Mini Muffin Crayons!

Max loves crayons.

Max also loves to dump out the bin FULL of crayons.

Broken crayons suck.

I decided to "make lemonade" and took all the little broken crayon bits and melted them into chunky little round multi colored crayons. These are much more difficult to break and there are so fewer little bits for me to pick up/make Max pick up when he dumps them. Win-win. :)

Step 1: Peel all the paper off your crayons. This is not as easy or fun as I seemed to think it was when I was little. Definitely the most annoying part of the whole process. If your kids are old enough to help, for sure enlist their services.

Step 2: Break crayons into bits small enough to fit in your mold. I used a mini-muffin tin sprayed with non-stick vegetable oil spray. It would be super fun if you had cute shapes like stars or hearts and what a great little party favor (or activity!) that you could also use as a class gift or just about anything. This is one awesome kid craft in my book. I thought the melting process was really pretty. Heat your oven to 275 and leave them in there around 7-10 minutes depending on how fat your crayons are- just keep an eye on them.

I chose to group mine by color (some mixing is fine- (silver in with your blues, white with just about anything). With as long as I felt they should stay in to melt properly it seemed like there was just too much mixing going on to really have different color families within one crayon, but you see what works for you.

You might be able to see some little chunks on top here- I left them in longer after this was taken to get those melted but I think I filled my cups a bit too full. You want them up to the rim and a little over but not a lot or you'll spill wax in your oven like I did.

Step 3: Let them cool!

Make sure you let them cool entirely on their own. The first time I tried this I popped them into the freezer to speed things along and nearly all of them split down the middle from the temperature change.

I was actually pretty jazzed with all the cool marbled overflow however and made some prints

by laying paper on top. This of course made me start to wonder about dabbling in encaustics, but I've also been thinking of learning to bellydance and that's better for me and probably cheaper.

How delicious are these little finished crayons? I adore them and Max seems to be enjoying them as well. If I have any critique it's that so far it seems like you might have to press harder to get the full color but Max doesn't seem to mind.

Step 4: Remove them from the mold.

So easy and fun! Once they are entirely cooled they are simple to get out. I placed the tin upside down on the counter and gave each cup a little whack with the handle of a knife and they came out like a dream.

Max got right to work doing something very busy with these as soon as he had access. Later I discovered he'd been sorting them. That'll do, Pig. ♥

Highlights

Okay- so I haven't posted in a long time because I've been continuously trying to load the same damn picture from Father's Day over and over again in an attempt to write a post about it. Sadly my computer is randomly cranky about uploading photos- I think it has to do with the connection- but I just got wireless so I don't know what else I can do. Anywho- in light of the picture disaster and all the stuff that's happened since I am going to just do a highlight reel type post- some of you are probably relieved. :) If some of the photos are wonky- so be it.

Father's Day- really nice wake-up in bed with 3 bears after Max and I do side by side feeding- Jack gets to play with Max in his adorable new jammies.

Jack requests pancakes, eggs and sausage for breakfast- it's really yummy. The pancakes are not from scratch- they are in a spray can like whipped cream- but they're organic and tasty and pretty convenient.

We pack up and go to my family reunion- which is really our Father's Day gift to our Dad- to have his girls with their babies in such a special place on such a special day. We also got him a yoga gift certificate.

While we're up there we get a cool pic with the other twins in our family tree (or at least the closest ones) Burt and Clay. Burt is now the proud father of three gorgeous little girls- one of which is being held here by her uncle Clay. Both of those girls are 2 months older than Max. My question is, are all boys a bit bigger or is Max individually huge?

The next day we got Thor professionally groomed- he had basically never done this before. We took him to a Grandmom and Grandpop operation in San Marcos, but she requested that Jack stay and help her with our overly large cocker spaniel and it was just not the same as an anonymous professional place without Mommy or Daddy there. It didn't go well and so for the next 6 years or so Jack and I always groomed him at home with some clippers we bought and scissors and stuff. It was quite the production and we never did a very good job because Thor was not particularily co-operative. So, you can imagine our surprise and delight to have the groomer at Petsmart declare Thor "one of the best cockers [she's] ever groomed." Yippee!!! I don't have to forcibly groom an unwilling dog anymore! We also discovered that A. Thor really likes those cow hoof chewies and B. He's fatter than we thought he was under all that hair.

Max turned 4 months old! He sleeps between 11 and 12 hours every night by himself and he has just recently started rolling over completely- he still sometimes gets stuck for awhile and frustrated but he generally works it out. He also likes to stand for a long time if you hold his hands for balance. His favorite games are peek-a-boo and when we pretend to eat him.

I amuse myself slightly at Max's expense when I discover that he'll leave this horse on his forehead for quite awhile- I have a million pictures- but this is one of the best.

I also amuse myself with his adorable little hat that Selah gave him because it goes with the outfit that is extra wide and does not fit her lean baby. While making fascinators, I stick a stray leaf on top for a little green apple effect- so cute. :)

Mine and Selah's 31st Birthday! We have in the past thrown many and huge themed get-together but with babies we take it easy and go to our Parent's house where Mum is making us dinner. I really cherish showers now that I'm a mama and I have this nice robe from my mother in law and these turbie twists for my hair and I feel so fancy like I'm in a salon in the 40's when I wear the matched set. I feel like Esther Williams.

We put Max-o in a little outfit that Grandma Cat bought him and sadly I think we waited too long as it is really difficult to get him in and out of and is a bit snug on his chubby legs.

But at least we get a few pics of it....

Before he lets us know that he would prefer nuditity for a little while. Yay Naked-Time! He gets this every day- usually in his diaper so he doesn't pee on us. Dicey likes to touch his head- it's very sweet- she seems fascinated by him- he hasn't particularily noticed her yet but if you lay them next to each other they'll sometimes hold hands like that video of the otters a while back.

This is my Dad's hand- not Jack's- Max tends to make funny faces when you squish his cheeks.

So, Father's Day=Good, Birthday=Good- I will try to do more frequent postings and ignore the occasional janky photo so I don't get so behind again.