5 Ingredients for Indoor Summer Fun

It's hot here in south Texas. So hot you can blister your bare feet walking to the mailbox. Too hot for playing outside or mowing, though my neighbors wish I would. I keep thinking about getting a big spotlight to light up my yard so I can mow at night but not sure my neighbors would appreciate that either. But I'd rather be sitting here in the air conditioning blogging about my overgrown yard because it's just too hot! While we did enjoy a milder spring and summer than past years, inevitably the triple digits have arrived and it's time to find indoor fun for the little man. This month I've also been taking care of my grandson, meaning double the fun.

I also happen to be on a very tight entertaining budget. But with a quick trip to the dollar store and the grocery store I purchased the ingredients for not one, but three different fun play activities. You will need one box of borax, two boxes of baking soda, a box of corn starch, a couple bottles of cheap glue, and some food coloring, which I already had on hand.

Activity Number One: Slime

 Lots of ooey, gooey, squish fun!

I had to split it up into two bowls to keep the squabbling down. By the end of it my kitchen looked like a scene from Ghostbusters. 

To make your own slime, mix 1 teaspoon borax in one cup of water until it is dissolved. In another bowl, add 4 ounces glue and a half cup of water. Add desired amount of your choice of food coloring to the glue mixture. If desired, add some extra sparkle to the glue mixture with some glitter. I didn't have any on hand so we skipped the sparkle. 

Now the super fun part. Dump the borax mixture into the glue mixture and let the little hands dig in for the ultimate sensory experience. 

Activity Number Two: Bouncy Balls

I failed to get photos while we were making the bouncy balls, so I'm going to send you over to The 36th Avenue for their great, colorful tutorial using borax, glue, food coloring, and glue.

Next Time: Activity Number Three... Air Dry Baking Soda Clay

Didn't think I could sit here in the air conditioning blogging all day did you? Naw, going to go sit in an air conditioned movie theater instead...

Angel Food Cake French Toast Sticks

I saw a beautiful post about making french toast with angel food cake. The photo accompanying the post was absolutely mouth watering. If you are on Pinterest, you've probably seen it floating around. A whole angel food cake is a lot of food for one adult and one little boy. However, when I went to the store and saw the smaller angel food loaf, I realized I could still try out angel food cake french toast without having to fill up my freezer with tons of leftovers.

Wanting it to also be kid friendly, I decided to slice up my angel food loaf into sticks. Then I simply dunked the sticks into the egg mixture and fried in the skillet, turning to brown all sides. The egg mixture I typically use for making french toast is 2-3 eggs, a splash of half and half, a dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg, and about a half teaspoon of vanilla extract. With the angel food french toast sticks I opted for the cinnamon. Instead of slathering the sticks with homemade syrup, I filled a small dish for dipping. Great fun for little fingers.Would also be yummy dipped in warm cinnamon apple sauce or apple butter, too.