Bubbles

Our go-to bubble recipe!

1/2 cup dish soap

1 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons sugar

Mix, add bubble toys {ours are from the dollar bins at Target}, and try not to float away from the fun!

Dino-MITE

This weekend, Jer and I decided to take advantage of a rainy Saturday and took the boys to The Museum of Natural History. I think it was the sheer size of the statues...

...and the museum's open mouth staging to help emphasize their sharp teeth...
...that made for such a leery Mister A.B..
Ben, on the other hand, LOVED every second of it...
...except for the fact that none of the dinos moved when
he called to them :)

Five Minutes For Mom

Recently, I've been petitioning some other moms for activities that will keep my Duo busy during these cold winter home-bound days and that will also give me a chance at accomplishing a load of laundry or loading the dishwasher. And while some CRAZY things like glue and glitter were mentioned {makes me shake in my slippers just thinking about it!} so were some more clean-up friendly ideas, like exploring with flash lights and making cereal necklaces. This week, however, I decided that we would try our hand with homemade play-doh. And let me tell you, it was such a hit, I regretted that we didn't try it earlier! Who would have thought that just a few ingredients from the pantry would buy me over 30 minutes of happy and occupied toddlers! Solid gold! So for those of you who suggested activities, Thank You! We are slowly working our way through most of your ideas! And for those of you who might have something different to offer, Please! We'd love to have some more...

Look at those profiles! I think it's the first time they've ever looked like each other!

Ben loved tearing it into pieces, putting them into the bowl, and then dumping them out.

Abe liked to SQUEEZE the dough!

A little taste here and there didn't hurt anything either :)

And for my fellow friends who are also currently in the trenches of toddler-hood, in case you're interested!

Here's the website I used for our play-doh recipe. We made Play-Doh #2 but there are lots of other recipes that might better accommodate what you have on hand.

And here are a few mommy tricks that have been helpful in keeping my little busy-bodies seated and happily playing! {Warm the play-doh in the microwave for a few seconds before they use it. Soft, warm play-doh was better received and easier for their little hands to manipulate~Introduce tools one at a time. When something gets old, remove it and replace it with another~Provide something to snack on while they play. It discourages munching on the dough.}

And lastly, our tools: A bowl, potato masher, Lego, Barbie brush, pastry cutter, small cookie cutter, piping tip, beater, and a small wooden dowel. Really anything would work though!
Happy play-doh'ing!

The Color Purple

This past week, The Deuce tried their hand at coloring with Crayola TaDoodles {translation: extremely fat markers}. The results were...eh...well...delicious!

Confession: For a moment I contemplated taking them away because Ben absolutely would NOT stop licking them. However the thought of an additional five minutes of peace won me over and so the licking continued.

Bless you Crayola and your non-toxic quiet makers!

Painting the Town

It's no secret that life at home with small children can get a little...uh...hairy, at times. Especially those days when you're all stuck at home. Lately, we've been having a lot more of those "home" days. Although we'd all much rather be at the park, lunch with friends, or just running errands, the fact of the matter is that I just can't do it everyday! So in an effort to help combat The Deuce from running around the house like the hooligans that they are, I thought I would introduce a little structured play. So, the boys and I tried our hand at finger painting this week. Not quite ready for the "real" stuff, I concocted a recipe from the web, 2 tablespoons of flour, water (add to desired consistency), and a drop of food coloring. They painted on wax paper taped to their trays and when they were done, I pressed a piece of paper down on top of the wax paper to transfer their art work.

Little Picasso's, I tell ya!

-Utter concentration-

Diggin' the mess!

I love Abe's *paintin* face!

Ben looks like he's got a busted lip but it's just paint :)

Ben's Masterpiece!
A.B.'s Masterpiece!