Giving Pinterest Play Dough a Go

Like most mommas, I am forever searching Pinterest for easy ideas to use with Z. We love artsy and hands-on activities, especially those using stuff I've already got around the house. Especially when we're on day two of rainy-caca weather. We spend time outside every day, so we both go a bit stir-crazy if we're stuck inside for too long.

A while back, I found this recipe for edible marshmallow play dough, pinned it, and forgot about it since I didn't have any marshmallows. Not too long ago, I picked up a bag to have on hand for s'mores, and thank goodness. Cuz today was one of those days when I needed something fun and new to do with the kiddo.

So here's what you need to make one toddler-sized ball of soft stretchy dough:

6 large marshmallows

3 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp coconut oil

food coloring (I used 6 drops)

It's really so easy. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl (I recommend one with taller sides since the marshmallows expand in the microwave) and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Stir with a spoon until it clumps up into a ball. If it's still sticky, add more cornstarch.

Then, once it's cooled down a bit, roll, knead, and stretch the ball in your hands until the color is well blended, adding cornstarch when necessary.

In the end, the dough will feel a bit like if regular play dough and taffy had a baby. Stretchy and easy to mold.

I don't know about you, but I love simple stuff like this. Z was eager to help, snacking on a couple of marshmallows along the way. That was probably where I went wrong.

Once she knew what the dough was made of, she did more snacking than playing. She was so funny, pinching off little bites and making dramatic yummy sounds.

Every once and a while she'd press a cookie cutter into the dough, but mostly, it was all about sneaking bites.

Unfortunately, I eventually had to shut it down. I know...buzzkill. But, I was getting nervous that eating so much sugary play dough before nap time would ruin my afternoon. So, we took a few more bites and headed to the living room where Z pretended to mix, cook and eat puzzle pieces while we watched Despicable Me. 

It wasn't a total fail. I had fun playing with the marshmallow dough before we had to call it quits, and we both enjoyed eating the rest of it after nap time!

I've got plans to try other Pinterest play doughs, so I'll keep ya posted!

Headed to Florida in the wee hours of the morning-just me, Scout, and Z. Wish us luck...it's gonna be a looonnnnggg trip!!

XO

One Step Closer to Big Kidhood

Back in late April, we took the front off Z's crib. We were getting ready to re-re-re-sleep train the kid, since moving had her all kinds of wrong. She's never been a champion sleeper, and the Hubs and I both agreed that bedtime had become a total effing nightmare-not to mention multiple night wakings. None of us was getting enough sleep. Things needed to change.

 The Hubs thought that we should give the toddler bed a go (we just had to take the front off the crib to make it happen). I was certain that Z wasn't ready. I was wrong.

It took a few nights of screaming and crying, and talking each other out of just bringing her into our room. It also took a few very early mornings, but after about a week, bedtime was locked down and after another week, the 5am wake up calls turned into 6:30 or 7am. Hallelujah! (And I'm not too worried about jinxing her sleep habits. We're headed to Florida in a couple of days to visit our folks. We'll be re-re-re-re-sleep training when we get back, I'm sure!) And once we had the great idea of leaving a snack and water in bed with her (something my mom did with me), Z was sleeping through the night, and the terrible two behavior during the day dwindled down to almost nothing. (Let's be real...she's still two...we still get cranky crying fits of undetermined causes. Good sleep can't fix everything!)

So how'd it all shake down? Well, the front came off the crib after nap time, so we spent the afternoon playing in the "new" bed and practicing sleeping. "I seep. I seep."

She kept grabbing pillows from the sofa and piling them in the crib. "My pil-ows."

The first few nights were no picnic. We let her cry and fuss for a bit, then one of us would go in for a couple of minutes. For a few nights, we did that for 45 minutes or so. I had envisioned her slamming her body dramatically against the bedroom door while screaming her face off, but she didn't. So in that respect, I guess it was a win from the get-go. Luckily, she can't work the doorknobs yet, so we didn't have to use any tricks to keep her in her room. Actually, the worst Z pulled off, was running in and out of view of the monitor, piling every single stuffed animal and blanket she could get her hands on in her bed, all while screaming her face off. Eventually, she'd crash out on top of the pile of animals.

Since then, the screaming has been replaced by a quiet and endless stream of "Da-ddy. Da-ddy. Da-ddy. Da-ddy.", getting more sing-songy as time goes on. (Daddy is in charge of bedtime most nights. When he's away for work, "Mom-my. Mom-my. Mom-my." takes over.)

Over the last month, we've seen her reading in bed (in the dark!), playing with blocks, she even ended up sleeping on the floor one night!

In another couple of months or so, we'll be switching Z to either a twin or a full sized mattress. I'm anxious to get her room decorated and looking cute again, but we can't decide which sized bed to go with. (Any recommendations?) She's kind of all over the place when she sleeps, so we're thinking bigger might be better, but who knows?! In typical fashion, the Hubs and I will overthink and over research until we can't make a single decision. She'll be 4 before we ever get it done, I'm sure!!

Strawberry Pickin'

Well, after having our WiFi fritz out on us, and losing a day and a half after updating my OS, and just being super busy, I finally have a post about our weekend...last weekend. 

Last weekend, we finally did something I've been excited to do since we moved here...we went strawberry picking! The Hubs & I both have fond memories of doing this as kids back in Florida and we were super jazzed about taking Z. The kid love loves strawberries. Loves them. I blame myself. I mainlined strawberries when I was pregnant (and pretty much still).

The Hubs noticed a sign at one of the local farms announcing the start of picking season, and since the weather was just about perfect, well, how could we not go? Ten minutes from the house, friends. Back home, it's a haul to the you-pick-it place. But ten minutes. Actually, ten minutes in two different directions. This place is lousy with strawberries. Who knew?!

We rolled up thirty minutes before they opened, so we thought we'd get some froyo to kill time. Unfortunately, not a single froyo place nearby, so we hit Wendy's for Z's first Frosty instead. #win

Once we got to the strawberry patch, we grabbed a bucket and got to picking'. We put Z in charge of the bucket, and she had a ball running up and down the aisles, pointing out and grabbing berries. 

Z's shirt | shorts | Chucks | necklace - old American Eagle

Strawberry picking was not without excitement. The patch isn't far from the road, with just a gravel parking lot in between. We were all bent over picking and having fun with our families, when all of a sudden we heard screeching tires. I looked up to see a guy on a motorcycle losing and regaining control of his bike as he tried not to hit the car in front of him, veering off into the grassy ditch. He would have been fine at that point, had he not hit the driveway, which launched him and his bike into the air. He flipped, ass over tea kettle, at least 15 feet in the air, and landed flat on his back in the ditch. It was so unreal. Like something we've seen a hundred times on Ridiculousness. Super slo-motion, then in fast-forward as the poor guy fell back to the ground. Thankfully, he was ok. Had on his helmet and landed well. But good gravy-he gave us all heart attack! 

We all took a breath and got back to picking as EMS arrived. The weather was perfect and there were so many berries!

As soon as we got home, (and after a bath and a nap) we washed our berries and enjoyed them with some leftover fresh whipped cream (extra from a key lime pie I made a couple of days before). 

Sooo goooood!!

We've also sliced them over ice cream and thrown them in the freezer and added them to our morning smoothies. (My favorite recipe, chocolate FairLife milk, frozen strawberries, a banana, handful of baby kale, teaspoon of chia. Holy moly! Probably the best thing ever!) I'm dying to try this frozen treat and these coffee cake muffins with our next batch of fresh picked berries. 

I would love to do this every weekend, and, in fact, we're planning to hit the Strawberry Festival tomorrow, which includes more picking!!