Christmas Cards from a Toddler

Mini Muffin and I decided that yesterday was the perfect day for Christmas crafts. There are also a couple of people in her life that we wanted to recognize with cards, so our craft was decided!

I started by prepping while she was at the park with my mom (who's staying with us for the holidays), and Little Smiling Man was napping. I made plain, cream coloured cards, and drew a handful of Christmas trees on green card stock.  Mini Muffin has been working very hard lately on learning to cut with scissors; she's getting quite proficient and is nearly ready to try cutting along lines. So, my vision was that she'd try to cut out the trees, then we'd glue them to the cards and decorate them. Rather ambitious for a little girl of only two and a half!

When she got home, she saw the card stock and her scissors on the table and was super excited to get started! I explained and demonstrated cutting along lines, and she gave it a pretty good try. But, the fun of reducing a piece of paper to many tiny pieces with her scissors soon took over. I decided to let her have her fun (and use easier cutting shapes next time we work on this skill!). By the time she was done, we had dozens of odd shaped pieces of green card stock, with fragments of Christmas trees drawn on them.

Since this project had decidedly not gone to plan, we just started winging it! We tried our hand at cubism with me piecing together tree-like images and Mini Muffin gluing them. Mini Muffin then cut up some of grandma's spare yarn and glued it to some of the cards as decorations for the tree. And, finally she told me what she wanted to say inside, with great quotes like "Merry Holidays for Christmas!" and "Friends!".

All in all, it was a pretty fun project. I think the cards turned out great; to me they look like a two and a half year old loving her craft time!

• 

Parcel for the Food Bank

This morning, for whatever reason I found myself thinking back to an interaction I had at the food bank years ago.  I was chair for a local professional organization, and in preparation for our annual conference I decided to set up charitable donations for our speakers instead of giving out the usual dust gathering trinkets.  The morning of the conference, I headed to the local food bank to drop off the cheque, arriving shortly before they opened.  I ended up in a waiting room with a few folks who were either registering for or waiting to pick up food parcels.  On a table near by was a bag of perishables someone had left that were... perished to say the least.

A gentleman came in, perused the bag, knocked a baguette against the table (hard as a rock), smiled, tucked it under his arm, sat down next to me and started chatting.  He was very open with me, telling me that he was a recovering alcoholic on the straight and narrow, had a job that barely paid the rent, and walked everywhere since the bus was too expensive.  He told me that he was very happy to find the baguette because he hoped to be able to make chili soon.  He had been saving what he could from his food bank parcels, and if his next one had some tomato sauce he'd finally have enough to make chili.  You could tell how much he was looking forward to it, and the baguette would just take it to the next level.  Shortly thereafter we said goodbye, and that was that.

Later that day, and periodically through the years, I've found myself thinking back to that man.  He gave me a glimpse into a world I am blessed to not have experienced first hand.  The concept of having to save up to be able to make something as basic as chili is so far away from my reality.  And, I am so grateful for that.  The concept of being thrilled to find a stale baguette worth $1.50 when it's fresh, is also thankfully not part of my reality.  I truly hope that he has found his since found his feet.

Today, I was thinking about people in his situation and how difficult this time of year must be.  With everyone else preparing for the holidays, buying special foods for their family meal and rushing around to finish their Christmas shopping.  For people that have to save up to make chili, I realised that there would most likely not be anything special on their table for Christmas dinner.  That Christmas Day would be a struggle like any other day. 

With that in mind, I decided that in addition to our usual financial donation to the food bank, I would also give a donation of items that will hopefully help make someone's Christmas table a little more special.  I set a budget of $50 and had some fun finding great deals!  My budget ended up filling four shopping bags and I happily left with five cake mixes, five cans of frosting, eight packages of cookies, two packages of chocolates, five boxes of stuffing, and two boxes of apple cider mix. 

When I got home, I did a well overdue clean out of our pantry.  Over time we've accumulated assorted tins of hot chocolate, preserves, relishes, teas and sweets that we just don't consume. A gift basket here, and a hostess gift there add up quickly! I am happy to say that these items filled two more shopping bags, and will hopefully be used and enjoyed instead of taking up space in my cupboards to no end.

And so, six bags full of Christmas goodies were dropped off at the food bank warehouse. My family feels good about it, and I feel that even though it won't keep anyone from going hungry, sometimes something special for the holidays is good for the spirit.  In years to come, I think this surely will be a family Christmas tradition.

Indoor Energy Buster - Balloons!

We are having an unseasonably mild winter so far.  We've had small amounts of snow on the ground twice so far this winter, but here we are on December 16 with not a snowflake to be seen... aside from the paper ones decorating our windows!  With these warm temperatures, everything has been falling as rain.  Lots and lots of heavy rain.  I can only imagine how much snow we'd have on the ground if it had been just a few degrees cooler!

With heavy rain outside, we've been spending more time inside than usual.  And, as we all know toddlers have a lot of energy which needs to be burned off - either outside or in.  Yesterday, we pulled out a tried and true classic to help us burn off our cabin fever.  Balloons!  Mini Muffin actually received it in her advent calendar, and the timing couldn't have been better!

It never ceases to amaze me how much entertainment a balloon can bring.  It was fantastic!  There were lots of smiles, laughter, red cheeks, and huffing and puffing from all the exertion. 











Mama helped make it a bit more challenging - bumping the balloon to the other end of the room, around a corner, or way up high.  Mini Muffin had fun playing "catch" with me, and crawling into corners and behind furniture to retrieve it.  And, of course since it's so light, it's harmless for things on shelves, so there was no mess (aside from the usual chaos around the house)!

Mini Muffin bounced, threw, kicked and chased this balloon for well over half an hour.  She was in constant motion.  I tried to catch the fun in a picture, but with all the motion every single one is blurry.  With hindsight, I suppose that these blurry pictures actually captured the moment perfectly.

DIY - Candy Cane Wreath

It's been a while since I posted, and has it ever been busy!  We had our extended family Christmas during which Little Smiling Man charmed one and all, and Mini Muffin ran amok and had a fantastic time.  We had our immediate family Christmas, during which we had a good catch up, exchanged a few gifts and enjoyed brunch together.  Then, we headed to Niagara and stayed at a water park!  I estimate that we spent nearly 12h in the water, despite staying for just under 48h!  We were all a bit waterlogged by the end.  When we got home Little Smiling Man wasn't himself.  He wasn't... well... smiley.  Then he broke out in a rash, so we went to the doctor where he was diagnosed with hand foot and mouth.  Poor, poor monkey.  All we could do is wait it out, and keep him comfortable with Advil.  Thankfully he's through it now!  We're all enjoying a little bit more sleep, and a lot less fussiness!

And, on the craft/DIY front, I thought I'd share a wreath I made just before heading south.  Let's just say, Pinterest is both my best friend and my worst enemy.  I was super busy with preparations for our trip and life in general, yet this gorgeous wreath just begged to be made!  Luckily, it turned out to be a quick and easy project, with a gorgeous end product!

The finished product!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of candy canes, plus four additional candy canes*

Scotch tape

Hot glue gun (clear glue)

1.  Trim excess wrapper from the ends of each candy cane.
2.  Pair candy canes with long stems together.  Attach with tape.
3.  Lay out your wreath, joining the taped pairs so that the crooks form hearts.
4.  Along the stems, run a line of hot glue.  Add a dot of hot glue at each point the candy canes join.
5.  Allow to set, and it's ready to hang!  It won't be stiff, but will be held together well.  Hang on a hook, with ribbon, or however you choose!

* Exact quantity may vary depending on which brand of candy canes you buy.

Easy.  Peasy.

Ours adorns our stairwell window, and is held up by suction hooks.  I love this simple, festive touch to our home!

DIY - Mini Muffin Tin Advent Calendar

It's funny to think that our friends south of the border are celebrating Thanksgiving, when we are in full flung Christmas mode.  But, with Canadian Thanksgiving over a month behind us, I guess it's not surprising.  In fact, tomorrow morning we're heading south to enjoy an early Christmas dinner with my extended family.  On Sunday, we're celebrating Christmas with our immediate family (since my sister won't be able to join us on the day).  After this weekend's celebrations, we'll be heading to Niagara for a short getaway with the kids.   

By the time we get back it will be December!  And, December means that the countdown to Christmas is well and truly on - especially for Miss Mini Muffin.  She is all about Santa these days.  As part of the anticipation, we wanted to introduce the traditional advent calendar.  But, I really struggle with the concept of buying a calendar that essentially gives my toddler chocolate every single day for 24 days.  Chocolate and candies are a treat around here, and don't happen often.  Who knows what havoc that calendar could wreak!  I jest.  I'm sure it would be fine.  But, it did get me wondering if I could put together an advent calendar for her that was more suited to our home environment and her personal tastes.  Pinterest to the rescue! I kid you not, Pinterest is both my best friend and worst enemy; so many amazing ideas, yet so little time!

This week, in and amongst our normal routines and getting organised for our upcoming getaway, I took some time to create an advent calendar for Mini Muffin.  It was a great break from the laundry, packing, baking, wrapping, errands and general Christmas prep. 

And here it is - Mini Muffin's Mini Muffin Advent Calendar!



The Final Product!

To make your own, you'll need:

• one mini muffin tin
• 24 small treats - mini muffin tins are shallow, so they need to be small
• 24x  2" cardstock squares (my squares are actually 2"x2.5" rectangles and work well)
• any decorations you'd like to use
• self adhesive magnets
• ribbon to hang

24 days worth of treats

I started out at the dollar store, looking for little treats.  I ended up with a collection of stickers, balloons, hair clips, and a few larger items (pencil, Christmas sticker activity book, antler headband).  Naturally, I did pick up a few candies too.  Every advent calendar needs a few sweets!

Over the next week or so I thought about how to cover the muffin cups.  I knew it would be a piece of cardstock with magnets on the back, but the exact size and design was up in the air.  After I finally had my concept in mind, I pulled out the muffin tin to discover... the holes were much closer than I remembered and my grand idea wouldn't work after all.  Boo. 

I figured I'd just dive in and figure it out as I went along, so I opened up a pad of Christmas scrapbooking paper I bought on clearance a few years ago.  The stars must have been aligned because the first page I flipped to had a calendar on it... and the numbers were the perfect size!  Seriously, what are the odds?  So, I cut them out, affixed the magnets, and filled the tin.  For the larger items, I wrote a little clue on where to find them (and put a reminder in my phone so that the treat gets into its hiding spot in time!).

The final challenge was hanging it.  My tin doesn't have a hole in it, and I intend to continue using it for baking once December is over, so I needed to get a bit creative.  In the end, I took the strongest magnets from my fridge, and used them to hold the ribbon onto the back of the tin.  It's been three days and it's still holding strong, so I think my solution is going to do just fine!

All in all, this was an easy and fun craft to do for my little one, and I am so happy with the final product!  I'm really looking forward to her discovering her treat each day as we move the numbers from the tin to a line down the kitchen door.  And once Christmas has past, all I have to do is pack away the cardstock until next year!

Overnight Pumpkin Oats

While I was pregnant with LSM, I had a pretty big appetite and found myself wanting to snack most of my work morning.  After many attempts at satisfying snacks, I found an overnight oats recipe that fit the bill.  It was healthy, filling, and big enough that I could snack on it all morning long!  Even better, they're super simple to make at night, and oh so quick to grab in the morning.  Now that I'm a mom of two and busy running around the house, I split it in two.  The first half I had while Mini Muffin had her breakfast, and the second half I finished off while she had her morning snack. 

The recipe is from Iowa Girl Eats (here: http://iowagirleats.com/2010/02/03/a-day-in-the-life-of-ige/).  This recipe would also be appropriate for toddlers and older babies (without the almonds).  I hope you enjoy them!

Pumpkin Overnight Oats

1/3 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c pumpkin purée
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
cinnamon to taste
1 banana
Handful almonds (optional)

1.  Mix first four ingredients into a bowl, jar or container.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2.  Serve with sliced banana and almonds.


Really, that's it.  So simple, and so delicious!

Conversation with an Eight Month Old

Little Smiling Man has had a massive week!  He went from scootching with a bit of army crawl to a very efficient and speedy army crawl.  He also started properly crawling.  And, he learnt to sit up all by himself!  What a week! 

All of this new found freedom makes the world a very exciting place.  Combine this with what I expect may be a new tooth or two on the way, and the result is a sudden reluctance to nap (or sleep in general).  Ah, the joys of an overtired baby.  Of course little sleep, chasing him around the house and realising that a whole new level of baby proofing is required, has made for one busy mama!

On Friday, I found myself having a mental conversation with Little Smiling Man that I thought I would share.  Of course, for his responses I translated from babbles, screeches, whines and cries.  So, while not exact, the translation below gives a good overall flavour for our exchange.  For simplicity, I've shortened Little Smiling Man to LSM.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mama: "LSM, it's time for a nap!"
LSM:   "But I don't want a nap."

*LSM rubs eyes*

Mama: "Yes LSM, it's time for a nap.  You're very tired, you've been up since 10:00 and it's now 2:00.  That is too long for someone as small as you.  We've tried to get you down for a nap since lunchtime and thus far have failed.  Now, no more excuses, it is time for a nap."
LSM:   "No.  I'm not tired."
Mama: "Yes, you are.  The bags under your eyes have become steamer trunks.  You are tired."
LSM:   "No.  I said I am not tired.  I want to crawl and explore."
Mama: "Napping will give you lots of energy for further exploration.  Just a little rest, and then you can get back to crawling and exploring."
LSM:   "Not. A. Chance.  I have been waiting my entire life to crawl.  Literally my entire life.  I am not stopping now.  I refuse to stop."

*LSM rubs his eyes and yawns*

Mama: "LSM, this is getting ridiculous.  Come have a cuddle with me.  We'll just relax and see if you drift off for a little rest."
LSM:   "Out of the question.  I must continue to move."

*LSM rolls onto tummy and starts rocking back and forth on all fours, then sits up and starts playing with Mama's sweater.  Mama keeps rubbing his back and trying to settle him.*

Mama: "<Sigh> We'll just hang out, and whenever you show the slightest move towards sleep, I will help you to nap."
LSM:   "You're in for a long wait, Mama.  I will not stop moving.  Ever."

.... 58 minutes later.....

LSM:  "Why do I feel so tired!?!  I just want to crawl and explore and crawl and explore.  Is that so much to ask!?!  Why, oh why do I feel so tired!?!?"

*LSM lies on belly, head down on his fists and starts to cry*

Mama: "Remember how I told you that a little rest would give you more energy for exploring?  You need a little rest for that, and to help you feel better.  Here, I'll rub your back."

..... 24 minutes later....

LSM:   "Zzzzzzz......"
Mama: "That was epic. Time to close my eyes!"

..... 34 minutes later....

LSM:   "Let me up!  Time to explore!  Time to see the world!  What did I miss?  What can I get into?"
Mama: "And it begins once again...."

Autumn Pumpkin Muffins - Kidlet Approved!

Now that everyone is healthy again, and I'm moderately rested, we're working on getting back to normal.  Along with sleep and energy levels, appetites are also returning to normal, and I had a can of pumpkin purée staring at me from the pantry.  Obviously it was time to make some muffins with Mini Muffin!

We glanced around the internet for some recipes - many we didn't have all the ingredients for, most had too much sugar for our taste, and very few had any whole wheat goodness.  So, working from typical ingredient ratios, we created our own!  I thought I'd capture the recipe here while it's still fresh in my mind -

Autumn Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon*
1 1/2 tsp ginger*
1/8 tsp cloves
Pinch of pepper
1 1/2 c pumpkin purée
1/2 c plain yogurt
1/2 c melted butter
2 eggs
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 c chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F, and line muffin pan with liners.
2.  Blend together first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.  * A note on spices - these muffins are lightly spiced.  I enjoy rich cinnamon and ginger flavours so if I was making these just for me (or adults), I would double the spice.  However, the spice level listed seems to be perfect for the little taste buds in my house!
3.  Mix all wet ingredients, and add in dry.  Mix until just combined.
4.  If desired, add raisins, chocolate chips and/or walnuts.  We made ours without any extras since I wanted Little Smiling Man to be able to enjoy them, and when presented with raisins or chocolate chips Mini Muffin seems to like to pick them out and neglect the rest of the muffin!
5.  Fill muffin cups. The batter will be quite stiff, so won't change shape when baking, and also won't run over from the muffin papers.
6.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until a tested comes out clean.

Makes ~12 regular sized muffins; adding optional ingredients would yield a few extra muffins.

And, there you have it!  Mini Muffin stirred all the dry ingredients for me as I added things to the bowl.  She also had a go at combining the wet and dry ingredients, but the batter was a bit stiff for her, so Mama finished it off!  She was also thrilled when I ran out of plain muffin papers and broke into my Christmas stash.  Santa is going to be a VERY big deal this year!

After watching them bake, Mini Muffin was the first to taste test them; she ate an entire muffin and asked for another.  They have been her go to snack request since then.  Little Smiling Man has been loving them as well!  They're soft and light, so perfect for a baby learning how to manage finger foods.  They're also moist enough to reasonably withstand being held in a baby fist.  He saw me eating one without him this morning and started squawking until I shared it with him.  The best part in my opinion, is that everyone is thoroughly enjoying eating an extra little bit of pumpkin (about 2 tbsp. of purée per muffin)... and all those great vitamins that come along with it!

Since I have a partial can of pumpkin purée left, you'll likely be seeing more yummy pumpkin recipes here.  Stay tuned!

Nap Time Power Struggles - Progress!!

As I mentioned in my "magic happens at daycare" post, nap time with Mini Muffin has been both a trial and a tribulation.  We ensure that she gets lots of physical activity, a good diet and lots of mental stimulation.  Yet, nap time has been tough.  I've had quite a few lucky days, where after driving the long way home she's fallen asleep in the car and could be transferred to her bed for a blissfully long nap.  But, on the days that didn't happen, it's been hours of frustration.

No two children are the same, and certainly what works sleep wise for one, may not work for another.  But, I thought I'd share a progress update on the napping front.  And, perhaps my discovery for Mini Muffin could also help with some other wilful toddler out there.

About two weeks ago, I'd officially had enough.  Enough frustration.  Enough yelling, screaming and crying (on both our parts).  And definitely enough of spending in excess of two hours out of my day trying to get my angel to give in to the nap that she so desperately needs.  It's classic toddler syndrome - tired and in definite need of a nap to recharge, but not wanting to miss a thing.  In addition, it became clear to me that she and I were locked in a power struggle.  As Mini Muffin asserts more independence, sometimes she just needs to rebel against her mama... even if she's very tired and in need of a rest and Mama is offering that rest.  The more I pushed for a nap, the harder she pushed against it and me.  The harder she pushed against me, the more wound up (and less likely to fall asleep) she got, which resulted in me pushing even harder for a nap, and on and on the cycle went. 

One Monday, henceforth referred to as Miraculous Monday, I decided not to push nap time.  We finished up lunch, and then headed upstairs as usual.  Potty break, curtains left partially open, special story (a long French animal book she loves but that Daddy won't read at bedtime), Gro clock, and then the chaos broke out (on her part).  I kept it together, and told her that she didn't need to nap, but she did need to stay in her room.  She could read, play, whatever she wanted, but it had to be quiet and it had to be in her room.  Then I left.  We had a couple of hours of mayhem, mostly involving her leaving her room, and me sending her back in.  Eventually she figured out that I really wasn't making her nap, had some quiet time with books and then... knocked at her door.  I answered it.  She crawled into bed, pulled up her covers and asked for a back rub.  Two minutes later she was asleep.

The next day she played for another two hours, but with no complaints or issues with staying in her room.  I kept an eye on her via the monitor.  Again, she knocked on the door when she was ready.  Zero frustration on my part!  Since then, the time she takes to settle varies from ten minutes to two hours.  Lately it's been more in the ten minute range.  Literally, the last three days she has finished her lunch, told me it's time for her nap and headed on upstairs.  Potty, curtains partially open, special story, Gro clock, and a back rub.  I've been back downstairs in ten minutes.  Flat. 

Who knew that not pushing a nap would result in an easier nap?  It's so counter intuitive to me!  My theory is that she feels in control of when she naps, and since it's her decision she's calmer and therefore able to fall asleep.  Or something to that effect.

A bit more about our new technique -

• Our routine stays the same up until the Gro clock is set.  From there, it varies based on her mood and readiness for sleep.
• At the first sign of fighting sleep, I remind her of the ground rules and leave. 
• If she takes a long time to settle, we do have a wake up time (to ensure night time sleep is possible). 
• If she didn't end up napping, bedtime would move up a bit. 
• There's no pressure to nap, but I do keep on eye on her via the baby monitor so I'm ready to respond when she's ready for her back rub (and therefore sleep).

It's nowhere near an exact science, but rather an art we're figuring out as we go along.  My vision is that it may also transition well to quiet time when she no longer needs a nap.  We're also considering trying it out at bedtime.  I've heard of crazy people who don't make their kids go to bed, but instead just have a set time after which they have to stay in their room.  It seems so strange to me, but perhaps it's a technique that works with Mini Muffin's personality.  Time will tell!

I'm sure it won't work forever, but it's working now, and I am so grateful to have a truce in the nap time power struggles.

Poor Second Baby

Our house is currently in survival mode. The cause? A sick baby. I'm so grateful for the weekend since my husband is home to help keep the ship upright, if not on its usual course.

It all started in the wee hours of Friday morning, Mini Muffin woke up with a miserable stomach bug. Luckily it passed and by Friday afternoon she was back to normal except for reduced appetite. Early afternoon though, Little Smiling Man seemed a bit off. Shortly thereafter he developed a low grade fever. By dinner time he was miserable and the fever was high grade. Hubby got home and I spent hours sitting in the dark, comforting him, and most of the night either rocking him or with him asleep on my chest. Saturday he bounced from fine to feverishly miserable on a whim as we tried to keep him comfortable, allow a low grade fever to do its job but not let a high grade fever take over, and of course keep the toddler fed and busy.

In my hours of holding my little sleeping furnace, who seems to wake crying if I even think about putting him down, I have found myself reflecting on sickness in our house since Mini Muffin was born almost two and a half years ago. The differences between her and her little brother's experiences are significant.

Mini Muffin caught her first cold at five months, and a second one around eight months.  We stayed home and cuddled her better. We avoided any kid with even the slightest runny nose at play group. And, she stayed pretty much healthy. Mini Muffin had her first high fever at one year three weeks, her first week of daycare. And, every few weeks for months thereafter she had a fever, cold, flu or all of the above. Mama looked after her, or grandma came to help out so mama could go to work. It was tough, and I cursed those daycare bugs, and the parents that sent their kids to daycare sick to infect my baby. Finally, it seemed like she'd built up her immunity and the frequency of illness thankfully dropped off. These days, she's a pretty healthy kid with (what I suspect to be) a pretty strong immune system.

Little Smiling Man, however, has had all the bugs his sister carries around to contend with.  He had his first cold at three weeks, and I'm not actually sure how many more he's had over the months.  He gets through it as we're out and about at parks, playgroups, or other activities.  They really don't seem to have much of an effect on his mood at all.  And, I'm careful to keep his drooled on toys away from the healthy babies around him.  When Mini Muffin is under the weather we do our best with hygiene, and avoiding the kisses and licks (yes, licks) that Mini Muffin loves to give her brother.  It's a rather futile battle though.  When he was small, I could baby wear, or have him out of her reach.  These days, he's all about exploring via rolling, scooching and crawling backwards.  There's really no protecting him from his sister's germ-ridden love.  And so, he had his first fever at 7.5 months.  Poor second baby.

I am, however, hopeful that all of these sniffles and warm foreheads are building up one wicked immune system.  And, maybe there's an end in sight to the incessant bugs floating around our house.  A mama can hope, right?