Ballet Tuesdays

10 / 2 / 1211 / 13 / 13

Will I ever get used to the cuteness that is Tuesday ballet afternoons? Ummmm…probably not. Especially when the cute is 12 tutu-clad little ladies dancing around a studio with long ribbons in hand. Because our class is a parent participation class, us mamas gallop, stretch, plié, and sing alongside our little ones, making it very tricky to take photos of the class itself, but I always make sure to take a couple before and after. Grae’s so used to it now that she actually stops before going into the community centre, positions herself against the wall, and says, “Picture time, Mama!”

♥

Easily Pleased

10 / 1 / 1210 / 5 / 12

One of the {MILLIONS of} things I absolutely adore about Gracen is her enthusiasm and appreciation for little things… Today, while shopping for a few craft supplies, we came across these {$2} foam letters and she could not have been more thrilled that I agreed to let her take them home when she asked. For the rest of the day, she held them, prepared for bath time, and talked about how she would show Papa when he got home and he would say “Wooooooooow!” During bath time, it was as though she’d won the lottery – “ABCs, Mama! ABCs! Grae Grae loves ABC toys!” As she carefully placed each one up on the tiles, she attempted naming them with enthusiastic guesses (as of now, she knows A, G, S, Y, and Z really well) and every once and a while got her ‘squinty Uncle Gary concentration face’ on, looked up at me for assistance, and said “Dis one a hard one?”

Good lord, I love this little lady.

♥

Fall Flowers

10 / 1 / 1210 / 3 / 12

It may be the first of October, but the flowers in our front gardens would never let you know it. Today Miss G took some time to sniff her way around our yard and comment on each of the flowers she found – “Dis one soooo beautiful, Mama!”.

Soaking up the last signs of summer around here…

♥

Sugar-Free / Dairy-Free / Flour-Free Breakfast Cookies

9 / 29 / 1210 / 1 / 12

This morning Miss G and I decided to try making something new for breakfast… Cookies! Not the traditional kind, of course. Healthy, hearty ones that fill you up and start your day off right. And I’m glad to say that despite my nonchalant ‘Ah, sure we’ll throw that in too’ attitude, they turned out pretty well.

Here’s our line up of ingredients… Old-fashioned oats, pumpkin seeds, raisins, ‘just apples’ applesauce (we just used the store bought stuff this time around, but homemade would of course be better), ripe bananas, cinnamon, and organic coconut oil and vanilla (which somehow didn’t make it into the photo…)

To start, my mini sous chef peeled our bananas and popped them into the food processor.

Then she added a capful of pure vanilla…

A generous amount of applesauce…

Some cinnamon…

And a dollop of coconut oil.

Then we blended everything up until it was mostly smooth, with just a few little chunks.

With our wet mixture transferred into a large mixing bowl, Grae added some organic old-fashioned oats…

Some raw pumpkin seeds…

And some raisins…

And gave everything a good stir.

The result was oats that were completely coated in the banana/applesauce mixture, but not ‘wet’ or batter-y (if that makes any sense).

We then dropped large spoonfuls of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, using the back of the spoon to shape them into little mounds, and popped them into the oven.

Fifteen minutes later, out came these soft, moist little oatmeal mounds. Now… Do they taste like a real cookie? No. Do they taste like a healthy bowl of cinnamon oatmeal compacted into a portable little serving? Yes! And the best part is that they’re not at all crumbly. To the point where I let Grae snack on these while in the Ergo on our recent house hunting adventures because I knew they wouldn’t crumble all over our potential landlords’ floors… Win!

Sugar-free, Dairy-free, Flour-free Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Cookies

(recipe loosely based on this one from irocksowhat)

3 small ripe bananas
3/4 cup of ‘just apples’ applesauce
1 teaspoon of organic coconut oil
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 capful of pure vanilla

2 cups of organic old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup of organic raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add the wet ingredients (plus cinnamon) to a food processor (or good blender) and mix well. Pour the contents into a large mixing bowl and add dry ingredients. Mix until everything is evenly coated.

Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, using the back of a spoon to form them into mounds. Bake for 15 minutes and allow a couple of minutes to cool. Store in an airtight container on the counter for a few days, or pop them in the freezer and defrost as needed.

Enjoy!

“Girls ‘Tainer Song”

9 / 29 / 129 / 30 / 12

Miss G is currently in love with this song she affectionately refers to as “Girls ‘Tainer (container) Song”. She loves it so much in fact, that nobody is allowed to sing along. If I absent mindedly find myself quietly humming along with the tune, I’m promptly reminded “No Mama sing. Just girls sing.” Well okay then…

♥

Egg Carton Button Sorting

9 / 28 / 129 / 29 / 13

Matching is HUGE in our house right now. Coordinating is simply not good enough for Miss G anymore. Everything. must. match. To the point where she will pick a treat (organic fruit leather) with a blue package while grocery shopping because she is wearing blue pants, cutting her carrots requires an orange knife, and wearing white socks isn’t happening if there is no other white in the outfit. So when I came across an empty egg carton during my usual nap time house cleaning, I decided to use it to put together a little matching game rather than recycling it.

I had everything else I needed on hand… Acrylic paints in primary colours, plus white and black, a paintbrush, an old rag, and some water.

I simply painted each egg spot by swirling the paint up from the base to the top edge.

I made sure to include the basic rainbow colours, plus black, white, and grey, and of course aqua because, well… it’s the best colour ever.

Afterwards, I gave the inside of the lid a quick coat of white paint.

Now if I’m being honest, Gracen awoke from her nap before the paint was fully dry and she was so excited to play her new game that we took it to the bathroom and used the blowdryer on it.

When it was fully dry, I poured a bunch of buttons in the lid, removed the clear ones, and asked, “Do you want to play?”

With a prompt “Yes!” and zero direction, she got busy matching the buttons to the colours painted in the cups.

Grae loves playing and the nice thing about this little game is that when she’s finished, she just closes it up and everything is contained and ready for next time.

♥

Small Style {7}

9 / 28 / 129 / 28 / 12

Whew! I’m on a roll… First Toddler Food post and first Small Style post in a loooong while, and all in the same week! Here’s some of what Miss G wore late this summer…

Striped coral romper: Old Navy / Gold braided belt: H&M (stolen from Mama’s closet) / Multi-coloured sandals: Joe / Recycled milk pouch book bag: www.workofyourhand.com

Felt flower headband: Handmade by mama / Striped dress: Baby Gap / Multi-coloured sandals: Joe

Ruffled tank: Carter’s / Polka dotted skirt: Handmade by Auntie Judy

Red blossom clip: Handmade by Mama / Navy tee: Joe / Red tutu: Baby Gap / Glittered flats: Payless / Scowl face: All Grae ☺

Embroidered Tunic: A gift from Mexico / Black leggings: H&M / Glittered flats: Payless

Floral ruffled vest: Baby Gap / Babydoll tank: Old Navy / Pink shorts: Baby Gap / Gladiator sandals: Joe

Floral blouse: Joe / Stretchy denim skinnies: Levi’s / Glittered flats: Payless

♥

iPhoneography // Water Baby

9 / 27 / 129 / 27 / 12

We’ve been back in swim classes now for a few weeks and Miss G is just loving it. The classes are upbeat, fun, and filled with songs and play, but teach beginning swimming skills at the same time. So far, we’ve been practicing most of the same skills we learned last session… Front starfish floats, back starfish floats, wall push offs (front and back), jumping into the water from sitting and standing positions, blowing bubbles, and dipping different parts of our faces in the water. Last time I wrote about swimming lessons, I mentioned that I was feeling pretty unsure about the upcoming ‘submersion lesson’. Luckily, when it happened, I felt comfortable with the way it was introduced and Gracen was fine about quickly being dunked under when it was done as part of a fun song. Ever since, we’ve made sure to practice at least once or twice each time we visit the pool, just so she stays okay with it.

Today, the first submersion day of this set of classes, Grae opted to go to the teacher (which is huge in itself because Gracen is quite shy and sensitive and our instructor is quite loud and direct) and be passed under the water to me. Not only did she try it, but she came up smiling, did another really long underwater pass, and then continued to ask to do it again and again long after the instructor had exited the pool.

I’m so proud of our little fishy and I’m thrilled that she loves being in the water.

♥

iPhoneography // Snipets of Our Day

9 / 26 / 129 / 27 / 12

.scarf thief.

.shopping buddies.

.found on the potty with a good book.

♥

Toddler Food: What Miss G Eats {20}

9 / 25 / 129 / 25 / 12

Wow… It’s been a while… A very loooong while since I put together a Toddler Food post, but here’s hoping they’ll be posted on a weekly basis again. Here’s some of what Miss G has been eating in {semi} recent days…

Breakfast // All-natural cream cheese on a 4 seed wholewheat bagel thin. Cantaloupe sticks.

Breakfast // Bear toast (multigrain flax bread, all-natural peanut butter, bananas, and raisins).

Breakfast // Plain organic whole milk yogurt with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and sliced almonds.

Breakfast // Baked blueberry banana currant oatmeal with whole organic milk.

Breakfast // Eggs ole. Country-style potatoes. Toasted squirrelly bread.

Breakfast // Shredded organic wheat with walnuts, almonds, strawberries, and blueberries.

Breakfast // Toasted omega seed bread with all-natural cream cheese and strawberry slices. Raw almonds.

Breakfast // Low-sugar organic cereal with walnuts and frozen blueberries.

Snack // Apple chunks. Wholewheat pita crisps broiled with havarti.

Snack // Nectarine apricot apple sauce.

Lunch // Turkey, rice, spinach tomato soup.

Lunch // Wholewheat pasta with spinach asiago pesto and baby peas.

Lunch // Roasted salmon and mozzarella sandwich. Veggies and dilly yogurt dip.

Lunch // Greek wholewheat couscous salad with avocado. Orange slices and grapes.

Lunch // Curried apple tuna on omega seedy bread. Red peppers and blueberries.

Lunch // Spicy Asian noodle salad with grilled breaded chicken. Sugar snaps and avocado spears.

Lunch // Organic veggie shells and cheese with tuna, steamed broccoli, and carrots.

Lunch // Greek rice. Steamed broccoli. Avocado. Chicken souvlaki. Lemon roasted potatoes.

Snacks & Lunch {on the go} // All-natural peanut butter and granny smith sandwich. Fresh strawberries and blueberries. Sugar snaps. Raw almonds and walnuts. Old cheddar cubes. Red pepper slices.

Lunch // Veggie sandwich on multigrain (cream cheese, cucumber, red onion, red pepper, and avocado). Watermelon sticks. Gouda cubes.

Dinner // Spicy black bean and chicken rice bowl with avocado and sour cream.

Dinner // Steamed broccoli, beets, and carrots. Lemon and herb salmon. Fresh spinach pasta.

Dinner // Chicken souvalki. Pita. Greek salad. Lemon roasted potatoes. Greek rice.

Dinner // Roasted Carrots, onions, and garlic. Wholewheat couscous. Lemon and herb roasted chicken.

Dinner // All-natural turkey kolbassa. Cottage cheese perogy with sour cream. Roasted brussel sprouts. Steamed spinach with balsamic and feta.

Dinner // Tempeh and veggie stir fry on brown rice.

Dinner // Wholewheat couscous. Barbecued chicken and veggie skewer. Fresh avocado with cilantro dressing.

Dessert// Two ingredient ice cream with a strawberry on top.

Dessert // Two ingredient strawberry creamsicle.

Dessert // Vanilla, peanut butter, and jam ice cream.

♥

Our Favourite Homemade Pizza {Two Ways}

9 / 23 / 129 / 24 / 12

Today Miss G and I made one of our favourite weekend dinners… Homemade pizza. Though I do find it takes a little advanced planning to make pizza from scratch, making the dough just after breakfast and letting it sit on the counter all day until we’re ready to make dinner in the evening is easy enough for us. Plus, this recipe makes two BIG thin-crust pizzas, which allows for a few (or at least a couple) of good meals {even when your husband scarfs down 12 pieces in one sitting… hi babe! ☺}

Here are the ingredients for our go to dough, adapted from the lovely Pioneer Woman’s recipe… Wholewheat flour, dry active yeast, table salt, olive oil, and warm water.

First, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and set it aside.

Next, add the flour…

And the salt to the bowl of your electric mixer. (This could be done by hand too, of course.)

Put the paddle attachment on your machine…

And give the dry ingredients a quick mix.

Next, measure out the olive oil…

And slowly pour it into the bowl while mixing.

Next, give the yeast and water a quick stir…

And with the mixer on, slowly add the yeast water to the flour/salt/oil mixture. Mix on low until the dough starts to come together in a sticky mass.

Prepare a separate large mixing bowl by drizzling it with olive oil.

Use your hands to pull the edges of the dough downwards and shape it into a ball. Place your dough in the bowl and gently toss it to coat it in olive oil.

Now cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap. It can be put in the fridge and stored for 3 or 4 days, or it can be used later on in the day. If we’re making pizza the same night, we just leave ours on the counter.

Now, for my favourite… A very simple roasted veggie pizza. Chop up a bunch of vegetables of your choice (these are my favourites), drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil, and put them in a 400 oven for about 10 minutes.

While they roast, grate some cheese (we use fresh mozzarella or, like tonight, an all-natural extra sharp cheddar) and slice some fresh mushrooms.

Take your veggies out of the oven when they’re slightly soft and just beginning to turn golden in some spots.

With your toppings ready, it’s time to retrieve the dough you made earlier in the day. By now, it should be well over double its original size and soft and spongy to the touch.

Prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment paper and sprinkling on little cornmeal (this is completely optional, but it does add a nice texture).

Using 1/2 of the dough, press it down into a thin rectangular shape. Don’t worry too much about holes – just patch them up as you go along.

For this pizza, we often use a fresh pesto sauce, which is really yummy. Equally delicious, however, is just a drizzle of olive oil and a tiny sprinkle of sea salt.

Next, arrange the veggies on the dough {stuffing as many of the red peppers into your mouth as possible, if you’re like Gracen}.

Top with cheese (adding some feta into the mix is really good too!} and pop it into the oven.

Remove when the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown and let cool for a few minutes.

Now onto the one Brad prefers… A BBQ chicken pizza. Tonight we used roasted chicken breasts cut into small chunks, raw diced orange pepper and sweet onion, and some white kernel corn (adding jalapeños is really tasty too).

Prepare your pan and dough the same way as before, then spread a thin layer of BBQ sauce onto the uncooked crust (this is one of Miss G’s favourite jobs).

Add the toppings…

Cover with cheese…

And bake ’til golden.

Voila! Dinner is done. Serve on its own, or with a fresh salad.

Wholewheat Pizza

1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups of warm water (not hot, but not lukewarm)

4 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over warm water.

Mix flour and salt together. Add olive oil while mixing. Give the yeast/water mixture a quick stir and add it to the mixture while stirring also. The mixture will be sticky and wet, which is perfect.

Prepare a separate mixing bowl by drizzling it with olive oil. Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball by gently working the edges downwards and underneath. Gently toss the dough in the bowl to coat in olive oil, then cover tightly with plastic wrap. Store dough in fridge for up to 4 days, or leave on counter if using later in the day.

When ready, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper and sprinkling it with cornmeal. Flatten the dough on the pan, top with sauce and toppings, and bake for 10 – 15 minutes in a 450 degree oven. Remove from oven when the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden. Cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

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Mama & Her Girl

9 / 22 / 129 / 23 / 12

Photos of me and my girl are so rare that having just one is noteworthy… (But that’s all about to change very soon because we’re having our first EVER professional family photos taken in just a few weeks – yay!) This one was taken just before leaving the lovely Granville Island this morning. It was cool and dreary and quiet… Which was perfectly fine with us.

♥

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Play Dough Frozen Yogurt Shop

9 / 21 / 1212 / 10 / 13

I’ve had this little idea in mind ever since Gracen received her ice cream sand toys back at the beginning of summer, and today was a perfect day to make it happen… With it being cool and dreary here in Vancouver, spending the afternoon on a wet beach making sand cones didn’t sound overly appealing… Making yummy-smelling play dough ones in the warmth of our house, however, certainly did. Not to mention the fact that Grae fell in love with playing ‘the ice cream game’ at our community centre’s playground recently, so opening an ice cream shop (which Grae quickly decided should be a frozen yogurt shop instead) it was.

With our best ever no cook scented play dough made and a few things collected from around the house, our shop was ready for business.

Our play dough went into some empty yogurt containers we had on hand…

We made candy sprinkles by chopping up some colourful plastic straws we had leftover from Miss G’s birthday party…

Colourful buttons became Smarties…

And some silicone baking cups and the plastic cones from Grae’s Melissa & Doug set became our cups and cones.

We also collected some scoops and spoons for eating and serving our frozen treats, some coins and a money jar, and fabric bunting {also from the birthday party} to spruce up the shop. ☺

Together, we wrote made a quick sign for our shop. I asked Grae how much one of her frozen yogurt treats cost, and without skipping a beat, she said “Two!” So two dollars it was…

With her shop set up and ready to go, it was down to business welcoming her customers (me!), making delicious-looking play dough treats, and collecting money in exchange.

Not a fan of cones? Not a problem – a bowl for you!

Cheers to rainy days and frozen treats!

The frozen yogurt fun went on all afternoon…

And after what felt my 53rd order, Papa eventually came home and relieved me of my customer duties (thank goodness – I don’t know if my belly could have handled another candy-covered cone).

Here’s a little video of our frozen yogurt shop owner in action…

We finally closed the shop tonight just before bedtime (despite pleas from the very reluctant shop keeper) and you can bet I’ll have a play dough cone in hand long before I have a chance to make a proper breakfast tomorrow morning…

And I’m okay with that.

♥

The BEST Scented No Cook Play Dough

9 / 21 / 123 / 25 / 20

Gracen and I may have just stumbled upon the best. play dough. recipe. ever. today while combining my old go-to with a few other ideas we found around the net…. Now I know I said similar things about this recipe, but this new one involves no cooking (win!) and smells delish (double win!)

We did have to make a trip to the grocery store beforehand, as a couple of the ingredients are not things we regularly keep on hand, but it was well worth the trip. This is by far the softest, squishiest, smoothest, nicest feeling {and smelling} play dough I’ve ever come across.

{this post contains affiliate links}

Now before I share the recipe, I want to say that there are LOTS of factors at play when making play dough at home. It seems like it should be a simple enough task {and I promise that it is}, but there a few things to consider and I want to be sure that your play dough turns out well. Believe it or not, things like the elevation at which you live, the weather / humidity where you are, and how you measure your flour can all affect whether your dough turns out too sticky, too dry, or just right.

For the purpose of this recipe, know that I measure flour by scooping a heaping amount of flour into my stainless steel measuring up and pressing it down into the cup on the inside of the bag. Thus, my flour is fairly packed down in the measuring cup.

Also know that if your finished play dough turns out too wet, you can save it by adding a little bit of extra flour, bit by bit (just go slow here – you can overdo it quickly!) and kneading it in. At the opposite side of the spectrum, if your dough seems too dry or tough, you can add moisture and soften it up by adding tiny bits of one of the wet ingredients (boiling water, oil, or glycerine) at a time, again being careful not to overdo it.

The BEST Scented No-Cook Play Dough

1 cup of all-purpose flour (packed down into the measuring cup)
1/4 cup of table salt
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 packet of Kool Aid , 1 packet of Frosting Creations Flavour Mix , or enough Wilton gel food colouring to create your desired colour*

1 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)

*If using Kool-Aid or Frosting Creations, additional food colouring is not needed. You can also skip Kool-Aid / Frosting Creations all together and use the gel colouring for a coloured but unscented dough. Or leave out all three for a unscented, natural coloured dough.

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! 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.

Enjoy!

FIY: Kool-Aid is a powdered drink mix that you add sugar and water to make ‘juice’ and Frosting Creation Flavour Mix is a powder used to flavour store-bought icing. Both can be used in this recipe to scent AND colour the play dough, but they can easily be left out for a natural, unscented dough or replaced with food colouring for a coloured, but unscented dough.

FIY #2: Non-edible glycerine is readily available in the first aid section of most grocery stores and edible glycerine is available where cake making supplies are sold.

FIY#3: This play dough will last for months if stored at room temperature in an air-tight container or bag. Do not refrigerate or store near a heat source or on top of the fridge.

FIY #4: When making this play dough, we use dry measuring cups only – even when measuring the boiling water.

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Homemade Rain Sticks

9 / 19 / 129 / 1 / 13

After stumbling upon this post from The Imagination Tree a little while ago, I knew we had to try making rain sticks of our own. We had a few really heavy duty cardboard tubes already on hand (two from rolled art paper and one from our Stuck on You parcel – review to come soon!) and since we’ve recently been collecting and making instruments for Gracen’s collection, it was the perfect project.

To get started, we collected a bunch of things from around the house… An assortment of pantry goods (beans, rice, and popcorn seeds to be exact), a hammer and some small nails, these duct tape sheets Grae picked out on our most recent States trip, some fluorescent dot stickers for decorating, and the cardboard tubes of course. (We also got out a Sharpie, a pair of scissors, and a small tin can out part way through the project.)

Here’s a better look at just how sturdy our tubes were. Like mentioned on Imagination Tree, ordinary paper towel and toilet paper rolls are not thick enough and won’t work for this project. Basically, you want your tube to be sturdy enough to withstand nails being pounded into it, and sturdy enough to hold the nails in afterwards.

Although this next part was a little too tricky for Grae to do on her own, she sure enjoyed helping. Using flat-headed nails that were almost as long as the diameter of the tube, we pounded them into the cardboard roll at random intervals. What worked best for us was hammering the nails in together using a hand-on-hand technique or having Grae hammer nails that I’d already put halfway through.

Here’s what the inside of our tube looked like once we’d finished with the hammering job. Of course, the more nails you add, the slower the beans or seeds will move through the tube, meaning a longer ‘rainfall’.

Next, we traced the end of our tube onto the backside of a duct tape sheet together two times and cut the circles out.

Then, using a small tin can, we traced and cut out two larger circles too.

In order to seal off the end of the tube without having our seeds stick to the duct tape, we placed the smaller circle in the centre of larger circle (sticky sides together).

Then carefully placed and sealed the larger duct tape circle over one end of the tube.

Next, my little helper chose her filling (popcorn seeds) and added a few handfuls to the tube. (She wanted the tube to stand on its own without falling over and was having no luck, so she quickly went and retrieved this mason jar from the kitchen… Of course, being her mama, I thought this was quite brilliant.)

With our seeds added, we created another double-layered duct tape circle and sealed off the second side.

At this point, you could really decorate the outside of the rain stick with anything, provided you ensure the nails are covered and cannot be removed by curious little fingers. We decided to use our duct tape sheets since they secure the nails and look pretty all at once. The bonus was that they were also the perfect width to fit the length our small tubes, so all we had to do was cut them in half to avoid wrapping around the tube more than once.