I'll have what she's pinning...

School Holidays have hit and I have been one busy Mumma! 
Lucky me, I was able to have one whole day with my Big Girl Lulu while Little Man was in daycare this week. We went window shopping and looked in all the stores I can't usually get into with a pram and hit a few opshops on the way. 
Today while Lulu was busy scrapbooking and Bubba was in bed, I got some time to Pinterest. 
Ahhhhh I love you Pinterest! Although, I think I would like to make a blog about Pinterest fails (assuming there isn't many already!) , like Cake Wrecks. If you haven't seen it heres the link http://www.cakewrecks.com/...hilarious!!!

So here's what I'm finding pinteresting...

Rainbow Roses

I've seen these beauties in the fancy florists for a small fortune. I think Lulu and I will give this try sometime these holidays. As far as I can gather you slice up the stem and poke them into food colouring and water and voila. Stay tuned for results but here's the link http://tothelesson.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/flower-fun.html

If you beat me to it, let me know how it turns out.

Banoffee Pie...drool

I did actually give this a crack and it is sooo rich and indulgent! I used top and fill caramel and omitted the cream though. Here's the link http://inspire-keri.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/recipe-tuesday-banoffee-danger-pie.html

Photo Blocks

Definately need a trip to Bunnings and will be road testing these bad boys. How lovely would these look displayed on the mantle or shelf or even given as a present to a toddler? LOVE it : ) Heres the link http://www.twobusyblondes.com/2012/06/photo-blocks-fun-creative-way-to.html

And finally, please check this blog out...http://awesomelyawake.com/#  . Really well written and lovely Mummy Blog.

Thanks for stopping by :D

Play pics

Ahh coffee in hand and Bubba in bed...is there anything better? Hmmmm Johnny Depp, a bucket of chocolate and waiter to serve me Mojito's while I'm lounging by the beach....hehe must not be greedy.

This week has been super fun thinking up all the "Playspiration ideas". Logan is quite possibly the most spoilt boy on earth and doesn't he know it! I usually do my set ups at night, so when he wakes up in the morning he is always looking around for his next surprise.

So if you have missed the facebook pics, here is a run down:

DIY Feltboard and Hungry Caterpillar Story

DIY your own felt board and if your'e feeling crafty have a go at felt story board pieces (If not check out Ebay there are lots out there!)
To make the feltboard, its so simple! Felt, glue in photo frame minus the glass and voila! You could also stick the felt into a manilla folder and have a travel felt board.
Felt is great fun to work with. It cuts well, no hemming and you can use a sharpie and draw on it too.
Link in to a special book like The Very Hungry Caterpillar or The Jolly Barnyard and present it on a recipe holder or easel. Simple but effective.

The Music Mat

All kids should experience banging the heck out of Mum's pots and pans! Use whatever is in your cupboards, pop them on the floor on a rug or tablecloth. Go make yourself a coffee and have the Nurofen ready.
For our selection here are some Milo tins, wooden spoons, pot lids for cymbals, pot and whisk, colander and spoon. In the basket are wooden curtain rings for tapping sticks, cardboard tubes and water bottles filled with bells and rice.

 Cubby House book nook and secret space! 

This play tent was a score from the Salvo's. I got a set of two tents and a tunnel for $10!!! Logan loves it so much and peekaboo can go on forever as he launches himself out haha!

Inside, I put some soft toys and a few books and pillows but as the day when on it was a secret stash place for all sorts of goodies from around the house ps. house keys

To bring in something unexpected, like outdoor toys inside, is a lovely surprise for the little person or people. Such a novelty and kids LOVE a secret spot.

Wooden Curtain Rings and Silver Tea pots

This was the favourite of the week! So many possibilities to explore these bits and pieces. Its still set up and Logan goes back to it everyday. 

The rings are great to stack and place on the paper towel roll holder. The door knobs are stashed everywhere! He loves to put them in the silver teapot and then shake them around. And of course the cars are brrrrrrooooommmmed all over the floor too.

These ideas's can be left in place for an hour, a day or a week or two depending on the interest and of course your space. 

My mind has been racing, can't wait for the next week of fun pictures. Hope this has inspired some creativity, please feel free to post your own Playspirations on the FB page too. We can all inspire each other :D

K

Would you like to play?

So since study is going to be HECTIC over the next few months, I've decided to change things up a bit. Instead of writing a huge blog I'm going to try to put a few pictures onto the facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/MummaKnowsBest) and then tie it into a blog when I get more time.

Invitations to play...what on earth is that?

Something beautiful, interesting, tempting, enticing, aesthetically appealing (childcare mumbo jumbo) for little hands to explore, destroy, rearrange, arrange, experiment with.

I always use what I find around the house with a healthy dose of imagination. Something ordinary may be extraordinary to new eyes.

Please just use your brain though when planning...anything smaller than would fit into an old film canister is a choking hazard, with water- please use hands on supervision, be careful with breakables on tiles. Common sense really :D

So here is my first invitation to play...Jungle Discovery Table!

I used a old bed sheet as a table cloth, palm leaves from the garden, scrap of silky fabric as water, river stones, cane placemat, picture of Logan as a baby and some plastic animal toys.
Admittedly, the animals were a little small, but I was supervising very closely! And the reaction, well see for yourself....

  Hope you find some inspiration here to create something special yourself! 

Goopy Goodness

My my where has the time gone!?! It has certainly been a very long time between posts as life, family and study have well and truly been absorbing all of my free (haha, yeah right!) time. My little sleepy man is not so much about the sleeping either these days so its very hard to grab a moments peace.

Anyways we had such a lovely afternoon today I was compelled to write...

We have been soaking up this glorious sunshine of late, after a very long winter crammed indoors. My little one is a big fan of exploring the backyard and I am also a big fan of lazing on the big orange rug watching him haha!

Today I introduced him to goop. He was so fascinated and we even managed to get the teenager out of her bedroom! Goop is cornflour mixed with water and a little paint (or food colouring, but i find it stains so I use poster paint instead). It forms both a solid and a liquid so when you grab it its hard like clay and then it runs through your fingers like water. Amazing!
I would recommend trying it out on the grass rather than the pavers though. Its hard to get off once it sets.

Big hit with both kiddies today, although Lulu did ask that next time I make the goop red so it looks more like blood. Ahhh thank you Twilight for making my darling girl thirst for blood. Gotta be thankful though, at least its not One Direction or hot pants and we draw the line at sacrificing animals in the backyard (i'm kidding really haha)

The other highlight of my boys day today was having a big magpie drop in for a visit. "Birdy, birdy!" he whispered as he watched him eat worms. Ahhh simplicity gotta love the nature and the look on his face was priceless.

Well I was thinking I might add some photos to the facebook page when I'm too busy to blog to keep the ideas flowing. I have a ton of "invitations to play", so keep your eyes peeled.

Take care and get out there and enjoy this beautiful weather x 

Stuck on you

Just a quick post in between mopping the floor and the Little man waking up from his nap....


This week I introduced Bubba to collage. I wasn't expecting great things to be honest, given he is only 13 months and a force of destruction but to my great surprise he really enjoyed it.


I stuck a piece of clear contact paper (sticky side facing you- not the door lol) onto the glass sliding door and reinforced with some sticky tape. Then I found some old pieces of wrapping paper, wool, cellophane and feathers and popped them into a basket.

He loved touching the sticky contact paper and, of course, had a lick too. Then to my great surprise began to stick things on. He sat for nearly half an hour which is remarkable for him!


I left this up for him to return back to during convenient times, like when I was cooking dinner and he also found that pulling things off the contact paper was nearly as much fun.


I recommend trying this one out especially on cold, rainy days when the cabin fever sets in.


Enjoy and happy sticking!

Play-spiration

Today I have a few ideas for using upcycled found materials to make some toys for enquiring minds. My little man loves to "post" things at the moment. Blocks go into a box or basket then get tipped or place out then back in again. If only I could train the teenager this way!

Sorting and posting are a developmental milestone and a popular play activity for 1-2 year olds. Children are learning about volume, space, measuring, colours, sorting and matching as well as the fine motor development in manipulating the items.

Here some ideas!

Here we have a big cane basket, an egg carton and a muffin tin. In the basket, I put patty cases, lids from baby bottles and some papier mache balls. Logie loved this activity the best. He discovered the balls fit inside the lids and delighted in repeating this action for about an hour.

Tissue boxes are great for posting items like blocks, lids and here is some scarves. Bubs can put them in and take them out. Also for a great sensory activity add different sorts of materials like lace, satin, cotton etc. Don't go to any expense! I use old clothes, doilies from the op shop and old ties from the Hubbies wardrobe. You can go to a bit more effort and cover the tissue box in wrapping paper and clear contact. Makes it a bit prettier but honestly the Bubs don't mind : )  

This is a old milk jug with 2 holes cut out. I covered the edges with electrical tape so they weren't sharp and thats it. Things to post? Blocks, lego, bottle tops from baby bottles, balls, anything!!!

This is just a nappy box with a hole cut in the side. Again you could cover it but i like Pooh Bear anyway : )  The posting items are family photo's from a cheap photo album. You can cover photos or pictures from magazines with contact and it works great too. Logie like to drag this over to his ball pit and fill it up with balls, uses it as a walker and slides it across the floor, sits in it and his Dada pushes him around like a race car, puts it on his head and plays peek a boo.....you get the drift. 

The idea is to give your Bubba open ended materials. This means things that can be used in different ways. This is where the Fisher Price toys fall down. The kids play with them once or twice and then???

Give them a cardboard box and a few scraps of material and watch them create their own learning.

Also did a cute little setup to encourage Logie's creative side. He is just starting to "get" drawing and was so excited to make marks on the paper today. These crayons Faber Castell crayons are great for little hands. Make sure you use large, thick paper so they don't rip or miss the paper. The bottle next to the owl was made from a 2 Litre empty Pepsi Bottle with paint poured in. When it gets rolled around the paint spreads, fun!

Hope this helps inspire some creativity, especially in this rainy, cold weather x x x 

Comfort Food

Ahh we have officially de-caterpillared the house and back to the day to day grind. 
So happy to see the sunshine today if only fleeting. I still wasn't keen to risk the clothes line so I hung all the clothes (ok 2 weeks worth of washing-eep) out on the patio. Thank God we have clean undies again..close call!


This cold rainy weather makes me crave the winter comfort foods and i have a confession to make...I am a soup-oholic! In Winter, I could live on my Sunday Soup (with chunks of fresh bread and lashings of butter). Ok so the extras are not great for watching the waist line but this soup is so good for keep immunity up, the budget and is a very healthy, hearty soup.


Sunday Soup


This got its name because I clean out the fridge on Sunday to make way for the new groceries. I use up all the left over veges from the week and add some freshies if needed.

You Need:
One Roast Chicken- I usually buy two and roast them both at the same time. One is for a roast dinner and one for the soup. I strip all the chicken of meat and keep aside for the soup. You can use BBQ chicken but I like it better with Home Cooked.
2-3 Potatoes
1 x can corn kernels or cob of corn chopped up
Stick of  Celery- don't get ripped off buying a huge bunch of celery (unless of course you plan to use it for something else). Most supermarkets sell them buy small stick and it will cost like 15 cents.
1 x brown onion
Pumpkin, mushrooms, sweet potato, broccoli, spinach, carrot- Basically whatever you have in the vege drawer.
4 x chicken stock cubes or equivalent stock
Optional- 1 chilli- deseeded and chopped very finely ( I add a very small one and you don't really notice it in there but its great for moving the works along, if you get my drift! Great for weight loss soup also skip the bread and butter though)


How to make:
Boil water in a big pot about 1/2- 3/4 full
crumble your stock cubes into the pot
Chop all the veges up into chunks
Add veges and give a stir
Leave for about an hour
Add your chopped chicken
Stir and leave sit for a half an hour.


Voila! Soup done and ready to pop into the freezer. I freeze mine in lunch boxes so if im having a busy day, I have a meal ready. Logan loves his soup. Teenager not so much. I like to leave it rustic and chunky but if you like your soup smooth, pop it in the food processor for a minute.
For another variation, add chopped garlic, can of kidney beans and can chopped tomatoes and its Vegetable  Minestrone, add pasta - even heartier. Omit the chicken and its still great. Best news is its cheap as chips to make and great for keeping Winter sniffles at bay.

Someone else is a big soup fan!

Today we made Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup for lunch. Little man ate a huge bowl and then polished off half of mine, all the while exclaiming, mmmmm num num num! So cute.


Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup- SO flippin easy you will wonder why you don't make it more often!

You need:
1-2 can creamed corn
1 small chicken breast diced
2 x chicken stock cubes
Water in a pot
2 x egg whites
Small onion diced small
Sesame oil
Green onion if you want to be fancy


Method:
Boil you water, if you only want a small saucepan full use about 1 1/2 - 2 litres water
Crumble stock cubes in.

Add creamed corn and onion 

While the water is boiling add the chicken to boil, this should only take 5-8 minutes. If you are not sure pull a bit out and check.
Add a small dash of sesame oil to give the Chinese flavour.
Cook for 5-10 minutes.
Scoop out your chicken and a ladle full of soup and place in food processor to chop up the chicken. If you don't have a food processor, just dice it up finely.
Pop back into soup and bring back to the boil.
This is the trick!!!
Get your egg whites ready in a cup. Bring the saucepan off the stove and stir to make a whirlpool. While the soup is whirling pour in your egg whites. Place back on the element for a further minute and hey presto that's it!.
As this has egg in it, I like to eat it fresh but if you want to freeze it leave the egg out. For fancy pants's add chopped spring onion on top to serve.




 Thats it from me, its Bold and the Beautiful  and afternoon cuppa time. Be well and happy :D