Thursday, July 25, 2013

This Is The Day!

© Holly DeWolf

"Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive 
yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach." -Goethe 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

What We Learned About Today: Our Kidneys!

© Holly DeWolf- Kidney Stone! 

Our latest learning theme was chosen by the girls after my trip to the hospital. It seems I had a run in with a pesky kidney stone. Needless to say, this incident was painful but at least now I know what has been ailing me the past month. 

The girls found this fascinating especially the stone I managed to retrieve. Under the magnifying glass it went! How did this all happen? Not sure. According the doc, it happens to many. Sometimes your body just makes them. Each type of stone has it's own unique colour and shape depending on what its made from. 

And the jokes began of course: 
• The little pebble that could!
• Mum passed the great pebble!
• Two kidney's and a stone walk into a bar... 
• Mum cast her first sorcerer stone!
• A rolling kidney stone gathers no friends! 
• Mum is a kidney stone away from feeling better. 

All joking aside, I hope there are not anymore. I have a CAT scan scheduled to find that out soon. 

Interesting facts about our kidneys: 
• They come joined as a pair. 
• Our kidneys have a higher blood flow than our brain, liver or heart.
• Kidneys produce hormones including calcitriolerythropoietin, and the enzyme renin.
• They are essential in the urinary system regulating electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and regulation of blood pressure (maintaining salt and water balance). They work as a natural filter of the blood, and remove wastes which makes its way to the urinary bladder.
• Disorders of the kidneys are: kidney stones, kidney failure, injury, and cancer,  renal cell carcinoma.  
• Dialysis is a procedure for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure.
• Kidneys can be replaced from by a donor kidney transplant. 
• Your kidneys hang out one on each side of the spine
• You can live with just one kidney! 
• Kidneys are shaped like a bean. 
• Kidney stones are an accumulation of mineral salts and mostly combined with calcium that can become stuck along the course of the urinary tract. It hurts, believe me! 
• Our kidneys are about 4 ½ inches long each weighing 4 to 6 ounces. 



© Hannah- Love Your Kidneys


© Reagen DeWolf- Healthy kidneys are happy kidneys! 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

What We Learned About Today: Coffee!

© Holly DeWolf- Coffee is not the answer, it's the solution! 

We learned about Coffee today! 

Instant human-just add coffee! The girls voted that we learn about something that I love today. Yes coffee, that best friend of mine. I do love the smell of Sumatra in the morning! I like it strong, like diabolical kind of strong! As they say, insomnia builds character! I'd stop drinking coffee, but I'm no quitter.

Speaking of coffee humour- watch Comedians in cars getting coffee! 

Favourite Coffee Quote: 

"You know, I'm not sure what exactly it is that caffeine does for you, but I'm pretty sure without it your head caves in." -Dave Foley, NewRadio

Coffee Facts & Tid-Bits: 

Caffeine is trimethylxanthine or C8H10N4O2! 
• It's been waking us up for centuries! 
• Coffee is an an addictive stimulant operating similar to amphetaminescocaine and heroin. The good news is caffeine is much milder than those drugs and legal! 
• It's discovery- It all began with a goat! It's said that Kaldi, an Ethiopi­an goat herder, noticed his goats acting very frisky after eating a certain berry shrub. He took some of the shrub's berries for himself, felt the jolt and this secured coffee's future.  
• Originally coffee was a food and not a drink! 
• The most expensive coffee- civet coffee, refers to the beans of coffee berries once they have been eaten and excreted by the Asian Palm Civet. Pretty gross and I cannot say I'll be trying that EVER! 
• '90's coffee culture still lives on today! It's not just coffee, it's an experience!  
• Arabs closely guarded the coffee plants until the 1600's, and no fertile seeds were found outside Arabia with the exception of the other place where coffee grew naturally, Africa.
• Coffee crossed the Atlantic around 1727. 
• The higher up from sea level coffee is grown the better quality. That explains why Jamaican Blue Mountain is so expensive. 
• Coffee is grown in some very weather volatile places. When natural disaster hit, it can drive the prices up. 
• 300 milligrams (about two cups of coffee) the upper limit of a moderate daily dose. 
• Caffeine is a natural component of chocolate, coffee and tea, and is added to colas and energy drinks.
• According to a 2010 BusinessWeek report, Scandinavian nations such as Finland consume more caffeine per capita than other countries!
• Coffee grows best around in Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, also known as the Bean Belt.
• There are two types of coffee: Robusta and Arabica. 
• Best name for a coffee shop on TV: Cafe Nervosa from Frasier. Here are some more: Famous Coffee Shops From Your Fave TV Series! 
• Best coffee monologue is from Gilmore Girls!  


© Hannah DeWolf- Nutty For Coffee! 


© Reagen DeWolf- Dive Into Coffee! 

Behind every successful illustrator is a substantial amount of coffee.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

What We Learned About Today- Robots!

©Holly DeWolf- Robot Cafe! 


Today the girls wanted to learn about Robots-most importantly famous robots. This was a fun one because we got to look at cartoon robots, movie robots and real classic vintage robots! 

My favourite robot is Rosie from The Jetsons. The girls favourite robot is Gir from Invader Zim. 

What we learned about robots:
• One of the earliest robots is Maria from the German film Metropolis made in 1927.
• Blade Runner- replicants were designed to be like humans but with an unfortunate incept date with the downside of being hunted by Deckard. 
• Transformers were giant robots that could transform into cars and other objects.
• The Tripods in War Of The Worlds were not too terribly loving and did not play well with others or buildings. 
• Wall-E , a small waste collecting robot goes on a space journey that helps the fate of mankind.
• Gort is a fictional humanoid robot in the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. His laser eye was killer! 
• Hal 9000 was the antagonistic computer robot that was a red television camera eye located on equipment panels throughout the ship in 2001: A space Odyssey.  
• Lieutenant Commander Data was the first and only android to ever enter Starfleet on Star Trek The Next Generation. 
• Robo Cop was a superhuman '80's cyborg law enforcer.  
• The Terminator was a big cyborg meanie assassin programmed to kill Sarah Connor. And yes, he was back more than once! 
• Bender is the sarcastic beer loving robot on Futurama. 
• Marvin the paranoid android was in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. He was afflicted with severe depression and boredom, in part because he has a brain the size of a planet which he seldom ever got the chance to use. 
• Rosie was the maid robot on The Jetsons. 
• Dot Matrix was the robot on Spaceballs played by Joan Rivers.  
• R2D2 and 3CPO were the robot duo on Star Wars. 
• ASIMO, an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is a humanoid robot designed and developed by Honda
• Lastly, the movie Lost In Space had a Robbie The Robot who could sense danger at every turn! 


© Reagen DeWolf- Gir Needs Waffles! 


© Hannah DeWolf- Gir Loves Waffles! 


Monday, July 8, 2013

What We Learned About Today- Aliens!

Greetings From Earth!
© Holly DeWolf- Greetings From Earth! 

Today was the 66th Anniversary of the Roswell Alien incident. It became a big topic so we decided to focus on aliens, Roswell, famous aliens on film and cartoons. Todays Google Doodle paid homage to it.  

What we learned about Aliens:
• The first recorded sighting was in Italy in 214 BC. 
On Sesame street, aliens discover the telephone! 
• The Great Gazoo is a character from The Flintstones animated series.
• The X-Files helped us to believe! 
• On July 8 1947, several witnesses reported seeing flying saucers at Roswell, New Mexico.
• Many believe that Area 51 is where scientists reverse-engineered alien technology that was recovered from crashes saucers in Roswell, New Mexico.
• Mars Attacks is a 1996 science fiction film directed by Tim Burton based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy and political satire, and is a parody of science fiction B movies
• Plan 9 From Outer Space was a film about extraterrestrial beings who are seeking to stop humans from creating a doomsday weapon that would destroy the universe.
Pixar animated a short called Lifted! 
• Famous Aliens: Mork, Invader Zim, ET, Yoda, Marvin Marvin, Kang and Kodos, Alf, The Great Gazoo, Buzz from Toy Story, V, and Roger from American Dad. 




© Hannah DeWolf- Amazing Moon! 


© Reagen DeWolf- The Confused Cow! 

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

What We Learned About Today: The Loch Ness Monster!

© Holly DeWolf- Nessie! 
Today the girls wanted to learn about the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. Nessie is really interesting as the girls found out through pictures and claimed sightings that go all the way back to the 1930's. Even though nothing has really proven Nessie's existence, my girls still believe! 

What we learned about Nessie:
• The original black and white photo claiming Nessie's existence was taken in 1933. Since then many pictures have "caught" the lake monster in action. Scientists claim all the pictures are hoaxes but the legend lives on. 
• Most recent sighting was in 2011. 
• Nessie lives in Scotland in the Loch Ness. 
• Nessie is approximately 80 years old. 
• Many believe Nessie is female. 
• She was first spotted in 565AD by St Columba as he took a swim in Loch Ness.
• Loch Ness is the largest body of fresh water in Britain and it does not freeze. 
• The theory is the surface area of the Loch Ness lake could hold the population of the world 10 times over.
• Some believe the Loch Ness Monster is a plesiosaur type of dinosaur.
• There have been more than 1,000 recorded sightings of Nessie.
• The 1987 Operation Deepscan was the largest search for the Monster to date.
• The Loch Ness Monster was declared the most famous Scot in a 2006 survey.

• Nessie inspired the cartoon film Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster.




© Hannah DeWolf- Nessie! 

© Reagen DeWolf- Fancy meeting you here! 



Monday, July 1, 2013

What We Learned About Today: Canada!

© Holly DeWolf

Today we focused on the fine country we live in and it's birthday! Sadly it rained for the majority of the long weekend. The sun did came out for a short while so we took advantage of it and got out of the house. We attempted to watch fireworks tonight but ended up getting soaked instead. It was a damp holiday! 

Quicks facts-What my girls learned about Canada:

• Today is Canada's 147th birthday! 
• Population estimate is 35,141,542. 
 St John’s Newfoundland is the oldest English-founded settlement on the North American continent and the oldest city in Canada. 
• Cool Canadians: William Shatner, Donald Sutherland, The Strombo, Feist, Margaret Atwood, Mr. Dressup, Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Terry Fox, John Candy...
• The beaver is our national animal! 
• We have 10 provinces and 3 territories. 
• Cool Canadian inventions: insulin. snow blower, Plexiglas, Trivial Pursuit, 5 pin bowling, NASA Canada arm...  
• The Stanley Cup has its own bodyguard!
• Canada has its own mysterious lake creature, Ogopogo, who reportedly lives in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia. 

© Reagen DeWolf- Oh Canada! 


© Hannah DeWolf- I love Canada!