One thing our family just can’t go without anymore is coconut oil. From the kitchen to the beauty cabinet to the first aid kit, it truly fits the term ‘multipurpose’. We love it so much in fact, that we have several different jars stashed around the house at any given time. Here are the ways we (Gracen and I especially) use it in our home…
1. Baked Goods (muffins especially)
Instead of using grape seed oil, our usual butter/margarine substitute in muffins, we’ve been using coconut oil recently. Makes them super moist and they won’t dry out as the days pass. (THESE are delicious!)
2. Body Moisturizer
Great for when you’re fresh out of the shower or your just before your babe heads off to bed. It soaks in quickly and smells delicious!
3. Eye Make-up Remover
Simply massage a tiny pinch of coconut oil into your eye area, then wipe off with a damp cloth or cotton pad. Voila – make up gone!
4. Face Cleanser
Massage a small pinch into your face, then use a hot, wet washcloth to wipe your face clean. Most likely, you won’t need moisturizer afterward.
5. Diaper Cream
Coconut oil is soothing, has anti-fungal properties, and gentle on skin – perfect for using on little bottoms! Plus, it’s cloth diaper safe too!
6. Pan Frying
Great in high temperatures, coconut oil can be used when pan frying meat, veggies, or grilled cheese sandwiches.
7. Hair Mask
Take a generous amount of coconut oil, work it into the ends of your hair, and leave it sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Wash it out as usual afterwards and notice how silky your hair feels.
8. Face Paint Remover
Simply rub a little coconut oil onto the paint to loosen it up, then wipe it away with a damp cloth. Magic! And no more stained pillow cases. (Remember THIS?! Perfect example!)
9. Face Exfoliant
Take a small amount of coconut oil and warm it up in the palm of your hand. Add a sprinkle of baking soda, mix the two together, and rub it onto a clean face in a circular motion. Rinse and dry.
10. Bites, Cuts, & Scrapes
Apply a thin layer of coconut oil as a topical cream to your little one’s cuts and scrapes. It’ll form a protective barrier and speed healing along.
11. Lip Balm
Super moisturizing and perfect for before bed. We keep a tiny container of coconut oil in Gracen’s reach so she can moisturize her lips any time she feels the need.
12. Smoothies
With tons of nutritional benefits, adding a teaspoon to your morning smoothie is a fast and easy way to add coconut oil to your diet.
13. Stove-top Popcorn
We use coconut oil exclusively when popping popcorn. It can handle the heat, it is healthy, and depending on the type of coconut oil you purchase, it leaves your popcorn with the faintest coconut-y flavour. Yum. (If you haven’t already, you have to try THIS. Double yum.)
14. Homemade Deodorant
Mix some arrowroot powder, baking soda, essential oil, and coconut oil and you’ve got yourself a deodorant sans the harmful aluminum. I’ve been been using it for months now and it works.
15. Homemade Bubble Bath
Mix some pure castile soap, coconut oil {in its liquid state}, and almond oil, and you’ve got a luxurious, moisturizing bubble bath. When using it with wee ones, just be sure to have some sort of no-slip grip on the bottom of the tub as it does tend to make it slippery.
16. On Toast
Spread a thin layer on warm toast as a great butter/margarine substitute. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, and you’ve won Miss G’s heart.
17. Foot Treatment
Slather dry feet generously just before you go to bed, throw on some socks, and wake up to seriously soft feet.
18. Hair Tamer
Tame fly aways or add shine by rubbing a tiny amount of coconut oil into your hands first, then onto your locks.
19. Homemade Body Scrub
Mix up some coconut oil, sweet almond oil, coarse/brown sugar, and pure vanilla and use it in the shower. It smells delicious and leaves your skin soft and smooth.
20. Straight Off Your Finger ☺
Miss G’s personal favourite! Each night after she’s had her bath and we’ve slathered her body in the stuff, she digs out a little chunk of coconut oil with her finger, and pops it in her mouth. Slightly strange? Perhaps. But you should see how excited she is about that part of her night.
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Knowing Grae’s love of popsicles, my mom sent her home from the Okanagan with a couple of new popsicle mould sets the other day. While I knew she’d be excited, what I wasn’t expecting was for two new popsicle moulds to keep her happily playing in her rear-facing car seat for at least 1/2 of our 7 hour drive home. She was so engaged with them that Brad actually said, “Well I know what we need to bring on the plane to Kuwait.” (If you’re travelling through Germany in August and see a woman with popsicle mould parts clumsily falling out of her purse, that’ll be me.)
When we got home and I started thinking about fun play opportunities for the week, I thought it would be fun to try to set up a popsicle-themed pretend play station. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was making the pretend pops out of ice, but I wanted something a little different. Enter gelatine. With a fun texture that can be jiggled, squished, and crumbled, I knew it would be a hit.
To make the pops quite sturdy, I mixed up 3 packets of Knox unflavoured gelatine with 3/4 of a cup of boiling water, then added 3/4 of a cup of cool water once the gelatine had been dissolved. I popped a few drops of liquid food colouring into each of my popsicle cups, poured the gelatine mixture in, mixed it up, and put the faux popsicles in the refrigerator over night.
This morning while we were preparing breakfast together, Miss G immediately noticed the rainbow coloured popsicles in the fridge and asked if they were for playing with. Let me tell you, this girl doesn’t miss a thing. She patiently waited until after our morning outing, lunchtime, and her nap, and I had this little set up ready ready for her when she woke up.
She was delighted to see it and immediately asked, “Are these just for playing, Mama? Or are they for eating?” With the fact that they were for playing with cleared up, she began naming the flavours – my favourite of which was tomato soup (the red one). Then she began doling out the treats in bowls with spoons, as she often likes her popsicles.
Next up, all of the popsicles went back into their moulds and got put into her pretend freezer. Then she took them out, one by one (with the help of a spoon and some serious shaking) as though she were filling customer orders.
For the customers who preferred to eat their frozen treats from a bowl rather than a stick, she happily crumbled the popsicles up. As you do.
There was lots of play with the popsicles in their smushed up state…
Then she moved onto making rainbow pops. Because I mean, who wants only one flavour when you can have several, right?
And then there was soup. Oh, was there ever. Soup stirred so enthusiastically that bits flew out of the bowl and landed in various spots around our living room.
I’d say pretend popsicles were a hit, wouldn’t you? A colourful, messy, joyful hit.
♥
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Gracen absolutely adores special baths. So much so, that tonight while eating dinner, she was already requesting something fun. “I want a really, really, reeeeeaaaally special bath tonight. Soooo special please, Mama.” I was drawing a bit of a blank at the time, so I turned to Pinterest for some inspiration and found this post by Growing a Jeweled Rose. Simple, fun, and I knew Grae would love it as it’s so similar to the snow spray painting activity we did this winter.
While we didn’t have liquid watercolours on hand, all I did was collect a few spray bottles, fill them up with a little warm water, and add a few drops of gel food colouring to each. I was going for vibrant colours, but if you want to ensure that the colours don’ stain your grout and child, you may opt for just one or two drops instead (or just avoid red/pink as it’s the only one that ever seems to stain!)
Then I filled up a big tub full of bubbly water using a bubble wand from Lush. Gracen started spraying the bubbles before even getting into the water, and the results were gorgeous – bright, colourful bubbles that had an airbrushed feel to them.
When ready, she hopped into the water and continued her masterpiece. The fun part was that as she moved around in the water, more white bubbles were uncovered, so there was always a great blank canvas to paint.
Simple spray paints were such a fun addition to the traditional bubble bath. And though I may have been a little over generous with the food colouring, the good news is that our grout is only slightly tinged pink – everything else washed off with a quick rinse with the shower head. ☺
For more of our fun bath ideas, click here.
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The other day, while washing a giant sink full of plastic cups and containers for what felt like the gazillionth time, I realized our babushka doll Stuck On You labels have been solidly stuck on Gracen’s drink bottles and bento boxes for the better part of a year now. They’ve been used daily, chucked into bags and purses, hauled to sandy beaches, and left in freezing cars overnight. They’ve been stored in the refrigerator for days at a time, soaked in soapy water for hours, and put through the dishwasher several times. Yet somehow, 9 months later, they look exactly as they did when we first applied them. How that’s even possible, I don’t know.
Besides our stick anywhere name labels, we also got these adorable woodland animal-themed iron on clothing labels last summer too. The verdict? They’re just as great as their stick-on counterparts. This little quilted jacket is a favourite of Gracen’s, and thus has been washed countless times over the course of the fall and winter. And despite countless washes, they are still perfectly adhered and looking new.
In addition to being very durable and ridiculously cute, these labels will be so great for when Miss G begins school or preschool (yes, I count on them lasting that long ☺). As a teacher, I see the overflowing lost and found bins at the end of the school year, and though we do try to return as much of it as possible, it’s nearly impossible as most of it is not properly labeled. But if every student had Stuck On You labels adhered onto their clothing items, books, and lunch containers, finding the items’ rightful owners would be no problem at all.
That being said, if you’ve got a munchkin headed off to camp this summer, quickly sticking some Stuck On You labels onto their belongings before dropping them off would probably be extremely helpful. And what would be more special than sending them off with a personalized toiletry kit, backpack, water bottle, or my personal favourite, a camp sleepaway pack?
Stuck On You has generously offered to give FOUR Mama.Papa.Bubba. readers a $50 voucher to purchase the products of their choosing. This contest is open to Canadian and US readers and a winner will be selected at random on Friday, May 31st.
There are multiple ways to enter. Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each. To enter to win a $50 voucher to Stuck On You:
-> Visit the Stuck On You website and tell us one item you love
-> ‘Like’ Stuck On You on Facebook, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
-> ‘Like’ Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Facebook, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
-> Follow Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Twitter, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
-> Follow Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Pinterest, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
Obviously the more times you enter, the better your chances of winning. ☺ Don’t forget to leave your email address! The winner will be announced on May 31st and contacted via email. Good luck!!
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This morning Gracen asked to help me cut out some new activity cards for her weekly calendar, but was quickly becoming frustrated. Her toddler scissors (the ones that pop back open between each snip) just were not getting the job done and she was ripping the paper more than she was cutting it. It was then that she said very matter-of-factly, “Mama, I need BIG, SHARP scissors. I’m big enough now.” With that, my pink poodle hopped off the couch, helped herself to a new pair of scissors from my desk drawer, and began cutting like it was her job. My baby is growing up.
♥
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Day 13: We woke up to our very first butterfly! We’re not sure when it actually emerged, but we found it still hanging upside down from it’s chrysalis pumping up and drying out its wings.
Then, not an hour later, as we were checking on our lone butterfly, we noticed a second one fully emerged too (quick little thing!)
Gracen was over the moon and wanted to call Papa at work immediately to let him know her big news.
It’s really hard to take a decent photo through the blinding pink of our DIY butterfly hut, but these two were together all day. If one was at the top of the enclosure, then so was the other. And when one would move to a new spot, the other would follow. They’re fast friends. ☺
The best part, however, is the names Gracen gave them tonight. I really can’t tell you which is which, but one is named Dorkus and the other is Salmon. I’ve always said I like unique names. ☺
♥
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A few weeks ago, Gracen’s {great} aunt sent me this photo of a footprint butterfly flower pot and asked if Miss G could make her one. After some serious detective work, I believe that the photo was originally shared on Carol’s Classic Gifts and Decor’s Facebook page, but I could be wrong (please correct me if I am!) Though there were no instructions attached, the project looked pretty straight forward, we went for it.
{this post includes affiliate links}Here’s what we used… A clay pot large enough to fit Grae’s growing feet on the side, some acrylic paint, a few old foam paintbrushes, a black Sharpie (though black paint and a fine brush or a paint pen would be great also), and lastly, a matte spray-on clear coat.
Because of the potentially {very} messy nature of this project, we opted to do it outside with the garden hose and a pile of old rags nearby (and I’m thankful we did…things got MESSY despite my precautionary steps). To get started, I applied a thick layer of paint to Grae’s foot. In our case, we used purple and green (Auntie Judy’s favourite colours) with a little bit of white in the middle, but you could obviously use any colours you like. One thing I would say is that if you want the colours to mix together where they meet, you should probably help them along with your paintbrush while on the foot. I expected the mixing to sort of naturally happen when Grae’s foot was pressed down on the pot, but it didn’t (not a lot, at least).
We carefully pressed one foot onto the pot, washed it off, then painted the other foot and pressed it on so that the two straight edges were in the middle (with a small space between them) and the two arched edges were pointing outwards.
After giving the footprints a few minutes to dry, I used the Sharpie to draw a very simple butterfly body and antennae in the centre.
Then we flipped the pot over and wrote a little message so that Auntie Judy will remember who made the pot and when it was created years down the road.
As a final step, I gave the butterfly part of the pot a light spray of matte sealant, just to make it a little more durable. Ten minutes later it was dry and we had an adorable personalized gift that was both easy and inexpensive to make.
If you love making personalized gifts, be sure to check out our ‘I love you’ pillowcase, our hand-shaped ring dish, our clay handprint keepsakes, and our paper strip handprint keepsake.
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I just can’t help but share a few (okay, more than a few) photos from the Just: Be session Gracen and I recently had with Amy Lee of The Connection We Share. I absolutely adore them. And the fact that they’re some of the few photos I have of my girl and I just makes them that much more special.
If you haven’t already entered to win a Just: Be session of your own, and you live in the Greater Vancouver area, visit this post immediately! Contest closes tomorrow evening. ☺
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While having a little snuggle in G’s bed after her nap today…
Gracen: Mama, can I please have a baby sister?
Mama: Maybe one day, baby girl. Would you like to have a baby sister?
Gracen: Yes. I would play with her. And I would share with her. And I would craft with her – little itty bitty crafties. And I would sleep with her. And I would eat treats with her!
♥
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Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with Anita’s Organic ancient grains breakfast boost.
Breakfast // Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with all-natural peanut butter. Berries. Chinese pear slices. Satsuma slices.
Breakfast // Crispy brown rice cereal with chia seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and almond milk.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with strawberry slices, almond slices, and chia seeds.
Lunch // Wholewheat couscous with steamed asparagus, edamame, baby green peas, feta, and herbs.
Lunch // Grilled chicken, spinach, and brie on wholewheat flax seed bread. Green grapes. Red pepper slices.
Lunch {for 2 on the go} // Homemade carrot zucchini muffins. Almond butter, oat, hemp heart, and chia multi-grain roll-up. Baby cucumbers. Avocado. Orange pepper slices. Seedy crackers. Apple slices. Grapes. Mango. Mixed raw nuts.
Lunch // Quick Gracen-made pizza (all-natural apple chardonnay chicken sausage, orange pepper pieces, asparagus chunks, and grilled onions).
Lunch // Mixed brown rice bowl with grilled corn, onions, peppers, black beans, fresh avocado, fresh mozzarella, and sour cream.
Lunch // Baby potatoes, asparagus, snap peas, cucumbers, green onions, and chickpeas in plain yogurt and dill.
Dinner // Mexican black bean salad. Asian noodle salad. Edamame salad.
Dinner // Sweet potato hash, asparagus chunks, grilled onions, spinach, and all-natural herb and garlic chicken sausage with a dollop of sour cream.
Dinner // Grilled coconut chicken. Avocado chunks. Rocket and harvest grains salad. Strawberries.
Dinner // Wholewheat roasted veggie calzone.
Dinner // Wholewheat spaghetti with ground turkey and tomato basil spinach sauce. Roasted beets.
Dinner // Grilled chicken. Warm beet salad. Warm baby potato salad.
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Have you every come home from a shopping trip with surprise item in your bags? That’s exactly what happened with this hair gel… I do not use hair gel. Brad does not use hair gel. No one in our house uses hair gel. Yet after returning home from a grocery shopping trip with Miss G a few weeks ago, there it was in one of our bags. My immediate thought was, ‘Crap! Did we accidentally steal this?!’ I checked the bill and nope, we’d paid for it. How it got through the checkout and into our bags, I have no idea.
Anyways, knowing that we wouldn’t be using it in our hair anytime soon, I decided we’d use it for some sort of play. And when nothing brilliant had come to mind in a few week’s time, I decided that we’d mix it with cornstarch. Because cornstarch mixed with any sort of liquid = cool, right?
It took some serious mixing to bring the ingredients together first, then it took some serious kneading to smooth it out and soften it up. The result, however, was quite lovely. Pillowy soft and lightweight, this dough behaves a lot like ooblek does. When handled gently and moved slowly, it’s stretchy and elastic, and when handled more abruptly, it breaks off in chunks.
Gracen wanted to play with it immediately, so together we collected some bowls, silicon moulds, and plastic utensils and brought everything outside to play with.
She began exploring her new dough by sinking her hands into it, squishing it between her fingers, and poking holes into it…
Then it was time to fill all of the containers with “oatmeal”.
With a good breakfast in our tummies, it was time for dessert. ☺ The dough rolls into balls really nicely, so Miss G turned our ball collection into cupcakes with cherries on top.
When we were done with our first round of dessert, Gracen shouted, “Cookies next!” and took off into the house running. She returned with a tray of creative table goodies – buttons, pony beads, straw pieces, gems, and sparkly pompoms. I was put in charge of forming the cookies and she was in charge of decorating.
To show that we had eaten the cookies all up, Miss G crumbled them all into a bowl.
The cool part was that as soon as she was done, the crumbles had already started melting together to form one mass.
This was such a fun new dough to explore and play with. One thing we did notice is that after being played with for an hour, it had dried quite a bit. It definitely can be played with again, but this is not the type of dough you’ll want to leave out for very long when not in use.
Oobleck Dough
Mix the wet ingredients together. Add in the cornstarch and mix really well. Once the dough comes together in a mass, knead until smooth and soft.
Play!
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From raggedy to polished {and braided and sparkly} in no time. We ♥ 
A scene that doesn’t happen often enough, but we’re very thankful that Gracen’s Gido was able to meet us in the Okanagan for the weekend. 