Home made playdough



Once again inspired by The Artful Parent, Audrey and I made some playdough today. Here is the recipe from her site. We made only half the recipe because we were low on salt and cream of tartar, which, frankly, I'm amazed we had at all since I don't have any idea what the heck it's for.

So we halved everything, and then halved it again so we could make two different colors at once. I've also see this done with the food coloring added once the dough is taken out of the pan and this might be a good idea if you want to make a lot of colors at once. I would have just made one color if Audrey hadn't insisted on making her sister's favorite color (blue) in addition to her own (pink). They are always watching out for each other.

Here is the original recipe:

5 cups water
5 cups flour
2 1/2 cups salt
3 Tablespoons cream of tartar
10 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Food coloring

Mix water, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring.



Cook on low heat, stirring regularly.



Add oil, then flour. Stir until playdough pulls away from pan and is no longer sticky.



Dump dough on counter, let cool a bit, then knead.



Instead of their playdough tools, I gave them some random kitchen tools. The ice cream scooper was the biggest hit.





Audrey pretended to lick that ice cream for quite some time and even if she managed to eat some, at least I know it isn't toxic!

Put on a Musical



Inspired by The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, Erika decided we should put on a musical. We recruited Audrey and practiced while Corey was away on a business trip so we could surprise him when he got back. The musical was "Fairy Friends" and was about two fairies who secretly help people by finding things that they have lost. The plot is all Erika, I would have gone with something more along the lines of Godot.

First, we made a backdrop:



Then we rehearsed:



And made handbills:





Then we set the stage and made room for the audience (of one):



There are no pictures of the actual musical because, of course, there is no photography allowed during a show. We decided on three very short scenes and the girls remembered their parts better than I expected. Of course, the dancing went on a little longer than in rehearsal, but it was fun to see them so caught up in the moment.

After the show the proud actresses took their bows: