Dinosaur Crayons

We made these for The Midglet's birthday and put them in the favor boxes. It was such a simple, easy craft and I can't wait to make other shapes, too! 

Crafting tends to be a family affair with us, and I spent an afternoon at my sister's house getting all the make-ahead party stuff done with her and her family. I just LOVE how we all get into it, and this activity was no different!

I found this post on making dinosaur crayons when I was searching for, surprise!, dinosaur crayons to buy. This was much less expensive than anything I found. 

All you need is a silicone mold, crayons, an oven and voila! Fun crayon shapes.

I bought the silicone mold on ebay for around $7, but I also found it on amazon.com.

We started by peeling the paper off the crayons

Then we broke them apart and put them in the mold. It took a about 1.5-2 crayons to fill each space. These were Rose Art and on the thinner side; I think if you used Crayola you may only need one crayon per dinosaur. Also, you may 

In the oven, on a cookie sheet lined with foil, for 25-30 minutes at 200 degrees. Let cool or put in the freezer - since it was January we just stuck the cookie sheet outside on the front step - and then pop them out of the silicone when they are cooled and firm.

Ta da! AWESOMESAUCE! We had such fun with the first batch we got creative and started making all different color combinations. We used 5 24-packs of crayons and made 7 dozen little critters. I'm saving the extras to include in a dino-themed birthday gift.

The Midglet turns 3 - and it's DINO-tastic!!

This year for The Midglet's birthday, we went prehistoric with a dinosaur theme! He loves going to Party City and picking out all the little dinosaurs in the favor section, playing with them and integrating them into all his imaginative play (it's rather amusing!).  


We had a blast! I made tissue paper pom poms to hang from the ceiling, the cake became the bane of my existence for a few hours, and I was able to do a ton DIY or semi-homemade which made this party extra fun for me and the fam :)

For the favor boxes we made crayons and soap - I also included dinosaur stickers, miniature dinosaurs, notepads and dinosaur stamps. They were a hit! 

                    

Dino shaped crayons

Dinosaur egg soap surprise!

Dinos, dinos everywhere!

   

DIY birthday banner

PB&J and fluffer-nutter (homemade fluff!) sandwiches, snacks, and other yummies

So this cake was almost a disaster until it came together like THAT!!! The car is gluten/dairy free (for my dad, who ended up not even getting a piece it was so delicious!) and the rest was white cake with dark chocolate chunks and cream cheese frosting. I wouldn't recommend trying to design anything with cream cheese frosting, but in this case with some tweaking, and a lot of TLC, it came together beautifully!



We played pin the head on the t-rex, made dinosaur feet, ran around til we dropped. Of course The Midglet was still awake at 11 and was begging me to go back to the car to get his presents, and it took some clever negotiating to get him to sleep, but it was all worth it.

I think the adults had more fun with the dinos than the kids!

The Midglet!

Mama's Best Friend - THE BEST DOG

One year ago today, we lost our furry four-legged baby. The first. The (one and ) only so far. I still think of him and am brought to tears by how much I miss him.

 I got Jack when I was in college. Even though I really had no business getting a dog, as I could barely take care of myself and it was an impulsive decision, he changed my life and perspective on the world the second I brought him home. He was always happy. Always ready for a walk, to play, to snuggle up with me on the couch. He deserved better then, and I can only hope I made up for it over the course of his life. He was such a special dog, and for some reason he chose me to care for him and love him and be part of his pack. 

For that, I am forever grateful.

Jack was seriously the best dog ever. Even people who had their own dogs would tell me he was the best dog ever. He was fun, and loving, and friendly, and my shadow for 14 years. He would stay with me in bed if I was having a bad day, and not nudge me to play or exercise him, he was intuitive to my needs as I was to his. I knew when there was something wrong with him, just by a look he would get, like when he was going to have a seizure or when he tried to tell us to finally let him go.

Jack would jump off the diving board to rescue his pack members when they were in the pool. He would race up and down the sides of the pool and then jump in enthusiastically to cool down. He loved to chase the seagulls on the beach and walked with me as though he never got tired.

He loved to visit different lakes, and would wade in to cool off or for a drink or just to swim around a little. He wholeheartedly accepted Scott as his "new alpha" and eventually would burrow under the covers on his side of the bed instead of snuggling up with me, and I affectionately called him a traitor. 

He was always happy. When the Midglet joined us, he would be his warm pillow for daytime naps. He was as protective of the littlest one as he was of the rest of us. He loved fiercely and loyally. When he passed, the outpouring of sympathy and kind words we received showed me how many lives he touched with his happy disposition, his howling on command, his antics and love. 

He is missed and loved and will forever stay in our hearts. He was THE BEST DOG.