Ocean in a Jar

Trying to get L back into a sleep routine, which means K and C have been pretty tied down during the mornings and they get all wrangley. Solution? Crafts, crafts, crafts.

Today we did a science experiment and they each made an 'Ocean in a Jar'. Super cute and super easy.

What you will need:

• baby oil
• water
• mason jar
• food coloring
• glitter
• small floaty toy
• some uber excited scientists

**Cautionary note** Do NOT leave 3 year old unattended with glitter as you search house for baby oil as this will occur:

incase picture doesn't do it justice, that would be an entire vile of glitter on C and the chair and the floor...

Ok, so once you've cleaned up the glitter and regrouped, here's what you do.

Step 1: Fill the mason jar with water, about 1/2 full

Step 2: Add a few drops of food coloring. Ask intelligent questions like, "What do you think will happen when we add the color? Do you think it will mix with the water?"

Step 3: Add the baby oil, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 of the jar's worth. You judge. Smell it...just cause it smells so nice. Ask more smart questions like, "What do you think will happen when we add the oil? Will it mix, what did you notice?"

Step 4: Add some glitter, where does it float?

Step 5: Add the toy. Again, talk about where it floats. 

Step 6: Put on the lid and let them (gently) rock the jar. See how the contents move, but don't mix? They thought that was really neat. 

or shake it like a crazy person...that works as well

Of course K & C wanted a train in there, which did float, but not right side up like it should. Would probably work better with a little bath toy or something, but what the heck, they were happy.

And in the interest of shameless self promotion, this post is participating in the Summertime and the Living is Thrifty's link party (via the ON{the laundry}LINE blog). Check it out for some other quick and easy summer crafts and while you're there, send a vote my way :) 

Best Playdough Recipe

Want to be the coolest mommy ever? Then do I have the stuff for you...homemade play-dough. Who knew?

Since we have entered monsoon season, its been a battle to think of new things to keep the boys entertained. I cancelled the cable a few weeks ago so we could 'spend more time outside and enjoy the summer'. (Guess how well that plan worked out?! Lol, its basically been raining ever since.) So, I decided to try my hand at some play-dough. We have the store bought stuff, but there's nothing quite like homemade. I found a fabulous recipe, and I thought I'd share. It was so much easier than I originally thought, and it only took about 5 minutes per batch. So far we've been using it for almost two weeks and its exactly as it was the day I made it...aside from the fact that C's ration went from 3 bright colors, to 1 muddy blob. Either way, it keeps them entertained for HOURS, which is great :)

Enjoy

You will need:

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup salt

2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar

1 Tbsp Oil

1 cup water

Method

Mix together all the ingredients and heat over medium low heat stirring constantly. After about 3-5 minutes the dough will come together to form a ball that looks something like this:

Mmmmm, looks yummy, no?

At this point, remove from the heat and knead the dough for another 3-5 minues. I've also seen versions thatsay to add the food coloring at the kneading stage, which I suppose would work well if you wanted a few different colors from the same batch.

And TAH DAH! You are officially cool. How cool you ask? So cool that, as K put it, "Other kids might say their Mom is the best, but no, YOU are the BESTEST MOM in the WHOLE WORLD."

Store it in an air tight container (I keep it in the fridge) and you are good to go!