Grateful for this precious time... and for coffee

Last night, just after midnight, Jake crawled into our bed because he was afraid of the dark.  Andy was still downstairs playing Destiny and I wasn't quite asleep so I let him cuddle in our bed rather than carry him back to his room right away.  He squirmed for a bit, but actually fell asleep pretty quickly. 

Jake is normally so independent and very rarely clingy, so rather than carry my sleeping little boy back to bed, I decided to let him stay there.  I know this season of little boy snuggles is fleeting and I am grateful for this precious time.

During the middle of the night, I woke up several times to Jake kicking me in the back.  Some people talk in their sleep, some walk, but Jake kicks.  Hard.  I kept thinking it'd the last time and that he wouldn't wake me up with any more sleep-kicks so I let him stay.

At one point he totally stole the pillow we were sharing and kicked again when I tried to get half of it back.  Again, I know it's a precious season and he rarely gets scared so I decided I didn't really need a pillow for the rest of the night. 

At 6am, he was totally wide awake for the day & bouncing around.  At this point I'd only had a couple of 60 minute to 90 minute blocks of continuous sleep so I felt pretty groggy.  Andy got up & gave him a Kindle so he could entertain himself while we finished waking up.  Andy made it downstairs first and saw that Jake had opened the pantry, found a jar of sprinkles, and made himself a plate of sugar sprinkles for breakfast, resulting in an extra cracked-out kid this morning.

I am honestly grateful for my beautiful and fun family...

 

... but I'm also grateful for coffee!

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New favorite play dough recipe! Now with corn starch & skipping the salt!

I tried a new play dough recipe today and LOVE it! 

 

One thing that drives me crazy about play dough is the salty residue.  I like to add some glycerin to standard play dough recipes to help keep hands from drying too quickly, but play time always results in some sort of crusty, salty residue dried on to hands.

 

With this new salt-free recipe, this play dough is silky smooth! I love it!

 

Ingredients:

*1 cup flour
*1 cup corn starch
*2 cups water
*2 tablespoons lemon juice
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil
*2 tablespoons food-grade vegetable glycerin (if you don't have any on hand, it's worth ordering some from Amazon. In addition to being the secret ingredient to silky play dough, it's also the secret ingredient for making cheap but fun bubble solution for sunny days, too!)
*food coloring or Kool-Aid packet (optional)
*essential oils (optional)

 

Directions:

*Put everything into a pot except for any optional essential oils.  I like to stir out most of the lumps even before turning on heat.  If things start cooking before the lumps are out, little white flecks will be in the mix.  Not a big deal and kids don't care, but it doesn't look quite as uniform.
*Once the big lumps are stirred out, continue stirring over low to medium heat for about 5-10 minutes.
*When shiny liquid turns completely matte, remove from heat.
*Mix with a spatula or a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes on a heat-safe counter or in a mixing bowl.
*Stir in essential oils for scent if using some (not necessary if using a Kool-Aid packet for scent & color.)
*Once dough is cool, kids can help squish the dough.

Try different color, scent, and even texture combos.  Today we used forest green food coloring and a peppermint & basil "Stress Relief" essential oil.  Some other ideas include:
*Blue playdoh with pepperment essential oil & white snowflake confetti for the Elsa crowd. :)
*Orange Kool-Aid for a bright orange color & a yummy scent.  There are so many types of Kool-Aid packets that I like to have one or two stashed in my spice drawer so that we always have some sort of play doh scent/color combo on hand.
*Clove oil & a warm color for a cozy holiday theme.
*Lavendar oil & purple food coloring gel to help a kiddo unwind.

 

I took a pic of the ingredients before I realized I didn't actually need the cream of tartar.  It's such a staple with the salt dough but it is not needed for this recipe.

 

Toss everything in a pan. Note: if using food coloring gel, don't use a big glob like I did.  It was a new bottle & too much came out.  :)

 

 Stir over low to medium heat:

 

 

When dough looks really cooked on the outside but still shiny in the middle, don't stop. It may look like the outside is getting over-cooked but it is fine.  Keep cooking until the center looks matte instead of shiny.

When it looks like play doh in the center, remove from heat.  I usually find that when it starts sticking & flaking to the bottom of the pan that it's pretty close.

 

After removing from heat, stir for about 5 minutes.  Add any optional essential oil at this time.

When it is cool to the touch, little ones can "help" mix it and start playing!