Paper chain

Tonight, Isabel and I made a paper chain for Christmas. Gino didn’t think that she would understand how to use the glue but she knew what to do! She did a great job. I let her glue the end of the paper strips and then I linked them together. Enjoy!

The concentration…

“Back and forth and you only need glue on the end.” I say

“Isabel, what did you and mommy make?”
“A train!” she says with a smile.

Beauty of Mathematics

I received this email from my Gmpa; some of you might have seen it already and some may not have. I thought that it was rather cool, so I decided to share it. Enjoy!

Beauty of Mathematics!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn’t it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Now, take a look at this…

101% From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%. How about ACHIEVING 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:
H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K
8+1+18+4+23+ 15+18+11 = 98%

And:
K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E
11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

Then, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E- O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there. It’s the Love of God that will put you over the top!

It’s that time of year again…

the decorating has begun at our house…

Isabel thought the garland was grass and toted it around with her from the living room to the kitchen and then decided she was going to take a “nap”.

The tornado of a mess in the living room. Gino started working on the outdoor lights. Last year we had this problem of the lights going out. So this year Gino went over every light and socket to make sure we didn’t have the same problem this year.

I managed to get some garland on the mantle with lights and pine cones. As I kept looking at it, I wasn’t happy with the look of the garland. So I started all over again later in the week (I’ll have to take a new picture).

Conversation With Isabel

Tonight as we headed out the door to make a run to Lowe’s to look at Christmas decor. Gino decided to drive around the corner to the mail box to get the mail. After checking the mail, Gino headed around the back of our street and then back down our block. As we are driving down our street, Isabel is sitting in her seat pointing out things as we pass…

“Look Mommy, a scarecrow. Look Mommy.” she says
“You saw a scarecrow!” I say, seeing the scarecrow
A little further down the street we pass our house and Isabel says…
“That like our house.” she says, pointing to our house.
“That is our house, silly” We say with a chuckle.
“That like our house.” she says.

Later after we arrive back home, while we are eating our dinner. We made a side salad to go with our meal. While we were waiting for our meal to cool. We sat down to eat our salads. Gino shared part of his salad with Isabel. He cut up the pieces smaller for her and added tiny croutons (she loves croutons) to the top. After Isabel says grace, we begin eating. Gino and I both notice that immediately Isabel picks off all the croutons and eats them first. She then begins to eat the salad; a few minutes go by and she says…

“Mommy, where the coupons?” she says
“Coupons?” I say, while Gino and I look at each other perplexed.
“Where the coupons go?” she says pointing to her salad this time.
“Coupons?” I say again
Then it hits Gino…Croutons!
“Those weren’t coupons, they are called croutons. You ate all the croutons, silly.” I say

Bike

Last Christmas we bought Isabel her first “bike”; it’s a Radio Flyer Fold 2 Go Trike. All year I’ve been doubtful that she was ever going to learn how to push the pedals and go. Thinking in my head that maybe we should have waited a year to purchase it. Well, about a month ago she hoped on and just took off! She can push forward, backward, turn the wheel in the direction she wants to go. It’s so delightful to see her ride around the house.

We have taken the trike outside with us but unfortunetly we have a sloped driveway and she tends to either fly down into the street or fall over sideways. So for now, we’ll keep it inside.