A sweet little story

So yesterday we were biking home from dinner. The sun was still out, but it was cool and breezy - probably low to mid 60s. Before leaving the house, Jeff grabbed jackets for everyone. Since I was already wearing a light-weight jacket over my shirt, I declined my light fleece figuring I'd be just fine. Back to biking home from dinner, I remark, "I sure am freezing!"Kyle who was biking just in front of me turns around and says, "You can have my jacket Mommy." Nevermind he's 4 and certainly his jacket wouldn't fit me, he was genuinely serious and beyond sweet. My sweet little Kyle was willing to give me the jacket off his back to get his mama warm. If that's not the most honest to goodness sweetness, I don't know what is.

A very monkey Mother's Day

Today for Mother's Day, Kyle and Emily took me on a Mother's Day date. They took me to a special monkey movie at the science center. It was an early preview of "Born to be Wild" on the IMAX screen. It was pretty special. It shows two special parks that are caring for and rehabilitating orphaned elephants and orangutans. At this showing was the director of the Orangutan Foundation International who has lived and worked with the orangutans for many years, Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas. Also there were the movie's producers and John Kay from Steppenwolf (band that sings "Born to be Wild"). Needless to say it was a pretty special event.

Right as the movie started, Kyle, the biggest monkey lover among us, decided he didn't want to watch the movie. I tell him it will be okay because there are monkeys in it so he's momentarily comforted. But it was very dark and too big of a theater. Plus it was domed so it gives a different, wide open, moving type feeling. It can easily be overwhelming. So they lights dim, movie credits start, Kyle loses it, screams out "I don't want to see this!", whole theater finds it amusing and laughs, Kyle and I exit, I try to comfort him and coax him back in, ushers try to tell him it's a good movie, (it really is - nothing scary) monkeys come on the screen, we step back in, Kyle gets the biggest smile a teary boy could possibly have and we watch the movie. But first, we retrieve Emily who was sitting quite nicely by herself watching the movie, and sit down closer to the exit for any further tears (which there were but quickly recovered). But we got to enjoy a pretty spectacular movie. And we got an autograph from both Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas & John Kay before we went home.

**Funny story from the movie: At one point there is a large male orangutan swimming through the swamp toward the camera. The commentary is about the male orangutan and how he weighs nearly 300 pounds. Emily comments how big the orangutan is and how he weighs "almost as much as Kyle's bike!" His bike really weighs a ton and just the other day she commented out loud how she thought it weighed 300 pounds.  I love how her mind thinks and connects - too funny!

Having our picnic before the movie

Waiting in line for the IMAX movie

Monkeys in line

In the theater

Emily ready for showtime

Kyle in the theater ready for the show

After the show, Kyle reading his monkey book

Emily reading the Orangutan brochure

Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas & John Kay

The slideshow after the movie

Cute orangutan

Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas & John Kay signing

Breakfast Popsicle

Today I was reading an article about parents having a "yes day". We all know that as parents, the word "no" seems to occur quite frequently. So the idea is to create a "yes day" where the kids can get what they want most of the time. Now of course there are limits to this, but I do like the idea. One of the things this mom in particular said yes to was popsicles for breakfast. And just why would she say yes you ask? Because she made special breakfast popsicles! They are basically smoothies frozen into popsicles. So today Emily and I made some breakfast popsicles. They are very easy to make. There was a rough recipe that I read, but I am not really one to follow recipes, unless it's for baking and then I'll follow the directions for the staple ingredients. So here is what was in our breakfast popsicles:

• Plain Greek yogurt - because we happened to have some on hand from when the cousins were visiting since we knew they LOVE Greek yogurt. The kids used to eat it all the time, but for some reason we got away from it. I am not a huge fan of it since it tastes a little too close to sour cream for me. But I digress. It has great calcium and more protein than regular yogurt so I may make myself start liking it.
• Fresh strawberries - probably about 15-20. Emily counted out the first 10, but then we added more as we tasted it along the way.
• Dash of vanilla
• Turbinado sugar - probably 2-3 tablespoons????
• Honey - when we realized we should have used honey instead of sugar, we switched. We probably squeezed 3 tablespoons
• Milk - enough to give it a more liquidy consistency

Then we poured it into popsicle molds to put in the freezer. We had a ton leftover so I grabbed 4 more kid cups, threw a popsicle stick in the middle of them and popped those into the freezer as well. We'll test them out tomorrow to see how they taste. I'm pretty excited and hopeful with these as we always seem to be running out the door with breakfast in hand or having just inhaled some semblance of breakfast. And typically, breakfast is quite healthy, but I do like this idea since I know all that is in it and that it is quite kid friendly. They may think it's dessert for breakfast, but I know it's breakfast! Win win!!

**Note from Sunday: the popsicles were a hit! The kids loved them. Kyle even finished his. He's not a big breakfast eater so getting him to eat much more than (drinking) 2 cups of milk is a feat. I would modify the recipe a bit to make it a bit creamier, but otherwise the flavor was good.  

Breakfast for 2

This morning was a lazy Saturday morning. We were tired and slept in a little bit. Kyle and Emily also slept in a bit, but they were hungry when they woke. So instead of waiting for us, they took it upon themselves to make their own breakfast. This isn't the first time they have done this, but I still find it amusing and quite cute when they make their own breakfast. It also makes me proud because they make pretty healthy and balanced food choices. When Jeff went downstairs to see what was going on, Emily told him that they were just making a little appetizer of grapefruit, strawberries and bunny cereal. And that they had poured "heavy milk" without spilling! What is "heavy milk" you may wonder like we did? Turns out that heavy milk is still regular milk, just in a jug that is nearly full. And really, they didn't spill too much - just a little bit on the counter. Not bad when you figure how heavy a gallon of milk is when nearly full and how much strength that takes from a 4 year old.

Kyle pouring some cereal

Emily pouring cereal

A view from above their breakfast table

Salt Volcano

Today we did another science experiment: Salt Volcano. (Written instructions). This was a fun, easy experiment for the kids to do that explores density. And what was even more fun was that they started it and then came back to it to see how things had changed or not changed while they let it sit.

Kyle and Emily discussing the oil and water. And then what happens when they put in the salt. 

The oil bubble returning to the top after the salt dissolves on the bottom

Feeling the oil bubbles

Please play with your food!

Emily's pattern

This morning at breakfast, the kids started playing with their food. It was Annie's Bunny Cereal, just like yesterday. Have I mentioned they love this cereal? For some reason, Kyle especially, prefers his cereal without milk - which doesn't make sense since he LOVES milk, but I supposed he's more of a purist when it comes to milk, he likes it just plain. Now I know in preschool, they work on making patterns with blocks. When I've been in the classroom, they work on ABAB and AABBAABB patterns. This morning, it was fun to see them create their own patterns as they went along. Kyle created an ABCABC pattern and Emily created her ABBABBABBA pattern. It's an interesting lesson on many levels: (1) fine motor skill with object manipulation, (2) pattern recognition and creation, and (3) symbolically labeling the pattern to name just a few.

Kyle's pattern

Needless to say, this is a great case for playing with your food!

Emily's pattern:

Kyle's pattern:

Mentos + Diet Coke = GEYSER!

Kyle and Emily participated in another science experiment this week. We met up with some friends to ride bikes and run around in the afternoon. Earlier in the day, they had picked up materials for the now famous Diet Coke / Mentos experiment. Kyle and Emily have done this one before with science class. But this one never gets old. Nothing like creating a big reaction out of something small.

Whoopie Pie

Today the kids and I made whoopie pies. I bought some many months ago from Trader Joe's and they were okay. A nice treat and sweet, but not fall off your chair good. Somehow lately though, Kyle and Emily had them on their minds. I'm not sure if I had told them I found some recipes for whoopie pies in Bon Appetite and Family Fun or if they just remembered them. Nonetheless, they were asking to make whoopie pies together. And boy am I glad we did!! They turned out amazing! We made a few modifications to the Bon Appetite recipe (noted in the recipe link) and they turned out amazing. And we found that they tasted even better the following day. And certainly better refrigerated. Next time we want to try having them semi-frozen. Mmmmmmmmmm!

Elephant toothpaste

This morning I received an email from the science museum that contained some great experiments. Today was a free day for us so I thought it would be great fun to try an experiment or two.

One in particular, I remembered from high school. It ALWAYS got such a great response from the students. It's quick, messy, silly and fun. Sounds perfect for 4 year olds as well! So after breakfast, the kids and I gathered our materials to make ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE!

Here is our preschool Elephant Toothpaste!

And yes, my kids are wearing their protective eyewear on their foreheads. You know, just in case something gets on their forehead... 

As evidenced by their giggles and squeals of delight, they loved this.

If you want to try this at home, here are the instructions we had and the preschool version of the explanation of what is happening. 

Original video with instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MAHi33yHt4
Here are the written instructions:

1. Put on old shirt and safety goggles
2. Place an empty 16oz plastic bottle upright in a foil cake pan with 2 inch sides (we just used the kitchen sink) with a funnel on top.
3. Mix 2TB warm water with 1ts yeast.
4. Pour 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide into the funnel and add a couple drops of food coloring.
5. Add a few drops of dish detergent.
6. Add the yeast / water mixture to the bottle and remove the funnel quickly.

And there you have elephant toothpaste! And very giggly kids!
For an explanation of the science:

• Hydrogen peroxide may look like water, but it has an extra Oxygen. This makes it a powerful oxidizer. The yeast acts as a catalyst, speeding up the reaction when the hydrogen peroxide is decomposed. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down to form water and oxygen. The erupting soap bubbles are filled with this oxygen. If you look closely, you may see steam coming out of the bottle! This results because the reaction is exothermic, meaning it gives off heat.

Translation for Kyle and Emily:

• Feel the bottle. It's warm isn't it? When an experiment like this has a reaction that makes it warm, it's called exothermic.
• And the toothpaste - it's the soap being filled with air. The air comes from the hydrogen peroxide reacting with the yeast. The yeast makes it break down to be water and air. And when the air gets in the soap, it bubbles up.

Torrey Pines hike with Papa

Papa was in town so we got to take him to our favorite places. One of the days we headed up to Torrey Pines for a nice hike. It's just gorgeous up there, the views, the hills, the trails. 

Easter

It's Easter! This year we had Grandma here with us for Easter and we went over to Coronado to celebrate the festivities. I remember Easter growing up - lots of egg hunts with my siblings and cousins. I remember going to Ohio a lot of the time for Easter and having huge egg hunts at my uncle's farm or at the field by my aunt's house. And I remember actually having to look for eggs. The egg hunts the kids have had so far have been mostly of the here's-a-giant-field-filled-with-eggs. But they like it. And they are 4. So it works. (Later, at home, we did a real egg hunt where they had to actually find moderately hidden eggs in the living room.)

This egg hunt, the rules were that each child gets 3 eggs. So Kyle and Emily diligently 'found' their 3 eggs and returned directly to us and happily opened up their eggs to see what treasures they held. Then we did some crafts by the beach, had a great brunch and went home to sleep the afternoon away. Thankfully, we didn't have an Easter Day earthquake like we did last year.

Cabrillo with cousins

It was a beautiful Saturday out so we headed over to Cabrillo. Grandma had never been there before and neither had Josh, Stephanie, Ben and Davie. The kids had a blast exploring the tidepools and running around the cliff trails. And we enjoyed the beautiful view and our happy kids playing together.

Baseball game

This weekend was a great weekend. We had Grandma here and also Jeff's twin brother with his family. They were in San Diego for 2 days with us and it was non-stop action! We went to the Padres game together and the kids seemed to have a great time in our normal sand pit section. It really is such a great kid / family-friendly ball park with this section and the park section.

What's really amazing about these four kiddies - there is only 18 months from the oldest to youngest! Needless to say they get along really well and have a great time together.

Torrey Pines with Grandma

We had a great visit with Grandma. She came out from Chicago for a week with us! It snowed 3" the day before she left Chicago (in mid / late April!) so even if it wasn't as warm as we'd like it here, it was still a good double whatever it was in Chicago! So we made sure to be outside and enjoy our wonderful weather - as if we don't go outside everyday to enjoy our beautiful environs!

So off to Torrey Pines with Grandma we went! She has been there before on previous visits with us, but it's just such a stunning place to hike around, we had to go again. It started off pretty cool outside - probably about 63 degrees. (This little fact helped us out immensely since the kids had on layers and would use their different layers on the way up.) But as we hiked down to the beach, it got warmer. By the time we reached the ocean, the fog had rolled off and we were in business! The kids were just in heaven! They played with the waves, running back and forth. At first they were trying not to get very wet. Then that all went away when Emily fell face first in the water. She insisted that we should go home then. But after reminding her that she's already wet and in the ocean, why not play some more. Not like she could get any wetter! So for the next hour or so, Emily and Kyle ran endlessly back and forth into the ocean and out with the waves, giggling like only a 4 year old can. The giggling and joy they had while doing this was just priceless. I know the two videos are similar, but enjoy them for the giggle factor and to see what happiness is to 4 year olds.

And many pictures from the hike down. And playing in the ocean. And then hiking up again. While we were down at the beach, there was a group of 3 guys laying out rocks in the sand to spell prom for their girlfriends (who we later saw hiking down while we were on our hike up). Pretty sweet idea. Oh and funny story - as we were getting ready to head up from the beach, this woman asked if that was for me! Really?! I look 18?! Awesome! Just not so sure about being 18 and having 4 year olds!