Pinterest Thursday - Bathtub Finger Paints

We awoke to a rainy day which I'll admit, I welcomed with open arms. We've had such a beautiful but dry summer here in Seattle. My plants are gulping down the water and I'm happy to have a day at home. The rain did mean that I had to step up my toddler entertainment though. I was texting with a friend who said she was going to break out the finger paints for her kid which got me searching on Pinterest. I wanted to make something at home because I didn't want to go outside to gather supplies. 

These paints took about 5 minutes to make and that includes gathering the supplies. I used some sterile (unused) jars I had from the doctor's office to store the finished paints.

I stripped Molly down and put her in a swim diaper. I knew I'd be writing this post and no nakid bits will be shown on my blog! You could just strip your child down to their bare bottoms without any issues. 

I gave Molly an old make-up brush and the paints. She quickly got to work, yelling that she was coloring while giggling. My bathtub quickly looked like an abstract painting! No worries though, the  clean-up was easy peasy. 

She played in the tub with the paints for almost an hour. I finally told her that it was time to get out so we could have lunch which led to an epic temper tantrum. Well at least we know the finger painting was a HUGE hit! 

Backyard Summer Fun

Now that the sun is finally here, we are spending a lot of time in our backyard. I'm able to sit under the table umbrella while Molly runs her little self ragged. Keeping up with Molly takes a lot of energy so I enjoy moments when I can watch her play and recharge a bit myself. 

We have special toys that are allocated just for the outside. I do this so that our more delicate inside toys are not dragged outside and destroyed and nor are our rugged and dirty outside toys brought inside to leave trails of dirt around my already un-tidy house. 

The mainstay of our backyard fun is a toddler pool. Last year we had a Crab pool but I can't currently find it in the mess of our basement (that project is nearing completion and I can not wait to tell you all about it) so I bought a new rainbow pool. I figure when I find the other pool, we'll have dueling pools for summer fun! 

Molly also has a fun car that I found at the thrift store for $15! It's provided us with hours of fun. It also works as a containment center when outside since she can't get out of it without some help. 



I picked up a cheap shovel and bucket set at Target for the beach but I've since had to replace it with a sturdier shovel and bucket set from Melissa & Doug. Molly also uses this in the backyard to pour water in and out of the pool. 

I picked up a hula-hoop for Molly because she loved them so much in gymnastics class. I roll it across the grass and Molly runs after it. Sometimes I attempt to hula-hoop myself but that is an exhausting and hilarious scene. I also picked up a few balls since Molly loves them. We have one in the car for park visits and two at the house. 

I decided against a water table for now since we already have the kiddie pool but I am looking into either buying a sandbox or building one for Molly. I'll need to make sure it has a lid through since the neighborhood cats love hanging out in our backyard and I sense that they will see a sandbox as a giant kitty box. 

What kind of backyard toys do you have? What is your kid's favorite outdoor toy? 

Cooking with a Little Cookie Monster

A Facebook (and foodie friend) recently mentioned that she loved cooking with her 20-month-old son and that he had recently made his first item all by himself (she did measure out all the ingredients and closely supervised him). I love cooking and I really want to help foster that love in Molly.

 

After her nap yesterday, I decided that it was the perfect day to teach her how to bake. It was a rainy day and there was no way we were going to head to the park for our usual afternoon jaunt. I set up all the ingredients to make the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. I originally posted this recipe back in 2009 and they are still my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.When Molly woke up, I told her that we were going to bake! She clapped her hands in excitement and ran toward the kitchen. I got her up on her learning tower and showed her the ingredients. She started immediately eating the chocolate chips! Pro-tip here, hide the chocolate chips until the end so that you have some left for your cookies.

 

I showed her how to pour the ingredients into the mixer and we started baking. She loved putting her hand on top of the KitchenAid Mixer and watching it go. There were a few bumps in the process such as when she poured most of the salt onto the counter but I was able to sweep that back into the bowl without a problem. Overall, Molly was so proud of herself and we had so much fun!

 

Once everything was mixed, I scooped out the dough onto the cookie sheets while Molly licked the beater attachment. I remember that was my favorite part of baking as a kid and I had to let Molly do the same. She LOVED it and wouldn't give it back to me when all the dough had been licked off. I created a cookie dough monster who wanted to eat all the cookie dough.

The cookies as usual come out just right and were delicious. Sadly, Molly didn't have any of the finished product. She was too full from eating the dough and stealing chocolate chips.

Here is the recipe again. It's so good that I encourage everyone to make some cookies this weekend! 

"The Cookbook Chronicles" Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

makes 34-36 3″ cookies

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup demerara sugar

1 3/4 cups packed, dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup + 1 tbsp bread flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (not table salt!), plus either fleur de sel for sprinkling over top

18 oz. 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition.

2. Add the vanilla extract, the flours, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, beat the mixture until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a Silpat. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll it until it forms a sphere between your palms. Place the dough on the baking sheet (8 cookies per sheet), giving them room to spread. Dust the tops of each ball of dough with a little demerara sugar, and a tiny bit of fleur de sel or vanilla salt.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven on the middle rack for 12-13 minutes. (Do not bake these on the bottom rack in the oven–the high proportion of brown sugar will cause the bottoms to darken too much.) At this time, the cookies should have taken on a golden brown color all around the edge, but still look very soft in the center–like hot cookie dough. Remove the tray from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool directly on the tray for 10 minutes before eating.

Toddler Eating On-The-Go!

Molly and I like to get out and explore. We visit the zoo, we go to the park, we have play dates at friend's houses. A lot of times these adventures mean that we are away from the house for lunch. I like to pack food for us as I don't like to spend a lot of money eating out everyday and to be honest, the items on most kid's menus are not to my liking. I mean how many chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese and fries lunches should one kid have in a week. I also like that I have food ready to go when Molly is hungry. There is no looking for a place to eat or waiting for food to be ready. We can be munching on lunch within minutes.

Of course, packing a toddler's lunch means that I have a honed a small collection of containers that I think are perfect for packing and eating lunch on the go.



I pack a lot of snacks in our Innobaby Smart Storage System. It's got a little handle which makes carrying super easy. Each of the tiers comes apart and can be used separately or together. The great thing about this item is that I was able to use it when Molly was still on formula but now I use it for snacks. I pack cheerios, grapes, cheese, blueberries, etc in it.

 

Molly likes to take her milk on the road so we put that in our Thermos Foogo Leak-proof straw cup. It keeps her milk nice and cold. It also doesn't leak as much as other cups we've used.

 

I also love the green sprouts sproutware snack cups for bigger food items. They hold about 4 oz of food and are perfect for pasta, peas, beans and other treats. We used these a lot when Molly first started on purees. I would put the frozen cube of food into them the night before and then she would eat the defrosted cube for meals the next day. Now we use them for leftovers and lunches.



For snacks on the go, we rely on our Munchkin Snack Catcher which is awesome for cut-up fruit, crackers, dried fruit and cheerios.

I usually put all of the lunch food into my old Medela pump cooler with a reusable ice pack. It's the perfect size for a toddler lunch and even leaves some room for my food. There are some super cute lunch bags out there though and when Molly heads off to preschool, I'll be packing her lunch in those.

Toddler Lifejackets

Molly is a true water baby. She loves being in the water more than anything else in life. We attend swimming lessons once a week (and starting in June, twice a week), visit the beach as much as possible and take lots of baths. 



As the weather begins to hopefully warm up, I plan to spend even more time at the beach and lake. I've been concerned though as Molly is fearless with water and I don't want her to drown. Last week a friend sent me information about life jacket sales through Seattle Parks & Rec.



On Saturday, we headed over to Greenlake to get Molly her very own life jacket  The people selling the life jackets were great! They weighed Molly and then fitted her for a life jacket  We ended up getting one that was slightly too big with the directions to really tighten it up when she wears it because she was on the cusp of sizes. 



I'm looking forward to playing with Molly this summer in the water and I feel better knowing that she'll being wearing a life jacket that will help prevent accidents. 

FUTURE LIFE JACKET SALES: Seattle Parks and Recreation will hold sales of low cost life jackets on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Evans Pool at Greenlake on the following dates: June 15th, July 20th, August 17th and September 21st. Life jackets are $20 for infant and youth sizes and $30 for adults. 

Sneak Preview at the Zoo

The Zoo offered a sneak preview today of their brand new exhibit, the Bamboo Forest Reserve which features Sloth Bears and Asian small-clawed otters along with a fun play area for children. My Mom, Molly and I attended the sneak peak and had so much fun!



We arrived shortly before the 1:30 pm opening and stood in a very long line that lucky moved very quickly. Once inside, Molly snagged a sticker along with my Mom (everyone wanted stickers!). We made our way over to the Asian small-clawed otter exhibit where there was a huge crowd. We were able to get a great look at the elusive otters by patiently waiting for them. They darted out and then quickly darted back into their den. It's as if they didn't know they were the featured exhibit today. Or maybe they did know and just didn't want to be seen.



We next moved onto the Sloth Bear exhibit where we saw a very nice area but NO BEARS! They were being extremely sloth-like and hiding. Sneaky bears. We will just have to see them on another visit.



Molly and I checked out the new nature play area but it was really for older kids than Molly. It is a lot of fun but I think Molly felt overwhelmed. After checking out the play area, Molly and I got a photo with a GIANT OTTER. We almost had a re-enactment of Santa Claus but luckily we were able to avoid an incident and got a few fun photos.



We then took our time exploring the rest of the zoo and Molly conned my Mother into buying her a stuffed animal. She's getting quite good at the stuffed animal con.



Molly fell asleep on the way home and is now enjoying an epic nap. I think it was a very good outing! I can't wait to explore the new exhibit on calmer days and to see all the animals when they are finally in their new homes.

A Childless Weekend

This past weekend, Scott and I spent our first weekend away from Molly. She spent her weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house while we enjoyed a quiet night a home. It was awesome but we also missed having our little tornado around.



On Saturday, we woke up and I headed out to have my hair done. Scott and Molly met me for lunch and we enjoyed a fantastic meal at Mezcaleria Oaxaca. After picking up some supplies for Molly's weekend away, we headed home for nap time. I used nap time to quickly pack all the supplies that Molly would need for her overnight. Scott laughed when he saw the very full trunk of the car. I may have sent too much but I wanted to make sure that my parents had everything that they needed for the overnight. When Molly woke up, we loaded her into the car and headed to my parent's house.



After dropping her off and telling my parents way too much about Molly's needs and desires, we headed out for some cocktails. I ordered a Guiness and Bushmills without thinking it through. I'm not a big hard liquor drinker and I had just ordered a shot of whiskey! Scott laughed at my faces when I tried to gulp it down quickly but ended up sipping it. 




We then headed over to Shanik for dinner. Shanik is a sister restaurant to Vancouver's Vij's and it was DELIGHTFUL! We had some small (free) nibbles while waiting for our table. I enjoyed the Lamp Popsicles while Scott had the Tenderloin. Everything was perfectly seasoned and the servings were just right. The nann was delicious and the rice just right. 




Because we were out celebrating our anniversary, we decided to round out our evening with a visit to Hot Cakes. We rarely go out in downtown Ballard on weekend nights and it was BUSY. There were tons of people out and about.  Hot Cakes especially packed but we were able to find a table where we could share our molten cake and salted caramel shake. They were delicious! 



We headed home at a respectable 9 p.m. and spent the rest of the evening watching movies without interruption. The cats were so excited to have a Molly-free house. They were practically dancing with excitement when we came home. 



In the morning, I got up for my 7 mile training run and left Scott to sleep. He loves sleeping in but sadly never gets the opportunity to do so anymore. I've never been one to sleep in so heading out to my training run was the perfect Sunday morning activity for me. We were both happy with our Sunday mornings. 



I came home after my run and we headed out to Bastille for brunch. I love a good Bastille brunch but we haven't taken Molly since it doesn't feel like a Molly kind of restaurant. I think she'd love the food but I'd have a hard time stomaching the waste when I've spent $15 on an entree. 



After enjoying our brunch and chatting over some coffee, we headed out to explore the Ballard Sunday Market. I picked up some eggs and Scott explored a small camera shop. We took our time looking at all the stalls and really enjoying ourselves. We knew our alone time was slipping away at this point! 







We then headed up to my parent's house to retrieve Molly and hear about her adventures. My parents had taken her out to dinner where she charmed all the waitstaff. She kept them up that night with a few wake-ups :( and then went to church with them in the morning. My Dad said she loved playing in the family room and made sure to connect with all the children. Molly had a very full weekend and was sound asleep before we even left my parent's neighborhood. 



We decided to let her keep sleeping in the car because transfers are iffy and she obviously needed the rest! We kept our weekend food celebration going by stopping at Molly Moon's for some ice cream. I had the seasonal flavors of Lime-Cardamon Fro-Yo and Salted Licorice  They were really good! And pro-tip, you can ask for kid size scoops so you get more flavors but not more ice cream. 



After sitting at Gasworks enjoying our ice cream and letting Molly nap, we headed home where Molly got lots of snuggles. We thought we'd rest the rest of the day inside but Molly wanted us to go outside which led to us trimming the laurel hedge which surrounds our backyard. So much for resting! 



The weekend was a success! My Dad is already talking about the next time which I have already scheduled with him. We have two weddings to attend later this year and they lend themselves nicely to a childless weekend. Also Molly had so much fun that we can not deny her a Grandma and Grandpa weekend! 

PS I was very NOT Whole30 this weekend and while it was delicious, I am already back to eating Whole30. I just feel better when I do.  

Little Green Pouch

I recently bought a 4-pack of the Little Green Pouch and they have been a huge asset for us. I'm kicking myself for not buying these earlier but we have them now and they have already been put to good use.

Molly LOVES her morning yogurt but I detest the mess that a container of yogurt and a spoon in Molly's hands makes. Enter the Little Green Pouch!  I fill it with yogurt and Molly runs around the house (because she does not believe in actually consuming a pouch in her highchair) enjoying her pouch (or pouches as you can see in this photo).

I also love that I can fill the pouches with a smoothie, oatmeal or applesauce. This means a nice reduction in the amount of pouches I'll be buying in the future. Molly isn't a HUGE consumer of pouch food but I've always bought a few each time I've gone to the grocery store just in case. You know, in case we are out and about and she gets hungry; in case I don't feel like making up a whole healthy meal; in case, in case, in case. 

My new love and obsession is the Little Green Pouch. I love how easy they are to fill with good, healthy food and how easy they are to clean.