Rock Candy

Sawyer and I like to do science experiments and since this one is so easy for everyone to do, we thought we would share it with you all so you can try it out yourself.  We have been learning about crystals and how they are created, etc. so we decided to make rock candy.

The first thing you will need is a clean medium size jar, two popsicle sticks, and some string.  Just make sure that the popsicle stick hangs and does not touch the bottom.

Like this...

Next get a medium size saucepan and add 8 measuring cups full of water.  Our measuring cup is 25 millileters.  Bring the water to a boil.

 And don't forget your safety gear! And apparently shirts are optional, too.

Next, while keeping the water boiling, add 16 measuring cups full of sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

 It helps to have a cheering section!

With the water still boiling and while stirring, add 8 more measuring cups full of sugar.

Take off the heat and let cool before adding to glass jar.  We are a little impatient, so we didn't wait too long...maybe 5 minutes.

When completely cooled (or you get impatient excited) add solution to glass jar leaving undissolved sugar in pot.

Wrap string several times tightly around the vertical popsicle stick.  Then tie it to the horizontal popsicle stick.  Next, place it in the solution.

Oops, take it back out again and add some food coloring of your choice.  We chose green.  Add how ever much you want.  Sawyer liked doing this so we added a couple dropper fulls.

It looks pretty cool going in...

NOW, you can place your stick in the solution.

And don't forget to chart your findings like all good scientists do!

Let stand for 24 hours (Let your sugar crystals stand longer to grow larger crystals).  One thing to keep in mind is that crystals will form on the surface of the sugar solution.  Just gently break up these crystals every time they appear so that crystals will form on the popsicle stick instead. 

You will notice the rock candy forming after 24 hours but we recommend waiting for about 4 or 5 days so it gets bigger. And here is the results after 5 days.

 All that is left to do is enjoy!

 YUM!!

Six months old

She is sweetness, and smiles, hugs and open mouth kisses.  She's blue-grey eyes searching me out where ever I go.  "I'm here Cora, I'm here."  Her hair is still dark, as are her eyebrows.  Her dad calls her Cora Karen in an Irish brogue and I call her Coraline and when she hears her siblings cry she worries. She is sensitive and soft and in need of affirmation, touch, love. Her eyes tell stories. And in her sleep she pats my chest, to reassure herself I am still there.   She is mostly serious, intense and serious, when others are around.  At home with her favorites though she is smiley, goofy, and on occasion a firecracker. 

 She is finally the owner of her very own high chair and loves being included in meal time.

 She is a whopping 15 pounds 6 ounces, sitting up like a big girl, and is sporting a lovely bald patch on the back of her head, as her favorite mode of transportation is to lay on her back, push off with her feet, and slide.  She also sports some lovely rug burns, too on occasion.

 She has the house wrapped around her little finger.  All she has to do is complain once and someone is there to scoop her up.  She is lucky to be number 4.

It amazes me to think it has been 6 months since I brought her home.  The months seem to go faster than the days at times.

And here is a look back at some other 6 monthers I have raised.

Alaina

Jonnie-who I still think Cora resembles the most.

and Sawyer

They all look a little similar and yet different.  I see Cora in each of them.  I am a lucky mom.

Hanging out with daddy

"Hey mom!"

The stare down...

"Hey dad, I think you need to shave!"

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 

 I am looking forward to see what the new years brings for us.  We had a pretty great 2011 that was full of lots of changes in our house.  One being the birth of our precious little girl who we cannot love and adore any more than we do.  It's amazing how fast we all adjusted to her little presence in the house and I can hardly remember what it was like before we had her.  Second, is Jon's accident.  It has been both a challenge and a blessing.  A blessing in that it has allowed him to slow down a bit and spend lots of time with us as a family.  Not many people get that opportunity in their life and for that we are grateful. 
The challenges are only temporary and I refuse to dwell on all that.

I have a feeling this will be a great year. Bring on 2012!

Buon Natale!

Which means Merry Christmas in Italian!  This year, on my side, the country we celebrated was Italy, so once again the food, gifts, and traditions were Italian.  It was a lot of fun and great seeing everyone again.

Here's two sweet cousins Neve and Cora.

And then Alaina joined them..

And then Courtney, Cassidy, and Liam joined them (:

My two sisters Danielle and Sharyn.  We also had Italian wine, but I can't remember what it was called.

Me with my sweet girls.

Before we ate, mom lit the advent candles and said a nice prayer...

Then we ate...salad with Italian dressing, Penne with sun-dried tomato pesto, Italian chicken and noodle bake, Italian sausage noodle dish, and Italian bread.  It was delicious!

Next, we opened gifts... Some of the gifts I remember were necklaces with Italian words on them,  Ghiradella chocolates and hot chocolate, fondue set, Ferari model car, Italian charm bracelet, Italian cookbooks, and I am sure a lot more that I can't seem to remember right now.

My dad has been making us all our own model ships.  He has been making ships for as long as I can remember and now he is making us each our own.  They are beautiful and here is Sharyn posing in front of her ship my dad just finished.  Looks great, dad!

My sweet boy

This year my sister decided to bring a project for us to work on and have something to take home to remember the day by. Here she is explaining how to do it...

Half way done and they are drying now until the next step.

Finished projects!  They turned out awesome!

Alaina's is the owl one and Sawyer and I did the one with the muscle car.  I love them both and plan to hang Sawyer's in his room.

On to dessert!  Sharyn brought cupcakes and cookies, and Danielle brought gellato (an italian ice cream like dessert).  It was delicious and that was the first time I had tried it.

The day after Christmas we all went out to visit Jon's Grandma's since we didn't get the chance to visit her on Christmas day.  We brought over a vanilla pound cake and we had tea and other goodies she had out.  My kids love going out to great grandma's and love to explore inside and out (:  We had a nice visit and hope to get over there more often!

So once again we had a great Christmas and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

Christmas morning

 Merry Christmas!

The kids woke us up around 8:30, so not too early but I still felt like it was about 5 in the morning.  I was sooo tired as Cora still keeps me up a lot but that is a whole other post!

Here they are coming down to see the gifts for the first time..

Alaina is VERY excited!  (:

First to open a gift was Dex.  He helped out a little and remained on his bed the rest of the morning enjoying his bone. 

The little lady just hanging out and watching her siblings. 

Alaina's gift from Sawyer (: 

They all had a great time opening all their gifts! 

And checking out their stockings. 

They were happy. 

Cora got a sleep sheep which is supposed to help them sleep better.  I am trying it out tonight so I will let you all know if it worked.  I have it on the rain setting. I am crossing my fingers it will help her sleep longer at night!!

Jon bought me a donut maker and I was so excited that I made a batch of donuts for everyone and they turned out great! I can't wait to try some of the other recipes!

After playing with their new stuff for awhile, we all got ready to head to my mom's for the rest of the day.  It was a great morning and Santa gave the kids a lot of great things.