Homemade playdough

R and I had a fun time making playdough this past week. We used a recipe from a craft book we have but there are TONS of recipes out there.

We used:

2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

The recipe recommends slowly adding the water to just the flour and salt mixture-I just dumped everything in and stirred alot over medium low heat. I stopped cooking when the mixture was hard to stir, then let it cool for awhile in the pot. I then scooped the dough out and put it on waxed paper to finish cooling. The dough still felt sticky to me so I sprinkled some corn starch on it and kneaded it in.
From there I added a little orange essential oil for fragrance and hopefully preserving. I separated the dough into 4 parts and added food coloring. R chose which colors except for orange-that was my idea.
The results were great!! Well, except for the orange which looks kinda like pureed pumpkin- not what I was shooting for.
This could be a great lesson for ratios, measuring, color blending, and the science behind how heating a mixture of liquid and powder makes a solid mass.
Playing with our creation was even more FUN.

2, two. dos, twee, deux, do'

I am now officially the mother of a 2 year old. I think she has been in the "trying 2's" for at least a couple of months already. Almost anything is worthy of a meltdown depending on her mood, lack of sleep, etc. However, she makes up for it in kisses, hugs, "love me's" and general cuteness.
I took off from work on her birthday so we could spend it together. We went shopping for books and practical life supplies, ate lunch, played on an inside playground, cooked dinner together and went to Krispy Kreme. The hubby and I had doughnuts, R decided she didn't want hers or ours and of course thought the floor was a better place than her napkin for the food to reside.
It is so true that the years fly by and you should enjoy them. It is hard to believe I first held her in my arms over 2 years ago..it seems like only a few days ago and at other times-a lifetime ago. I have learned so much in these 2 years. I now understand why you should nap when baby naps; I no longer pick up toys constantly-as long as there is a path, it's okay; sometimes, it's okay to let her watch cartoons for an hour-I need the break; kids really do repeat what they hear; some days are exasperating but the other days far outweigh those kind; parenting is not easy but it is rewarding; and so much more!!

I prefer uneventful

This past week has been a rollercoaster in my world.
My Mom went back in the hospital due to mutiple problems centering around her cancer and chemotherapy-worry, scared, sad, fear
She is out now and home health is in place to come out at least once a week-relief
Hubby's new career is starting-excited
-it is commision only-scared, terrified, anxious
Babysitter's daughter fell and hit her head and was unconscious for a few seconds-empathy
-she is okay though-happy, glad
Neighbor's little boy has a high fever and had a febrile (hopefully) seizure-empathy, fright
Hubby and I picked up the twin brother from the ER and kept him for a night-not sure how to describe this feeling- I just know I was glad to be able to help out
Tragic but not fatal incident I can't discuss because of HIPAA laws-panic, fright, sad, questioning, scared

I'm ready for a nice, quiet, uneventful weekend!!