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	<title>polka dot suitcase</title>
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	<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com</link>
	<description>family fun through creative living</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:06:26 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Volunteering with kids in Charleston: Oysters away!</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/volunteering-with-kids-in-charleston-oysters-away/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/volunteering-with-kids-in-charleston-oysters-away/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:06:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oysters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[volunteering]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2806</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s nine in the morning in February, and it&#8217;s freezing in Charleston, South Carolina. My kids are shivering, and my 10-year old is giving me the evil eye that says, &#8220;Why did you sign us up for this?&#8221; We&#8217;re standing with a clump of other families, all of us waiting to find out what we really did sign up for, six weeks ago, sitting in front of our computers, sipping coffee in our jammies. And then our leader clears his throat and it&#8217;s game on.
As part of Disney&#8217;s &#8220;Give a Day, Get a Day&#8221; program, I signed my kids and I up for a morning of volunteering at South Carolina&#8217;s Oyster Restoration and Enhancement (SCORE) project. In exchange for some volunteer work, each of us receives a ticket for one day at a Disney park. I&#8217;ll be honest here: We&#8217;re probably not going to the parks this year. But that&#8217;s ...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/volunteering-with-kids-in-charleston-oysters-away/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Charleston, South Carolina</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/charleston-south-carolina-and-patriots-point/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/charleston-south-carolina-and-patriots-point/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charleston]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charleston harbor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south carolina]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2854</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
It was supposed to be a late-winter getaway to cure our itchy travel bug. Who knew it was going to be so crammed with fun and activity?
Turns out, Charleston isn&#8217;t just a destination for romantics and adults sans kids. We only had three days and we were going non-stop &#8212; could have easily filled another three.

TIDBIT TO LOOK SMART IN FRONT OF YOUR KIDS:

The beautiful Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston isn&#8217;t a suspension bridge (but you knew that). It&#8217;s a cable-stay bridge. I know; what&#8217;s the diff? Here&#8217;s the diff: A suspension bridge is being held up by the main, swooping cables attached to the ground or supports on the ends of the bridge. The vertical cables are then attached to those main cables and then to the bridge deck. A cable-stay bridge is being supported primarily by the towers on the bridge itself. The cables then fan out ...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/charleston-south-carolina-and-patriots-point/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Visiting Charleston, South Carolina</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/visiting-charleston-south-carolina/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/visiting-charleston-south-carolina/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:09:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charleston]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shrimp and grits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south carolina]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2816</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For two weeks, I was compulsively checking the weather. Initially, when I planned this trip, I thought we&#8217;d be fine. After all, in normal years the very end of February/beginning of March in Charleston, South Carolina is mild. It would be the perfect way to kiss winter goodbye and kick off our 2010 travel season.
Wrong. As we hitched up the camper that morning, Mister Steel stopped in his tracks, staring. &#8220;It&#8217;s snowing!&#8221; he shouted. No way.
Uh, way. From Raleigh down through Fayetteville, it snowed. Granted, it wasn&#8217;t a whomping like the Northeast has gotten this year, but this is North Carolina and any snow is newsworthy.
But we made it safely to Charleston, and although our visit was a bit chilly, we had a fabulous time. Never been to Charleston? Or you&#8217;re a frequent flyer and want to revisit memories? Stick around this week. We&#8217;ll be recapping the trip. And you&#8217;ll ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Photo Friday</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/photo-friday/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/photo-friday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:39:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nail polish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[palmetto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south carolina]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2840</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s coming!
You may have noticed our new color scheme here at PDS. (I know &#8212; thank goodness! That other was awful!) But starting next week, we&#8217;ll be re-finangling the site to head in a slightly different direction (I know &#8212; thank goodness! All this mindless meandering was awful!). And to get the party started, we&#8217;ll share some insights from the recent trip to Charleston, SC.
And yes, I really did paint my toenails with a South Carolina flag design.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/03/photo-friday/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hot dogs choking hazard? Build a better hot dog</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/hot-dogs-choking-hazard-build-a-better-hot-dog/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/hot-dogs-choking-hazard-build-a-better-hot-dog/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:18:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fooling Around]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[american academy of pediatrics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[choking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[choking hazard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hot dog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hot dog redesign]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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, &#8220;If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child&#8217;s airway, it would be a hot dog.&#8221;
Now, in all seriousness, I&#8217;ve dealt with a small child choking (on the hot dog&#8217;s distant cousin, a chunk of ham). It&#8217;s terrifying for both parent and child. So I don&#8217;t laugh at the implications, trust me. I used to cut my kids&#8217; grapes into small pieces, I banned cheese cubes, and, yes, diced their hot dogs. So please don&#8217;t accuse me of not taking our kids&#8217; safety seriously.
But.
The idea of redesigning the hot dog itself? That sparked my interest. After all, they&#8217;re not just suggesting cutting your child&#8217;s food into small pieces &#8212; ...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/hot-dogs-choking-hazard-build-a-better-hot-dog/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy Birthday, Sir Buffalo Sushi!</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/2800/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/2800/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fooling Around]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birthday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sir Buffalo Sushi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2800</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s February 23rd, and you know what that means? It&#8217;s&#8230;
SIR BUFFALO SUSHI&#8217;S BIRTHDAY!  Woohooo!!!! So head on over to Sir Buffalo Sushi&#8217;s blog and wish a very, very happy birthday to this very, very special boy and blogger.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/2800/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sponge candy disaster</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/sponge-candy-disaster/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/sponge-candy-disaster/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:54:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edutainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[baking soda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chemical reactions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[experiment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meat mallet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oliver's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sponge candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vinegar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[volcano]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2752</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So after the last crumbs of my Oliver&#8217;s sponge candy were licked from my fingers and the sweet smell had been sucked from the bag for a few days&#8230;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&#8217; chemistry study. After all, there are not one but TWO chemical reactions that take place when making sponge candy. And you can apply this to that been-done-to-death baking soda and vinegar volcano experiment, too:
First, when the acetic acid (in the vinegar) reacts with the sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), you have an exchange reaction, where some of one compound swaps places with the other:
In this case, a hydrogen ion breaks free from the vinegar and swaps with a sodium ion from the baking soda. Shall we dance?
Then, everything&#8217;s so unstable that a decomposition ...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/sponge-candy-disaster/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tools to capture your creativity&#8230;and then set it free</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/tools-to-capture-your-creativity-and-then-set-it-free/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/tools-to-capture-your-creativity-and-then-set-it-free/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:37:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edutainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[artist's way]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crayons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creativity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital recorder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[julia cameron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[laughter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lighted pen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[morning pages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[silly putty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soundtrack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[waterproof paper]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2724</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a writer and homeschooling parent, I think a lot about how to &#8220;capture&#8221; 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&#8217;ve caught it&#8230;what do you do with it? The irony is you&#8217;ve gotta turn around and release it. Only then can you be its master, grasshopper. So then the question becomes, &#8220;Okay, exactly how do I perform this capture-and-release program?&#8221; Well, today&#8217;s your lucky day, my friend. I&#8217;ll tell you how:
TOOLS TO CAPTURE IT
Paper with power. You know you always get ideas in the shower, right? It&#8217;s something about being in someplace hot, steamy, and wet that relaxes your brain and suddenly all kinds of crazy stuff is popping out. You could try writing it with ...]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/tools-to-capture-your-creativity-and-then-set-it-free/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>5 Fun Ways to Get Kids Ready for a Trip</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/5-fun-ways-to-get-kids-ready-for-a-trip/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/5-fun-ways-to-get-kids-ready-for-a-trip/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:35:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Edutainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charleston]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[edible sand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family movie night]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paper chain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scavenger hunt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel crafts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveling with kids]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2731</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So you&#8217;re sick of the snow and you&#8217;re planning a trip someplace warm. Sunny. Relaxing. Where they wouldn&#8217;t know what to do with a snow shovel. Or, you&#8217;re tired of the heat and you&#8217;re planning a trip someplace cold. Sunny. Ski-able. We humans are always going places, aren&#8217;t we?
Whatever the case, you&#8217;re planning a trip. And you want to figure out a way to get the kiddos interested in your destination. What to do? Well, there&#8217;s lots of stuff:
We&#8217;ve already talked about the old stand-by, making a paper chain. You put on as many links as you have days until departure. Now, you can leave it at that, and let the kiddos take a link off every day, watching the chain get shorter. Or you can infuse some Polka Dot Suitcase: on each link, write an activity related to your destination. Going to the beach? One link can be making ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Snow! (What else can I say?)</title>
		<link>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/snow-what-else-can-i-say/</link>
		<comments>http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/2010/02/snow-what-else-can-i-say/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:35:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fooling Around]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snowstorm]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.polkadotsuitcase.com/?p=2716</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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&#8230;well, a whole lotta the white stuff.
Here in NC, forecasters like to say we &#8220;dodged the bullet.&#8221; This phrase, by the way, bugs Big Fish to no end. It&#8217;s probably because it&#8217;s so tired and overused, and Big Fish doesn&#8217;t tolerate fools gladly.
Anyhoo, we had our couple inches of snow a couple weeks ago, and then we dodged this current snow bullet. Our pals north of us did not. And you know what? That is completely fine with my kids. I know &#8212; if you know anything about Southern kids, you know ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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