Cheap Entertainment

I came to the realization yesterday: it's been 2 years since I last bought the Madore-ables any play-doh since finding a great home made recipe on Pinterest.

It's also been 2 years since I made my last batch.  The girls used it so much that it dried itself out.

The recipe is very simple (not too mention very inexpensive):

1 cup flour             2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 cup salt           2 Tbsp baby oil
1 cup water         (optional) food coloring

(1) Mix the above ingredients (minus water) in a medium sauce pan.

(2) Add desired food coloring to the water in the saucepan.

(3) Stir ingredients over medium heat until dough forms into a thick ball and no longer sticks to the pan.

(4) Knead dough on a countertop...but be very careful!  The dough will be hot!!!

We store our cooled play-doh in Zip-loc bags.

You can substitute veg oil instead of baby oil, but I learned that veg oil turns rancid where baby oil does not.  (An added bonus: baby oil smells fantastic and softens your hands in the meantime).

A Lot Of Baking, and A Lot Of Pinterest

I haven't been doing a whole lot of blogging lately.  Life and the Madore-ables have been keeping me busy!  Things are going very well.  The girls LOVE school.  They're just little sponges soaking up a wealth of knowledge and information.

Speaking of soaking up.  As you may or may not know, I actually have 3 loves of my life:  (1)  Jeremy and the girls  (2)  Target,  and finally (3)  Pinterest.  I find so many great ideas on Pinterest.  Whenever it's a rainy day, or the girls are bored with playing in their playroom, I always have a Pinterest plan. 

So recently, we had a day of cooking and baking.  For Sarah's Halloween party at school, I decided to make Monster Pudding cups.  Best idea ever!  Sarah had a great time crushing the Oreo cookies for the Monster tops.

Then I thought I would make something for dessert with Samantha.  Thanks to Pinterest, I found a quick and easy Peach Cobbler type of recipe, and we had the ingredients in house.

Needless to say, our house smelled very yummy, and it was very cute to hear the girls giggling over my little monster faces that I drew on the cups.

My Name Is Mud

If you haven't figured out by now, there are 3 loves of my life:

1. Jeremy and the Madore-ables
2. Target
3. Pinterest

I recently found something on Pinterest that I just knew that the Madore-ables would absolutely love.

I call it

Magic Mud! 

2 cups of corn starch
1 cup of water
If you want to color it, add a few drops of food coloring!  (Add the food coloring to the water before you add the cornstarch).  Mix in a bowl for just a few minutes.  The consistency is not going to change.  I was told that when you're done with it, do not dump it down the drain otherwise, you'll clog it.  If you do decide to keep it, keep it in a covered container!

If you touch it with your hand it immediately turns into a solid, instead of splashing or moving. If you move it slowly, it reacts like a liquid....



Samantha loved it from the beginning.  You could just see the wheels turning.

"How is this happening?"

Sarah was very wierded out at first (lower left photograph) but after about 30 seconds, she realized that it was ok to get "dirty" and that it was easy to clean it off.

A Plethora Of Bubbles With One Simple Solution

Our Madore-ables LOVE bubbles.

I love the fact that they're always on sale at Market Basket for 2/$1.00.

Although, because they're usually spilled on the ground everytime the container is opened, I should just learn to pick up more than 2 at a time.

Then I found something absolutely amazing and BRILLIANT on Pinterest.

This...

Refill container $4.57 at Wal-Mart

2 1/2 cups water and

1/2 cup light corn syrup

Mix in a bowl together and microwave four minutes

Gently mix 1/2 cup dish liquid

(I used Dawn dish liquid)

4 batches later...

2 Chobani yogurt containers and

20 seconds later...

Home Made Play Doh!

Recently, I signed up for Pinterest. I can honestly see why most people are addicted to it. I've posted so many recipes and fun ideas to do with the Madore-ables. Well, we accomplished our first Pinterest project yesterday...home made play doh!

Here is the recipe that I used:

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
1 TBSP cream of tartar
1 TBSP oil1 cup of water (*I used baby oil. Smells yummy, keeps hands soft, and doesn't go rancid!*)
Food coloring (optional)

Place the first 4 ingredients in a pot. Add the water and stir well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 4 minutes, until the mixture clumps and becomes very difficult to stir. Remove from heat and knead warm dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. This is a good time to work in the food coloring, if you're using it.

I turned it into a science class at the same time. I had the girls gather the ingredients (I measured, they poured) and pay attention to what the wet goo looked like. Then every few minutes I had them come over to take a peek inside the pan. They were fascinated at how the substance changed from a liquid goo to a solid one.

I think the girls enjoyed it...what do you think?