Pop Bottle Science: Experiments #1 and #2

My sister Molly and brother-in-law Chris gave Jaime a pretty cool birthday present this year: Pop Bottle Science. There are 79 experiments and science projects using one and two liter soda bottles. We decided that we would attempt one or two experiments each weekend we had Jaime while Joe was with Molly volunteering at Fancy Cats Resuce Team. This weekend we had our first two experiments.

Gas Balloon: an acid and a base make gas
This experiment mixes baking soda and vinegar to create carbon dioxide and results in the blowing up of a balloon! It was really quick once the paper towel dissolved the baking soda in the vinegar.

Jaime adds the baking soda to the vinegar

Jaime and James watching the balloon expand once the base reacts with the acid

Rainmaker: discover the process that makes rain
This experiment creates a miniture water cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. It took longer than Gas Balloon so Jaime was distracted while waiting. But we did have a few drops of "rain"!

Jaime and James waiting for the "rain" drops

Jaime seemed to enjoy himself and might be looking forward to additional experiments in the future. We'll keep you updated on future experiments. For the photos from these experiments click here.

There is in fact not an app for that....

As many of you know I use two modes of transportation to get to work: I drive my car to a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, a.k.a. Metro) parking garage at the Franconia-Springfield Station, and then I board a Metrorail train and ride to the Federal Triangle Station in downtown Washington, DC. Door to door is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I am in love with the majority of my commute since while on Metro I can read, knit, complete a Sudoku or crossword puzzle, and/or sleep. I am rather calm and relaxed. Aside for the occasional delays, noisy touristas, and the outrageous expense (it costs me $10.30 a day to take Metro based on my entrance and exit station, oh and I pay $4.50 to park at the garage, but in NYC it costs less than $3.00 to ride the Subway....anywhere you go) it is great.

What I would really love to have is an app for my Blackberry that can tell me when a train is coming into a station. Metro has a "schedule" that is has posted on it's website. But it is a joke. That schedule is never kept. During rush hour in the morning and the afternoon there is a train about every five to 10 minutes but outside of rush hour trains run about every 10 to 20 minutes. And you don't know how long of a wait you'll have until you are practically on the platform. James has a great app for his phone that shows him the train schedules in real time, so you know how long you have to hustle to catch a train. But I don't.

So here is my pitch to those app writing crazy entrepreneurs: write me an app for the Blackberry for Washington, DC Metro!!! I'll even pay for such an app!!!

House of Ill

Last Friday I get an email while at work from James telling me he has really done something to his back and would be going to Family Health to see a doctor late that morning. Then I get a text message that he "has slipped something" in his back, was on quarters until Tuesday, and was currently waiting for his prescriptions to be filled at the Pharmacy. Poor guy. When I got home Friday evening he was on the couch with a heating pad and high as a kite from the pain medicine. I guess that is what I looked like in August when I was on mandatory bed rest for my back strain. I couldn't sit and stare at him for to long...we had the boys to pick up for the weekend.

Because of the weather last week they boys had only one day of school. Which was good in the sense that Joe was on the downswing of a cold. And Jaime was on the upswing. So no absences were needed. Poor Jaime looked just awful on Friday night. I put the third row seating up so he could stretch out. He climbed into the back of Lola and just laid there. Usually he is running around the cars and climbing on things during the pick up/drop off. I got all the boys back to the house, dropped them off to take showers and change into PJs, and took myself to the grocery store for comfort food and cold medicine for Jaime.

I decided that it would be a lazy, movie watching, PJ wearing weekend. The boys had a great time. We had a Pixar movie marathon in chronological order. We made it from Toy Story to Ratatouille. And had a rousing game of Killer Bunnies on Saturday night with Molly and Chris. Joe won. Once Jaime was on cold medicine he did just fine. And completed the T-Rex and alligator from this Lego Creator set we got him for his birthday. That alligator was awesome!

Except it was only lazy and PJ wearing for the boys. I wouldn't let James help at all for fear of aggravating his back even more. Which meant I made three meals a day, took care of the dog and cats, washed clothes (which I do anyway--James doesn't trust himself around the washer/dryer), and drove everywhere when needed. The things you do for your loved ones.

UPDATE: turns out that James' spine was out of alignment. He saw an osteopath on Monday who "manipulated" his back. I shouldn't have been laughing to myself but it was funny to see the doctor put James in these weird positions. At one point James lost his breath as discs slipped back in place. He could touch his toes afterwards. Something he hadn't done in months. He is doing so much better! The osteopath will become a regular appointment from here on out.

Wow. It took me two and a half hours to get home from Metro this afternoon/evening. Normally a 15 minute drive. The snow has just kept coming and will continue until after 2300 tonight. James is so excited. I'll post photos tomorrow.

Feed the Bunnies!!!!

Feeding bunnies water and cabbage is a great way to kill bunnies! As is Earthquake, Crow Bar, Kitchen Wisks, Acid Rain, Ebola Virus, or the Hositle Pentacostal. Let it be known that I am not talking about killing real, cute, fuzzie, living bunnies. I'm talking about Sinster Bunnies, Super Bunnies, Lone Ranger Bunny, Lumbering Bunnies, and even Gleeful Bunnies. They are the stars of my family's favorite card game...Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot. Basically the object of the game is to collect bunnies, kill other players bunnies, and collect carrots. And if you have the "magic carrot" in the end you win the game.

It all started in February 2009 when my sister's friend introduced her and my brother-in-law during her recovery from Claude. And it was an instant hit. This is a great game. It is fun, challenging, frustrating, and we all just have a blast when playing. Which has become almost weekly now that both Molly and Chris, James and I have all eleven booster decks (thank you Rich! you are the best!!!) each.

The gentleman who created Killing Bunnies was most likely on something, but the more a read Bunny Bits, I believe he was a bored sailor on an aircraft carrier and created the game to pass the time. There are some crazy cards that twist the game inside and out. As a matter of fact, during last Saturday night's game all the water and cabbage cards (which you need to feed your bunnies) were taken away but then were given back later on. It was kind of scary there with no water and cabbage cards. I'm getting a head of myself.

It can be a bit daunting the first time you play, but it is worth it. Because once you get the basics the sky is the limit. Oh! And there are three other variations you can play too: Kinder Bunnies (the kinder, gentler bunnies--which you still get to kill), Killer Bunnies and the Journey to Jupiter (its a card and board game rolled into one and is awesome), and Killer Bunnies and the Ultimate Odyssey (which we haven't tried yet but has to be just as fun).

I do want to give some advice about age appropriateness of the games. For kids ten and under I think that Kinder Bunnies will be their limit. The rules aren't that complex and the cards are easy to understand. The other Killer Bunnies (Quest, Journey, and Odyssey) have some complex rules and the cards can take some time to comprehend and understand. Jaime loves Kinder Bunnies but has no interest in Killer Bunnies. But Joe loves Killer Bunnies.

Basically if you are looking for a fun and interactive game to waste a Saturday night away on then check out Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot. Game night will never be the same.