the ordinary ten

The ten got upped to twelve this week due to unforeseen cuteness.  It happens.  These actually reflect the ordinary ten from at least a week ago.  Before stomach flu, nine hour work days, funeral preparations, we -might- as- well- burn -down- the- house- and -start- over- because- even- Nicole Curtis -would- walk- in- and- be- all-, "Good bones aren't enough to turn this mess around." hit us.  The ordinary ten from this week would just look like four zombies buried under a mountain of vomit stained laundry.  And nobody wants to see that.

 Crazy sock day at school.  Sister wishes every day was crazy sock/tennis shoe/sweatshirt day.  This would be her uniform.

 I can't believe it took us six years to even think about searching out a Chicago style pizza place here in Portland.  And we hit it on the first try.  The cornmeal crust speaks to me in my dreams.  That's normal right?

 Me and this camilla agree that winter never stood a chance.  

 Fighter jet tutorial with Grandpa

 Look who learned how to pump!  #milestones

 Chive love.  Next up:  This Ina classic

 Skateboards + popsicles + 65 degrees + daddy = afternoon perfection

 A blurry shot of Miss A back in action.  This was right before she knocked that boy down and scored.  After which she got a high five stern talking to.

 Our new brewery brings in food carts on the weekends.  Yes they are violating a bunch of city ordinances but is that going to keep me away from traveling food genius?  Um...no.

 This little goofball turned four.  How is that even possible?  I proposed that we all just pretend she's still two and she promptly shot me down.  The nerve!  Happy birthday K.T.  You are pure magic.

 Ava's drawings are off the charts lately.  Look at the bunny hanging from the little girls hand.  Gotta love mama's back pocket flask.  Oh, Ava just informed me that it was a phone.  My mistake.

Sadly, I have to report that Pastor Ken retired this week.  He was injured in a preaching accident and decided to take up high diving.  All in all it made me question him as fit leader.  Although he did say I had pretty hair for a mom so we might have to ask him back from time to time.   

caviar chemistry

Even though it's our intention to make it to way more OMSI $2 first Sundays then we do, every visit reminds me why.  This last visit brought it's usual robot, airplanes, fans, introduction to the reproduction system for Ava (yikes!), moon rocks, paleontologists in action, and static electricity fun.  

But it was our trip to the cafeteria where we learned why chemistry rocks.  The kids squirted calcium chloride mixed with peppermint and chocolate syrup into a solution of sodium alginate and distilled water.  It made these cool caviar like beads that they then rinsed in water.  After rinsing the beads they put them in a little cup with mini marshmallows.

Peppermint hot chocolate!

 Ava: "My peppermint hot chocolate was really good even though it looked different.  Next I would do caramel chocolate or peanut butter and jelly."

 I can't wait to do this with my students and see what they come up with.  We've been working on a study of how things absorb and this fits in perfect.  Here's the directions:

What you need:
1.2 Sodium Alginate
Digital Scale
1.0 Calcium Chloride
Immersion Blender
1/3 cup distilled water
1/3 cup syrup (peppermint/chocolate/caramel (with apples!)
small sieve
squeeze bottle
food coloring (you could skip this)

*To prepare 2/3 cup of sodium alginate stock solution:
-Using immersion blender, blend 1.2 g sodium alginate in distilled water until well dispersed
-Add syrup and a couple drops of food coloring to the alginate solution and stir gently until well incorporated
-Let sit in fridge for at least 15 minutes to allow alginate to hydrate and air bubbles to dissipate
-Fill into a squeeze bottle

*To prepare 3/4 cup of calcium chloride stock solution
-Add 1.0 g CaCl2 and 3/4 cup water
-Stir until salt dissolves

Drop small beads over the sieve in the calcium chloride solution
-After 30-45 seconds, use the sieve to transfer the beads into a rinse water bath.  Give the beads a few shakes and then spoon into cup.

In other words:
1. Fill the squeeze bottle with the syrup and the sodium alginate and let sit
2. Squeeze some drops into a sieve over the calcium chloride solution
3. Take out the sieve and rinse the beads in water
4. Eat

Into the woods...daddy daughter edition

One of the many things I love about my B is that when he scores a free day with his oldest he thinks outside the box.  This past President's Day when their other two roommates had work/school...(boo!)...they headed to the fringes of Mt. Hood National forest for an (winter skipped us this year) early spring? hike.

 Not sure what she's doing here but hoping they weren't playing a game of who could jump closest to the edge without dying.

 Probably a good thing mama wasn't there to tell her, um honey please don't fall off the cliff into the waterfall below.  Is my baby really old enough for this?

 Love that he took photos of cool rocks.

and that he speaks her love language...quirky

 Kinda bummed that we missed out but loved seeing her beaming face when I got to hear all about it at the dinner table.

Book Love

Working in the field of early childhood brings with it so many random skill sets that sometimes I have glimpses at what it might look like to be a magician or the person who teaches towel origami at Disney Resorts.

I can recite the recipe for flubber off the top of my head and show you how to calm your three year old with a magic flower garden.  I can talk about the value of play, and how ridiculous it is for powers that be to simultaneously underestimate the intellectual abilities of young children while overestimating the value of certain academic skills, until you want to cut your own ears off.  But what really monopolizes my random talents/ time on the soapbox is children's books.  From the classics to the hot-off- the- press we max out our 50 book limit every single month.  Some days I feel like I spend more time on the library website then I do with my own children.  They aren't all winners (the books, not my children) but we've made a dent in the pile and keep a running record of the best of the best.  So grab a little hand and a library card and let's get to it.

Both Froodle (Antoinette Portis) and Peep (Maria Van Lieshout) are funny takes on being different and taking a risk.

 We love everything by Adam Rubin.  He is comedy genius.  Dragons love tacos and Those darn squirrels are our kids favorites.  But this one currently gets the most bedtime reads.

 This is a happy book about a little bookworm and we love the rhymes. (Bob Staake)

 Flashlight by Lizi Boyd is so beautiful with its black and white quality.  Also a fun way to introduce shadows.

My students have read so many Joh Klassen books that they can recognize his work anywhere.  Hilarious

He also illustrated Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett about a little girl who yarn bombs her town. :)  This one led to a fun yarn study where we ended up doing a much smaller version of this to our playground trees. 

 I like to think of Benjamin Chaud's illustrations as a new take on Richard Scarry's busy town.  There is so much to look at but the littles love having treasures to hunt for.  The footsteps on the rooftops right off the bat take you almost five minutes before you can turn the page.  It has a funny and beautiful ending just for dads and sons.

 This one by Michael Escoffier might be a tad over the 3's heads but the four and up crowd will love the humor.

 Personally I don't know why this one by Kim Cooley Reader is such a hit but my students have asked me to read it almost every day for 3 months.  The rhymes are fun and they love the suspense.

 I love this one by Jessica Young about how colors mean something different to everyone.

 Dangerous by Tim Warnes is an awesome book about two unlikely friends who overcome their OCD/The Dude personality traits to become friends.  Also great for word practice.

For all your warrior princesses out there Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz.  The rhyming is so funny.

 Beekle by Dan Santat is a must for any kiddo with a wild imagination.  Such a sweet story about the last one to get picked as someones' imaginary friend.

 I think I've mentioned this one before but it's worth a second shout out.  Imaginative and clever.

Everything by Herve Tullet is great but his new one is so much fun.  I think he invented the interactive book niche with Press Here.  So Mo Willems (Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggie books), B.J. Novak (The book with no Pictures) and the next book by Patrick McDonnel all have him to thank.

I love Patrick McDonnell's art style and it has led to some fun splatter art in our class.  It's similar to  I Ain't Gonna Paint No More and has a great story.

Oliver Jeffers is another author with a fantastic arsenal of books but this one about a little boy with no common sense in our favorite.

And Shh We have a Plan by Chris Haughton rounds out our list.  He communicates so much with his illustrations.  Love, love, love.

So erase the memory of when you made your kids bathe themselves this week so you could check People Magazine entertainment journals on your phone (just me?) and build in an extra few minutes at bedtime for some new and old favorites.