The Aquarium, Now

Our latest project in science is an aquarium of different insects. We worked really hard on getting a good ecosystem going for a variety of of insects. We have a grasshopper that we found in my bedroom, another baby grasshopper that was hatched in the aquarium, a brown and orange caterpillar that still has not decided to create a cocoon, a very large cricket, several slugs, some stinkbugs, more than enough fruit flies, oh, and a really long worm. This is the same aquarium we had the frog in.

We let him go one day in the late summer, and we'll be starting with tadpoles instead of frogs in the spring. MrBaby wanted to keep him with the insects, until I explained he would eat them, which he agreed wouldn't be good for the bugs. When he is older, I plan on getting a TENS unit and, gross as it sounds, doing the old electricity-on-a-dead-frog-to-see-how-it-jumps lesson. Besides, having a TENS unit would be great for my back, and probably help me get the muscles relaxed enough I can adjust my own back, particularly when my one trick rib decides to go out on me. It's very painful, most times it feels like I am having a heart attack. I have gone to see a chiropractor close to IPFW for a while after I had MrBaby and these are some wonderful machines. I think everyone should have one. I read on their blog, that reads sort of like a FAQ, two questions, 'is it effective?,' and 'is it safe?' From my own personal experience, I'd answer 'yes,' to both, plus if you get the right intensity, it's quite relaxing. I was usually disappointed when my session would end. I doubt it's addictive, but it sure does feel good!

The one I want for myself is the Dual Combo TENS and Muscle Stimulator because I believe that would also help with building up my muscles, not just relax them and relieve pain. I'd like to get the additional muscle stimulator because I know it's harder to injure yourself when you're in shape than if you aren't. I just dealt with a sprained rotator cuff, found some exercises online, plus some stretches, and worked through it. I wish that I would have had one of these units. I wouldn't have had the internal debate on if I should go to the chiropractor's office or not. I did get MrBaby to rub, scratch, and pound on my back inbetween my shoulder blades and that did help a great deal, besides teaching him a bit about human anatomy. He came up this morning and asked me where his own shoulder blades were. They're so small and slight, I wondered for a minute, before I actually looked, if maybe they were like knee caps and developed over time during childhood!

But speaking about shoulders and shoulder blades brings me back to where I started at with this post. I don't think it added to my sprained shoulder, because moving it to another location will require a lifting-up motion, and I got this sprain pushing down on something, like when I closed the stupid windows here at our new place when it started raining. Right now, we have the aquarium in a southern-facing window, but some of the morning ray's of the Sun are blocked by another part of the house. I'm debating on if we should leave it there, or move it to an eastern-facing window. It would be lower, not over the heat vent, but it would also be where MrBaby watches TV and eats his snacks. It would be on a stabler table, too. When I am a bit more healed up, in a week or two, I'll probably move it and see. For now, I need to go water the plants that we have around the house. I need to get pictures of them up, as well as ones of his insect project. Since we have worms and slugs, we might rename it. How does 'Backyard Ecology Tank' sound?