Gingerbread Houses!

Today I went to Cam's school to help the kids make gingerbread houses. It was a great idea and they really didn't make too much of a mess. It also gave me a chance to see how Cam is in school and to chat a little bit more with his teachers.

A parent or a few parents made the gingerbread houses by using a butter carton as a base then securing graham crackers to the sides and top with frosting (sugar, confectionery sugar, and water). They used a sugar cone as a tree. The kids had tons of candy to decorate with (candy canes, marshmallows, gum drops, mini oreos, licorice, m&ms, etc) and a bag of their own "glue." Cam kept telling me "the candy is for decorating not for eating." Well, until his teacher told him he could eat it. After that there wasn't much decorating going on!

The idea was adorable and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Cam's Countdown To Christmas!

Sidewalk Paint

I found a recipe for sidewalk paint on a blog that I read. Since it is easy to make I made some this morning and we went outside to play. Wow, it's hot out! We didn't last too long, well Arianna and I didn't but Cam would have stayed out.

Sidewalk Paint
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water
4-5 drops of food coloring (or washable paint) add more for a more intense color.

Mix water into the corn starch until it dissolves then add the food coloring or paint. That's it!
It's very runny which I'm sure adding more corn starch would solve but Cam didn't seem to care. Next time I'll put more paint in because when it dries the color is very pale.

Sidewalk Chalk Fun!

After naps we went outside and played with chalk, Cam's new favorite past time. He has a new found love of hopscotch too! To wear his little butt down I decided to make a little trail for him to follow. He had to hop, run, do a funny dance, sing a song, and twirl around at different stops along the way. He LOVED it! Hopefully he'll sleep well tonite! Arianna had fun watching him!




We've been trying to work on writing his name but he was more interested in learning how to make a smiley face!

Has anyone tried to make their own chalk? Ever since I found this recipe I've wanted to try it. Here it is, let me know if you do it!

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

What you need:
Toilet paper or paper towel tubes
Scissors
Duct Tape
Wax Paper
3/4 cup warm water
Small bucket or disposable container
1 1/2 cups Plaster of Paris
2-3 tablespoons tempera paint (it cannot be washable paint, the chalk will crumble!!)

What You Do:
1. If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half. Cover one end of each tube with duct tape. Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Each piece should be as long as the tube and about 4 inches wide. Roll up each piece of wax paper and slip it into the tube.

2. Pour the water into the bucket. Sprinkle the Plaster of Paris over the water and stir the mixture thoroughly with a spoon. Mix in the Tempura Paint (If you would like pastel colors, you can mix brighter colors of Tempura powder with some white.)

3. Place each tube tape side down, on a level surface. Pour the wet plaster mixture into the tubes. Lightly tap the sides of each tube to release air bubbles, then set the plaster-filled tube aside to harden for a few days. Once they are dry, peel off the tubes and wax paper. Your chalk is ready for action!

In other news... figured out how to get pics of Cam looking at the camera! I tell him there's a bug on my camera, which now only works part of the time. I usually end up with a weird face too.
Or I just shoot without looking through the viewfinder and hope for the best then edit.BTW, who's this little man? Where's my baby??
Now this one...
is going to get into lots of trouble with those eyes!