Washer and Dryer Update

Once upon a time I had a washer/dryer set. It was a cute little matching number, white, basic. Exactly what I needed. I can be no frills about some things, ya know.

Then the dryer bit the dust. It wasn't worth fixing when the parts and labor were added up. Lucky for me, my neighbor had an extra one in her basement and she said "Here, just take this one!" Then my washer followed suit and I bought a new one.

Well, I am thrilled to just have a washer and dryer! I had to use the laundromat for a week-ish when I waited on the washer and that is just not cool. Doing 10 loads of laundry or so at once is not how I like to spend a day! But, to be honest. I  was feeling a slight tinge of embarrassment over my blah washer and dryer.

That materialistic part of me debated getting a new set, I had justified it to myself, but the realist in me knew I wasn't really going to get a new set because they don't match. I live in the real world, have kids, bills and all of that, like everyone else.

Then an idea hit me.

I had a slew of cute decals that I have hesitated to put up in my house, knowing we hope to move in the near future. These were perfect for adding a little something to my washer and dryer that made them look like a pair, despite being different years and brands.

My son is really interested in cats, he thinks they are awesome. So while he was at school I did this.

My washer and dryer are pretty cute now, my kids got a huge thrill out of noticing the kitties in the laundry room and our cat gave us the purr of approval over our choice of decals.

How do you use decals in home decorating? I would love to hear ideas from you!

Lava Jars {Hands on Science}

Last fall my son and I made a fun project together, we called them lava jars as they were inspired by lava lamps and we had a ton of baby food jars on hand. Harp was emptying out at least 6 a day back then.

I first filled the jar with half water, half baby oil. We added a few drops of food  coloring to the mixture, closed the lids tightly and watched to see what would happen.

We decided that this jar was the ocean based on color and the imagination
of a 4 year old

There was some slight bubbling, but nothing major.

We agreed the jars were neat... but what could we do to make them react differently?

We both liked the color of this jar the best.

We went inside and looked around. We found some antacid tablets and decided to introduce them into the mix to see how the oil/water jar reacted.

We started to notice bubbles forming right away. It definitely simulated a lava lamp!

I made a really short little video demonstration of the reaction of adding the antacid to the oil/water mixture.

My son had fun with this project. It was a fun challenge to see what we could do with common household products, and it was even more fun to engage him in a science project.  We think these would be fun with glow in the dark stuff inside. We hope to try this again in a few months with that idea.

Coconut Rice Krispie Treats Recipe {Dairy Free}

Earlier this week I needed to make a snack to share with little boys. I thought I would go with a standard favorite and make Fruity Pebble Treats until I realized margarine has milk in it and I needed a snack that was free of milk and chocolate.

I started a batch of a nutella type Rice Krispie Treats... then I realized after adding the Jif version of Nutella that oops this has chocolate in it... It was irrelevant anyways because the recipe was a total flop. 

I scanned my pantry and came up with coconut oil as an ingredient a little more digging searching produced a bag of coconut flakes...

So, I created a recipe that is free of milk and chocolate for my dears that face food allergies. I wasn't sure how they would turn out so I used {Mr.} Adam as a guinea pig. He said they were good but that they were too adult for kids. I shrugged my shoulders and said "I am okay with that because I tried."

Imagine how thrilled I was to hear from the Moms a few days later that the Coconut Rice Krispie Treats were a hit and that several Moms thought they were lovely! So here is the recipe, I hope you like it too!

print recipe

Coconut Rice Krispie Treats {Dairy Free}

by Sara June-7-2014

Dairy Free Rice Krispie Treats with a delicious coconut flavor!

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cup Rice Krispies
• 10 ounces Marshmallows
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 1/3 cup Coconut Flakes
• as desired Sprinkles

Instructions

Spray a baking dish with coconut oil spray as well as a pan.Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 10 ounces of marshmallows to the sprayed pan. On medium/low heat melt the oil and marshmallow. (This took about 3 minutes, be sure to stir frequently)
When the marshmallows and coconut oil melt add 4/1/2 cups of Rice Krispies and 1/3 cup of coconut flakes to the pan, stirring until the cereal is well coatedSpread the mixture into the prepared baking dish.Add sprinkles.Allow to cool for one hour.Cut into squares and serve.

Details

Prep time: 5 hour Cook time: 5 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 16 servings

If you liked this easy recipe you might want to check out my Pretty Pebble Marshmallow recipe or My Nuts About Cookies Bark recipe. Thanks for dropping by today!

Sushi Sensory Bin

A few weeks ago while shopping at my Kroger I saw these adorable erasers- sushi style- in the clearance section. At 69 cents they were a steal. I couldn't pass them up! My husband said "What are you going to do with them?".

What am I going to do with them? Make a sensory bin of course! A Sushi themed sensory bin sounded like fun to me!

I picked up a bag of long grain white rice, one pound was on sale for $1.09. I used this as my base.

My son was intrigued. He couldn't wait to get his hands in the bin of rice!

Next we added our Sushi Erasers.

Again, Eager Hands were grasping to get involved. Not that I can blame him!

Finally, we finished the bin off with a pair of chopsticks.

And there you have our under $2 sensory bin! It was easy to make and fun for Roo to play with.

I liked that we could enjoy the feeling of rice when we touched the bin, the rice was fun for roo to dig around in. He likes the way it sounds when he picks up a handful and drops it in the bin. The chopsticks are great for his fine motor skill development.

When he grew tired of picking up the erasers with the chopsticks he fed rice to an assortment of dinosaurs. Then he decided to toss handfuls of rice into his barnyard toy for the other animals to eat... and yes, it got messy. But, I went with it! After all this was my big idea of fun and dried rice is pretty easy to sweep up.

Do you engage in sensory play with your kids? I would love to hear about your favorite sensory bins.

Double Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

Fancy Marshmallows are kind of becoming my thing. They are easy to make and they are always a hit with the crowd. 

If I have had a busy day and I didn't have time to bake or no bake something, I can whip up a few pretty marshmallows in 5 minutes flat and enjoy the oohs and aahhs from my family when I serve them.

Tonight I made a half dozen of double chocolate covered marshmallows.

This is so easy anyone and I mean anyone can make them.

You will need:

Large Marshmallows

Mini Chocolate Chips

I used 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips for the first coating and 1/4 cup for the second coating.

Place 1/4 cup of chocolate chips into a small dish, set aside for a moment.

Spray a very small microwave safe dish with cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave for 30 additional seconds and stir. If the chips blend smooth upon the second stirring it is ready. If not, microwave for 15 seconds and stir, repeating as needed.

Dip your marshmallows into the melted chocolate then into the mini chocolate chips. Place on a plate and repeat until you run out of marshmallows or melted chocolate.

Allow the marshmallows to rest for about 30 minutes until the chocolate has hardened. Serve with a smile, store leftovers, on the odd chance there are any, in a ziploc baggie.

If you like chocolate covered marshmallows, check out my Chocolate Covered Marshmallows With Coconut recipe.