Mar 182013
 

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 »

Feb 252013
 

Inspire Creative Play with Wow Toys

Twin Race Cars and a Royal Princess Carriage from WOW Toys

Bubbles is at a fun stage with her toy play right now.  You can almost see the little wheels turning in her head as she thinks about how she wants to interact with them.  Blocks have gone from just random stacking and tall towers to creating paths for cars to follow and walls to hide behind for hide and seek.  Baby dolls get fed and tucked in, while her pets get “washed” and go for walks.

Of course not all creative play with her toys makes sense – to me, at least.  More than one princess has found her way into the fridge instead of her toy bins when it’s time for pick up.  Horses sometimes get to drive the tractors while the farmers ride in the wagon.  And some of those dog baths have taken place in the soup pot from her kitchen.  It can be hard not to say “Oh no, honey, here, this is how you do it” (though I do have to occasionally remind her the ice cream cone is just for pretend and please don’t actually lick it).   But I try my best to encourage her creativity, imagination, and role play.

So when her princess and horse-drawn carriage ended up at the starting line with two twin race cars (one driven by the prince that normally steers the carriage) I didn’t bother explaining that a horse was going to be no match for a race car.  I just watched the action!  The race cars are friction-powered so once they’re revved up a bit they definitely can out-race the horse, but she evens the playing field by running the horse down the hall ahead of them.  (She also squeals with delight when I send the cars racing after her.) Continue reading »

Feb 232013
 

Toddler Games and Toys from Melissa & Doug

Toddler Games and Toys from Melissa & Doug

It’s hard (for me) to believe, but Bubbles turned 2 this past week.  It’s cliché to say but time really does seem to fly by with kids this age.  I can remember when she would fit in the nook of my arm while I was feeding her.  Today when I pick her up to give her a kiss, her feet dangle against my knees.  And that’s when she stops moving long enough for me to pick up!

As Christmas was just a few weeks ago (and because this mama has a hard time not buying things at the store as I see them) we didn’t really want to go overboard for her with gifts.  We did, however, want to get her some things and I wanted to make sure they were toys that would keep her entertained and engaged for a few months (when your birthday and Christmas are so close together, there’s a reaaallly long dry spell for gift-giving occasions in between).  She has a few key interests right now that we’d like to nurture: puzzles, dolls, coloring, her kitchen, blocks, anything Disney, and toys like trucks and trains (the last one much to my husband’s delight).

Continue reading »

Feb 212013
 

Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday With Fun Activities

Dr. Seuss Quote

Image courtesy of Pinterest.com

The anniversary of Dr. Seuss’ birthday is coming up on March 2nd.  Born Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1904, Dr. Seuss wrote dozens of children’s books that are still extremely popular today.  One of my favorites is “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”  I received a copy from a family member for my high school graduation and I still have it.

A number of his books have also been made into movies and television shows, such as Horton Hears a Who!, The Lorax (whom I had the pleasure of “meeting” at Blissdom last year), The Cat in the Hat, and the classic Christmas tale The Grinch That Stole Christmas.  We’ve enjoyed most all adaptations, but especially love both versions (animated and live version with Jim Carrey) of The Grinch; we watch them every Christmas. Continue reading »

Jan 212013
 

Making Your House Safe For Toddlers

Toddler-Proofing With Munchkin Safety Items

One thing I wanted to do before we get started on all the Make This House a Home projects was to spend some time toddler-proofing our home.  This is a constantly-evolving task as your children grow older and develop new skills – and new curiosities!  You’ll need to think of each area of the house and what temptations it may hold.  Here are some suggestions to get you started! Continue reading »