Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thu March 18th

So, tonight is the big Science Fair at school!

The project this year, MOLD, although we never really got mold as a result. Who would guess that grocery store bread has enough preservatives in it to last for more than 12 days sealed in a plastic bag and not get moldy. Ok, it showed "signs" of mold, but no actual mold appeared. What to do when you have a science fair that depends on mold? Don't laugh, we must be science fair failures. We did plants 2 years ago and the plants never grew (of course, growing plants indoors in Upstate NY in Jan/Feb was probably not the smartest idea on our parts).

I'm proud though that my daughter was able to quickly recover and think clearly enough to document the results, or lack thereof, in a scientific way. She recorded and charted "the amount of change" and suggested that given more time, she would see mold on the Rye bread as it had the most amount of change.

We'll see how it goes this evening, but more to come.

Oh, and if you are a McNamara parent, check out the new blogspot http://www.mcnamarapta.blogspot.com where we'll be posting all the latest PTA news. We are hoping to go green next year and send home less paper. Tell you friends about this new spot for updates and information. Feedback appreciated as always!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Mon, March 15th

Precious and few are the moments we all can share! How true the words to that song.

This week is a two year milestone as we remember my mother in law's passing and how she touched each of our lives. We are also praying that our niece has positive results with her tests at Mt. Sinai Hospital in a quest to help stabilize her seizures as a result of a brain tumor that has stolen so much of her youth and her laughter.

Tonight I went scrapbooking with some friends, a passion / hobby turned addictive behaviour at some times. I love capturing all of the memories and all of the details of my family's life. I've found my daughter sometimes sitting quietly in her room or in the living room looking at the scrapbooks that I have made for her - vacations, baby pictures, milestones. Many times we have the chance to sit together and look through them and I'm able to tell her so much about her life and our family. She laughs too when she comes across some of the stories that she has written in school carefully mounted amongst those pages. She too has stories to tell and memories to recount in her own way, and oh how special they are too.

Truly, precious and few are the moments we all can share! Enjoy every one!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Sunday, March 7, 2010

We want spring so badly here in Upstate NY, and we are getting just a few short days as a taste of it now. This AM I got up and the sun is beautiful and it may even top 40 degrees today. Of course, we still have snow mounds as tall as the trees and the yards still have a blanket of white, but we take small miracles and cherish them up here is what I like to refer to as "Siberiacuse".

This morning, I'm working on the details of our share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm in Pulaski, NY. We are hoping to split a share with a neighbor this year and add on some organic eggs. The name of the farm is Grindstone Farms (www.grindstonefarms.com) and the share is an exciting venture for us as a family. It will be very different than going to the local mega grocery store for our products. I've found lately that the food bill is going higher and higher and we have less and less to show for it. That said, we wanted to support local farms and find better alternatives for our family and better products for our money. We may be a drop off location as well, so check out the site if you are in Upstate NY. The CSA coordinator is great to work with!

I will keep you posted here on how the CSA plans are coming along and some great new recipes and ideas that we find to use the great produce that we get.

Off to the supermarket now, to be held hostage by the prices - URGH. Just another reason for spring to come quickly and the growing season to start!