Rock Candy

Kitchen Chemistry: Rock Candy

for School-Aged Children

Materials

• Clean 1 quart glass jar with wide mouth
• Kite string
• Paper clip
• Pencil
• Sugar
• Boiling water

Directions

1. Slowly pour the boiling water into the jar while stirring with a long-handled spoon until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Begin filling the jar with sugar, 1 tsp at a time, while stirring. Keep adding sugar until the sugar no longer dissolves and begins accumulating at the bottom in a small pile.
   
3. Tie the paper clip to one end of the string and measure the height of the jar plus a few inches.
4. Cut the string and tie the cut end to the pencil.
5. Place the pencil across the mouth of the jar and roll the string around the pencil until the paper clip is just above the bottom of the jar.
6. Place the jar on the kitchen window ledge.
7. Rock candy crystals will grow on the string.
8. The longer the string is in the jar, the larger the crystals will grow.
9. From time to time, break up crystal formation on the jar and on the surface.

Note: Crystals form by precipitation from a hot solution that cools slowly or by evaporation of a liquid. Mineral crystals can also form in these two ways.

**For extra fun, add some food coloring and/or flavoring!

Painted Toast

Materials

• 2 tablespoons milk
• Food coloring
• Clean paintbrush
• White bread
• Toaster

Directions

1. Mix the milk with a few drops of food coloring in a small container.
2. Use a paintbrush to paint designs or faces on the bread.
3. Then toast the bread, butter it, and eat it, or use it to make a sandwich.

You could also cut up some fruit for "toppers"... Like blueberry eyes, strawberry slices for a mouth and a banana slice for a nose? Peanut butter can be the "glue".

Oh, by the way...this post was for the kids...although you are more than welcome to participate! (Please send us pictures of your creations and we'll post them!)

Clean Burper by Babe Ease

When baby L was teeny, she had the hardest time with keeping her bottles down. Which meant that we were constantly changing out burpcloths. Our diaper bag was STUFFED (bulging at the seams!) due to having a burp cloth for every bottle (because they'd soak right through!). Babe Ease LLC has a brand new product called The Clean Burper. It's extra large with a special shape (no more rectangles!) to fit your shoulder more comfortably! It's incredibly soft and very absorbent, which is very important if you didn't pack YOU a change of clothes in the already-bulging diaper bag.

Giveaway!!! - New For Baby

It's time for another giveaway!!! And, this time it's a Sleep Gown Bundle ($30 value) from New For Baby! The winner will receive a bundle of two sleep gowns in their choice of size and color (pink, blue, or green).

To enter, just visit New For Baby and then leave a comment (here) telling us what your favorite product is and why. And, be sure to leave you name, email, and city/state!

Entry "form":

1. Name:
2. City, State (or Province):
3. Email:
4. Fave Product and Why!:

We'll announce winners next Monday!

Organizing 2008.

It's time. It's been 2.5 years, and I think we still have unpacked boxes in the attic. Granted, there are only a few, but STILL! And, even worse are the disappearing acts our possessions seem to take - and, while I could blame elves or ghosts forever, we would keep on misplacing things. We have this vicious cycle of cleaning, then living until we can't stand the mess, then cleaning again. And, when we clean - instead of MAKING a spot for new things, we just stash it...then forget where it went. But, this year? - You can bet it is going to be different! I want change! So, room to room, I will figure out new solutions for everyday organization problems and then share them with you!

I'm starting in the Living Room. Little Lorelei spends most of her time here, and since she will soon be walking, I think it's time. And, I better be quick. First, I'm starting with the DVDs, since they are the first things she tends to go for. She likes to pull each and every one of them out and toss them to the side.

My solution?
I plan to take EVERY DVD out of the box and put them all in a binder. Then, I'm going to throw out the DVD boxes. The hoarder in me wants to keep them...but what will I ever need them for? NOTHING. So, I'm going to put all of them in a binder and then if we ever need them for a trip...they'll be very portable...all at once!

Next, I've GOT to get a better TV stand. As of right now, the TV is barricaded off. We've been making use of a piece of furniture (read: cheap, small bookcase) as a tv stand for a tv that is in all probability too big for it. So, before Lorelei gets any more mobile, we need a new TV stand (so she can't pull it on top of herself).

Once the DVDs are no longer arranged on the lower level of our "TV stand," we will have TONS of cords exposed. So, my next organization strategy will be to untangle a mess of chords and try to get them as much out of the way as possible to keep little hands from finding them.

I think I want to try a product called WireMate. I'm not sure though...so if you have any suggestions of things you've used, please do let me know!

Boca Beth - Part 2

While I'm not a huge fan of letting children have too much boob tube time, I totally LOVE Boca Beth products. Seriously! "L" loves her stuff! We have several of their products and have been satisfied with all of them! The music video (one of which is pictured above) is GREAT! I think it would be even better for slightly older kids (any kid that can walk). - ALTHOUGH "L" does like to bounce to the music and stares in awe of the other dancers on screen.

And, as for her Boca Beth puppet? He gets lots of hugs and open mouthed slobbery baby kisses that only a mother (and perhaps a Boca Beth puppet) could love.

But, we should be very clear about one thing. Boca Beth is not just for kids. It's for all ages. Grandpa just borrowed L's CD so he could brush up on Spanish too!

In my book...Boca Beth and her wonderful products ROCK my socks off!

Bathtub Paints

Bathtub Paints

Ingredients: - Food Coloring
- Clear (or white) Liquid Soap

Mix together in small containers (this could be a great use for empty film canisters) and sit the kiddos in the bathtub and let them go at it!

Clean up: Rinse and Dry.