Don't Forget To Tip Your Blogger! :)

Here is your problem of the week:

How many different tips are possible if you plan to use exactly three coins, and you have a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half-dollar available?

Good luck!  Answer will be posted Sunday!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

For My Dad

We all have memories from growing up that we cherish.  One of mine involves my dad singing some silly songs to us.  There were 3 specifically that I remember.  I have made it a point to sing them to my children so they can enjoy them, and hopefully some day they will pass it along to their own kids.  My son loves, loves, LOVES to sing.  He has taken a liking to one of the songs my dad used to sing and it was so cute that I had to record it and share it with everyone, but especially with my dad.

Here it is:



:)  He makes me smile!

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

The Solution To: Patterns, Sequences, and Series, Oh My!

Here was the original problem:

Discover the pattern and find the next two numbers in this sequence:

0, 6, 20, 42, ...

 

 

Here is the solution:

 

0 x 1 = 0

2 x 3 = 6

4 x 5 = 20

6 x 7 = 42

 

So, the next two numbers would be:

 

8 x 9 = 72  and   10 x 11 = 110

 

 

See you all next week with another problem!

 

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Patterns, Sequences, and Series, Oh My!

The moment you have most certainly been waiting for all week has finally arrived!  Here is your problem of the week!

Discover the pattern and find the next two numbers in this sequence:

0, 6, 20, 42, ...

Good Luck!  Answer will be posted Sunday!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Nature vs. Nurture

Certainly we're all familiar with the nature vs. nurture argument.  Some people believe that who we are is determined by our genetics (nature) and some believe that who we are is determined by the environment we grow up in (nurture).  And then you have me, firmly planted somewhere in the middle. 

We all have natural abilities.  We all have natural tendencies to act this way or that, to like something or not, etc.  These natural tendencies are determined by our genes.  But the environment in which we live determines whether or not we reach the full potential of our god given abilities or what tendencies end up shaping our personality.

My son is one of the most thoughtful little kids I have ever met.  When I think of kids, I tend to think of the brutally honest phase, which occurs before kids realize that certain questions/comments hurt other feelings.  You know, the phase that leads a child to ask (quite loudly) out of curiosity "Why is that lady so fat?" or "Why is that kid in a wheel chair?".  So I admit that I was (and still am) surprised at how thoughtful he is.  Maybe the brutally honest phase is still to come.

I came down the steps from our bedroom after getting dressed for a wedding one day last fall.  My son looked at me, smiled, and said "I like your necklace mommy!  It has lots of pretty colors!".  It doesn't surprise me the least bit that he noticed my necklace.  If you have spent more than a couple minutes with this kid you would know that he is one of the most observant kids EVER!  But it surprised me that he thought to comment on it and tell me that he liked it.  He often tells me that he likes certain things that I am wearing.

Then the other day, something happened that utterly melted my heart.  I know my kids love each other a lot.  Sure, they get on each other's nerves like all siblings do, but the love is already very apparent.  I got my daughter dressed for church and sent her out into the kitchen we her brother was still eating.  As soon as he saw her, he said, "Oooh, she looks nice.  She looks like a princess!".  Seriously, so thoughtful and sweet.

Her princess outfit

There is that part of me that would like to think that his thoughtfulness is a direct reflection of my parenting and that nothing else has influenced it.  But, alas, my better judgement wins out.  I'm sure that his natural tendency is towards being more observant and thoughtful.  My job as a parent is to ensure that he remains a thoughtful person.

And I will admit that I feel as though this is a tough job.  Let's be honest for just a second.  My son, obviously, is a boy (duh! right? just stick with me...).  He will one day turn into a man.  Men (and yes , I'm about to stereotype men) are not known to be the most observant or thoughtful creatures in the world.  You got your haircut?  I thought it was always that short...  I know Anthony is shaking his head right now and thinking, "I'm not that bad".  And he's right...for the most part...

All I'm saying is that I want my thoughtful little boy to grow up into a thoughtful man that I can be proud of and who will make some woman very happy with all of his thoughtfulness.  And that brings us to the crux of the issue here.  Sure, my son is naturally thoughtful, but if I want to nurture that part of him and have it be a continued trait, then I need to model that trait for him.  I need to set an example for him.

It seems logical and easy enough, right?  I mean, one of the foundational principles of parenting is to be a good role model.  But it is sometimes all to easy to think of being a good role model as going to church, donating money to charity, not drinking/smoking/swearing, etc.  You know, the big stuff.  But something like thoughtfulness requires much more intentionality. 

Anybody who thinks that a person is solely shaped by genetics must not have children, because they would know better.  What I do matters.  Not just the big things, but the little things as well.  I have little (very observant) eyes watching me.  What I do matters by far more than anything I say.  And while that realization can be frightening, it is also very empowering.

The best thing about being given that much responsibility is that it has made me a much better person.  I know that my kids are watching me; what I eat, what I do, what I say...  And because of that I eat better, I watch what I do, I watch what I say (though you may not believe that if you have ever heard my son say "oh crap"...oops!).  I am grateful for the blessing of being a parent for a lot of reasons but one of the things I am most grateful for is how it has changed me for the better.

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

Solution To: Are You Smarter Than A Third Grader?

Here was the original problem:

Given the following, find the pattern:

3, 4, 5

4, 7, 1

8, 4, 0

1, 2, 9

In the four examples given, the first two numbers were used to determine what the third number in the sequence was.

 

 

Here is the solution:

 

Given that the clue was that this first appeared in a third grade text, think about what math skills a third grader possess.  Basically, the two things they should have down at that point is addition and subtraction.  Looking at all 4 sets of numbers, the sum of the three numbers in each of the four sets is 12.  So, given the first two numbers, the third number was derived by figuring out what you would have to add to the first two in order for the three numbers to equal 12.  Tada!

 

Gotta love that third grade math!  :)

 

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Family Guy Meets The Millers

Now, let me start off by saying, I don't watch the TV show Family Guy.  I have never even seen an episode, but in my opinion, from the commercials, it looks, well...stupid (that's just my opinion though, please don't send me angry e-mails!).  BUT, I do remember a commercial that aired quite often for awhile and thought it was actually comical.  Here's the commercial I'm talking about:



Have you ever found yourself in that situation?  Well, I have a lot recently.  It is one of the few words my daughter knows how to say and for whatever reason, she finds great joy in repeating it over and over again sometimes.  There are days when I am awaken in the morning to the sounds of her doing this (or she does this after waking from a nap).  This makes perfect sense to me, she obviously wants me to come get her from her crib, so she calls for me.  But other times, she does it just to do it, just to see if I will respond, just because she likes the attention.  It's funny how the same behavior can be so unbelievably cute some of the time and so unbelievably annoying other times, depending on the situation at hand.

Just like Stewie, the little boy in the video, she also varies how she says mama exactly.  Today at lunch, this went on for a good five minutes.  Here is part of how the conversation went:

"MAma" (the capitals letters is where she is placing the emphasis when she says the word)
"What?"
"MAma"
"What?"
 "MAma"
"What?"
"MAma"
"What?"

"maMA"
"What?"
 "maMA"
"What?"
 "maMA"
"What?"

"ma-MA-ma"
"ma-MA-ma"
"mamamamamama"
"ma-MA-mi"
"ma-MA-mi"
"maMI, maMI, maMI"

You get the point right?  And she doesn't actually want anything.  She just wants to say mama.  Annoyingly cute, the epitome of an oxymoron.  I'm sure, it's moments like these, the annoyingly cute ones, that I will miss the most once they are gone...

Sincerely,
The (slightly annoyed) Mom

Are You Smarter Than A Third Grader?

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Whose The Smartest Of Them All

Will You Be Able To Crack The Code

And Prove You're Smarter Than An 8 Year Old?

Here is your problem of the week:

Given the following, find the pattern:

3, 4, 5

4, 7, 1

8, 4, 0

1, 2, 9

In the four examples given, the first two numbers were used to determine what the third number in the sequence was. 

Figure out how the third number in each sequence was determined (i.e. find the pattern).  

Here is a bit of interesting information.  It may help, it may cause you to over think it, and it may drive you downright nuts, but here it is:  the problem first appeared in a third-grade text!  (What math skills do third graders possess?)

Good Luck!  Answer will be posted Sunday!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak 



Intelligence: Toddler vs. Canine

Last night my mom brought over a tricycle she had in her garage for my son to use.  He was extremely excited about it, so much so that he wanted to ride it right away even though it was past his bedtime.  Unfortunately, it needed some work.  First and foremost, it was missing a bolt and this bolt needed to be replaced in order to make the tricycle functional.

This afternoon, my son and I went outside to clean the tricycle up a bit.  We hosed it down, got all of the dirt off, and tried to remove some of the rust (which didn't go well).  Then we went to the basement in the "work room"  (the place where we keep all of the tools and the like since we don't have a garage) to dig through Anthony's coffee can full of spare screws/bolts.  We didn't have much luck.

So I sent my son to get Anthony and told him to ask him about going to the store to get a bolt.  Well, my son, who LOVES to help his daddy fix things, only asked about going to the store 6 times in 3 minutes. 

A little while later, I wanted to see if Anthony was going to take my son to the store to get a new bolt, only I didn't want to actually say that because my son was right there.  I knew if he heard me ask, he would ask about it nonstop again for a good while.  So I did what you do with dogs when they figure out what a word means, I spelled it out, thinking he certainly couldn't crack my code.

"So, are you going to take him to the s-t-o-r-e?", I asked.

My son butts in immediately before my husband could respond.  "Yea, we need to go to the s-t-o-r-d (he didn't quite catch the last letter apparently) to get a bolt for the tricycle.  Come on daddy, let's go to the s-t-o-r-d, to the store."

Anthony, thinking that our son couldn't crack that code also, immediately shoots me this look of Whoa!  Are you kidding me?  This kid is freakishly smart!.  I was obviously was thinking the same thing.  Either he is that smart or we just way under estimate children's ability to understand things at this stage in life.  I'm not sure if he knew that what I said spelled/meant store, or he used contextual clues to figure out what we were talking about...either way, I was impressed.

I guess, you could say, today was a big moment in my son's development, as he is now officially smarter than a dog (since I have never known a dog who understood words when they were spelled).  :)

Sincerely,
The Mother of a Brainiac  (Can you say "college scholarship"?  HaHa)

The Solution To: And Two Shall Become One

Here was the original problem:

I am going to show you a mathematical proof that proves 2 = 1.

Let a = b Then a * a = a * b; that is a2 = ab a2 – b2 = ab – b2 (a – b)(a + b) = b(a – b) a + b = b b + b = b 2b = b 2 = 1

Multiply both sides by a Subtract b2 from both sides Factor both sides (left side uses the difference of squares rule) Divide both sides by (a – b) Replace a with b since a = b Combine like terms Divide both sides by b Voila! 2 = 1

Now we all know that 2 does not equal one. So tell me what mathematical "no no" I committed. I'm not trying to trick you. I actually did break a mathematical rule. You just have to figure out what it is!

Here is the solution:

When I divided both sides by (a - b), I was actually dividing by zero, which isn't allowed.  Since a = b,   a - b = 0.  Dividing by 0 is undefined (at least in ordinary arithmetic, which is the kind we all use) and is a "no no" so to speak.

:)

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Making Memories

I'm leaving the house for work one morning.  As I'm backing out of the driveway, I look at our big front window to see if the kids are coming today to wave goodbye to me as I leave.  I see my daughter standing on the couch at the front window alone (our couch is in front of the big window and the kids stand on it to look out).  When she sees me, she frantically looks behind her to see if my son will make it to the window in time to wave.  As she sees him coming (or I should say, as she see my mother-in-law, her grandma, carrying my son to the window), she becomes extremely excited and starts jumping up and down on the couch.  I pull out on the street and stop in front of the window for a brief moment to wave to both of the kids.  I wave, just as they do, with both hands.  As I pull away, I think to myself, that was just the thing I needed to start the morning.

After my daughter was born and I went back to work, my mother-in-law started watching the kids at my house.  It, in some ways, was easier for both of us this way.  I'm not sure how exactly it got started (I'm sure my son just wanted to wave goodbye and that was the best place to do it), but soon, waving at the front window became a bit of a morning tradition.

One morning, for whatever reason (most likely pure toddler excitement), my son waved goodbye to me with both hands.  I knew, knowing him, how excited he would be if I copied what he did.  So I waved back at him with both hands.  And from that moment on, the double handed wave has been here to stay.

Over time, my daughter has learned what this waving thing is all about and has become really excited about it.  My MIL told me that she usually gets so excited that she jumps on the couch once they make it there.  It's a rare occasion that I get to see that, however, since she usually does it before I back out far enough to see them in the window.  It's a special treat when I get to see that, since it's just so cute.

It's easy to get caught up in the day to day.  It's easy to start to doubt yourself, to wonder if you are doing enough, contributing enough to your child's life. As I drove to work the morning after witnessing that scene I described above, I realized the little moments mean just as much (if not more) than the big ones.  Going to the window each morning seemed to me, for so long, like such an insignificant thing.  But this special tradition is the kind of thing that will turn into a treasured memory that will last a life time.  And to me, that's what raising kids is all about.

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M

p.s.  If you see me waving excitedly at you with both hands like an idiot, please excuse me.  I've simply forgotten to switch out of mommy mode.  ;)

And Two Shall Become One

Here is the problem of the week:

I am going to show you a mathematical proof that proves 2 = 1.

Let  a = b Then a * a = a * b; that is  a2 = ab a2 – b2 = ab – b2 (a – b)(a + b) = b(a – b) a + b = b b + b = b 2b = b 2 = 1

Multiply both sides by a Subtract b2 from both sides Factor both sides (left side uses the difference              of squares rule) Divide both sides by (a – b) Replace a with b since a = b Combine like terms Divide both sides by b Voila!  2 = 1

Now we all know that 2 does not equal one.  So tell me what mathematical "no no" I committed.  I'm not trying to trick you.  I actually did break a mathematical rule.  You just have to figure out what it is!

Good luck.  Answer will be posted Sunday!

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Life: It's A Love / Hate Sort Of Thing

I have had a lot to love about my life recently, but there are a couple of things that I have really hated recently as well.  And since I am almost positive that I am not the only one feeling this way, I am going to share the things that have really bugged me lately.

1.  The News 
This is what I heard on the news the other day at work in the course of 10 minutes.

• 3 college students killed in a car crash (that wasn't their fault) and two more remain hospitalized.
• The final shooting victims of the Chardon shootings will be laid to rest this week.
• Gas prices are on the rise and are likely only to continue to go higher.
• A 10 year old boy died after the gun his 13 year old brother was handling went off, shooting him in the stomach.  The 10 year old is dead and the 13 year old will likely face time in juvenile detention for involuntary manslaughter.

Are you feeling depressed yet?  I know I was!  And that was after just 10 minutes.  This is why, when I can control it, I don't even watch the news.  Most of the stories are either fear based or just down right depressing.

2.  The Elections
How many times have you received a political call over the last week?  I'd say I was receiving about 5 a day.  Here is what I want to know:

• Why don't political calls fall under the "Do Not Call List"?  If I don't want telemarketers calling me I certainly don't want politicians calling me!
• Why do they have to call more than once a day?  Anything beyond that is harassment as far as I'm concerned.
• Why don't I have the option to talk to an actual person?  All of the call were recordings.  There was never any option to talk to a real, live, living, breathing, human being.  Therefore, I never even had the chance to tell them that I think their candidate is a weenie and to STOP calling!  (I, of course, would have said it nicely!)

All I have to say is, I'm glad the primaries are over and I don't have to worry about them calling anymore...at least until about October.

3.  Charities
My husband and I give money where and when we can to our church and to various charities.  There are certain charities that we give faithfully to each year.  The one thing that we ask of them is that they only call once a year.  Here are the problems I have had lately:

• These problem charities (2 specifically) call several times a day when they want money.  It's been up to 8 times a day and at all hours of the day.  Seriously, again, anything more than once is just plain old harassment.
• They automatically assume that we will be sending them money again when we do finally speak to them.  I realize we have continued to support these charities, but don't just assume we will be sending you money.  That bugs me.
• They will outright lie to your face, just to get you send money to them.  The one I talked to the other day said, "We know that you asked to only be called once a drive, and we honored that.  We are starting a new drive.  You have been so gracious in the past to donate to us and we appreciate it.  We will go ahead and send out the envelope for this drive to you."
  So I said, "I believe what we asked is that we only be called once a year and I have already given to you for this year."
  "No ma'am.  We just started the drive for 2012.  You have not given to us."
  I'm sitting there thinking:  Grrrrr.  Don't tell me what I have and have not done.  I keep record of these things.  I know I have already given for this year.  So unless someone lied to me the last time and told me it was for 2012 when it wasn't (the donation was given in 2011), just so I would send you guys more money, then I have already given to you for this year.  Either way, you aren't getting anymore money.  And if you are going to continue to harass me, tell me I'm wrong, and lie to me, then I won't send you money anymore and just ask that you call me never again!  I instead said politely:  "I'm sorry, but when I donated the last time, I was told it was for the 2012 drive.  I have already given for this year so please don't contact me again until the 2013 drive begins."
  Then she just hung up on me.  I was perfectly nice to her and she was totally rude.  Seems to me you'd be a bit nicer to people you want money from in the future!

I know charities do a lot of good and it feels good to give money to people and support causes, but I don't want to do it if I'm being treated rudely and being lied to!

But that's just life isn't it.  Not everything is going to be sunshine and roses.  Venting has made me feel worlds better and hopefully has made you feel like you aren't alone if you have been in the same boat I have been in lately.

Sincerely,
The Grouch

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite moments with the kids over the last couple of days:

1.  My son is telling my husband all about the Veggietales event we went to.  He tells Anthony,  "Then we got to dance on bubble rats!"  The Silly Song (if you are familiar with the Veggietales DVDs, each has a silly song) was called "The Bubble Rap", so they let the kids dance on bubble wrap to the song.  But somehow my son thought it was "bubble rats".

2.  Anthony and my son were going through some of Anthony's things from when he was a kid that we had finally retrieved from his parents attic.  My son found a really big pencil amongst the stuff.  Then he says, "Look, you have big pencil like my big pencil.  And it has your name on it.  It says Daddy Miller!"

3.  Two of the items we were looking for amongst all the stuff in the attic we had yet to locate.  Anthony's mom later found it in another part of the attic.  When Anthony finally brought them home and my son discovered that we had found what we were looking for, he said "There it is!  I knew it was around here somewhere!".

4.  I introduced my daughter to the Baby Einstein DVDs we own.  I played the Baby Macdonald one for her, which is all about life on a farm.  Well, my daughter loves cows (plus its the only animal sound she knows how to make thus far) and there were plenty of cows in this DVD to keep her entertained.  She stood the entire time the DVD played smack-dab in front of the TV and mooed nonstop!


5.  When meeting the new pastor of our church and his wife, the pastor took an interest in the kids and really wanted them to feel involved in the conversation so he asked my son a few questions.  Upon asking if we had any pets, and then more specifically if we had any cats, my son replied, "We have Oreo.  We had Coco, but she died."  "Oh," said the pastor, "Do you have any dogs?"  My son said, "Well we used to have Charlie but then he had to go live with somebody else because he peed in the house."  That made the pastor laugh.  It's funny how differently we answer questions than kids do.  They think every detail is interesting and necessary where we adults are much more selective.  It was totally cute.  And that's not all my son talked about.  When the pastor asked where we lived, I gave the city.  But then my son butted in and said, "No, no" and then gave the city AND the state.  And then my son, after being asked something else, proceeded to talk for 5 minutes about the two ponds we have by us (The very small fish pond we have in our garden and the pond on the lot somewhat caddy corner to us.)  It was so very sweet.
Being a parent is more than stressful, but these two little ones make even the most frustrating days so worth it!

Sincerely,
The Mom

Solution To: A Penny For Your Thoughts

Here was the original problem:

A penny and a quarter are on a table. You are told:

"If you tell me a true statement, I will give you one of the coins. If you tell me a false statement, you will get none."

What statement can you make that will guarantee that you will receive the quarter? Explain.

Here is the solution:

The statement you need to make is "You won't give me the penny."

Here is why:

1.  Suppose you are not given either coin.  Then the statement you made was true and (by the rules given in the original problem), you should have received a coin since your statement was true.

2.  Suppose you are given the penny.  Then the statement you made was false and you should not have been given either of the coins.

Since both scenarios lead to a logical contradiction, the only choice remaining is that you are given the quarter.


I'm willing to bet (and I don't mean this to sound rude) that half of you are still scratching your heads and the other half of you are kicking yourselves right now.  I have to admit that I'm not sure I could have solved the problem if I had to.  Fortunately, when I encountered it a few years back, I didn't have to!  :)

Sincerely,
The Math Freak

Captain's Log

Captain's Log (i.e. Mother's Log)
March 1, 2012

8:30 a.m. - I'm finishing up my shower.  My daughter is playing on the bathroom floor while I take my shower. (I still don't trust leaving her out in the living room with my son when I can't hear or see them.)  I'm drying off when I hear my daughter fussing.  Her fussing turns into cries of frustration and then cries of pain.  I open the shower door to find that my daughter has taken apart my sons training potty (even though she knows she isn't supposed to) and somehow managed to get her foot stuck in a hole in the base of the potty.  She is in obvious pain and is inconsolable.  I try to remove her foot but it is really jammed.  I run through the house naked, fling open Anthony's door (who is sleeping, he just went to bed since he works night's), and yell up to him telling him I need help and that our daughter's foot is stuck in our son's potty.  The flinging of the door and the tone of my voice was no doubt enough to give the poor guy a heart attack and I'm sure, upon being given the information of the situation, he initially thought he was dreaming some strange dream.  Anthony came down to help.  Her foot was really jammed in this thing and for a moment, we thought we weren't going to be able to get it out.  But sure enough we did.  He foot was a little red and ended up slightly swollen around the back, but she was otherwise okay.

10:00 a.m. - The kids and I enter the grocery store.  My son requests that we use one of the ginormous car carts (you know, the ones that look like a car and have steering wheels).  It was a perfect idea since this cart had two seats.  This way they could both be seated and I wouldn't have to worry about my son walking around pulling things off shelves (it has been known to happen).  My kids are seated next to each other in the cart.  My son puts his arm around my daughter.  It was a very sweet moment.  So I, being the pathetic, sappy mother that I am, pull out my camera and snap a picture of them in the middle of the grocery store.  It would honestly be the ONLY nice moment shared between them all day!

11:00 a.m. - Back at home.  My daughter is napping and my son is watching Mighty Machines.  I take the free moment to contemplate the hilarity and ridiculousness of this morning's incident.  And then I wonder:  What would I have done had Anthony not been home?  I seriously couldn't get her foot out by myself.  I guess you call the fire department, right?  But that just seems a bit much.  "Yes, 911.  Help, my daughter's foot is stuck in a training potty and she can't get it out!"  I am certain that, since I have been told many times that I sound like a child, the dispatcher would have thought it was a prank call.  Yep, I can see it now, "Call the fire department.  Bring the Jaws of Life...!" 

11:30 a.m. - My kids eat us out of house and home.  After eating grapes, sweet potatoes, turkey, butter bread, and yogurt, they still demand more food.

2:00 p.m. - My daughter's nap time finally arrives, and not a moment too soon.  My son has spent a good portion of the last hour and a half in time out.  That time is a blur of stealing toys, hitting, and pushing each other down.  I start to wonder what on earth happened to me kids and where I went wrong with them so soon.  Then I start to feel like a horrible mom.  A good portion of my bonus day with them has been spent being angry with their behavior and being a referee between the two.  I know they don't act like this for Grandma.  Oh well...such is life.

5:00 p.m. -  We attempt to take the kids out to eat but just before we leave, my son throws a major temper tantrum (for seemingly no reason) and gets so worked up that he nearly starts hyperventilating.

5:30 p.m. - We are finally at the restaurant and settled in.  I ask the waitress what's in the kids quesadilla.  She informs me that it has chicken and cheese in it.  My son then feels as though he should inform that waitress that the "salsa place's" quesadilla has just cheese.  Also, my daughter sweetly says "Hi" to our waitress every single time she walks by.  It never got old.  If you know my son, you know what a slow eater he is.  My daughter was getting restless waiting for him to finish up.  I put her down and let her stretch her legs (we were at the back of the restaurant without anyone around).  She used her new found freedom and new found ability to walk to make a mad dash to the men's restroom, laughing the whole way there as if she knew she shouldn't be going in there.

6:30 p.m. - My daughter is in the bath.  I'm her bedroom, which is on the other side of the bathroom, getting her room ready for bed when I hear, "Awwwwwwwwww..." in a very frustrated tone.  I go to the bathroom to see what's wrong and am told that my daughter has pooped in the tub.  It was the first time it's ever happened, but frustrating none the less since Anthony had just drawn her water and put her in.  "At least it's formed", I say.
"Yea, but what are we going to scoop in out with?", Anthony asks.  After some discuss, we decide on our tool of choice.  Before Anthony could scoop it out, however, my son had to come see what all the excitement was about.  When told what had happened, he demanded to see the poop.  I leave the room and leave Anthony to do the fishing.  That's when I hear my son say something about "crumbs" floating in the water.  Yep, the fishing didn't go so well and now there was just poo everywhere.  Time to get some clean water.  Seriously, how does this stuff happen to us?

One thing that this day taught me is that any and every possible crazy thing can happen when you have little ones.

Sincerely,
The Captain

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Sorry about the lack of blogging lately.  Some extra (much needed) work on projects around the house have taken up a lot of my free time!  Any who, here is your problem of the week.

A penny and a quarter are on a table.  You are told:

"If you tell me a true statement, I will give you one of the coins.  If you tell me a false statement, you will get none."

What statement can you make that will guarantee that you will receive the quarter?  Explain.


This problem is based in logic and is a bit difficult, but I know you can do it.  Just to clarify, making demands like "Give me the quarter or I will do this or that to you" aren't going to cut it.  Better luck next time though.

Good Luck!  The answer will be posted Sunday.

Sincerely,
The Math Freak