Summer Activity Series-Jello Playdough!

Today's Summer activity is Jello playdough! This is an activity that we do every summer, multiple times. The kids love it and the older ones almost know the recipe by heart and can (pretty much) make it all by themselves. 

Things you will need for this activity:

-1 cup of white flour 

-1 cup of warm water

-2 tablespoons of cooking oil 

-2 tablespoons of salt

-1 3 ounce package of Jello, any flavour 

Mix all of these things in a large saucepan and then heat on the stovetop on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to come together. Keep stirring until the mixture begins to resemble cookie (or play) dough. Remove from heat and dump out onto the counter and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate until cooled completely. 

                Stirring super fast! 

    Cooking time! Let an adult help here! 

   Finished product! We used lime jello this time :) 

Now you can craft all kinds of things out of this dough! It lasts up to two months if you store it in an airtight container in the fridge. And it is completely safe to eat (in case you have any little ones who are still in the "putting everything in their mouths" phase).

I hope you guys enjoy this activity as much as we do! Please share my blog and remember you can follow me on Pinterest (Tori Faber) and Instagram (victoriafaberrr) to see everything else we get up to! 

Thanks for reading and I'll see you back here next week for another fun summer activity! 

Xoxoxox 

Tori 

Summer Fun Series-Easy Frozen Lemonade Recipe!

Hello again! I told you I would be back and this time I actually got two posts up within six months of each other. A huge accomplishment for me, but pretty pathetic really hahaha! 

This is the second installment of my Summer Activities Series! Today we're talking lemons and how I turn them into lemonade. 

         I forgot to take pictures of the lemons before the children completely pulverized them, so this is what you get! Cute, huh?  

This is one of our original favourites. It was one of the first recipes I made with the kids three summers ago and they love it. If you're from Canada then I'm sure you are familiar with Tim Hortons and the frozen lemonade kick that they have been on for the past couple of years. This is an at home alternative to this and I like it better. It's probably a touch healthier too! 

For this recipe you will need:

-1cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use about six fair size lemons)

-1 cup of white, granulated sugar 

-approx. 4 cups of crushed ice 

Just throw everything straight into the blender and blend until the ice is completely crushed or you have the consistency you're looking for. Feel free to add sugar to taste. We like ours suuuuper tangy! 

I let the kids each take a turn juicing the lemons into a bowl and then we strain to eliminate seeds. 

And that's it! Pour your lemonade into a glass and enjoy! 

                That smile says it all! :) 

That's it from me for now, but I promise I'll be back with another summer activity very soon! Thanks for reading! :) 

Make sure to check out my Pinterest (Tori Faber) and Instagram (victoriafaberrr) to check out all of the other stuff we get up to! 

Xoxoxox

Tori 

Babysitting-Summer 2014 Edition!

For the past three years I have babysat the same three boys; H (13), S (11), and L (6). This year I gained the boys next door as well. We'll call them LJ (9) and EJ (7). With all five boys, things can get a little crazy sometimes. 

                     Some of the kiddos! 

Over the past couple of summers we have done countless activities, made too many crafts to count, and taste tested about a hundred different recipes. From all of this I have extracted the tried and true, hall of fame, best of the best, very favourites and decided to compile them here for you in a series of blog posts. 

All of these activities and recipes are pre-tested and kid-approved. So if you're at home with your own kids for the summer or you're babysitting and need something foolproof, I would definitely recommend one of these! 

Jolly Rancher Lollipops 

This is an activity I came across a few years ago whilst scouring Pinterest. We have attempted candy making a few times before and every time it has ended in failure (and once with a burn on my right hand). The idea had never occurred to me to make candy out of pre-existing candy; eliminating the lava hot sugar boiling process. 

The original pin I found is not very accurate recipe wise (as I discovered the first time we made these) so I will leave you with my own tips and tricks! 

I suggest preheating your oven to 350 degrees. I found this to be the perfect jolly rancher melting temperature. Once you have done this, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and have your kiddos start unwrapping their candies (WITH CLEAN HANDS!). 

Each lollipop is made up of three jolly rancher candies. Our favourite part is coming up with the different flavour combinations; a fan favourite of ours is two watermelon and one green apple. 

Lay your candies three in a row on your parchment paper with room between the groupings so that they will not touch once they have melted and you will have room to insert the lollipop stick. 

Then put your cookie sheet in the oven and wait for the candies to melt. I would say this takes longer than five minutes but less than ten. Just keep an eye on them. 

Once they have melted, take them out of the oven and immediately roll a paper lollipop stick or Popsicle stick or wooden skewer into one end of each of the lollipops. Let them sit until they are cool to the touch and then peel them off of the parchment paper. 

               This is our finished product! 

What you will need:

-jolly rancher candies in assorted flavours

-lollipop sticks 

-parchment paper 

So that is the first installment of my summer activity list! Hope you enjoyed it and you'll try these out with your own kiddies! Let me know if you do! And follow my babysitting Pinterest board (Tori Faber) for even more ideas and my Instagram (victoriafaberrr) to keep up with what I'm doing with my kids everyday! :)

See you again soon!! 

Tori 

Xoxox

What Did I Do To My Hair?!

So last Friday I decided to do something crazy. Well, not too crazy, but crazy for me. If you know me then you are probably pretty aware of my hair. Prior to last Friday I hadn't had a haircut in almost two years. Why? I don't really know, but I was long over due for a little trim.

And then this happened...

Before & After 

I have had long hair for most of my life, and this is the shortest it's been since I was about five. It still feels a bit strange and I'm not sure it has completely sunk in, but I LOVE it! Sometimes you just need a big change.

However, having long hair for so long means that I have experimented with many different hair products. I decided that I would share with you my holy grail hair treatments! 

Argania Spinosa Organic Argan Oil *Special Treatment Mask*

 As you may be able to tell, this puppy is very close to empty. And that is because it is perfect in every way! I bought this in an attempt to bring some life back into my very dead, heat damaged, split ends. To be honest, the ends of my hair were pretty much beyond repair, (I really needed that hair cut!) but this really did help.

 Obviously it didn't fix my split ends, because that would have taken a miracle, but it did make a noticeable difference. Not to mention it smells AMAZING! I also like it because it is pretty much as low maintenance as you can get. I put it on my hair, focusing on the ends, right after I shampoo. I leave it on while I wash my face and then rinse it out. I usually use this twice a week and when I do I forego my usual conditioner so I don't weigh down my hair with too much product. I definitely recommend giving this guy a try! I would really like to try the shampoo and conditioner from this brand as well! Maybe I will do a review on them some time soon! :)

L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise Re-Nutrition Intense Mask

I decided to try this hair mask as an alternative to my argan oil option. I wanted something that was a little more affordable and I stumbled across this. I am actually very glad I decided to pick this up because 1. it was on sale, and 2. it is awesome!

If you want something to add some moisture to your hair and do a little preventative maintenance, but you want to pay almost $10 less than the Argania Spinsosa, I would pick this one. I also find this mask a little heavier than the argan one. It says it is infused with royal jelly (oh so fancyyyy), so maybe that is why. Overall, I would say that if you're looking to wet your feet in the area of hair masks, this would be my recommendation.

Beyond The Zone: Pro Formula Split Mender 

The next product I found on my quest to repair my terribly fried hair, was this Beyond The Zone Split Mender. I found this on a trip to Sally's Beauty Supply a couple of months ago. I had originally only picked up the heat protectant from the same line (which I would also recommend checking out-it smells AMAZING!), but when I got to the register I found out that there was a buy one get one deal so I decided to try this one as well. I put this on the ends of my hair after I get out of the shower. I try to be careful and not get this too close to my roots because it does tend to leave them looking a little greasy. I think that even though I don't necessarily have any split ends to mend right now, I will continue to use this as a way to combat future breakage :)

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner 

This one I had to google image search because I am completely out of it! I discovered this in my Ipsy Glam Bag a few months back and have been in love with it ever since. My hair tends to be greasy at the roots and dry at the ends. I use a conditioner three times a week and usually use a hair mask twice a week. On the days I use a hair mask I follow up with this leave in conditioner on my damp hair. Out of all the hair products I use this is definitely the one I can't live without! It leaves my hair shiny and volumized. I am definitely interested in trying out more products from this line! :) 

Well, I hope some of you guys found this helpful! It's kind of crazy how much stuff there is to smear onto your hair isn't it? But these are the ones that I find the best and maybe you will enjoy them too! Let me know :) 

Talk to you soon! 

XOXOXOX 

Tori 

Worst Blogger EVER!

Oh my goodness...to say it's been awhile since I posted on here would be a complete understatement. Six whole months have gone by!! I think it is safe to say I am the world's worst blogger! Forgive me? Maybe?

Reading back my last post was very interesting. It was cool to see how I was feeling on my very first day at university. It is also crazy to see how differently things turned out. There are a couple of big things that happened this year that I am going to cover in this post, so here we go!

The first thing, well, person, is Rachael! Rachael is the first person I met here at Algoma. I met her on move in day and we've pretty much been friends since then. It was so nice to make a friend so early on because everything was very unfamiliar and it was great to have someone to figure things out with. It's kind of crazy to think that we've only known each other for six months. It feels like it's been a lot longer!

Me and Rachael at a Soo Greyhouds game!! 

We both found out pretty early on into the school year just how hard it was to be so far away from home. Before Christmas we decided that we would apply to a school that was a little closer to home. I also decided that university is not really for me, at least right now. I am going to school to be a social worker and right now I have one social work class a week. For awhile I was really frustrated and I just kept wondering why I was here and how it was helping me become a social worker when I was only learning about social work for three hours a week.

Long story short, I have decided to go to college. In January I applied to Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. I applied to both the Social Service Worker program as well as the Child and Youth Worker program. I found out in February that I had been accepted for the Child and Youth Worker program. I do plan to go back to university in the future and complete my Social Work degree, but with my college program I will be learning in a much more hands on way and gaining experience in the field as well, which is very valuable to me. I am very excited for September!!

Go Falcons!!

I am also excited for September because I will officially be living in a house (not residence), on my own! Well, with Rachael and her sister. Rachael is from a town close to London and is also going to Fanshawe. I think it will be a lot of fun and I'm really excited for the change!

Right now I am just finishing up my second semester of university. Exams start next week and I am moving home in just under two and a half weeks. There is a lot happening in the second half of my 2014, but I think I will save that for another blog post, hopefully some time in the (near) future!!

Thanks for reading guys, and I do promise I will try and be more on top of things here! I have some exciting things to talk about in the next couple of months so hopefully you'll come back!!

XOXOXOX

Tori

Moving Day!!

Ok. Here we go. I have a feeling this is going to be my longest blog post yet. I have lots to update on! Let's start with this; I MOVED! TO UNIVERSITY! EIGHT HOURS AWAY FROM MY HOMETOWN! AHHHHHH!

I guess I should start from the beginning; which would be when I was accepted to Algoma University back in November 2012. Algoma is in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, which is about eight hours from my hometown. At first I thought, nope, absolutely not, that is wayyyy too far away. But then I learned more about it and decided to give it a chance. In early November I took a bus trip with my granny up to Sault Ste. Marie to see the campus and learn more about the university. From there I was sold. I knew that was where I was going to end up. When we got home I applied and the rest is history!

Yesterday I packed everything I own into the back of my grandparent's van and we made the trip back up to the Soo for move in day. First though, came the goodbyes. I know I'm not going away to the war or anything, but saying good bye to my family was SO hard. Especially my granny, my aunt, and my best friend, Ashley. Let me tell you, I've been BEYOND hormonal the last week. I cry at everything. I sobbed like a child saying good bye to my dogs.

Beautiful photo montage of me, Ashley, and my aunt, Jolene.  ;) Miss them SOOOO much!

I always imagined the day that I would go off and start university. I just never really thought it would actually happen. It feels very surreal. I haven't quite accepted that I am an almost eighteen year old person and no longer a little kid. I am quite mature and I have pretty much been on my own since I was fifteen, but it's weird to find yourself sitting in your own little space and realizing that you call one hundred per cent of the shots. Maybe not weird...scary or terrifying are probably better words. 

When my grandparents left earlier, after completely moving me into my dorm, I felt very, very alone. I don't know anyone here, I don't have a safety net. If I screw up, it's me that has to fix it. If I could go back and talk to my five year old self, I would tell her to slow down. Enjoy childhood. Being an adult is not fun, and you'll be one far before your time. 

I guess today I just feel overwhelmed. Sitting here in my dorm I don't feel any more grown up than I did yesterday, or last week. If anything, I feel even more childlike. Alone in an unfamiliar place wishing someone was here to hold my hand and help me through. It's scary because I realize now that that is what adulthood is. Everyone is scared they are going to make the wrong decisions, but they make them because they have to, because suddenly there isn't someone there to tell you what is right and what is wrong anymore. 

That turned out to be way more deep than I anticipated it to be haha. But that's what I wanted this blog to be about; capturing my feelings in the moment, during a time where there is so much change. I want to remember what I felt in this moment. 

If you just moved away to school, maybe you understand everything I just blurted out up there. Or maybe you don't, and that's ok too :)

Anyway, I guess I should wrap this up. I'm hoping to blog a little more, but I guess we'll see what kind of workload I'm dealing with once classes start. Hopefully I'll talk at you all soon!

XOXO

Tori 

Babysitting 2013

Hello there! All thirteen of you that have viewed my page in the last three weeks! Woohoo! Hopefully that number will continue to grow :) I've been busy, which is why there is only the one blog post. I keep meaning to throw something on here and it just never seems to happen. So, I guess I'll fill you in on what I've been up to!

For the past two summers I have babysat for three boys; H-12, S-10, and L-5. It's probably the most entertaining, trying, and amusing job there is. I think it's great because you pretty much get paid to have fun ALL day. We've done a lot of stuff this summer; crafts, day trips, whipped up some yummy treats, and it's all been SO much fun. Here are a few candids for you to enjoy! 

It's been a fantastic summer! I'm excited to see what kind of crazy stuff we'll be up to next year! Bring on Summer 2014! 

Thanks for stopping by and catching up! Hopefully I'll have something new up for you to read in the next few weeks! Tell your friends! 

XOXO

Tori