The Incredible Edible Egg, Take II

Tonight in Mrs. Scott's class we finally got to use that boiled egg. All week I thought about what type of investigation we would do, but I never predicted we would make an egg carrier.  We needed to be able to drop our egg, from an arm's length, and not have it break upon impact.

Also, we had to create three different carriers.
We had the following list of supplies to use:

1. two squares of tin foil
2. two strands of yarn
3. two pipe cleaners
4. two straws
5. two cotton balls
6. two small squares of a sponge. 

Our first prediction was that if we surrounded it by cushiony materials (cotton & sponge squares) it would help it not crack.  We attached the cotton with the pipe cleaner by wrapping it around.  Next, we put the egg inside the squares of foil and added the yarn as extra padding.  We dropped the egg and it DID NOT crack.

Our second attempt was less successful.  We attempted to drop the egg without wrapping everything up in the foil.  As the egg turned, it became unbalanced and the egg cracked on a side that was not protected by a sponge or cotton ball. 
Our third attempt with the egg was, by far, the most exciting.  We realized that a big part of our problem is that when the egg falls, the impact is so hard and fast that it is causing the egg to crack.  We attempted to build an egg parachute thinking that could help slow down the fall, just like actual parachuters.  We used the foil as our parachute and attached the egg with the pipe cleaner.  We wrapped the egg with as many of our soft supplies as we could.  Then we let her go!  Well, it didn’t work too great.  I think if we would have had some stronger supplies, it just might have worked.  This science investigation was so fun!  We learned about gravity and how balance is needed to give support.  I hope you enjoy  the video clip from my time in Science Class.  

Todays blog post brought to you by:
Flat Zoey

Aldridge Gardens

Today we went on a field trip to Aldridge Gardens. You can read all about Aldridge Gardens here.  They have many activities and camps for kids and adults.  It is free to get into the gardens but they gladly accept donations.  Brooks and his friend, Jackson, came with us. I expected the garden to have tomatoes, okra and beans like PaPa's garden, but there weren't any vegetables around!  It was quite lovely though. There were lots of plants and flowers and a huge pond. 

Mrs. H gave us a scavenger hunt as an activity.  If you would like your own copy of the scavenger hunt click here.  We had to search for different types of leaves and insects. There were a few more difficult items like a mushroom and butterfly, which we finally found.  Brooks and Jackson became real explorers after a while. Mrs. H had to keep them on task because one time they were climbing the trees!!  

It was a really fun adventure. Aldridge Gardens was in the middle of the city but it was so quiet and peaceful. You could hear the birds chirping and the waterfalls flowing. The weather was in the mid 70's and a breeze was blowing. Mrs. H says next time we can bring a picnic lunch and a book and relax for a while. I can't wait!

Brought to you by:

Flat Zoey

The Incredible Edible Egg

Waiting on the eggs to boil.

Today was a busy day!  Mrs. H had a lot going on.  Her Science teacher, Mrs. Scott said that the students needed to bring a hard-boiled egg to class Monday night.  My curiosity is killing me.  I love science experiments so I can't wait to see what we do with the egg.  Since we had to boil an egg Mrs. H asked if I had ever had deviled eggs before.  That sounded a little scary to me, I try to avoid run-ins with the devil.  Mrs. H said that Mr. H loves deviled eggs and he would be so excited if we surprised him with some.  After she explained what a deviled egg was, I thought I would give it a try.
Mrs. H has a recipe she's used so many times she has it memorized.
The ingredients were simple:

•  7 hard boiled eggs
• 1/4 c mayonnaise
• 1 T mustard
• 1 1/2 T sweet pickle relish
• salt and pepper
• Paprika

Eggs are taking a cold bath.

First we boiled the eggs.  Then we rinsed them and soaked them in ice water.  Then we peeled them.  After that, we cut them in half and removed the yellow part (which is called a yolk).  The egg whites were set aside for later.  We mashed all of the yolks with a fork and then threw in one of the egg whites and mashed it in there too.  Then we added the other ingredients.  Next, we put a spoonful of the yellow mixture inside of each of the egg whites.  The last step was the most important.  Mrs. H let me do it....the sprinkling of the paprika.  I was a little heavy handed at first but got the hang of it.  

At this point I wasn't too sure about this concoction.

See where I got a little heavy handed with the paprika?

Okay, this stuff is goooooood!!

Tonight in Mrs. H's Science class we did not have time to do our boiled egg experiment.  We will do it next Monday, so stay tuned....

Brought to you by:

Flat Zoey

Flat Zoey's First Visit to the Library

Do you see me?  I'm in Mary Raines' lap.

Today I made my first visit to the Public Library.  I have never seen so many books in my life!  There are books for adults, books for teenagers, books for kids and even books for babies.  They even have movies to rent, magazines to read and books on CD that you can listen to in the car.  The Children's Department had computers with fun games, puzzles and even special activities. The best thing about books from the library is that they are FREE!!  All you need is a library card.   

Brooks was really excited to find the Kevin Henkes books.  He has been reading them in his 1st grade class at school.  We found some that he hadn't read yet.  Brooks says Kevin Henkes illustrates and writes his books.  He showed me some books about a little Mouse, with a big personality, named Penny.  Penny sometimes gets into a little trouble and has to find a good solution to her problems.  We checked out some books and decided to go ahead and do a little reading at the library.  The library we went to even has this special, quiet, room called the Treehouse!  It had windows all around and it was very quiet in there.  

Brooks read me Penny and Her Song.  It was such a good book!  Penny has a song in her head.  She wants so badly to sing it to her family, but the babies are sleeping.  Penny becomes very frustrated that she can't share it.  Finally she gets her chance to sing around the dinner table.  Her family loves her song so much that they chime in and before you know it they are all singing and dancing and the babies have fallen back asleep.  I can't wait to read more of Kevin Henkes' books because I loved Penny and Her Song.  

If you've never been to the library, let me just tell you how much you are missing out on!  Every community has a library nearby so you really don't have any excuse because I know everyone likes to read.  Reading is the greatest activity there is!  Not only is it fun, but you can read about places that you may never be able to go to in real life and experience things you may never be able to experience.  

Today's Post Brought to you by:

Flat Zoey

It's Fun to Stay at the Y.M.C.A

Working up a sweat!

This morning I went to the YMCA with my family.  Mrs. Hinely went to yoga.  I have never tried yoga so I gave it my best shot.  Well you can imagine how fantastic I was at yoga!  Being flat has its advantages, I could bend and pose in every position possible.  My favorite position was the pigeon pose.  It felt great to get that good stretch in my legs and hips.  I don't understand why Mrs. Hinely was sweating and panting through the whole thing.  We walked through the weight room on our way out.  I decided to work out with some weights since yoga didn't really give me the workout I needed.  Perhaps the weights will help me add a little bulk to my physique.  

After the YMCA the Hinely kids and I wanted a hamburger.  Mrs. Hinely wasn't on board for Mooyah after working out, but decided to let majority to rule.  Brooks and Mary Raines ordered cheeseburgers.  Mrs. Hinely and I decided to check our MyFitnessPal.com app for some good choices for a healthy lunch.  

MyFittnessPal is a very simple app that helps you keep track of the foods you eat and also the amount of calories you burn during exercise.  It is a free app that is very user friendly.  It was very simple for me to decide what to eat at Mooyah.  I simply clicked on lunch and add food.  I typed in the search box "Mooyah" and it listed all of the items Mooyah had to offer.  I carefully scrolled through the foods and found "turkey burger".  I knew that would be much healthier than a beef hamburger.  I chose that to log into my food diary.  I also logged in my yoga and weightlifting.  Because I ate a turkey burger and worked out this morning I am in good shape for the rest of the day.  I may even indulge in a dessert this evening!  

**My turkey burger was only 510 calories.  My yoga burned 164 calories**

It was a really fun day today.  I think I will sleep well tonight.

Today's blog post brought to you by:

Flat Zoey

Introducing Flat Zoey

This is Flat Zoey!  She was introduced to me and my family on August 30, 2014.  We are very excited to have a new addition to the Hinely family.  We will do our best to include her in as many outings as possible.  So far Zoey has fit in nicely with our family as we cheered on the Alabama Crimson Tide to their first win of the 2014-2015 Season.  Roll Tide!  (She also really enjoyed the Dunkin' Donuts we had for a snack :))