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Actually, what with family visits and travel the past month, keeping the kids occupied hasn’t been that big a problem yet this summer. We did do all the above activities, and before anyone asks, we distilled mint leaves to get mint essential oil, and the marshmallow shooters are actually little breath-powered rifles that shoot mini-marshmallows. They are not some sort of alcoholic beverage produced in our still.

But I did have one week at home with the kids where I really needed to come up with something for the little monsters to do. So we made a still, slingshots, and marshmallow shooters. Then later that week, I was talking to a few people about the activities we had done, and what we’d still like to do, including making squishy circuits. One mom told me the squishy circuits looked exactly like plastic explosives, and that she expected I’d be in jail before the week was out. The Hubster thought that comment was pretty funny until I reminded him that he’d have to come up with bail money to get me out.

If anyone is interested in doing any of the activities listed above, I suggest you get a copy of Make Magazine’s Summer Fun issue. It’s got the still, the marshmallow shooter, and lots of other cool projects in it. If we do anything else really interesting, I’ll let you know. And if you hear about a blue-haired mama who was killed in a tragic marshmallow shooting, you’ll know it was me.