Science Day!

We're schooling throughout the summer at the Synowiec Nest and today was Science Experiment Day as part of our Biology, Botany, and Physics curriculum through Sonlight.

We read about the composition of the earth and its surrounding atmosphere, watched a couple of clips on our Science DVD about experiments we could do with air, and re-created the experiments at home.  Taylor and Rory got a big kick out of racing sheets of paper across the floor by waving cardboard panels and then sticking an "empty" plastic teapot in a large bowl of water and discovering that the as the water filled the teapot lots of bubbles of air were escaping.  Nothing is every really empty - it's filled with air!

But by far the most fun part of today was when we were checking out the links that go along with our Usborne Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia and came across a site that explains how to make an edible model of the Earth.  The girls begged me to let them make this today.  And because I really want to feed their excitement for learning, and we happened to have a rough collection of ingredients to pull it off (!), we popped a pizza lunch in the oven and got to work on Earth models for dessert!

First we needed to find a core for our Earth.  The recipe called for a spice drop, but we didn't have any of those so we dug through our very large tub of candy (leftover from Halloween and all sorts of other occasions where people gave our kids treats) and found a small package of gummy lifesavers.  Earth's Inner Core - check!

Then we needed large marshmallows for the Outer Core.  2 left in the pantry - check!

The mantle of the Earth was to be made of Rice Krispie Treats.  As I pulled our box of TJ's Crisped Rice Cereal off the shelf, I could feel that the box was very light.  My heart began to sink a little, thinking I'd have to break the news to the girls that the Earth model was off.  The cereal was near the bottom of the bag, but after pouring it out in a measuring cup I saw that we had enough to make 1-1/2 recipes. Phew! Close call! I was shooting to have one Earth for each girl, so this would work just fine.

Mark had recently stocked up on sugar-coated, multi-colored marshmallows (at Rory's request when he took the kids grocery shopping) so we used three of those for every large marshmallow mentioned in the recipe to make the cereal treats.

The recipe then calls for a bottle of chocolate shell syrup to make the crust, but we definitely didn't have that on hand.  We had regular chocolate chips we could melt, but I convinced Taylor that we needed to save those to make more cookie dough another day for Mark's famous Chocolate Mountain Mudslides (if you haven't tasted one yet, you haven't truly lived ;) ).  So instead we found a bag of white chocolate chips and melted those down in a double-boiler for our Earth's crust.  It ended up being a great idea to use the white chocolate chips because then I added some blue food coloring and voila, OCEAN!

Elliott came out of the kitchen to our construction zone with a box of our super-special Dutch chocolate sprinkles (straight from Amsterdam in my parent's suitcase) and - light bulb! - we realized we could use those too to create some of the land surface of the Earth.

By the time we finished out Earth models, our pizza was done cooking!  We scarfed down lunch quickly and then eagerly returned to our models for the final reveal - cutting a cross-section of our Earth to see every layer we had labored to create.

"Ahhhhhhh!" sang the angels from above as we saw...

Inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust!! 

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Now, there was only one thing left to do.

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Yum!  This is a rich and tasty, not to mention LARGE, treat!  We'll be nibbling through our Earths for the rest of the day for sure.  

Science is sweeeeeeeeet.

Gentle Barn

We took a field trip to Gentle Barn today, just 35 min southwest of Palmdale, with other homeschool families.  Gentle Barn is an sanctuary for around 170 animals that experienced abuse or neglect in the past.  Its mission is to rehabilitate them and give them a safe place to live out the rest of their lives.

The kids got the chance to groom cows, feed carrots to horses, hug chickens, and pet goats, turkeys, sheep, and a pig.  It was a neat experience for all.

Welcome to Gentle Barn

Sanctuary to all kinds of farm animals

Brushing Faith

Leaning on Buttercup the cow

Pretending to drive an old tractor

Feed carrots to horses

Petting Claire

Nicknamed Sir Fancy Pants

Jellie

Norma Jeane, the lap chicken

Rory and Claire share a moment

Sassy insists on last minute rubs

Earth Day: Progress and Resolutions

In the past, on Earth Day I would post a State of the Household in regards to how earth friendly we were with our living.  Three children in and a cross-country move later, things are different - a little better here, a little worse there - but overall, our family is on the same journey.

Living in an eco-friendly manner is important to me. I consider it part of being a good steward of the resources God gave us.  I believe our family's choices have saved tons of trash from landfills, have put our "vote" toward greener and safer products for our children, and have had the added benefit of saving us some money in the process.  I certainly don't consider us a poster family for environmentalism, but I do hope that other people would feel motivated to make little changes over the course of time that would make the Earth a cleaner, happier place to be.

1. Cloth diapers - I still love them.  We're using the same ones on Elliott that we used with Taylor and Rory and some of the children we took into our home with Safe Families.  Some have served their life, others just need a little repair, most of them could handle a couple more kiddos down the line (whether ours or someone else's!).  Because we've been doing a bit more traveling out here to places where I can't do laundry, we've had to buy some disposable diapers (which pains me) but I'm hoping to use them very conservatively.
Side note on wipes: I don't really use cloth wipes anymore and only sparingly use disposable ones (I hate paying money for stuff like that), opting most frequently to just wash Elliott's bottom off in the sink at diaper changes.  I like that I don't have anything to throw in the trash, but with California's recent drought concerns I'm re-considering how I might approach that daily routine.

Boron mine and replica of a Twenty Mule Team

2. DIY Laundry Detergent.  We started making our own detergent over the last couple years out of Fels Naptha soap, Borax, and washing soda.  It's simple, cheap, effective, and the kids readily help me put it together.

In November, we took a field trip with a local homeschool group to the Boron mines an hour north of Palmdale, where Borax gets it's supply, as well as the Twenty Mule Team museum.  It was a fun way to see how one ingredient in our detergent is processed - and to see all the other many ways it is used in every day products around the house!

2. DIY Hand soap - NEW! Moving to CA gave us a chance to try something new in our routine, which was to make our own hand soap for the bathrooms.  Mark bought a few Method foaming hand soaps when he first moved here in September and by the time the kids and I joined him a month later we were able to try out this refill solution.  Very simple - Dr. Bronner's castille soap and water.  Voila!  Mere pennies for a fresh and natural (no icky triclosan!) soap refill.

3. Natural shampoo - fail.  I've read on many a eco-friendly message board or blog about eschewing traditional shampoo and going for baking soda/apple cider vinegar, honey, or special shampoo bars.  I really wanted to try a more natural, cheaper approach to cleaning my hair so in November I gave Honey Shampoo a whirl.  I figured I didn't really have to meet up with a lot of people since we were new to the area, so no one would really care about what I looked like during the dreaded "transition period" people always wrote about.  The verdict: I was a hot mess.  I did learn that raw honey is by far preferable to the adulterated honey you get in those little bear bottles, but still after 6 weeks my hair was heavy and clumpy and not styling friendly.  Perhaps I'll be brave enough to try something else in the future, but for now I'm back to the normal stuff.

4. Gardening - ups and downs.  Mark geared up for growing some herbs and veggies this spring/summer, day dreaming about all we'll try to grow back at our house in St. Louis, but so far we're off to a rocky start.  We started a pot of some watermelon on the back patio and some seeds in a little starter grid inside.  The watermelon is sprouting a little and I'm hoping I won't forget to water it because the sun outside is so intense every day.  We had several seedlings came out (radishes, carrots, and more) in our starter grid, but then Mark accidentally left them outside for too long and roasted the whole lot.  We're at square one with those.  And, back to the issue of water conservation, I want to make sure we're doing the right things and not wasting water.  Mark was thinking we might get some 5-gal buckets from the hardware store to catch the shower water normally wasted when we're waiting for the water to warm up (it takes a long time!) and we could probably make use of the "gray water" leftover from the kid's baths as well.

Overall, we're doing okay.  We're using more paper products than we used to - out of convenience from the move and due to some extended sniffles, but if we just get back to reaching for a cleaning towel instead of a paper towel and our new handkerchiefs (planning to embroider and decorate those for fun) instead of the tissue box I think we'll be better off.

Looking to the future: My goal for this year is to try harder to buy produce in season and grown locally, or raised locally in the case of meat and dairy products.

What's something you'd be willing to change in your life to make the Earth a happier and healthier place this year?

Jan-Feb

Finally a chance to sit down and write, as brief as it'll be...

It's a Small World - closed for a while

We kicked off the first month of 2014 with a couple of trips to Disneyland to make the most of our annual passes.  They were quick, down-and-back-in-one-day trips where we'd throw the kids in the car before dawn and leave the park in the early afternoon.

It was the first time to attempt it as a small family unit (only 2 adults for the 3 kids now!) and it went surprisingly well.  With ample snacks, a double stroller, and the only things on the agenda being "family fun," we had a pleasant time.

Teacups - a favorite of the girls

Mark and the kids

And as an added bonus, IKEA is on the way home from Disney.  Mark and I enjoy browsing the store, but the kids seem to be in extreme pain at even the thought of stopping there.  We learned the hard way to time those visits carefully, as three tired, hungry, screaming children do not make for the most ideal shopping experience.

On Jan 21st, Elliott turned 1.  We celebrated with a Skylander-themed strawberry cake (the girls'  idea) decorated with naturally colored frosting (using spinach, turmeric, and berries).  The turmeric made the yellow frosting taste strange, so we didn't use much of that, but the rest of it was very good.  Elliott loved it and ate so politely.

Happy 1st Birthday, Elliott!

As a birthday bonus, Elliott began walking that evening - 10 or more steps at a time.  It was a really exciting double milestone day!

Just 12 days later, on Feb 2nd, we celebrated Taylor's 6th birthday!  Since we still didn't really know enough children to make a good birthday party, we got some fun butterfly cupcakes from Sam's Club to share with the girls on her gymnastics team.

We did a "Spa Day" at home with mud masks and cucumber slices for our eyes, fizzy lemon water and crisp apples, a bubble bath, a back massage, and movies.

When we returned to Disneyland the next weekend, we let Taylor go through a salon treatment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  I didn't think I'd ever let my girls do that considering how the bizarre I thought other little girls looked after coming out of there, but we tried to go with a more conservative up-do and with the annual pass discount it wasn't so bad.  Taylor love love loved the chance to have her hair and nails done and a little bit of make-up brushed on and sparkles and a bag of fashion goodies afterward.  For her, it was definitely the highlight of her birthday celebrations.

The rest of February involved lots of exercise on the rowing machine for Mark (a huge Christmas/anniversary/birthday/etc gift), many more Fitbit steps for Andrea (Disneyland really helped with that!), the introduction of an art curriculum into homeschool, and a trip to Colton, CA to see my uncle and his family.  The girls begged to stay longer with my relatives, as they played Hide-and-Seek for about 4 hours straight the day we were there.

End of 2013

With Mark around these days, things are much busier! I feel like there is so little time to sit and ponder and blog.  Here's a re-cap from Nov until now.

The holidays were great.  We spent Thanksgiving with my brother and parents in San Jose.  It was interesting to drive from brown, barren desert-scape to lush green hills (a 5.5hr drive).  There were lots of vineyards and fruit tree groves and other crops along the way.  And the interstates are crazy-fast!  It is no big deal for cars to be driving 80+mph.  The police don't seem to care.  Chris and Taylor played Skylanders Swap Force for a good part of the visit, while the rest of us were either relaxing, cooking, or strategizing our Black Friday purchases.

And then Chris and Carol and my parents came down to Palmdale for Christmas, with a fun getaway to Disneyland in the middle.  We had the girls sleep on an air mattress on our bedroom floor, which freed up their room and the "library" for our guests.  It didn't seem too cramped and it was great to have our first visitors.

We spent 4 days at Disney, staying at the Disneyland Hotel.  What a treat!  Not only is it a fun and clean hotel with a light-up castle and firework headboard, but we were just steps away from Downtown Disney and the parks (Disneyland and California Adventure).  Chris and Carol were gung-ho about Magic Mornings (an extra hour that hotel guests get in the park in the morning) so each day the goal was to get to the gate around 7am and grab up Fast Passes for the best and busiest rides like Space Mountain, Indian Jones, and the Radiator Springs Raceway.  The Fast Passes were worth the extra effort as we saved hours of waiting in lines throughout the day.  Chris and Carol and our little family got the annual passport for the parks, so we can go as much as we'd like in the next year.

As a fun addition to our family vacation, my parents and Chris and I were competing for most steps taken each day, as measured by our Fitbits (fancy little pedometer/fitness-tracking gadgets that Chris got us hooked on over Thanksgiving).  While waiting in line for rides we'd be jogging in place and any time we passed some steps we might go up and down a few extra times to build up our ranking.  My dad was always solidly in the lead, while my mom, Chris, and I were vying for the number 2 spot.  My parents have made a New Year's resolution to meet all their daily Fitbit fitness goals, one of which is 10,000 steps/day, so now the gap between 1st and 4th place is widening (my daily average is around 6,000).

Everyone left before New Year's Eve, so Mark and the kids and I had a quiet evening at home with lots of bubbly drink in fancy goblets from Party City and a spread of party foods like "chicken lollipops" from Trader Joe's and cheese and crackers.  We were in bed before 10pm, but I can't say I was sad not to see the clock change from 11:59 to 12:00.  At this stage in life, I'm thrilled with a full-night's sleep.

Another post about the start of 2014 to come soon.

A Pleasant November Start

We've been in Palmdale for a little over a month now.  The other day, one of Mark's co-workers sent him home with a grocery bag filled with pomegranates and persimmons from his own backyard trees.  The persimmons are soooo delicious.  I've eaten up 4-5 of them already.  They are my new favorite fruit.

The unpacking is coming along slowly.  I've lost some of that initial drive and, of course, life with kids kicked in and I realized that I need to be investing more energy in them.  I'm disappointed that we're not completely box/pile-free one-month in, but I can see that we're making progress and I've come to accept that it's a process.  Maybe Thanksgiving is a good goal to be completely unpacked - three more weeks sounds very doable.

Homeschooling has been going well this week (our first real week of structured learning for the school year).  Taylor is enthusiastic about writing letters to friends and doing math worksheets and listening to some new storybooks.  I've been able to find preschool-like things for Rory to work on, and we've been doing crafty stuff nearly every day.  It's amazing!  I'm in a happy place.

Oh! And, an update on our fundraising efforts for Mission India - we met and exceeded our goal!  That means with Sonlight's matching funds we have given 136 kids the opportunity to attend a Bible club in India.  Thank you for your generosity.  The girls loved the Lost in India project and I hope that it will continue to impact how we think about the world and the role we play in reaching others for Christ.

We've settled into some evening activities for Taylor - gymnastics and American Heritage Girls (which is kind of like Girl Scouts).  Taylor is doing well with gymnastics at this new place, AV Twisters, and I'm pleased to see that they're introducing her to skills that she hasn't done before.  The moms there tell me that this gym is the best in the area and they drive quite a distance to be there.  I think it'll be a great place for her to flourish.  The AHG troop is just starting up, so I'll get to be a part of the planning process for activities this year.  I may even become the leader for Taylor's group, the Pathfinders.

Rory has been getting more talkative everyday.  Lots of made up stories involving witches and mermaids (The Little Mermaid) and half-truths about things her Daddy "gave her permission" to do.  She begs for candy every morning, begs for movies every afternoon, and never particularly wants to brush her teeth before bed.  The other week a mother at the park was watching Rory play with her children and said she could tell right away that Rory was a middle child.  Quirky to the core.  I'm hoping to sign her up for a dance class at the rec center across the street so she has a fun activity all to herself.

Elliott loves to be able to roam freely, crawling where the little bits of dirt on the floor take him.  Whenever he's in the living room, he bee-lines for the stairs and enjoys standing at the first step hanging on tightly to the railing.  However, he's lost his grip more than once on the railings (as well as chair legs and shelves and tables) and so, sadly, has little bruise lines all over his face and head where he made contact with the furniture.  He's getting another tooth in, which means lots of chewing on anything he can get his hands on.  And he's eating a hefty amount of solid food, nearly three meals a day, on a regular basis in addition to nursing!

We've been attending a very large church in Lancaster (the adjacent city to Palmdale) and I like a lot of things about it - solid Biblical teaching, expository sermons, a genuine heart for the community and missions, and a real go-to attitude, but we haven't decided if it'll be our "church home away from home" yet.  A couple of women there really cared for me while Mark was in St. Louis - checking in every few days and even coming over to help me clean while all our kids played.  They have been a big blessing.  But on the other side of things, the church is huge and very formal and takes a KJV-only stance (the first time I've encountered this issue) and I'm unsure about its approach to accountability for the spiritual growth of its members (a problem related to its size).  I'm sure our decision will be come much clearer in the next few weeks.

Welcome to Synowiec Forest!

And last, but perhaps the biggest news of all, we finally closed on our new house in St. Louis - just today!  It's a beautiful home that sits on 2.5 acres of mostly forest, about 10 min northeast of our old house, and will be able to accommodate very large family gatherings.  It's an odd situation - buying a house while we're set to be away for 18 months or so - but we found a house we're really excited about and we got some great friends to house sit while we're away.  They also happen to be dog sitting for us during our CA stint.  I just uploaded the photos from the listing of the house here, so you can get an idea of what we'll be coming back to in 2015.

Fall back

Don't forget - one extra hour of sleep tonight!