Summer of Science: Dry Ice Experiments!

I love to play with dry ice!  This was my favorite day so far.  

That hand looks closer than it actually was, I promise.

Miss L's friend, Miss J, was over to play.  

First project: Homemade Rootbeer!

  I had never made it before.  Holy sugar!  Not that it should be a surprise. 

"We are witches!"  That is exactly what I'd pretend to be, if I were there age.  Actually that is exactly what I was pretending when they yelled it out.

 We had to wake Mr. D up from his nap.  It wouldn't be fair to let him miss this!

Then we put a few pellets in a glass and put water and dish soap on top.

When they'd pop the bubbles the carbon dioxide would spread out of the bubble.  

The last experiment was to put pellets in a bowl. Get a rag bigger then the bowl, soak it in water and dishsoap, then roll the wrag up like a rope and slide it over the bowl creating a big bubble on top.  Then the bubble would grow huge.  I missed it at it's biggest but you get the idea. 

Afterwards I used all the soapy water to clean my whole house.  I scrubbed down the kitchen, bathrooms, floors, etc and I still have bubbly water left over.   While I was scrubbing away I let the kiddos have a "tea" party.  Homemade lemon cookies and rootbeer hit the spot. 

It was a busy, busy, fun day.  The older two had super-hero camp, D and I hit the gym (where I ran for the first time in a little while and I loved it, I had forgotten how much I love to run), we picked up Miss J for a play day, I made homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles (pictured below), we did our experiments, I cleaned, and we had our cute neighbors over for dinner.  I much of the next day off to recover.

Super Hero Camp

Mr. M and Miss L attended a Super Hero Camp at The Little Gym. 

Mr. M loved every minute.  He was flying all over that place have a grand ole' time.

Miss L was so excited.  She was bouncing off the walls of the house and car and running up to the gym asking over and over, "Can I be Storm, Mom?  Can we play X-Men?"

As soon as we walked in the door, a sweet teacher, who has been nothing but kind to Miss L, greeted my little girly and Miss L dropped to the floor in an unreponsive heap. 

When I signed her up for the camp, she and I had had a lengthy discussion where she promised me she would participate. She really wanted to do the camp and I guess thought she could. 

I hauled her cute little behind in and sat her against the wall.  They asked if they should call if she remained like that.  Nope.  I paid a lot of money for that class and that girl was staying.  They said she remained against the wall for most of the class only particpating slightly in the craft time.

At least Mr. M had a blast.  They love him at that gym.  They agree with me:  He's awesome.

She's a Cutie-Pie!

(Miss L painting my nails.  She's good at it too.)

Miss L and I spent the evening together.  We were mainly running errands but it was such a special night.  She is just so darn cute.   She said so many adorably cute things.  I love her little girl voice and her slight lisp.  I love her prancing around when she is excited and I even love her begging to buy just one dress, or a skirt, or new shoes, or some new undies.  Sometimes I wonder how I ever get mad at this child.

Jumping Frogs and Goofing Off!

We got a little jumping frog game from a kid's meal or something.  It's the best!  All of us can play and we all find it fun. 

I love that these two are such good friends. 

They love the camera these days.   

Miss L loves this pic.  She says she wants to hang it up. 

  Mr. D loves to look through these pics and giggle and comment on them.  I'll open it up every day to hear it.

They are silly Magoos.

Summer of Science: Elephant's Toothpaste

Don't their faces say it all? Anything that fizzes is a big hit.

1. Put 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide.

2. Add a few drops food coloring and dishwashing liquid.

3. Mix a teaspoon of yeast with two tablespoons of hot (not boiling) water in a bowl.

4. Poor the yeast mixture in and watch it fizzle!

The second time we forgot the dishsoap.  It wasn't nearly as cool.

Summer of Science: Fizzy Fountain

Apparently Mr. M was hitting Lil' D over the head with a vacuum tool.  Nice....

This is similar to a lava lamp.  The kids REALLY loved this one.

1. Pour cooking oil into a bottle until it is 3/4 full.  Fill the rest with water.

2. Add drops of food coloring.  A few drops of a few different colors.

3. Drop in two effervescent tablets broken in half.

4. Screw the lid loosely back on and watch the fizzy fountain work.

I highly recommend this book: Science Rocks: Unleash the mad scientist in you. 

It has great explanations and pictures. 

Summer of Science: Liquid Layers

We put blue water in first. Our water was too blue, we should have added less color so we could see the contrasts better.  Then we added oil (really any kind of cooking oil will work) and molasses. We dropped in a strawberry, a marble, and a chocolate chip to see where they'd end up.  They loved watching the strawberry stop in between the oil and water.  The chocolate chip was too hard to see.  The marble, of course, sunk to the bottom.  It cracked me up how excited they'd get over spotting that marble. 

Summer of Science: How Dense is it?

How Dense is it?

Weighing a wooden block.

This one was a little over their heads but they had fun watching the water come through the straw anyway.

1. Weigh the objects on a scale. Note the weight (mass).

2. Cut the top off the plastic bottle. Take the bottom part and make a hole in it near the top of one side, just big enough to fit a straw through.

3. Push the straw through the hole and angle it downward, using modeling clay to seal the gap around it.  Position the glass beneath the straw and fill the bottle with water until some of it runs out thorugh the straw. Throw this water away.

4. Fully submerge the object in the water.  The amount of water that comes out of the bottle into the glass is the object's volume.  You can use this to find out the object's density by dividing the mass by the volume. 

Experiment Idea from: Science Rocks! Unleash the mad scientist in you.

Love this book!

Summer of Science - Slime!

How was I an education major and never learned about this concoction!?  How have I cooked with cornstarch for twenty years and never realized how much fun it could be? We had such a blast with this stuff.  And my kids WE made a huge mess and it was really easy to clean up. 

We were heading to a splash park after, thus the swimsuits.

 The slime is just cornstarch, food coloring, and water. I have no idea what the measurements are. I think we did about 1/2 cup of both cornstarch and water. It appeared very liquidy (word?) but when you picked it up to play with it, it would solidify. Until you stopped moving it, then it would liquify again.  We will do this one again, I'm sure!

Summer of Science - Water Glass Music

Yesterday we filled up my cute Pizza Hut Care Bear glasses with different levels of water and listened to the sounds and compared and contrasted.  The kids had a blast making predictions and taking sips of the water to change the sound or using a pencil instead of a pen to hear the different vibrations.  It was easy and fun. 

Then we added different liquids to see if the sound changed. The kids loved when we poured the oil and milk together and it separated.  Two lessons in one!  Science is the best! 

Here, Mr. M, I Can Help You Get That Shoe Off

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

I got this recipe from a Joanna Fluke novel.  I'm not sure which one but I wanted to give credit where credit is due.

German Chocolate Cake Cookie
Do no pre-heat oven yet - make cookie dough first

Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 cups white granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour (no need to sift)

Frosting:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup tightly packed coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chilled butter (1/2 stick)
2 egg yolks, beaten

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and choclate chips on HIGH for 2 min. Stir until smooth.

In another  mixing bowl, mix the sugar and the eggs.  Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla.

Stir the melted chocolate until it's fairly warm to the touch, but no longer hot. Add it to the mixing bowl and mix it thoroughly.

Add the flour and mix well. (Dough will be stiff and a bit crumbly.)

Combine the sugar and coconut in a food processor.  Mix with the steel blade until the coconut is in small pieces.

Add the chopped pecans.  Cut the butter into four chunks and add them. Process with the steel blade until the butter is in small bits.

Separate yolks, place them in a glass, and whip them up with a fork.  Add them to your bowl and process until throughly incorporated.  (If you don't have a food processor, you can make the frosting by hand using softened butter.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Chill the frosting while the oven is preheating. It'll make it easier to work with.  This will be especially true if you you've made the frosting by hand and haven't chopped the coconut into shorter shreds.

Pat the cookie dough into one-inch balls with your fingers.  Place the balls on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet.  Press down in the center of each ball with your thumb to make a deep indentation.

Pat the frosting into 1/2 inch balls with your fingers. Place them in each indentation.

Bake at 350 degree F. for 10 to 12 minutes.  Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 5-6 dozen, depending on cookie size.

Summer of Science - Nature Discovery

I forgot the camera for our S of S adventure.  This pic was taken in Baton Rouge the weekend before but I like posts to have a pic, so here ya go.

On Saturday we drove to Jennings, LA.  We were able to visit an alligator rescue center where Cabe, Mr. M and I held a tiny baby alligator.  D and L settled for petting him. And Cabe went the extra mile and gave the lil' guy a kiss.  He's a strange man, but we'll keep him.

We were also able to see a water turtle that was 125-years-old and can live to be 300, and see another alligator up close that was 8-years-old. We fed turtles, fish, and ducks. The kids also had a blast at the playground.

The caretaker of the alligators knew so much. She said LA alligators are much less aggressive than Florida ones. You can swim in the water here and they will leave you alone. She showed us how their eyes are located in different places. LA alligators are more on top of their head, Florida ones are located more on the sides.

She told us they float on the water to absorb it into the cracks in their underbelly. After they are all filled up they liked to lounge in the sun. And the last fact I can remember is there are 70 percent more males than females.

This place was on the side of the road and no cost to get in.  Gotta love that!

Bowling, Black Eyes, Bald Heads and More!

We have bowling passses for the summer.  The alley's here offer two free games of bowling for kids every day.  I love it!  We went last week and the boys were SO. DARN. CUTE.  Mr. M helped Lil' D haul his ball up there and put it on the ramp and roll it.  They would both stand there together watching the ball slowly go down the lane.  I wanted a pic so much but forgot the camera.  A trend I seem to be following lately.  Mr. M also helped me haul my ball up and moved the ramp out of the way.  He was in a very helpful mood.  After about ten minutes, I had to bowl holding D though, that was not quite as cute.

Miss L stayed with a friend that day.  She was spinning circles and fell and hit her head on their coffee table.  We were worried she needed stitches. Instead of taking off the bandage, I just had C pick her up and meet me at the insta-care.  When the doc tried to look at it Lib went crazy.  She was so wild and upset that he said we'd have to sedate her and he just didn't think it was worth it.  It seems to be healing rather well so we are thankful for that.

Later in the week we went with some friends to the splash pad again at Palmetto State Park.  The two littlest munchkins liked it much better this time and Mr. M still loved it. 

Tonight I was cutting M's hair.  I was almost finished when I decided to fix one little part.  I forgot I had taken off the guard and I shaved right up the side of the kid's head.  Easy fix: shave him bald.  At first he was so embarrassed, "Mom, please don't invite anyone over for awhile."

To ease his stress I started telling him that it really made his pretty eyes and dimples stand out (which is true!) and that we always cut Daddy's hair like that.  All of a sudden he is proud as a peacock.  He's been strutting around the house, checking himself out in the mirror, and telling everyone he's the baldest one in the family.

______

The other day he had a hoard of dinosaurs with us in the car.  Lil' D was begging for one.  I was begging Mr. D to share one.  So he puts the dino up by my chair and says for it, "If I have to go to D, I am going to eat him on my lunch break tomorrow."

I was cracking up.  This kid is funny.

___________

One last thing about him.  His teacher had him on an early first grade reading level.  I was getting him books at the library but obviously not the right ones because his dad got him a second grade reading level Spiderman book (about 50 pages, I think) and he read it over and over again.  So I got him grade three books the next library trip.  Yup, can read those fluently too.  In one week he jumped two grade levels in reading.  Yesterday I bought him another Spiderman book that I am guessing is late third or early fourth grade.  And he can read that fluently too! 

And the hubs wonders why I want to homeschool.  This kid learns so easily and loves it!

Baton Rouge Weekend

 Saturday:
9am temple session for Cabe. Playing at park for kids and me.
11am temple session for me.  Geocaching event for Cabe and kids.
3pm check into hotel in Port Allen
3:30pm just as we are ready to jump in the pool at our hotel, a thunder/lightning rainstorm hits.
4pm Cabe has stake meeting.
7pm Adults session of stake conference.

It was a busy day with a lot of driving over the Mississippi River. At least there is a lot to look at.  Also, I really love this place:

And I love these people.  So cute all curled up in a row.  If only they'd stayed that way.  Instead Mr. D insisted on sleeping ON me.  That was lovely.

He Exhausts Me

This little guy is a handful.  When he is cute he is cute, and that is what saves his life.  Lil' D has been a somewhat difficult baby from day one.   I am overcome with love for him and it's a good thing!  We both need that love to help us cope.

While at girl's camp the lil' guy figured out how to get out of his crib.  I've moved all my kids out of a crib at different ages based on their needs.  Miss L was the earliest and easiest at 14 months.  I felt no need to move Mr. D out.  But now I am left with no choice (well I could get a net, but I don't feel that's the right choice for us right now).  It's been a long week re-teaching him how to sleep.  A long week that was broken up by a hotel stay and now we are back at square one. 

On the night this pic was taken above I took him with me to YW/YM (youth groups) because Daddy needed a break from the sleep-training and D's much happier in public then he is at home.  He had a great time watching the big guys play basketball, which is what he was doing in the above pic.  It was a short moment (with the shirt pulled up and tummy stuck out), thus the blurry photo.  But I still thought it was cute.  He also loved getting treats from the girls.  He is definitely happiest when out and about.

The other thing Mr. D does is stand in front of the fridge and scream for hours every day.  I actually put him in the fridge and tell him to show me what he wants to no avail.  It's been going on for at least a month, maybe two, and it's driving me crazy.  Based on some advice from a friend I've been getting out three things, setting them somewhere he can reach to have when he is done with his fit (hand him things mid-fit and he'll throw them across the room), and then letting him choose from the three things.  However, now he takes the three things and mutilates all of them without eating any of them and then the fit ensues.   I've tried distracting him, but he is stubborn!

If anyone has suggestions for the fridge part, let me know!  I'm desperate.  We can endure the sleep-training, we've been through this before, but the fridge this is new to me.

(Don't you love his fuzzy head?!)

Summer of Science: Solids, Liquids, Gasses

Last week we had a simple lesson on solids, liquids and gasses,  We then boiled water and observed the steam.  We froze some grapes and talked about how they changed.  Then we ground up some frozen berries, added water and a banana then froze them into popcicles. The kids loved them. 

I did not measure the water to fruit ratio.  The more water you have the harder the popscicle will be.  I didn't want them mushy so we did more water.

B.O.O.T Camp in Biloxi

I am a Young Women advisor at church.  One of my girls asked if I would attend camp.  Yes!  If you want me there, I am there. 

I did cry when we were leaving because Mr. D was still asleep (he never sleeps in!) and I didn't get to say goodbye.  But it was only up from there.

I was told it was like a spa.  I found that to be untrue.  But it was much nicer than girl's camp was when I was a teen. 

Here's our bunk room; no tents for us!

The theme was B.O.O.T camp. 

Build Your Own Testimonies.

So this was our platoon, not a cabin or dorm.

I loved my platoon mates. The first day was stressful. I was worried about one of the girls because she knew no one and seemed to be struggling a little. I was nervous about being cramped in this platoon with 20 girls. I wasn't sure about the whole thing.

But...

I had a blast! 

Here's my bottom bunk:

The "campsite" was close to the beach.  The only bummer was the road we had to cross was a major highway.

The sand was rather frustrating as well.  I just love sleeping in a pile of sand, but hey, when I was a teen I slept in a pile of dirt and sticks, so it wasn't any worse.

This is Fort Oak.  You can see the ocean behind it.  We met here every morning for flag ceremony. 

The leaders put so much time, effort, talent, and money into this camp.  It was amazing.  I was very impressed. 

The girls were also amazing to me.  I am so glad I went.  I thought I loved the girls before, but I really feel love for them now.  I understand them better and I felt their testimonies so strongly.  They taught me so much.  They were so kind to one another.  I saw many of them go the extra mile.  I watched them try to make sure everyone was included and happy.  It really was a special experience.  Much of it I had to record in my personal journal because it was too touching to publicy share.

The last day they had an awards ceremony.  The girl's gave me this award.  It was all I could do to keep from crying.  They knew that too, I'm sure.  I am quickly becoming known as a crier.  I'm actually surprised it wasn't written the plate.

I hated girl's camp as a teen.  I went home feeling excluded and humiliated (except for testimony meeting - the spirit I felt at the testimony meetings I remember very clearly).  I only went 1.5 years and then skipped the rest.

It was such a different feeling coming home this time.  I felt loved and appreciated and spiritually filled.

Then I came home to kidlets who were extrememly happy to see me.  That was fun too.  And Miss L wanted me to play dress-up bunnies with her.  She looked at me like I was a nutso when I gave them voices, but she had a little smirk so I'm pretty sure she liked it.  After my camp experience in platoon with twenty 13-14 year olds, I'm a little less nervous to have her as a teenager now.  Not much less nervous, but a little less.