Painted Leaves and some Squishy Baff

Last week, we were playing outside, and Conrad kept bringing giant leaves to me from a tree in the back yard. I decided why not create something with them.  We decided to paint them, and it resulted in a simple and fun art project! :)

Painted Leaves

For this project, you will need the following items:

• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Leaves 

As you can see, our leaves were quite large, but it would work with any type or size of leaf. I put the leaf out in front of Conrad with his name painted on it in his favorite color. I also put out the paint and paint brushes. The next two pictures are the results of his creativity! :)

Of course, I wanted to paint a leaf as well! The leaves we used, had one smooth side, and one"Fuzzy" Side, as Conrad called it. I decided to see what would happen if I painted the fuzzy side! :)
I decided to make a rainbow on mine, and I was pleased with the final results.

Squishy Baff

A friend of mine recently discovered this great stuff meant for Bathtub fun, and I was curious, so I bought some! :) He found his at Wal-mart, But I found mine at Target in the toy section, near the playdough.
I decided to use just a little bit, and put it into a sensory tub, for more fun with sensory play, and that worked out just fine.

The Package came with two packets of powder(enough for two baths) and two packets of dissolving powder for simple clean up. the picture to the right shows what the powder looks like.












I dumped in about a tablespoon or two worth of the powder into our sensory tub full of water, and mixed it together. This is what it looked like after about a minute of sitting in the water. Originally, Conrad didn't want to play with it, so I started to play with it so it wouldn't go to waste. I'm not gonna lie, It was fun, and I was giggling so much, that Conrad finally decided he wanted to play as well! :)






The next couple of pictures are what he spent doing for the next hour and a half after he decided he liked to play with the squishy goo.

The mixture almost became solid, it was thick enough to set things on top of it!

"It feels squishy Stephanie! Look at this!"

"I made a squishy drum!" :)

"Stephanie, My hand is buried in the squishy garden pot!"

I also decided to let Reece get in on the fun, since Squishy Baff is not toxic (although it does say not to eat it on the package, and it does taste terrible). The following pictures are of his exploration of the squishy fun!

"I'm not sure about this stuff!"

this is Fun!

Really fun! :)

As I said before, there is another powder that comes with the package to help dissolve the gel when you are finished, just sprinkle a little bit of it on the mess in your bathtub or sink, and simply rinse down the drain! :)

Turned out to be a great sensory activity for  all three of us, and it wasn't very messy at all! :)

Some Yummy Crunchy Granola, and Banana Chips too!

Yesterday's activity was a lot of fun for both Conrad and I, and very yummy as well! :) It is fairly simple to make, and delicious too. It makes an easy snack, or can also be served with milk like a breakfast cereal!

Yummy Crunchy Granola

For this activity you will need to following supplies:

• 4 cups Oatmeal (not the instant kind)
• 1 cup Coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup Honey or Maple Syrup
• Cinnamon (for flavor, we used about 3 tsp)
• Dried Fruits, Nuts, Seeds, Chocolate Chips

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Get out a large bowl.

Dump the oatmeal into  the bowl first, then add the Coconut. (we also threw in some flax seed meal, for a little extra)

 Pour the honey on top ( I used 1/4 cup honey mixed with 1/4 cup brown sugar melted down to a syrup with a bit of margarine and water)

Stir it all together with a large spoon. Conrad discovered that the mixture will stick to the spoon, and become difficult to stir, so I had to mix with my hands to make sure it was mixed evenly.

 Next, I covered two baking pans with foil, and spread the mixture out on both of them (somewhat thin layer). I put these pans in the oven ,and cooked until golden brown (about 35 minutes). It was a bit of an experiment to see what worked best. We discovered the granola would remain moist until it had been cooling for a while. The crunchiness came after the cooling process.

Once the Mixture on both pans has cooled off, put it into a bow, and mix in the fruits nuts, seeds, chocolate chips of your choice. We used banana chips that Conrad helped me make earlier in the morning. (see recipe below), Chocolate Chips, and Sunflower Seeds. Be forewarned, if you put chocolate in the mixture before it is fully cooled, the chocolate will melt, and make a mess (although once it cools, it makes nice chocolate granola clusters) 

Easy Banana Chips

The Banana Chips are very easy to make (they won't be as crunchy as the ones you buy in the store, but they are delicious!) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. cover a cookie sheet in parchment paper or foil. spray with cooking spray, or cover with thin layer of oil. Slice bananas into  slices (however you would like, we chose circle slices). Place the slices onto the oiled pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Put them into the oven, and bake for two to three hours. Because you are not using a food dehydrator to make these, they will not get completely dry, but if you let them sit out to cool, they will get a little crispy. for a sweeter version, drizzle a little honey over the top of them as you let them dry! :)


Enjoy!!!!!

An adventure at the Lincoln Children's Museum

I know, I know, It has been several weeks since I last posted! Sorry my friends, It has been a crazy past couple of weeks. First off I would like to Congratulate Mr. And Mrs. Jonathan Dockhorn on your wedding! Rachel, Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day! I had a blast! :) Because of said wedding, I got the pleasure of flying out to Virginia to drive back to Nebraska with my sister, niece, and nephew.
 I am going to post a few pictures from my sister's visit here. I was blessed with the opportunity to be able to take the boys on a day trip with my sister, my cousin, and their kiddos to the Lincoln Children's Museum. the day was a success for all, and we had a lot of fun! The Following Pictures are from our fun day! :)

Triston says Peek-A-Boo!

table for infants in the water play area

My Niece Devon Says Peek-A-Boo!

 Conrad and my nephew Triston  at water play

Reece loved the mirrors! :)

Triston and Conrad Co-Pilots! :)

My God-daughter Lexi helping Conrad play veterinarian

Triston and Conrad playing at the Train Table (Conrad's Favorite)