Life as a Leach

What do you do with a couple of screws, a bunch of nails, a sturdy rock (painted during a previous craft time), and a cardboard box? Carpentry 101!  This great idea was found in my new Family Fun Magazine, and I knew that Caleb would love it. I was right! An hour's entertainment...thanks, Family Fun!

For Abby's party, I made some pumpkin playdough for the kids to play with.  It included pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon so that it really did smell like a yummy pie!  I am a lover of homemade playdough, but this is my first time making pumpkin.  Here's my tried and true recipe! Materials 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 4 teaspoons cream of tartar pumpkin pie spice (Caleb just shook a bunch in until it smelled "pumpkiny!" cinnamon (no measuring here either) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 cups water Food coloring (we used 6 drops of red and 15 drops of yellow) Instructions 1.Combine the dry ingredients in a nonstick saucepan. 2. Add the oil to 1 cup of water and pour over mix.  3.  Add food coloring to the second cup of water and add to the mixture.  4.  Whisk until smooth. 5.  Stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, cook the mixture over medium heat until it forms a ball--about 3 to 4 minutes. 3. Turn the doug...