{Gag-Me-Grape} Kool-aid Play Dough

A few weeks ago, Sweetpea and I decided to have some fun in the kitchen. She, to my knowledge, has never had the pleasure of playing with play dough. I know what you are thinking... but I am NOT a terrible mama. You see, my little darling LOVES to eat, chew, naw on everything she possible can. As such, I delayed buying any play dough simply because I really didn't want to have her eat it as her afternoon snack!  But after finding a recipe for kool-aid play dough, I figured we would give it a try. Guess what, she DIDN'T eat it.  And honestly, I don't blame her. REAL play dough has a more appetizing smell than the gag-me-grape play dough I made. If you make your own play dough, please use a pleasing scent {strawberry is always nice}.

Gag-Me-Grape Play Dough

1 cup flour

1 pkg Unsweetened, kool-aid

1/2 cup salt

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup boiling water

Step 1: Mix the flour, salt, oil and kool-aid together in large bowl.

Step 2: Add a cup of boiling water to the mix. Mix well. 

It smells worse than it looks.

Step 3: After mixed and cooled a bit, plop it out of the bowl and knead it into a large ball. I would like to state, at this point in time, my kitchen, my counter, my hands -- all smell like gag me grape.

LOOKS just about right.

Step 4: This makes a LARGE batch. SUPER LARGE batch. So, put some in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for future fun. Then hand over a small hunk to the kiddos for fun!!

See those sweet little hand prints!

Yes, paci stayed in. I didn't want to take any chances.

Oh boy! Smashing, squishing, fun!

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream featuring Dark Chocolate Chips

Not so long ago, I was known as "plain vanilla".  I LOVED just regular, old, plain vanilla ice cream. If I was feeling particularly daring, I might add chocolate syrup or sprinkles. However, that has now changed!  A few weeks ago, my husband and I purchased an ice cream maker -- nothing special, I think it cost a whole whopping $24.00 at Target.  The key (for me) was getting an ice cream maker that used ice and rock salt -- not the kind that you stick in the freezer for hours at a time. Let's face it, when I want something, I generally want it NOW -- not 24 hours from now.  In our new ice cream maker, I tried out The Pioneer Woman's "Blackberry Chip Ice Cream" and it was delicious!!!! This coming from plain vanilla and blackberries are not my favorite berry!  After that, my tastebuds revolted and demand we try different flavors of ice cream, so we tried Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Chip next.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream, with Dark Chocolate Chips

• 
  
• 2 pints fresh strawberries

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

• 5 egg yolks

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• bag of dark chocolate or a big bar of dark chocolate

Step 1: Combine the strawberries and 1/4 cup of sugar in a saucepan.  Cook over low heat until the strawberries break down a little and get syrupy.

Step 2: Place strawberries into food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.


Step 3: Add half-and-half and sugar to saucepan over medium heat. While heating, place 5 egg yolks into separate container and wisk a bit. Splash in some of the warm half-and-half to eggs. The pour eggs over the half-and-half and cook until thick (5 mins). Stir constantly and do not overcook!


Step 4: In a new bowl, add the strawberries and heavy cream. Then pour over the half-and-half/egg mixture. Mix well.

Step 5: Add mixture to your ice cream maker and follow your ice cream maker's instructions.


Step 6: After ice cream has been made, pour in a bag of dark chocolate chips or a chopped bar of dark chocolate. Stir.


Step 7: Freeze until hardened. 

Motor Skill Development

For about six months now, Sweetpea has been effectively dropping clothespins into a jar. And she still gets a kick out of it. When she gets them all in, she claps and brings the jar over to me to dump out so she can start over again. This keeps her happily occupied for about 10-15 minutes! A toddler miracle! 

I could do this all day long.

And gone. NEXT!

I've been noticing a lot of super fun crafts on Pinterest dedicated to toddler motor skill development, however, my daughter is still in the "let's see how it tastes" phase. Just last week she flipped out when I took a piece of chalk away from her. You see, she wanted to eat it. She pouted for 2-3 minutes and then attempted to climb the entertainment center to get back her tasty chalk. She was a determined little girl. I don't get it -- eating a carrot is far too disgusting, but chalk.... yummy, yummy?  Anyway, many of the fantastic Pinterest ideas include items that could easily be eaten by Sweetpea -- therefore, they are a no-go at this time.

Then, I had an idea.....  actually, going through our junk gave me an idea.

Andrew and I have been slowly purging our house of junk. My husband, bless his heart, despises going through things and deciding if they are to be kept or thrown away, so he keeps everything. The result of his unintentional hoarding, is about 40 expired credit cards, reward cards, gym membership cards, blockbuster cards, old hotel key cards, blank gift cards, etc. 

The "grand" idea {yes, I'm sure it isn't original}....

Credit cards are hard to swallow and we have tons of them -- all in different colors. I have empty shoe boxes and craft paper for scrapbooking in which I will never actually use for scrapbooking purposes. Plus Mod Podge. I love the smell of Mod Podge. All those items equal a new motor skill toy for Sweetpea. And she loves it!

Not perfect, but who cares?!

Almost.....

Got it!

And GONE!