This is one of my absolute favorite blogs for getting ideas to do with the girls.
I never have time to hardly any of them, but someday!

http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com

Go look at it, and then make some neat snack cups!

Canning Ring Pumpkins

I can't remember where I found this, I'll have to be more careful next time. But, my girls had a lot of fun with this outdoor fall game. First, take a pumpkin with a nice stem still attached, we used a big one and mini pumpkins. Then take some canning rings. Put them together and what do you get? A fun tossing game. Laura did ok, the wide mouth rings work a little better than the small ones, but Eden still had fun putting them on the stems. Ryan tried to eat the rings and the bark from the tree. I also want to try making some rings a little bigger out of cardboard cereal boxes.

After they get bored with this game, tie some ribbons onto the edges and let them run around with the ring in their hand and their ribbon kite behind them.

Soft Play Dough

I know there are a MILLION recipes out there for play doughs, but this is the one I tried today (thanks to Google). It turned out quite nice! It is soft and it doesn't dry your hands out like salt dough. I really like using the baby oil instead of cooking oil. It smells good and should last longer without going rancid. I split it into 6 balls, each a bit larger than a store bought PlayDoh can, and made them each a different color. Plenty for a few kids to share.

The original recipe said to microwave for 4-5 minutes and then 1 min increments, but it was soooo long that it *cooked* mine too much. I had to throw out the edges since they were hard. I've reduced the times below, so let me know how it turns out for you!

PERFECT PLAY DOUGH

2 cups flour
1 cups salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons baby oil ( works better than regular oil)
2 tablespoons cream of tarter
liquid food coloring

Combine dry ingredients. Add water and oil. Stir well. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Stir again. Microwave another 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave for 30 second increments, stirring between, until dough is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Cool it enough to touch. Knead in food coloring until dough is desired color. Store in an air-tight container or ziploc bag.