How to Make a Clay Volcano Erupt. (Mt. DingDong)

Fill the vase a little over half full with vinegar. Then pour in a teaspoon of baking soda. Enjoy!

Bridget

How to Make a Clay Volcanoe Pt. 2

So now the volcano should be dry.

Grab your crazies.

And some paint and supplies.

Then, pick one crazy to paint the base color.

Constantly reassure the other crazies that they too will get a chance to paint. Then stop an argument over who gets to paint what by threatening to not let them paint. Ever!!!

Tell first crazy that he is doing a wonderful job.

Now that the base color is on you need to let it dry. Some crazies may not like having to wait till their turn, so...

Make them do some schoolwork. If you don't happen to home school then yard work or housework will do just as nicely.

If the schoolwork has to do with volcanoes all the better.

Now grab the little crazies and laugh at their excitement. Give them a few instructions on how to paint the 'hot lava' and then let them at it.

Actually, give them instructions and then stay very close by observing their every move. Little crazies are precious, but you never know what they might do.

Tell little crazies that they are doing a wonderful job.

Then after the hot lava paint has dried, show the biggest crazy some pictures on the internet of what flowing hot lava looks like. Then let him get to it.

Biggest crazies don't need a lot of instruction.

When biggest crazy asks if you want to take a picture of him dipping the sponge in the paint, answer 'of course'! Then smile at how big biggest crazy is getting.

Tell biggest crazy he is doing a wonderful job.

The next morning, after the volcano is good and dry, snap a pic of the crazies with their wonderful creation. Laugh at the silly dad for not wanting to be left out.

Now...get ready for it to erupt!

Bridget

This is What Happens When You Toot Your Own Horn.

You, inevitably, change things back. However, I did change the decorative papers to something with more of a 'fall' feel.

The white board ended up in my office 'nook'. A corner in our living room. I painted the frame brown along with the matching bulletin board I stole out of my children's room. I also covered the cork with fabric I had leftover from my dining room curtains.

Then I relocated the map to the boys' room. We aren't using it as much as originally thought and they love the wall art.

My house is happy now. And so am I.

Bridget

How to Make a Clay Volcano Pt. 1

First, you need some crazy kids. Any number will do, but they must be crazy. Trust me on this.

Next, you need a large mixing bowl, a large cookie sheet covered in foil*, a slender glass vase or glass beaker, flour, salt, and water (not shown).

*This volcano is planned to erupt and so putting it on a cookie sheet with a slight lip will keep all hot lava contained.

Four cups of flour.

One cup of salt.

One and a half cups of water.

Now, have one or all of the crazy kids you've gathered mix the ingredients with their hands. You will probably need to add a little more water as ours was a bit dry. Just remember, you can keep adding some but once you add too much you can't take any away. You could add a bit more flour if you add too much water, but you don't want to get the flour/salt ratio too off.

After all that kneading, plop that dough on the cookie sheet and let the crazies form it around the vase into the shape of a volcano. The beauty is that no volcano looks the same. This is all theirs.

Then, when you realize that the vase is way to big, mix another batch of clay but halfing the recipe because you don't have enough ingredients. Be thankful it all works out.

Now, let volcano sit for a couple of days to dry. And good luck keeping your crazies from messing with it.

Bridget

Pojects: Bear

He has his Daddy's dimples. And goofiness. And I love him for it.

Bridget

The Wildlife Refuge

The last weekend in August we spent a day at the Wildlife Refuge. It is beautiful. And the weather couldn't have been better. The car in the pic is our friend's, but the picture is actually of the mountains. What is it about mountains that are just so awe-inspiring?


We stopped on the side of the road so Hubs could go to the bathroom to get a refuge map and saw this buffalo. Fearing it might be the only one we saw I jumped out of the van and crossed the road to get a picture. Isn't it cool with the mountains and the lone buffalo?! I'm naming him Skipper.

Obviously unbeknownst to me we would find a whole herd of buffalo right down the road. And they were so conveniently located. Parking spaces and a wooden fence to keep our children from joining the herd. Very cool.

I like this guy. My legs look eerily like his hind legs when I stand with them together. I'm calling him Mo. It's short for motivation - the get my hiney in shape.

I love the summer and all the cute baby animals! What are baby buffalo called? Hang on, I'm gonna go google it.

Well, that was silly. Most call them baby buffalo. Answers. com says the scientific name for baby buffalo is bison. I don't think of baby buffalo AT ALL when I hear bison. We'll stick with baby buffalo.

Look at those horns. I am tempted to name him horny in honor of my mother. But that sounds so wrong so I must explain. When my mom was in junior high she went around calling everything 'horny'. "That's so horny" would follow most any silly or ridiculus thing. Finally, someone asked her why she kept saying that. "It's like corny", she replied. Nope, Tam, its not. AT ALL. =)

This was the only orange baby buffalo. Therefore I will call him Steve.

This guy was cool. Too cool for skool. I'm naming him Danny.


Danny Zuko.

There were also prairie dogs chillin with the buffalo. They didn't mind us taking their pics at all. Obviously used to the paparazzi. Quite the posers.

These three were their own little clique. They kept leaving me out.

They left her out too. Look at em. Staring her down. So we made our own club.

She let me take her pic all I wanted. And she didn't turn her back to me. I'm calling her Betsy. Not sure why. I just associate the name Betsy with really nice girls. Weird, though, cause I've never known a Betsy. At least I don't think I have. Oh dear, now I'm worried that I know someone named Betsy and just can't remember. sigh.

Betsy was happy to have a friend. And so was I.

Goodbye Betsy. I'll remember you always.

Now, this little diva was something else. Hid in her hole, which happened to be outside the fence, and barked at us. Her little prairie dog bark.

I don't know if she's gonna make a run for it or if she's about to attack. I'm pretty sure she could take me. I should take a few steps back.

I think I finally won her over.

Here's about the only picture with any sort of spacial reference for you. We were super close to these animals and it was super cool.

Bridget

We Didn't Get Math Done That Day

Before I get into the details can I just say, "Wait just a cotton-pickin' second! Who is this kid? I know it's not my son. My son doesn't look and act this old. I'm sure of it." Obviously I'm joking and very very wrong. But, MY LANDS! And he is so handsome to boot.

Oh dear. She saw the camera. Can't get anything past her.

"Are you gonna take my picture too, Mom?" Of course, baby. Sometimes, I just want to eat him up.

Finally to the reason my children are doing manual labor. No, they are not laying me a new patio. They are building a fort. By themselves, for themselves. All of their own accord and planning.

They spent the better part of Tuesday hauling bricks from next door to our back yard. Reminder: we live next door to Hubs parents. They weren't stealing the neighbors bricks really. Just borrowing the grandparents bricks. It's totally different. And, yes, my almost four year old daughter is using an adult size shovel.

They were working so hard and with such passion that I couldn't bring myself to make them stop. Hence the skipping of the math on Tuesday.

And they were working so well together. Everyone involved. Everyone contributing. Everyone happy.

And everyone very dirty.

After I told him to smile for the camera, I told him to get down and to STOP CLIMBING ON THE BRICKS!

And this was what they accomplished. Quite impressive if I do say so myself.

Ohp, she saw the camera again. Head tilted to the right, hands behind her back. It's her pose.

Distracted by something in the alley.

Now, they've asked to pour cement on top of the bricks. They are serious about this fort.

Enjoying the fruit of their labor. And making my heart smile.

Bridget