After making the most adorable little Christmas truck ornaments {inspired by Little Blue Truck’s Christmas} with Sam earlier this week, today Miss G and I made her book-inspired ornament of the year… Test tube snow globe ornaments inspired by the pages of Ada Twist, Scientist! I wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out, but now that they’re done, I think they’re so beautiful and fun!
{this post contains affiliate links}
If you’ve not read Ada Twist, Scientist, you must… Along with the other books in the collection (Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect), it’s one of our absolute favourites. Ada is endlessly curious and while her experiments and quests to figure out how things work often wreak havoc in her family’s day-to-day life, she learns the value of thinking her way through things and always remaining curious.
The pages of the book are filled with bottles of Ada’s colourful concoctions and experiments, which is exactly what inspired Miss G’s little test tube snow globe ornaments.
There’s a lot of wiggle room as far as which materials you use for these test tube snow globe ornaments, but here’s what we used to make ours:
– little glass craft jars with screw on lids (I REALLY wanted ones with rounded bottoms like these ones with cork tops, but alas… small town living doesn’t always allow for these things. We ended up finding these very similar flat-bottomed glass craft jars at our local Dollarama and they worked just fine. In fact, they’re probably better for the fact that they stand on their own while making them, but they’re just not quite as test tube like.)
– Gorilla Contact Adhesive (I wouldn’t use something like this with Sam, but Miss G is 8 now and this glue worked really well)
– washi tape (which we ended up adding into the mix at the last minute)
Here’s a closer look at the little confetti bits and slime add-ins I put out for Miss G to use. These were all things that came in one of those big slime making add-in kits you can order online.
Here’s how Grae made her test tube snow globes…
First up, she tested the bottle brush trees in the glass craft jars to make sure they fit well.
Most of them fit perfectly and the ones that didn’t simply got a little trim.
Then it was time to adhere the trees in the bottoms of the test tubes. To do this, we simply followed the instructions on the Gorilla Contact Adhesive packaging and put a little glue on the base of the tree, a little glue in the bottom of the test tube, let both sit for two minutes, and then carefully put the tree down into the test tube and pushed it down firmly. {In true Miss G fashion, the two minutes of waiting just HAD to be filled with reading.}
Now while the glue we used does say that it’s ‘immediate contact’, it also says that the glue isn’t fully cured for 24 hours, so we probably should have waited before adding water, but we didn’t. We gave the trees 10 or 15 minutes to set, then went ahead with the project like the impatient people we are – hah! One thing to note is that the trees / test tubes that we used a thin layer of adhesive on definitely formed a more immediate bond, while the ones with more adhesive were still wiggly when we moved on to the next step
Next up, the water.
Aren’t they pretty just like this?
Then Grae worked on tinting the water with liquid food colouring. Because a full drop was too much for the amount of water in our little test tubes, she used a food pick to add the teeniest bit of colouring at a time until the colour was just right.
With the water the perfect shade, she added in all of the confetti, bits, and bobs her little heart desired.
Here are her finished test tube snow globes… Aren’t they gorgeous?
At this point you could secure the test tube lids with glue, but we skipped that part and just ensured that they were screwed on as tightly as possible.
Now while I thought we’d tie our baker’s twine / embroidery thread around the test tubes and create our little hanging loop that way, it just didn’t work out how we thought it would… Instead, we opted to tape a little loop of thread to either side of the lid and then secure everything with several rounds of decorative washi tape, which I think looks really cute too.
Here they are all done and ready for the tree!
This post is part of the awesome 10 Days of #KidMadeChristmas Ornaments series we’ve participated in in years past… If you’re looking for some fantastic ornament ideas to try at home with your kids, pop over and check out the master list of kid-made ornaments – there are SO many lovely ones this year!
Are you following us on social media?
Find us on: Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter
One of the Christmas traditions I just adore? Making a new Christmas ornament with each kiddo every year! It’s such a fun one-on-one project and I think the kids really love hanging their newly made decorations on the tree {and revisiting their old ones each year}. The type of ornament we make is often inspired by something they love or by a favourite book, and this year Sam’s little homemade Christmas truck ornaments were inspired by Little Blue Truck, the star of a collection of books we’ve read again and again.
I feel like we’re re-entering a time of play dough kits and I won’t lie – I’m oh so excited about it! When Miss G was a toddler, we had a minimum of four different play dough kits on our shelf at all times, we swapped them out for new ones each season, and they were played with EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. They were also our go-to gift for her little friends for several years… We’d just come up with a theme based on what the little birthday person loved and run with it! There are truly too many to remember, but we’ve done a mermaid play dough kit, a dinosaur play dough kit, a construction site play dough kit, a Star Wars play dough kit, and a Frozen themed play dough kit to name a few. And this time around? For the little friend who loves everything sparkly? We decided to try something new – a unicorn play dough kit!
Seriously – play dough kits like this where everything is neatly stored in one container are the BEST for quiet time, independent play while mama has to get something done, sick days, or even as a ready-to-go activity for when friends come over. The kits we make hold plenty of dough for multiple kids, plus the tools and loose parts add interest and expand upon what can be done with the dough. And it’s all just sitting there ready to go when the mood strikes!
{this post contains affiliate links}
Here’s exactly what you’ll need to recreate this unicorn play dough kit:
a unicorn figurine (we included this one by PAPO and it’s truly beautiful, but it’s also too big to fit inside the kit… this smaller one or this smaller one – or both – by Schliech would also be great options)
Now, to create this kit, we made a recipe per colour, but 4 full batches is a tad much for the GLIS container, so I simply kept a little chunk of each batch for our kids to play with at home. If you were making two unicorn play dough kits, I think you could probably get away with just doing the 4 separate batches and dividing each colour equally between the 2 boxes.
If you’ve never made our play dough before, here’s a recipe run down…
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of table salt
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of glycerine
3/4 cup of boiling water (measured in a dry measuring cup – this is important as wet and dry measures aren’t the same and using a wet measure will likely make your play dough too sticky)
Wilton gel colouring {for colours like these, you’ll only need the smallest amount}
fine iridescent glitter {I made a commitment to quit buying glitter once I learned about how detrimental it is to our environment, but we had this on hand and there are several eco-glitter options now available}
Place all of the ingredients, save the boiling water, in a bowl and whisk well. Measure out the water using your dry measuring set and add the teensiest bit of Wilton gel colouring to it before adding the coloured water to the bowl. Give the mixture a quick mix with a wooden spoon, banging off it off every once and a while. At this point, the mixture may seem too wet and sticky to make good play dough… Do not fret! Leave the semi-mixed dough on the counter to cool for 5 or so minutes. Afterwards, dump the mixture out onto the countertop and knead really well. You’ll know you’re done when the dough is fully cooled, soft and squishy, and the super smooth. And if it’s still a little sticky once completely cooled (your climate and even the slightest bit of extra water can change the texture quite significantly), add flour touch by touch and kneading it until the stickiness is gone.
Next, form your dough into balls and roll them in iridescent glitter. Rolling the glitter on the outside of the dough will give it mega-shine and will make it look extra pretty for gift giving.
Next up, sprinkle the tops of your dough balls with iridescent stars and gently press them down so they stay in place.
Because divided GLIS containers aren’t airtight, you’ll want to place your dough into a big clear zip-close bag before gifting it, but I like the get the doughs shaped and in the container first to see how they’ll fit.
Now because our unicorn was too big to fit in our container (I would have liked to put it in that big compartment on the left), we just tied it to the top of the kit once done, but had we have been able to get our hands on a smaller unicorn, I would have found a spot for it next.
Alright, now onto the loose parts! These little bits and bobs are surprisingly easy to find at craft stores and dollar stores and make such a great addition to play dough kits. For our unicorn play dough kit we went with clear acrylic diamonds, pink acrylic hearts, and small acrylic mirror gems, but you can really do anything that you feel fits the theme. I think little pastel bottle brush trees would have been amazing in this kit, but alas – we live in a small town where these sorts of things aren’t easily found.
To finish off the kit, we added a miniature wooden rolling pin, a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter, a mini star-shaped cookie cutter, and some little pastel-coloured acrylic flowers.
And that was it!
We carefully placed the play dough balls into a plastic bag and then gently set it back into the container.
To finish off our gift, we tied the kit with some twine, added a handwritten tag and the unicorn, and called it good. We don’t even bother to wrap our homemade play kits usually.
True story? Every year for the last *at least* 5 years, I’ve wanted to put together the awesome holiday gift guides filled with personal recommendations that so many bloggers put out… BUUUUUT – it’s never happened. Why? Well a) because they’re a lot of work and b) because they usually go out early to mid-November, which means you really have to be thinking about Christmas in October… which just isn’t me. I’m very much an all-things-Christmas-can-begin-on-December-1st kind of gal. So getting gift guides out in early November just never happened for me. UNTIL NOW, that is. I’ve not talked about it here yet, but Amazon has this cool new feature where affiliate members can create an ‘Amazon shop’ filled with things they love and personally recommend. {You can check mine out here.} Well, not only is having an amazon shop super helpful for being able to quickly answer all of the ‘which brand is that?’ / ‘which model is yours?’ / ‘where can I find that?’ questions I receive on Instagram, but it also makes putting together gift guides incredibly easy, which is why I finally got around to rounding up a collection of the very best gifts for kids {in my opinion, of course}.
I’ve got my gift guides organized by age for babies through 6 year olds, then I’ve got a section for ‘older kids’, and I’ve got one for mamas too {plus other things}! Now two things…
First off, many {if not most} of the items I’ve selected for these gift guides are great for kiddos of many ages… After all, that’s the goal when buying toys for kids, right? Buying things that are open-ended enough to grow with them over time? I simply sat down at my computer, thought about the things I love gifting 2 year olds, 3 year olds, etc. and those were the items that got added to that particular age category.
Secondly, I will be the first to admit that I love Amazon. It’s crazy convenient, you can’t beat many of the deals, and when you live in a small town like we do, it gives you access to alllll the things you can’t get locally in one spot. That being said, I really, really try to support small, locally owned businesses whenever I can and while I truly appreciate people making their purchases through my amazon affiliate links {amazon affiliates earn a teeny bit of commission on each purchase made through their link at no extra cost to the buyer}, I think shopping small is really important. Some of our very favourite places to get kids’ items are Dilly Dally Kids, Collage Collage, Welk’s, Little Earth, and Beansprouts {all in Vancouver}.
Alright, that being said… ready for a little peek at some of the items I think make the very best gifts for kids? Now keep in mind that the screenshots below are just *some* of what’s in each age category, so be sure to click the links and see the full collection. Also, because the images you’ll see below are screenshots, the prices you see may not be the current prices. Best to click through and check on the actual site.
Okay, and while I was at it, I haaaaaad to create a list of stocking stuffer ideas – stocking stuffers kids will actually use – because in my opinion, stockings are the very best part. In fact, for the last couple of Christmases we’ve done only stockings for our kids and this year will be the same. We’ve got all of the big ticket items they need {and more} and they get SO MUCH from their grandparents that a great stocking is more than enough. Click on the photo or link below to check out stocking stuffers for kiddos of all ages.
Okay, last thing. Promise. While I know that this is supposed to be the very best gifts for KIDS, I’m sneaking in my gift recommendations for mamas too because mamas, you deserve it!!! From my beloved Vitamix and espresso machine, to my go-to diffuser, a solid starter set of essential oils, and a few of my absolute faves from around our home, these are some of my very favourite things.
To take a look at all of my personal picks for mamas, click here.
I can’t believe Halloween is nearly here… Didn’t we just start the school year?! Miss G and I haven’t talked about brining something to share with her classmates this year {yet at least – I’m guessing this little tradition just dies off as the kids get older…?}, but we made these witch’s brew slime favours last year and they were such a huge hit!
Baking soda and vinegar… It just never ever gets old. This very simple fizzy eruptions activity has been a hit with so many of our little friends and guests over the years. And it doesn’t matter if they’ve just turned two or they’re nearly eleven years old – everyone who has come over when I’ve had this set out for a co-op meet-up, play date, or birthday party has pretty much loved it. I mean what’s not to love about colourful fizzy eruptions that leave your play surface looking just like that of the moon, right?
{this post contains affiliate links}
Here’s the simple-as-can-be set-up… A plate of baking soda (or soda bicarbonate for our UK friends), several little jars of white vinegar coloured with liquid food colouring, gel food colouring, or liquid watercolours {my personal favourite because of the fact that they’re fully washable}, some pipettes, and a play tray to contain the mess {this one from Ikea is our fave}.
That being said, kids who haven’t mastered pipette use can totally still create fizzy eruptions on their own! Instead of giving them the usual jar / pipette combo, just put the coloured vinegar in old glue bottles, any other squirt bottle with a small opening, or old liquid soap bottles with a pump and let them squeeze or pump the vinegar onto their plate of baking soda.
If they’re able to use a pipette, it’s as easy as squeeze to collect coloured vinegar…
Then squeeze to release the coloured vinegar onto the baking soda base and watch the fizzy eruption magic happen!
When the fizzy foam settles down, you’ll be left with the coolest coloured spots that look just like the moon’s surface {hence why we sometimes call this ‘moon painting’}.
Now if you really want to take things to the next level {like Sam does ALWAYS}, you may want to try the triple pipette method {patent pending – HAHA!}
Simply shove all three of your pipettes into a single jar, squeeze up as much vinegar as humanly possible…
And enthusiastically squeeze them out onto your baking soda in order to create the biggest fizzy eruption possible. The more force the better, really.
I mean, just look at how fun it looks!!
And when you’re nearly done, may as well just dump the rest of the vinegar out, right?? ‘Papa says sam can do it’, I’m told. Hah!
But in all seriousness, when the entire plate is flooded in vinegar like this, most often you can dump off the liquid and use the remaining {wet} baking soda below for round 2. I mean you may as well get as much bang for your buck as possible, right? {This is especially important when you live in Kuwait and you’re buying 45 of these tiny 100 gram containers of baking soda at a time.}
Oh how I love putting together play dough kits! After years and years of them being one of our play staples {as well as our go-to homemade gift}, Miss G sort of moved onto really loving other types of play around the time Sam was born {#sadday}. Then when Sam was finally ready for it, we stuck with our taste-safe baby play dough and our go-to no-cook play dough for a long while before moving onto full-on play dough kits with loads of fun loose parts included, so it’s been a minute. Recently we’ve done a really awesome Little Blue Truck play dough kit {which I’ll be sure to share soon} as well as an autumn spice dough with whole spices, but this witch’s brew play dough kit is our newest kit and it’s been oh so much fun.
Of course a play dough kit means a GLIS divided container from Ikea, so we dug one of those out too. {Seriously one of my very favourite things to buy at Ikea. So much so that I always keep a few extras on hand for gifts and fun projects.}
Alright, so here’s how we organized our kit! Our freshly made play dough in one of the big spots {I’d first place this in a big zip-close bag if giving the kit as a gift or storing it for any amount of time as the containers aren’t air-tight}…
Our little creepy loose parts in the small slots in the front…
And some mini ‘cauldrons’ {aka apple sauce containers} and some play kitchen utensils for stirring the brew along the side.
We also tucked our rats in with the cauldrons and utensils as that’s where we had space.
Here’s the finished kit! Wouldn’t this make a lovely gift when paired with a copy of Room on the Broom? Especially for a kiddos with a birthday or party around Halloween? I also love the idea of making these and gifting them to your child’s preschool or Kindergarten class… I mean which teacher wouldn’t appreciate a ready-made sensory activity for her munchkins to enjoy??
The best thing about play dough kits like these? ANYTHING GOES.
Miss G opted to use one of the big cauldrons we use for Halloween goodies for her witches brew…
And Sam stacked his brew up nice and high and layered creepy crawlies in between.
When they were done, the kiddos removed the little bits and bobs from the play dough, sorted them back into the container {awesome sorting practice for kiddos Sam’s age}, and I popped the play dough into a zip-close bag before putting it back into our divided container and closing it up.
We’re in full-on fall mode here in the Okanagan and the kids and I have been collecting beautifully coloured leaves since they’ve started falling. Some have become part of the little nature table below our autumn bucket list, some have become leaf creatures, and tonight, a pile of them become part of a fall leaf bath.
I actually set this little fall leaf bath up for Sam last fall and it was such a hit that I had to do it again.
It couldn’t be easier, which I love. Just give your leaves a good rinse and place them on the surface of a tub of water.
This time around I also put some up on the wall – a trick Sam discovered last year. All you have to do is get either the leaf or the wall wet, and so long as the leaf is fairly flat, it’ll magically stick to the wall.
What he discovered this time around? That he could stick a leaf onto a leaf!
While he was playing, we also briefly talked about the different types of leaves in his fall leaf bath… Well, the ones I knew at least. {#momneedstodosometree/leafresearch}
And of course there were leaf hats, leaves stuck on legs and bellies, and several rounds of leaf peek-a-boo.
After Sam was done, it was Miss G’s turn for a bath, and this is what I walked into when she was done… She had separated the leaves by colour and created a game for me by having one misplaced leaf on each wall that needed finding. : ) Gosh, how I love my girl…
Creating a seasonal bucket list of things we’d like to do is sort of becoming a thing for Miss G and I… and I love it. Last year we created this Holiday Bucket List full of all the things we wanted to do throughout the winter holidays and although I didn’t create a digital version, this spring we did the same – only in handwritten form. Our most recent one is this printable autumn bucket list that is currently hanging on the wall in our main living space.
The bucket list includes everything from splashing in puddles to making autumn spice play dough to doing a good deed and taking a family bike ride.
Ours is hung right above the kids’ table that’s turning into a bit of a nature shelf with all of the lovely autumn treasures Grae and Sam have collected while outdoors. It’s low enough for them to access it easily and it’s nice and big as I actually printed it on 11 x 17 paper to make it just a little more kiddo-friendly. {I just took the file down to my local Staples print shop and printed directly from my phone to an 11 x 17 which cost me around 15 cents if I remember correctly.}
No surprise that Grae’s the one who stays on top of updating it and we’ve actually already checked off a pile of items on the list.
That being said, we’re pretty low key about our bucket lists… If the things happen, fantastic, but we certainly don’t stress about completing each and every activity / task. It’s really just there to give us ideas should there be a time when we’re looking for something fun to do and don’t have anything in mind already.
Our space is quite minimalist {okay… maybe ‘stark’ would better describe it} and filled with loads of white with little bits of brick, grey, black, so our black and white minimalist version is a perfect fit, but if you like a little more colour and whimsy in your life, I also created this pretty pastel fall bucket list for CBC Parents:
It doesn’t include quite as many tasks as the black and white version does, but sometimes less is more, right?
And if you’re looking for a custom fall bucket list? My friend Stesha of Stesha Rose. tipped me off about Belle Bucket – a company that creates beautiful minimalist bucket lists that can be printed out on architect’s paper so they’re HUUUUGE.
You know what I’m really good at? I’m really good at doing different kinds of creative projects and activities with the kids, photographing them, and then never ever getting around to sharing them here. Like REALLY good. I’ve got hundreds of projects photographed and waiting to be written up from years previous… There just aren’t enough hours in the day. {Sidenote: Can you believe that for the first 5 years of Miss G’s life, I published a blog post every nearly every single day?! SOOO crazy. Though most of those years were during a time when blogging meant sharing photos and words… There was no need to worry about SEO, pinnable images, amazon links, or getting people to your site via social media, so I guess it makes sense that I’m lucky to get a couple of post up a week nowadays.} Anyways, my goal is to make time to share some of those projects from years past and the first is this easy DIY no-sew parrot costume.
{this post contains affiliate links}
I mean, how cute is this little parrot of mine?? This was actually Sam’s very first Halloween costume and because it’s actually a parrot cape, he was able to wear it while being worn in the Ergo, which I absolutely loved. I just popped him in the carrier and then put the hood on his head, flattened the cape out over the Ergo like you would a blanket, and loosely tied the ribbon around his little neck. It was perfect.
How did our littlest bubba become a parrot for Halloween? Well, it all started with this pirate princess costume for Miss G… Her first ever purchased costume. She fell in love with it while shopping at Costco and I’ve always said that I’ll make her costumes for as long as she’s happy to have me make them, so… As much as it sort of killed me to buy one after years of getting to make something from scratch, a store-bought costume it was.
And of course every little pirate princess needs a parrot, right? {One that was happy to let his mama make his costume, thankfully.}
Everything required for this little getup? An old red cape we had in our dress up station {though you can find these inexpensively on Amazon and even dollar stores sometimes}, cheap craft store felt, and a glue gun. Seriously, that’s it.
No joke – I think I’ve had ‘layered apple caramel dip’ in my idea book for a full 3 years now… It’s on a random page of fall ideas and says ‘layered caramel apple dip – like 7 layer bean dip but sweet – for apples’ – hah! I’ve wanted to make it for ages now, but we just finally got around to it and I’m so happy we did. Because daaaaang – is it ever delicious!
We made a plated version to enjoy immediately as well as several little pots to keep in the fridge and let me tell you – they didn’t last long! Brad and I enjoyed some as a treat while watching a show, Miss G got to take one in her lunch one day, and the others? I’m not sure, but they disappeared.
The best part? I was really hoping to include a caramel outside of my usual date ‘caramel’, and I was able to make a delicious version using coconut milk, pure maple syrup, and coconut sugar. Definitely a still a treat in my books, but no dairy, no butter, and no white sugar. We also used a non-dairy cream cheese for a fully vegan recipe.
Welp, the first official day of fall is nearly here and I’m doing my best to embrace it despite the fact that the arrival of fall means we’re that much closer to another loonnnnng winter in our small town. A loonnnng winter in our small town that nearly did me in last year. Now if it were to stay fall for a few months and we got to soak in that crisp fall air mixed with little bursts of sun, the beautiful autumn colours, and sweater weather for a while before transitioning into the snow, freezing cold, parkas, and permanently feeling like a block of ice, I’d totally be down for that. Come on Mother Nature, work with me here! {Pleeeaaase.}
I usually switch up our play dough and play dough kits each season despite the fact that our go-to homemade play dough can last even longer than that {our black, sparkly play dough that was part of our tinker play dough activity is still going strong!}, so this week Sam and I whipped up the most delicious smelling autumn spice play dough.
It’s just our basic no-cook play dough recipe {made without food colouring or flavour packets} with a few of our favourite fall spices added to it, and let me tell you – it smells divine! {We chose to use cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, but if we would have had allspice on hand, I would have added that too!}
To make it, we measure out our dry ingredients plus our vegetable oil and glycerine into a large bowl.
Then we whisk it up really well.
Next, I add the boiling water and immediately mix it {quite vigorously} to get the texture as uniform as possible. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle, I get my hands in there, bring it all together in a ball…
And then dump it out onto a clean, dry countertop.
The one question I always get asked about our play dough is how we get such a smooth texture, and it’s all about the kneading! I knead our play dough for probably a solid 2 or 3 minutes, or until it’s pretty much cool. I know that there’s a proper way to knead doughs, but when it comes to our play dough recipe, I start with it all in a mass close to me…
Then I push it away from me while using a decent amount of pressure to flatten it right out. Then I pull it back and repeat. (Many, many times.) I find that this method works well when the dough is still a little sticky {our recipe tends to feel a little wet until completely cool} and it really works to get rid of any little lumps an bumps that might be hiding in the dough. By the time it’s completely cool, the dough should be smooth as can be and should no longer be sticky.
Can you tell how smooth it is?
I’m pretty sure we’ve made some version of this play dough every fall since Miss G was one or two years old, and I love pairing it with natural loose parts. We often go out on a nature walk and collect conkers, acorns, pinecones, and pretty leaves to pair it with, but another favourite over the years has been whole spices and that’s what we decided to go with this time around.
Sam and I popped by our local bulk store and picked up some cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, whole allspice, whole nutmeg, some anise stars, and some whole cloves – all of which smell amazing and have interesting shapes and textures. Then I popped everything into one of my favourite divided trays {I got this one in Kuwait at City Star in Egaila} and set it out on the table with a couple of placemats for the kids to discover after school.
I love having some sort of invitation to play or create out on the table in the afternoons… It’s always something that is open-ended and requires very little / no adult help, which means that they can just dive in and play or create independently, which I think is good for all of us, but especially Grae.
After a long day at school, I really find that she just needs some time to unwind and decompress… Some time when there’s nothing expected of her and nothing she has to do on a timeline – and creating or reading seem to be two really good options for her.
I often pick a chilled out, calming playlist on Spotify and play that too, which really sets the mood for some low-key, focused play.
Of course with play dough and loose parts, there’s really no end goal. Miss G usually works on some sort of careful creation…
While sam loves to burry and poke and dig and hide.
Both of which are equally valuable, important ways to play.
Here’s our autumn spice play dough recipe…
Autumn Spice Play Dough
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of table salt
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of glycerine
3/4 cup of boiling water (measured in a dry measuring cup – this is important as wet and dry measures aren’t the same)
Place all of the ingredients, save the boiling water, in a bowl and whisk well. Measure the water using your dry measuring set and add it to the bowl. Give the mixture a quick mix with a wooden spoon, banging off it off every once and a while. At this point, the mixture may seem too wet and sticky to make good play dough… Do not fret! Once the dough has cooled just a little, use your hands to carefully bring it into and ball and then dump it out onto the countertop and knead really well. You’ll know you’re done when the dough is fully cooled, soft and squishy, and no longer sticky
This post is sponsored by Back to Earth, my very favourite place for all things health, wellness, and personal / home care. I’d venture to say that the majority of all of the products in our home – from cleaners to shampoos and conditioners to soaps to candles and sunscreens – are all from Back to Earth. And it’s been that way for years. {Even when space was at a premium and we were bringing many of our personal care and cooking items in our luggage to the Middle East, I made room for a year’s supply of my Back to Earth favourites!} There are so many things I love about their products, but what I love most is that a) the company is based right here in the Okangan, and b) that the founder, Kiley, who has completed several certified herbalist and aromatherapy educational programs herself, works with a team of naturopaths, biochemists, herbalists, and aromatherapists to ensure that her carefully crafted products are as pure and natural as possible. Plus I love that the products truly work. {Because what good is a natural, locally crafted product if it doesn’t do the job it was intended to do, right?}
Well, I hate to say it, but summer’s officially over. We’ve been back in school for nearly two weeks now
and though I miss the slow mornings, carefree days, and having both of my kiddos at home with me, I will say that the transition hasn’t been horrible. Miss G was fairly excited about going back to school and because we didn’t stray too far from our usual bedtimes and routines during the summer, that part hasn’t been a struggle either thankfully. Now that being said, we definitely stayed outside too long, ate dinner too late, and rushed through our usual bedtime routine too often, so it’s been nice to get back into a solid rhythm of slower, more routine bedtimes.
Sam’s bedtime routine is pretty much the same as Miss G’s was when she was a toddler because it’s worked both for our kiddos and our family as a whole… And why change a good thing, right?
Now, before I share how our evenings go down with this little sweetheart of ours, I will say that our kids are early-to-bed kiddos and always have been. I was that new mama who read and researched every last thing while pregnant with Miss G and the one thing I came across again and again on the topic of sleep was how beneficial early bedtimes are for little ones – so we went with it. At this point, Sam {who is 2.75 years old} is usually in bed around 6:30 or 6:45 p.m. and Miss G {who is newly 8} is in her room at the same time but has a full hour to read before going to bed. Of course bedtimes that early don’t work for all families, but we love them because a) they allow our early risers to get a full 11 or 12 hours of sleep and b) because they give Brad and I some time on our own at night {which is especially important since that’s when I work}.
So. Here’s how a typical night goes at our house…
First up, dinner. Dinner happens around 5:00 / 5:15 in our house and we all sit down together for a family meal pretty much every night.
Now, if you’ve ever seen Sam eat, you know that most nights it’s a complete and utter disaster, so he heads straight into the tub afterwards. {We’re talking stripped down at the table and carried directly to the tub.} And even if it’s not a messy night, he still has a warm, chilled out bath simply because he enjoys it and it’s part of our evening routine.
Our bath time essentials?
Several small vehicles and more recently, this air pressure water sprayer that was a favourite this summer {hello, DIY car wash}…
Our easy homemade coconut oat bath milk bath that is naturally cleansing, moisturizing, and soothing {this is all we use on nights when his bath is for the routine of it and he’s not actually dirty}.
And this Moon Baby Shampoo & Body Wash from Back to Earth whenever his hair or body needs to be washed. It’s free of all the usual yuckies (SLS, parabens, sulphates, cocamide-DEA, formaldehyde, and perfume) and full of good stuff, like organic oils, aloe vera juice, pure liquid castile soap, and calming kiddo/baby safe organic essential oils and smells like clean babies!
By about 5:45 or 6:00 p.m., it’s out of the tub and over to our bedroom where we get ready for bedtime.
We keep all of our bedtime essentials in one of these little carry caddies in a cupboard in our room, so everything’s in one place and super easy for her to find.
Alright, so once Sam’s out of the tub, here’s how it all goes down…
First up, Back to Earth’s Sweet Pea Herbal Balm on the tush. We’ve used this stuff since Miss G was a baby and we just love it. It’s this amazing combination of local beeswax, pure extra virgin olive oil, and Canadian Kisameet Glacial Clay, infused organic calendula, arnica, lavender, chamomile, and comfrey flowers, vitamin E, and pure lavender essential oil and it works for EVERYTHING. Both of our kiddos have super sensitive skin and this stuff is our go-to for bug bites, rashes, dry patches, owies, and preventing bum rashes over night.
Next up, diaper. We’ve always used disposables at night, simply because they can handle being worn for 12 hours at a time without leaking and I’ve mostly made peace with that choice {though in a perfect world, we’d never have to use disposable diapers at all}.
Next up, a small amount of Magnificent Magnesium Salve rubbed into his back. We began using magnesium on-and-off when I first started to get serious about getting our little non-sleeper to sleep, but it’s become part of our regular bedtime routine since moving to Vernon. There are so many factors at play that it’s hard to determine what’s at the root of our sleep success, but Sam’s definitely become a better sleeper over the course of the past year and a bit, so I’m not messing with what we’ve been doing. I always get loads of questions about our magnesium salve and while I’m far from an expert, my understanding is that magnesium is an essential mineral and something many people don’t get enough of {the body doesn’t produce magnesium – it’s something we have to get from outside sources}. One of its many roles is aiding in restful sleep {by maintaining healthy GABA levels – a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep} and many people notice a marked difference in the quality of their sleep when they use a transdermal magnesium (magnesium applied to the skin).
Now two quick things to note about the Magnificent Magnesium Salve… First up, while it’s not an actual Back to Earth product, the fact that Back to Earth carries it means that Kiley {Back to Earth’s founder} has given it her personal stamp of approval – huge given her standards and dedication to producing the purest, most natural products. Secondly, this particular magnesium salve does contain a very small amount of rosemary essential oil, which is something I generally avoid using on / around the kids due to it’s 1,8-cineole chemotype, but I personally make an exception for this one product. I love it because it’s super moisturizing compared the usual magnesium oil sprays and rollers that I find can be quite drying and even stingy sometimes (though Back to Earth carries those options if you prefer). This one contains coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, sweet almond oil, beeswax, aloe vera, and vitamin E, plus the most amazing smelling combination of essential oils – rosemary, marjoram, black pepper, and vanilla.
While Sam’s still laying on his tummy, I run our Memories roller across the back of his neck and gently rub it in. True story? At some point during our sleep journey I went into the Back to Earth store in Lavington {basically in total zombie mode because Sam hadn’t slept well in months} and said, ‘My child doesn’t sleep… HELLLP.’ This little Memories roller was the second thing recommended to me {after the magnesium} and is easily my favourite part of our bedtime routine now. You know how certain smells are so connected to particular times / things? Well to me, Memories is the smell of bedtime. It’s a pre-diluted combination of lavender, rosewood, frankincense, ylang, patchouli, vanilla, vetiver, sandalwood, roman chamomile, sweet marjoram, blue tansy, and spruce, and dang – beyond it’s benefits, it’s got the most delightful, relaxing scent. The blend was actually designed to address symptoms of ADD / ADHD, and it’s amazing for promoting better concentration, less excitability, and less anxiety / nervousness too. {I regularly use it at night when I’m trying to cram a full day’s worth of computer work into 3 hours and I truly find that it helps me buckle down and stay focused.}
After putting Sam’s jammies on, we do vitamin D drops, and most nights – a quick nursing session, depending on if he wants to. We’re definitely near the end of our breastfeeding journey, but he nurses for a short time first thing in the morning and just before bed most days and we’re both perfectly happy with that at the moment.
Next – teeth! Thankfully he outgrew his aversion to having his teeth brushed and our days of pinning him down and prying his mouth open while he screams are long gone… Nowadays I floss first, he has a minute to floss, I brush, and then he has a turn to brush. If nothing else, he goes to sleep with very clean teeth. :D
I’m not particularly invested in a certain kid’s toothpaste at the moment, but I do really love these reusable flossers we ordered for the kids a year or so ago. Prior to that, we had been using those little disposable flossers you can buy in big packs because they made flossing their tiny teeth so much easier, but I felt sick about all of the plastic we were throwing away. My brother and I had these reusable contraptions growing up and while they weren’t super easy to find, I’m so happy I got my hands on a couple. You just swap out the floss and you’re good to go.
Alright… Now for the most important part of our bedtime routine… Stories! {See Sam’s all time favourites here. Spoiler alert: they’re all about things that go.}
Because Brad and I tag team our evening routine, Sam reads one story with me upstairs and then heads downstairs to his bedroom to read one or two more with his Papa.
Not always, but oftentimes I’ll have his diffuser going while we’re getting him ready for bed, and then I’ll turn it off before he’s actually down for the night. I know that many people let their diffusers run all night, but I’m on the cautious side when it comes to kids and essential oils and there’s research that has shown that diffusing for long periods of time doesn’t actually add extra benefits, so most often I just run it for a short period before bedtime.
My go-to for both kiddos at bedtime? Back to Earth’s Lil Cherubs Synergy Oil Blend. It’s a combination of lavender, rosewood, geranium, lemon, bergamot, and chamomile and I find it to be such a calming, feel good blend. A little goes a long way, which I love, and I usually just add a few drops to a diffuser full of water. My other go-to, especially during cold and flu season, is straight up cedarwood essential oil as it not only has natural sedative properties, but is also known to reduce coughs and provide respiratory support – all while being kiddo safe {when used properly, of course.}
Next up, Sam has a drink of water, turns his Gro Clock to the sleep mode {we’ve used this clock with success with both kiddos}, turns on his air purifier {which doubles as white noise while he sleeps}, and turns off the light.
Brad then sings him a few songs, tucks him in tightly with his Loulou Lollipop Finery muslin quilts {these blankets are the coziest, most wonderful things}, and by 6:30{ish}, he’s in his crib for the night.
And that’s it… We close the door, turn on the monitor, and he falls asleep on his own and stays asleep until 6 or 6:30 the next morning usually. {Which is huge for our little preemie nugget who basically had to be held in order to sleep from the time he came home from the NICU to the time he was 14 months old.} It seems like a lot when you write it down step-by-step, but it really doesn’t take all that long and I think it does set Sam up for a restful night’s sleep.
Back to Earth products are available in select stores across Canada (see which ones here) and can also be ordered online and shipped anywhere across the country (see shipping info here). And if you’re on their website and you’re not sure what other products to also try, my absolute cannot-live-without items are:
The very first thing you do when gifted several pounds of zucchini? You make healthy chocolate zucchini muffins of course! The *very best* healthy chocolate zucchini muffins that are also vegan, naturally sweetened, and made with whole grains, that is. {WINNING.}
Just check these beauties out, will you? I don’t know if this photo does their size any justice, but they’re huuuuuuuge.
And begging to be turned into these insanely good chocolate zuchinni muffins by Relishing It. For real, they taste more like cake than any other muffin I’ve eaten before. Insanely good. We’re talking by far the very best healthy muffin I’ve ever tasted… To the point where I regularly pass them off as chocolate birthday cupcakes {and even our pickiest little guests gobble up TWO}.
Now here’s my public service announcement… If you’re just a regular person wanting a regular healthy muffin recipe, pop over to Laurie’s post and make them exactly as she tells you to. They’re absolutely perfect as is – no need to change anything.
Now if you’re like me and are attempting to minimize the amount of animal products your family consumes, try our version below. They’re every bit as delicious, but they don’t contain the egg or honey, which makes them healthy, whole grained, naturally sweetened, and VEGAN.
{this post contains affiliate links}
Here’s our line up of ingredients… First up, whole wheat pastry flour. Every bit worth the effort it takes to find, in my opinion. In Kuwait we used this one by Bob’s Red Mill and in Canada we use one from Nature’s Fare. Whole Foods stocks whole wheat pastry flour too and my guess is that it is decent. Next, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and dark chocolate chips that are optional, but delicious. The wet ingredients include coconut oil, flax ‘eggs’ {which is just ground flax seeds and water}, and vanilla, and of course you’ll need the zucchini too.
The most important part of any baking session though? Little helpers. Little helpers who undoubtedly make the process longer and messier and way more fun.
Here’s how this recipe goes down… First, measure out the dry ingredients and whisk them together well.
Then in a separate bowl {we use a big glass measuring cup}, measure out the wet ingredients and give them a good whisk before adding them to the dry mixture.
Lastly, add in loads of finely grated zucchini that will pretty much just disappear during the baking process and leave you with the cake-iest, most delicious muffins ever.
Gently stir it in…
And then enlist your little ones’ help to prep the muffin tin {silicone muffin liners like these are the BEST} and divide the batter evenly between the 12 cups.
So good that we almost always make a double batch – otherwise they disappear too quickly.
The Very Best Healthy Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Muffins(adapted from this recipe on Relishing It)
2 tablespoons of ground flax seed
6 tablespoons of warm water
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of coconut oil {in its liquid state}
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon of good vanilla
1 1/2 cups of finely grated zucchini, deseeded if necessary
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, measure out the ground flax seed and warm water. Stir to combine and set aside to thicken. {This mixture is two flax ‘eggs’.}
In a large bowl, add the flour cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined and sprinkle the dark chocolate chips on top.
In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the liquid coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and vanilla.
Add the liquid mixture and the flax eggs into the dry mixture and gently mix until almost combined. Add the finely grated zucchini and give the mixture a few more gentle stirs. {A word on the zucchini… If you pre-grate your zucchini like we usually do, by the time you go to use it, there will most likely be some liquid that has drained off. No need to include this. Simply pick up the zucchini by the handful, allow it to drip over the bowl for a few seconds, and then add it to your mixture, tossing out any liquid that’s left in the bowl afterwards. Do not squeeze your grated zucchini dry before adding it… The moisture from the zucchini is what makes these muffins so dang good.}
Line your muffin tin with silicone muffin liners and distribute the batter evenly amongst the cups. Bake for approximately 20 – 25 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to sit for several minutes before removing them from the pan and placing them on a cooling rack.
These will last for several days in an air-tight container on the counter, but because of there high veggie content, I pop them in the fridge if they’re going to be around longer than a few days.
Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love putting together fun gifts for kids. It’s my jam. There was a period in time when Miss G was a preschooler where I’m pretty sure every one of her friends got a play dough kit of some sort when their birthday rolled around, but we’ve also done LEGO kits, writing kits, art kits, car kits, baking kits, sensory play kits, craft kits, science kits, peg doll family kits, travel activity kits – wheeew. The list could go on. The kit-style kid gift is obviously my go-to. It requires no actual making of things… Simply collect items, pop them into a container of some sort, make the kit look somewhat pretty / organized, and you’re good to go. Truthfully, when we make kits as gifts, we don’t even bother wrapping them. We just add a tag with some baker’s twine and call it good.
This DIY slime kit is one of our more recent diy gifts put together for my sweet, slime-loving niece Kinslee for Christmas last year. Well, apparently it was well liked, because guess what we’re putting together for her for her upcoming birthday…. Yup – another DIY slime kit! {G’s also got one on her birthday wish list, so maybe I should just shop for two while I’m at it?}
Here’s a peek at our collection of kit items once we had done our shopping…
{this post contains affiliate links}
The first step in the collection process? Picking out a slime recipe book to include in the kit. There were a surprising number of options at our local bookstore, and while they all looked pretty good, I ended up picking The Slime Book over the others simply because I liked the fact that it didn’t advertise its recipes as ‘borax free’ like the others did. {Silly, I know… I don’t know why it bothers me, but slime recipes that are made using laundry starch, detergent, contact lens solution, etc. all work because those products contain some form of borax. Therefore, not borax free. Hmmm…}
I also really liked how it included this little shopping list in the front… Made the job of collecting things super easy!
We were able to find everything else between our local dollar store and the big box grocery store we often shop at, which I thought was pretty good. Here’s exactly what we included in the kit…
– 2 bottles of this clear glue {though this clear glue is a much better deal and what I was looking for in the first place}
– a couple of bottles of glitter {which is terrible for the environment, I know… we’ve stopped buying it for use at home, but I’d love to find a more earth-friendly version for situations like these… any suggestions?
We also included loads of fun add-ins, some of which were from the list at the front of the book and some of which were inspired by flipping through the slime recipes themselves:
The containers aren’t necessary, but I do think it makes it easier for slime kit recipient to manage all of the loose parts and it certainly makes the finished kit look more put together.
With everything ready to go, we placed everything neatly in a white bin we’d picked out…
And that was it.
To finish it off, we slid the book into the back and attached a big old-school mail tag that said ‘Kinslee’s SLIME KIT’ onto one of the bin’s handles, and our DIY slime kit gift was done!
{this post contains affiliate links}
This post is part of the awesome 10 Days of #KidMadeChristmas Ornaments series we’ve participated in in years past… If you’re looking for some fantastic ornament ideas to try at home with your kids, pop over and check out the master list of kid-made ornaments – there are SO many lovely ones this year!
{this post contains affiliate links}
True story? Every year for the last *at least* 5 years, I’ve wanted to put together the awesome holiday gift guides filled with personal recommendations that so many bloggers put out… BUUUUUT – it’s never happened. Why? Well a) because they’re a lot of work and b) because they usually go out early to mid-November, which means you really have to be thinking about Christmas in October… which just isn’t me. I’m very much an all-things-Christmas-can-begin-on-December-1st kind of gal. So getting gift guides out in early November just never happened for me. UNTIL NOW, that is. I’ve not talked about it here yet, but Amazon has this cool new feature where affiliate members can create an ‘
stocking stuffers kids will actually use
{this post contains affiliate links}
{this post contains affiliate links}
{this post contains affiliate links}
{this post contains affiliate links}
