Week in Review, a science project & recipes

Monday - Ry & I went with the sister Missionaries to teach a lesson to a family that will be baptized next weekend.

Tuesday - Our only night home all week long. Can we say homework?

Wednesday - Mutual (youth group) Ry learned about computer safety. I graded papers in the car.

Thurs. - We went to see the musical "Little House on the Prairie". It was ok. The script was good. The singing and dancing not so much. I will say I came away with a renewed appreciation for the talentof singing. Those who do Broadway all the time have amazing voices.

Friday - I was in charge of helping the 3rd graders (all 80 of them) make crystals. The kids LOVE them. They are pretty easy & make great science projects / Christmas ornaments.

Crystal Snowflakes:

First, make a snowflake out of a pipe cleaner (we took one, cut it into 3 pieces & then twisted it into a star. You can take thread or string and make it look like a spider's web for a more involved snowflake)

Second, take a clean jar and pour 1/2 - 1 c. of borax soap into it (laundry aisle - Walmart has it for about $3.50 a box.) Fill the jar with hot water (boiling is prefered, but very hot will work

too) Mix to dissolve the soap.

Third, hang the snowflake by string from a craft stick or spoon or pencil. Make sure that it is not touching the bottom of the jar & that you can easily remove it from the jar without it getting caught on the lip of the jar. Once the crystals have formed, it will not be flexible.

Fourth, leave it alone for a few days. You will start to see the crystals by the end of the day. The longer you leave it in the solution, the more that will grow. When you are ready, remove it from the jar and dry off. You have a beautiful, fun snowflake.

(We read a biography about Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley this week to go along with our project. He was a homeschooled boy who developed a way to photograph snowflakes. Our library has his book that was published 2 weeks before he died with thousands of his photos of snowflakes. Very cool!)

After school, we raced home to get Ry packed for his scout camp out to Red Rock. He had a blast hiking and rappelling. So much so that he came home, took a shower and crashed! He was so exhausted I could hardly get him in bed. He slept 13 hours.

After he left for camp, I raced around getting all the stuff for the Ward Thanksgiving dinner together. Left the kitchen in a disaster and went to the social. It went well. Good food, good people and good conversation.

Sat. was spent with produce co-op and then I worked for 5+ hours at the school. Lots of projects moved along. I was reading a few blogs this weekend that were talking about how they love lazy Saturdays. I am not sure that I know what that is. My parents mantra was "Saturday is a Work Day." The day usually started off early with my dad making pancakes followed by plenty of work. Sunday was the lazy day - although that one started early as well. Church always started at 9:00 and we lived 30 mins. away. 8 people & 1 bathroom. You do the math.

This morning - Ryan has been asking for pancakes for weeks, maybe even months. I have been persuading him to be satisfied with French Toast as I have been out of homemade pancake mix. After the millionth request, I finally made some this morning. Although he had to clean up his room first!

First, I had to find my kitchen. Easier said then done! Then I dug out the wheat grinder & ground wheat. Next, made some yummy pancakes. Here is the recipe - we LOVE these pancakes!

Jenni's Pancake Mix (I don't know who Jenni is but I will give her credit - I found these on a discussion board)

2c. Whole Wheat Flour

2c. Flour

1 Tblsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

Sift together and store in an air tight container

To make:

2c. pancake mix

4 eggs

2+ c. milk product (milk, yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, pureed cottage cheese, etc. - I usually mix it up a bit)

Mix together & cook on a hot griddle. One batch = 16 lg. pancakes.

And you have to have this amazing syrup on your pancakes!

Yummy Homemade Syrup

1 1/2 c. sugar

3/4c. Milk

1/2 c. butter (this is a Pioneer Woman wannabe recipe)

Bring to boil in a large sauce pan and then add:

1 tsp. Baking Soda (watch this - it will rise quickly. Remove from heat when you add.)

2 tsp. flavoring (I use maple but vanilla is also good)

You won't need any butter on your pancakes it is so thick and yummy!

Enjoy!