Cloud Dough

  Two posts in one day! I just had to share this. It's so much fun.

Cloud Dough! I got the idea from Pinterest. Or maybe it was StumbleUpon. I don't know.  Anyhoo.

  The recipe I found was probably posted by a preschool teacher because her portions were huge. I scaled my down a bit.

Original Recipe

8 cups flour

2 cups baby oil

This amount would be great for a sensory table/center. 

My Scaled Down Recipe

2 cups flour
8ish tablespoons baby oil

Just mix in enough baby oil so the flour sticks together when you form a ball.

See, the dough is still crumbly but holds its shape when molded.

Not only does it smell good, it feels silky. 

An egg! 

A note: I would not recommend this to kids under the age of three. Unless they are good about not putting things in their mouth. Baby oil isn't exactly non-toxic. Teachers, this really is a great sensory experience. I would put out things you can use to make molds. Cookie cutters, plastic Easter eggs, cups, whatever. 

Hey, Y'all, Watch This!

 Next time you're sitting around, browsing through Netflix streaming selection, I have just the movie for you! You need to watch The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu.


At this time I want to share how happy I am that my computer knows how to spell Cthulhu 


Longish post:

Faux Painted Portraits

  A couple posts back I blogged about a cute idea I saw to print a photo onto tissue paper, then Modge Podge that onto a canvas.  To make sure I give credit where it is due, here is the link to the blog
Sarah's Never_Ending Projects

  So, I decided to try it. First there was the paper jam, then the ripping, then smudging. For the safety of our printer, I decided to regroup and try something new. My genius idea was tracing paper. It worked! The only "issue" was the tracing paper was too wide to fit through the printer, so I trimmed it down.

 

The supplies. I didn't realize our printer was running out of colored ink, so it printed the photo with a green tint. I decided to go with it. 

The Peanut helped me spread a nice, even layer of Modge Podge. 

Not going to lie, getting the paper to lay smooth is not easy. 

Then I added a very thin layer of the Podge over the photo.  I decide the wrinkles in the photo make it look more like a real painting. 

And on the wall. The canvas is 5x5. I decide I'm going to make up a couple more and create a little wall mural thingie. 

Dangerously Close

So, I treated myself the other night. I did something that has only happened twice since having the Trex but I used to do all the time pre-pregnancy. It is slow and hot and just envelopes you in delicious sensations.

I took a bath.

Now, the house we bought has a death trap of a bath tub. Ignore the clutter and cleaning supplies but take a look:



See that step? The handicap pull bar for safety? The fact that you have to step up three feet then back down to get in? Yeah. Bleeding deathtrap.

But also notice: It's a jacuzzi tub. Yeah, I get excited just saying it. With the baby, house and move though, this was only the second time I've been able to use the jets. We plan on ripping all of that out, so I'm going to do my best to enjoy it while I can.

The main point of me taking a bath however is hair management. Shaving is something that's happened more often than bathing, but still less often than I'd like. Plus, I'm loathe to spend the money on razor heads, but if I cheap out, my legs pay the price. So expensive little Venus razor heads it is. The problem is that they remain sharp the first couple of trips, and then they tug, tear and burn their way through my leg hair like they're conquering a forest people. My skin is crazy sensitive, so I either have to hate how much I spend on razors or suffer perpetual razor burn and ingrown hairs.

Like all my awesomely bad ideas, this one started with a thought-"I wonder if Shaun's safety razor would work on legs?". If you don't know what I'm talking about, google safety razor. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Oh good, you're back. So yeah, safety razor? Razor blades. Housed in a little bit of metal. Inflexible razor head. Doesn't this seem like a good idea?

I totally did not crawl into the bath tub intending to use this obvious death device upon my person. Circumstances dictated extremes, however. I'd gone beyond stubble and into the territory of what can only be thought of as a "leg beard". A couple swipes with my good ole' half dull Venus razor was enough to let me know that I could shave my leg a couple inches at a time, pausing to clean the razor after every pass, or I could...no, I really shouldn't.

But I did.

And OH MY SCIENCE IT WAS THE BEST SHAVE OF MY LIFE.

Once I recovered from the heart attack, I realized that my legs have never been smoother since my body began growing hair. Now, it's entirely possible that I terrified the hair into leaving, but I'm three days post shave and still damn near perfectly smooth. If you're a brave soul, I highly recommend trying a safety razor shave.

A couple of notes though:
#1. Do Not try to use it on the curvy parts of your leg. Remember that "inflexible head" part? Yeah. Avoid your knees and the backs of them.
#2. Shave in straight lines. Slowly. Carefully.
and
#3. Don't move.

I hold no liability for you bleeding out, however.

18 Year Old Me

I sometimes wonder what 18 year old me would think of 33 year old me. Would she be happy to see the sexy husband, the beautiful baby, and where life has taken us. Or would she be terrified that we became a stay home mom,  do homey type projects, and truly wished we could knit?

Eighteen year old me certainly didn't have life planned out. She had a vague idea of where she expected to be in 10+ plus years. She didn't see herself married. Not that she was against marriage, more she had a low self esteem and didn't think any one would want to marry her. She had a fuzzy vision of being a kindergarten teacher, living in a one bedroom apartment, maybe in Indianapolis, maybe not. Maybe a boyfriend, but it probably isn't serious.

Funny how life changes.

Yumminess I Had to Share!

  Here are a couple yummy, easy to make treats I wanted to share. Neither are healthy or remotely diet friendly. So if you want that, stop reading.

Evil Dip

2 eight ounce packages of cream cheese

1 sixteen ounce jar of your favorite salsa

Put everything in a big bowl. Mix until blended and smooth. Chill the dip in the refrigerator for a bit. Grab a bag of tortilla chips and devour. 

I suppose you could use low fat cream cheese and your own salsa, if so inclined. 

Looks weird, tastes awesome.

Oreo Bars

One package of Oreos

10 1/2 ounce bag of Marshmallows

3 tablespoons butter

Basically, you're making Rice Krispy treats with Oreos. Melt butter and marshmallows in a pan. Add crushed Oreos. Put in a pan, let cool, then eat. 

Cute Idea

  A couple days ago, I found a great blog with tons of cute projects. One was to print a photo onto tissue paper, then Modge Podge the photo onto a canvas. I didn't have a tissue or a canvas lying around. I do have a couple sheets of vellum paper. So I printed a black and white photo of The Peanut on a sheet of vellum. It turned out pretty neat.

I held the photo up to the sunlight so you can see how light shines through. I'm going to play around with this for a bit. I'm thinking maybe Modge Podge a photo onto a glass jar and put something pretty inside or a small strand of Christmas lights.