Blowing up balloons with baking soda and vinegar

Did you ever make homemade volcanoes as a kid?  I made one in elementary school and remember being amazed by the chemical reaction.

A week ago Chuck and I played around with that classic baking soda and vinegar combination.  But this time, instead of making a volcano, we blew up some balloons.

(Note:  I can't take credit for this idea at all!  I saw in on Pinterest and then found some really clear directions on Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.)

Materials:

• Balloon
• Plastic bottle
• Funnel
• Vinegar
• Baking soda
• Food coloring (optional)
• Chopstick (optional)

Directions:
1.  Fill your plastic bottle a little less than half way with vinegar.  (I added some blue food coloring so we could see the reaction better.)

2.  Using the funnel, fill your balloon half way full with baking soda.  (If your baking soda is full of clumps, like mine, a chopstick will help to break those up so the baking soda falls into the funnel.)


3.  Attach the balloon's mouth to the bottle, but don't let the baking soda pour out just yet.

4.  When the balloon is attached the bottle, empty out the baking soda and watch the reaction unfold. The combination of vinegar and baking soda will bubble up, and the gas released from the reaction will blow up your balloon!

Balloon magic!

DIY Animal Nose Paper Cups

While looking around for animal themed party accessories for Chuck's birthday, I spotted these Pick Your Nose Paper Cups, Pick Your Nose Animal Cups, and Pig Nose Cup. 

Super cute, right? 

But being an uber cheapie, I figured I could just make similar looking cups for much less free.  All I used were a couple of paper cups (taken from Whole Foods- Thanks!), Sharpie markers, and crayons.

With only a couple minutes of doodling and coloring, I came up with these lovelies:

They're not as nice as the originals, but they were free and cute... so I didn't mind one bit!

Ultimately we ended up just using boxed juices and bottled water for the party.   So Chuck is currently getting a kick out of using the cups at home.  (His favorite one is the bird beak.)

Happy Wednesday!

What's up Chuck?

Hi everyone! How was your week?  Did you have a good Labor Day?

Before you read on, I gotta warn you. This post is FULL of photos because last week was chock full of activities. 

Early in the week, Hubby had to go out of town for a couple of days.  We missed him a lot.  It was tough holding down the fort without him around.  Fortunately, my sister came to visit one day.  Having her around sure helped me out. 

Then hubby came back and we visited a bike show in Brooklyn.  (It was a pretty easy going night, so I took a lot of photos.)

Beautiful custom bikes at the show

I've never seen such a tall bike before!

Delicious Mexican food

Whoever lives in this apartment has such a quirky sense of style.  Love the birds!

I can't take credit for this outfit.  Chuck is now picking out his own clothes.

Then, hubby and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip into Manhattan to see Pippin and eat Korean food.  Yurmmy.  (Thanks Tita Tina and Tito Ric for babysitting!)

And then we celebrated Chuck's 2nd birthday with a trip to the zoo.  (Wow.  I can't believe that two years passed by so quickly.  He's no longer a baby anymore!)

Chuck really enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the sea lion.  He and his cousins had fun trying to talk to them through the glass wall.

Phew.   And that's what happened last week.  Time to take a nap.