Tonight, to celebrate the end of a lovely Halloween, we put together one of our old favourites – a glow-in-the-dark bubble bath.
A handful of glow sticks and a chunk of Lush’s Calacus jelly run under warm water, and we had a colourful, bubbly, glowing bath.
And since Grae’s been carrying around these little ghost candles for the last week, we decided that tonight would be the perfect time to put them to use.
♥
Though we were hopeful, the rain didn’t let up in the least for Gracen’s very first time trick-or-treating… In fact, come dark, it was pouring down so hard that the rain was hitting the asphalt and then bouncing back up at us. While not ideal for trick-or-treating, what are you going to do? We layered up our little fox, grabbed our umbrellas, and headed out with the goal of visiting at least a handful of houses.
After stopping by Uncle Brett’s house for a quick visit, we made our way down his street. Grae was so excited, and within a couple of houses, she had the knock, “trick-or-treat”, and “thank you!” down pat.
After carefully making her way down the steps, she’d squeal, “Different house! Different house! Yook for yights… Yook for punkins!!!”
Then she’d quickly find another and shout, “Go to dis house!” The girl was into it.
After looping around, visiting the houses on the other side of the street, and making our way back to our car, we headed back to our neighbourhood. By then, the rain had lightened up quite a lot, so we headed into the backyard to light some sparklers.
I’m not sure where I originally saw it, but I remember seeing someone using a plastic cup as a sparkler shield during 4th of July festivities with their kiddos. Brilliant, really. Before heading out I had cut a tiny ‘x’ on the bottom of an extra party cup we had from Gracen’s birthday party, so all we had to do was poke our extra long sparklers through just a bit, and light them.
It worked like a charm.
And since I only poked them through a little bit, the part Gracen was hanging onto didn’t get hot at all.
Gracen happily held on until the sparklers were about half way down, then she’d pass them to one of us, and ask for a new one.
Before heading in, we quickly snapped a couple of shots of Gracen and I, because although we always have a ton of photos of Grae and Bradley together, pictures of Mama and Grae are few and far between. (Sadly, by this point I was soaking wet falling apart mess, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.)
Inside, Gracen dumped out all of the treats she’d collected. Can you tell we had infused them with an equal amount of healthier “treats”? Haha! Who says people don’t hand out stamps, stickers, pretzels, seeds, crackers, organic fruit leather, and organic yogurt-covered raisins (a HUGE treat in our house)? ☺
Grae then sorted the piles into a “Gracen pile” and a “Mama/Papa pile”, giving us all of the delicious, but terrible for you chocolate and candy, and happily giving herself all of the ‘Mama approved’ treats (that’s our girl!)
Have you ever seen a child so excited for freeze-dried strawberries when there’s a plethora of chocolate bars, chips, and cheezies in front of her?
The night ended with a treat feast, a glow-in-the-dark bubble bath, and a tired little lady falling asleep to the sound of fireworks filling our neighbourhood.
♥
After making each of her little dance class friends a mini mason jar filled with pink sparkly slime, plus giving out another 40 slime packets at Strong Start this morning, Gracen was excited to get her hands on a batch or two of her own. So today, between the Halloween festivities, we carved out some time in the afternoon to set up a very simple little slime station.
Here’s how we set up the station… Slime in three colours, a handful of small containers, a strainer spoon, a sand sifting shovel, plastic cutlery, some bowls all on a plastic tray.
Gracen quickly settled on the blanket next to her tray and began exploring. She wasn’t so sure about really diving in at first, but before too long she was picking up full batches of slime at a time and watching them slip and stretch out of her hands.
What I like so much about this sort of slime (besides how cool it is to play with), is that despite the fact that it looks like it can get pretty messy, it’s very easy to tidy. Because it acts more like a solid when removed from little people, dishes, and blankets, it just kind of clumps up and comes away clean. Plus, it doesn’t stain skin and it washes off of clothes and blankets without any effort. Messy play being easy to tidy? A definite win in my books.
♥
It’s been a busy day for us so far… After an early morning visit to SweetSalt Baked Goods & Playscapes for coffee, fresh bread, and ghost cookies made with organic flour and pumpkin, and a Halloween celebration at Strong Start, we headed to Bradley’s school for a little visit.
Gracen was so excited to visit her Papa and show him the treat bag she’d made at school and even more excited to go from one classroom to the next, popping in to say hello to all of the lovely teachers.
What she wasn’t excited about, however, was leaving without Papa in tow. Poor little lady cried her most pitiful cry and ran back to Papa twice after already saying goodbye and escaping Mama’s grasp. ☹
♥
Last year, we all carved our pumpkins together. And though Gracen had a blast scooping out pumpkin guck, sorting seeds, and watching the carving action, she didn’t really get to take part in decorating her own pumpkin.
So this year, we decided to switch it up a little. Brad and I still carved our pumpkins, but in order to let Gracen be fully in charge of decorating her very own garden-grown pumpkin, we set her up a little pumpkin painting station.
With a handful of brushes and little containers of purple, green, orange, black, and glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint, Grae got busy beautifying her pumpkin.
It was the best of both worlds, because not only did she get to decorate her pumpkin, but she also got to help us do all of the fun messy parts of carving ours.
After having her fill of icky gunk scooping, it was back to pumpkin painting. She covered the entire thing in a thick layer of paint and then we let it dry overnight.
The next day, we used a little trick I learned years and years ago and cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin (no need to mess with trying to get a lit candle in through the top – you simply set your candle down on a surface and place the pumpkin on top). Together, we scooped the insides out and used our apple corer to polka dot the pumpkin’s surface (which worked brilliantly, btw).
Gracen loves it. It glows just like Mama and Papa’s jack-o-lanterns do, and we were able to preserve almost all of her painting masterpiece.
♥
Bright and early this morning {while still in pajamas}, Gracen and I put together some little Halloween treats for her “yittle dance class fends”. While a little non-traditional, I wanted to make something Gracen-friendly (she hasn’t had refined sugar / junk yet) and call me a downer, but between sweets from family members, school, and trick-or-treating, I think most kids get more than enough junk on Halloween as it is. Our alternative? Mini mason jars filled with sparkly slime. ☺
First off, Miss G helped me collect a few ingredients from around the house… Warm water, Borax, food colouring, glitter, and white glue.
To get us started, she emptied a generous amount of white glue into a large mixing bowl…
Then added some warm water…
A single drop of gel food colouring (she chose pink which isn’t particularly Halloween-ish, but I figure it’s perfect for a group of teeny tiny ballerinas)…
And a liberal amount of glitter.
Then we stirred everything up really well until the mixture was smooth and all of the glue globs had disappeared.
After setting our glue / water mixture aside, we added some Borax to the remaining warm water…
And stirred it well.
Then it was time for the magic! While Gracen gently stirred the glue / water mixture, I slowly began pouring the water / Borax mixture in.
In just seconds, we could see the liquid starting to thicken up and come together in a large mass.
Once everything had been well mixed, I poured out what little excess water was left and Grae began kneading the slime. Before long, the slime was firmer, less sticky, and ready to be packaged.
But not before sneaking in a little play time first though. ☺
Afterwards, we separated our pink sparkly concoction into 12 mini mason jars, which we already had on hand from the individual mason jar cheesecakes we had at Gracen’s recent 2nd birthday party.
With our slime divided into containers, it was off to the computer next. Gracen chose some fluorescent pink paper and the pumpkin clipart, I chose the fonts, and together we came up with these super simple labels.
A little orange marker and a dash of sparkle, and here’s the finished product.
Sparkly Slime (adapted from this recipe)
Combine the first set of ingredients until the mixture is smooth and free of glue blobs.
In a separate measuring cup / bowl, combine the second set of ingredients until the Borax is dissolved into the water.
Slowly pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture, stirring as you pour. When the slime comes together in a large mass, pour off the excess water and kneed the slime for a few minutes.
Package in pretty little mason jars and gift to your friends on Halloween.
* One thing to keep in mind is that while clear Elmer’s glue will work just fine for this recipe, the ‘environmentally friendly’ version will not. Trust me. We tried it. TWICE. *
* Also, if you’re wondering about the safety of Borax, this post is extremely helpful. *
♥
For more fun, join Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Facebook here.
While searching for a basic hat pattern for our Waldo and Wenda costumes, I came across these ridiculously cute hat patterns on FleeceFun.com. They are super simple to put together (trust me – I took the one mandatory sewing class in grade eight and turned on a sewing machine again for the first time just a couple of months ago) and they’re free! Naturally, Miss G had to be in on the fleece hat action, and she requested I make her a bear hat. I’d say she makes a pretty sweet little polar bear, wouldn’t you?
I just may have to make a few more to add to her tickle trunk…
♥
Though we had a particularly dry summer / early fall, the rain has officially made its way to Vancouver and it looks like it’s here to stay. It’s the time of year when park visits, beach days, and walks around the neighbourhood beg to be broken up by time spent in the warm, cozy indoors, and preferably not always in your own home. With the amount of rain we get here on the coast, coming up with new, fun ways to spend your days with little ones isn’t always easy. And though we’ve found many favourite indoor spots around our lovely city (the aquarium, Coquitlam’s Kinder Cafe, The Outpost Cafe, the many indoor pools, the airport’s public viewing area, play gyms, the Bloedel Conservatory, Science World, the local libraries and story times…) it’s always nice to add another spot to the rainy day list.
I originally learned about SweetSalt Baked Goods and Playscapes on yoyomama.ca and couldn’t have been more excited to visit. Authentic German baked goods {all made with local organic flour}, hot drinks, a play area for munchkins all in a stroller-friendly shop? Yes please. So this afternoon, with the rain doing what it does best, we made our way down Fraser Street to check it out.
Located on the corner of Fraser and 19th (not far from our other munckin-friendly cafe, The Outpost), SweetSalt is super bright and inviting, even on the gloomiest of days. We ordered some hot drinks, a couple of baked treats, and settled in.
The coffee was strong, the pretzels were exactly as they should be, and Brad’s hot chocolate was ridiculously large and served in a beautiful bowl (we also ordered a cinnamon bun, but it disappeared so quickly that I didn’t manage to get a bite… I take it it was delicious).
The cafe, though beautifully decorated, maintains a very laid-back vibe, making parents visiting with children feel completely at ease. Gracen (along with two other little ones at the cafe at the time), played freely in the kids’ corner, made her way back to our table for a bite of pretzel now and then, and then back again for more fun and at no point did we feel like she was in the way or bothering other patrons. The play area was fully stocked with a mini kitchen, cooking tools, a chalkboard-topped table, colouring pages and crayons, wooden building blocks, nesting cups, and toy trucks, which was perfect for keeping our little lady happily busy for our entire visit. And though we didn’t bring ours in, there was plenty of aisle space for strollers, not to mention a big bathroom, complete with stroller space, a change table, a step stool for hand washing, and possibly the most adorable alphabet-cards-turned-wall-art I’ve ever seen.
On the way out, the super sweet owner, who is also a local mom, sent us on our way with a loaf of pumpkin seed bread and this adorable little dragon-shaped chocolate chip pastry (we visited just before closing on a Saturday) and both were absolutely delicious. So delicious, in fact, that we may have to make a weekly trip just for the bread alone.
♥
SweetSalt is located at 3497 Fraser Street and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Take a look at their amazing space & baked goods by joining them on Facebook here.
Tonight Gracen and I whipped up some insanely easy “paint” to amp up this evening’s bath time fun. The best news? It only contains two ingredients.
Before getting started, we rounded up a few things… Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap (ours is almond scented), some traditional liquid food colouring, a couple of paintbrushes, and some paint containers.
With our materials gathered, we got started by pouring some of our liquid soap into our containers.
Next, Gracen squeezed a few drops of food colouring into each.
And gently stirred the colour into the soap.
That’s it! Less than two minutes later and we were ready for bath time.
Once in the tub, Gracen happily painted the tiles with “numbers” and “zigzags” using her homemade paint. It was a messy, drippy, bubbly good time.
Another perk? We ended up with a blue and purple bubbly tub full of water.
And a squeaky clean toddler who smelled deliciously of almond.
When it came time for bed, we took the shower head down, gave the tiles a rinse, and watched all of our designs melt down the drain with almost no effort. I must admit, our white grout is tinted slightly pink and blue in a few places, but meh – it will fade with time. All in the name of good fun. ☺
Two Ingredient Bath Tub Paint
Measure out soap. Add food colouring. Stir.
Have fun!
♥
This absolutely EPIC bed head.
♥
Though we had a particularly dry summer / early fall, the rain has officially made its way to Vancouver and it looks like it’s here to stay. It’s the time of year when park visits, beach days, and walks around the neighbourhood beg to be broken up by time spent in the warm, cozy indoors, and preferably not always in your own home. With the amount of rain we get here on the coast, coming up with new, fun ways to spend your days with little ones isn’t always easy. And though we’ve found many favourite indoor spots around our big lovely city (the aquarium, Coquitlam’s Kinder Cafe, The Outpost Cafe, the many indoor pools, the airport’s public viewing area, play gyms, the Bloedel Conservatory, Science World, the local libraries and story times…) it’s always nice to add another spot to the rainy day list.
I originally learned about SweetSalt Baked Goods and Playscapes on yoyomama.ca and couldn’t have been more excited to visit. Authentic German baked goods {all made with local organic flour}, hot drinks, a play area for munchkins all in a stroller-friendly shop? Yes please. So this afternoon, with the rain doing what it does best, we made our way down Fraser Street to check it out.
Located on the corner of Fraser and 19th (not far from our other munckin-friendly cafe, The Outpost), SweetSalt is super bright and inviting, even on the gloomiest of days. We ordered some hot drinks, a couple of baked treats, and settled in.
The coffee was strong, the pretzels were exactly as they should be, and Brad’s hot chocolate was ridiculously large and serve in a beautiful bowl (we also ordered a cinnamon bun, but it disappeared so quickly that I didn’t manage to get a bite… I take it it was delicious).
The cafe, though beautifully decorated, maintains a very laid-back vibe, making parents visiting with children feel completely at ease. Gracen (along with two other little ones at the cafe at the time), played freely in the kids’ corner, made her way back to our table for a bite of pretzel now and then, and then back again for more fun and at no point did we feel like she was in the way or bothering other patrons. The play area was fully stocked with a mini kitchen, cooking tools, a chalkboard-topped table, colouring pages and crayons, wooden building blocks, nesting cups, and toy trucks, which was perfect for keeping our little lady happily busy for our entire visit. And though we didn’t bring ours in, there was plenty of aisle space for strollers, not to mention a big bathroom, complete with stroller space, a change table, a step stool for hand washing, and possibly the most adorable alphabet cards turned wall art I’ve ever seen.
On the way out, the super sweet owner, who is also a local mom, sent us on our way with a loaf of pumpkin seed bread and this adorable little dragon-shaped chocolate chip pastry (we visited just before closing on a Saturday) and both were absolutely delicious. So delicious, in fact, that we may have to make a weekly trip just for the bread alone.
♥
SweetSalt is located at 3497 Fraser Street and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Take a look at their amazing space & baked goods by joining them on Facebook here.
This morning my little brown fox and I headed out to our first official Halloween event – ‘Howl-O-Ween Play Gym’ at our local community centre. Gracen was super excited and happily announced different costumes as she saw them. Her favourite? An ridiculously cute broccoli costume worn by the baby brother of two little girls in her Ballet with Billie class.
Here’s our morning in photos…
Gracen the fox.
Making music.
Jack-o-lantern (quite possibly the trickiest craft ever for wee ones 4 and under!)
Foxes teeter totter too.
Decorating a cookie for Papa.
So spooky.
Costume model.
♥
Weeks and weeks ago, I asked Gracen what she wanted to be for Halloween. Without hesitation, she exclaimed, “Fox! A BROWWWN fox!” Her response kind of surprised me because we haven’t really spent much time talking or reading or learning about foxes. And at the time, I wasn’t convinced she’d have the same answer a week down the road. But was I ever wrong. Although she wavered a tiny bit between a being a brown fox and an orange fox, never once did she change her mind about the fox part itself. So, Gracen the fox it was.
I knew I wanted to make her little costume (making her Halloween costumes is just one of those things, like making her birthday cakes, that I want to do until she’ll no longer let me), but I had no clue how I’d do it. So while I’d been collecting materials, I hadn’t actually started putting anything together until last night when I realized that our Howl-o-ween Play Gym had crept up on me and was the very next morning. Oops. So I kept it super simple (I highly recommend starting costumes with a hoodie) and just added ears, a tail, and tummy fur to a little brown hoodie, and made a mask to go along with it. Here’s Gracen the fox…
I’m still hoping to make little clawed mittens and clawed black boot covers before Halloween night, but we’ll see what happens… All that matters right now is that Grae absolutely adores the costume and is already asking about when she can wear it next. Soon, Baby Girl, soon.
♥
After our most recent tea party with a pot filled with “tea”, I realized that I haven’t really given Gracen many opportunities to practice her pouring skills (with the exception of cooking and sensory bin/bath tub play, I guess). So tonight, just before I began making dinner, I set up a little water pouring station for her. All it took was a towel on the floor, a plastic serving tray, some measuring cups/jars/pitchers, and some coloured water. Gracen was thrilled, of course.
She transferred water from one container to another, watching the colours change and muddle for the better part of an hour, which was the perfect amount of time for me to prep dinner, clean the kitchen and wash a big load of dishes. Doesn’t get much better than that. Afterwards, clean up was a breeze. The towel went into the wash, the dishes got rinsed, and that was that… Another ‘Mama needs to make dinner’ activity to add to my {mental} list. ☺
♥
If you don’t feel comfortable letting your little one handle glass jars and measuring cups, you could always replace them with plastic ones instead. Switching out the water for dry goods like lentils, beans, and popping corn would be fun too!