...trash to treasure...

here's a fun idea for using up your old & broken crayons!

what you want to do is first unwrap the crayons. you can do however many you want to...we used about 15 or 20 & that was plenty for zac. if you can, try and use a variety of colors, it makes the end product more fun! once the crayons are unwrapped, chop them up into pieces. but keep in mind that you don't want shavings, you want small chunks.

then get an old muffin tin...the wax tends to stick a little. i didn't have an old tin, so i learned the hard way & spent like 20 minutes scrubbing mine afterwards...but the wax still came off, so if you don't mind scrubbing a little...feel free to use a newer one...it's up to you. now divide the crayon bits up into the muffin tins...zac filled ours just over half way.

you'll want to bake them at 200 for about 20-25 minutes or just until the crayons are melted. then remove them & cool completely on a cooling rack. once they're cooled, put the tin in the freezer for an hour or two. then tip the tin over...and they should pop right out!

the finished "magic crayon" project...

and one happy boy...

...bubbles...

So thanks to my friend daisha, i got this fun idea off of her blog. to create this easy little bubble maker, get a cup (we used a plastic one) and a little bit of dish soap in the bottom. then add about 1/2 cup water to it and cover the top of the cup with tinfoil. once you've done that, poke two little holes in the top of the tinfoil...(one for the straw and one for the bubbles to come out of)...now you're already to blow through the straw & let the magic begin! zac loves this by the way...it's so quick and easy which makes it all the better, right?! thanks again daisha for the idea!! :)

...in awe...

zac and i had so much fun watching these little caterpillars change into butterflies! i was amazed and still am at how quickly they transform into a completely different life form...pretty cool. anyway...here's our little experiment and their amazing journey summed up in just a few pictures...

this isn't the best picture...but it's the only one i took the night we got them. they came in the mail just like this...all the yellow stuff at the bottom is their food.

about 10 days later, they made their way up to the top of the container and somehow wove themselves into these cocoons. you can see the last one of the bunch is still not quite there.

once they were all in their cocoons, we moved them into this fun container...and anxiously waited. sometimes i wonder if i got this little kit for zac, or if i got it for myself. i seriously thought it was the coolest thing ever! anyway...they stayed in their cocoons for another 10 days or so...

we woke up sunday morning to find our first butterfly! by that afternoon all of them had come out of their cocoons.

a couple of days later, we decided to let them go...and i was so bummed because i didn't get one picture of them flying out of the cage...they were way too fast for my picture-taking skills.

but i did get a few shots once they landed on some blossoms... :)

i couldn't help but draw some sort of parallel between these little creatures and each one of us. we all have so much potential...and everything we need to make us into the amazing beings we truly are is already inside of us...it's all right there, just so many times we don't realize it. i mean really, if we all could recognize the strength and potential that already lies within us, and we actually did something with it...this world would be a much better place!

"just like the butterfly,
i too will awaken in my own time."

...deborah chaskin...

...caterpillars to your doorstep...

okay, so there aren't many things i remember about my early school years...but a few things stick out vividly in my mind....like the time my 1st grade class had our very own caterpillars & got to watch them go through the whole transition from caterpillar to butterfly. i LOVED it and still can remember how exciting & fun it was for me. so yes, all those feelings came rushing back when i found this website! you get five caterpillars & this cage for $26. it takes like 20-30 days for the whole process to take place...so i think it would be such a fun little summer activity for kids (and adults if you're like me)! anyway...i can't wait to get ours....i'll keep you posted on our progress!

...Friday's Favorites...

I don't know about you, but sometimes these cold winter days can get long & it can be hard to find things to keep Zac entertained inside. I was watching Studio 5 yesterday & they showed this little science experiment that turned out to be fun & very exciting to watch. You'll have to try it if you're in a crunch for something fun to do. Here's what you'll need:

...an empty plastic bottle...
...1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide...
...squirt of liquid dish soap...
...3-4 drops food coloring...
...1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 2 Tbsp. warm water...

So what you want to do is put the hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, & food coloring in the bottle. In a separate bowl or cup or whatever, mix the yeast and water together. Once the yeast is somewhat dissolved, pour it into the bottle & be prepared to watch the magic happen!! :)

Also...probably one of my favorite magazines/websites for ideas on fun things to do with your kids year round is FamilyFun. It's been one of my favorite idea sources for things to do with kids for years...if you haven't already been to their website, go there by clicking here.

I came across another site that had a few things that looked fun too...you can visit that site by clicking here.