Best Playdough Recipe - Microwaves !!!

I am not a fan of store-bought playdough. It dries out fast, hard to pick it all up and crumbly, lots of dye and smells weird. So, I asked my mom, a kindergarten teacher, for her suggestion and here is the WORLD'S BEST PLAYDOUGH recipe. (It lasts forever, perfectly moist and plyable, EASY - no cooking, just microwave! Hooray!)

What you need:

• 1 c. salt
• 2 c. flour
• 3 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 c. water
• 2 TB. oil
• food coloring
• scents/extracts- optional (peppermint, lemon, orange)

What to do:

1. Mix dry ingredients in bowl, stir well
2. Add oil, water, food coloring **I divide for different colors and add extracts for smell.**
3. Stir until smooth consistency
4. Cook in microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring occassionally
5. Knead for 1 minute ** It's hot and so I knead thoroughly for about 4-5 minutes, very important
6. Return to microwave and cook for 2 minutes
7. Knead dough again for about 3 minutes.
   

So this round we did RED (err...pink and it was peppermint smelling!) , BLUE (which we did lemon smelling - what the dollar tree had since it takes a lot to cover up the salt smell) and ORANGE (which was Orange smelling!)

And here are my cherubs ~ 20 minutes later all playing with beautiful, pleasant smelling playdough! It was fun to work with each boy seperately for the 5 minutes to pick colors and their scent. Before that we all took turns stirring and adding ingredients. I enjoy cooking with my boys and ADORE the end product of this one. I promise in 15 minutes total you can have a batch of playdough made and ready (if only doing one color) and it will last for months (probably 6). From one hard working mom to another ~ Ciao!

Carving Pumpkins with Daddy-O!

It's not that I LOVE Halloween, I just love family time. Halloween lends itself to LOTS of family time. The Pumpkin Patch, Carving Pumpkins, Get togethers for Halloween night, Trick-Or-Treating ~~ so for those reasons our family thoroughly ENJOYS Halloween.

Grant and Daddy-O (as we lovingly call him) are working together first!

Grant proud of the top and ready to DIG IN!

Mr. Gavin is up next ~ his pose with the knife (of course my hubby's idea!)

Opening up Gavie's pumpkin

Grant showing Gavin his "ucky" hand.

Gavin so excited to dig in, that he started helping Grant.

Gabe's pose with the knife with Daddy-O!

Group shot of the "workers".

BREAK TIME!

YIKES~ Gavin's fell off!

Being silly with Daddy-O.

Followed by his 3 short disciples

Knuckleheads!!!!

Just like Daddy-O

We did it! They are all carved!

Group shot!

Mommy and her little lovies Picture of the Cowart Clan

Working on Thankfulness!

As Thanksgiving is approaching, I was checking out my thankfulness. I do feel thankful, grateful and very blessed. God is GOOD. God cares for me and my family. Also I know, through expreience, that God allows trials to happen, with the hope that we GROW, learn to TRUST HIM more, and feel his LOVE. Corey's Crohn's Disease journey was indescribably HARD (no, that's not the word, but nobody can even remotely understand what we went through with a diagnosis in November, having twins in Dec. with a one year old at home.) Those were HARD (for lack of a better word), DARK times, BUT-BUT I KNOW that God carried us through, heard our cries, tears, whines and pleads. Yes, I can say with confidence that God is GOOD, loves us, and never forsakes us.



So I want to show my thankfulness for healing for my husband, for healthy, adorable twin boys, for a 1 year old whose sweetness is unmatched grew to be a fantastic big brother. Yes, God has grown our little family in many ways. We would have never picked that path, but are grateful for what we learned. (I am blabbing...) So, I am going to be posting every Monday things that I am the most Thankful for:



Nov. 15: My favorite part of being a wife or woman



Nov. 22: My favorite thing about my husband or family



Nov. 29: My favorite household chore



Dec. 6: My favorite part of the holiday season



Dec. 13: My favorite part of my home



Dec. 20: My favorite encouragement from the BIBLE



I can't wait~ I have so much to be thankful for!!! I hope that you start thinking about what YOU are thankful for in these categories and post them in my comments on these days, adding stories as well if you want to share. This was a challenge from the HighHeeled Housewife Blog that I enjoy!

Going to the Pumpkin Patch - First Field Trip

Gabe and Ellie attend Little Lamb Pre-School together. Great school, but even better are the field trips. Parents and siblings attend as well!!! So fun! With that said, Gabe said that Mom and his brothers should go with him. The 3 G's favorite part: Not the pumpkins- the rented yellow SCHOOL BUS!

We arrived and jumped on the tractor to the pumpkin fields.

Gabe and Ellie (ahh... young love! :)

Now for the picking of the perfect pumpkin-- and like the crazy mom I am, I whip off the yellow pre-school shirt and stick on a cute sweater, due to a possible photo op!!! ;)

My two little ones hiking down to the "good" ones.

He thinks this one is it!

Quite pleased with himself.

Umm... No! Look here monkeys!!!

Try again, blah! Never mind. I will try again later!

Jenae with Jack and my two youngest next to her!

Cleaning up the pumpkins! Jenae is such a great friend and mom!

Oops, maybe I should get him back into the yellow shirt!! :)

My little Monday morning miracles! Aren't they cute!?!?

Look at my 3 little green beans dying to get into the animal area. I should probably let them have a pet some day, but well, that day seems a ways off!

You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy!

Just like brother!

It's time to pet the animals!

Grant excited, but obviously slightly nervous!

Grant now teaching Gavin how to FEED.

Gabe and Ellie taking a turn!

"Here Jasper, we will pet you!" - Not interested!

Trying to get a picture of the 4 munchkins!

Taking a break, and the poor white goat's head was stuck.

Pre-Schoolers on the Hay Pyramid, Gabe bottom right! Class shot Me with my angel babies. Ahhh... I love being a mom. I love my boys and their amazing daddy!

Here are the pumpkins, home!

Gavin- big orange pumpkins Gabriel- short, fat pumpkin, Grant- green pumpkin