Nicely Put

I love it when I get slapped with some perspective when I'm in the midst of a bout of irritability. Thanks Audrey.

Homemade Playdough

Okay, so I'm no expert on this, as I tend to buy the standard tubs from the store, but while being snowed in for 4(!) days, I got a little desperate for things to do. I googled recipes for this, after having made a flop version 4 years prior.

(Side story there: My sweet daughter was starting her first year of preschool and I signed up to be the first week's playdough mom. This person was supposed to make the playdough with your child to have on hand in class during center time. Well, after forgetting until the last minute, I made the playdough on my own late the night before. It didn't work, so we "forgot" to do it. I haven't attempted since.)

The recipe this go 'round worked perfectly! The kids loved making it (aside from having to go to their rooms mid-kneading for fighting over the blue food coloring and squirting it all over the place), and it's stayed fresh and soft for almost a week now. Here's the one I went with:

Basic Playdough (Nonedible)

• 1 cup flour

• 2 Tbsp cream of tartar

• ½ cup salt

• 1 Tbsp cooking oil

• 1 cup water

• food coloring

Mix flour, cream of tartar, and salt in a pan.

Add with oil to dry mixture and then the water.

Cook over medium heat until thick.

Knead in color.

Not sure why I had Cream of Tarter on hand as I have no idea what it's used for. You? I think next time I might try to add the food coloring to the water before mixing. It would probably make it a bit less messy (and possibly avoid fights).

Now, here's a little inside information: I tend to be a bit OCD when it comes to playdough. Seriously, there's no mixing colors in this household. You make a multicolored sculputre, you carefully take that guy apart and put the proper colors back into their proper tubs. No grayish-brownish colored playdough to be had here! But, I think I might could loosen up a bit, if we start making our own. Maybe...

(So sorry for all the side stories and parentheses talking today. I didn't realize I had so much to say and so many stories about playdough. Sheesh. I'm gonna have to start living a little more outside this house... Thank goodness for the warmer weather as of late!)

Silly Band Valentines

Silly Bands:

They're all the rage! Well, at least they are for my 8 year old daughter. When we found some valentines themed ones at Target, I grabbed them and she decided to make homemade Valentines with them. It was one of our snowy day activities.

If you're about make a last minute trip to the store for your kiddo's class party tomorrow, this might be an option for you. Here's how we did it:

1~ Cut strips of paper. We used scrapbook paper and cut them 1.25" wide and the length of the paper, but you could use pretty much any kind you have on hand.

2~ Write a sweet note on one side. My daughter made up fun little sayings to go along with the silly bands which I thought was pretty darn cute. (Doggone it, You're a good friend! Have a HOPPY valentine's day! etc.)

3~ Fold the strip in half, and slip the silly band on.

4~ Pinch the ends together to form a heart. Secure with a staple.

So simple and fun!

I'm about to make some whoopie pies for my little Valentines. I tore out this recipe from a magazine and was going to attempt the real deal, but I decided to go for this easy version. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Our Kitchen: The AFTER!

I'm so excited to share our new space with you! I've got most things organized, but I've yet to hang anything on the walls. (They are just so fresh and hole-free.) I couldn't wait any longer though, so here you go:

The AFTER kitchen:

Our new breakfast nook:

The footprint is exactly the same, but with a few walls missing. Here are some before and after photos from various angles:

Standing in the family room, looking into the kitchen:

Standing in the kitchen, looking out to the family room:

Our original built ins got a little facelift. The doorway to the left was the entrance to the garage, but it's now a little back entry way (aka: our mini-mudroom :-). I'll take some photos of it to show you that area soon:

We love, love, love it! My kids sitting at the new island was one of my shiniest dreams for our new space, and it's definitely lived up to my expectations!

Before:

During:

After:

It was so worth the 11 years of planning, saving, and dreaming. Thanks for hanging out with me along the way!

Snow Day(s)!

What do you do when you are iced/snowed in for 4 days straight while your husband is away on a week long business trip?

Do you make the most of it? Do you snuggle up in front of the fire and watch movies? Do you slowly go insane? Do you step into creative-crafting-mommy mode? Do you plot to put the kids in bed as early as possible? Do you pop popcorn and drink hot cocoa? Do you have daydreams of drinking wine and wonder what is the earliest appropriate time would be to pour a glass? Do you play board games and card games and have obstacle courses and do puzzles? Do you kindasortamaybe resent your awesome husband because he's sleeping in a king-sized bed in a hotel room all to himself, even if it is at LaQuinta? Do you bake and eat a lot? Do you remind yourself that these moments are precious and put that mantra on repeat inside your head? I am proud and embarrassed to say that my answer to all of these questions is... YES!

While we made the most of our rare wintery weather and really did have some great times, I'd be lying if I told you it was complete and utter bliss. Here are some of the highlights:

This yummy Banana Banana Bread recipe is good enough to share. So simple and delicious. I only modified this recipe by brushing a thin brown sugar/water mixture to the top before baking to make a sweet, crispy layer: my fave part!

I might have taken these photos to prove to my husband that while I possibly sounded a bit crazed on the phone each night, I was actually doing a bang-up job at this solo-parenting-on-ice gig, if I do say so myself.

We're still snowed in at the moment, but the hubby is home safe and sound, and we're all thrilled! Happy Weekend to you!