Baby Play Friday: The wonderful thing about babies...

The wonderful thing about babies, is that babies are wonderful things! It's true. They are full of wonder at the world around them. Things that we take for granted are new and exciting to them. That is why I loved this post from Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting Resources about the Winnie the Pooh inspired walk she took with her little Pooh in the woods. This post was filled with little pearls of wisdom from A.A. Milne, and beautiful photos of her little one filled with a sense of wonder at the world around her.

If you are looking for Gentle Parenting Resources, check out her blog. I know I sometimes feel I could use all the help I could get!

What have you and your babies been up to? Do you have a baby or toddler post to share? Link up with Baby Play Friday! Any baby and toddler posts are welcome. And don't for get to grab a button from the side bar.

The Incredible Edible Egg in a Nest

Yesterda we made some yummy Easter treats using egg shaped M&Ms and Asian style noodles (or as Bug calls them Go Gos). These cookies are delicious and super easy to make, even if you have limited baking abilities (like me!)

To begin, empty a 12 oz bag of butterscotch chips in to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir, then microwave again for 30 seconds. Repeat this until all of the chips are melted.



Next you will mix in your noodles a little bit at a time. I used 3 cups of dried noodles for my 12 oz bag of butterscotch. Keep mixing until you have all of your noodles coated, then spoon small heaps on to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (Bug calls it Night Night paper, I think because it looks like I'm covering the cookie sheet up with a blanket)



Once on the cookie sheet, use your spoon to arrange your noodles in to a nest shape, leaving an indention in the middle. Then fill the indention with colored egg shaped M&Ms. Place your cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about a half hour and when they come out you will have yummy rich bird nest cookies, just in time for Easter!

Easter Sensory Tub

I just finished throwing together our Easter sensory tub. It's bright and colorful and makes me think of decorated Easter eggs and boxes of candy!


This tub began with two bags of paper confetti. To it, I added fuzzy pom poms and nests of Easter basket grass. I finished the tub off with a dozen numbered wooden eggs.

When I gave the children the tub to play with, I also gave them a stack of old egg cartons. They played and played with the cartons, filling them with eggs, grass confetti and more. Then Birdy decided to dig the glass marbles out and add them to the tub, then she went out in the yard and picked flowers to add them to the tub. When it was all said and done, the tub they started out with was quite different than the tub they ended up with.

I love how excited they get when I bring out a new sensory tub to play with. And now that Birdy is starting to add her own influence over the tub, it is really getting exciting.

Baby Play Friday: Your Baby Can!

Welcome to Baby Play Friday! A place where you will find inspiration for activities and practices for your babies and toddlers. This week I would like to share with you some amazing posts that were linked up.




First is this post by Train Up a Child about being fully present with your children. The world opens up to a baby when they have with them a parent who can step back enough to allow them to explore, but attend carefully enough to allow them to explore safely.

Some times we think we know what our babies can do better than they do, and that is just when they decide to surprise us! Red Ted Art  tells about that very thing happening with her and her 9 month old in this post, Baby Can Draw.

 

If you have a post about babies or toddlers, I would like to invite you to link up. Grab a button (from the side bar) to let every one know that you did. I look forward to seeing how I will be inspired next week.

Five Senses Garden

This spring we are planting a five senses garden. We will spend time developing and planting, and designing a garden that excites all the senses; smell, taste, sound, sight, and touch.

The first sense we explored in the garden was the sense of smell. You could argue that almost everything in the garden could be smelled and felt and tasted and seen and heard, but we wanted to include elements that were specifically designed to excite each sense, so for our sense of smell we chose to plant an herb garden.



We planted thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, cilantro and mint. After our plants were in the ground we rubbed the leaves of the herbs and held our hands up to our noses to take in the different smells. Every one agreed that the mint was their favorite, but Birdy enjoys to rustle up the rosemary to fill the space with its fragrance.

To mark the spot I made this little sign out of a wooden spoon. The acrylic paint that I used will act as a barrier to the rain and dirt. Birdy chose pink for the color of our sign, and I think it really pops. Each sign will show the sense you can use to explore this part of the garden.
 

Have you been gardening with you kids? Join me and Rainy Day Mum as we share our gardening adventures with our children. Not growing season where you live? Don't worry! This linky will be open all year!

Outdoor Sensory Table

The first day of spring has sprung and we are celebrating with our new out door sensory station.

We have used the small sensory tubs, but I've been drooling over the large sensory tables that I have seen in the Lakeshore catalogs. Until I can gather the funds to buy one of our own, I decided to make our own out on the back screened in porch.

I used two shallow plastic bins which I attached to a old coffee table that I drug out from the garage using Velcro. The table is the perfect height for the kids to work in.

I gave Birdy and Bug plastic PVC pipe that they could use to transfer the contents of the tub from one bin to the other, along with funnels and scoops to play with.

 

I am really excited about the possibilities this new sensory station will give us. We can play with much messier stuff out on the porch so now I am going to be busy thinking up new and creative ways to explore. 

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

Well folks, we are back from a wonderful spring break. It always takes me a few days to get back in to the swing of things when I get home from a trip, but I appreciate your patience.

We went to visit my grandparents in Abilene. While we were there we got to visit the Abilene Zoo.

Abilene has a wonderful zoo for such a small town. The children had so much fun. They stopped to look at all the animals and were thrilled with each new sight. Big Sis loved the reptile house. Bug was amazed my the monkeys. Birdy couldn't wait to find the rhinoceros.

All of the children loved going to see the giraffes. The Abilene Zoo has a wonderful bridge that stretches over the giraffes area. You can buy crackers and they will come right up to the bridge to eat them.

The zoo is located right by the edge of a small lake. There is a dock over looking the lake where the children can walk out and feed the ducks and fish that live in the lake. The catfish have grown to expect food from the children and they swarm around with their mouths wide open waiting for their meals. I have never seen that many fish in my life. It made me wish I had a pole!

The best part about the whole zoo experience was the chance to ride the little train that traveled all through the park. The children waited in line for ever to get on this train (even when I begged and bribed them to get them to change their minds.)

When we got home Birdy made a little zoo of her very own in our block center. She had areas sectioned off for all the animals. She had all the animals grouped together in their habitats.

And she even had a train to take all her little block people from place to place, just like the real zoo!

We had so much fun on our Spring Break trip to Abilene. I hope you all had a great week as well. Tomorrow starts a new week back to school and back to learning, but we sure enjoyed our slow down time!

Happy Spring Break!

We are spending Spring Break with my grandparents which means lots of food, lots of fun, and very slow internet connection! Baby Play Friday will, therefor be up on Saturday. Thanks to all of you who linked up. Hope you have had a great week!

Bug taking a nap with my grandfather. He has a special way with the babies!

Yorkshire Pudding: or Kristin gets her thing!

I am going to tell you a story that is sad but true. Last year our family was getting ready for a family reunion. My grandmother was trying to organize a dinner. She was bringing the main course and was looking to see who could bring sides. She asked my mother to bring potatoes because EVERYONE loves her potatoes. She asked my brother to bring baked beans because EVERYONE loves his baked beans. She asked my sister-in-law to bake something for dessert because EVERYONE loves her desserts. Finally, she got to me.

"Kristin, could you just bring some chips or something?"

I know! It's sad! I didn't have a thing! Everyone needs that one thing that they are known for making, and I didn't have one. So with the help of my friend Gwyndolyn, I set out to find my thing.

Gwyndolyn and I share a love for all things British, so for my birthday she gave me a Harry Potter Cookbook with all kinds of wonderful traditional British recipes. It has bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, treacle tart, and so much more.

We began cooking our way through the cook book. One week we decided to make a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. I got a lot of good advice from some lovely bloggers from across the pond. Here is what they had to say...

Cathy from The Nurture Store 

 

Oven as hot as you can, put 12 hole muffin tin in to warm up. Whisk 3 eggs, 115g plain flour, 285ml milk, pinch salt to make batter. Take out muffin tin and put a little vegetable oil in each muffin hole, put back in for a few minutes. Muffin tin half out, pour batter into each hole - quick! Back in oven for at least 15 minutes DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO PEEK! Remove, eat! Roast beef or sausages go great. Can also serve with fruit / berries for pud.

Cerys  from Rainy Day Mum 

 Oven on highest heat possible, I use a yorkshire pudding tin as we like LARGE puddings but you can use a muffin tin, 1 egg, make up the egg with milk to 200ml and then beat add a pinch of salt beat again and leave for 20 mins. Then add 2 and a half tablespoons of all purpose flour and whisk leave for at least 20 mins. Put tin in the oven with lard or vegetable oil (Lard works best although goose fat is even better) and heat up. When it's melted and very hot quickly take out and pour in the batter. Cook for 15 mins DON'T open the door otherwise they will go flat and them remove and eat. You can make toad in the hole by grilling some sausages and putting them in a dish with the lard heat up and then add the batter and then eat in 15 mins with meat gravy delicious :D

Charlotte from Make and Do Friend

 We use Flora White which is solidified veg oil - you need to get it spitting hot before you add your batter and don't open the oven door to peek!

Margarita from Red Ted Art 

 

I basically use pancake mixture (not the American pancake, but the UK pancake mixture), brown sausages, pour over pancake mixture and stick in the oven... :-)

Well, none of my measuring tools are in g or ml, but luckily my Harry Potter Cookbook had American measurements. However, the common piece of advice seemed to be DON'T PEEK, and that was not in the cookbook at all. 

The American measurements are:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3 table spoons butter, melted

1 cup whole milk

I used muffin tins because I don't know were to find Yorkshire pudding tins. I poured a little vegetable oil in the bottom of each tin and put it in the oven which was set for 450 degrees.

When the oil was "spitting hot," I grabbed the batter out of the fridge and poured a large spoonful in to each muffin tin. It wasn't enough to do all 12, only about 9. I didn't peek, not once! I let them cook for 15 min, which is not what the Harry Potter Cookbook told me to do, but I decided to trust my friends over the book.

I'm so glad I did. They were amazing! I gave one to Gwyndolyn, she took a bite and said, "Kristin, I think we found your thing!" 

I linked this with...

 

Baby Play Friday: Get Out!

My little Bug is all about being outside, and with lovely spring weather rolling in, he has not been disappointed. So I immediately connected with this post from The Educators Spin On It about sharing nature with your baby.

I am looking for fun ways to take our indoor activities outside so I loved this outdoor sensory table by Mummy Musings and Mayhem.

What did you do with your baby and toddler this week? I would love for you to share your link below! Any post having to do with babies and toddlers is great. Play posts, advice posts, anything! Be sure to grab a button (from the side bar) so folks can link back.

Rainbow Sun Catchers

It is a good thing that Birdy is just crazy about rainbows, because with St. Patrick's Day coming, we are doing lots and lots of rainbow activities. These rainbow sun catchers were her favorite.

We took a regular coffee filter and used washable markers to draw rainbows on the filters. Birdy loved coming up with variations of patterns and color.

Next, we folded the coffee filters into a pie shape and placed the tip in a small bowl of water. Then, we watched as the water crept up the coffee filter, causing the colors to bleed and run together.

Once the water reached the top of the filter, we unfolded it to see the transformation. This process was fascinating to Birdy. She wanted to watch it again and again. We ended up making a whole window full of sun catchers.

I think these will be a wonderful backdrop to our corned beef and cabbage dinner on the 17th. Do you have any St. Patrick's Day traditions? Parades? Foods? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it!

Wind!

This week we played with the wind! We had a front blowing in, and we decided to take advantage of the few remaining hours of nice weather to head down to the park. Before we left, we made these colorful wind sticks by taping pieces of crepe paper on to sticks.

As we ran and played, we noticed the wind blowing the paper around. We compared to see which way the wind was blowing and if it ever changed direction. We watched the clouds and noticed that they were blowing in the same direction as the wind.

We asked questions. Why does the wind change direction? Do the clouds blow the wind or does the wind blow the clouds?

When we arrived back home we did a quick experiment. For this experiment we used a lazy Susan, (or as my husband likes to call it, "lazy J.J.") a ruler, a marker, and a paper plate.

Using the marker and the ruler, one child tried to draw a straight line on the paper plate. I told them that the wind tries to do the same thing, but the Earth just won't stay still! The other child began spinning the lazy Susan around and around to signify the spinning of the Earth. Try as they might, they could not get that marker to make a straight line. It was all over the place!




Do you have a weather unit coming up? You should check out the Weather Blog Hop! Over 30 bloggers have joined to bring you a ton of great weather inspired activities. You should check them out!

NurtureStore :: The Golden Gleam :: Rainy Day Mum :: Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

Putti Prapancha :: Sun Hats & Wellie Boots :: Montessori Tidbits :: Kitchen Counter Chronicles

Reading Confetti :: Dilly-Dali Art :: Growing A Jeweled Rose :: The Iowa Farmer's Wife

AngeliqueFelix.com :: Kindergarten Basics :: Mommy With A Selective Memory

Glittering Muffins :: Creative Family Fun :: Living Montessori Now :: Toddler Approved

Living at the Whitehead's Zoo :: Sense of Wonder :: Make, Do & Friend :: Creative Connections for Kids

The Educators' Spin On It :: RainbowsWithinReach :: A Mom With A Lesson Plan :: Creativity my Passion

Mama Smiles :: Teach Preschool :: JDaniel4's Mom :: The Outlaw Mom Blog :: Mama Mia's Heart2Heart

Or, if you have a weather inspired post of your own to add, please link up below.

Sick, Sick, Sick

We have had a pretty good run this year. Our house has stayed pretty much illness free with the exception of a little cold here or there. So it was probably time we came down with something. Little Bug has been under the weather since Friday night with some sort of fever virus. It doesn't seem to have any symptoms other than a very sad cranky baby. So fun and good times have taken a back seat to lying around on the sofa and sleeping. Not great blog material, so I have decided to share a poem with you instead.

Sneezles by A.A. Milne

Christopher Robin
Had wheezles
And sneezles,
They bundled him
Into
His bed.
They gave him what goes
With a cold in the nose,
And some more for a cold
In the head.
They wondered
If wheezles
Could turn
Into measles,
If sneezles
Would turn
Into mumps;
They examined his chest
For a rash,
And the rest
Of his body for swellings and lumps.
They sent for some doctors
In sneezles
And wheezles
To tell them what ought
To be done.
All sorts and conditions
Of famous physicians
Came hurrying round
At a run.
They all made a note
Of the state of his throat,
They asked if he suffered from thirst;
They asked if the sneezles
Came after the wheezles,
Or if the first sneezle
Came first.
They said, "If you teazle
A sneezle
Or wheezle,
A measle
May easily grow.
But humour or pleazle
The wheezle
Or sneezle,
The measle
Will certainly go."
They expounded the reazles
For sneezles
And wheezles,
The manner of measles
When new.
They said "If he freezles
In draughts and in breezles,
Then PHTHEEZLES
May even ensue."


Christopher Robin
Got up in the morning,
The sneezles had vanished away.
And the look in his eye
Seemed to say to the sky,
"Now, how to amuse them to-day?"

One of my all time favorites. I think of it every time my kiddos get sick. Do you have any sick day traditions? How do you keep healthy kids entertained while caring for a sick one? I'll take any advice I can get! Thanks.

Baby Play Friday

We get so many wonderful play ideas last week, and every week. I get so inspired every time I look through all the posts that people have linked up. This week we got something a little different.




This post from Play Activities is a wonderful piece ABOUT baby play. If you haven't had a chance to drop by and check it out, please do so.

If you have a toddler or baby play post please link it up below! And check out all the other wonderful blogs that link up as well. Grab a button from the side bar and you are good to go!