He Blinded Me with Science!

Brown Eyes rolled into double digits this fall.

He's my quintessential middle son. After I wrote that, I had to do a quick search to make sure that I knew what all I was including in that statement. The website I was checking out says that there are two types of middle children...Brown Eyes would be the quintessential Middle Child #2: outgoing, friendly, loud, laid back, and patient. And loud. Did I mention that one already?

Anywho, he is the most tender-hearted kid I know. And I don't mean that in a wimpy, thin-skinned kind of way; I mean he has more compassion and tenderness than should fit in his little body.

So I'm getting off track...he turned 10. And he's sweet. So I wanted to do something special for his birthday party. He also loves science, so rather than trying to find some awesome party-in-a-box thing, we got creative.

I observed that we should have areas in which we could analyze as many areas of science as we could. So here's a sample of what we did to construct his day in a Weird Science kind of way:

So of course we had to activate the thing with some solidified carbon dioxide (a.k.a. dry ice)...

...and some creepishly huge insects in jello lab jars in the windows...

...eyeball beakers were certainly in order...

...as well as a petri dish cake. Complete with multiple bacteria and lab rats.

We had a substantial collection of experiments to investigate, and we initiated the plan with a scavenger hunt Data Discovery game.

Hopefully, you've noticed by now how much linguistically scientific I have become since this party.


Ummmm....yeah. Anyway. Back to discovering data....

I wrote clues with a lemon juice and corn starch composite on regular paper, and classified a set for each team. One clue connected with the next so that the team collectively determined what clue they were to find next. Can you guess what picture they were to find based on this clue?

Once they evaluated and understood the clue, they had to search for a picture of that clue that I had hidden in the yard. At that point, they opened up the paper to reveal the next clue. (I had a separate line of clues for each team.) Watching them run around the yard trying to be the first team to find all of their clues was the best part of this game.

Once they had discovered all their clues, this was the specimen they found...

And now that they each had their own set of protective eyewear, we were ready for some experiments...

We concocted a silly bandz lava lamp using oil, water, food coloring, alka-seltzer, and of course, science-shaped silly bandz!

We interblended white school glue, Borax, and food coloring to make the classic Gooey Gunk, which many of the boys had never handled before. If you've got boys and have never made this, go here for the recipe. It's a good dose of awesomeness for a kid.

Lil'bit's face cracks me up in this one...

We also put a penny inside (almost) clear balloons, blew it up, and then shook the balloon in a circular motion to illustrate centripetal force.

We performed a couple of other small experiments before going inside for cake and ice cream, but I have to say this picture just beats all...the moment the best friend of the birthday boy realized his beaker was staring at him...

And last, but not least...we burned off a little steam with an explosion of epic proportions...mentos and diet coke.

We tested several of these explosions, but this was the best picture recorded...and the very first one we launched. We estimated about 30 feet of diet coke lift.

Incidentally, if you are ever in need of either 1) all kinds of science-related equipment or accessories; or 2) wasting a profusion of time unnecessarily, you must visit the American Science and Surplus website. I haven't laughed that hard from shopping in a really long time. The product titles and descriptions are hilarious!

My personal favorite: the product title for temporary tattoos = Rebel without a Commitment

Have fun!

Rising Out of the Ashes and the North Georgia Fair

So. December was pretty much a blur.

After a fiendish case of strep throat immediately followed by bronchitis, once able to lift my head off the pillow I was suddenly faced with the monstrous task of making homemade gifts and cards, baking no less than 12 dozen cookies, freezing homemade pumpkin puree, ALL of my Christmas shopping (and I was shopping for everyone in my family PLUS for grandparents' gifts to the kids), and shipping everything except what was to be opened here in my own home...in just a little over a week.

I hardly remember the whole thing.

I shipped DH's grandmother's gift to her, and when I talked to her after Christmas, I made the mistake of asking if her cookies made it in good shape. "What cookies? I didn't receive any cookies."

Oops.

I haven't experienced foot-in-mouth like that since the last time I mistook a lady's distended midsection for a reason to celebrate.

Oops again.

Let's go ahead and throw in the fact that I needed to wrap all those gifts I bought, plan, shop for, and cook a sizable Christmas dinner, including pies and hors d'oeuvres that no family could ingest on one day. The whole time I was thinking to myself, "I'm not cooking again for another week. We'll live on this all week, just get it done." I did; and we did.

Now, before you get the crazed idea that I'm complaining, allow me to set the record straight: I am most certainly not complaining. I love doing these things. It's just that I usually do them over about a three week period...not all at once like that.

And so I will conclude this portion of today's post by saying that the Christmas season as a whole was a sweet time, and a glorious display of what God can do through a very tired girl in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Next year, a Vitamin C regimen is on the agenda beginning with Thanksgiving.

Now that you know what got me off track, let's finish catching up on the ol' blog, shall we? Back to last fall....

North Georgia Fair


We went to the North Georgia Fair, which is always fun. I'll just share a few pictures and captions and call it a night. It was a fun day, but the one thing that really sticks out in my mind is my own personal "that figures" moment.

For the months of September, October, and into November, I was successfully staying on an "eating plan" that consists of low carbs and very low sugars. When I get going on something like this, it's usually pretty easy for me to stick with it as long as I have healthy options.

But on this day, I was at a Fair, for crying out loud.

I really thought I was doing pretty well skipping past all the corn dogs, funnel cakes, and homemade sweet potato fries and heading straight for the Cajun booth selling steak wraps. Think about that: the only carbs are in the tortilla and a few in the grilled veggies, but really...that's not too bad for a Fair! Nevermind that the "wrap" was the size of a submarine; that's beside the point.

Afterward, I was waddling walking around feeling pretty good about myself. I got a "wrap" at a Fair.

Do you know that less than 20 minutes later, we turned a corner and saw a Greek salad bar?

At a Fair.

All of sudden, my I-actually-found-the-most-healthy-food-at-a-Fair attitude deflated. I missed out on a Greek salad...and on bragging rights.

Other than that...and sweating profusely...we had a rather fun day.

Here's the kiddos with their foot-long corn dogs.

Brown Eyes with his homemade root beer bottle.

 Brown Eyes decided he wanted to do some rock climing...

 Almost at the top!

Back down safely...whew!

 DH at the Fair.

Lil'bit on his way up to the top of the inflatables.

Both times I tried to get his picture coming down this slide, there was a little girl that hadn't gotten off yet...I was cracking up!

 This is my favorite picture from the day...it pretty much sums up how we all felt.

Fall Into Flavor...Yay!

Oh Halleluiah! Lidna's doing Fall into Flavor again this year! I can always use some fantastic new fall recipes to add to my repertoire! She'll be doing this meme for the next five weeks (every Monday after today), so jump on in!

Here's my contribution to the 10 pound weight gain of the season:

MEXICAN COFFEE CAKE

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup oil
1 cup pecans
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
milk

Mix first 6 ingredients, and take out 3/4 cup of mixture for topping. Add nuts and cinnamon to topping. Add buttermilk, soda, and egg to flour mixture. Pour into baking pan (9 x 13). Add topping. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. When slightly cool, mix powdered sugar and milk with a whisk until smooth and drizzle over top.

I make this for Christmas morning along with sausage balls and pigs in a blanket, but I tend to get lots of "practice" making it all fall long. {wink}

I also had these contributions last year if you'd like to read them, too. Those are really my favorite fall recipes, but since I already posted them I thought it would be cheesy to do them again.

Then go check out Lidna's other friends who contributed to this dietary bust! Happy fall, y'all!

My Wonderful Birthday

My birthday was last month, so the fam and I decided to head north for the first time of the autumn season.

And no, I'm not really 25. Brown Eyes made that card for me...would you look at those lips? He asked DH how old I was going to be, and 25 was his response. What a man.

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I love going up in the mountains during the fall. When you can catch a day that's not raining, the air is crisp, the aroma is either a musky pine medley or a cinnamon apple cider, depending on whether you're indoor or out. Almost any establishment you enter in the north Georgia mountains will offer some form of apple-something. It's apple season up here, and it's wonderful.

Along the way, we hit a few of my favorite antique stores because my DH both knows me and loves to spoil me. He more than tolerates antique stores; he actually enjoys most of them as long as it actually has antiques in it. Especially antique guns, knives, blacksmith tools, etc.

After a little shopping, wherein I bought myself a 1938 Illustrated World History book...



...we went to Amicalola Falls. Yeah, I figured spell check wouldn't like that. It's pronounced {am-i-ca-lola} with a short i. The word is derived from the Cherokee language, and it means tumbling waters. It is the highest waterfall in the State of Georgia, and it is absolutely beautiful.





There are three places from which to view this cascade: the bottom, from across the middle of it, and from the top. In the middle, the state built a path around the mountain from a parking lot to a bridge that goes across the falls and then continues down in hundreds of steps. We chose to drive because we didn't think the kids could handle the hike up all those stairs, but you can walk from the bottom to the top if you like!

This picture was taken on the bridge that crosses over.





Here's another one of the boys and me. Look at my sweet li'l dumplin' there on the left. Isn't he just the sweetest thing ever? {insert sarcasm here.}




Here's the view from the top of the falls as it goes over the edge. It's just beautiful!




I can't seem to resist taking pictures of pretty flowers.




Here's Lil'bit on the slide. We stopped by the "prayground" while we were there.



Here's my Brown Eyes posing on the side of the trail...what a handsome kid.



This one's kinda funny. Although I don't think I would have wanted to be the one in the truck when it fell off the side of the mountain and was finally caught by the trees!


That's a very old pick up truck, in case you can't make it out.



This is Brown Eyes hanging out in a tree beside the small, quiet creek that feeds that massive waterfall!




After Amicalola Falls, we drove around the mountains hitting more antique stores and a couple of pumpkin patches.

This is the parking lot of one that we stopped at briefly before moving on to our favorite place.




Then we got to Burt's Farm. We love this place! We have sweet memories of coming here during the first couple of months after moving here, seven years ago.




These are pretty...




These are, um, unique?...




But these are my favorite punkins of all...



You can pick a wheel barrow if you need to haul one of those grand-daddy pumpkins!




Here's my oldest, Mini-me...he looks like a young man to me now. Wow.




Brown Eyes by the baby pumpkins. They have every size you can imagine.



When went to the top of the mountain on which Amicalola Falls runs, we stopped by The Lodge, which is a place we love to stop just to go in the lobby and look out the huge glass windows...


This view is even better the more the leaves are changing.


Before we went, the boys shared a quick checkers game by the windows.


What a blessing my family is to me, and how thankful I am that we got to spend my special day together in such a lovely place.

What's your favorite thing to do for your special day?