Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Our memorial day weekend didn't quiet go as planned...

I was looking forward to this past weekend for quiet some time now. We didn't have any concrete plans, except going to Omaha. We haven't seen our church family since last month...so I was excited about that. It was also an extra day that Sean had off from work...I always enjoy those days.

We kicked it off on Friday by going to the park to take spring photos. I took them again this season and I am a bit biased, but I think they turned out cute. I would love an all family photo, but coordinating schedules this time of year is tricky.

I got a bit sunburned just being at the park for an hour. It itched a bit, but I ignored it and went on with our day and evening. When I was getting ready for bed I noticed that I was blothchy all over. Not on top of my skin, but underneath...white and red blotchy. I felt itchy all over...but then realized it wasn't really an itch, I was essentially being electricuted randomly. It honestly was the same pain intensity as being in labor but all over your body. My lips, legs, and feet were the worst. I was not able to fall asleep until 5AM on Saturday morning, but only slept until 7AM. The kids had to entertain themselves inside all day on Saturday, since I couldn't go outside with them. The girls helped make dinner because it was painful to stand and Jocelyn tucked in the kids in for me at night. Not sure what I would do without them when I have down days.

By Saturday night the pain intensity was so great in my feet it felt like whatever was going on with my body was trying escape through my toes. I had another long night, but was able to get a bit more shut eye than the night before.

On Sunday, the pain was now in my head, but not as intense as the day before and by Sunday night I was pain free. I couldn't take anything for the pain, except allergy pills for a bit of relief...although it didn't help any. All in all...lesson learned...I am allergic to sulpha. Fun times!

Our weekend wasn't totally shot...On Sunday afternoon, we took the kids to Stolley Park to ride the train. They played at the park and they had ice cream from the sweet shop.

The kids then played outside in the pouring down rain!

On Monday we went to Stuhr Museum and walked around. I absolutely LOVE this place. Sean enjoyed it too!

We enjoyed ice cream there as well.

We also set up our swimming pool and the kids played away...despite the water being freezing cold!

So what ended up being a really crummy start to a weekend...ended with a very pleasant ending day!

 

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Battle of the brands: Best laundry detergent and bubble gum

I totally forgot to share the results of our the girls' Science fair experiments....until a friend asked me about it. Sorry!

I know many were waiting on the edges of their seats to find out which brand of laundry detergent works the best and what brand of bubble gum blows the biggest bubbles. Well I have the results!!

This is the 3rd year the girls have particpated in a homeschool Science Fair. They love doing the experiments, making their boards, and presenting to people. We all have a lot of fun in the process. Since we moved this year, I was not thinking we would be participating in one, but a few friends put one together and whoola....my girls were so excited! There were no ribbons or prizes like the one in Lincoln. They were judged by a few judges and given a score. We were totally fine with not receiving any prize because it is the feedback that is the most important. It helps them with what they need to work on for next year.

Katelyn's problem this year was to find out what brand of laundry detergent cleaned the best. She tested Gain, Tide, Always Save (generic), All, & Sun. (thank you friends for the detergent samples!!) She did this by putting lines of elements such as chocolate syrup, lipstick, marker, ketchup, and mustard on a white t-shirt. She then filled up 6 bowls of cold water with equal amounts of water. Five bowls were for the detergents and one was for a control with no detergent. After the detergent was stirred around for 2 minutes she added the dirty t-shirts and stirred for another 2 minutes. She then let them soak for thirty minutes. We were all surprised at the results.

Results: Gain worked the best to fight the stains! It was able to clean 3 out of 5 of the stains.

Jocelyn decided to go with a very big question that most 8 years are determined to figure out: What brand of bubble gum helps you blow biggest bubbles!

She blew Hubba Bubba Max, Big League chew, Extra classic, Bubblalicious, and Double Bubble. She blew each brand of gum three times and measured the bubble. She then averaged her results. She found that Hubba Bubba Max blew the biggest bubble!

So now you know! Next time you go to the grocery store we have saved you some time and money when you are trying to decide what brand of laundry detergent and bubble gum to buy!! You are very welcome!!

Here are a few other pics from the Science Fair! Such a fun event!!

 

Monday, May 19, 2014

Stuhr Museum--add it your bucket list!!

You know that place that you drive by everyday and say...one of these days we will go...but kind of too scared to go because of the unknown....not sure if the kids would like it. Not sure really what it is. Just not sure of anything in general.

Well we visited that place today! A friend of mine coordinated a field trip for a group of local homeschoolers and I am so glad she did! The Stuhr Museum in Grand Island is a must go to place with your kids..so add it to your bucket list right now. Plan an entire day to go...and make sure it is a semi-cool day. I can't imagine going when it is super hot.

Today was the perfect day to go...lower 80's and a nice breeze. We only visited one section of the grounds. Totally fine though, we stayed entertained and can not wait to go back. They have several events over the course of the year, so we bought a membership so can go back as many times as we want. They also have classes for homeschoolers during the school year!

So what is the Stuhr Museum? It is a collection of things from the Prairie Pioneer days. Like real houses with furniture...there are even real people in the houses pretending to be a person from that era. You can ask them questions about their life and they always stay in character.

They also had the businesses that were around during this period, like a hardware store, bank, school, shoe shop, post office, a mercantile store, jail, barber shop, and a cafe with yummy food and ice cream!

There was a small school and church as well! Can not wait to go back!