homemade"silly putty"

I saw a pin on pinterest.com that had two intriguing features--homemade silly putty and a DIY lightbox. I found the recipe for the glow in the dark silly putty at http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2011/07/glow-in-dark-silly-putty.html. This is my first batch and here are some things I noticed: 1. the texture isn't exactly like store bought silly putty (it's kind of clammy) 2. I'm not super sure about the glow in the dark paint--I used the rustoleum version, and it has some of the latext smell (and therefore chemicals). Sofar, no ill effects, but I am making sure the kids wash their hands after they play with it.

The kids deem it a success, and it was a sure thing for the "I'm bored,can we watch TV blues."

As far as the lightbox,I'm not really thrilled with it, but it's what we have a budget for at this point.

Holidays

Ok, so this shot is totally blurry, but Abby noticed I was taking pictures and that was the end of that. This is one of her favorite hang out spots.

This year Bennett helped me put the ornaments on the tree. Last year we invested in an artificial tree because my and the kids' allergies were acting up. Have to say, it is SO much easier, even with me minutely adjusting every branch.

Halloween 2011

Ben is young Anakin Skywalker and Abby is Little Red Riding Hood.

Not to Leave Abby Out

Here's Abby helping us wait for Ben's school day to start.

Kindergarten!

According to Ben, the first day of kindergarten was "awesome!"

Legos Legos Legos

Ben's interest in Legos has exponentially increased since we visited Lego Land down in SD. He pretty much spent the whole day today setting up his space station. Because of the small pieces, we have to keep him "gated" so Abby can't get them.

Box House

So Grandma sent us some of Oma's paintings and they were packed in these HUGE boxes.

Today, we decided to make a big play house with the boxes. The added bonus is that half the house (one box) can also be used as a puppet theater. Let the fun commence.