Ghosts!

Every once and again, I see something online that I think would be fun to do.  I like to find activities that are secretly educational and fun for the whole family!!!   This one is called Ghost tea bags.    In a nut shell-  cut open a tea bag, empty the contents, light it on fire, and watch it fly.

The science behind it!  (Instructions below)

Lighting the top of the teabag heats the air inside. The air molecules start to move more quickly and spread out to take up more space. As the air molecules spread out, the air inside the bag becomes less dense. Warm, less dense air rises above cool, dense air. The ash of the teabag is light and doesn’t require much force to lift it. As the warm, less dense air rises, it has enough force to lift the ash of the teabag.

Materials

• Tea bag- thicker bags work better
• Nonflammable surface (a flat dinner plate works well)
• Matches or lighter
• Scissors

 

 

• Remove the staple, string, and label from the bag of tea.
• If your bag of tea is not open on its ends, cut both ends off and empty out the tea into the trash.
• Unfold the bag of tea so that it is completely straight.
• Use your fingers to open up the bag of tea. You should end up with a shape resembling a cylinder.
• Stand the tea bag on one end on a plate or other nonflammable surface
• Using a lighter or match,light the top of the tea bag.
• Watch the flame travel down from the top of the bag until…
• It flies!   Be careful of ashes falling down.  We had
• a great time trying to catch our ghost on the plate!

Say What?!!!

My son says some of the wildest things.   Like the old Bill Cosby show, Kids Say The Darndest Things.

But in response I’m either dumbfounded or I say the wildest things back.  Things come out of my mouth that I NEVER even dreamed of saying.   “Put your pants back on while watching cartoons please.”  “Poop goes in the toilet, not our hands.”  or  “no, I’ve never climbed a big tall mountain to find a hairy monkey”

What’s the craziest thing you’ve said to your kids?

The other morning, I was getting ready for work and my two kids were on the bed “talking” to each other.  Jacob, aged 3, looks at me and says, “I think Benson loves me.”  (Benson is 6 months old).  Before I could respond….he then says in a lower, creepy voice, “hahaha, its all part of the plan.”

That’s one of those moments where words escaped me.

Moms, Unicorns, and Big Foot

My husband and I started trying to have children when we were 21.  We wanted to be young parents.   Fast forward 9 years.  I FINALLY have two beautiful boys.  One through adoption and one through IVF.  I’m not such a young parent…..they are 4 years old and 6 months old.   There are days I feel 80 and have no energy.  Other days, I just want to laugh and play all day long with them.     That leads me to Unicorns and Big Foot.   Moms are SUPER cool.  No really.  I put mothers right up there with magical, beautiful unicorns and the notoriously strong Big Foot.

On any given day, I am known to do multiple loads of laundry, feed hungry tummies, quiet the raging tantrum beasts, kiss boo-boos away, generously give away love, and problem solve for my house.

Jacob, my 4 year old, is in that stage where he thinks he can do everything by himself.  He doesn’t need my help to use the potty, walk down the precarious stairs, cut up his sandwiches, or brush his teeth!   Benson, my baby, thankfully still needs me all the time!   I can’t believe how fast children grow up.  Blink and they are graduating high school.   With all my mother super powers, I still haven’t figured out how to slow time down.

A couple of days ago, I took Jacob to a new dentist.  He has a mouth full of cavities.   We walked in, checked in at the front desk, and moved to the waiting area.   He crept into my lab and tucked himself into me.  He needed ME!  I hated seeing him scared, but was so thankful that even as he gets bigger he knows I’m still his safe-house.   

Thanks buddy for making me feel loved, magical, and strong.  All with one little hug.

National Waffle Day!

 Every day of the year is a celebration of something.  For instance, today is National Waffle Day.

There are days about food, days about family, and sometimes its really off the wall (National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day).   However, this creates such an easy activity for kids of all ages.  You can create something for every day!

So lets use Waffle Day for our example.   Activities will vary depending on your childs age.

• make waffles together
• draw a picture of a waffle
• create a waffle collage from magazine pictures
• write a story or poem about a waffle
• read a story about a waffle
• sing/create/listen to a song a waffle
• you get the idea!!!!

You can find a complete listing here: http://nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/