Fascinating!

You can see two butterflies in the cage and a
chrysalis hanging from the top.
I know - a terrible picture with the netting in the way,
but you get the idea, right?

For Christmas, Alicia received a Butterfly house with instructions on how to receive the caterpillars in the mail. After several weeks, she received tiny little caterpillars in a jar with their own food. They ate, pooped, and grew over several weeks. Then they climbed up to the top of their jar, hung down and turned themselves into a cocoon. It was fascinating watching the process!

After a good 10 days or so, two of the three butterflies have emerged. They have been eating sugar water and oranges. Hopefully the third butterfly 'hatches' in a day or so too and we'll have a whole herd of butterflies. I have never seen butterflies go through their cycle up close like this. I have been just as interested watching them as the girls.

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I learned how to make bread this week. You'd think I would have learned how to do that by now, but since the invention of bread makers, there was never a need :)

Kimberly had to make bread for one of her projects during their pioneer unit. She was so excited to tell me about her project several weeks ago. Me - not so excited, especially since the instructions were very clear - no Rhodes and no bread makers. This was indeed a problem, to which John informed me that his mom had a very simple bread recipe she used when he grew up. Grandma Rimington emailed the recipe to Kimberly. I took one look at it and instantly knew this was not a recipe for me. Kneading is not theraputic for me like it is to others. They lovingly knead the dough into submission. I not-so-lovingly throw it across the room in frustration.

So, I found a nice and simple bread recipe online that had my Kitchen aid do all the kneading for Kimberly. She and her friend made their bread yesterday and it turned out amazingly well and was amazingly easy!

This is prior to the cooking of course.

Other events of this week include the torturing of my bod. Ever heard of P90X? Every inch of my body is wishing it had never even learned the meaning of exercise. ...and I'm only on Day Two. I have 3 more days of torture before the week is done and I get to start the process over again next week. ...My muscles are protesting and proclaiming their right to vote. Unfortunately for them, they don't get a say so. Here's to happy muscles in a few months with the new, muscly looking me!