'The apple doesn't fall far' can be used positively (Susie and her Dad are both doctors - oh, well, the apple doesn't fall far . . .) or negatively (I just met Jimmy's parents, and I see why he is so rude - oh, well, the apple doesn't fall far . . .).  Every now and then, though, a neutral situation comes along that sort of explains why my children are the way they are.

My daughter has a terrible knack for not seeing the obvious.  For example, her shoes may literally be 2 feet in front of her face and she might even be looking in that direction, yet she doesn't see them.  I really don't believe that is a trait she got from me because I generally have great attention to detail - it's what made me great at my job as a paleontologist.  

Anyway, yesterday I bought my husband a new ipad for his birthday.  We had discussed it, and we've had our other one for 2 years and it has pretty much become a family ipad with the kids using it much of the time.  So, hopefully the husband can use this more exclusively for work and when he travels.  

He went out with his work friends yesterday so he was home after I retired for the evening (I went to bed to read around 8:30), so I put the shiny, sleek, bright white box on the breakfast bar area.  I turned off all the lights, except the 2 lights over the table area shining down on the box.  He would have to turn off the lights when he got home, so he would surely see it.  

He got home, came to talk to me, and said nothing.  He then went to watch some TV and even had to go to the fridge for some food.  Yet, he still said nothing.  So, this morning, I had the kids ask him if he saw his gift, and he came out saying he hadn't!!  So, I laughed and asked him where he thought our daughter got her inability to see things right in front of her.  

He is a scientist, and one who prefers the big picture rather than millions of little details, so it all fits together in his personality.  I am a detail oriented person, so we work well together, both seeing things the other may not.  So, when my daughter was looking for her lunch box on the table literally right in her field of view, I had but one thought:

The apple doesn't fall far.

I'm hoping the apple will remain close to the tree when our children grow up and attend high school & college.  But for now I'm just hoping we can keep our shoes, lunchboxes, Barbies and ipads within our sights.  :-)

The past month has been exhausting and trying, and so I've obviously been away from the computer as a result.  It seems things happen one right after another around here with no time between to take a breath.

Just the other night I walked out my back door to take out the garbage and was met with a shiny, bright red star and wondered if it might be Mars.  As I walked to the garbage can I  noticed two other extremely bright stars that I assumed were Venus and Jupiter.  I asked my husband if he could confirm my guesses, especially for the red one, and we brought out the ipad (and an awesome astronomy app).  As it turned out, I was right, and Mars is extremely close right now and the planets are beautifully aligned in the sky.  We brought the two older kids out to take a look.  We talked about planets, stars, constellations, and they asked to look the next night.  

As I looked at Mars, I thought how amazing it is that there is a VW Bug sized rover hurling towards Mars at about 25,000 miles per hour.  People dreamed to explore other planets and made their dreams a reality.  Imagine what Aristotle or Galileo would say if they could be in the midst of some of the most amazing technological advances made by humans!  Stop for a moment and think about what that really means.  People designed and built rovers and spacecraft to send to another planet.  And then, those spacecraft land on and explore Mars while sending back photographs and receiving commands from people on Earth.  The MER Rovers lasted for 8 years!  It is no small feat and should be appreciated for its innovation and that it all started with a dream to achieve.  

Unfortunately, the NASA budget is in jeopardy of being drastically cut.  As a teacher, we watched Shuttle and Mars launches (I had students arrive early at 6am once to watch a live launch), and one of the most popular and motivating topics was space exploration.  Young people are fascinated by it and dream of other places to go and things to do.  They are the ones who will dream up and design the next generation of space exploration, yet, our government may be taking away some of those chances.

I've heard many comments that suggest people think the high cost of space missions is a waste of money.  To borrow from a friend, we are NOT sending $500 million in a suitcase in to space!!!  The cost of space missions go to pay for JOBS - scientists, engineers, and other companies involved in building the product.  Not one dollar is placed in the space craft never to be seen again.  

The NASA budget is small in comparison to everything else.  NASA costs the public 1/2 penny on the tax dollar, significantly less than the defense budget.  According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, the US military spends the entire NASA budget in 23 days (I'm not dissing the military - just showing comparison).  Although it's a few years old, here is an article that puts NASA's budget into perspective.  And here is yet another with some good links to budget info.

The byproducts of space exploration exist in our everyday lives.  Everything from velcro, invisible braces, scratch proof lenses, the ear thermometer to medical equipment, adjustable smoke detectors, cordless tools and shoe insoles, not to mention numerous 'small' things we don't necessarily 'see' every day.  Here's another great article highlighting technology spin-offs from NASA.  And, don't forget that your cell phones, internet, sattelite TV, GPS are all available because of satellites orbiting our Earth.  Life would not be anywhere near the same without the technology that has come from the Space Program.  

Imagine what more can come from the space program!

My kids love space and rockets and planets and stars.  If mine do, yours probably do too.  It is our job to do what we can to make sure that our kids have the inspiration and opportunity to fulfill their dreams, whether it's building a spacecraft, flying into space, benefitting from one the thousands of space exploration byproducts, or simply enjoying the discoveries made by scientists.  

So, I encourage you to send a simple letter to your congressmen to encourage them to NOT cut the budget.  You can do it easily from this link.  If you don't know what to say, there is a form letter provided and will go directly to your appropriate representatives based on your address.  

Help us keep Space Exploration Alive for all our benefit!!!!  I've listed some further reading below:

Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about benefits of Space Exploration
History of Mars Missions - the US is still the only country to land on the Red Planet!
Putting NASA's Budget into Perspective - a few years old, but still valid
NASA:  50 Years of Achievement 

I enjoy sewing even if I've only sewed 2 pairs of pajama pants and 1 pillowcase dress since high school.  I'm learning and trying new things when I have time.  I recently completed a really cute little pillowcase dress for my daughter.  I found the pattern (I was not brave enough to tackle the applique) at Wal-Mart for 97 cents!!  It turned out a little bit too big (although it's better than being too small), the seams didn't quite match up and I had a hard time making neat ends at the seams for the rick rack (decorative white bands at the bottom).  I certainly learned a lot and can hopefully do a better job the second time around.  At first glance, though, I don't think you notice any of those things.  I also have a great book that has helped me understand some of the instructions and terminology in the patterns when I have questions.

Upon further searching online, I found this link for instructions to make a similar dress - no pattern needed.  

I've started my next project for my other daughter which involves a zipper and some other things I'm clueless about, but so far so good.  The zipper is not yet in, so my sentiments may change.  I'll post a picture when that's done.  
Here's the pillowcase dress: