Grow A Frog Kit Review

We got Squirmy, an African Clawed Frog, in a tiny box with a Grow a Frog Kit in October of  2015.  She came in the package with a one gallon plastic tank, but a year ago we gave her a five gallon glass tank.  Squirmy spends her days swimming around and eating.

HOW TO CARE
Your frog may look hungry all the time, but it probably only needs to be fed every one or two days.  Our frog likes Reptotreat dried shrimp for treats, but her main food is Reptomin sinking granules and floating food sticks.  If algae starts building up on the sides of your frog's tank, get a few snails (the snails will multiply, so get only 2 to 3) or clean off the walls with a strong kitchen scraper and water-proof gloves. We don't use filtration on our tank.

VIDEO

Watch a video we made with Squirmy at YouTube or view below:

Baby Girl's Observations
Our frog lives in a five gallon tank with a ton of tiny snails and a large Bamboo shrimp.  She enjoys playing in the green water plant, kicking the glass in the bottom of her tank, swimming through the red arch, and standing on the miniature castle.  Another of her favorite activities is knocking baby snails off the wall.

Squirmy's olive green skin blends in nicely with the small patches of algae on random objects around her tank.  She likes to use her delicate lime-green webbies to propel her through the water.  She normally uses her mouth to breathe, but sometimes it's used to eat her favorite food: FINGERS.  One of her most favored activities is eating the tip of your finger, or really anything that she can get her mouth on.

Squirmy doesn't want a roommate that's any bigger than your thumbnail and she's made it clear.  Over the past year or two, we have tried putting in fish to clean out Squirmy's tank.  She killed (she doesn't have teeth so she can't eat them) every fish except one, which mysteriously disappeared.  After all that mayhem, we decided we would try snails.  For the first time besides shrimp, Squirmy didn't eat them.  At least, not too many.

Squirmy's food sources (fingers, fish, snails, etc.) might not be the best, but she's a really nice frog.  If you want to pet her she normally won't try to eat your fingers, and she has learned to clap.  She will watch you clap from inside the tank and will eventually catch on.  She may or may not like clapping, but she always depends on one thing: a dried shrimp afterwards. 


Dude's Observations
Squirmy, a African clawed frog, lives in a five gallon glass tank (the kit will come with a one gallon plastic tank but the frog will outgrow it fast.). Tiny snails and a bamboo shrimp keep the walls of the tank and any fish castles or other decorations clean. We do not recommend fish to clean the tank because they will most likely to become frog chow. We learned that the hard way.

Squirmy eats a variety of things including, reptile sticks, turtle and frog pellets, dried shrimp, and even beta food, but her favorite thing to eat of all time is... fingers! She likes to wait at the bottom of the tank waiting to jump up and nibble on unwary fingers. When she was a tadpole she ate a food that dissolves in the water. Now that she is all grown up she will eat pretty much anything.

You can often find Squirmy rooting around in the marbles at the floor of the tank or climbing fish castles. Her favorite thing to do is to eat and her second favorite thing to do is to bob. She likes to swim from the bottom of the tank to the top and back down and up and down and up and down etc.    She can bob very fast.

Squirmy's talents are clapping and swimming very fast. To get her to clap you have to walk up to the tank, get at Squirmy's eye level and start to clap, it might be a little while till she actually claps. She some times swims so fast she doesn't take counter of where she is and bumps into stuff or gets stuck in the hole in the rock arch.

Are you thinking of getting a frog?

Dude and Baby Girl

                                                                                     

How to Make a LEGO Cottage

Have you ever wanted to make a house, but couldn't figure out how to make the roof? If you ever had that problem then this is the post for you.

First you will need a base plate. The plate can be any size as long as the house can fit on it.

Next you will need to make columns. I made my columns five bricks high. Use 2 by 4's to make the columns. I put windows in two of mine.

Next, set the columns of bricks in a U pattern and leave a four stud space.

In the small four stud space place a door. If you don't have a door piece then you can make your own.

On the open side of the house you can either make a large window or just add more walling. whichever one you picked it must six bricks tall.

Make the three other walls six bricks tall too.

Add the furniture before you add the roof. I put in a bed, a dining table, a chair, and a TV.

Next start the roof. I used the three stud long slopes. Add small eaves for more realism (offset from the wall).

Add small beams running under the slopes to make the roof more stable.

 Add the rest of the roof. ( The orange slope is there because I ran out of reds.)

Add a skylight or chimney for extra decoration.

If you want to you can make a back porch. You can make picnic table and barbecue.

Next, add a path way headed to the house.

Lastly, add hills, flowers, trees, and ponds.

What kind of houses will you make and how big will they be?


Dude

How to Make a Polymer Clay Ring

Did you recently lose your favorite plastic ring?  Or are you just looking for something to bling up some jeans and a t-shirt?  Worry no more!  This clay ring is easy to make, will fit you perfectly, and is totally cute.  Plus, when you out grow it, you can just make another one!

To make the ring you'll need a few basic supplies: a rolling pin, silver and pink clay, gold glitter, a small shape cutter, your finger, and some extra tools to engrave designs.

Condition clay and roll into a small log.  (To find out how to condition clay, go to my How to Make a Doll Macaroon post)  Set the log in front of you on your place mat.  Sprinkle a generous amount of glitter in front of the clay.

Roll the clay in the glitter and condition a second time to distribute the glitter all around.  Use the rolling pin to roll the shiny log to a length long enough to wrap around your finger.  When sizing the ring, make sure to wrap loosely around the biggest joint of your ring finger.  This ensures the ring will fit you snugly after baking.  If you like, you can engrave some designs using a toothpick or special clay tools.

Take off the ring and roll the pink clay to about a 1/4 of an inch thick.  Cut out your chosen shape and use it to conceal the overlap of the ring base.  Bake according to the directions on the package.  Let cool and show off your style!  Here are some images of the ring:

Have fun making your ring!

What other charms have you made?  Maybe you could try to make mini food charms!  If you like that idea, why not make a mini macaroon charm?

Baby Girl

Dude's book review

Do you like reading action and mystery books? If you do, then The Mystery of the Cougar's Yellow Eye by Lance Fremont is the book for you.

With mild action and, of course, mystery this book should keep you interested. This is one of my favorite mystery books out there. The book was my Dad's from when he was a kid.  I chose this book to read because the words "mystery" and "cougar" caught my attention. The story is about a boy and his two cousins who are trying to find their family treasure, but someone is trying to steal it. Do you think that the cousins can get the treasure back? Is there a cougar in the story? This is an older book, and you may have to look several places if you want it.

If you are looking for something to read then I highly recommend this book.
What kind of books do you like?
Dude

Baby Girl's Review of Fly Guy Books

Fly Guy books are great for anyone, but I recommend them for kids.  The books are great for new readers because they have short, easy to pronounce words.  I am going to give a review on Hi! Fly Guy and Buzz Boy And Fly Guy.  The Fly Guy books are by Tedd Arnold.

Buzz Boy And Fly Guy is the first book I'm going to review.  It is mostly a comic book with a few pages that don't have the comic on them. I like this book a lot because Fly Guy is funny.

Hi! Fly Guy is the first book in the series.  It has short chapters that have easy words with full color pictures.

The books are about the size of a piece of printer paper, just perfect for small hands.

What's your favorite Fly Guy book?
Baby Girl

Hostile Mobs in Minecraft

Unfortunately, in Minecraft not all mobs are nice. Some are very aggressive. These are called hostile mobs.

Creeper

Creepers only spawn at night, like almost all of the other mobs in this post. they are the most well known mob in Minecraft. When they see you they will run straight toward you and when they are three blocks away from you, you have one and a half seconds to try and escape. The best way to defeat them is to use a bow and arrows to attack from a distance.

Useful drops: gunpowder.

Zombie

Zombies are one of the few hostile mobs that burn in daylight. They inflict damage by touching you. They sometimes will attack villages in very large groups, and will turn the villagers into zombie villagers. To defeat them just throw potions of healing at them. (Potions of healing harm them and potions of harming heal them.)

Useful drops: rotten flesh, iron shovel (rarely), iron sword (rarely), carrot (rarely), potato (rarely), armor if equipped.
    

Skeleton

Skeletons also burn in sunlight and can attack from a distance because they have bows. To defeat them use their own weapon against them and use a bow to attack from a distance.

Useful drops: bones, arrows, bows, armor if equipped.

                                                                        

Spider

Spiders in Minecraft are the size of your player! Spiders are hostile at night and neutral (they won't attack you unless you attack them) at day. They are very quick and can climb up walls. The best way to defeat them is to get to higher ground and attack with an enchanted diamond sword.

Useful drops: string, spider eyes.
  

                                                                  

Cave Spider 

Cave spiders are smaller versions of the regular spider. They only spawn in abandoned mine shafts and sometimes find their way to the surface. They are quick and can also climb walls. Note that cave spiders are poisonous.

Useful drops: string, spider eyes.

                                                                   

Endermen 

Endermen are three blocks tall and will only attack you when look at them above their legs. With their ability to pick up and place blocks, they can build houses and Snow or Iron Gollums. Since they can teleport they make tough enemies. The best way to defeat them is to avoid looking at the upper part of their body while attacking their feet.

Useful drops: ender pearls.

                                                                     

Witch

Witches look a lot like villagers, but instead they have purple robes and wear a hat, have a wart on their noses, and their skin is grayer. When you are twenty blocks away it will throw a potion of slowness at you, which will slow you down by half of your average speed. As you get closer it will start to throw potions of poison and weakness, which do a little damage. When you are five blocks away it will throw potions of harming, which do a lot of damage. The best way to defeat a witch is to either shoot it from a distance with a bow or attack quickly with a enchanted diamond sword.

Useful drops: sticks, gunpowder, spider eyes, glowstone dust, redstone, glass bottles, potion of healing(rarely), potion of fire resistance(rarely), potion of swiftness(rarely), potion of water breathing(rarely).
    

Slime

Slimes spawn either deep underground or in swamps. They come in three sizes, small, medium, or large. If you kill a large one then it will split into three medium ones, then those will turn into three small ones. The best way to defeat them is to attack them with a sword while standing on a two block tall pillar.

Useful drops: slimeballs. 

Silverfish

Silverfish live in fake blocks called silverfish stone. The best way to defeat them is to attack them with an enchanted diamond sword.

Useful drops: nothing.   

Endermite

Endermites are rare mobs that only sometimes spawn when you use an ender pearl or when an endermen teleports. They are not very strong, so all it takes to defeat them is one strike from a diamond sword.

Useful drops: nothing.

                                                                   

Guardian

Guardians spawn underwater, normally near ocean temples. They shoot laser beams at you to damage  you. To defeat them pull them out of the water using a fishing rod and then hit them with a diamond sword a few times.

Useful drops: prismarine shards, prismarine crystals, raw fish.

                                                               

Zombie pigmen

Zombie pigmen live in the nether, a world filled with fire and lava. They are a cross between a pig and a zombie and a skeleton. They spawn in large groups and carry gold swords. They are neutral and if you attack one the whole group will attack you. The best way to attack them is to stand on a two block tall pillar and attack with a sword. Note that they are immune to fire and lava and can spawn in the overworld if a pig is struck with lighting.

Useful drops: rotten flesh, gold nuggets, gold swords(rarely), gold ingots(rarely).  

                                                

Wither Skeleton

Wither skeletons also live in the nether, but only in nether fortresses (giant fortresses in the nether with winding hallways and lots of loot). They look a lot like regular skeletons, but instead of bows wither skeletons carry stone swords and are darker and a little taller. If they hit you with their swords it will give you the wither affect which is sort of like poison. To defeat it without getting the wither affect, stand in the back corner of a two block tall shelter and attack with an enchanted diamond sword.

Useful drops: bones, coal, stone swords(rarely), wither skeleton skulls(rarely).
   

                                       

Blaze

Blazes are another mob that live only in nether fortresses. They look pretty much look like a flaming head with rods spinning around it. Since they can shoot fireballs the best way to defeat them is to throw snowballs at them from behind a wall with a one block hole.

Useful drops: glowstone dust, blaze rods.

                                               

Ghast

Ghasts are the largest mobs in the nether. They are one of the four hostile mobs in Minecraft that can fly. They can also shoot fireballs. They will normally attack while floating over a lava lake so if you kill it, its useful drops will fall into the lava. The best way to defeat a ghast without burning its useful drops is to reel it in with a fishing rod and attack with a sword. It will probably shoot a few fire balls, but you can hit them back with your sword. They are immune to fire and lava.

Useful drops: ghast tears, gunpowder.

Magma cube

Magma cubes are a version of a slime in the nether. After you kill them they also split. Unlike the slime, magma cubes are immune to fire and lava. To defeat them use a diamond sword enchanted with knockback to push them off a cliff.

Useful drops: magma cream.
  

Wolf

Wolves spawn in evergreen forests, snowy places, and in forests. They live in packs and if you attack one, the whole group will attack you. They are neutral until you attack them, then they will attack you.  It is best to just avoid attacking them.  If you find them chasing you, then tunnel under them and cover up where the entrance is so they can't follow you into the tunnel.

Useful drops: nothing

Ender dragon 

The Ender dragon is the second strongest mob in Minecraft. It takes a long time to fight and deals a lot of damage. It can shoot bombs and acid at you. The best way to defeat it is to first shoot the crystals on top of the obsidian pillars. Then as the dragon swoops down toward you, place a bed on the ground and act as if you are going to sleep in it and it will explode in the dragon's face. When it flies away to heal, you can shoot at it with a arrows. Repeat this process until you defeat the dragon. When the dragon has been defeated it will explode in a purple explosion.

Useful drops: dragon egg.

Shulker 

Shulkers are shelled creatures that can shoot lasers at you. They have to open their shells to shoot lasers at you, so take advantage of this and attack the surface under the shell. They may shoot a few lasers at you, so you will have to hit the lasers off course with your sword.

Useful drops: nothing.

Wither

The wither is the strongest mob in Minecraft. To create a wither, make a soul sand structure in the shape of a upper case T then top it with wither skeleton heads.

When the wither is healing it will flash blue and will be immune to any damage.

Before you make the wither, construct a base made out of obsidian. It should have one block hole on the sides to shoot arrows through. When you spawn the wither, shoot arrows enchanted with sharpness at it from inside your base.

Useful drops: wither star.

You just read about all of the hostile mobs in Minecraft, So now you know how to defeat them and what they look like.

Which one will you hunt?

Dude, pictures by Baby Girl.