Super Summer 2012 - Mission Log, Day 2

Another pretty successful home for summer day, though there was a bit more whining involved today. We did our standard breakfast and a show while the morning monster wakes up (though when he gets to sleep until 8, he's much less grumpy than when he gets up at 6; so am I, for that matter!).

We then headed out to the DeKalb Farmers Market, one of my favorite places, even if it is quite a distance away. Sadly, I think I've been there more often since I moved several miles away than I did when I lived practically next door! Anyway, we had a great time smelling the fruit and veggies, visiting the live catfish and lobsters and crabs. We did some extrapolation. Look at the small blue crabs in the bin. See how long their legs are? So how big do you think the crab is that the king crab legs came from? His eyes about popped out of his head! We were there right after they opened, and with so few people, it was cold enough in the meat and dairy section that we could see our breath!

I let him play on the computer while I prepared for our first experiment of the day: making butter. Part of why we went to the farmer's market is that you can easily find non-homogenized diary. The butter didn't turn out quite the way I think it should; I may have had it in too large a container while we were shaking. It's more like whipped butter or even Devon double cream in consistency (though obviously not in technique). Still, I think it would be excellent on scones, so maybe I'll whip some up this weekend (now wishing I'd bought blueberries at the farmer's market).

Anyway, after lunch, it was time for our first "ooh aah" experiment, or at least I hoped it would work as well as the internet swore it did. Some of you will know exactly where this is going with the first photo:



Those who don't are staring at this picture and thinking "okaaaaay? what is so amazing about a bar of ivory soap?"



Have you ever tried putting it in the microwave? (No, I haven't lost my mind, why do you ask?) By the way, if you decide to try this at home: 1) Yes, it must be Ivory brand soap, and 2) I *highly* recommend using only 1/4 of the bar. Just trust me on that point. What's going on in there?



(Note the short hair.) Most websites said 2-4 minutes, depending on your microwave. Try 30-40 seconds for ours! Whoa! Maybe you need more time for a full bar? Now you see why I recommend only 1/4 of a bar at a time.



I think the whole bar would have absolutely filled our microwave! Luke was quite impressed and grinning from ear to ear. We're actually saving the results for his bath later. It feels very brittle, but it's still soap and should work just fine. I think he'll have a ton of fun playing with it. He also insisted that we show Daddy when he got home, so I now have two plates full of exploded soap.



The funniest thing, though, was that he insisted we put one of the other 1/4 pieces in the freezer. "I want to see it get super-small!" Extrapolation at work! He was genuinely surprised when, in 45 minutes, the piece of soap hadn't changed one bit. But hey, that's how you make a scientist, by making hypotheses and testing them.

After that, I gave him the choice of playing downstairs, coloring, or doing a puzzle. He wasn't very good at puzzles when he was little (the chunky wooden ones), but Mom gave him one a few months back that was about 50 pieces, and he loved it. It was actually a bit too easy for him, so I picked up a pack of 8 Disney puzzles at Big Lots over Memorial Day (thanks, Mom!) that included four 150-piece puzzles, two 300-piece ones, and two 500-piece. We're working our way up!



Took us well over an hour to do two of the 150s; I helped, but he did at least as much as I did. He had a blast and is already asking when we can do a bigger one. Let's hold that for next week, shall we? Also, if anyone has a recommendation for cheap places to buy puzzles, I'm listening.

He'd been putting off his reading all day, so he had to do all 20 minutes worth all at one time, which he did not like (and caused the majority of the day's whining, though not all of it). Let's hope that lesson has been learned. We were both pretty tired and grumpy by then, so we decided to put off making play dough until either this weekend or next week. Then he played downstairs until DH got home. He had actually saved his Wii time so he could play a game with Daddy when he got home, but they got involved playing something else and never did get in front of the TV until after dinner. A very nice end to an enjoyable day!

Currently feeling: experimental