For any new moms who have thought that their days of accessorizing ended when they traded in their handbag for a diaperbag, I know how you feel! Having a baby on your hip isn't always condusive to wearing that gorgeous string of beads or those shimmering, dangling earings that are your "go to" items to complete any outfit. If you have been able to train your child not to touch those pretty things mummy is wearing, I want to know your secret; but if you're like me, you've wondered about and experimented with other solutions. Here's one: buy your jewelry for 50 cents a piece at goodwill. I don't know. A good thrifter might be able to spot some good deals on a few necklaces, or upcycle a few pieces to make a new one, and when they get chewed on and broken, that's only a few dollars down the toilet. Amber jewelry? Gorgeous, but also expensive, and I look terrible in any shade of yellow.
My favourite solution has been the scarf. Easy, fun, colourful, washable, and you can wear them so many different ways! In the last couple weeks, I have recieved many comments on my scarves, most from other ladies wondering how I tie them and where I buy them. My answer to the latter question: anywhere! H&M has a lot of wonderful scarves this season, as does Joe. You can also find scarves at all different price points from discount places like Target, Zellers, and don't forget to check out your local goodwill or salvation army!
My answer to the former question can be summed up in this video I came across recently. After watching it myself, I proudly noted that I have at least three more ways that I tie my scarves. I must be very creative (HA!) My point is that there really is no wrong way to wear a scarf, expecially these days. It's a great way to bring some personality and individuality to an outfit, it's quick, and it doesn't matter if it gets chewed on, spit up on, drooled on... you can even carry an extra one in that snazzy diaperbag just in case!
Hmm... looks like I can't embed this video here, so I'll just add the link. Do check it out, it's worth it!
http://youtu.be/5LYAEz777AU
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Fun Fall Recipe!
Okay, so it was never really my intention to share "grown up" recipes on this site, but hey, I make the rules, right? Besides, this is a grown up recipe made fun. Your kids will love the novelty, even if they're too young to actually help make it, and if your husband has a sweet tooth like mine, he'll enjoy this twist on a classic fudge as well!
HARVEST FUDGE
4 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
3 cups sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanuts
1 cup candy corn
15-20 soft caramels
dash of heavy cream
Prepare either an 8x8 or a loaf pan by lining with foil and spraying (or buttering)
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, then pour into a large (at least 3 quart) saucepan and add the sugar, corn syrup and milk. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. STOP STIRRING and allow to continue boiling until the mixture reaches soft ball stage (238F on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and add butter, but do not stir. Allow to cool to 120F degrees (I found this takes about 20 minutes). Add vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until blended. I say beat, because it takes a little bit of oomph, and you want to incorporate a bit of air. Once the mixture begins to thicken, quickly add peanuts and candy corn and continue to beat until the fudge just begins to lose it's glossy look. Pour into your prepared pan and if you like, you can smooth it out with a buttered spatula. Allow to cool completely, then carefully remove fudge from the pan. In a double boiler over medium heat (or if you don't have a double boiler, a saucepan over LOW heat) melt the caramels with a small amount of cream until smooth. drizzle over fudge and place in fridge to cool and harden. Slice fudge any way you want (with a VERY sharp knife to get through the nuts and candy) and ENJOY!
HARVEST FUDGE
4 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
3 cups sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanuts
1 cup candy corn
15-20 soft caramels
dash of heavy cream
Prepare either an 8x8 or a loaf pan by lining with foil and spraying (or buttering)
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, then pour into a large (at least 3 quart) saucepan and add the sugar, corn syrup and milk. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. STOP STIRRING and allow to continue boiling until the mixture reaches soft ball stage (238F on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and add butter, but do not stir. Allow to cool to 120F degrees (I found this takes about 20 minutes). Add vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until blended. I say beat, because it takes a little bit of oomph, and you want to incorporate a bit of air. Once the mixture begins to thicken, quickly add peanuts and candy corn and continue to beat until the fudge just begins to lose it's glossy look. Pour into your prepared pan and if you like, you can smooth it out with a buttered spatula. Allow to cool completely, then carefully remove fudge from the pan. In a double boiler over medium heat (or if you don't have a double boiler, a saucepan over LOW heat) melt the caramels with a small amount of cream until smooth. drizzle over fudge and place in fridge to cool and harden. Slice fudge any way you want (with a VERY sharp knife to get through the nuts and candy) and ENJOY!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Indoor Activities
The weather is changing and changing fast! Here in Southern Ontario, it seems almost as if we have gone straight from summer to winter without much of an in between. Nonetheless, who can help but feel giddy at the smells of apple cider, pumpkins and fallish spices, the sight of falling leaves, indian corn and all manner of beautiful squashes and gourds.
For me, the only downside to the season is the increased time we spend inside rather than out at the park or in the garden. Finding activities to keep the little one busy can be a challenge, especially when my own list of responsibilities seems endless and overwhelming, but here is something I'm learning to do: let Elysia take part in those responsibilities. Am I folding laundry? Give her the washcloths. Sure, they won't really be folded WELL, but you should see the look on her face when I tell her she did a good job... and who needs perfectly folded washcloths, anyway? (okay, so maybe I fix them as I put them in the linen closet. Call me OCD.) Am I making baked goods for friends or the freezer? Let her pour in the ingredients, or "stir" them together. Letting your little one get involved in your normal, every day activities may make those said activities take a bit longer, it might make them a little messier, but I have found that it also gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also has seemed to give a little bit of understanding when I'm doing something like sorting laundry or preparing a meal... she either wants to help, or goes and does her own thing rather than trying to get my attention away from the task at hand.
Our favourite "fun" thing to do together lately is colour. Hmm... she's only 19 months. Some parents have told me that's too young to give a child crayons, that the coordination isn't there yet, that the risk of her eating them is too high, that she'll start colouring on EVERYTHING! Okay, so maybe that is true to some extent. I mean, she certainly isn't Picasso, but as I sit with her and watch her "draw", I notice that she uses a mixture of straight lines, "circles", dots, and when she gets really excited, incredibly dark scribbles. She talks to herself and to me as she colours, she makes sure she gets both sides of the paper and uses each of the colour I have given her. When she is tempted to colour on something else, I tell her "crayons are for the paper", and it hasn't taken long for her to loose interest in colouring on things like the fridge and my laundry baskets. She loves to show her papers to her daddy when he gets home and hear him ooh and aah over her creativity.
Stickers! Yup, even at 19 months, as long as I lift a corner, she can get a sticker off the sheet and place it on her paper. I notice she is quite specific about where she places them, not wanting them to overlap or hang off the edge. She then makes sure she colours on each one of them.
Strings! I bought her a skein of yarn when I was at the factory last week. Oh, the fun she has wrapping it around the coffee table, making "webs" and stringing her pegs on it. String at 19 months, you might ask.... c'mon, the principle here is supervision. Of course I don't just give her a ball of yarn and go down to load the washing machine for 15 minutes.
You never know what you little one is capable of until you allow them the chance to try. Do things together. Teach them the rules. encourage them to try new things. Praise them for a job well done. You'll enjoy seeing the ways your little one might surprise you!
For me, the only downside to the season is the increased time we spend inside rather than out at the park or in the garden. Finding activities to keep the little one busy can be a challenge, especially when my own list of responsibilities seems endless and overwhelming, but here is something I'm learning to do: let Elysia take part in those responsibilities. Am I folding laundry? Give her the washcloths. Sure, they won't really be folded WELL, but you should see the look on her face when I tell her she did a good job... and who needs perfectly folded washcloths, anyway? (okay, so maybe I fix them as I put them in the linen closet. Call me OCD.) Am I making baked goods for friends or the freezer? Let her pour in the ingredients, or "stir" them together. Letting your little one get involved in your normal, every day activities may make those said activities take a bit longer, it might make them a little messier, but I have found that it also gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also has seemed to give a little bit of understanding when I'm doing something like sorting laundry or preparing a meal... she either wants to help, or goes and does her own thing rather than trying to get my attention away from the task at hand.
Our favourite "fun" thing to do together lately is colour. Hmm... she's only 19 months. Some parents have told me that's too young to give a child crayons, that the coordination isn't there yet, that the risk of her eating them is too high, that she'll start colouring on EVERYTHING! Okay, so maybe that is true to some extent. I mean, she certainly isn't Picasso, but as I sit with her and watch her "draw", I notice that she uses a mixture of straight lines, "circles", dots, and when she gets really excited, incredibly dark scribbles. She talks to herself and to me as she colours, she makes sure she gets both sides of the paper and uses each of the colour I have given her. When she is tempted to colour on something else, I tell her "crayons are for the paper", and it hasn't taken long for her to loose interest in colouring on things like the fridge and my laundry baskets. She loves to show her papers to her daddy when he gets home and hear him ooh and aah over her creativity.
Stickers! Yup, even at 19 months, as long as I lift a corner, she can get a sticker off the sheet and place it on her paper. I notice she is quite specific about where she places them, not wanting them to overlap or hang off the edge. She then makes sure she colours on each one of them.
Strings! I bought her a skein of yarn when I was at the factory last week. Oh, the fun she has wrapping it around the coffee table, making "webs" and stringing her pegs on it. String at 19 months, you might ask.... c'mon, the principle here is supervision. Of course I don't just give her a ball of yarn and go down to load the washing machine for 15 minutes.
You never know what you little one is capable of until you allow them the chance to try. Do things together. Teach them the rules. encourage them to try new things. Praise them for a job well done. You'll enjoy seeing the ways your little one might surprise you!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Appologies and Appothecaries
My word, it has been a long time since I have posted. Although my intentions have been sincere, the sickness of my daughter, then myself, then a week long (and much needed) working vacation has kept me from faithful communication. And now, as I am preparing for a big event next week, today's post is going to be short and sweet.
Because of my growing belly (25 weeks tomorrow!) and all the other wonderful symptoms that come along with pregnancy, I have been searching out and experimenting with ways to relax. Let's face it, I don't have the time or the money to visit a spa once a month, so I typically must come up with my own treatments. There are many, many ways to pamper yourself on the cheap at home, so today I am sharing just one of my current favourites.
I'm sure that if there was a poll of mothers to find out what the most common pregnancy complaints are, a general discomfort in the torso region and lack of energy would be in the top five. In my attempts to alleviate the former, I have taken to enjoying a nice warm bath at least once a week after the little one is in bed. Time to relax, read a book or a magazine, or yes, I admit, paint my toe nails... that is, if I can still reach them. The warm water feels wonderful on my expanding waistline, and the weightless quality of it relieves the pressure in my back. When I started wondering about making my weekly ritual into more of a treatment, I started using "extras" such as bubble bath, a candle, cucumber slices... but the best thing I have come up with thus far is a wonderful mix of relaxing and energizing:
Lively Lavender Bath.... Gook. Don't let that last part frighten you, it's only a strange, pasty, gritty gook until you melt it into your bath water. Then it turns into a delightful little miracle. This is how you do it.
Combine 1/8 cup Epsom salts with 1 Teaspoon honey (raw is best), 1 Teaspoon avocado or olive oil and a few drops each of Lavender oil and peppermint or eucalyptus oil. Stir into your bath and enjoy! The salts are soothing, the honey helps to draw toxins out of your skin, the avocado oil contains omega fatty acids and moisturizes wonderfully, and the heavenly scents of lavender and eucalyptus invite you to relax and revive.
Any other favourites out there?
Because of my growing belly (25 weeks tomorrow!) and all the other wonderful symptoms that come along with pregnancy, I have been searching out and experimenting with ways to relax. Let's face it, I don't have the time or the money to visit a spa once a month, so I typically must come up with my own treatments. There are many, many ways to pamper yourself on the cheap at home, so today I am sharing just one of my current favourites.
I'm sure that if there was a poll of mothers to find out what the most common pregnancy complaints are, a general discomfort in the torso region and lack of energy would be in the top five. In my attempts to alleviate the former, I have taken to enjoying a nice warm bath at least once a week after the little one is in bed. Time to relax, read a book or a magazine, or yes, I admit, paint my toe nails... that is, if I can still reach them. The warm water feels wonderful on my expanding waistline, and the weightless quality of it relieves the pressure in my back. When I started wondering about making my weekly ritual into more of a treatment, I started using "extras" such as bubble bath, a candle, cucumber slices... but the best thing I have come up with thus far is a wonderful mix of relaxing and energizing:
Lively Lavender Bath.... Gook. Don't let that last part frighten you, it's only a strange, pasty, gritty gook until you melt it into your bath water. Then it turns into a delightful little miracle. This is how you do it.
Combine 1/8 cup Epsom salts with 1 Teaspoon honey (raw is best), 1 Teaspoon avocado or olive oil and a few drops each of Lavender oil and peppermint or eucalyptus oil. Stir into your bath and enjoy! The salts are soothing, the honey helps to draw toxins out of your skin, the avocado oil contains omega fatty acids and moisturizes wonderfully, and the heavenly scents of lavender and eucalyptus invite you to relax and revive.
Any other favourites out there?
Friday, September 16, 2011
How To Get Crayola Off Your Kitchen Appliances
My 18 month old blessed me with this dilemma today, therefore this afternoon I offer to you the solution. Or should I say A solution, for there are, in fact, more than one. As I stood looking at my suddenly very colourful refrigerator door this morning and tried not to laugh in front of my daughter (who was incredibly proud of her masterpiece), I had to wonder. Wax. You don't dissolve it, you don't bleach it... how do you get rid of it? I tried a few different things.
1. A dry cloth and some elbow grease. Oh, it was working, but it took a LOT of elbow grease. More than this pregnant momma was willing to muster up.
2. All purpose cleaner. Yes, this was working as well, but it still required an awful lot of elbow grease and my arms were already tired from solution #1.
3. Nylon scraper. You know, the one you're supposed to use for ceramic and glass topped cook stoves. Fail.
4. Good old baking soda and a damp rag. This worked wonders. minimal effort, excellent results and no worries if my daughter tries to do something else to the refrigerator... like lick it. She does like to lick things.
1. A dry cloth and some elbow grease. Oh, it was working, but it took a LOT of elbow grease. More than this pregnant momma was willing to muster up.
2. All purpose cleaner. Yes, this was working as well, but it still required an awful lot of elbow grease and my arms were already tired from solution #1.
3. Nylon scraper. You know, the one you're supposed to use for ceramic and glass topped cook stoves. Fail.
4. Good old baking soda and a damp rag. This worked wonders. minimal effort, excellent results and no worries if my daughter tries to do something else to the refrigerator... like lick it. She does like to lick things.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
It's That Time of Year
And so it is back to school for children all over North America. For those of you mothers with kids heading back, or starting school for the first time, the season may bring a host of challenges: getting kids up on time, making breakfasts in a hurry, helping your little one(s) catch the bus, or perhaps driving them to school... is their hair done, are their faces clean, do they have their books, do they have their lunch and what IS for lunch?
Even though my little one isn't school age yet, I have been getting excited about lunches. Well, not lunches in general, but a certain "type" of lunch for moms and kids on the go.... and perhaps even dads? So, whether your kids are in school or not, if you're a mom on the go and want to pack healthy, fun lunches for you and your kiddo(s), I just thought I'd share a link that I have been enjoying lately.
www.happylittlebento.blogspot.com
Okay, so maybe we don't all have time to be THAT creative, but even if I could be HALF that creative with a lunch I'm sure eating in the car between grocery runs, doctor's visits, playgroup and errands would be not only that much more fun, but SO much more healthy.
You can find tons of Bento merchandise on Amazon, and if you're lucky enough to have a Japanese grocery store in your area, most carry Bento boxes and accessories as well.
Happy packing, and bon appetite!
Even though my little one isn't school age yet, I have been getting excited about lunches. Well, not lunches in general, but a certain "type" of lunch for moms and kids on the go.... and perhaps even dads? So, whether your kids are in school or not, if you're a mom on the go and want to pack healthy, fun lunches for you and your kiddo(s), I just thought I'd share a link that I have been enjoying lately.
www.happylittlebento.blogspot.com
Okay, so maybe we don't all have time to be THAT creative, but even if I could be HALF that creative with a lunch I'm sure eating in the car between grocery runs, doctor's visits, playgroup and errands would be not only that much more fun, but SO much more healthy.
You can find tons of Bento merchandise on Amazon, and if you're lucky enough to have a Japanese grocery store in your area, most carry Bento boxes and accessories as well.
Happy packing, and bon appetite!
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Newbie All Over Again
I never truly realized before having a child just how amazing my own mother was and is. I think about all the degrees she had and how she gave up the potential to have a wonderful career to be a stay at home mom and invest all her time in her children. I think of how she baked and cooked almost everything from scratch and kept a garden in the summer, providing us with a bounty of fresh produce. I think of how she read to us at night, investing in our imaginations and expanding out literary horizons. I think of all the hours she spent in the car driving us to music lessons, dance classes, museums, the library and a host of fabulous field trips. Lastly, but certainly not least, I think of all the long, patient minutes she spent washing, combing, braiding, curling and twisting my hair into so many fun creations.
I never realized what a huge challenge this last task must have been for her. You see, my mother has very thin and very fine hair that she has always kept rather short. I have very thick hair that I have always kept rather long. I am sure my mother never braided crowns into her own hair, or had to use 45 bobby pins to keep her own bun in place... so what motivated her to invest so much creativity into her daughter's unruly mane?
That is the question I am learning the answer to thanks to my own daughter with hair incredibly different from my own. My daughter's hair is still baby hair, for sure, but I can already tell that it is going to be fairly thick.... and it is full of curls! Although my mother gave me the desire and ability to take care of and have fun with my own hair, I have never had to work with anything too opposite of my thick and somewhat wavy mess. Now with my little one, I feel like I have never brushed or styled hair in my life! If I brush it, it turns to frizz; when I wash it, I struggle to get to her scalp; when I dry it, it matts into a horrible tangle; when I put it in pigtails, the little curls pull themselves out..... and how do I make her sit still?
This week, I decided to take some time to read, research, and find out some tricks to taking care of my daughter's unique hair. I learned only to comb it when it is wet, never to dry it with a towel, to give it as much moisture as I can, to use little elastics instead of little cloth scrunchies and most importantly, to sit her down in front of Pink Panther cartoons on youtube until the 'do is complete.
A little time invested goes a very long way. My toddler is less squirmy when it's time to do her hair, she fusses less at bath time as I'm washing (and no longer drying) it, and she has rocked some pretty stunning little styles with not too much effort on my part. I hope that by learning about her hair and it's particulars, I can give her the same excitement and appreciation for her hair and it's uniqueness that I have for my own. I want her to grow up happy and thankful for how she was created, and this is just one way that I am trying to do that!
I never realized what a huge challenge this last task must have been for her. You see, my mother has very thin and very fine hair that she has always kept rather short. I have very thick hair that I have always kept rather long. I am sure my mother never braided crowns into her own hair, or had to use 45 bobby pins to keep her own bun in place... so what motivated her to invest so much creativity into her daughter's unruly mane?
That is the question I am learning the answer to thanks to my own daughter with hair incredibly different from my own. My daughter's hair is still baby hair, for sure, but I can already tell that it is going to be fairly thick.... and it is full of curls! Although my mother gave me the desire and ability to take care of and have fun with my own hair, I have never had to work with anything too opposite of my thick and somewhat wavy mess. Now with my little one, I feel like I have never brushed or styled hair in my life! If I brush it, it turns to frizz; when I wash it, I struggle to get to her scalp; when I dry it, it matts into a horrible tangle; when I put it in pigtails, the little curls pull themselves out..... and how do I make her sit still?
This week, I decided to take some time to read, research, and find out some tricks to taking care of my daughter's unique hair. I learned only to comb it when it is wet, never to dry it with a towel, to give it as much moisture as I can, to use little elastics instead of little cloth scrunchies and most importantly, to sit her down in front of Pink Panther cartoons on youtube until the 'do is complete.
A little time invested goes a very long way. My toddler is less squirmy when it's time to do her hair, she fusses less at bath time as I'm washing (and no longer drying) it, and she has rocked some pretty stunning little styles with not too much effort on my part. I hope that by learning about her hair and it's particulars, I can give her the same excitement and appreciation for her hair and it's uniqueness that I have for my own. I want her to grow up happy and thankful for how she was created, and this is just one way that I am trying to do that!
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