Thursday 30 June 2011

Everything in the mouth!

Master 16 months puts EVERYTHING in his mouth.  I seem to have my fingers in his mouth 100 times a day.  Does anyone else have this problem?

We have chewed books, toys, clothes, crayons and chalk.  When we paint I have to hover as he will pop the entire paint brush in his mouth.  He even pops rocks and sticks in his mouth.  Also I hate to think how many moths have been ingested.  Ugh!

It's not so much the gross factor, but more that I'd hate for him to choke on something one day.

Any remedies for this?


Tuesday 28 June 2011

Rainbow Cupcakes

I do try most of the time to ensure Master One eats super healthily, however, occasionally we like to break out and have  bit of junk fun!  This weekend I tried Rainbow Cupcakes.  They were delightful, messy fun! We had a ball making them, although Master One did need a bath when they were baking.  What's fun without some mess....right?

I basically made a Basic Vanilla Cupcake Recipe from Taste (my 'go to' website for quick, yummy recipes).

Then I separated the batter into 4 containers and coloured them using the instructions on the side of the food colouring bottles.  I was missing one crucial colour so my colours could have been better..  I then popped some cupcake casings into the muffin trays and carefully layered the colours, smoothing each layer out to the edge with the spatula.

Then a quick spurt of simple icing and a sprinkle of hundreds and thousands.

So gorgeous, a bit messy to make but well worth it once you see the looks on the kiddies faces when they bite into them :)

Vanilla Batter, ready for colour!
Coloured batter.


Voila!
Inside our Cupcakes...yummo!



Sunday 26 June 2011

Ideas and Sources of fun for the family.

I am always looking for fab ideas to play and do with the family.  I want to keep my little mans brain alive with adventure and fun.  I want to make sure that his Daddy and I are both 'invested' parents and not miss a thing.

Every day I try and think of a fun activity for us to do.  He loves drawing with crayons, playing on his pirate ship, licking the bowl when I cook and reading books (his favourite and mine as I get to snuggle up nice and tight).  But what about some more adventurous play?

I have recently become a huge fan of Pinterest, it's a website that allows you to find and 'pin' all your favourite ideas and categorise them anyway you like.  I spend most of the night after Master is in bed dreaming soundly on Pinterest ooohing and aaahing at the wonderful ideas some very imaginative parents have come up with.  I need other peoples ideas as I am not a very imaginative parent myself I fear...

I have included some of my favourites and am busting to try them out over the following weeks.

What are your best ideas?  What are the best home-based fun play ideas you have with your kids?


Bubble Bath Paint & Recipe to make it!  The joy, the joy of making a MESS!  Awesome blog too!


Gorgeous backyard bowling, so easy!


Home made Xylophone.  Master One loves to make noise, I'd love it to be more tuneful ;s


I think we have to add a 'Car Wall' to Master One's bedroom!!

Now to convince that incredibly handy hubby of mine to help me.  I have the ideas, he has the ability!!

If anyone would like an invite to Pinterest please leave a comment below.  Be warned though, once you get started you are HOOKED!

Have a great day everyone!


Thursday 23 June 2011

Aye aye me hearties!

My dearest Mister spent two weekends making our Master One the most gorgeous Pirate Ship outdoor play area.  This all started with a conversation surrounding making a play area, near the house with a floor  and a sandpit.  Mister can't do anything by halves however and got a little bit carried away....I do love him for it though as the ship is awesome!!

A ships steering wheel is on it's way and I am making an activity board (I'll pop a photo of the one I want to make at the bottom).  The big question now is do we paint it or leave it as is?

Master One has headed straight out the door at every opportunity to climb aboard!

What are the small projects at your house that  wound up bigger than Ben Hur?


Gorgeous 'anchor' Mister made


Nearly finished!


Master One approves.


What a FAB set of steps!


This is the activity board I want to make!  How gorgeous is it?