Homemade Playdoh

Normally, something like playdoh is reserved for rainy days in our house. It generates an imagination in the kiddos like no other. They build things from Pokemon to Giraffes to Cars. They have endless amounts of fun with the squishy goodness.

Today is not rainy. Today is a beautiful sunny, summer, day. However the kids were needing new stimulation. They've been to the pool, they played in the sun. Each has played enough video games to last them the rest of the year (or more). So, they both asked if they could break out the playdoh. Sure thing!

Uh oh! 75% of the playdoh we had in our containers was dried out. No good.

I could have easily assisted them in finding something else to do, but instead broke out a recipe my mother-in-love handed down to me a couple of years ago. My hands are various shades of pink and purple now from food coloring, but the kiddos are happily playing at the kitchen table AND think their mommy is one cool chick! Bonus!

Want to make your own?

Homemade Playdough From Our Kitchen to Yours

Ingredients:

* 1/2C Salt

* 1C Flour

* 2t Cream of Tartar

* 1C Water

* 1T Oil

* Food Coloring

In saucepan, mix dry ingredients. Add water, oil, and color. Cook over medium heat until mixture pulls away from sides of pan (about 5 minutes). Stir Constantly. Remove from heat, cool, and knead. Store in air tight container up to 1 year.

Cheers,

Andrea

Summer Lovin', Havin' Some Fun!

Summer, sweet, summer.

The kids have been busy taking swimming lesson. I've been busy taking them to and from swimming lessons.

They've done fantastically well. They just started their 3rd session of the summer. While all three sessions have been level 2, they've progressed each and every session. Both kids can now float on their fronts and backs. Amazingly, they will both submerge themselves underwater, too. This is amazing because Kailey has been so reluctant for so long to put her face under water. Now they are both little fish!

Not only has summer been consumed by swimming, but volleyball, too. We've had a blast! The group that we play with is such a blessing to us. Without sounding too "five-year-oldish", everyone plays so well together. We play, we eat, we have fun. It's really helped me have a happier heart when it comes to volleyball. My few friends that read this blog will tell you that I've needed an attitude adjustment. I hope they know that I've been working on my 'tude.

We'll be wrapping up summer activities over the course of the next two weeks. This coming weekend we'll be heading to Boise for a family reunion. Swimming lessons will come to a close the following Thursday. Then....

School starts September 1st! Woot woot! My baby boy starts kindergarten... **sniff**sniff**

How many of you are headed back to school or have you started school already?

Cheers,

Andrea

Oh the place I will go...

There are so many bloggers out in the blog-0-sphere that inspire me each day that I thought I'd take a minute to feature them here and hopefully you'll be inspired too!

• A Soft Place to Land: Kimba shares her thoughts, creativity and inspirations of her own.
• Chasing Cheerios: Melissa shares her homeschool/montessori activities she does with her lovely daughter, O.
• Frugal Chic Living: Crystal is a coupon GODESS!
• Infarrantly Creative: Becky shares tales of mommyhood and crafy goodness.
• Seven Matters: Melissa, one of my very best friends, offers her wisdom and insight on keeping up with a family of seven while while making Jesus the center of her life.

My list could go on and on, but I'm going to save more for another post. For now, go check out these lovely ladies and show them some love! They are all uniquely beautiful on the inside and out.

Cheers!

Andrea

Mid-Week Fun

I've been eyeballing the tye dye kits at Michael's and JoAnn's. However, the cost has been a bit out of reach. While wandering through the dreaded Walmart the other day I found a kit - ON CLEARANCE! Woo hoo! The final cost: $7 for the kit + $4 for the t-shirts = priceless fun with the kiddos!

We decided to make our shirts last night. It was a lot of fun. The kids and I all decided to make a swirl pattern on our shirts. This morning we were able to unveil our master peices.

Here they are in all their glory!

Make It Monday

Last week I missed posting our "Make It Monday" project. Last week is a blur, really. Hubby started school last week. He's working full time and going to school full time. Last week was the first taste of what our new routine will look like. Despite the chaos of it all we got our project done, I just never got to my blog to post about it.

"Make It Monday" Project #2: Decorated Crosses

Material:

* Wooden crosses from Dollar Tree

* Mod Podge

* Glitter

* Puff Paint

Result:

The kids had a great time making a mess with glue and glitter. The glitter ended up EVERYWHERE! On the project, the kids, the floor, and leaving a trail from the project location to the bathroom. The end peices turned out nice and the kids have requested to hang them in their respective rooms.

This week, I'm on it! We've done our project and here I am reporting to you. Way to go, huh? Not only that, but we did TWO projects.

"Make It Monday" Project #3: Stress Reliever Balls

Materials:

* Balloons

*

Scissors

* Rice or Beans

Result:

This project didn't go exactly as I envisioned it. I got this project idea from Chrissie at Flip Flops and Applesauce. In her directions she suggested a funnel. The kids and I made a funnel out of paper, but just couldn't get it to work. So, while I held the ballon open the kids took turns filling the balloons with hands full of rice. We followed the rest of the directions the same. They enjoyed this project, mostly because they got to make a mess with rice.

"Make It Monday" Project #4: Rice/Bean Bags

Materials:

* 4" Squares of Fabric

* Rice

* Sewing Machine

Result:

The kids didn't help make these at all. They were still too busy playing with the balls they had just made. They were easy peasey. Sew wrong sides together around three and a half sides. Fill with rice (or beans, whichever you have on hand). Sew remaining portion closed.

Now, while the kids didn't help MAKE them, they sure enjoyed playing with them. They brought out their big blocks, made imaginative towers, and used them for target practice with the bean bags. So much fun! These will be great indoors and out since we'll be able to use them for catch, hopscotch, and of course knocking down towers.

Cheers!

Andrea

Tyler Through The Years

Our little man is so excited to be six, even though six is still four months away. Each time he mentions being six I can't help but wonder where the time has gone. In a blink of an eye he's gone from a baby to a school-aged boy! 

Each year I try to take a picture of the kids in front of our beautiful blossoming bush in our front yard. It's beautiful! There is only a small window that it's so beautiful, though. So, last year I only got Tyler and not Kailey. The first year we were here there are no pictures at all. Regardless, it's neat to go back and see the changes of the kids from year to year! 

Our little man, Tyler: 

 

  

Cheers, 

Andrea

Make It Monday!

It's summer here. Well, not offically, according to the calendar. However, Tyler is out of school & I'm no longer working, so summer break is upon us!

Last summer seemed to pass without much to show for it. It seemed to come and go so quickly that I don't recall any major events other than our trip to Boise. Who can't remember a 7 hour drive in the car with two kids, though?!?

Since the kids have been involved with school this year they are use to having things TO DO. With that said, I decided it would be a good idea for us to have planned activities throughout the summer. So, I came up with the idea to have Make It Mondays! The goal here is to have the kids make some sort of project each Monday. 

Today we tackled a small project. I bought small canvases that were on clearance at JoAnn's for us to paint. They each had our initials on them. You'll see in the following pictures that some of the letters survived and others, well, didn't. 

 

Paints + Kids = Fun Mess! 

It was fun getting our creative juices flowing! If you were to "Make It Monday" what kind of kid friendly crafts would you do? If you do this, I'd love to hear about it. Link back here! 

Cheers, 

Andrea