French Toast and Pancake Recipes for Kids

It always seems that breakfast is one of those meals that is almost always the same. Yogurt and a piece of toast, some scrambled eggs with a couple strips of bacon, pancakes, cereal – whatever it is, I feel like once we find something we enjoy that fills us up for the morning we tend to stick with it. Habit and routine help us get our morning started and keep everyone on schedule.

Every once in awhile, though, it’s nice to break out of the rut and add in some new options. On the weekends we have a bit more time and try things like different breakfast casseroles, omelets, Eggs Benedict, and things like that. But during the week to help add variety, yet still get our picky eater to eat, we sometimes turn to frozen products to help speed up our prep. And because breakfast for us is mostly about getting Bubbles to eat something I really like the “mini” frozen foods, like the new Aunt Jemima Lil’ Griddles. They have mini pancakes, mini blueberry pancakes, and french toast sticks. Continue reading »

Decorating Ideas for Families

More than putting those little clips on your cabinet doors, and making sure sharp objects are kept at a safe distance, there are other ways to make sure your home is family-friendly, as you can see from my tips and ideas below.

Family-friendly Decorating Ideas - via viewsfromtheville.com

Use an outdoor rug indoors. Choose a rug that is durable and easy-to-clean. Heavily-patterned rugs are also a good idea, so that stains and crumbs are less visible. Rugs on hardwood floors are a good idea, so that there is something soft for children to sit on, near the sofa.

Choose durable materials for upholstery, solid furniture and wall finishes.

Have non-upholstered chairs in the dining room. Spills and scratches are inevitable, a rustic wooden table will make it look intentional.

Make spaces easily transitional. This is especially important in the bedroom. While it may be fun to deck-out a child’s bedroom in pink or blue, having a too-young bedroom when your children start to get older may make them feel out of place. Instead, try to use elements that can be easily updated or re-purposed for when your children get older or change their favourite colour.

Create a space where people of all ages can be comfortable. In the picture below, you’ll notice a white pouf. I recommend using things like poufs and ottomans, and rocking chairs for people to be able to be able to sit comfortably. It can be difficult for small children to climb up on a higher sofa, so having a variety of pieces to sit on is key. You’ll notice that the kid-friendly furniture doesn’t look like it is just for children. Continue reading »

Desk Accessories for Spring - Green Cordless Phone from Vtech

Green VTech Cordless Phone for Spring

One of the things I love most about spring is how fresh and bright everything looks. It really gets me in the mood to spruce up our home and swap out winter textures and accessories for new spring ones. This definitely goes for my home office, as well. If I have to sit in there for hours each day I want it to be fun and uplifting.

Most of the time I end up buying new desk accessories like pen cups, staplers, binders, and the like. Sometimes I’ll add new wall hangings or art, change out a lamp or lamp shade, maybe even add a new throw rug or hang new window treatments. Not only does it keep it current for the season and changes in weather it helps keep work feeling fresh and not so ho-hum.

With all those changes it wasn’t until just recently that I thought about being able to accessorize with phones, however. I mean, a phone is a phone, right? You use it to place and receive (or screen) calls. You just want it to have the functions you need like be cordless, have caller ID, and maybe (probably) an answering machine. If you’re using it in your home office you might also want it to be able to handle conferencing people together on a single call.

But just because something needs to be functional it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. I’m loving that VTech feels the same way and has colored cordless phones in their line up. Their green phone is perfect for spring, whether it’s in a home office, the kitchen, the kids’ room, as a St. Patrick’s Day gift, or any reason, really. It has a digital answering machine and you can retrieve your messages right from the handset (love that feature). It also has DECT 6.0 digital technology, which is tech-speak for great sound and voice quality. You can even add up to four additional handsets on the same phone jack which is great for being able to stash phones in any location you might want to receive a call. Like out on the deck which is where I wish my home office was located.

What is your favorite office accessory for spring?

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in order to facilitate my review. No additional compensation was received and all opinions, as always, are 100% that of myself and my family.

Pie Recipes for Pi Day

Today is March 14th. I know, not really much of an announcement is it? But… it kind of is. Because you can also write the date like 3.14 or even 3/14. When you look at it that way you may recognize those numbers. They are the first three numbers of pi (3.14159, approximately) which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to it’s diameter (hello, high school geometry, I have not missed you).

I’m sorry if you fell asleep there for a moment. But now let’s wake back up and talk about food! Because pi the number is pronounced the exact same way as pie the food. And pie is delicious. So some creative person in history said “Hey, why don’t we celebrate Pi Day with, you know, pie?” Smart idea!

I have a pie recipe I had hoped to share with you today but Bubbles has kept me quite busy all day and it just didn’t happen. So I’ll have it for you tomorrow or this weekend. In the meantime, however, here are a few yummy pie recipes both from fellow bloggers as well as some Pinterest finds. Continue reading »

Views From the Ville

Liza

Fast and Fun Breakfast & Brunch Ideas for Kids

French Toast and Pancake Recipes for Kids

Family-Friendly Decorating Ideas

Decorating Ideas for Families

Brighten Your Home Up for Spring with a Fun Green VTech Phone

Green VTech Cordless Phone for Spring

What is your favorite office accessory for spring?

Yummy Pie Recipes to Celebrate Pi Day

Pie Recipes for Pi Day