Inspired by SouleMama

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!

Inspired by SouleMama

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:

Puppets are awesome, right? Yeah, they are. The Detroit Institute of Arts had a puppet performance by Preston Foerder (whose website I can't seem to find) and the girls and I headed over with some friends. The puppeteer came on stage dressed like a janitor with all the likely tools and then proceeded to tell stories from Grimm's Fairy Tales with his puppets, which he made on the spot from mops, dusters, bags, and socks. The kids learned that you can use everyday things to make something truly spectacular. After the show the museum had a puppet making workshop for the kids. They provided scraps of material, yarn, markers, glue sticks, googly eyes, and the cut off fingers from canvas gloves, which provided the base of the finger puppet. Great idea, right?! Go get some gloves at your local hardware store and let the kids go nuts!

The kids each made a few puppets and then found a way to put on a puppet show right then are there! We will definitely be doing this again soon.

Our visit to Santa was kind of anticlimactic. This was the first year that Erika agreed to talk to him, so I was kind of excited. She sat on his lap for the obligatory picture, told him what she wanted (a porcelain Cinderella) and was done with it. There was no magic in her eyes. Audrey didn't even really want to get near him, but agreed to go sit on his lap if Erika went with her. She asked for some bells and looked quite suspicious of the whole thing.



We cut out snowflakes from tissue paper on the 2nd of December. There are no pictures because I was too busy folding paper and assisting in cutting.

We were supposed to write letters to Santa the next day, but the girls didn't seem interested, so we didn't. This is supposed to be fun, right?

On Saturday we got our Christmas tree! That morning I started searching for places to cut down our own tree, but then I remembered that it was cold out, and that it was a 45 minute drive each way. The "lot" tree is perfect and we aren't all covered in sap. Now I just have to remember to water it.



On Sunday the girls and I went to see the Nutcracker with their Mimi. We magically ended up with front row seats and the girls loved it. Erika was enchanted and hardly blinked. Audrey asked a lot of questions very loudly. I know that we will do this every year and love the tradition of it.

And that brings us almost up to date. Yesterday we made ornaments for the tree. Erika and I made some salt dough and cut out holiday shapes while Audrey napped. In the afternoon the girls painted their ornaments.





If you want to try this yourself, here is a salt dough recipe. And here is The Artful Parent's glittery version of the ornaments.

And finally, today we are going to a local coffee shop to donate a few toys to local children whose parents are unemployed.

And how about you? Holiday shopping done? Tree trimmed? Lights up?

Let's just ignore the six month hiatus and move on, shall we?

I was up late last night finishing our advent calendar. Last year we made a paper chain advent calendar and there was an activity written inside each of the loops. I was going to do the same thing this year, but decided at the very last minute to do something different. I wanted little envelopes, but wasn't sure how to make them. Then, in a flash from the past, I remembered that the middle schooler in me still knew how to fold a piece of paper into a little envelope to be passed in class.

Take a square piece of paper and fold it into a triangle:



Fold in the sides of the triangle:



Fold up once:



Take one flap and tuck it into the note, I mean envelope:


Take the other flap and fold it over the other side so that it looks like a little envelope:



Tada! Cute, huh? I wrote one activity in each envelope and taped them to some raffia. As you can see, today's activity is going to visit Santa. Come back and see what we have planned for the rest of the month! I will post our activities daily.

Let's just ignore the six month hiatus and move on, shall we?

I was up late last night finishing our advent calendar. Last year we made a paper chain advent calendar and there was an activity written inside each of the loops. I was going to do the same thing this year, but decided at the very last minute to do something different. I wanted little envelopes, but wasn't sure how to make them. Then, in a flash from the past, I remembered that the middle schooler in me still knew how to fold a piece of paper into a little envelope to be passed in class.

Take a square piece of paper and fold it into a triangle:



Fold in the sides of the triangle:



Fold up once:



Take one flap and tuck it into the note, I mean envelope:


Take the other flap and fold it over the other side so that it looks like a little envelope:



Tada! Cute, huh? I wrote one activity in each envelope and taped them to some raffia. As you can see, today's activity is going to visit Santa. Come back and see what we have planned for the rest of the month! I will post our activities daily.

Let's just ignore the six month hiatus and move on, shall we?

I was up late last night finishing our advent calendar. Last year we made a paper chain advent calendar and there was an activity written inside each of the loops. I was going to do the same thing this year, but decided at the very last minute to do something different. I wanted little envelopes, but wasn't sure how to make them. Then, in a flash from the past, I remembered that the middle schooler in me still knew how to fold a piece of paper into a little envelope to be passed in class.

Take a square piece of paper and fold it into a triangle:



Fold in the sides of the triangle:



Fold up once:



Take one flap and tuck it into the note, I mean envelope:



Fold the other flap the other way to make it look like an envelope:





Tada! Cute, huh? I wrote one activity in each envelope and taped them to some raffia. Come back and see what we have planned for the month! I will post our activities daily.

I know. I've been missing in action for a bit too long, but I can explain. First, there was our little bean's second birthday to plan and stay up late preparing for.

It was an ice cream party, but I just had to make some mini cupcakes, too.



And, of course, there was ice cream. We had tons of toppings and let the kids make their own sundaes.

Audrey had a great time and loved all the attention.



There was a pie eating contest. Audrey didn't win, but she was happy to sit and eat that whipped cream one little fingertip full at a time.



And there was a relay race with water balloons in ice cream cones. It was about a zillion degrees that day, so water balloons were a big hit.



After the birthday festivities I had to get ready for a solo trip out to California for a dear friend's wedding. This is all you need when you travel alone. Amazing, isn't it?



Visiting with wonderful friends that I don't see nearly often enough, witnessing the union of such a special couple, and spending the weekend driving through the bay area with my Dad, talking each other's ears off, was so spectacular.

This is just a slice of what I've missed writing about, which brings me to my final reason for slacking. I have somehow managed to pull a tendon in my hand. It hurts. It hurts more when I use my left hand like I'm doing right now. So, forgive me if my posts are short for a while- I have to give this thing a chance to heal.

I hope the last few weeks have been as good to you as they have been to me!

Inspired by SouleMama

Corey and I both love sweets, so our kids didn't really stand a chance. It's hard trying to teach a kid about self control though, when it comes to chocolate and candy. "Why can't I have more marshmallows?" Erika kept asking me over and over again one day. So, I took her to the computer and showed her a food pyramid. And we talked about the things she can eat lots and lots of, and the things that need a little moderation. To really drive the point home, we made our own food pyramid chart to hang in our dining room.

First we went through some old Real Simple magazines and cut out pictures of food (grocery store circulars would be great for this, too). Then we talked about where they went on the chart, and glued them into place.







And then we made these.



I know. I'm evil, right? But you know what? Erika ate her dinner with enthusiasm that night, telling us where each food fell on the food pyramid. She ate her brownie and totally understood why she could not have a second piece.