Author: Jen

Garland of Thanks {things Miss G is thankful for 2014}

garland-of-thanks-mama-papa_-bubba_

Last year Gracen and I created our first ever showcase of gratefulness with a giant thankful tree.  I loved having a visual representation of all of the things she felt thankful for and the process of creating the tree together provided the perfect opportunity for us to discuss just how much we have to be grateful for.  This year, we decided to switch things up a little bit.  We once again created fall leaves {but this time using real leaves as stamps} and then turned them into a beautiful garland of thanks.

Read More

Slime Monsters

Slime Monsters | Mama Papa Bubba

As I was looking back at some of the fun things we did last October, I came across our Franken-SLIME Halloween favours.  It’s been a long time since we whipped up a new batch of slime and we adore playing with it, so today was the day!  While I did think about making green slime and adding some loose parts to stick with the Franken-slime theme, I changed my mind part way through and decided that we’d do several Halloween-ish colours of slime paired with googly eyes and foam parts in order to create slime monsters!   …Oh my goodness, am I ever glad I did because Gracen just loved it.

Read More

An Afternoon in Khiran

IMG 3899

Today we kicked off Brad’s week long Eid vacation with a family trip out to Khiran.  We love it out there.  It’s peaceful and beautiful and you really don’t feel like you’re in Kuwait while there, which makes for a nice break from the everyday.  Of all of our visits, today was by far the busiest with around 25 others spread between several groups {great minds think alike, apparently}, but it was chill and lovely, as always.

{click to read more…}

Nighttime Protection

IMG 3866

I walked in the door from tutoring tonight just as Brad was tucking Miss G into bed for the night.  Like she usually does when my arrival interrupts her calm bedtime routine, Grae ran out of her bedroom excited to greet me.  Only tonight, she was wearing this.  No joke.  This is what she had purposefully put on in preparation for bedtime.  And by the look on Brad’s face, we weren’t challenging the issue.  As I tucked her in for the night, I asked if she has been cold at night recently.  Her answer?  ‘No. These things keep my body protected if a witch comes in my covers and tries to bite me while I’m sleeping.’  Ummmm… Alright then?

Read More

Saveco Indoor Play Area

IMG 3836

While driving all the way out to 4th Ring Road and the 55 to pick-up groceries isn’t my favourite thing {especially when the drive takes an hour and 25 minutes like it did today!}, gosh do I ever enjoy shopping at Saveco…  The bright white interior, the wide aisles, the specialty and organic selection… It’s all so lovely and civil.  Gracen loves it too.  Not only are there adorable mini shopping carts for munchkins to push around, but there is also a pretty awesome indoor play area for munchkins upstairs.  It’s part of the Hamad & Shahad toy store and it’s very much like the Hilton’s playground that Miss G loves so much.

Read More

Craft Stick Catapult {from 101 kids activities that are the bestest, funnest ever!}

Craft Stick Catapult | Mama Papa Bubba{this post contains affiliate links}

Today, as we seem to do quite frequently lately, we reached for our copy of 101 Kids Activities That are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! during the little pocket of time we have between quiet play and my tutoring commitments.  Gracen flipped through the pages, picked a project, and we made an awesome little catapult out of some large craft sticks and a disposable spoon.

{click to read more…}

Q8books

IMG 3764

Besides nature and long days outdoors, one of the things we miss most while living in Kuwait is hanging out in libraries and bookstores.  Back home in Canada, Miss G and I visited our local library weekly.  We’d make a morning of it, curling up to read several books before selecting 25 or so to take home.  She’d sign them out at the check-out computer herself using her very own library card and then we’d do it all again the next week. We loved our library routine.  On top of that, many rainy mornings were spent visiting our local bookstores.  We’d browse, play, read books, and then pick one or two favourites to take home to add to our collection – a pretty fine way to spend our soggy days, I’d say.  Here in Kuwait it’s not quite the same.  While there are {some} bookstores and small libraries, most are filled primarily with Arabic books {rightfully so} and the English books that do exist are often of the cheap, generic variety.  There is, however, Q8books, a very cool little used bookshop we finally made time to find and this afternoon.  

Read More

Fun City in Gate Mall

IMG 3756

Since Kuwait is so hot for much of the year, I’m always on the lookout for fun indoor play spaces that give Miss G the freedom to play and burn off some energy while keeping us cool and out of the sun.  Since returning for the current school year, we’ve visited Fun City in Gate Mall a couple of times, and my guess is that we’ll be back again.  Gate Mall, which officially opened not that long ago, is located in Egaila and is therefore nearby and easy to get to.  The mall itself is pretty impressive…  Much more so than I expect it to be.  It’s got a ton of shops, many of which are ones we visit regularly, and many of which are brand new to me.  As with most shopping malls in Kuwait, however, the downfall is the parking.  If I’m being honest, it’s an absolute disaster.  The mall seems to share one medium sized lot with 2 or 3 other surrounding malls, which means there’s not nearly enough spots and people park wherever they like, even if it means blocking in several cars in the process.  Ugh.  

Read More

Portable Car Play Kit

Portable Car Play Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

Have I mentioned that Grae and I love putting together homemade gifts?  Because we do.  We love it so much in fact, that despite the fact that we had actually already purchased a gift for today’s party, we decided we would make something instead – just yesterday afternoon!  Today’s birthday boy is a car lover through and through, so we used that for our inspiration.  He also {like many of our international friends} is often on the go, so we decided to make him a portable car play kit so that he has a fun and easy way to take his beloved toys with him – whether it be to a restaurant, on an airplane, or over to a friend’s house.

Read More

Simple Apple Tree Addition Game

Simple Apple Tree Addition Game | Mama Papa Bubba

Throughout our days together, it’s not unusual for Gracen to come up to me and say something like, ‘Okay, Mama.  There are 3 little ducks swimming in the pond at the park.  2 more ducks come to swim.  How many ducks are there now?’  The girl comes prepared, too.  More times than not, she has a pencil sketch on a huge piece of white paper in her arms to help illustrate the problem.  She waits for my response eagerly, then pauses to calculate the total herself once she’s received my answer.  I get a peppy ‘Yup!  You are right!’ and then it’s my turn to create a story problem for her to solve.  This goes on again and again.  

Read More