Author: Jen

A First: Family Photos {& a Giveaway!}

Kossowan0061Getting family photos done is something I’ve wanted to do for the last two years.  Yet somehow, I just haven’t made it happen.  There was excuse after excuse after excuse…  It started with we’ve got way too much to do before returning back to Kuwait with a 20 day old baby, to it’d probably be really hard to find our kind of photographer here in the desert, to let’s just wait until we’re more settled back here in Vancouver.  The problem with the whole situation is that before long, you have a 2 year old {who is going on 5} and a single family photo that was taken in the living room with a blanket draped over the mantle and a camera propped up on an ottoman and a stack of books. Not good.

So when Bethany, of Images by Bethany, contacted me and offered us the opportunity to have a family photo shoot with her, I jumped on the opportunity.  I had originally met Bethany at vancouvermom.ca‘s Top 30 Mom Bloggers celebration, where she took head shots of each of the 30 mamas, so I already knew how beautiful her work was. We selected a date and planned to meet at Granville Island, a place we love and frequent regularly.

Papa Grae Mama GraeKossowan0081Somehow, amidst a rain-filled week, our shoot landed on a gorgeously sunny afternoon with not a rain cloud in sight.  We met with Bethany, she immediately made friends with Grae, and we got started.  

Now if I’m being honest with myself, the biggest reason we probably haven’t had family photos done until now is that I really don’t enjoy having my picture taken.  The awkward poses, my smile that quickly becomes fake… It’s just not my idea of a good time.  But with Bethany, it wasn’t like that at all.  In fact, it kind of just felt like we were walking around the island chatting with a friend who occasionally snapped a photo or two.  And to me, that was the best part. It felt natural.

Kossowan0031On the night of our viewing session, Brad and I made our way downtown to Bethany’s beautiful little studio.  She greeted us with hot tea and world’s most amazing organic doughnuts (made of locally-sourced ingredients no less!), and turned on a slideshow of our images. They were stunning.  

Kossowan0129The photos spewed Gracen’s little personality and made the simplest of things – walking hand in hand, collecting leaves, marching, and buying bread – look beautiful.

Kossowan0192Kossowan0199We’re so very grateful to have our very first set of family photos and I’m beyond excited to share that Bethany is generously offering one lucky Mama.Papa.Bubba. reader a chance to win a complimentary family portrait session of their own!  The prize includes a 1 to 2 hour photo shoot in a Greater Vancouver location of your choosing (a $350 value!), an in studio viewing session, a month long online photo gallery, and an 8 x 10 print of your choice (a $30 value!)  HUGE, right?

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The contest is open until Sunday, November 18th and there are multiple ways to win (be sure to leave a separate comment for each).

 

To enter to win a complimentary photo shoot with Images by Bethany:

Leave a comment below telling me your idea of a perfect Greater Vancouver photo shoot location.

 

For additional chances to win:

–> ‘Like’ Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Facebook, then come back and leave a second separate comment saying you did so (or that you had previously).

–> ‘Like’ Images by Bethany on Facebook, then come back and leave an additional separate comment saying you did so (or that you had previously).

–> Tweet about the giveaway {Lower Mainlanders: Win a FREE family shoot at www.mamapapabubba.com ($350 value)!} and leave an additional separate comment saying you did so.

 

Don’t forget to leave your email address!  The winner will be announced on November 19th and contacted via email.

♥

 

Details: Family portrait session will be done on location (Greater Vancouver area only) and will be 1 – 2 hours long ($350 value).  Session must be booked for January – April, 2013.  Includes an in studio viewing session, a month long online viewing gallery, and an 8 x 10 print of your choice ($30 value).

 

 

 

 

A Poppy for Grae: A Remembrance Day Poppy Hack for Kids

Remembrance Day Poppy Hack for Kids | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I’ve always thought that children should be encouraged to wear poppies just as proudly as adults do come November, but let’s face it – they’re just not that kid-friendly.  The straight pin is just too pokey (and sometimes just downright dangerous), and inevitably, they fall off within a half hour of being put on and get lost.

So while I taught at a school that encouraged all children, including my 2 full classes of Kindergarteners, to wear a poppy on the day of our Remembrance Day assembly, I had to figure out a better way.  Some teachers  wrapped scotch tape around the bottom of the pins, and I briefly experimented with replacing the straight pins with safety pins, but helping 40+ five year olds with either on an already busy day was just too much.  I needed something I could put together in advance and the kids could put on themselves… And that’s when I figured out this simple Remembrance Day poppy hack.

This morning, using my magnet method, I modified a poppy for Gracen to wear throughout the weekend.

IMG 2078

Here’s what you need… A poppy, two small identical magnets (the stronger the better), a tiny embellishment of some sort (sequin, bead, pearl, button, etc.), and some glue (preferably something that will bond well to the slightly plasticky back side of the poppy… Hot glue can be used in a pinch, but a good craft glue will adhere better).

IMG 2079

First, take apart the poppy.

IMG 2084

Then, using just a tiny bit of glue, stick your embellishment onto the black centre piece of the flower.

IMG 2088

Now, using a tad bit more glue, glue the black centre onto the main part of the poppy.

IMG 2090

Depending on the type of glue you’re using, you may have to let the front side of the flower dry before flipping it over.  Once it’s dry, adhere one of your magnets onto the backside of the poppy with a generous amount of glue and allow it to dry completely.

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When your little one is ready to wear the poppy, simply slide the second magnet  inside their shirt and place the flower on top. (Attaching the poppy to a shirt pocket or collar works well too.)

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If your magnets are of good quality, the poppy should stay securely attached to your little one’s jacket without a problem also.

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Of course this method is not suitable for young children who still put random objects in their mouths, but it’s perfect for older children and those who are completely done with the mouth stage.  As with all toys and accessories, supervision is key.

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Playing with Oobleck

Playing with OobleckToday Miss G and I tried making and playing with the ridiculously fun {and equally messy} substance called Oobleck.  It’s made out of only 2 ingredients (or 3 if you want to add a little colour), and it isn’t quite a liquid and it isn’t really a solid…  In fact, it behaves like both. 

While teaching in Kuwait, my team members and I always made Oobleck with our first grade classes during our solids, liquids, and gasses unit and it was definitely one of the favourite lessons.  Today, Grae enjoyed it just as much as my 6 and 7 year old students did, so this is definitely something that can be done with children of all ages.

IMG 2043All you need in order to make Oobleck is water and cornstarch, plus food colouring if you wish.

IMG 2047I like to start by adding the colouring to the water first because it’s a lot easier to stir colouring into water than into the finished Oobleck.

IMG 2050Plus, this way you get to watch the colouring disperse into the water, which is always kind of neat.

IMG 2052Start by giving your water a little stir to make sure the colouring is evenly dispersed.

IMG 2055Then add your cornstarch a cup at a time, stirring it into the water as you go.

IMG 2058When the mixture is nice and thick and you’re not able to pour off any excess water, your Oobleck is ready.

Now go ahead and play!  Watch what happens when you touch the Oobleck quickly with a lot of pressure, versus when you touch it slowly and gently.  

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Be prepared to get messy – it’s more fun that way!  Putting a towel or tray under the bowl of Oobleck should catch most of the spills, and since Oobleck is best played with with hands, you won’t be left with a sink full of dishes afterwards.  ☺

Here are a couple of quick iPhone videos I managed to take of us playing with our Oobleck…

Oobleck

  • 1 cup of water
  • 3 cups of cornstarch
  • 1 or 2 drops of food colouring

Start by colouring the water with food colouring.  Add the cornstarch a cup at a time, stirring in between additions.  The Oobleck is ready when the mixture is thick and excess water cannot by poured off.

(Many recipes on the internet will say that for 1 cup of water you should only need between 1 and 2 cups of cornstarch, but my experience has been that the 1:3 ratio works out perfectly every time.  My suggestion is to add slowly after the second cup and see what works best for you.)

Enjoy!

To learn more about Oobleck, click here.  To see where Oobleck got its silly-sounding name, click here.

Pomegranate Play

Pomegranate Play for Toddlers

It’s no secret that I pretty much love Jackie of Happy Hooligans and all of her awesome play ideas.  So last week, when she posted “Guess what we ripped into and investigated at lunch today! Yum!” along with a photo of a pomegranate on her Facebook page,  the first thing that came to mind was ‘Why have I never thought of that?’  I’ve always been a huge fan of pomegranates (I still remember what a treat it was to curl up on our black leather couch as a little girl with a giant bowl, a dark towel, and half a pomegranate) and Gracen loves them too, but I’ve never thought to let her play with one before eating it… Silly me! Knowing how much fun she had with our recent pumpkin seed sorting tray (which can be done with almost any squash, by the way), I knew she’d love it. 

IMG 1904IMG 1907IMG 1909IMG 1914To set up a simple pomegranate play station for her, I sliced the pomegranate in half, cut a cross about an inch deep on the flat surface of one of the halves, and popped it in a big bowl of cool water for her.  (Removing the seeds of a pomegranate in water is by far the best way to do it.  Keeping the fruit submerged in water seems to loosen everything up a little, plus it prevents nasty pomegranate stains from occurring. )

IMG 1911I also set out a little tray of “tools” which included a small bowl, a teaspoon, and a large slotted spoon.

IMG 1915IMG 1916IMG 1920Without any direction or modelling, I asked her, “Do you want to play?”  She of course let out an immediate “YES!” and jumped right in.

IMG 1929Right away, she began pulling apart the peel and pulp, digging out the seeds (which are actually called ‘arils’, but who says that?) by scraping her finger along the membranes, and adding them to the small yellow bowl. (Keep in mind that she has watched me do this before.)

IMG 1921IMG 1935And before long, she requested another small bowl for the “white yucky parts”. 

IMG 1940The other neat thing about taking apart pomegranates while they’re in water is that the seeds sink down to the bottom and the white membrane bits float to the top, making sorting the two very easy.

IMG 1941After she’d realized this, Grae worked on removing the white bits with her slotted spoon for quite some time, but eventually retired the spoon and went straight to using her hands.

Gracen absolutely loved this very simple sorting activity and it kept her happily engaged for about 40 to 45 minutes before it was time for dinner.

IMG 1934And in the end, not only did we have a very happy {and speckled} little lady, but we also had a big bowl of pomegranate seeds just waiting to be eaten up. ☺

♥

 

Healthy Trail Mix Cookies

This weekend, Gracen and I tried a new healthy cookie recipe.  Knowing how most healthy cookies turn out (good, but very healthy tasting), I didn’t have my hopes set too high.  Much to my surprise, however, these cookies turned out to be delicious.  Slightly crunchy on the outside while still soft on the inside, super sweet, and chocked full of yummy seeds and nuts.  Even Brad commented on how good they were.  So today, only a few days after making the first batch, we made another.  

Healthy Trail Mix Cookies

Here’s a quick rundown on how we like to make our new favourite cookies…

IngredientsGather the ingredients.  

IMG 1796Place the pecans on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven to toast for about 10 minutes.

IMG 1802In the meantime, put some of the oats into a blender or food processor and turn them into oat flour.

IMG 1803Pour the oat flour into a large mixing bowl.

IMG 1804Add your regular old-fashioned oats.

IMG 1806Then the ground flax and hemp hearts…

IMG 1809Plus the salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

IMG 1812Give all of the dry ingredients a good stir.

IMG 1814Next, pour in the pure maple syrup.

IMG 1817Coax the coconut oil into coming out of its bowl…

IMG 1820Add the honey…

IMG 1821And vanilla.

IMG 1824Stir the sticky mixture well.

IMG 1825At this point, it’ll be crumbly and sticky all at once and you’ll wonder how on earth it’ll ever become cookies.  Don’t fret.

IMG 1826By now, your roasting pecans will smell lovely and will be ready to come out of the oven.

IMG 1829Allow them to cool a moment and pop them into a blender or food processor, pulsing them just a handful of times to create small bits.

IMG 1831Then add them to your cookie mixture.

IMG 1832Next up, the add-ins.  Dump in your raisins…

IMG 1835Plus the sunflower seeds and almond slices…

IMG 1838And stir everything up really well.

IMG 1841Now for the tricky part…  With a bowl of warm water nearby, wet you hands, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough, and shape into a ball, pressing firmly.  Repeat for the remainder of the dough, rewetting your hands every couple of cookies.  

Now pop them in the oven…

IMG 1844And take them out approximately 10 – 13 minutes later, when the outsides are golden and crispy, but the centre is still very soft to the touch. Let the cookies cool completely before removing from the pan.

IMG 1846Serve with a glass of cold milk, or if you prefer ‘the Gracen special’, with a small bowl of plain yogurt (she plops the cookie in, then smashes it into the yogurt with her spoon – I think they remind her of granola ☺).

 

Healthy Trail Mix Cookies

Adapted from this recipe from Oh She Glows

  • 1 cup of pecans, toasted
  • 1 cup of old-fashioned oats, blended into oat flour
  • 1/4 cup of rolled oats
  • 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed
  • 1 tablespoon of hemp hearts
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of honey
  • 1tablespoon of coconut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla
  • 1/3 cup of raisins
  • 3 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
  • 3 tablespoons of sliced almonds

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spread pecans onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, use a blender or food processor to grind your oats into oat flour.  Put the flour, along with the other dry ingredients, into a large mixing bowl and stir.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix really well.  

By now, your pecans should be ready.  Remove them from the oven and crank up your oven’s temperature to 350 degrees. Pop the pecans into your blender or food processor, and give them just a few pulses to break them up into small bits.  Add the pecans, as well as the raisins, sunflower seeds, and sliced almonds to the cookie mixture and stir well.  

With a bowl of warm water nearby, wet your hands and press firmly to shape approximately 1 heaping tablespoon portions of cookie mixture into a balls.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 – 13 minutes.  When you remove them from the oven, the cookies should be golden, crispy on the very top, but very soft to the touch still.  Allow them to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

Toddler Food: What Miss G Eats {23: Halloween Edition}

Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, St. Patricks Day, or Halloween, one of the things I love most about holidays is preparing special themed meals and snacks for our little lady.  Here is some Halloween-inspired food she enjoyed this year…

IMG 1508Breakfast // Wholewheat flax spiderweb pancakes. (Just put your pancake batter into a squeeze bottle, use it to draw an asterisk, then connect the points with swooped lines.)

IMG 1755Snack // Jack-o-lantern oranges. (G seriously couldn’t get enough of these.  Simply draw a face on a room temperature orange with black Sharpie.  I did mine just before giving them to her – I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’m not especially keen on the possibility of the marker fumes seeping through the peel.)

IMG 1362Lunch // {A slightly scary-looking} Jack-o-lantern quesadilla. (Just 2 red or orange tortilla shells cut by hand – think kitchen scissors – some cheese, black beans, and veggies.)

IMG 1756Snack // Home roasted pumpkin seeds.

IMG 1536Dinner // Roasted pumpkin soup with goat cheese, fresh parsley, and a grilled cheese on the side. (Not overly Halloween-ish, but you see what I’m going for, right?)

♥

Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding

Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding

This is a breakfast both Gracen and I love.  I love it because super healthy and I can throw all of the ingredients into a mason jar before I go to bed and wake up to an already prepared breakfast.  I’m sure she loves it because it’s sweet, creamy, and it feels like you’re having dessert for breakfast.  And that’s okay with me. I agree!

If you haven’t yet tried chia seeds, you definitely should.  They’re often called the “super seed”, and for good reason.  They’re packed with essential fatty acids, fibre, calcium, and a bunch of other vitamins and minerals, plus they can absorb up to 12 times their weight in liquid.  Besides using them in puddings, around here we add them to yogurt, muffins, cereal, and smoothies too.  In fact, they quickly became my secret smoothie ingredient when I learned that adding a tablespoon of chia to a blender of our favourite smoothie would keep it thick and prevent it from separating (even when kept in the fridge overnight!)

IMG 1716But onto the recipe.  Here’s what we use to make our overnight mango coconut chia pudding…  Your choice of milk (coconut milk is especially delicious in this recipe), pure maple syrup, chia seeds, pure vanilla, unsweetened coconut, and a mango (not pictured because it isn’t needed until morning).

IMG 1718I like to make this recipe in a mason jar because it seals well and I can give the jar a little shake every now and then, but any sort of bowl or container that has a lid will do.  

To get started, add your chia seeds to the milk.

IMG 1722Then add the coconut…

IMG 1728The maple syrup…

IMG 1730And the vanilla.

IMG 1735Give everything a stir…

IMG 1736Pop the lid on and put the jar in the fridge.  If you come back to the fridge again that night, give the jar a gentle shake to prevent clumping.  If not, it’s not a big deal.

Now go to sleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

IMG 1740When you wake up in the morning, retrieve your mason jar of pudding.  It’ll be thick  and creamy by now and will resemble the insides of a passionfruit. Grab a mango too.  (Though mango / coconut is one of our favourite combinations, strawberries, bananas, and blueberries pair well with the coconut too.)

IMG 1742Now peel and chop up your mango into small pieces…

IMG 1744And add them to the jar.

IMG 1748Mix everything together well.

IMG 1749Breakfast is ready!

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Serve with fresh or frozen berries, mint leaves, or almond slices.
 
 
Mango Coconut Chia Breakfast Pudding
Adapted from this recipe from SkinnyTaste
  • 2 cups of your favourite type of milk
  • 6 tablespoons of chia seeds
  • 3 tablespoons of unsweetened coconut
  • 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla
  • 1 medium-sized ripe mango
Put the first set of ingredients into a jar and stir. Put the lid on the jar and put in the fridge overnight.  If you come back to the fridge later in the evening, give the jar a shake or two (if not, don’t worry about it).  
 
In the morning, retrieve your jar and a mango.  Peel and dice the mango, add it to the jar, and give everything a stir. 
 
Serve with berries, mint leaves, or almond slices.
Enjoy!
 
 

Toddler Food: What Miss G Eats {22}

Toddler FoodIMG 0141Breakfast // Wholewheat oat flax pancakes with all-natural almond butter and fresh strawberries.

IMG 0687Breakfast // Spinach, sun-dried tomato, and garlic organic eggs. Kiwi slices. Avocado spears. Omega seed toast.

IMG 0690Breakfast // All-natural peanut butter banana bites topped with freeze-dried raspberries, raisins, organic o’s, and freeze-dried blueberries.

IMG 0074Breakfast // Cinnamon pumpkin seed breakfast cookie. Green grapes.

IMG 0696Breakfast // Peanut butter banana oatmeal.

IMG 0078Breakfast // Poached organic egg on omega seed toast. Green grapes. Berry kale smoothie.

IMG 9508Lunch // Quinoa veggie soup. Grilled cheddar sandwich on multigrain flax.

IMG 9635Lunch // Pasta with green beans, toasted pine nuts, and feta.

IMG 9636Snacks & Lunch {on the go} // Raw almonds. Organic egg salad roll up. Banana. Apple. Red grapes. Homemade cinnamon crisps. Carrot sticks. Purple pepper slices.

IMG 0384Lunch // All-natural low-sodium turkey, cheddar, and spinach on omega flax bread. Orange segments.

IMG 0243Lunch // Wholewheat couscous and black bean salad with cheddar, avocado, and fresh cilantro.

IMG 0178Lunch // Black bean veggie quesadilla with sour cream and tomatillo salsa.  Avocado chunks.

IMG 9584Lunch // Vegan potato leek soup with chickpeas and baby green peas.

IMG 9823Dinner // Chicken and veggie stir fry on brown rice.

IMG 9765Dinner // Creamy turkey tortellini and fresh feb soup. Grilled cheddar on omega seed bread.

IMG 9916Dinner // Spicy veggie laksa.

IMG 0028Dinner // Southwest turkey chili with cheddar, fresh cilantro, and avocado.

IMG 0050Dinner // Smashed garden potatoes.  All-natural spinach and feta chicken sausage.  Edamame and carrot coins. Steamed broccoli with feta.

IMG 0111Dinner // Salsa baked chicken. Steamed garden carrots. Orzo with feta and toasted pine nuts.

IMG 0137Dinner // Roasted halibut. Beet walnut salad.  Herbed harvest grains.

IMG 0439Dinner // Amita’s Indian curry on brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds.

 ♥
 

Never EVER.

Miss G has been a fan of Taylor Swift’s ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together‘ for a long while now, but just recently she’s taken her sing-a-longs to a whole new level.  If you’ve ever seen the video, you know that it starts and ends with Taylor sitting in front of a window and for part of it, she talks into an old-school cordless phone.

Never Ever

Well now, when this little monkey wants to sing one of her very favourite tunes, she must be standing looking out a window, and she must have her ‘never ever phone’ in hand.

Singing Window Front

Here she is singing away…

Perhaps we have a little musician in the making?

♥

Rainbow-Coloured Trees

I’ve long been a lover of summers, so I’m not sure if I’m just feeling especially appreciative of autumn in Vancouver, or if our 4 years spent in the scorching, sweat-dripping-down-your-back-the-instant-you-step-outside desert has skewed my preferences, but man, I’m loving fall this year.  Crisp air, overcast days… The crunch of leaves beneath your feet… Puddles to splash in. Cozy sweaters paired with boots. And the colours… The amazing, AMAZING colours!

So when Grae and I passed by Queen Elizabeth park {filled with rainbow-coloured trees} this morning, we had to pull over.  And I’m so glad we did.  Watching our little one frolic amongst the leaves while declaring “Deez trees soooo beautiful!” is like nothing else.

IMG 1615IMG 1618IMG 1635IMG 1693IMG 1638IMG 1646IMG 1657IMG 1668IMG 1670IMG 1676IMG 1681IMG 1685IMG 1697♥