Ivory Soap Science Experiment

This is a science experiment that really "cleans up"!

My daughter's best friend did this experiment at school, and after she told us about it, we just had to try it out!  We took a bar of Ivory soap and place it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.  While it's in there, I asked the kids what they thought would happen.  My son had a friend over, he said he thought it would melt.  My daughter said she thought it would burn. 
After 2 minutes, I took it out and it has become a cloud!  A wonderful, Ivory soap smelling cloud!  It looks like whipped cream, but the texture is more like meringue.  It immediately "falls" and stiffens, which is so fun to watch!   Then we placed the foam in water, and just like the bar, it floats!  Guess how my four year wants to take a bath tonight!
The scientific explanation is that the soap, which floats in it's bar form, is different from other soaps because it's whipped!  Whipping the soap causes lots of tiny air bubbles, and has captured water inside the bubbles.  Like popcorn, when it is heated, it expands!  Thanks to Steve Spangler Science for explaining it to me.  For more information;  http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/soap-souffle

Easter Themed Surprise Lunch

This adorable lunch I packed to surprise my ten year old daughter won't earn me Mom of the Year.  That's because I borrowed the idea from my friend, Holley, and I think she borrowed it from someone else.  But this is certainly an award winning idea!  I can't wait to hear about the surprise from my daughter tomorrow when she gets home from school!   

I packed a cute little Easter basket in her lunch box, then filled little plastic eggs with some of her favorite, bite size lunch items.  It includes a cut up beef stick, baby carrots, peanuts, cheese cubes, sunflower seeds, goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and a sliced up granola bar. 

If you can't find a small basket, lining the bottom of a sandwich bag or lunch box with Easter grass would be cute, too! 

Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt

Why does a rabbit hide eggs on Easter?  Because it's so much fun! 

One of our favorite Easter traditions is our annual Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt!  The kids invite their family and friends to meet us at a neighborhood park just after dark.  Everyone brings an Easter basket and a flashlight!  On the word GO, the kids "scramble" to find eggs.  I'm amazed every year at just how many eggs are found, they immediately locate the ones on the ground and those hidden in the trees and bushes around the 5 acre park!  Each year our hunt has grown, and now we have over 25 kids attending, ages ranging from 1 to about 14, and almost  1200 eggs! 

The first year we used reflective tape on the eggs, but found that it really wasn't necessary, as the colorful eggs shine in the beam of the flashlights!  It's really so much fun to watch the as they run all over the park!  Afterwards, the kids scrutinize and scoff their finds, and we enjoy the cool night air.  Games of tag are initiated, running and climbing on the playground equipment, and exploring the outdoor world at night! 

Book & a Movie Reading Club

Are you looking for a fun way to get your kids excited about reading? 

My kids and their friends started a Book and a Movie reading club a few years ago.  The premise is that they all read an agreed upon book, then they plan a get together to watch the movie.  When the movie is over they split up into teams, either by drawing numbers, girls vs. boys, etc., and break off to nearby restaurant, ice cream shop or park, and compile list of the differences in the book and the movie, with a time limit of about 20 minutes.  Sometimes there are just a few, and sometimes pages worth!  Afterwards, the adults review the list, making sure that there are no repeats or contradictions, and then the winning team is awarded a fun prize, usually a Half Price Books gift cards, etc. but to stress the fact that even the "losers" are winners, we also provide consolation gifts, such as a book light or book mark.

We have had some variations.  Their first meeting was for the book, the Watcher in the Woods.  It's an older movie and we rented the dvd and they met at a friend's house to watch and play!  My daughter has also had "all girl" games, such as for Judy Moody and Beevus & Ramona.  We have also played as a family, for movies like Matilda, Because of Winn Dixie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  As soon as we hear a movie is coming out based on a book, they start planning the party!   

crock pot cooking in the car

We are on the road almost every weekend, but  regardless where we are, one of my top mom jobs is feeding my family!  Sometimes it takes a little creativity.  Here is one of my favorite Road Trip Tips.  Crock Pot cooking in the car! 

I love my Hamilton Beach Stay R Go Crock Pot.  The lid "locks" in place, making transportation mess free!  I fill up my crock pot and plug it into an electrical adapter in our car, and by the time we reach our destination, lunch or dinner is ready.  For shorter trip, or longer cooking meals, I will sometimes start the crockpot before we leave, then just transfer it into the car!  We save money and time, and I know the food is healthier than fast food.  And while I love to pack a picnic, it's a nice alternative to sandwiches, too! 

Although there is no end to the number of things you can put in your crock pot, some of our favorite meals to eat at the end of the road are pulled pork sandwiches (pictured), baked potatoes, chili (to make Frito Pie), barbecue chicken, and stuffed peppers!  I love the crock pot bags, which make rest area clean up a breeze!  Remember to check the wattage on your crockpot and your adapter, to be sure that they are compatible.  Bon Appetit'!

Summer Bucket List

Each year, my kids and I create a Summer Bucket List.  Similar to a traditional "bucket list", except instead of filling it with things we want to do before we "kick the bucket", we fill it full with ideas for summer. We have so much fun thinking up fun things we want to do, and places we want to go!  Then, when summer arrives, we enjoy taking them out as we complete them, and hopefully emptying our bucket before the school bell rings!

We love the fun and whimsical look of a beach bucket, but you can simply just write out a list.  Post it somewhere everyone can see it, and cross off each item once it's been done.  I let my kids fill it with whatever comes to mind, without any limits, explaining that the goal is to do as much as we can before summer ends.  However, if we don't get around to buying a horse, which was one of my daughter's ideas, that's okay.  It's a good lesson in  setting realistic goals.  I just keep it to myself that I was pricing local stall rentals only this afternoon.  You never know what the summer may bring!

11/22/63

I have always enjoyed reading all the works of an author, back to back.  I enjoy seeing similarities in their stories, or concepts repeated.  No author better delivers on this than Stephen King, with several of his storylines intersecting with previous books he has written.  I went through my Stephen King phase years ago, before I had children.  As I usually do, I began with his first books, and worked my way down to his later stories.  Unfortunantly, I lost interest after reading "The Langoliers", I never could get over the image of giant PacMan eating the world.  I hadn't picked up anything of his after that.  However, when 11/22/63 came out, I was intriqued with the plot, (a man goes back in time and stops the Kennedy assassination) and the fact that the story takes place in Texas, even though King's account of Dallas is not very positive.  I began reading the book, and like the King stories of old, I became lost in his rich, well defined characters and sucked into his storyline the way few other authors can do.  It was one of the books that, with each page you turn, a sadness begins mounting because you know that you will reach the last page, and there will be no more.

It's not a book for kids, but I discussed it with my children as I read it.  I showed them the historical pictures in the book, and together we looked up important places and people.  I told them about it as much as I felt was appropriate.  When I finished, we began planning a visit to the Sixth Floor Museum at the School Book Depository in downtown Dallas.  The museum was holding a one day, kid's CSI event during the week of Spring Break, which seemed a perfect time to visit.  The seventh floor of the museum was converted to a crime scene, (a circus with a missing gorilla), complete with clues, witnesses to interview and forensics teams there to answer these junior detectivies questions.  They quickly learned that the key to solving a crime is learning to ask the correct questions.  We then went to the 6th floor, and took the museum audio tour.   It was extremely busy, but it is such an amazing collection.  I had to struggle with a knot in my throat during the video of the motorcade, which ends just before the shooting.  They have reconstructed area where Oswald hid while taking his shots, retaining even the wood flooring, sealed off by plexiglass walls.  Just to the right you can look out the windows onto the road, large white X's marking the spots where Kennedy was hit.    After a trip to the gift shop, we went outside to the grassy knoll, where several men were selling magazines, etc, most of which are supporting the conspiracy theories.  We then left, and we drove down to Jefferson St., showing the kids the Texas Theatre, where Oswald was arrested, which is still open.  We spent a nice dinner at La Calle Doce, discussing what they learned and trying to answer some of their questions.  The questions we couldn't answer, which were plenty, we made notes to look up when we got back home.  Because as they learned during the CSI event, you have to ask the questions before you can find the answers.

For more information on the places we visited;
The Sixth Floor Museum http://www.jfk.org/
The Texas Theatre on Jefferson http://thetexastheatre.com/