Creepy Glow-in-the-Dark Hunt

I'm somewhat holiday-obsessed, so we start celebrating Halloween early in this household.  The Dollar Tree has some pretty awesome Halloween stuff this year, and I picked up three packs of glow-in-the-dark thingies-- bats, rats, and spiders for $1/pack. 

I left the creepy critters under our piano lamp all day long so they would soak up the light.  I decided to do the hunt in Big Sister's room, so she would be in familiar terrain when clambering around in the pitch black darkness.  I gave her a Halloween bucket to collect the spoils, and we were off on the hunt.  There was a lot of "hunt hype" during the day leading up to this, so she was super pumped to get going.

She loved this.  Unfortunately the critters don't photograph well in the dark, but she had a blast finding and collecting these little guys.

We also had a good opportunity to practice counting and sorting at the end of the hunt-- 12 spiders, 6 bats, and 4 rats.  We'll definitely be doing this several more times before October 31.

Apple Cider Playdough

Since we took our old playdough outside and got woodsy with it (see my post Bringing Playdough Outside), it was time for making new playdough.  My go-to playdough recipe is easy and quick, and Big Sister loves to help make it.  Since it's September now and we're pumped for Fall, we decided to add some yummy-smelling spices to it.  It ended up smelling like delicious spiced cider, so we named it Apple Cider Playdough.

Here's what you need to make it:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 cup of cold water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
food coloring
spices of your choosing

Mix the dry ingredients.  I got crazy with the spices because sprinkling them in is Big Sister's favorite part, and she really can't mess it up.

 

 

 

 

Add the wet ingredients.  Stir well.  Cook it over medium heat until it has a playdough consistency, stirring frequently.  Big Sister's been asking to make red playdough for months, so that's what we went with.

 

Knead it up and let it cool, kneading it a few more times as it cools.  Super simple!  This stuff stays good forever if you store it in an airtight container.

Ready to play!  Except for some salt on the floor, this one was pretty mess-free.

 

Toddler Chef: Chicken Tacos

Aside from the tantrums, toddlers are so much fun!  They're super excited about everything, and they're busy learning every waking moment.  Big Sister wants to do everything I do, and that includes activities I might think of more as work than fun.  She enjoys cooking, cleaning, and weeding just as much as playing with toys. 

I like to get Big Sister involved in the kitchen for several reasons-- the main one being that if she's occupied helping me cook, I don't have to worry about what else she's getting into, and therefore it's actually easier for me to get the cooking done! I also hope that by participating in the cooking process, she'll be more willing to try a variety of foods since she's helping to prepare the meals herself. And finally, I'm happy to be teaching her skills as a toddler that she'll use for a lifetime. She helps make dinner almost every night.  Last night, we made chicken tacos.

I got this awesome recipe out of the Oprah magazine several years ago, and it has become a family favorite. You can find it here: Tomato-Braised Chicken Tacos

I'll begin by saying that this activity ended in a huge mess...I'm surely living up to the "messy" part of my title with this one.  This is the first time I tried photographing while cooking with a toddler, and it definitely complicated matters (details below)!

When I chop vegetables, Big Sister is my "trash lady" (she gets a kick out of this name now...we'll see how long that lasts!). Being the trash lady means that she takes the vegetable scraps and puts them in the trash bowl. She loves putting things where they belong, so she's enthusiastic about this job.

I also let her throw the veggies into the blender.

Big Sister likes to help me pour salt, pepper, and spices into whatever we're making...this is tricky because her hand isn't steady enough to hold a teaspoon without dumping everything out, so we both hold it and dump it in together. 

She also loves to push buttons, so she gets to pulse the blender.  Of course, it would have been wise to let the toddler know that the top should be on the blender before pushing the pulse button...this mama was busy photographing and before I knew it, shredded tomatoes were covering the kitchen.  That's when the picture-taking ended.

I deal with the chicken and tortillas by myself because I don't want her touching raw meat or getting too close to the hot stove.  She does like to peek in on the chicken with me and check how it's cooking, and watch me stir it.

While making the avocado salsa, she gets to suck on the leftover lime after it's been juiced (possibly her favorite part of the whole process).  She also helps to gently stir-- "gently" being the word I repeat over and over during this step.

All done, let's eat!  Despite the mess, it turned out yummy...this recipe never fails me.