Children's Book of the Week!

Lane Smith never lets us down.

He is a very funny children's author and I'm not sure how we missed this one!

Especially cute if your little one needs glasses, but its cute for everyone.

Another one of Smiths we enjoy is 'It's a book' about a donkey that just can't understand the simplicity of a book! 

Paleo a no-no? I'm torn!

Although it is already day three of my paleo journey, I'm wondering if I should classify my new diet as just "grain free and low sugar". I make this statement as I read articles and guidelines to this paleolithic lifestyle. Guy could live on sweet potatoes and chicken thighs- well guess what! I just read starchy tubers such as sweet potatoes are a 'forbidden food'. Vinegar too! 

So my Day 4 post will have to be given a new title until I understand exactly why I would cut out certain foods from my diet.

Here are two articles I read immediately before posting this post.

Forbidden Foods

Against the Grain

(I like that, I may just use it!)

Primal Day 2 & 3

Any day with your exercise of choice is swimming, is a good day.

As for the recipes I chose, that was a bit of bust, but not entirely! I failed at making fruit smoothies so I had a great big, loaded salad for brunch, drank a bunch of water and snacked on dark chocolate covered bananas from trader joes!!! 

I understand that bananas are not entirely primal friendly but I can't cut them out of my diet completely.

For dinner we grilled some chicken, hotdogs, onions and peppers in balsamic vinegar, Guy an elk steak and some turkey burgers. I stuffed the turkey burgers with fresh mozzarella and about 2 tablespoons of homemade salsa- no bun, delicious!

Here is the tasty Salsa recipe:

Blender Salsa by Mountain Mama

Today I tried another smoothie, GNC's chocolate meal replacement blended with a banana and ice. I didn't like it too much.. I will find a smoothie recipe i like before this week is through!!!!

For lunch was a bowl of Trader Joes full fat cottage cheese with pieces of their frozen pineapple.

For dinner is Paleo Jumbalya!

Here is that recipe:

PaleOMG Jumbalaya

I must say that so far I am not struggling, I even enjoyed 2 glasses of Protugese white wine last night. I don't feel deprived and certainly not hungry.

Happy Eating!

Primal Day 1

I'm stuffed and haven't eaten dinner yet, so thats a good sign!

For breakfast I had 2 eggs with 3 pieces of Applewood organic bacon. We followed breakfast with a 3 mile walk to and from the spray ground where Van met the most fantastic kids! 

What I packed for the playground was cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries and mango. Along with the fruits I packed a loaded salad, separate was a hard boiled egg and balsamic vinegar but together in one bag was romaine lettuce, red peppers, fresh mozzarella, raw cashews, dried cherries and grilled chicken. I brought along some fresh iced tea with lemon, too!

DELICIOUS!

For dinner I made steak sautéed with an onion and 4 italian peppers. I seasoned it with Trader Joes 21 Season Salute, oregano, fresh basil and garlic and a bay leaf. As a side I followed the recipe for cauliflower bites. Van at those for dinner and loved them!

Here is the recipe:

Paleo Tater Tots

Today was successful and I only thought about Starbucks Mocha Frappachino a few times ;)

Travel Book, Page 1.

With all of the time we spend in nature, including camping out in our own back yard; we've decided to put together a travel book! 

I'm starting off with a stargazing page! While camping, we love to look up at the stars. Since Guy and I are deprived city kids, we can lay and stare the whole night when we are out under the country sky.

This fun page I found on Mr. Printables.com could be fun for kids and adults to reference the evening before the lights go out and the gazing begins.

I've also included pages for down time in the car or while dinners being made, sitting in a restaurant or just hanging out by the campfire. I found this blank face template on pinterest.

Children's Book of the Week!

With planning our trip this September across the country; our summer reading list has been stuffed with books about national parks. We've read about the wolves in Yellowstone, John Muir, camping in Yosemite but this book has been our favorite!

With colorful pages of fun park facts, birds to watch for and an alphabetical state listing of parks we have been thinking about buying a copy for our trip. Along with this book my mom has been collecting magazines all year for Vans trip. Scholastic magazines and others about fish, animals, safety tips and puzzles. I'm excited to read these to Van and answer all of his questions in the car.

Taking control.

Who hasn't made promises to themselves that they never kept? Two of mine this year; which is halfway through were making drastic changes in my diet and shaping up for future endurance races.

I'm taking on both quests this week! Which would I rather: a Star bucks frappachino or the natural energy from eating loaded salads and taking hikes? That high from finishing a race or the anxiety of not fitting in those shorts from last summer? Well, duh.

It's been years now that Guy, blogs, Mark Sissons books and a family member have been encouraging me to take the primal plunge. See ya grains, I'm getting my small thighs back!

I start by admitting that I suffer from a minimal amount of willpower and love bread, A LOT. Tomorrow is day 1, but this past week I have been prepping myself for a lifestyle change with exercise and diet enhancements. I'll be posting my progress as well as recipes I use. 

Wish me luck!

Some of todays bounty from the farmers market.

Cantaloupe, santa clause melon, strawberries, blueberries, cherries. 

As well as lychee nuts, cucumbers, mangos, sweet plums, bacon, organic milk and grape tomatoes!

Very almond chip cookies, take 2

I can't even say these are getting closer to primal friendly cookies since the last recipe.. I may have even taken a step backwards or I'm at least standing still. But I'd like to admit that I think these are tastier than the last!

Cream together with a hand mixer on low and switch to high for a minute until ingredients are creamed together..

1/2 cup of coconut oil

(if your oil is warm and liquified, chill before using)

1/2 cup of almond butter

1/4 cup of agave nectar

1/2 cup of packed brown sugar

Then add an egg and blend together.

Combine and add into almond butter mix..

1/4 cup of packed almond meal

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

*1/4 cup of flour (optional)

Mix together and fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Heat oven to 375 and bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.

*Opting out of the flour will have your cookies a bit flat and will spread in the pan. Adding the flour will have your cookies turn out like what you see in the photo posted.

Fresh out of the oven these will be soft but once cooled on a rack they'll be slightly crispy.. And delicious! Enjoy!

Children's Book of the Week

Bob Shea has some really cute books, and this is one of them!

Throw on your sassiest voice and read this to a bunch of kids, you'll have them laughing.. actually when I read it, the Moms were enjoying it even more..

Happy Reading!

Spicy Chipotle Hummus

Who doesn't love chipotle? Well, a lot of people but they're crazy.

I took this Hummus Recipe and twisted everything around until it was almost unrecognizable.

I am warning you, this hummus is hot! But you'll survive.

Combine everything listed into the blender..

16oz. can of uncooked chickpeas

(reserve all liquid)

2-3 tablespoons of reserved liquid

1/3 cup of Goya Chipotle peppers

(this includes the liquid and peppers.. take a nice big scoop from the can)

3-4 tablespoons of fresh lime juice

4 tablespoons of tahini

2 cloves of minced garlic

then add a dash of salt, paprika and cumin and blend!

Once you've reached your desired consistency and flavor pour into a dish and enjoy with chips and veggies!

Forest Friends Masks

Oh, have I mentioned how much we like camping yet? 

Enough to make it the theme of Vans 4th Birthday party!

In previous years we went wild celebrating his birthday with parties of 60+ people and unfortunately (and in some ways fortunately) we had to scale it down this year. With the convenience of having a back yard we decided to throw a BBQ for our little dude. Not having any grass but a big space makes having this camping themed gathering oh so appropriate!

It is this upcoming weekend and will share other photos once the party is over and I lay in a sugar and sangria coma on my couch.

With that, I'd really love to share what I've been working on this week. I really am SO excited about these.

I hand stitched a wool felt bear, raccoon, wolf, fox, squirrel, skunk and deer mask. I had every intention on throwing an owl and butterfly in there but had to quit to make the party favors. Each mask is double sided in a complementary color and stitched with cotton thread in a variety of colors.

Vans favorite is the deer, but I am partial to the bear. The squirrel seems to be more of a morph of a chipmunk and hamster but whatever- his cheeks have cotton balls in them! Since the eyes are so high up the cheeks cover the kids and make them look chubby, its cute whatever animal it is!

I can't wait to share the other little things I've been working on!

Happy Birthday to my favorite boy.

BBQ Sauce Recipe

For my sisters engagement party this past weekend I made a very basic BBQ sauce, since I canned 40 jars of it. But now I'm regretting not getting fancy... So now I will, sorry Jess!

This recipe is different from any sauce I've tried. It's inspired from one of my buddy's putting jam in with his steak marinade. I was intrigued; so I set out to find something similar for my chicken..

Combining in your blender..

1 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries

1/4 cup of chopped fresh ginger

1/4 cup of ketchup

1/4 cup of packed brown sugar

1/4 cup of honey 

(we luckily had some pure raw honey from the union square green market!)

And a dash of salt, pepper and hot sauce

 (I used about 8 drops of Sriracha hot chili sauce)

Blend this all until it is combined into a liquid. Transfer it to a microwaveable dish and heat for 4 minutes covered with parchment or wax paper.

Remove and stir, return to the microwave for an additional 4 minutes, stir and let cool.

I am letting this marinade with the chicken in the fridge overnight but brushed onto the meat before grilling works too!

I don't know about you but when I marinade I like to use a big ziploc bag, this way not an inch of meat doesn't get coated.

Happy Grilling!!!

Children's Book of the Week!

Great documentary! It'll send you on a quest to find more videos of extremists like Phillipe Petit, or in this case; books! 

I had no idea there was a children's book based on his wild "stunt" of walking between the twin towers. I am always searching for children's books about New York City and was lucky enough to stumble upon this!

Children's Book of the Week!

Oh boy, I slacked off last week with choosing a children's book! 

So this week I chose a book and let Van pick any book. He chose the book his Dad has read to him every night this week; 'The wolf who cried boy' so he has clearly enjoyed it.

The book I chose stuck with the theme but is told by the Wolf. It is a really cute story with fantastic illustrations! 

On the topic of this theme; Since we've moved a few months back, Van now has a tree in our back yard to climb. Just about every time he is back there climbing he yells for help. At first we'd run to his rescue thinking his foot may be stuck or a branch is weak. This became old real quick.. So I set out to the library for this book to teach him that yelling 'HELP!' will eventually lose its urgency when you yell it for no reason. Well, with that we've read just about every version of this book and he still yells help. Only difference is we don't RUN to his rescue, just glance over to see him smirking at us. Cheeky Monkey...

Fresh Baked White Bread

I wished five lucky ladies a 'Happy Mothers Day' with a fresh baked loaf of bread and a jar of raspberry jam! The bread was a success in our house! I made three loaves before finally giving another five away. We went on a strenuous 5 1/2 mile hike today in hopes to shed some of that gluten! 

As for the jam... I used a recipe with pectin for the first time and ended up overcooking my pectin which never set leaving my jam in more of a syrupy condition. I'm not actually complaining because that "syrup" dripping off a piece of cheesecake or warm slice of bread was heaven. But this jam will never make it to a peanut butter sandwich. What a shame..

White Bread Recipe

3/4 Cup of Warm Water

1 Package of Active Dry Yeast

1 Teaspoon of Salt (I used Sea Salt)

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of softened butter (or Vegetable Shortening)

1/2 Cup of Whole Milk

2 Cups of Flour

(and an additional Cup of Flour to grab from if your dough is still sticky after 2 Cups)

In a medium bowl add warm water and yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved.

Add salt, sugar, butter and milk to the bowl and stir.

Adding your 2 Cups of flour until dough is formed, adding flour as needed.

Your dough should not be sticky when added to a floured cutting board (or countertop). 

Knead your dough and place in a buttered bowl (turning over so both sides are greased) for 60 minutes, covered with a clean towel.

Preheat your oven to 375.

Punch your dough and turn it out onto your floured surface kneading for the second time. 

Form your dough into a loaf shape and place in your buttered baking dish for another 30 minutes. 

Covering again with a towel.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

When you remove your bread from the oven the crust will be hard, once it has cooled it will be as soft as your average white bread.

Since this bread is so easy to make and so delicious, I recommend making extra loaves to share!

Enjoy!

Skin Soothing Soap

I've always had that sensitive Irish skin and used mild store bought soaps and stayed away from perfumed lotions and most skin products. 

A few years back I started dabbling in soap making with melt and pour soaps. Purchasing different essential oils, minerals and exfoliants like almonds and avocado seed. Well, I've yet to take the plunge into   soap making from scratch.

I've made soothing shave soaps, exfoliating body soaps and have just made a batch of aloe soap for Vans best friend. She is only five, and has been handling eczema like a champ. But now I've pushed my way in to her parents battles to rid their daughter of itchy, uncomfortable skin. I believe what I've read; that with diet this could really decrease eczema, eliminating most (if not all) dairy. Her family found out on a recent trip to DisneyLand that a whole lot of Vitamin D does the trick. But having a picky eater and obviously not being able to have her in the sun at all times some other solutions need to be found.

So with that, I've put together a batch of soap for her in hopes that it'll (if not diminish the disorder) sooth her baby skin. This recipe is trial and error, I've used it myself and have had happy results. I follow up my showers with Gold Bond lotion and have been pleased with the results. I'm excited to also try using this soap after my own Vitamin D baths this Summer since the base soap I used is Aloe.

I warn in advance the ingredients I've used are not common household items, they can be easily found online or less easily found in stores. If you are lucky enough to live near stores that carry essential oils, or better yet soap making supplies you will be in luck!

1 Lb. of Aloe Vera Melt & Pour Soap

30 drops of Evening Primrose

1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil

10 drops of Vitamin E

20 drops of Lavender Essential Oil

1/2 Teaspoon of Bentonite Clay

1/4 Teaspoon of Benzoin Powder

*I separate these two ingredients because they give the soap a very mild exfolient and if you are using this on raw skin or very sunburned skin you may want to leave these out.

Combine these ingredients in a pot over medium-low heat and stir constantly. Once your soap is completely melted I would leave this over heat for about 5-10 additional minutes before pouring into your molds.

Molds could be anything from candy molds to (a sanitized) baking pan, but Michaels carries quite a few soap molds and stamps. Previously I used silicone meatloaf pans and cut my soap into blocks. This created a nice size bar and the soap slipped right from the silicone with no effort. 

Your soap will take a few hours to set, be patient and leave overnight.

I hope this reference will help, each ingredient was chosen for it's soothing effect on skin.

Almond Coconut chip Cookies

So, these are almost primal.. If you replace honey for the sugar you should be alright. We only had raw cinnamon honey so I've put regular ol' honey on my shopping list and we'll report back,

In the meantime, we made some deliciously coconutty cookies. If you haven't any almond meal, grinding up 1 1/2 cups (12oz) of almonds will do the trick.

1 1/2 Cups of Almond Meal

1/4 Cup of Coconut Oil, chilled (not liquified and warm)

1/4 Cup of Sugar (or 1/3 Cup of Honey)

1 Egg

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt (We used Sea Salt)

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Cup of Chocolate Chips (We used mini's)

1/4 Cup of Shredded Coconut

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream your oil and sugar (or honey) until smooth.

Mix in the egg.

Add almonds, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Once combined fold in your chocolate.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out your batter evening, flattening slightly with the back of your spoon.

Bake your cookies no more than 15 minutes until golden brown.

Try with chocolate almond milk or just some delicious cows milk!

Children's Book of the Week!

With Maurice Sendaks so recent passing; I felt it only necessary to honor him this week,

Although he did not write this cute book, his illustrations are unmistakable and so familiar to most people who grew up reading 'Where the Wild Things are' and 'In the Night Kitchen'.

With our frequent visits into New York City lately this book is doubly applicable for us.

Any book about a young boys freedom will surely find its way into our story pile.

One of my quests is always to find books that will stir up a conversation with Van, whether it be about an animal he has never seen, a place he has never been or a journey he'd love to embark it is fun for me to hear what he thinks about after reading a story. The excitement he has when seeing places he's been in a storybook is the best.

Happy Reading!

Ted talks to Kids!

If you've been listening you will have noticed that we are big fans of Ted Talks in our house.

Even a topic that may not normally interest you will have you intrigued and enthralled when it appears on one of these short webisodes.

So, in my journey on Netflix to find more reality crime documentaries I somehow stumbled upon THIS; Ted Talks for kids. Since Van has already retired for the night I will sit with excitement until tomorrow evening to pop some popcorn and curl up as a family to get informed! From puppets to parrots we'll learn fun little lessons; hopefully about journeys and discoveries, passions and experience!

The link I posted is on Netflix, hope you'll be able to view some!

Anorak Test Run

Sewing has been real popular in our home lately and I wanted to share what Guys been working on..

Using the Green Pepper Pattern he made an anorak jacket in a few hours!

He has been wanting this pattern for awhile and finally bought it, along with some less expensive ripstop nylon from the local fabric store. This test run was necessary since he'll be ordering a waterproof, lighter ripstop nylon for the final cut. I've been trying to encourage him to add a great flannel lining.

On this jacket Guy used elastic on the wrists, velcro under his chin and a sport zipper on the chest.

I'll post photos of the final cut, with the front pocket, drawstrings and the whole nine yards.

We really recommend Green Pepper, Guy has used their patterns in the past to make vests and socks.

Using cardboard to trace your pattern onto can prolong the life of your patterns for the future; making templates is always a recommendation!

Stay tuned for photos of the final cut!

Rocketship landing!

Two great people in my life just had their first baby after being together for 19 years!!

They were surprised to find out in the delivery room that they had a boy, The entire time they referred to their kid as 'Rocketship'. And, well this week he landed.

Totally excited about this little dude, he's got an awesome life in store.

So in his celebration I crocheted them a bag, maybe a not-so-average diaper bag.. I used 100% wool, added some pockets and washed the crap out of it. The end result; a wonderfully tight felted bag! Originally I had planned to needle felt this rocket but have been obsessing over hand stitching lately and took a different route.

Although I don't have a pattern to share since I act too spontaneously on my crafting, I wanted to post this idea. I used felt squares from the fabric store and cotton thread and just stitched away. I believe that I used a double threaded blind stitch for the bulk of the pieces which I think gives a real homemade feel to the project.

In the photo the appliqué is actually on the black bag, and hanging from the straps is a wool felted yellow star. I'm pretty happy with the results. I need to get my camera out to take more clear photos, but in the meantime my phone will do..

Happy Stitching!

Children's Book of the Week!

There isn't much reading in this book, but it did get Van into some Yoga positions!

He has joined Guy and I at a yoga class when he was younger, but too young to join in. Although, I am sure that he recognized what we were doing.

To keep up with a theme, youtube has a bunch of videos to watch with your kid and practice. We are currently looking up some kid yoga classes to take with Van which should be a great time.

Namaste.

Wool Headdresses

For Van and a few of his friends I put together an afternoon craft. Turned out, it was more fun for the parents.

Of course I had to make a sample headdress for myself and got a bit carried away. Attached were ribbons, beads, feathers, hand stitched edging, even made wool felt flowers, feathers and shapes.

This was easy enough and fun for all.

I folded a piece of felt in half for double thickness and glued in the ribbons that'll tie in back of your head and that'll hang in front. I laid these out overnight with a few heavy books on them to keep the glue in place.

The next day I hand stitched around the edging to secure it all. I stitched on roses and a few of my shapes that weren't secured with the glue. Fabric glue is tricky and takes time and patience to adhere your pieces together. So I broke out my sewing needles and us moms got to work. 

I've been planning this is out for awhile now and am so excited to finally execute this craft. Plus, while on a visit to the zoo this week Van found a feather in the grass, his excitement to embellish his headdress with it just adds to mine!

Even Dad got into it. Guy had inherited and added to a collection of feathers for fly making. He had bought a terrific looking fly reel and kept the knowledge he'd learned from his Grandfather, about ten years prior. So, out came this feather collection, beautiful patches of feathers (that I will soon be making headbands out of!)  that he plucked from and added on to the side ribbons which looked really great.

Once I start with projects like this, I run with it. Hope this gave you some ideas.

A way to get the kids involved could be to lay everything out and hand over the glue, I wore my headdress the entire time to hopefully encourage them to worry theirs. Turns out the kids weren't as impressed as the adults! 

Children's Book of the Week!

I think most kids will love an interactive book. Especially when it involves singing loud, jumping around and well, acting like a rockstar. This was cute and not your average read aloud book. As much as we love 'If you're happy and you know it' and books that have you sing along, this was a fun little change.

Another good book that I was excited to get from the library was 'Levi Strauss gets a bright idea' by Tony Johnston. Van wears mostly Levi 511's (which are adorable on his tiny legs) so now he knows all about how Levi, himself came about his business!

Double Chocolate Biscotti

With a little research and recipe trials I made a delicious batch of these!

Ingredients..

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 large eggs (I used jumbo)

3/4 cup of chopped chocolate or chips
3/4 cup of chopped walnuts, baked on parchment paper at 350 for 6 minutes and cooled

Sift together your first 4 ingredients and set aside.

Whip together butter & sugar and add eggs individually until combined.

Mix in your dry ingredients and then fold in your walnuts and chocolate.

Spread onto the same parchment paper used for the walnuts into a thick, even rectangle. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of your biscotti is hard.

Let this cool for 15 minutes then cut into even biscotti size pieces. Serve yourself a few warm pieces before sharing!

Enjoy!!

Sidewalk Art

Sidewalk Chalk Recipe

3/4 Cup of warm water mixed with

1 1/2 Cups of Plaster of Paris and

as much powered tempera paint as your heart desired, within reason of course. Start with tablespoons worth.

For the mold of the chalk I used a water bottle ice cube tray. But when I had my kid's group I used soap molds and made all different shapes. Just let them set over night and (depending on the size mold you used) they'll be ready to write with the next day!

Sidewalk Paint Recipe

1 cup of water mixed with powdered tempera paint. We used about 3 tablespoons of green. Then mix in

1 cup of cornstarch.

That's it! Easy Peasy sidewalk fun!

Children's Book of the Week!

I don't know about anyone else, but sometimes I like a book for the opportunities I have to use silly voices.. This book had about twenty voices!

But, besides that it was really cute. A little boy walks around MoMa looking for his friend Art and instead gets introduced to a whole museum of "art" instead. The end of the book tells of each artist shown in the book.

Short read, but cute!

Another real cute book is 'Whoever you are' by Mem Fox. We read that twice in a row because the message was sweet and clear.

Camping Children's Books!

While out gathering up our camping supplies we researched some books in store as well. Some we saw were..

'Campfire Songs' with lyrics and chords, 'Maisy goes camping' by Lucy Cousins, 'Stella & Roy go Camping' by Asheley Wolff, 'When you are camping' by Anne Lee, 'Looking for a moose' by Phyllis Root and 'Where in the wild'. As well as a ton of kids guides to camping out, exploring and nature.

Once your kid could read and write in handy books, journals and logging books those will be even more fun.

We picked Van up a camping activity book with puzzles, coloring pages and fun facts!

I almost forgot to mention my dopiness from our latest camping trip..

We unpacked our bags into the car at the bottom of our trail and filled them with only what we'll need for the night. Knowing that there were no lakes to swim in, or picnic tables to sit around; I packed Vans stack of library books in my bag while Guy carried everything else in his! It sounds a bit uneven except that Van had about FOURTEEN books.

We then walked uphill for a mile on a rocky trail before reaching a beautiful little clearing to set up camp in.. So two thoughts for the future, ditch these vibrams five fingers that I've been so loyal to for years and years, and never bring books on a hike! I suppose unless you are replacing the weights around your ankles or waist.. Then in that case, books are much more fun!

As for the vibrams, they just do not protect your tootsies against the rough and rocky grounds that a hike entails.

Children's Book of the Week!

This book is ADORABLE!

So cute and interactive. Tickle breaks every other page!

We missed out on the box set that came with the tickle mittens- so if you're looking to buy this book I'd suggest checking online first for that.

Picnic Season!

Ask anyone that knows me- I have a picnic obsession.

We live walking distance from a great park with a perfect space we've claimed as our "picnic spot".

Packed in our basket is always enough for a crowd. Frisbees, football, baseball and gloves, bubbles, sometimes even horseshoes or lawn darts. Keep a blanket in there too, and pack your favorite snacks! But don't forget snacks for your furry park friends..

I always pack fresh produce but it's also nice to have refreshing drinks like strawberry lemonade and a baked treat.

Blueberry Square Recipe

Preheat your oven to 350 and line an 8" cookie sheet with tin foil.

In a large bowl mix together..

1 1/2 cups of uncooked oats

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of packed brown sugar

1/4 Teaspoon of baking soda

1/8 Teaspoon of salt

Mix in 6 tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter until mixture is crumbly.

Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture for the topping.

Press your mixture into your ungreased, tinfoil lined cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

In the meantime, in a saucepan over medium heat..

Mix together 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries,

3 Tablspoons of sugar

2 Teaspoons of cornstarch

1 Teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice

for about 2 minutes, stirring often until all of your dry ingredients are clear in your blueberries.

Spoon that onto your warm oatmeal and sprinkle the spare oatmeal mix on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, cute into squares and share!

Another cute idea are fruit-kabobs! Especially with Starfruit being in season!

Recycled Wall Paneling, Part 1

Guys been busy.

We recently moved and have a big, unfinished basement. Straight away he started building a shop; equipped with all sorts of machines and messes. So, naturally before he organized and finished that project, he began another!

With a quick trip up to our local hardware store, he came back with a free roof load of pallets. The hardest part was breaking them apart. Using everything from hammers, mallets, drills to pipes, he used it all to break this wood apart.

Soon as he had a decent pile of wood panels piled up he began his solo project. Hammering to the beams already in place, a wall was built!

..to be continued

"Hands on" Fun

Besides the kids learning about measuring out recipes and feeling new textures, these things keep them busy for hours!

1. Cloud Dough
We filled up an empty toy bucket, laid out a towel on the floor and broke out some of our smaller beach toys. This is by far Vans favorite of them all.
Cloud Dough is easy to vacuum up and leaves a fresh smell to the room!

Mix together 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of baby oil.

2. Rice Tank
Carolina rice, I find to only be tasty in rice pudding. So when the big bag was on sale at the supermarket I bought it strictly for play.
Dumping half of the bag into a large jar with a few drops of rubbing alcohol and food coloring I shook it a ton and left it laid out on a towel overnight to dry.

We went with a grassy green.
Van sat, wrist deep at the counter with an aluminum pan full of rice and little dump trucks every afternoon for about a week!

I warn, this isn't as fun to clean up.

3. Oobleck
This was NOT Vans favorite, but by far mine! One late night we whipped up a batch with friends and couldn't keep our fingers out of it!
Mix together 1 cup of water and 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch in a bowl.
Then, just dig in. Scooping it up as an almost solid and watching it drip through your fingers as a liquid is wild. If you've got a speaker available place your bowl of oobleck atop and watch it dance!

4. Goo
Van quit this before it was even done being made. I didn't push it with hopes that he'll be intrigued about it when he sees us playing in it later.
This goo makes a slimy and cold feel that their little hands are really not used to.
Mix together 1 teaspoon of borax in 1/2 cup of warm water. Pour into a bowl with 8oz of school glue. This will instantly become stringy.

5. Bored Bags

Ok, so we only did this once. But maybe my ONE idea could get your ball rolling!

I had three kids for the day and they were getting bored with everything offered to them. While they watched a movie I whipped up some cupcakes.. Felt cupcakes.

I grabbed every color of wool felt I owned and started cutting. Cupcake shapes, frosting shapes, stripes, polka dots, sprinkles, hearts and other shapes that they can get creative with. I laid out the pieces for them and let them get to building and my, were they some interesting looking cupcakes! When they were done "baking" we cleaned up the pieces into a ziploc.

Two other ideas I had were decorating a big felt Christmas tree with cut-out ornaments, and decorating a big felt face. Cutting out shapes for your template is easier than you may think.

Everything doesn't have to be perfect, just obvious. If I kid doesn't know that those are eyes for their cut-out face they will be easily confused.

Wool felt is cheap! Michaels sells small sheets and Jo-Ann's sells it by the yard.

Have fun! It's easy!