Sensory Box

Well we made a new sensory box over the weekend.  I had ordered some Water Beads, which are used in flower arrangements I guess.  They come as little beads that you put in a big tub of water over night and they swell up.  They end up being gel like balls.  So we tried some out this weekend.  They were definitely a hit.

This morning we stacked the water bead box on top of the light box for a little added interest.  Fun fun. :)

Light box

So, as I've been playing on Pinterest.com I have come across some DIY lightboxs.  They looked like something fun to try for the kiddos.  So I made one.  I had an empty tub that I lined with foil to reflect the light back up towards the lid.  I put a string of Christmas lights in the box, covered it with an old pillow case I cut apart, and put on the lid.  So, that's it.   It does give an added element to play by adding light.  The kids had a ball with it this morning.

 The little ones chose to just play with the colored discs.

I had several transparency teaching items left from my school days, so the big boys ended up play mostly with those.  Especially the clocks and coins.

Bible Verse

Posting this the normal way in hopes that you Non-facebook people can see it...

Clean Mud

Today's adventure: we made clean mud.  I had done this with my kids at the daycare, but had forgotten about it. Then I stumbled upon the directions for it again and new my kiddos would love it.

 I shaved 2 bars of ivory soap, and the boys help me shred 2 rolls of toilet paper into it.

 Then I poured warm water in and we mixed it up.  As the soap "melted" it all combined into our "mud".  Very fun!

Mr Fussy Hands ended up being the one playing the longest.  Quite surprising!  The face is because he didn't want his picture taken. :)

Puffy Paint

Today's project was puffy paint.  The big boys had a lot of fun with this.  Connor was busy playing cars and Hannah was still napping, so Nathan and Jacob and I did this one.

 This one was pretty easy.  We mixed 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of flour with enough water to make a smooth consistency.  Then we added the food coloring of their choice.

 Connor did come see what we were up to, so he painted a little too.

The boys painted the paint onto cardboard and then the fun part was next.  We put their pictures in the microwave for 30 seconds and they puffed up and got hard.  It was very neat. :)  They each had to stand on a stool in front of the microwave to watch the magic happen.  I was spotting them, or there'd be pictures of that too! :)

Nesting, I think

So, this afternoon I got the bug to revamp the playroom a little.
I think I'm nesting already.
I seem to be doing everything else early with these babies, why not nest too? :)

 The first thing we did was create a reading corner.  We took the books off the bookshelf and put them in the baskets.  It's funny how changing where something is kept makes it like new.  They both sat down and looked at books after we put this cozy little corner together.

 After taking the books off the bookshelf, I was able to completely devote it to the craft supplies.
Nathan has dubbed this the "project center."  The little trash can and alphabet poster were added after a quick dollar tree run.

 My wonderful husband hung this felt board up and I attached a section of a shoe organizer to the bottom to hold the felt pieces.

I ran out of steam (and it was time to make supper) before I got to this section of the playroom.  So when the mood strikes again, this will be my next project.  It could use some serious organizing.

Crayon Letters

So, I recently discovered pinterest.com  It's described as a "virtual pinboard". You can "pin" pictures and links of things you find on the web to your board.  Anyway, I found this idea on there and had to try it. 

I think they turned out great!

 A few boxes of crayons, a couple of frames, paper, and some tacky glue and we're off!

 I printed their initials in BIG font and we glued them to some scrapbook paper.  

Oh look, Nathan picked green!

 Tada!

Not too bad for an afternoon if I do say so myself!

Cookies

Dustin helped someone from church move this afternoon, so after naps the boys and I made cookies. :)

 Enjoying the finished project

Yep, they're green.  Guess who picked the color? :)

Happy Boy

 Enjoying a cookie :)

New Kitchen

Something wonderful happened this weekend.  I got a DISHWASHER, and a beautiful "new" kitchen to go with it.  My amazing Dad, Grandpa, Father-in-Law, and Husband worked Friday evening and Saturday to transform our kitchen.  Here are some pictures from the transformation:

 Right side of the room.  I didn't get a before picture taken before the bottom cabinets came out.

 Left side before

 New base cabinets. There were originally shallow wall cabinets here and we replaced them with regular base cabinets.

 David and Grandpa working on the pluming and electric needed for the dishwasher!

 Here's the frige in its new home on the other side of the kitchen.

 Cutting the new counter top

 The left side after.  It turned out SO nice.  We still have a few paint touch ups and finishing touches.

 Right side after

Our gorgeous new counters.

Wednesday Fun

Another fun day was had by all here at the Lafferty house.   Today we made sidewalk paint and painted with the watercolors we made yesterday.  In addition to the projects, we took a walk this morning, played out back, and played in the sprinkler this afternoon.

 My helpers, taking turns with the stirring.

 Our pretty paints all ready to go.

 I figured there would be less frustration if the 2 most likely to mix colors or spill shared paints.

 Trying out our home-made watercolors.  They turned out really well.

Nathan hard at work.

Concoctions

Today was one of my 2 "off" days from this week babysitting.  The boys and I had such a fun day together.  This morning we went to the park and played.  There wasn't anyone else there and the boys had a blast having the run of the place.  After lunch and naps we made a quick run to dollar tree for supplies and made a few concoctions I found online today.

 Making some Gak.  It's glue, water, borax and food coloring.

Daddy even played when he got home too. :)  The boys were having fun blowing bubbles in it too, I didn't seem to catch any of them before they popped!

 We made some bathtub paint tonight for bath time too.  They had SO much fun.  

We made some home-made water colors too.  I'll be sure to take some pictures when we use them tomorrow.  (They had to dry out over night)

Monday, Monday

Well, today is our first day without Evie and Tony.  I won't say I'm happy they're gone, but I will say things are much calmer around here this morning.  So the boys and Jacob and Hannah have been having a nice morning playing together.  It's a good Monday so far. :)

 Ring around the rosie

Connor bug, getting into mischief.  :)

A Friday Night

Once Evie and Tony left this afternoon (for the last time!) we sprung into action and got the house whipped into shape for the weekend.  Then, we spent the rest of the evening together just having a fun family night.

 The boys were working on Daddy's head and hair while I made supper.

 After supper we went to get a little DQ dessert.  Nathan was trying to have a mad face.

 Mmm...oreo blizzard!

 We came home after our DQ and spent a little time outside playing.  My silly monkey Nathan :)

I see you!