Healthy Two Ingredient Ice Cream (& a PBJ Twist)

8 / 6 / 128 / 6 / 12

There’s no doubt that we’ve jumped on the one ingredient ice cream band wagon feet first this summer. Only we like ours made with two ingredients…

Here they are.

I know, when I first heard about bananas turned ice cream, I was a little skeptical too. But trust me – it’s sweet, creamy, and perfectly satisfying on a hot day. Here’s how we like to make our two ingredient soft serve…

In the morning, peel a few bananas. (Grae loves this part.)

Then slice them up.

Place the banana coins on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop them in the freezer for at least a few hours.

In the afternoon, once they’re completely frozen through, take the bananas out of the freezer.

Place approximately 1/3 of the banana coins into a good food processor.

Mix through the chunky stage, past the crumby stage, and right into the smooth, soft serve texture stage. You may have to stop the processor once or twice to mix things up a little with a spatula, but it’s not always needed.

Once the mixture is thick and creamy, stop the food processor and add a capful of good vanilla.

Plus another 1/3 of the banana coins and mix to bring to a soft serve texture again.

Then, add the last batch of banana coins and blend again. If you’re feeling like a vanilla-flavoured treat, you can stop here and serve immediately, or put the ice cream into the freezer for a while for a more hard ice cream texture.

BUUUUUUT, if you want peanut butter and jelly neopolitan-esque treat, divide your ice cream into thirds, leaving one portion in the food processor. Place the two other portions in the freezer in the meantime.

First up, make the jelly flavoured ice cream. Add a spoonful of no-sugar-added fruit preserves…

And a few frozen strawberries.

Then blend until smooth. Pop the berry ice cream in the freezer and give your work bowl and blade a quick rinse.

Remove one of your vanilla-flavoured ice cream portions from the freezer, pop it in the processor, add a heaping tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter, and mix. When blended, transfer the peanut butter ice cream back into your bowl and pop it in the freezer.

While you tidy up a tad, let your toddler ferociously lick the bowl and spoon.

If possible, let your soft serve firm up in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Or, if your toddler is like mine, serve immediately to appease the begs for “iceth cleam”.

Enjoy!

Apology Aid

8 / 5 / 128 / 5 / 12

First a little bit of background on our laundry “system” when it comes to Grae’s clothes… I put the clean clothes on hangers, and as I do, Gracen transfers them to her bedroom and hangs them on her crib railing. Once I’m ready to hang them in the closet, she takes them off the crib railing and hands them to me one. at. a. time. (Good practice in patience for this get-things-done Mama.)

Tonight, as we’re doing the transfer from crib to closet, a tank top falls off the hanger and onto the floor. I scoop it up, rehang it, and pop it in the closet instead of giving it back to my very serious little helper…

Gracen: Oopsie-day-so, Mama! On crib. No in closet.

Mama: Oopsies! I should have guessed that.

Gracen: (giving me an understanding nod and coaching me through my next line of action) Sorry, Grae Grae. Sorry.

♥

Backs of Busses

8 / 5 / 128 / 5 / 12

As we’re walking our bikes along Georgia street this morning…

Gracen: (pointing to the backs of the busses we pass by) Bus’ bum! Bus’ bum!

♥

iPhoneography // Sunday Fun Day

8 / 5 / 128 / 5 / 12

As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve been bu-sy lately… So today we put away the paintbrushes and screwdrivers and had a little family fun day. Here’s our day in iPhone photos…

first family seawall ride in stanley park // i spy a water park

brave until close // heat relief

beach stop // picnic lunch

papa and his girl // beach exploring

wild water baby // biking makes a girl tired (oopsies!)

sleeping beauty on the sky train // thirsty

popsicle holder // mmm… peaches!

backyard pool // well-fed belly

double fisting // dessert

♥

All photos edited using Instagram. Find me under ‘jkossowan’.

Monkey Business

8 / 4 / 128 / 6 / 12

Tonight, while preparing dinner, Gracen came into the kitchen and asked for apple treats (dried apple pear slices from our backyard tree) as a snack. Dinner was still a ways off, so I agreed and she retrieved the large ziploc bag of them from the cupboard. Now normally, I would take a few out and put them in a bowl for her, but since I was elbow deep in raw chicken (ew – the one thing I detest about cooking), I let her walk out with the entire bag. The house was quiet afterwards, and presumably my Little Miss had gone back to reading, this time while enjoying some dried fruit. I continued about my dinner making and a few more minutes later, Grae came into the kitchen, opened the garbage can, and placed the empty large ziploc bag inside and announced, “All done!” I was about to applaud her for remembering to put her garbage away, and then it hit me… It was a big bag filled with a massive amount of dried apples. There was no way she had polished them off in one sitting. So where were they then? Upon asking, she broke out into a fit of giggles and shouted “Clum!” (come). I followed her to her bedroom to find this…

Doesn’t she look concerned about the mess she’s made?! Ya, right. After a little chat about dumping food all over the floors, we agreed that we needed to get a bag so that she could pick them all up.

I left her in her room, with her bag and apple-covered carpet sneaking peeks {and photos} from the doorway every now and then. And you know what? The little monkey picked every single last apple up without any help or reminding.

Problem solved, I went back to my cooking and she went back to her playing…

Until I went to talk to her a few minutes later and couldn’t find her, that is. As a last resort, I opened our bedroom door, and guess who I found…

The little monkey back at it! She had opened our bedroom door (this is new – up until now, she just respected the fact that a door was closed and continued about her merry way), closed it behind her, climbed up onto our bed, and made herself comfy with Papa’s iPad. Goodness gracious!

Not to mention the fact that our day started out with her creating this smashing outfit for herself (pajama shirt, tights, sparkly shoes, and a swim hat at the time) and her announcing that she was ready to go for a bike ride.

Oh, and I can’t forget the fact that the day’s been littered with “buzz off’s”, a choice phrase that sounds strangely like her Grandma Charlotte, due to a fly being in the house.

Oh, the monkey business!

♥

Simple Wall-Mounted Bookshelves

8 / 4 / 122 / 8 / 13

Let me tell you, we’ve been busy around here. I’m not sure what it is about 30 degree heat that makes me want to redo patio chairs, modify step stools, sew curtains, paint walls, put together felt boards, redo toy chests, create alphabet books, AND organize engaging coordinating/helping projects for my little miss, but that’s how we’ve spent the last week. We’ve got a few last jobs to finish up, and then we’re taking a well-earned break and celebrating with pool days and trips to the beach!

That being said, one of the other things we’ve been working on is a quick and easy Pinterest-rampant project for Grae’s room.

While we were at IKEA picking up a Bekvam stool for Miss G’s pretty new toddler bench, we also picked up a couple of these Bekvam wooden spice racks… (Pinterest people, you all know where I’m going with this, right?)

While Gracen was happily painting rocks, I added the spice rack parts to my ‘to paint’ pile and gave them all two coats of a glossy white primer-and-paint-all-in-one spray.

After a day’s drying time, my little helper and I assembled them according to the instructions provided.

Then we mounted them to the wall using plugs and long screws (this was by far the hardest part of the project – really should have used a drill instead of doing it all by hand) and voila – Gracen had instant wall-mounted book shelves.

These little shelves are all part of a bigger project which I’m doing in honour of Miss G’s upcoming 2nd birthday (which I’ll be sure to share upon completion), but for now, Miss G is loving her toddler-height display-style bookshelves.

♥

My Tips for Staying Organized & Sane {Plus a Giveaway!}

8 / 4 / 128 / 4 / 12

Last month, I was approached by fellow Lower Mainland mom / Vancouvermom.ca Top 30 Blogger, North Shore Mama, about The Organized Mom Awards. It was my first time hearing about the awards, so I looked them up online and learned that they are an organization that promotes moms sharing tips and ideas that make them feel most organized. What’s not to love, right? A a busy mama, I’m always looking for new tricks to help me stay on top of my many commitments and projects while making the most of my time.

So when North Shore Mama (be sure to check her out – she’s a pretty organized mama herself!) said she’d like to nominate me to be in the running for this year’s Organized Mom Award, I was beyond flattered. What an amazing and inspirational group of ladies to be a part of!

The winner of the awards wins $1000 cash, but in order to be eligible for the grand prize, I need to be one of the top 10 voted for mamas. If you have a moment to spare, please click HERE to read all of the nominees’ stories and tips, then vote for your favourites! (Or click on the button below to go directly to my entry.)

As a heads up, I want you to know that you do have to use your Facebook info to log into the Organized Mom Awards app, which I know some people aren’t too keen on (trust me, I hear ya!) But here’s the good news – in exchange for you visiting and voting for your favourites, I have TWO $50 GIFT CARDS (with 2 more to come) to Stuck On You, a company whose products I’ve been drooling over for months. All you have to do to win 1 of the 2 gift cards is vote for your favourite organized Mama, then come back to this post and leave a comment saying “Voted!“. For an additional entry, leave a separate comment sharing one of the ways you stay organized or maximize your time. The two winners will be chosen at random one week from today, on the evening of Saturday, August 11th. Good luck!

And if free stuff isn’t prize enough for voting, I’m also going to share my top organization tips with you as an added bonus. ☺

As a Kindergarten / Grade One teacher turned stay-at-home mama and Etsy shop owner, being organized has always kept me sane, happy, and on top of all of the things I need/want to get done. It also means happier kids and more time for playing and going on adventures (win-win, right?)

Here are my tips for being an organized mama:

1) Plan Ahead

One night each week, I sit down for about an hour, computer on lap, and loosely plan out the dinners I want to make for the upcoming week (breakfasts and lunches usually come about with staples I always keep on hand and dinner leftovers, so I don’t normally plan those). While I’m at it, a find a couple of cooking/baking projects I’d like to do with my soon-to-be 2 year old little lady, as well as a couple of toddler-friendly activities to do outside of the kitchen. With this meal/activity list, I then make a shopping list of everything I’ll need to pick up on my shopping trip the next day. The meal/activity list goes up on a bulletin board in the kitchen and the shopping list goes in my wallet. I don’t always follow my plans exactly (in fact I seldomly do), but it’s really nice to have some ideas (and the required ingredients/materials) on hand when dinner’s got to be on the table asap or I need a fun activity to do with my little one in a hurry.

2) Jot It Down

Call me old-fashioned in this technological world, but keeping a large family calendar and pen on our fridge keeps me sane. It’s host to play dates, birthdays, events, appointments, library due dates, my hubby’s work schedule, and anything else that is date specific. I also use my Notes app on my phone to jot down quick things while on the go – addresses, Miss G’s milestones, and gift ideas are a few of the things that can be found on my phone, and the best part is that I always have that info with me.

3) Everything Has a Place

In our house, everything having its own spot eliminates having to search for things and makes for smoother exits. As long as things are put away in their places after being used, retrieving them the next time they’re needed is a snap.

4) Clean As You Go

Tidying throughout the day is essential for me. If I’m headed to the washroom, I grab the recently folded towels and take them with me. If I’m headed to the kitchen, I grab the empty sippy cup sitting on the coffee table and put it in the sink. If we’re done with an activity, we put everything away before starting a new one (never too early to start having your little one tidy with you!) The result is a reasonably tidy home at the end of the day, instead of one that looks like a tornado hit it. Then, once your little one’s in bed, you may only have a sink of dishes to do and a floor to sweep rather than having an entire house to clean.

5) Do it Now

As a semi-obsessive list maker, there are few things I find satisfaction in more than crossing a job off a list. But here’s the thing – some tasks take longer to write down than to just do. Rather than adding another item to your {already long} list of to dos, why not just get that quick/easy task out of the way now rather than leaving it for later? Things like taking the trash out, filling the ice cube trays, throwing a load of laundry in, or making a bed probably take just as much time to add to a list as they take to do, not to mention that many of these jobs are little helper-friendly.

6) Think About Tomorrow

Each evening, before I call it a night, I think about our plans for the following day. If we need to be out of the house fairly early, things like packing the diaper bag, laying out needed items, and packing a lunch make the morning much easier. Even if we don’t have big plans for the following morning, having a rough idea of what we’re doing the next day helps me mentally prepare for the day ahead and leads to more time for fun and play and less time for planning/deciding what to do.

♥

Now what are you waiting for?! Go and vote, leave a comment here saying you did, and be in the running to win a $50 gift card for anything from Stuck On You, a company that specializes in the coolest labels and personalized gifts. Remember, if you share your organizational tip in a separate comment, your name is entered TWICE!

Good luck!

Hungry Baby

8 / 3 / 128 / 6 / 12

Baby must be going through a growth spurt… She gobbled up all of Gracen’s apple slices this morning and all of Grae’s snap peas this evening!

♥

Plain Jane Step Stool Turned Pretty Multipurpose Toddler Bench

8 / 3 / 124 / 16 / 14

The other day while we were at IKEA picking up supplies for a little project I’m working on in honour of Miss G’s upcoming 2nd birthday, we decided to pick up one of IKEA’s classic step stools too… The Bekvam.

There’s no doubt that modified versions of this little stool has been featured dozens of times on sites such as ikeahackers.net, apartmenttherapy.com, and pinterest and rightfully so – it comes unfinished and just begging for some prettying up.

Since the stool was for Grae, I chose to use leftover paint in one shade lighter than her bedroom walls. While Gracen happily painted rocks, I gave all of the pieces two coats front and back, and let them dry in the sun for the remainder of the day.

The next day, while picking up some paper for a couple of block orders I’m working on, we came across this beautiful cherry blossom print, which really couldn’t be any more perfect. Anyone who knows me well, knows my love of cherry blossoms. I love them so much, in fact, that we hired an artist to paint a cherry blossom mural in Grae’s previous nursery in Kuwait.

Pretty paper in hand, it was time for the second part of the project… Beautifying the top. To start, I gathered a pencil, ruler, and a pair of scissors.

I cut the paper into a 12″ by 7.5″ rectangle, attached it to the the bench top (leaving a 1 inch border around the edges), and used a couple of pieces of rolled tape to hold it down temporarily.

Next, I flipped the bench top over and traced the oval cut out onto the backside of the paper.

After carefully removing the paper, I cut the oval out just outside of the traced line.

Next, I busted out some matte Mod Podge and a foam brush and spread a thin, even coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface of the bench.

After waiting just a minute to let the Mod Podge get tacky, I carefully placed the paper onto the bench top and smoothed it from the centre outwards to remove any bumps and bubbles that had formed.

Next, I topped the entire bench top with a couple of Mod Podge layers, letting it dry fully in between.

For added protection, I took it outside and gave it a couple of coats of a matte spray-on sealant, again letting it dry in between layers.

After a day of drying time, my little helper and I assembled her pretty new toddler bench.

I was excited to have her test it out and it turns out that her first instinct was to use it as a table and chair combo, rather than a step stool (I thought I might have to show her that, but not needed). She collected her baby and her jar of snacks and wasted no time putting her new bench to use. She’s used it constantly since, for everything from drawing, to sticker play, to meal eating, and game playing. The best part is that not only can this little stool be used as a toddler table/chair combo, but it can also be used the way it was designed to – for hand washing, teeth brushing, and kitchen helping too.

♥

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DIY Felt Board {and an Ice Cream Colour Matching Game}

8 / 3 / 123 / 22 / 14

When we were on vacation, all of the old-school toys Grandma Charlotte has saved from her boys’ childhood got me thinking about favourites from my own childhood. While it’s not really a toy, one thing I LOVED growing up was the felt boards teachers would use during carpet times in elementary school. You just knew that if you sat down to listen to a story and the teacher reached for her felt board and a bag of felt pieces, it was going to be a good one.

This then got me thinking about all of the cool things Miss G and I could do with a felt board of our own. From matching games, to sorting activities, to building funny faces, and learning about shapes and colours… The options are endless really.

Now, we probably could have bought a pre-made felt board and coordinating pieces, but what fun is that?! Especially when making one of your own is so easy. The best part is that this entire project can be done over the course of a nap time if your little one sleeps for at least an hour.

We picked up this square poster frame from IKEA, grabbed a package of felt from the craft store (you can also buy it on a roll from fabric stores), and gathered up a glue gun (I later changed my mind and used Tacky Glue but I think either would work), a pencil, and some scissors.

To get started, I took the cardboard backing out of the picture frame, lined it up with the corner edges of the felt piece, and traced the other two sides onto the felt in pencil.

Next, I cut the felt square out. (Make sure you’re using really sharp scissors here. Your sanity and straight line with thank you.)

Next, because I chose to use white felt, I took the paper insert that came inside the frame, flipped it over, and glued it onto the cardboard insert to create a white backing for my felt. (You can use your glue gun or Tacky Glue here, but you could just as easily use white glue or a glue stick too.) See the difference? Much better with a little help from the insert.

Next up, I carefully gave my felt piece a quick iron. You don’t have to do this, but I found it made it much easier to mount the felt onto the cardboard when the large creases had been removed. Just be sure to use a low heat and keep your iron moving if you do this step. Then, mount your felt onto the cardboard using thin glue strips in order to avoid ripples and bumps in the felt. Also because felt does have some give and can stretch over time, it’s a good idea to glue the middle as well as the edges (I did the edges and a giant ‘x’ across the centre). Once you’ve got your felt piece placed on the glue, smooth it down from the centre outwards to ensure a good stick.

When your glue has had a chance to dry, place your cardboard backing into the frame and secure it.

Voila! Felt board complete.

With Miss G still sleeping and a little time still on my hands, I decided it would be really fun to have a game of some sort ready to go for when she woke up. I had no idea what I would make, but it needed to be something quick and easy. Thank goodness for Pinterest! I searched “felt board ideas” and got all of these great results. Scrolling through, I was immediately drawn to an ice cream cone colour matching game that I knew would be quick to cut out and super engaging for my little lady who loves matching games and announcing the colours she sees around her.

I just cut out my first cone and ice cream scoop freehand and then used the pieces as a guide for my others, but upon visiting childcareland.com later, I saw that she has a printable template available also.

I cut my circles out using a coin as a guide and glued them onto the cones using a little dot of Tacky Glue. And that was it. After a few minutes drying time, the pieces were ready to be put to use.

I love this felt board set because it can be used when talking about colours, it can be used as a matching game, it can used to learn about rainbow order, and it can be used just for fun (think 8 scoop ice cream cones!)

Here’s the finished product.

Miss G was thrilled to wake up to this little surprise and matched the scoops to the cones again and again, naming the colours as she went along.

Can’t wait to make some other pieces for her soon.

UPDATE: Check out our new and improved DIY felt board tutorial!

♥

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Simple Fun: Rock Painting

8 / 1 / 128 / 1 / 12

Every year as a child, my brother and I would spend a week or two at my Baba’s (which means grandmother in Ukranian) house a few hours from home. My Baba, who is probably one of the most talented, creative, do-it-all women I know, always made sure we had adventures to go on, activities to do, and projects on the go. One of the things we’d always do was paint rocks. It’s such a simple idea, but it was something I truly looked forward to each year.

So today, I got out a couple painting projects of my own and set Grae up with a little rock painting station.

First we gathered our materials… A few big rocks we found around the yard (washed and dried), some acrylic paint (kids’ washable paint works too but the designs disappear with rain), a few paint brushes, and an old towel.

Gracen thought it was pretty special that she had her very own painting station just like Mama. She’d paint a rock, then move it to the edge of the towel to dry, and then paint another. And when the tops were dry, she flipped them over and painted the bottoms.

Fresh out of rocks but still wanting to paint, I gave her a cement block we had lying around.

And after it was painted in pastels, it was time for a strawberry creamsicle break. The verdict? She loved them so much that she asked for another. My first instinct was to say, “Let’s have something different to eat now”, but then I reminded myself that all they are is plain organic yogurt and strawberries pureed. So two popsicles it was.

These are our little artist’s finished pieces.

After they were completely dry, we found special little places around the yard to tuck them in. With these little surprises hiding around the yard, maybe weeding won’t be so daunting…

♥