6/15/18- Summer Activities Revisited

Wow, what a great kick off to summer time; our trip to southern California was pretty sweet!  We only brought home 5 sets of Lego (or systems as I've learned) from Legoland, which is pretty good for 2 engineers and a toddler. Although the trip out there certainly had some low points, Jack was a bit under the weather, once there we had a good time.  We hung out with friends, rode roller coasters, cars and boats, built so many Lego systems, and of course enjoyed the 70 degree weather! Man was it nice out there, and it's kind of a let down to come back to 107 degrees!

So what are we going to do on the weekends now that it's 107 out?  Luckily, Phoenix has many great options for indoor play and a couple of outdoor options.  Below is our list of planned summer activities and places we're going to visit locally to kill sometime in this heat. I think many of the places we plan to visit this summer are in most towns and cities, but let me know if you have some suggestions for fun summer activities. I'm always interested in recommendations and trying new things!  Hope everyone has a fun, safe and playful summer!

1. Lego Discovery Center- Jack is older now and way into Lego, so I'm confident he'll enjoy the Discovery Center now vs. when he was an itty bitty toddler.  Also, we bought annual passes to Legoland, which includes the Lego Discovery Centers, so might as well capitalize on that. 
2. Local Libraries- The libraries in our area have great children's spaces, like the Tempe Library and the Scottsdale Civic Center.  It's "free" (thank you to everyone who pays city taxes!) to go there too, so might as well take advantage of that. 
3. Movie Theater- Incredible 2, I can't wait to see it! And both Harkins, AMC and Pollack Theaters do a summer movie pass for kids  Seems like a cool thing to do; literally, is there any indoor place cooler than a movie theater?
4. AZ Science Center- We have a membership, and again, best to use it before we lose it.  Jack really likes the ping pong ball exhibit and outdoor water play area.  I think in general a museum pass somewhere is a must for the summer in a hot climate area. It's probably the same for a cold climate area in the winter. 
5. Indoor Trampoline Park- For the past couple of years these indoor trampoline parks, indoor bounce house places and indoor play parks have been popping up all over the Valley of the Sun.  Some of them are only $5 for an hour or two for toddler, so pretty reasonable. 
6. Chick-fil-A/McDonald's- Ice cream cones/shakes combined with an indoor play park... sold. 
7. Splash Pads- The City of Mesa and Tempe have some large splash pads that are pretty fun for the adults.  And kids too. 
8. Swimming Pool and Water Parks- We're blessed with a swimming pool in our backyard (so is half of Phoenix; it's a thing here), but I am looking forward to taking Jack to the indoor wave pool at Kiwanis.  They do movie nights, which should be fun.  Also, there's some decent outdoor water parks here (the water park at Legoland was really cool, for the record). I fear though that he'll want to ride a water slide that he's not tall enough for, and I remember how much that sucks.  Just happened to me at Legoland. 😉
9. Butterfly World- This place has been on my list forever.  We're going to make it this summer!  I also have lofty goals of volunteering more and writing more this, so hopefully I'm not all talk about finally going here.
10. Bookstores and The Mall- We go to these places anytime of the year, (FYI B+N has a great summer reading program; kids get a free book at the end), but the air conditioning will be extra appreciated this summer.  We'll also have to see if we can leave the mall and bookstores without books and toys (I'm side eyeing myself right now as I doubt that).  

Abracadabra! It's summer!

4/25/18- Science Experiment: Edible Starburst Slime

With Arizona teachers walking out tomorrow, which I totally support!, you might find your kid at home and looking for something to do.  Or maybe you're in a state where there is no walk out, but you'll need something to do this weekend.  Enter Edible Starburst Slime-- the science experiment is sure to give your kids a sugar high and then a sugar crash, so let's call it a win? 

YOU'LL NEED:

Starbursts

Powdered Sugar

Double Boiler Pot
Non-Stick Cooking Mat if you have one
Parental Supervisor for stove usage

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Boil a pot of water and place a glass bowl over the pot (hence a double boiler) to melt the Starbursts. I actually have a fancy double boiler pot from Sur Le Table, so that's what you see in my pictures, but a glass bowl works great too. 

2) Constantly stir the Starburst so that they don't burn.  Once melted, remove from heat (place on pot holder or a burner that's turned off).

3) Spread powdered sugar onto the non-stick cooking mat.  If you have those fancy silicon cooking/baking gloves, you can go ahead and grab your melted Starbursts. If not, then wait until you can touch it without burning yourself, but it's still melty (yep, that's a made up adjective).

4) Knead the Starburst into the powdered sugar until it's stretchy and mildly sticky... like slime. Actually, it will be more like play dough. So, we got cookie cutters out and cut shapes out of our edible Starburst slime.  

Note, it will eventually go back to a harden Starburst state; it won't be slime forever, but you can always heat it back up to make it sticky again.

Of course, on the favorite parts for us was eating this slime!  Happy science experimenting! 

3/15/18- Spring Science Experiment: Dissolving Peeps

Okay, I'd admit this science experiment is a little sadistic--it's dissolving Peeps! 😲  What did those poor, cute Peeps ever do to me? Besides be a delicious Easter binge, followed by lots of teeth brushing?  I mean, at least I'm not encouraging you and your children to blow the Peeps up in the microwave.  And truth be told, whether dissolving Peeps or exploding them, it is mad fun science!  Cue mad scientist laugh: baw ha, ha, ha!

Alright, now that that is out of my system, let's dissolve some Peeps!  This experiment is a modified version of ye ol' baking soda and vinegar reaction.

YOU WILL NEED:

A jar
A pan to sit the jar on and another plate to pour baking soda onto
A microwave safe cup/mug that has a handle, preferably a Pyrex measuring cup
A spoon
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 cup of vinegar
1 cup of water
And most important, Peeps

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Set Up: place a jar inside a pan (the pan will catch overflow liquids) and pour some baking soda onto the plate.  Keep the rest of the baking soda handy.

Set Up

2) On the plate, coat the Peep in baking soda. The natural sweet stickiness of a Peep allows for the baking soda to adhere to it.

 Coating the Peep in Baking Soda

3) In the Pyrex measuring cup, pour 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water.  Microwave this mixture until it starts to boil (about 1.5 minutes in the microwave).

4) Carefully, carefully remove (a hot pad to grab the cup's handle might be a good idea) the HOT vinegar/water mixture from the microwave and slowly and carefully pour about half of it into the jar. *Adults, you may want to be in charge of this step since the mixture is HOT.*

5) Drop your baking soda coated peep into the jar.

 Dear Peep, Science Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

6) The classic baking soda and vinegar reaction is taking place.  This reaction will need to be sustained for about 3-4 minutes.  So when the bubbles start to fade, with a spoon, scope some new baking soda into the jar. Then pour a little more HOT vinegar/water mixture (again, *Adults you may want to be in charge of the pouring of HOT liquids*).  Keep alternating between scoping baking soda and pouring vinegar/water until the Peep is dissolved.

Keep Up the Bubbles (Reaction) for 3-4 Minutes

Eeek! Those Are the Peeps Eyes Floating On Top!

What Remains 

(After 2 Minutes of Reaction)

Jack's favorite part of this whole mad experiment-- eating the Peeps!  Happy spring time and happy science experimenting!

What You Should Do with Peeps

Bonus Fun: Why Not Throw a Peep into the Microwave and See What Happens?
1) Put the Peep on a plate.
2) Set the microwave to 15 seconds.
3) Watch it expand.

Kaboom! Explosion!  Baw, ha, ha, ha! 

Warning: Peeps were harmed in the making of this science experiment.  All safety lays with the user(s) of the experiment/science experimenter(s). 

9/8/17- Three

Cliche alert, but where does time go?!  My baby turned three this week!  I am having a hard time believing that fact because it feels like we just brought Jack home from the hospital. Figuratively, he'll always be my baby (like the book "Love You Forever"), but rationally, I know he's not a baby anymore. I mean, look at his little kid face:

See, no more baby face.  Not like this:

Or this:

Or especially this:

Goodbye baby face.  Goodbye baby phase.  You are a kid now, Jack! And the things that kid Jack can do, that he couldn't do last year, include (surely there are things I'm forgetting): pee on the potty (that's a big milestone to us!), pedal a bike, cut paper with kid-safe scissors, speak in 5+ word sentences, count past 20 (it gets iffy around 23), sing the ABC song, write the letter "J" (at least I think it's the letter J), julienne a carrot (I'm kidding of course), and memory read "Goodnight Moon." 

My rationale side is very happy to see him growing up-- Aging is a wonderful gift from Time. Jack's birthdays are always just a little bittersweet for me, and so, here is my cheesy poem to my son, Jack, about turning 3:

You're turning three!

You'll get lots of treats!

However, for me,

it's bittersweet!

Happy birthday Jack, Jack!  I hope you enjoyed your 3rd birthday kiddo! For the record (and memory's sake), the day had donuts, a classroom party with your preschool mates, dinner and presents with your 'rents (you got a scooter, games, Legos, and such), a visit to your favorite bookstore, and ice cream. Your dad and I love you so much, and of course we're ridiculously proud of the things you can do.  You are smart, you are kind, you are beautiful, and most important, you are loved.  

Now please excuse me, I have to go ugly cry...