From My Nest

a drawer of his own

2012-02-22T13:42:16-08:00

The time finally came when he needed a drawer just for him. With such a small kitchen, I had to do a bunch of tweaking and organizing, but I managed to give him an entire drawer just for him. I filled it with a bunch of kitchen toys that my girls have outgrown (small pots and pans, a carton of wooden eggs, wooden food, and wooden spoons and knives).

You see, we had been fighting a little battle between the two of us. I was continually taking him to the other room to play with toys and he kept returning to the kitchen to be with me. That first night while cooking dinner, with his newly filled drawer, I looked down and realized he was exactly where he was supposed to be and he was trying to tell me that the whole time.

rubber egg {mad science with becca}

2012-02-19T23:08:49-08:00

It's time for more {mad science with becca}. She's been working hard and searching for some fun experiments to share with you guys. Today's experiment is a simple one: rubber egg.

Can an egg bounce and not break?

RUBBER EGG

materials: 1 raw egg (in the shell)

cup

vinegar

spoon (optional)

large bowl (or an empty sink will also work)

Place the egg in the bottom of the glass and fill the glass with vinegar, covering the egg completely. (To help keep the egg emerged, we used a spoon to prevent it from floating.)

Wait at least 15 hours. I know this is hard, but it is so worth it. (You can tell when you have waited long enough by feeling the egg. If the shell is still a bit hard, you need to keep it in the vinegar longer. If it's soft and rubbery, it's done!)

Once it's done, remove the egg from the cup. Try dropping it in the sink or a large bowl.

Was Punxasutawney Phil Right?

2012-02-05T14:12:42-08:00

Download Worksheet

There has been a bit a scepticism around here about Punxsutawney Phil's prediction and there being six more weeks of winter. With the high being in the 50's around here and no rain in days, you can easily understand why. So to help answer the dilemma of whether or not we will indeed have six more weeks of winter, I made up this worksheet to see if he was correct or not (we are hoping for the not).

I made it so you could print out your own copies and do this along with us (if you're joining late, it's okay just enter in the previous weather data). Let's all cross our fingers that he was wrong and we'll get an early spring!

snow week/slow week

2012-01-30T23:49:19-08:00

Thirteen inches....

Ice storm....

Branches and trees crumbling....

Power out for almost five days.....

Trapped in the house (our drive way and road)...

.... and in between all that was going on, this little guy turned one. With the help of four wheel drive, we managed to make it to Target to buy gifts and headed Grandma's house who had the electricity to bake a cake.

snow day/slow day

2012-01-17T00:02:31-08:00

I love it when it snows in Washington. Everything stops. People stay home. School and activities are canceled. We all drop everything and savor in the miracle that it actually snowed this year. Because it will all be gone tomorrow (or in most cases that afternoon).

Of course some would say that it's all because we don't know how to drive in the snow. I say, "Phooey" to that. You see, a big part of knowing how to drive in the snow is knowing when to not drive in the snow. That means pretty much everytime it snows here since we do not have snow plows or salt or snow tires or (ahem) much experience.

But back to our snow/slow day. Amazingly it has turned into days. Two, to be exact and it is expected that it will last another two more days. That gives us four days to savor in the delight of the stillness of winter. The wonder of how things seem magically different when covered in white. Four days of home, of slow, and hot chocolate three times a day.

We also get to watch the delight of someone truly experiencing it for the first time. He sat by that window watching with glee as the snow came falling down. He just knew that something exciting was happening and he stared at it in wonder. (I know his face is shadowed, but just look at that dimple on his cheek. Isn't one of the most adorable things you have ever seen? The shadow made it stand out more. That's why I chose this one to show.)

So here's to two more days of snow/slow, of getting up early and rushing outside, and hot chocolate three times a day. Soon it will be gone and the hustle and bustle of our days before will return. Then we'll wait in hope that it will come once again before the season ends.