polka dot suitcase » Archive for February 2010
Hot dogs choking hazard? Build a better hot dog
The American Academy of Pediatrics has suggested a redesign on the 300-year old street vendor special, the lowly hot dog. According to this article on the subject, experts say, “If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child’s airway, it would be a hot dog.” Now, in all seriousness, I’ve dealt with a small child choking (on the hot dog’s distant cousin, a chunk … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Happy Birthday, Sir Buffalo Sushi!
It’s February 23rd, and you know what that means? It’s… SIR BUFFALO SUSHI’S BIRTHDAY! Woohooo!!!! So head on over to Sir Buffalo Sushi’s blog and wish a very, very happy birthday to this very, very special boy and blogger. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Sponge candy disaster
So after the last crumbs of my Oliver’s sponge candy were licked from my fingers and the sweet smell had been sucked from the bag for a few days…I decided to make sponge candy myself. How hard could it be? Found a bunch of recipes online and lo and behold, I could tie it in to the kids’ chemistry study. After all, there are not one but TWO chemical reactions that take place when making … Read entire article »
Filed under: Edutainment
Tools to capture your creativity…and then set it free
As a writer and homeschooling parent, I think a lot about how to “capture” creativity. How can I tap into a well of creativity and apply it to my writing and teaching? How can I teach it to my kids? Better put, how can I teach them to tap into creativity themselves? And then, once you’ve caught it…what do you do with it? The irony is you’ve gotta turn around and release it. Only then can … Read entire article »
Filed under: Edutainment
5 Fun Ways to Get Kids Ready for a Trip
So you’re sick of the snow and you’re planning a trip someplace warm. Sunny. Relaxing. Where they wouldn’t know what to do with a snow shovel. Or, you’re tired of the heat and you’re planning a trip someplace cold. Sunny. Ski-able. We humans are always going places, aren’t we? Whatever the case, you’re planning a trip. And you want to figure out a way to get the kiddos interested in your destination. What to do? Well, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Edutainment, Family Travel
Snow! (What else can I say?)
So, by now if you were up in the Space Shuttle and looked back at the big blue marble, it would probably look more like an eye with severe cataracts. The Northeast is pretty much buried under so much snow I think the forecasters lost count. The historical storm that dumped loads and loads and buckets and buckets and…well, a whole lotta the white stuff. Here in NC, forecasters like to say we “dodged the bullet.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Dinner conversation
I don’t know about you, but dinner conversation at Chez Polka Dot can run from non-existant to weird. As you may or may not recall, here at the Chez, 75% of our family members are male. Unless you count the dog, in which case the odds appear better stacked at 60%. But for conversation opportunities, we’re back at 75% because the dog has an extremely limited vocabulary. What does that mean for dinner conversation? Well, supposedly women … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Super Bowl games writers play
First of all, if you came here hoping for some play-by-play recap of the Super Bowl action, or if you’re thinking you’ll see some silly YouTube vid of writers tackling each other…ah, no. But if you’re a writer, or even if you’re looking for ways to boost your own productivity, I may be able to help. For six weeks, a bunch of writers over on Freelance Success are having a Query Challenge. That’s where we break into … Read entire article »
Filed under: Edutainment
My Chuck-It List: 4 Things I’m Never Gonna Do Before I Die
I like to think of myself as a positive person. Optimistic. Glass half-full. And adventurous, too. Shoot, when I was 18, my sister (then 20) and I drove all the way across the country and back, Syracuse to California, in a Yugo. (We returned with a flat tire, no oil, and the windshield wipers stuck to the glass.) We slept in a pup tent (and being the younger sib, I got stuck with the side … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fooling Around
Whoop! Whoop! It’s a sponge candy alert!
If you’re from the Northwest, you probably know it as sea foam. From Britain? It’s honeycomb toffee you’re eating. Where I grew up (Buffalo), it’s sponge candy. And you know what I’m going to say next. That’s right. “A candy by any other name would still taste as unbefreakinglievable.” Hey, you didn’t know I was going to say that? Cool! So, if you’re any kind of frequent flyer at Polka Dot Suitcase, you probably do suspect what’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Toys for Families