The gift of laughter...

Janey related the following to me, just moments ago...

So the kids were watching a "Blues Clues" christmas special today. And of course they always tie it in to Hanukkah.

At some point a Jewish candelabra is displayed and Joe (the main character in the show) asks "does anyone know what this is?"

"I know, I know" shouts G, jumping up and down.

"It's a manure!"

How to bond with the kids (epoxy not required)

A couple weekends ago, Janey had a much needed stress break. I had to figure out what to do with the mini-me's for two whole days.

Anyway, what better way to keep their attention then in the shop. aka"Dad's Domain Where No Child Shall Tread Without Supervision".

(This, of course, virtually guarantees a regular stream of attempted break-ins.)

Anyway, they've been asking to do something in the shop. Given their success the last time I gave 'em a piece of derelict electronics equipment and a screwdriver, I was pretty sure we could keep occupied.

I'd recently gone through my old stash of old/dead PC stuff and found three dead CDROM's pulled from old PC's. That, plus some donated cd players (thanks Melinda and Ron!) meant we were well and truly stocked.

After clearing off three workspaces, we set out ground rules.

1.) use the screwdrivers
2.) the hammer is a last resort
3.) please don't use the scissors to cut sheet metal.

With that, they were off with the enthusiasm of ... well, the enthusiasm of kids who are told it's OK to destroy something.

A couple of hours saw everything reduced to component scrap, with cries of "what else can we take apart? The dvd player? The alarm clocks? How bout the fridge? Pleeeeeease daddy?!"

G, displaying some of her father's pack-rat tenancies, put aside interesting bits to save in her room.

"Great", I thought, "Janey's going to love me..."

The next morning I had a brainstorm. In a rare fit of brilliance, (If I do say so myself. Rare, that is) I cut up some plywood, gave each kid a glue bottle, and let 'em loose to create their own "picture".

Even better, given the plethora of tiny motors and microswitches we discovered during our excavations we did some creative soldering and each kid had something that buzzed, twirled, or zipped.

It was a blast. It took Janey aback when she called to check on things Saturday evening and instead of tales of mr. mom woe got an (only slightly) diabolical laugh. "Oh yes dear. We're having a GREAT time!! Fabulous!"

"Want to stay out longer?"

(dads take note. That last bit insured she came home on time...)

The masterpieces: