Incoherent Babbling

The Boy is in the final days of a two-week camp called Amusement Park Physics, which he seems to be enjoying very much. I'm pleased that he's enjoying something educational--despite the fact that he's had homework every night--and I'm also pleased that he's having a good time even though he didn't know any of the other kids in the camp. He used to be so shy and reluctant about that kind of thing, but now he's fine with it. Nice to see the little ways in which he's growing up.

The camp has been mostly about Newton's laws and force and inertia and all of that very basic stuff, and the kids have made accelerometers (which I keep calling alethiometers, much to The Boy's chagrin and eye-rolling) from paint sticks, BBs, and rubber tubing. They've been doing various experiments with these homemade accelerometers, and creating makeshift break-away straps for them (The Boy's strap consists of two magnetic strips and lots and lots of duct tape). The straps are for today's excursion to Kennywood Park, where the accelerometers will be put to some serious work.

Imagine a group of about 20 kids wandering around an amusement park in matching purple C-MITES t-shirts, all with alethiometers dangling from their wrists. Dork much? :-) But it's all about making physics phun, and I think it's awesome.

Next week he's going to River Camp, through an organization called RiverQuest. He's doing this one with a friend from school, and they'll spend mornings on a boat taking water samples from the rivers, and then afternoons using microscopes at the Science Center and learning about what they find in the samples. So cool!

Then he's off for two weeks, and can get back to doing nothing.

I've pretty much just been working. Oh, and walking. And sort of walking/running (shuffling). One of the cats wakes me up at about 5:45 every single morning, so I decided that instead of lying in bed seething, I should get up and take a walk. I've gone every weekday in July aside from the 4th, and it's been good. I'm doing the walk/run program I used the first time I learned to run, so it'll be a while until I'm actually running for any length of time or distance, but it will come. My neighborhood does a 5K race on every August, and I may see if I can be ready for that. It's not until August 23, so it's very possible. We'll see.

Even if I can't manage the 5K, I'm pleased with this cat-inspired fitness program. I wore a pair of jeans yesterday that had been too tight for a while, and that's always exciting.

The only other thing of note I have has to do with my cats. Remember the Pee Cat? Well, the change in diet to wet-food only seems to have solved his problem with the crystals in his pee. He's no longer straining and/or leaving bloody pee patches on my carpets. He is, however, still peeing in my living and dining rooms (as well as using the litter box). AND THE OTHER CAT HAS PICKED UP THE HABIT! I have been through gallons and gallons of Nature's Miracle, and have used my steam cleaner to shampoo the carpets twice in the last few weeks, but it doesn't matter. The smell goes away until one of the little fu$%*rs pees again.

I am SO TIRED of coming home to a house that smells like ammonia! SO TIRED! And I'm so tired of spending money on the cats! I've been trolling the Internet in search of ideas and solutions, and haven't come up with anything new. I ordered a black light and something called SCOE 10X last night, and if that doesn't work, I don't know what I will do. I really like the cats--they're affectionate and fun, and I love snuggling on the couch with a book and two kitties. The Boy loves the cats; getting rid of them is really not an option. But I don't know what to do.

Any suggestions? I'll try anything. I'm quickly turning into this:



And I don't like it one bit.