Happy Mother's Day!

In just over a month I will celebrate 12 years married to the most amazing woman this world has ever known. I think back to the days when we met in college. As so many of us were working our way to maturity she was, well, already there. I can think back to the first time I saw her.

School had not started yet. I flew in from Florida two weeks early to get settled in the dorm. One day I was asked to go over to the main school building for a reason that I simply don't remember. What I do remember is opening the front door and there sitting in one of the armchairs in the foyer was this beautiful young lady. She had hair that fell just below her shoulders and framed a face with beautifully toned smooth skin. I do not remember what she was wearing, I simply remember thinking she was beautiful. By the time I made it to college I had become very adept at determining which girls were out of my league, and clearly this young lady would have no interest in a shy, pale geek. I picture myself saying hello that day, but thinking back on my old self, I’m pretty sure I flushed to red, nodded, and went my way. Yet that moment and the image of her sitting there are etched in my minds eye.

It would take in excess of a year before any real interaction would take place between us, and then all that transpired in the final months of our sophomore year could really fill another post of its own. Let’s just say that by the time we reached the end of our second year my status among the ‘leagues’ had risen and I had gained the eye of her that was to become my best friend. We started dating, got engaged, and then married, all within 13 months.

Two and a half years later she would give me my first child, a boy. It was from then on I would watch as my best friend and wife would become a mother, and a fine one at that. She would teach one more year and then step away to come home and devote her life to our children.

At first it was hard. We would become homeowners and then parents of two children. About the time we thought we could manage two, a third announced his presence before we were ready for him. Then again when are you ‘ready’ for any child. We can think so, but then we are proved wrong.

I don’t want this post to be about us, but about her. Now we have five, yes, five. It gets us looks and comments, but then again most are good. Many will tell my wife, “You are a better woman than I.” To which I would respond, “Yes. Yes she is, but we knew that before you saw the children.” You see my precious wife spends 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 52 weeks a year caring for our children. Does she complain? Sure, it’s not very often and anyway, don’t you complain about the two you have? The thing is, you usually don’t hear the complaints, because there is nothing you can do about it. That is left between us because we raise our children, not our community. She gives all of herself to make sure they are fed, bathed, educated, and cared for. She cleans up after them when they are young and teaches them to clean up after themselves as they get older. She cooks and bakes for them and then teaches them to bake and cook. She teaches them, not only how to make a mess, but how to learn from the mess or the process that lead to the mess. She allows them to combine stuff in a jar and keep it for weeks as a ‘science experiment’ knowing full well nothing is going to happen. She allows them to make mistakes so they can learn from them, yet keeps them from injury. (No broken bones yet…) She listens to whining and complaining and skillfully redirects the energy to something productive. (This, I must say, has always amazed me.)

I could keep going and going, for quite a while, but I bet most of you would stop reading, if you haven’t already. Most of all though she loves them. Like any ‘good’ mother she not only cares for her young, she loves them beyond all things. No matter how they behave. No matter how large of a mess they leave for her to clean up. No matter how many times they ask the same question in ten seconds. She loves them the same. All five of them. I struggle with treating them fairly and not having different standards for each, but she seems to have already perfected it.

I asked her what she wanted for Mother’s day this year and she told me nothing. (Like, I bought her flowers and she reiterated what she said.) So instead of jewelry or kitchen gadgets, I wrote a post to tell the whole world, or well anyone who will listen, just how much I appreciate the woman that has given me children.

Erika Leaf, I want to thank you for all that you sacrifice to take care of all 5 6 of your children. (Especially that big one. ;) ) To you, my love, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!

Field Trip: The Henry Ford (2012 Yeah, Really)

First things first, I have to admit that this trip to The Henry took place quite a while ago. I'm not very good at hopping on posts very quickly. This Blog was originally my idea, but I have the most trouble getting anything up on it. Either way its just a notice to you, but hey at least I am writing the post. (unlike our trip to Somerset Mall for the grand opening of the LEGO store where we helped build a ten foot Buzz Lightyear.) Well, on to The Henry Ford.

Amongst Erika's blog reading and deal searching she came across the fact that Target, the store, was paying for entrance to The Henry Ford certain days this year(2012). It so happened that when she discovered that one of those days was fast approaching. I requested the day off work and on Presidents Day we went to The Henry Ford.

For the sake of those who don't already know and those who have not yet gone to do a search for it to find out, The Henry Ford is a museum in the Detroit area. It houses many things. I first thought it was just cars, You know "The HENRY FORD". But when I went this past summer for Maker Faire Detroit, I discovered that there is lot of other stuff. Mostly it is a way for us to look back at many ways of life from the past. From cars to tractors, dollhouses to real houses, even planes to trains. There is a lot to see and even some to do. (Did you notice that?)

I won't give you a complete walkthrough of everything, but I'll hit most of it and show a lot of pictures. When you first walk in the door you are welcomed by the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile. Now that is just cool. Who doesn't want to see that thing up close?

Very shortly after that we ended up looking at dollhouses, no where near like the one I made for Alyssa. Much bigger and a lot more detail. Alyssa of course loved it. Jake though, very quickly turned to the tractors on the other side of the aisle. When Jake and I made it back to the others we had come across a friend of ours and her daughter who hung with us the rest of the day.

We found a little play house to hang out in for a while.

We meandered through bedrooms of old and then found LEGOS, Tinker Toys, and K'NEX to play with as well as crayons and paper.

We walked among some "engines" that, honestly, you have to see for yourself.

And then we found airplanes. It turns out Henry Ford dabbled in airplanes and commercial flying for a bit. Some of what he did and other history significant planes are on display. Then there is a place with lots of paper and an airstrip.

Now is where honesty has to kick in. I'm sure you can already tell that this visit to The Henry Ford is from over two years ago. This was one of a few posts that Erika has asked me to write. As you can see it has taken me a while to do. There have also been quite a few that she has wanted me to do but I never did get to. This one I am going to finish and maybe even do others in the future.

At this point I'm not entirely sure how that day ended at The Henry Ford, but we have gone many times since then. We even had a membership this last year. We've been for just the museum and we've been for Maker Faire Detroit. Every time is fun though. The Henry Ford is a great place for adult and children alike. There are quite a few things to draw the kids into learning about our history in so many aspects of life. Yet each display has detailed info for a curious adult to spend days reading each. The Henry Ford is gold mine of learning in the Detroit area. It's probably the closest you can get to Smithsonian quality museum in our area that I know of at least.

I could keep going on for quite a while but I'll leave it with this:

If you are in the Detroit area and want to spend a day learning and experiencing our past go to The Henry Ford. And if the season is right come back the next day to check out Greenfield Village next door. The village is another experience in and of itself that I would suggest to anyone.

Make it Monday: $2 Birdhouses

Erika asked me to make birdhouses with the kids last year, yes, last year. I, being a Maker and woodworker, loved the idea. Yet I still managed to forget about the request for a little while. Then one day it was brought up again and I hopped to it. I immediately turned to my favorite DIY site, instructables.com, for ideas. One of the first returns on my search was the $2 Birdhouse posted by CheapChuck. A simple birdhouse that didn't cost much, but still did what we wanted. I knew instantly what birdhouse we were making.

The basis for this birdhouse, or our building material is simple. You need one, yes one, five to six foot long dog-eared cedar fence picket. Small disclaimer: in the instructable the house is referred to as a $2 house but my local Home Depot charges $2.25 for the picket, but I still think it is a cheap build. They do sell a $1.18 pine picket, but that one is treated. Not very bird friendly. Plus cedar is a good outdoor, low maintenance building material. Anything else you need you can probably find in your workroom. I did.

So last year I went and got three, we have three kids old enough to make houses, cedar pickets. I spent a few minutes one evening cutting out all the pieces. You need two peaked, end wall panels, two side wall panels and two roof panels. The floor panel you wait to cut out until you put the rest together so that you can measure what you need.

I also trimmed one of the roof panels for each house along its width equal to the thickness of the board. This allows for a symmetrical look to the finished roof.

Cutting it all out really wasn't difficult. Getting around to putting the houses together, now that's a different story. We didn't get around to making them last year before the birds nested. So I intended to get them together for this years nesting. Still not entirely sure if I managed that, but they're together none the less.

To construct these I used exterior wood glue, 18 gauge brad nailer, hammer, drill with 3/32", 1/4" and 1 1/4" bits. I have to admit, I had to buy exterior wood glue since all I generally use is interior, but that is not much cost added to the project. When it came time I covered the kitchen table with newspaper, and ran my air hose in from the porch. I called the kids in and we began assembling birdhouses.

We started by assembling the four walls. A peaked wall goes at either end with the rectangular walls between them. Apply glue to the edge of the rectangle wall, align with the peaked piece, and give it a couple of nails from the gun. If you are going classic with a hammer and nails I recommend pre-drilling the holes so as not to split any wood.

There was no problem getting the kids to help with the gluing process, they're used to that. But the nail gun brought fear to their eyes. It's new to them and loud, none of them like how loud my tools are. I do appreciate their fear of the tools though. It will help them learn to respect how dangerous they can be and the proper way of using them.

From the walls you move to the roof, putting on the piece you trimmed first. Apply your glue on one side of your peaked walls. Align the edge of the roof piece with the other peak surface to create an even surface for the other, wider piece to sit on. Nail again.

And this is when the battery in the camera died. Not too many more pictures were taken. I apologize for that. I plan to make another house with a clear rear wall. At that time I'll take more pictures of the process. We're hoping that we can mount that house someplace close to a window so we can observe what is happening inside.

Once that side of the roof is secured you can apply glue for the other side. Make sure you put plenty along the top ridge so that it will create somewhat of a seal from rain when it dries. Place the piece and nail again. Once the roof is in place you can work on your entrance. I drilled a 1 1/4" hole center on the front in line with the bottom of the roof. Make sure to sand both sides of the entrance so has to help avoid a splintered bird. Before you drill that hole though, mark the spot for a perch two inches below the center of the entrance. I used a 1/4" drill and inserted a sanded 1/4" dowel roughly three inches long.

Now for the bottom. This will also be your entrance to clean the house out once the occupants leave. Yes, just like human renters, these users do not clean up after themselves. Cut you base leaving yourself about an 1/8" around the perimeter, 1/4" smaller than what the house measures. On one end cut or sand a 45 degree angle off the bottom so the panel can hinge out for cleaning.

Pre-drill holes for a standard nail, I used a 6d 2" nail on either side as my hinge. A 3/32" bit made a hole just the right size so I could simply push the nail in with almost no hammer use. On the other end of the base I drilled a hole the size of which I do not remember and insert a standard coarse thread drywall screw to hold the floor up. When it comes time to clean the home I will remove this screw and swing the bottom out and allow the contents to empty.

Yes the kids did help me with this project in between trips to the living room to slide on a big cardboard box they had been playing with. I still get a little nervous having them run power tools so I do a lot of that for them, but I try to get their hands on the tool while I am doing it.

What they had fun with was painting them. I was not at home for this process, but it was something they can do mostly on their own. So with no one hindering what they had to do, they went wild painting them however they felt.

Well, our kids had fun making our "$2" birdhouses, and if I manage to get them up in time some birds will enjoy them. How about you, want to give your kids, or yourself, a good time and a couple of birds someplace cozy to stay for a while?

First Day of School 2012

We started a new school year this week! I've said before that we don't really stop schooling during the summer, but it's always fun to celebrate. Besides, it gives me a chance to take more pictures!

All the neighborhood kids made their way down the street to the school for their first day by the time our kids sleepily walked out of their rooms. We did not have the typical celebratory breakfast that we always have. Instead of pancakes, we made waffles and homemade maple syrup. The rest of the day pretty much matched the day before. A bit of math. A bit of writing. A bit of computer work. A lot of reading. And a lot of fun. I had a special present wrapped up for them when all their work was done. They rushed through it all and ripped open the package. Inside, they found a small M-Gears kit . They were ecstatic!  They immediately started putting pieces together. Of course, Jake was very systematic in his building, but Zac kept taking all the matching pieces. Let's just say, Jake was . . . less-than-happy about it. All three kids played with the gears - with a few disagreements here and there - for days. I think it would be beneficial for us to buy more gears. Not only are they great for teaching problem solving, but another set would help solve our problem of not having enough for all the kids.

Speaking of problems, have you ever tried to get a picture of 4 kids? A nice picture. One where they're all looking at the camera and smiling. And cooperating. It's not easy, is it?
 

Here is their "this is a typical picture of the 4 of us" picture.

 Here is their "we're so excited for the first day of school!!!!!" picture.

And after nearly 30 pictures, here is their "this is the best you're gonna get" picture.
 

Do you remember the first day of school last year? I explained all about the confusing signs. You would think that since I had made it difficult with Alyssa's sign, that I would have thought through Zac's school label more. But no. Since last year was his first day of pre-precshool, and technically since he's 2, he's still in pre-preschool. This year would be his second first day. See what I mean about confusing?

I was prepared for Tyler though. He's in baby school. The 5 month old is in school? Oh yes, trust me, he'll be learning lots this year: how to crawl, how to talk, how to eat solid food, how to walk, how to blow raspberries, how to roll a ball. Lots of learning in baby school.

Jake's grade is another easy one. He's 6 and in second grade. I don't know if I've ever clarified this before, but his birthday and the Michigan school cut-off date is the same, December 1. We could choose to start him when he was 4 or wait another year. He was completely ready though - both academically and socially - even if we had sent him to a traditional brick school.

Alyssa is 4 and it was her third first day of preschool. *sigh* Next year will make so much more sense. You know, because having properly labeled school signs is so very important.

   
Happy 2012 School Year! Here's hoping for an even more profitable year. More learning. More activities. More memories. More fun.

Antioch Grand Prix

The past few weeks have included many nights with me secluded out on the porch doing more woodworking. I wasn't finishing the dollhouse, nor was I making any more beds. I was carving pinewood derby cars, three of them. It was supposed to be four, one for me, but I ran out of time. I thought about doing a step-by-step of the process, but they took enough time as it was. I couldn't imagine how much longer they would have taken. I'll tell you what I did. I just won't be able to show you.

When I asked Jake what kind of car he wanted he told me, "A race car that the hood opens." Really? Do you understand how this race works? Opening hoods don't matter, you're not going to do anything to the engine. It won't have an engine! After some talking we determined that winning a race was more important to him than the car looking cool. So we looked at other low profile cars for ideas. We decided on a design and cut the shape. I didn't start carving right away because I was more concerned with how much work I had to put into Alyssa's, so I started hers first. When Jake saw it take form, he decided looking cool was much more important. A completely new idea, and a new block of wood later; we were on our way. I decided on the Camaro aspect, he chose the black with green flames and the red number six.

Alyssa's design was easy to come up with, "I want a pink My Little Pony car!" "Pony Car!" A Mustang! Idea, easy; following through, not so much. I decided on basing it off the 2013 model on Ford's website and Alyssa decided on Pinky Pie being the art work.

When I asked Zac what kind of car he wanted,"I want blue one!" So the design was up to me. I chose to try and win a race with this one. While still trying to keep it stylish, I removed as much wood as possible. Once I finished the cutting, sanding, and priming I let Zac do the painting.

Zac's car did not require any extra wood but the other two did so that they would look real.

I used the standard block of wood you are given with the kit but added a piece of wood 1 1/2" wide and 1/2" inch thick (actual measure) to the car. Before I could glue it to the block I had to cut openings for the wheels.

I measured the distance from each end to the axle cut and mark it on the side pieces. I used a 1 1/4 inch spade drill bit to drill the openings. About one-third of the bit goes over the edge of the board, so clamp it down and go slow. Or drill just enough to get the line to follow the edge and cut it out with the scroll saw. I did some of each. Once the holes are done glue them right to the block with wood glue using clamps to hold it over night.

With the added wood the block would not fit under my scroll saw so I had to use a band saw. I simply cut out the basic shape with the saw and used a Dremel to do all the carving. Most of the work was done with a sanding bit, but a lot of excessive removal as well as much of the detail was done with a variety of high-speed cutters. Use what tools you have, but be PATIENT! Speed leads to mistakes. Trust me! When I was little my dad would cut the basic shape and I would do the rest with a pocket knife. It just takes longer.

I did just about all the priming and painting with sprays. The tail lights and some touch ups were done with acrylics. Use fine sand paper before you paint if you want a fine finish when you're done. A lot of people at the race thought our cars were plastic because of the finish. I also added a coat of clear to make them really shine. Word to the wise though, don't draw any designs with a Sharpie if you're gonna use clear coat. It makes the marker run.

The races went completely backwards of what I expected. I lost one of the polished axles that I prepped so I had to use a spare axle that was too tight of a fit for the wheels so Zac's car didn't go anywhere. Jake's car with it's blunt nose won second for speed and Alyssa's won third. I had assumed that their cars would not do well on the track due to how much wood was on them. But it turns out it comes down to what you do with your axles. Polish your axles, it pays off. But depending on the age, as long as they end up with a car to play with they're happy.

I already mentioned that Jake won second and Alyssa third for speed. But Alyssa also won first for design. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the pony to mustang reference.

Have you made any pinewwod cars? What creative designs did you come up with? Any cool paint jobs out there? Any success tips to share? Make a car and have fun!