the possibilities of re-incarnation and if only they could remember when they were cavemen...when the swings ran their course.... They challenged each other to a race aroung the ballfield...when they became out of breath and asked why...they learned about carbon dioxide and oxygen and the positive effects of deep, slow breathing...which reminded one of them about the trachea and the lungs...which reminded the other one about the grapes....and home we ended up eating grapes snuggling in bed getting warm,watching Postcards from Buster who was highlighting some young fabulous hip hop kids dancing...which brought us back downstairs...to the Polar Express CD...one more time.....

And we were happy...no frustration...no yelling...no expressionless faces when it was time to do school. I know they learned more today..and the learned it their way.

I am sold.

Congratulations Sarah

HIP HIP HOORAY

HIP HIP HOORAY

HIP HIP HOORAY

3 Cheers for Sarah.

The Coleman family is soooo happy for Sarah P. our friend, who independently and successfully read her first paragraph. Sarah we know how hard you worked on this and how good it felt to succeed. High Five !!!

 

Quiet Day

I just wanted to take a minute a thank everyone for the wonderful comments I have received since AOL choose our journal. It is so wonderful to get so many comments and emails from all over the country. I know we live in a busy world and it is so nice to see that folks still take the time to stop what they are doing and pass along a kind message.

We had a busy errand kind of day. Picked up a few movies from the library and sat around the TV tonight watching Blazing Saddles. Of course, the only scene everyone really wants to see is the Campfire Fart Musical, and then it was off to make tents in the living room and various other activities.  

Just a routine, normal, sort of day.

Musa and Rachael's Radio Theater

This is Musa and his friend Rachael's attempt and Radio Theater. They are a crack up team.

Talent scouts are instructed to notify their agent: Mr. Ricklepip at 1-800-123-4567.

Isn't it great to have friends and laughter!!

Paper Making and Elvis

We would like to thank everyone that has added comments today. It is great to hear from others, especially other homeschoolers. I plan to answer each comment but just haven't had the time today. It is rather odd making an entry now. I used to just sit at the computer and quickly add thoughts and experiences from the day, with family and friend in mind and also creating a record for the kids of our journey. After I saw that we were selected today, it feels weird to know that so many other eyes are watching. Adds a little pressure. It doesn't really bother me, I had to get over that when my book was published. It certainly helps to keep me motivated. Musa won't be happy until we hit #1, so a little extra motivation is a good thing.

Retta's bathtub experience last night reminded me of paper making so we got out the supplies today and she made several sheets of paper. I attempted to explain the procedure but she exclaimed that she didn't need any help. She made pink paper first and once she got the hang of it made some yellow with star confetti and pieces of gold thread in it and of course lots of GLITTER. She had a blast.

Musa was content playing his playstation. He thought the paper making looked much to messy. He was amazed that Retta would put her hands in it. "It looks like vomit." He wrote a poem for his friend Jan. Later today he got out some new finger puppets we got from Ecuador and we had quite a theater.  He has a puppet of a King and he feels quite powerful when in character, but was also very kind. He denouced all hunger and homelessness and war from the kingdom. Later, he blasted his new Elvis CD from his room. It cracks me up that he has a new obsession with Elvis. I told his that maybe he was Elvis in a previous life and his eyes sparkled as tho he was hopeful.

It was so good to see him singing and doing theater his way and truly enjoying it from the soul instead of being miserable because I forced him into choir. Don't get me wrong..he enjoyed choir and the play he was in, but it is clear he was doing it to please me..not himself. As I totally embrace unshooling I am a bit surprised at myself. I always thought I "leaned" towards unshooling..but now the blinders have come off.

It is our time to fly...

 

Making the top 5

WE MADE THE TOP FIVE!!! Number three to be exact.

(AOL Editor's pick the top 5 journals each week or so and highlight them on the journals page.)

 

We hope lots of people will stop by and read about our homeschool (now unschool) life. I know homeschooling sounds strange and backwards to some but as you will see it is really an awesome life. I would also like to mention that a common belief is that most families homeschool for religious reasons. Let me break that myth. There are so many other reasons that families homeschool. For this family religion did not play a factor.  As stated in my journal homepage we homeschool because we believe our fundamental purpose as parents is to give our children the ability to be free thinkers and the environment to support it. Our recent decision to unschool is to be able to more effectively reach that goal.

WE ARE DOING THE HAPPY DANCE!! THANKS AOL FOR CHOOSING US!!

Bathtub Science

Bathtub Science

I just went to get Retta out of the bathtub and the water was a thick milky white. I couldn't figure it out. It didn't take long for Retta to enlighten me.

"I put the toilet paper in the water and it melted. A whole roll."

With her arms stretched overhead and a huge smile on her face with eyes twinkling, she proudly exclaimed:

"I made glue!!"

Game Day

It was a rainy, dark, cold day outside. We turned it into a bright, warm, cozy day inside. We all decided to have a marathon game day and check out some of the games we got for Christmas.

We had a blast playing the Wizard of Oz game, and then on to the Nursery Rhyme Game. By the time we got to Somebody (a game about the Human Body) we became very bored with reading rules so the kids just played with the diagrams and stickers. This ended up being a two hour discussion of the body and how it works. Being a disabled, retired nurse, this was right up my alley. I was amazed at how much they knew and the great questions they asked. Retta was enthralled with placing the stickers on and with great care and precision made sure they were placed correctly. She was very interested in the gallbladder and the muscles of the leg. Musa enjoyed the esophagus and the trachea and stated he now understands how choking happens.

           

Writing this I just reflected back on a conversation my sister had with Retta at Christmas. She asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up. Retta answered, "a doctor." Carla said, "Oh, I thought you wanted to be an archeaologist?"  Retta replied, "No, I am an archaeologist, I want to be a doctor when I grow up."  Ahhh..the power of intention!

How quickly I am seeing the benefits of unschooling. Within just weeks I have seen the positive changes in the children. I am learning so much about myself and old habits. I always thought I was reasonably free spirited, and now am coming to terms with how stuck I was. I keep my sense of humor about me and gently go forward. I am seeing the power of the word YES.

New schedule

We would normally be at choir and recorder lessons today, but after a long discussion with Musa last night have decided to drop that of our list of activities. As I have have stated before, we are slowly but surely embracing the unschool life. Choir was one of those things that Musa didn't want to do that I "made" him do. All of the old arguments about why one must learn music and again making the kids do things to please the county. I reflected back on my own life and how miserable I was doing those music plays for school. I had to laugh---just because I was miserable and lived through it doesn't mean I have to pass on the misery to my children.

So instead we sat down and came up with some activities that Musa would like to do. He has decided he would like to rebuild an engine. So he and his Dad are going to start looking around for old cars. Musa long-range goal is to re-build a quailty used car and then sell it and take his profits and buy another one. He clearly stated he wasn't really interested in a car for himself, but instead wanted to offer good, quality cars to people instead of the typical used car ripp-off. He is such a humanitarian. He even wants to use as much of his own money as he can. He also wants to trade the choir day for a trip day that we can explore beaches, museums and other interesting field trips. He also wants to find an old washing machine he can take apart. It was so good to see the excitement in his eyes.

We are pleased with our decision and I am very interested in the direction this new lifestyle will take our family.

Bowling and Friends

We met our good homeschooling friends yesterday for our monthly bowling-fest. It was good to re-connect with good friends after a long holiday vacation.

Musa and his friends decided they no longer wanted to use bumpers and had a great time throwing gutter balls. They each did manage to throw a strike which made up for all the zero's. The second game they played, they joined up with the girls of the same age and it turned into the traditional battle of the sexes. That age is upon us.

Retta and her friend Kayla (also four) also got  strikes. Pretty good when you factor in that they weigh less than the bowling ball

.

Return to normal?

We had high hopes today of returning to some sort of normalcy after the hectic pace of the holidays. We tried our darnest, but ended up learning one thing. The only thing normal after a hectic holiday is the need to sleep. We kept talking about getting up and doing a project and that is all we got done. Did a lot of talking...but nothing else.

It was a unusually warm day, so we played aroung outside with the dogs and Retta worked on her new archaeology dig kits that she got for Christmas. She managed to uncover one little bone. Amazingly, she kept her patience about her.

Musa has been busy mastering the playstation. He has had so much fun.

I sent off for some information about a new umbrella school I am going to use instead of going to the county reviews. I received an answer back immediately and am looking forward to a more supportive review environment for myself and the kids. Maybe now I can start helping them learn what they choose instead of teaching them what the county mandates.

It is a learning process for me...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

 

 

Happy New Year to ALL.

We are back from "vacation."  We had a fabulous holiday, full of love and magic and traditions. We were all together as a family, such a wonderful peace. We had some trials through it all, cancelled flights and last minute arrivals, and that much dreaded phone conversation from the State Patrol that Shirah had been in an accident, as she was returning from dropping people at the train station. It was a miracle that she was just banged up and bruised and not hurt worse. My Suburban took the worst of it, which is as it should be, it can be fixed. Thanks to Geico's fast response with a rental truck we were back on track and delivering everyone to their airports in no time, only to find that a flight had been cancelled in error and the last minute hurry up to get it rescheduled.  Through it all we held each other up, chipped in and covered members who were low on cash and hugged our way through. 

One again...for the first time in 4 years we were complete. This Mom was at Peace. 

Shirah is doing well, has a wrist injury and shoulder and neck injury which should heal well. She is getting some massage and physical therapy which should help a lot. I thank the Source that she is alive and doing well. Her and I have both talked and assured each other of our belief that there are no random acts. This car accident is as it should be. We may never know the full reason, but we came up with a lot of possiblities that ease the worry.

So....back to school. We are going to jump into the unschooling. I have been reading a lot and lurking on some of the lists, and learning so much. I am sure I will make many mistakes along the way but I am ready for something new. So, check back often and follow our progress along this new life journey.

Musa and Retta got a lot of neat stuff for Christmas. Retta got two archeaology kits and really cool board games. She also got her very own hammer and screwdrivers and wrenches. She was so happy. She also got her very own sewing machine and can't wait to start sewing. Musa got a Playstaion 2 and was soooo appreciative. He also got some neat science stuff and is at the park right now with Dad firing up his dragster--with REAL rockets.

2005......here we come!!!!!