Noodles of Fun

We knew we were in for a rainy weekend.  What better way to pass the time than with arts and crafts.  I wanted to try something new with the kids and so I decided to color the noodles for our artwork.  I wanted them to dry fairly quick so the kids and I would not have to wait too long, so I used an alcohol based hand sanitizer.  They were ready in no time and the colors turned out great!

 

 

 

 

Here's what you'll need:

Noodles of your choice - I went with elbow macaroni

Hand Sanitizer - Alcohol based

Food coloring

Ziplock bags

Baking pan lined with plastic wrap, wax paper or foil

 

 

First you will need to put 2 squirts of hand sanitizer in a ziplock bag, add in one of the colors you have chosen and a couple of handfuls of noodles.  Press air out of bag and seal.  Roll the noodles around in the bag until they are completely coated with the color mix.  Poor onto lined baking pan, spread out and let dry.  As long as your noodles are spread out, it should take no longer than about 20-25 minutes for them to dry and be ready to use.

Repeat process for each color that you want.  I used 2-3 drops of coloring in each bag.

 

 

 

Store in ziplock bag or container of your choice.

 

NOW, GO HAVE FUN MAKING ART WITH YOUR LITTLE ONES

 

Scarlett's Noodle Girl

 

Happy Painting!

This weekend I decided that I would try my hand at making watercolor paints, courtesy of pinterest.   Tonight, they were finally set enough to use so the kid gave them a try. 

 

I started Friday night by putting the mixture together. It was simple enough.  Here's what I used.... 



 

4 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp white corn syrup
2 tbsp corn starch
food color
container to keep paints in



Mix together the baking soda and white vinegar.  You can use a small bowl, but make sure its big enough for the fizz!  Once it's all mixed together and the fizzing has stopped, add in the corn syrup and corn starch.  Stir until the corn starch dissolves ( I think I should have stirred mine longer!) Pour into the container of your choice.

I found these nifty little containers at the local dollar store. They worked perfectly.  You can also use a mini muffin tin, egg carton, etc.

 

Now it's time to add in the coloring.  I used regular liquid food coloring. The colors came out gorgeous while mixing but lightened up after drying.  You can also use the little gel food colors. Whatever you have on hand should work.

 

Now, you need to let your paints set.  This can take up to 3 days.  Mine looked pretty much set around day 2 but I went ahead and waited it out for day 3.

 

My Sweet Boy was ready to paint!

If your paint sets up like mine, you will need to be sure to use plenty of water.  If not,  the paint dries quickly and becomes waxy.

 

Overall, the paints turned out well for us.  There was a slight texture to the paint when dry but I think that is because I failed to stir long enough.  I have a feeling my corn starch was not as dissolved as it should have been.  The kids really enjoyed the paints and they were less mess than any of the wet paints we have used, which is a BIG PLUS in my book.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Potato Soup - Don't mind if I do!

What's on the menu for supper tonight? Here at our house, we're having potato soup.  Fits in nicely with the Fall Season and Scarlett's tonsils recently out.  Soft, cheesy and ultimately yummy!

I found this recipe at Mama Loves Food's Blog.  I tweeked a few things to fit my family/the kids and mmmm mmm delish!

Here's what you'll need - Feel free to half the recipe because it makes a TON and tastes just as good!
5 lbs of potatos - diced into half inch cubes - Peel optional
1 White oninon - diced up - We used onion powder this go round and it worked fine
10 tsp of minced garlic
1 tbsp season salt - i prefer saltless season, so you can use something like Mrs. Dash if  you want.
64 oz (8cups) chicken broth / stock
16 oz cream cheese - softened
Bacon / Shredded Cheese / Green Onions for Garnish.

1) Place potatos, onion, garlic, season and broth into crockpot
2) 6 hrs on high - 10 hrs on low  -- Mine was ready at 5 hrs on high
3) I then removed half of the soup and put in the blender, add in the softened cream cheese and puree!
4) Mix puree back into crockpot and stir well.
5) Garnish and Serve

 

ENJOY!

Fall Hand Print Tree

Time for some Mommy and Lane time while Scar baby sleeps off her surgery.  She has been such a trooper.  Today was the hardest for her.  She just finished up some noodles and gatorade and is sleeping.  As a matter of fact, she slept most of the day.  So, Lane and I had a little fun of our own. 

I decided to do finger painting with him.

 

I like to use acrylic paints.  They wash off hands and hard surfaces well.  Makes for an easy clean-up!

First you want to gather up all the fall colors you have:  Brown, orange, red, yellow, and a little bit of green.  Then, prepare to get a little messy.  Choose a hand(and wrist) and slop on the brown paint (we used more of a tan/skin tone, I could not find my brown for the life of me). Press firmly onto the paper of your choice and VIOLA! you have a tree trunk and branches. Then, quickly wash away the paint from the hand.  I say quickly because my sweet Lane hates to have his hands dirty with anything other than mud.  With the tip of your little ones fingers, let them polka dot the paper to make colorful fall leaves.  I usually leave an old, wet rag nearby for the kids to wipe their fingers on.  And finally, add in the grass.  By this point, Lane was finished with finger painting and insisted on using a brush so I let him.  And now, I present to you.... The Beautiful Artwork of my Wonderful 3 Year Old!

 

 

The Naked Egg

So, the kids and I did a little science experiment a few weeks ago.  It's called The Naked Egg.

What you need:

1 Egg - uncooked, still in the shell

1 Cup - Preferable Clear

White Vinegar - enough to cover the egg completely

Corn (Karo) Syrup - enough to cover the egg completely

Water - enough to cover the egg completely

And your favorite coloring of food coloring

 

First, you place your egg in the bottom of a glass.

You cover with vinegar and let sit for 1-2 days.

What we're doing is dissolving the outer shell and hardening up the membrane layer of the egg.

Initially putting egg into vinegar (pictured above)

 

This is the egg after soaking in vinegar for 24hrs

This is the egg after soaking for 48s hours in vinegar.

At this point, I took the egg out of the vinegar and ran it under the faucet, gently rubbing away any shell that was left.

 

 

This is our naked egg.  The kids named it Shiela.  At this point, the egg feels a little bit rubbery.  You can bounce it on the table.  Be careful not to bounce to high or too hard.  You will not like the results!

 

Once you're finished playing with the egg, empty the vinegar out of your glass. Place egg back in the bottom and cover with corn (karo) syrup).  We are now going to shrivel our naked egg.

 

This is what your egg will look like after soaking 24 hours in the corn syrup.

 

These 2 photos are what your egg will look like after soaking about 48 hrs in corn syrup.  You will be able to roll your egg in the your fingers and feel the yolk.  It feels like a hardened ball on the inside.

 

Once you are finished with the corn syrup phase, you can reinflate your naked egg.  You do this by placing the egg back into an empty glass.  Fill with enough water to cover your egg.  You can also add in your favorite food coloring!

We now have a purple egg.  Your egg will once again feel rubbery and will bounce.  But remember, do not bounce too hard or.....

 

SPLAT!

 

Have Fun experimenting with YOUR naked egg!



It's been....Forever

It's been...well...forever since I blogged on here.  I guess it's time to update.  Maybe this go round I can keep things a little more active.   The kids have definitely grown since the last blog. 

 Scarlett is 4 and started Pre-K.  She absolutely loves it, even if it is only half days.  She has made several friends and actually calls them by name now vs. everyone is named 'friend'.  She is 3'9 and 42 lbs.  Growing like a little weed if you ask me.  She has THE biggest personality (and attitude) and can be the sweetest little girl on earith.  She begs, almost on a daily basis,  for a baby sister.  For a while, she thought the delivery truck would bring her one. We told her babies come from the mommy's tummy and as of right now there's no bun in the oven.  This past Thursday, Scarlett had her tonsils and adnoids out.  They were causing problems with her breathing during the night.  The ENT said it was a form of sleep apnea in kids and a very serious thing.  I was on board with that diagnosis.  The surgery went well.  They said her adnoids were extremely large and her tonsils were pretty big as well.  The worst part of surgery day was before they took her back.  They gave her some 'silly meds' to kind of mellow her out and make the seperation easier.  They had an adverse effect on her.  Scarlett ended up being very angry, and unconsolable.  She started hallucinated and it just broke my heart.  It must have got to the staff as well, they ended up pumping what was left of the 'silly meds' out of her tummy while they had her under. She's doing really well now.  Her get-up-and-go hits her in the evening.  She sleeps most of the morning/afternoon.  And she's enjoying her cartoon time.

 

 

Lane is 3.  He wanted so badly to start school with his Sissy this year.   He is really starting to come out of his shell during their apart time though.  He is becoming more vocal and really getting brave at the playground.  We've had a break through at the Chick-fil-A.  He actually went all the way to the top and slid down the tunnel all by himself! Lane is THE sweetest boy ever.  I get momma hugs, kisses and snuggles everyday.  I love when he comes and cuddles up next to me and says "momma, I need snuggles".   He is about 6 inches shorter than Scarlett but they pretty much weigh the same.  He is very smart, speaks in sentences, uses big words, has a vivid imagination and a heart of gold.  He's my happy, healthy little boy.

 

 

 



The family is doing good.  Rassie is still in remission from his CML.  He's up and walking after his accident.  There is still loss of feeling from his right knee down.  But we continue to hold out hope that he will fully recover.  He stays home with the kids while I work at the local hospital.  We've got a pretty good support system and we're just pushing through whatever is put before us.  It's been a long ride and we've still got a ways to go, but with God by our side we will make it just fine.