Easy Silly Putty Recipe for Kids

 Playdough, silly putty, and sludge are three favorite words of many children.  However, buying these products in the store over and over again can be expensive.  Here is a simple easy recipe to make silly putty in your home.  The kids can even make it with some supervision.

For one small batch:
1/2 bottle of glue (or 1/4 cup)
a little less than 1/4 cup of water + 1/4 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon borax
Food Coloring

Borax is so easy to find! And it’s cheap. Just look in the laundry section of the store. One box is enough to make about a million batches of Silly Sludge.

To make Silly Sludge, first start by measuring and pouring the glue into a glass bowl. It doesn’t have to be glass, but it will be easier to clean if it is.



Then add a little less than 1/4 cup of water and stir it until it’s mixed up pretty well. The amount of water doesn’t need to be exact at all!



Add in a tiny bit of food coloring. Like even one drop if you can.  If you add too much, you may get some on your hands when you play with it. Mix it up until the color is combined.



Set that bowl aside. Now measure out 1/4 cup of hot water and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of Borax. Mix it around until the Borax dissolves. It may not all dissolve, but mostly is okay. The hot water really helps.



Now comes the fun (and educational) part! Pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture and stir.



Almost immediately, the Borax causes the glue to make a polymer chain (which means, it makes the glue’s molecules stick together). It’s pretty cool!



If all of the water doesn’t absorb into the Silly Sludge, it’s no big deal!  Move the Silly Sludge out of the bowl and play with it! The more you play with it, the better it gets. You can store it in a small zip lock bag.

For more information see Love and Laundry. 

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A Little Taste of Fall

Pumpkins are everywhere in the fall.  Make sure to try this great pumpkin desert recipe for your entertaining.

Makes: 24 to 36 servings
Yield: 24 to 36 bars 

Prep: 25 mins  

Bake: 325°F 55 mins 

 Cool: 30 mins  

Chill: 3 Hours

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4
  cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4
  cup sugar
• 1/3
  cup butter, melted
• 2
  8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4
  cups sugar
• 3
  eggs
• 1
  cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2
  teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2
  teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
• 6
  ounces semisweet chocolate, cut up, or 1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 2
  tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4
  cups sour cream
• 1/4
  cup sugar
• Grated fresh nutmeg
• Milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate curls

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir in the 1/3 cup melted butter. Press mixture evenly into bottom of the prepared baking pan; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and the 1-3/4 cups sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt on low speed just until combined. Remove 1-1/4 cups of the mixture.

3. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the 6 ounces chocolate and the 2 tablespoons butter. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Whisk chocolate mixture into the 1-1/4 cups pumpkin mixture. Pour over crust, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.

4. Carefully pour the remaining pumpkin mixture over baked chocolate layer, spreading evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes more or until filling is puffed and center is set. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

5. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar. Gently spread over cookies. Cool completely. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours. Cut into bars.* Before serving, sprinkle with nutmeg and/or chocolate curls. Makes 24 to 36 bars.

From the Test Kitchen

• Make Ahead Tip Bake and chill cookies as directed; cut into bars. Place in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.
• Tip *Test Kitchen Tip:To make triangle-shape bars, cut the cookies crosswise into four strips. Then cut each strip into five triangles (you'll end up with two half-triangles from the ends of each strip).For more information see Better Homes and Gardens.
  

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2013 Pirates

 The 2012 Pirates season is not over, but everyone is already looking ahead to the 2013 season.  The Pirates played a promising season this year with improvements in every aspect of the game.  This just builds the anticipation for next year's season.  The Pirates are traveling a lot next season with several games out west.  There will be challenges, but with a whole year to prepare the Pirates will be ready.  Let's go Bucs!

The Pirates released their 2013 schedule Wednesday with highlights that include an opening series at home against the Cubs, a July 4 home matchup with the Phillies and interleague opponents including the Mariners, Athletics and Tigers visiting PNC Park.

The schedule also features an interleague series in September for the first time, with the Pirates traveling to Texas to play the Rangers from Sept. 9-11.

The first nine home games of the season will be against NL Central opponents, with the Reds and Cardinals coming to PNC Park following the Pirates’ first road trip to Los Angeles and Arizona.

The beginning of May will bring the Nationals and Mariners to Pittsburgh for a five-game homestand.

It will be Seattle’s first trip to PNC Park since 2004. The Athletics will come to town in July.

At the end of May, the Pirates will host two games of a four-game home-and-home series against the Tigers. They also travel to Los Angeles to play the Angels in June.

The Pirates’ final homestand includes series against the Cubs, Padres and Reds before they close the season on the road at Chicago and Cincinnati.

Next season will be the first time that the National and American leagues will have 15 teams, thanks to the Astros’ move to the AL West. As a result, interleague play will last throughout the season, with each club playing 20 games.

“I like the fact that we’re playing our division rivals an even number of times,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

“I got (the schedule) a few days ago and looked it over. There are some different challenges. We go west a few more times. I do like equal number of games within the division.”

For more information see The Tribune.

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Steps to a Cleaner Desk

 Can you not get to the bottom of your desk through all the papers?  Then, it is time to reorganize your desk.  Here are some great tips on how to make a cleaner work environment, which will also help with your productivity.


5 Steps to a Cleaner & Tidier Desk:

1. Toss Stuff You Don't Need. This might seem like a no brainer, but reading the tips in this post about cleaning your desk in 5 minutes, I realize that this one has the biggest impact and is probably the one I do the least. By consistently tossing papers and other items that I don't need, I'll keep them from accumulating to clutter up my desk.

2. Place Important Tasks at Eye Level. Instead of lining up post-its filled with tasks on the surface of my desk,  place them at eye level. This will help to remove more items from the desk surface and will keep to-dos from getting ignored as the papers pile up.

3. Prioritize the Top Drawer. Put items that were on the surface of my desk in the top drawer, I would not only save quite a bit of space but it would also most likely cut down on the, ahem, borrowing of my stapler.

4. Purge the Drawers. Speaking of drawers, purging and organizing is key to having a cleaner desk. If the surface is clean but the drawers are messy, disorganized chaos, how is this better? My desk drawers are in need of some serious purging, stat!
 
5. Break Out the Organizing Accessories. If after following the first 4 tips I still fall short of my organizing goals, perhaps it's time to consider some desk organizing solutions? 

For more information see Apartment Therapy.  

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