happy halloween

Happy Halloween!

spooky science

In the spirit of Halloween, lovely friend A and I were happy to help Husband try out a science experiment at home before trying it at school with his students. He wanted to do something fun with the kids in honour of the spooky upcoming weekend. This is a great project for kids and adults of all ages!

HALLOWEEN SLIME

You will need:
* Elmer's glue (most kinds of white craft glue will work)
* 2 cups or bowls (your own dishes will clean up well, or disposables work too)
* Food coloring
* Water
* Borax Powder (available at most large grocery stores near the laundry detergent)
* A tablespoon (for stirring and measuring)

In one cup/bowl, combine one cup (250ml) of water and one Tbsp. of Borax powder. Stir and set aside.

In the other cup/bowl, combine three Tbsp. of glue and three Tbsp. water. Stir. Add food colouring (four or five drops, or until you achieve the desired shade).

Now the fun part! Add two tablespoons of the Borax/water solution to the glue mixture and stir quickly. Watch the slime form!

After the slime forms let it sit for about 30 seconds or so until the slime is not wet anymore. (If still very slippery, take slime out and squeeze it with your hands.)
pull it off the spoon and play with it!

If you're a Grade 8/9 science teacher like Husband, you'll also add this to your instructions: DO NOT EAT, THROW or TOUCH anyone else with it.

Happy Halloween!

diy fall wreath

Oh fall, how I missed you. The changing colour of the leaves and the crisp feel in the air makes me so happy.

I really intended to do this project a long time ago. But I kept forgetting that the camera was packed in the hospital bag in the trunk and Husband would drive away to work and I would be left with no way to capture the photographic evidence of my latest seasonal project. Then Baby Jacob arrived and monopolized my time for a few weeks, but we're slowly working on a routine that allows me some mommy time for my cooking and crafting pursuits.

I picked up a plain wreath at Michaels for $2 on clearance. I wasn't sure what to do with it until I spotted these paper flowers on sale at Wicker Emporium.

I started by cutting the blooms from the stems and experimented on how I could arrange them around the wreath.

With a little hot glue, my plain wreath wasn't so plain anymore.

But I'm trying to decide if it seems a little too dull. I dug through my craft supplies but didn't find anything that coordinated. What do you think? Add a bow? A ribbon?

try it tuesday

It's been a while since I experimented with a new recipe. I copied down my mom-in-law's recipe for zucchini walnut bread a long time ago, but never got around to making it ... until this mammoth veggie found its way into my kitchen.

Sister-in-law L sent us some garden fresh veggies, including a few zucchinis big enough to feed a small army. So I tried out this straight-forward loaf recipe.

Zucchini Walnut Bread

Combine:

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

3 eggs

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. salt

Fold in:

3 1/4 cups flour

3 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

Bake in greased loaf pan at 350F for 45 to 60 minutes.

This recipe makes a really big loaf. If you're using small loaf pans, you might want to split this into two or halve the recipe. I didn't get around to taking a photo of the final result because it was just too yummy! Try it!

priorities

I didn't think motherhood would change me as much as it has. My former control-freak self has relaxed considerably, to my surprise, and here's the proof:

• My Google Reader has 1,000+ unread items. And that number is growing by the day.

• It's October, and our summer clothes are still in our closet. It's too cold for shorts and tank tops, but I can't be bothered to do the change over. For now, our closet is exploding with clothes for all seasons.

• I've checked out library books and returned them without even cracking the covers.

• New episodes of my favourite shows are collecting dust on my DVR.

• The cookie jar has been filled with store-bought cookies for weeks and I'm starting to notice that they taste just as good as the homemade ones.

• I'm slowly learning how to sleep during the day when it's needed.

• Instead of butting in when friends and family are helping out around the house, I simply say thank you.

A Facebook friend posted this and I'm starting to see how true it really is ...

I hope my child looks back on today,

and remembers a Mum who had time to play.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,

cause babies grow fast, we learn to our sorrow.

Cobwebs be quiet, dust go to sleep,

I'm cuddling my baby and babies don't keep.