Science Experience Extravaganza!

Tomorrow, our baby will turn 6, and while I could bemoan the thought that she is growing up and I don't know where time has gone, I will save that for another post! Today will be devoted to Emmerly's 5th birthday party - yes, 5th. Yes, one year late, but this party really does deserve more than just an honorable mention and a few photos in a "catch-up" post, and Emmerly still is, in fact, 5 today! Plus, my friend Greta personally requested more details, and I don't want to disappoint!

As many of you know, Emmerly is a curious creature (curious as in Curious George, not as in strange or odd) and LOVES science of any kind - bugs and experiments especially! She often spends hours creating concoctions in the kitchen, and calls them her "science experiences" - she started calling them 'experiences' before she could pronounce 'experiments', and it just stuck. So, I wasn't surprised when Em wanted a science party, and I was quite excited too!

Science has always been a particular love of mine as well (ie. minor in Bio), so it was great fun planning a whole party of experiments! The phrase "narrow it down" was not in my vocabulary when envisioning this party, so we just did it all!

Our house became Melvin Laboratories, site of the 2009 Science Experience Extravaganza Convention. Decor included a huge periodic table, posters of the body systems (skeletal, muscular, etc.), a brain and a hand in a jar, beakers, test tubes, microscopes, and of course, Albert Einstein.


When our guests arrived, they had to don the proper attire - every scientist needs an apron, safety goggles and a big bow tie, right?


Then it was time for 'experience' fun!! And what fun there was to be had!! Instant snow and photo-sensitive paper; test tubes and beakers and vinegar and baking soda; Oobleck (a non-Newtonian substance made of cornstarch and water) and paper bodies with body part stickers!


All of these were stations set up outside that the kids could explore and experience at their own pace....adults got in on the action too! And I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or adults! Then, we did a few experiments all together....

A do-it-yourself "lava lamp" can be made by adding oil and water to a clean bottle - 20 oz or 2 liter. Add several drops of food coloring and some alka-seltzer tablets, and watch the lava flow!


Do you know what happens when you microwave a bar of Ivory Soap? Does it explode? Melt? Try it and see! The kids had fun finding out - don't they look impressed? I think I'll leave you in suspense and let you run out to buy some Ivory soap....


We even made Oobleck dance by putting it on a big speaker, like this! But be careful if you try it at home - it can be loud!! But oh so fun to watch!


Then, we moved out front for our final, and my favorite, 'experience'. While the Mentos Geyser is fun in and of itself, it was the response from the kids that made this so wonderful and memorable for me!! Just watch their faces in this sequence - PRICELESS!!!


Next up, cupcake time! Periodic table-style. These cupcakes were definitely a labor of love - it took quite a bit longer than I expected to set them up appropriately, make so many different colors of frosting, and label with the proper elements. And while I knew NONE of the kids would know or appreciate what the periodic table was, I knew it would be a hit with the adults. I was quite pleased with the result! They were mini cupcakes which was perfect - it would have been HUGE with regular-sized cupcakes!


Emmerly double-fisted the green cupcakes, of course...


...while Nola chose a blue that matched her outfit, little fashionista that she is!


Guests got to leave with their very own test tube and Mentos, so they could continue experiencing and experimenting at home.


What a fun party it was! A truly great time had by all. The kids loved getting dirty and messy, and maybe even learned a little something too. It honestly wasn't that difficult either - so many household items put to good use! Plus, I had some help from Steve Spangler, the science guru. I ordered quite a few supplies from his website, plus got some ideas for experiments there. So, if you're thinking of doing a science party, do it! You'll be glad you did!

Six Hundred Ninety-Four Thousand Three Hundred Minutes...

Six hundred ninety-four thousand moments so dear....How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee....

Or, 1 year, 3 months, 28 days, as our case may be! In our little yellow house, we measured these 68 weeks in glue and glitter and dress-up and paint and bugs and birthdays and ice cream. In library trips and books and pancakes and nature walks and good morning kisses. In movies and popcorn and baking and blocks and Little People and laundry and "see you in the morning light" said at bedtime. In these 482 days, Deb turned 30....and then 31, Scott turned 30, Emmerly turned 5 (and had a kuh-ick ass science birthday party, I might add, complete with periodic table cupcakes and science experiments galore!), Nola turned 2 with Minnie ears. Scott wore a tie 9 days out of 10, Nola broke her arm, Emmerly and Deb started a Daisy Troop, we went to Disney World and San Diego and San Francisco and Vegas too many times to count. We started homeschooling, we made new friends, Deb learned to sew, Em read her first book and took gymnastics and swim lessons and played soccer, Scott directed 150 kids and had amazing concerts, Nola fell in love. We went to 20 different nature centers, began a homeschool group with a bunch of other new homeschoolers, and read a LOT! We read amazing literature including Mary Poppins, Pinocchio, Ginger Pye, The Little Princess, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, The Cricket in Times Square and The Princess and the Goblin, just to name a few. In these 11, 571 hours, we have laughed and cried and gotten boo-boos and bandaids and been at the bottom of Shanna's blog roll for too many days to count! Life just got in the way!

And now, a tiny glimpse into our 694,300 minutes...

So, here's to moving to the top of Shanna's blog roll, and to not letting another 694,300 minutes go by until the next post. Thanks for not giving up on us!!

Happy 1st Birthday Nola!

Wow! How time has flown! In so many ways, I cannot believe that little Miss Nola Jane has been part of our family for a YEAR!! In some ways, it seems like we know her so well and she's always been a part of our lives, and then in other ways, it seems like just a couple months ago we were bringing our newest addition home. Isn't time funny like that?

Nola has been such a fabulous addition to our lives. In her not-so-biased mom's opinion (ok, extremely biased!), Nola is absolutely ADORABLE and smart and has a great personality! She is generally just very happy and easy-going and really fun to be around. And, she is funny....as funny as a one-year-old can be, I'd guess! She loves to run at Scott and me and "knock" us over, and any time one of us is wrestling with Emmerly, Nola loves to join in and just laughs and screams with glee - it's really cute! She still loves to drop her head back to get tickled on the neck, and will do it immediately if you say "I'm gonna get your neck!" Her latest trick is that she dances to "Single Ladies" - we'll have to post a video of it, for it is oh so very cute! Oh, and the other day, Emmerly fell out of the stroller and Nola started cracking up! Too funny! Emmerly was ok, by the way! Nola is also quite a talker. She is always babbling and we can never count on her to be quiet during a concert or movie (darn her!). And she really does say a lot, in my humble opinion! She can sign "milk," "more," "food," "where," and "all done," and she can say Mama, Daddy, Papa, Nana, dance (it's "da", but we know what she means!), baby, ball, bobo (that's her pacifier), kitty, icky, and sometimes Mormor and Emmy, or Memmy. Actually right now I can hear her in her crib just talking to herself - such a happy girl! So I'm going to finish this up....

A family of four is even better than I imagined it to be! Emmerly, especially has really embraced Nola into our family. They are truly so incredibly cute together! If you haven't seen it yet, it is something to behold the way Nola's eyes light up when Emmerly walks into a room. They make each other laugh, comfort each other, annoy each other, and have so much fun together - they are great fun to watch. I think seeing how much they love each other is my favorite part of having a second child - and another girl in particular.

We couldn't be happier, this little family of four! This last year has been so fun, I can't wait to see what's in store for us this year! I look forward to it! I am posting a few pictures of Nola's birthday party on Sunday, which was so much fun. We celebrated with friends and family and Nola did her part - she was a little uncertain at first, but after a little hesitation dug into her cake and wouldn't let go! She wouldn't even stop for a drink of water!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOLA JANE!!! WE LOVE YOU!!