The ZOO!!!!!

Okay, we love the zoo. I usually take the kids on Fridays because Jeremiah doesn't have school, which makes the day less crazy, and because the weekends are packed with families having family time and educational experiences. :) The Phoenix Zoo is only about 15 minutes away (I have to estimate--I'm not sure how far away it is without kids in the car!), and it's huge, and was voted the best zoo for children in the United States. We love it. Here are some pictures from this morning!

I tend to let the kids out of the stroller just a couple times to look at animals (I do it until they don't want to climb back in), so mostly we see the elephants, tortoises, and birds. :) Two elephants were out today--very exciting!


I did try to get a picture with three kids smiling, but this was the best I got. And then, after many tries, I got a picture to them making "scary faces".... Aaahhh! Notice Jeremiah's claws and scary eyes, and Danielle's, um, scary smile? These pictures were taken in front of the Galapagos Tortoise exhibit. As we were leaving, Isaac told me he wanted to ask the Glap-ghost Tortoise a question. "Glap-host Tortoise, do you like to eat lettuce?"





Then we went to Discovery Farm, which, if you have toddlers, is a life-size version of Fisher Price's "Discovery Farm." Very fun! A big red barn to play in, Farmer Bob, Fisher-Price animals to climb on and pet, a kid-sized tractor to stand in and drive, and a slide! All appropriate for 1 1/2 to 5 year olds! Perfect.





On our way to the petting zoo (an entire 20 yards), we needed to stop and climb on and explore the tractors.





Unfortunately, I couldn't get pictures of the kids while we were IN the petting zoo. I was a little more occupied with keeping track of three kids and what they were doing to and with the goats. Isaac enjoyed using the brush to brush one little goat who was lying down for a minute, and touched them gently. Danielle was very cautious and perhaps a tiny bit terrified. Jeremiah absolutely loved playing with the goats! He'd just walk right up to them and look at them and pat them fairly gently, he came over to one who was lying down and laid on his tummy in front of the goat and just looked at him and talked to him. He was easily the most comfortable child there. He just loves animals. This is the goat we spent the most time with today (and a corner of Danielle's pink coat--it was cold when we left--about 60 degrees).


Next up was Harmony Farm, a mini-farm with a vegetable garden, farm animals, and lots of things for kids to do! The boys loved riding "horses." Danielle wasn't so sure--I think she was a tad small for these horses.



Everywhere we walked around in the children's area, there were little things for them to do to wiggle and be more involved with learning. Here we learned about bugs. Important for decomposition and fertilization, as we were next to the vegetable gardens.






As I was attempting to get us out of the zoo (hard with so many distractions), Isaac really really really really wanted to climb this tree stump. It's really big and very fun to climb! So of course, Jeremiah wanted to climb too. (I told Danielle NO. She's still too little.)




Have I mentioned...We LOVE the Zoo?!

Time Allotment to Various Kid-Focused Activities

I've been wondering: How am I "supposed to" allot the several hours per day I spend with my children? I tried google-ing it, to no avail. Here's the approximation of what I do daily with the kids, followed by weekly activities.

Mornings:
15 minutes hygiene (get dressed, brush teeth)
30 minutes reading aloud
30 minutes gross motor development (ie, running games, races, soccer, playing at the park, yoga)
30 minutes fine motor development (ie, play-doh, building with blocks, art, drawing)
20 minutes music (involves shakers, rhythm sticks, bells, and a lot of noise)
10 minutes cleaning (they wash walls and windows and put toys away, mostly)

[Early afternoon is Danielle's nap and Jeremiah's preschool time, and I do reading and games with Isaac for about an hour of that, and we enjoy quiet time (cleaning for me, computer for him) for the remainder of the time.]

Afternoons/Evenings:
30 minutes reading aloud
30 minutes gross motor development
30 minutes fine motor development
30 minutes board/card games
45 minutes hygiene (baths, pajamas, brush teeth)
30 minutes scripture, songs and prayer

We spend an additional hour each day preparing and consuming food. I am actively involved in all above activities, with the sometimes-exception of fine motor skills. Play-Doh is usually a self-directed activity.

Weekly:
Visit the Phoenix Zoo.
Play at the Big Park.
Play at a friend's house.
Go to the YMCA 2-3 times.
Go on an errand.


For all who can add minutes into hours, I'm not spending every minute of every day with them. But blocks of time, yes. There are some specific goals we're working toward, such as following directions and taking turns (happily) and brushing our own teeth, among several others. The kids have free play for a couple hours in the mornings (some of which is spent at the Y) and a little in the evening and more hours on weekends.

Are there things I should be doing that I'm not? Do you think I should spend 3-4 hours instead of 1 reading aloud? letting the kids run around (remember, we're in an apartment, so we don't have a big backyard for our convenience)?

A mathematical model on the optimality of coupons

So it's been too long since I posted a pedantic over-analysis of mundane topics like last names and lawnmowers. Several of the women in our ward have a hobby/skill/amazing talent. They coupon shop, but it's on a level I could not have imagined even existed. They subscribe to multiple copies of the Sunday paper and then they cross reference their arsenal against grocery forums that determine the optimal store location to spend manufacturers coupons. Some stores double coupons, sometimes only on certain days, and most stores have weekly sales. In essence the secret sauce is to take the universe of potential coupons, which is large, intersected with the universe of goods on sale at coupon doubling institutions which is also large, and you end up with a small but very price-potent set of groceries.

You can bug Alison if you want to know the secrets to doing this, I wasn't at that particular enrichment meeting. What I want to point out is that doing all this could, indirectly, still make producers and grocery stores rich. I think on instinct we might consider this intense kind of coupon shopping as almost amoral, taking them to the cleaners when this is not necessarily the case.

Suppose there exists a consumer which possess the qualities "rich" and "good taste" (alternatively "spendthrift" and "fickle"). Depending on the day and their personal preferences they will be willing to spend $3 on either item A or B. Luckily item A and B only cost the grocer $2.00 to buy and the farmer $1.00 to produce. It would appear there should be plenty of profit to spread around and make all three happy, the trouble is, the "good taste" consumer is not willing to go with whatever is there, they want the one they want or their not buying. If the grocer supplies both, this costs $4.00 so she would lose if she served Mr. choosy and so no deal.

Now introduce another consumer possessing "bargain shopper" and "flexible". This person is willing to pay $1.00 for either item. Notice that this does absolutely nothing. If the store prices the items at $1.00 it will lose money on both sales, so still no A or B for sale. Now, suppose that the firm lowers the price after "rich" buys A or B. At $1 + $3 the store is just breaking even on $2 + $2. So the strategy is to put on sale items for which you have excess inventory. Notice that "Bargain shopper" paid the grocery store less than they paid for the item, yet the fact that they were willing to buy made the $3 sale possible. So just because the store is losing money on each and every item you bought does not mean they are not making money from you indirectly. "Bargain shopper" has sold the ability to buy whatever, whenever and is stuck with whatever "rich" leaves.

We can even get coupons in here. Suppose the grocery, rather than lowering the price just delays purchasing more inventory. Now the producer is in trouble. Since they make $1.00 on every sale, they can afford to offer $1.00 off coupons and still survive. If the price is $3.00, $1.00 is not enough to get the "bargain shopper" to buy. However if the store does coupon doubling then $3.00 becomes $1.00 at the register, inducing "Bargain" to buy. The store turns in the coupon for $1.00 netting for both goods A and B $3 + $2 - $2 - $2 = $1. So thanks to coupon doubling the grocer makes money even though they sold the item to you at a loss.

So next time you thoroughly abuse your local grocer store, rest assured that your cheapskate business may still be worth every penny.

Exercise for the reader: Assume the grocery store cannot put goods on sale, but does double coupons. Determine the price and coupon that splits the profit on the not preferred item equally.

Prayers

Tonight's bedtime prayers, completely unassisted.

Isaac:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Thank you for soda.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jeremiah:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for batteries. (Batteries = Leapster2)
Thank you for cottage cheese.
Thank you for mountain goat.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Cute Things from Today

Me: Danielle, what's your favorite vegetable?
Danielle: Green beans!
Me: Do you like the ones in the can?
Danielle: No! In my mouth!

(At the grocery store)
Me: Isaac! Calm down! You're being crazy!
Isaac (doing a crazy dance): I'm CRRRR-AAA-ZY because then I won't be so bored!

(Watching a movie with Daddy)
Danielle grabs John's jowls: What's happening Daddy? What's happening?
John says what's happening.
Eight seconds later, Danielle grabs John's jowls: What's happening? What's happening Daddy?
John says what's happening.
Repeat.

(About to start driving to see friends)
Jeremiah: Can the car fly to go to Lindy's house?
Me, repeating for clarification: You want the car to fly?
Jeremiah: O-kay.

Pictures

Cheese!
At ZooLights with Uncle Rob.
Making crazy music at the Children's Museum.
Jeremiah digging at the Children's Museum.
Cute pose.
Silly girl. She loved playing the piano! She'd turn pages every 10-15 seconds.
With a new baby doll.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thrilled about her new baby!
Tearing off little pieces of wrapping paper and handing them to Isaac or Marc.
Her Cinderella cake (well, it's chocolate, but the topper is Cinderella) t her Cinderella party.
Isaac taking a picture.
Isaac smiling for the "Smile Finder!"