Kitchen Science: The Dancing "Pancake"

So I got sick and had to stay home from work for the better part of this past week. I'm not very good at just being sick, and after a couple of days I got a little stir crazy. I saw this on a TV show, and thought the kids might get a kick out of it. Okay, okay - I thought *I* might get a kick out of it. The kids thought it was pretty cool too. It's just corn starch and water (about a 1:1 mix), a little bit of saran wrap, a really loud speaker, and some old school Miami bass (DJ Magic Mike, circa 1990).

The corn starch + water makes a non-newtonian fluid with a time-dependent viscosity. That means that when it's just sitting around it acts like a liquid, but when it gets stressed (or hit with all that bass!) it acts more like a solid. The faster you hit it, the more solid it is.

I *LOVE* Pizza Night!

One of my favorite family traditions is PIZZA NIGHT, which we started back in 2002. Every Saturday Night, we make a couple of homemade pizzas with whatever we want on them. Everyone loves Pizza Night because everyone loves pizza, (and so everyone gets dessert). And, as you can see, it's extra special when Pizza Night and Valentine's Day collide!

Here's what the kids have to say about pizza night:

K: It's the most deliciousest night in the history of the world!
B: Pizza is so good that I can't believe my eyes when I see it!
C: Mmmmmmmm!

We've experimented with a lot of different things - like BBQ chicken, sauteed onions, garlic chicken, spinach, peanut butter (it was a Thai recipe), and even artichoke hearts (better than it sounds!). We've had a few disasters - burnt crust doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to though. And we've gotten into a few ruts - how many weeks in a row can you actually eat pepperoni pizza anyway? But we still always look forward to Pizza night. Yay for 7 years of Pizza Night!

Love Day Dance

Ahhhh, love is in the air! Did you get bit by the Lovebug this year? We had such a fun Valentine's Day! We had our annual Family Valentine's Dance Saturday night and it was the best one we've had yet! Kelsie was excited to decorate the basement with streamers and balloons while the rest of us cleared the room of toys to create our dance floor and protect our feet! We began the night with homemade heart shaped pizza's for the kids to eat and then sent them on a little treasure hunt to find their box of Valentine cards and goodies. They had a great time running all over the house looking for the clues!

Our dance started as soon as the "tub of love" was found and we spent the next hour dancing away! Kelsie and Brandon really got into the dance this year, moving to the beat like never before. Wally taught Kelsie a few swing dance moves and that took our dance to a whole new level! We all contributed to our playlist which included everything from The Wiggles for Caleb to The Boys Are Back from HSM3 for Brandon. Our Valentine's dance wouldn't be complete without Kelsie and Wally's special song, Butterfly Kisses.

This is one of our favorite family traditions that we have. It's always fun, chaotic, and everything in between. We loved how Caleb would ride his new scooter through the dance floor, oblivious to anything that was going on, and how Brandon would take a break from dancing to play with his Bakugan's. Kelsie was as beautiful as ever and danced to every single song. We love our family and all the fun things we do together.

When the dance was over, and the kids all sugared up and in bed, Wally and I celebrated our Valentine's Day by making our own Chinese food take-out. My sister-in-law gave me her Kung Pao Chicken recipe, and I found a Fried Rice recipe online. We also made Moo Shu Noodles to go along with our meal and all the food turned out so yummy! We ate as much as we could (probably more than we should have eaten) and then talked for a while. It was such a fun, relaxing Valentine's day and I wouldn't have changed anything about it!

Happy Love Day!

TWO!

Caleb celebrated his 2nd birthday this week with friends, family, and more than enough parties! We can't believe that it has been two years already since Caleb has joined our family. We love his smiles and hugs and how he asks us to "hold you"! Caleb is so curious about the world around him and loves anything that moves: animals, cars, airplanes, balls, etc. He doesn't walk, he runs all over the place. He is a little chatterbox and is getting so articulate. We love this little guy so much! Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb's Race Track Cake

Happy Birthday To You!

Our fun new ramp for balls and cars!

The invitation I made for Caleb's party.

Far and Away

Wally is far away.

2075.19 miles to be exact.

I am here.

Alone.

With 3 kids.

For 6 days.

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1 birthday.

3 class parties.

And no sleep later.

I'm still here.

And he's still there.

Only 6 hours left.

I hope.

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Miss you like crazy.

See you soon.

I Love you.

Cabin Fever

There really hasn't been a whole lot going on at our house lately. We seem to be stuck in the winter rut: only go outside when it is necessary. Kelsie and Brandon go to school, Wally goes to work, and occasionally (sometimes urgently) Caleb and I make it to the grocery store. The result of all this? Cabin Fever. I have decided that you really can only watch so much TV, play so many video/computer games, play Sorry so many times, and drink packet after packet of hot chocolate before we need to come up with some new activities. It's a good thing that our kids have some good imaginations!

Kelsie created our last name with masking tape one afternoon, Charlotte's Web style. Then, to our amazement, they had so much fun running through tape like it was a finish line. This entertained them for the good part of an hour. All three of them! Who would have thought?

We also dusted off Dad's skateboard one cold, gray afternoon. We pushed the kitchen table aside and the kids had a great time gliding across the floor. (Caleb preferred watching and laughing instead of participating.) Another great time-passer and a bonus of burning off some extra energy!

I also need projects to keep myself busy during the long cold winter months. I finally made my winter quilt top to hang in my entry way. I am really happy with the way it turned out and Kelsie was a great help figuring out what design to do!


So, is there a reason for this post? Not really. It's just nice to mix things up a little bit and do something out of the ordinary. We'd love any new ideas too. What do you do to get out of the winter rut?

Frozen Tundra

The air temperature at 8:15 this morning when we left for school was -16 degrees. After factoring in the wind chill, it was a balmy -35 degrees. My nose hairs froze before we got to the alley next to our house. The last time that happened to me was over ten years ago when I lived in Rexburg. I told myself then that I would never live in that kind of weather ever again. Hmmm.

I really wanted to keep the kids home from school today. I had absolutely no desire to brave the elements. Not even to come home and tell anyone who happens to call me how tough I am because even though we are experiencing sub-zero temperatures outside, we still walked to school. Nope. I didn't want to go there. But, because school was not cancelled (or even delayed for that matter) we had no choice. Kelsie had a class breakfast to go to, so we trudged through the snow and biting wind, cut up orange slices and all.

And, for all of you who are wondering if Wally is crazy enough to bike in these harsh conditions, the answer is yes. While I'm at home worrying that he's going to walk in looking like a blue popsicle, he's out jumping off the snowplow created hills onto the streets. You can call him crazy (lots of people did while he was on his way to work), but that just adds fuel to the fire.

It wasn't until the pipes froze last night before we went to bed that we felt we had a direct hit. It's cold. Very cold. Relief is in sight this weekend when we are supposed to get up to 20 degrees above zero by tomorrow afternoon. It's going to feel like a nice warm day after what we've just been through.

I guess we will be able to wear a badge now. The one that says I made it through the coldest Chicago winter in a decade!