Happy Halloween!

A very Happy Halloween to all of you!  Here in central Ohio, trick-or-treating (or beggar's night as some call it) usually doesn't occur on Halloween.  Silly in my opinion, but at least it extends the Halloween celebrations!

We had a great time passing out candy with our next door neighbors.  We sat out on our shared driveway, they brought out their fire pit, and saw a lot of kids in GREAT costumes.  I did get annoyed with some of the kids who just walk up & don't say "Trick or treat" although I'm understanding of the littler ones who may just be shy... in fact one child (about 10 years old) walked up and just stood there, I looked at him and said "Um, trick-or-treat?" and he finally said it.  Sorry, if you're too cool to say "Trick-or-treat" you're too cool for my candy!  After I took Jack inside, Matt said he actually had kids turn down what he was going to hand them and picked something out themselves.  (They're lucky I wasn't in charge of the candy, haha).  Overall, it was a blast!  My friend Brooke & her husband and 3 little girls came over to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood.  Jack LOVED seeing all of the other kids in their costumes, laughing & clapping for those coming up our driveway!  It was pretty cute!

This year Jack was a "Jack-rabbit" with an adorable costume made by my mother-in-law.  For most of the trick-or-treat evening he was a brown thing with a tail.  The headpiece wasn't worn but for a few split seconds as we continually tried to put it on him before he pulled it right back off.  Shocking, since the boy LOVES to wear hats, oh well!  Here are a number of failed attempts to get a picture of him in full costume.



My friend's daughter, Izzy distracting Jack as I attempted to take his picture!  Izzy is great at making Jack smile, her mom is "our" photographer.

Might be the best picture I have, but he's already in the middle of pulling the hat off and you can't really see the ears!

Here are some pictures of our Jack-o-lanterns from my wonderful husband who did all of the cleaning (which I hate to do) & carving:


From left to right: Little Jack (a Jack-o-lantern from Jack's favorite book), a pumpkin with Jack's name carved in it, and a kitty jack-o-lantern.  (And yes, this picture was taken in our kitchen on top of the stove, it was just too windy to keep the pumpkins lit outside)



Guest Writer on Nicki's Diaper Blog!

I recently wrote a post as a guest writer over at the Nicki's Diapers blog!  Go on over and check out the post.  I'm kind of excited about getting to share my experience with a wider audience than those who read my personal blog.  (Honestly, the formatting isn't exactly what I thought it would be, but that's ok!)

Nicki's Diapers is an online store and the owner, Nicki, is the creator of Best Bottom diapers.  I've tried a Best Bottom diaper and the diaper is definitely still in our rotation!  I think it will work better for a smaller baby (at least overnight).  Read my earlier post on my thoughts on the diaper.

Punkin Pickin' with my Punkin

We went to Lynd's fruit farm yesterday to go for a wagon ride & get pumpkins!  Matt & I have never actually gotten pumpkins because this is the 1st Halloween we've been married that we're in a house.  Jack's first Halloween was not very exciting.  Matt had to work & we were in the process on moving so things were hectic to say the least!  Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Jack & Me on our wagon ride!

Picking a Goldrush apple right off the tree!

Trying to take a bite... teeth must not be sharp enough!

On the wagon full of pumpkins... we didn't bother with these!  Have to get them from the patch!

Matt is an excellent pumpkin hunter!

Walking in the patch to find pumpkins!



Jack with our 3 pumpkins from the patch!



Happy Mole Day & Kid Friendly Experiment #2

Happy Mole Day to you all!!  You can read my little tidbit on Mole Day in my post from earlier this week.

On Thursday evening, I went to the monthly American Chemical Society meeting for the Columbus section.  We have one member who is extremely dedicated to all of the teaching & philanthropy that our section does, he is always bringing kid friendly demos or experiments to show us!  Since this year's theme is "Behind the Scenes with Chemistry" they have provided an experiment to make Iron Tannate ink, so kids can feel like they are writing like Harry Potter!  I got all of the following instructions from the National Chemistry Week "Celebrating Chemistry" newsletter (with my suggestions/changes in blue); you can find an electronic copy here.  Big caution to those who may choose to do this: THE INK CREATED IS PERMANENT AND WILL NOT WASH OUT OF CLOTHES!

Supplies needed:

• 2 mugs, teacups or small glass bowls (you need to have something that won't get stained by coffee or tea)
• Boiling water (for adults only to do please!)
• 1 tea bag (black tea, which has more tannins for the chemical reaction)
• 1 iron (ferrous) sulfate tablet (a supplement you can get from the grocery store)
• Mortar & pestle (okay, most people don't have this lying around the house, you simply need something to crush the iron sulfate tablet into a powder)
• Measuring cup
• Small storage container (I'd recommend a glass baby food jar)

Instructions:

1. ADULT: Put the black tea bag into your first mug, add 2 tablespoons of boiling water & make a very strong tea (removed tea bag when finished).
2. Label your small storage container with  your name, the date, & "Iron Tannate Ink"
3. If your iron sulfate tablets are coated, wash the coating off under running water & then dry the tablet.
4. Crush the iron sulfate tablet using your mortar or pestle (they suggest a glass jar in a mug as a comparable replacement) into a powder.
5. Add the iron sulfate powder to the tea; watch for it to go from a brown liquid to a dark brown or black liquid.
6. Transfer to your labeled storage container to be used with a fountain ink pen or quill (if you want to feel like Harry Potter).

About the reaction:
When tea is brewed, it is brown because of "tannins" (this compounds are also found in wine).  Tannins react with the iron from the iron sulfate tablets to form iron tannate which is actually a solid.  The solid particles are so small they stay suspended in the liquid very easily.  Small solid particles suspended in a liquid can be called a suspension concentrate.  The ink will get darker as it reacts with oxygen in the air, and if you use the ink to write on paper it may actually eat away at the paper after many years.

Since you are using food grade materials and no preservatives, your ink may grow mold eventually.  Throw it away when this happens.  Within the newsletter (using the link above) are instructions to make colorful or aged-looking paper.

Kid Friendly Experiment #1

There's always the classic vinegar and baking soda volcano to demonstrate chemical reactions to children.  Its fast & messy... add a little food coloring & you've got red lava!

One of my favorite ones is the Borax bouncy ball.  It is easy and can be made with things most people have in their home already.  I got the information from About.com:Chemistry but I'm adding my comments or suggestions in blue and took a few things out.

What you'll need:

•borax (found in the laundry section of the store)

•cornstarch (found in the baking section of the store)

•white glue (e.g., Elmer's glue - makes an opaque ball) or blue or clear school glue (makes a translucent ball)

•warm water

•food coloring (optional) (Moms beware, food coloring stains little hands so use sparingly!)

•measuring spoons

•spoon or craft stick to stir the mixture (I'd recommend using a disposable utensil because cleaning up can be a mess)

•2 small plastic cups or other containers for mixing

•marking pen

•watch with a second hand

•zip-lock plastic baggie

•newspaper or (disposable) plastic table cloth to cover the surface you're working on; not necessary but allows for easier clean-up

Procedure:

1. Label one cup 'Borax Solution' and the other cup 'Ball Mixture'.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons warm water and 1/2 teaspoon borax powder into the cup labeled 'Borax Solution'. Stir the mixture to dissolve the borax. Add food coloring, if desired.
3. Pour 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled 'Ball Mixture'. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution you just made and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Do not stir. Allow the ingredients to interact on their own for 10-15 seconds and then stir them together to fully mix. Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and start molding the ball with your hands.
4. The ball will start out sticky and messy, but will solidify as you knead it.
5. Once the ball is less sticky, go ahead and bounce it!
6. You can store your plastic ball in a sealed plastic bag when you are finished playing with it.

NOTE: Don't eat the materials used to make the ball or the ball itself.  Wash your work area, utensils, and hands when you have completed this activity.

Happy NCW!

 

Happy National Chemistry Week!

Happy National Chemistry week to you all!  I had all good intentions of posting on Sunday, but it just didn't happen.

Every year the American Chemical Society sponsors National Chemistry Week, this year's theme is "Behind the Scenes with Chemistry."  Every year National Chemistry week contains Mole day, October 23.  For those of you who might remember celebrating it in high school chemistry, at 6:02 on 10/23 represents Avogadro's number or 6.02 x 10^23.  Avogadro's number is the number of atom/molecules in 1 mole of a substance... hence Mole day!

If you're interested in participating in some local NCW activities check out the American Chemical Society's website here.  If there's not an active local section near you, head to the library to check out some chemistry books for your kids!  I'm going to try and post more this week on the exciting world of chemistry to celebrate!

Jack's Haircut Certificate

Such a fun thing... well worth the extra $2 (hey, I had a $3 off coupon too!)

I love this picture of him... Matt got him to do this great smile for the hairdresser!