fireworks in a jar

We are about a week and a half into this ridiculous sleep regression, growth spurt thing and I've been wondering if Ethan will be able to stay awake long enough to catch a glimpse of some fireworks this year. He was only a couple of weeks old on his first 4th of July and, despite my neurosis, slept beautifully through the illegal fireworks everyone in our neighborhood insisted on noisily setting off. The same went for last year. This year, I'm unsure if he'd enjoy the lights up in the sky or if they'll terrify him, based on the fact he hates loud noises and darkness on their own, let alone when tagteaming against him. Because our fireworks plans are up in the air (no pun intended), we decided to make some fireworks in a jar this morning.

First thing you need is a cup with some oil. "Some" is the kind of measurement that makes me cringe, but I promise it's not crucial to the activity. A little bit. I filled the glass a little less than halfway. You then drop in a few drops of food coloring -- maybe four or so drops of each color -- and watch as they form little balls on the bottom of the glass.

Next up is the stirring. You have to stir, stir, stir until the little balls of color break apart and become tiny. Ethan loved this part.

Once stirred, you dump the glass of oil into a large glass or vase -- I used an apothecary jar that I use to store bath bombs -- that is filled almost to the top with warm water. Not hot, but warm. A little warmer than room temperature.

And then after a couple second delay, the firework show begins.

If you use less colors (and less drops of said colors), it takes longer for the fireworks to eventually turn the entire jar a dark, solid color. Ours was the perfect amount of time before Ethan lost interest anyway. Toddlers are funny like that.

Happy 4th!