Tickle me plants
About two years ago we visited the Eden project in Cornwall (UK) where my husband and I at some point spent a good 15 minutes playing with a plant that would react to our touch by closing its leaves! So cute! It was as if the plant was communicating with us!
I recently found out that this specific plant is called a Mimosa Pudica, or ‘Tickle me plant’, and that growing one yourself is apparently super, super-easy!
The seeds will sprout within a couple of days and become ‘ticklish’ in about a month. The kids can see it grow and finally play with it as if it were a pet! The plant even appears to go to sleep at night by closing its leaves.
In the US, you can buy Tickle-me-plant-seeds specifically aimed at children, but it might be a cheaper option to google Mimosa Pudica and check with garden centres in your own country. (In the Netherlands you can buy the seeds of ‘Kruidje-roer-me-niet’ here.)
xxx Esther
P.S. You can see a short video of a Tickle-me-plant here…
An easy life
I’m all for an easy life at the moment. It could be because I’ve just moved home and am up to my eyeballs in boxes. Or it could be because I’m rushed off my feet at work. But when I saw this product I thought, “yes, yes, yes”.
One of the reasons I stopped pureeing food was because it took so bloomin’ long to spoon the quantities into ice cubes. It took FOREVER. But this clever little invention from Qubies means you can just pour your pureed food into the tray and the little plastic device separates it for you. Finally, an invention that is really going to save me time.
-Natalie
LOL x
In the US and other English speaking countries you had the “Breakfast Club”. In France we had a movie called “La Boum”, the ultimate 1980s teen movie. It was the movie that propelled Sophie Marceau into stardom. It had a very simple plot: teenage girl fancies boy and wants to have a party at her house and in parallel her parents are having marital problems… It all results in a happy ending. The whole package came with a catchy soundtrack and we all LOVED it.
Some clever French Film writer has revived the idea and a film called LOL just came out in France; this time casting Sophie Marceau in the role of the mother instead of the daughter. I went to see it recently with a girlfriend (we loved it) and it turned out to be a very seminal moment in my life. I suddenly realised that I was not identifying with the teenage heroine but with her mother!!! I don’t think that has ever happened to me before. Granted she is a trendy, good looking mother… but still, I think I have finally realised that I am not a teenager anymore. (more…)
No-knead bread
A bit over two years ago there was a little article in the NY Times with a recipe for ‘No-Knead Bread’. I remember reading this article (I even watched the video), totally impressed with how easy it seemed and how yummy that bread looked. I scribbled down the recipe and threw it into my recipe notebook. All I needed was a cast-iron pot and I could be on my way to making this bread…
Little did I know that I was one of thousands of people who read that article, watched the video, and vowed to become the next bread baker. The ‘no-knead bread’ recipe now has quite the cult following, and there’s no doubt why: it really is that easy and that yummy!
It took me two years to finally attempt it (actually, my husband first took the plunge), but we are now completely obsessed. This bread is SO DARN GOOD! Crispy on the outside, soft and light on the inside. Seriously, you must, must try it.
-Courtney
Heart-shaped paper clips
The blogosphere is full of Valentine’s day craft projects… they are really everywhere!
This one I found on How about orange… sent me back in time, more than 20 years! I perfectly remember being a teenager and bending paper clips to turn them into little hearts all the time. They would mostly decorate the pages of my school diary, nothing very exciting.
But you can use them to place name tags or cards on Valentine’s day gifts, or to decorate place cards if you are hosting a Valentine’s dinner.
Simple and cute!
-Michela
Heart cards
Besides a few anonymous cards that were sent between secret lovers (mostly between smitten teenagers, to be specific), we don’t have an actual Valentines tradition here in the Netherlands.
The last 15 years however, it seems that Valentine’s Day has become a holiday celebrating love in general instead of the more mysterious anonymous love it was traditionally about. Lovely, of course. I mean, we can’t celebrate the wonderful things in life enough… but it’s all gotten a bit too commercial for my taste. All those bright red hearts and teddy bears around town are not really my thing.
The cute folded hearts by Martha Steward pictured on the left are, and I’m going to try to make some this week with my daughter. Because this year we are expecting some special and much loved visitors for Valentines day…
xxx Esther
Packing tips!
This week over at Cookie mag’s Going Places blog, they’re featuring a week of packing tips from all the traveling experts.
Of course we had to chime in… with all our traveling experience.
So head on over to ‘Going Places’ to check out our tips… some of which were learned the hard way — like forgetting nappies for the baby, holding a baby with a diarrhea explosion on your lap when the seat belt sign was ON, and waiting three days for the airline to find your lost luggage… yikes!!
-Courtney
The perfect travel bag
Packing is hard; packing with kids around is doubly hard. There are so many things that need to be remembered. I am a bit of a scatter-brain, and the amount of times we have gone on holiday and suddenly noticed that we had forgotten nappies for the youngest or socks for the eldest are more than I care to list.
This is why I love the travel luggage by Fee Dodo. The idea is very simple… Modern kids travel a lot, so why not have a suitcase adapted to kids? The suitcase is super cute and incredibly well designed. On the outside you find a big pocket that fits a washable changing mat. On the inside there are pockets for a child’s heath book and documentation and several ingenious zip-up bags. One is shaped like giant underwear, one looks like a washing machine, a third is for toiletries, a fourth is a little medical kit bag. It makes it super easy to pack, unpack and most importantly, it makes it super easy and fun for kids to help pack and keep their gear in the right place.
Fee Dodo have also designed a clever school back pack and kid’s travel bag that can be strapped on the front seat of a car. (more…)
Just awful
As I’m sure many of you know by now, Australia has just experienced its worst natural disaster after ravaging bush fires killed hundreds of people and destroyed many more homes. I received an email yesterday from a woman in my mother’s group who said that her brother had lost his home and all its contents, and she had rushed to the shops to buy supplies for his eight-day-old baby. That’s right. Eight days old! I can’t imagine what it must be like to cope with a disaster of that magnitude with a newborn.
Then on the news last night there was an image of a woman carrying a baby capsule. I’m not sure how old that baby was but it just cut me up that she was also in the midst of upheaval with such a young baby. This weekend I’m going to go through all the clothes that my eight-month-old baby has outgrown and donate them to the Red Cross. There are several ways people can help: (more…)
Beads frame
This simple and colourful beads frame was my Christmas present to our 1-year-old daughter and I am quite pleased with the choice. It’s not too big, so it’s perfect for crowded city apartments, yet the beads have to go through a fairly intricate scheme of wires to go from one end to the other.
I admit it is still a bit too difficult for her, but the big beads are relatively easy to catch so she can already play with them. I suspect, and hope, this toy will last for a while, because together with moving the beads and developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills it can be used to learn shapes and colours.
Wonderworld is a small company that has been producing high quality wooden toys using only rubber wood coming from replenishable resources for over 20 years. They retail all over the world; check their website for stockists and/or addresses.
-Michela
Finger food
Yesterday my daughter’s girlfriend came over to play and stayed for dinner. It’s so amazing to witness the friendship between two female pre-schoolers – one moment they are hugging each other on the floor, the next they are pulling each other’s hair out. My daughter has a disadvantage here; she has less hair.
Part of the dinner I served to them (and to the rest of the family) is pictured on the right. It was a huge success! An easy (and well known) way to get your children to eat their veggies is to serve them vegetable sticks and a dip-sauce. I used raw red peppers and cucumbers, and slightly cooked carrot sticks and green beans. (Of course I could also have used celery or courgette, etc.)
I made the dip-sauce pink by mixing Greek yogurt with tomato ketchup — a really good find, if I may say so myself. Obviously anything pink is good to start with for the girls, but the ketchup also made the yogurt a bit sweeter.
All the children finished their plates, and so did my husband.
xxx Esther
Last-minute printable Valentine’s cards
If you are like me and are scrambling at the last minute to write and send your Valentine’s Day cards, you’re going to love this concept…
Super cute Etsy shop, Little Brown Pen, creates printable pdf cards and stationery. All you need is paper and a color printer! The process is easy: you choose your design, pay a small fee (only $5!), and then you can print as many Valentine’s cards as you like! Perfect for your kids to take to all their classmates… (or for you to send to all your lovers)!
-Courtney
(via BabyGadget)
Gorgeous decorating finds
I was rushing about trying to find a first birthday present for my best friend’s son this morning and in the process discovered Cocoon Couture. And not only did I love the product but I was thrilled when I turned over the packaging and saw that it was in fact an Australian company. Woohoo! I LOVE when I find locally designed products.
I definitely want to get one of their oh-so-cute bean bags. And, next time I have a baby (am I talking next time, already?!) I will get one of their gorgeous hanging mobiles.
-Natalie
Very Sisters
I have a little silver necklace with a little silver pendant dangling from it. I was given it as a present when I was about 3 years old and I wore it all the time — it even has my little tooth marks on it, as I used to bite on it when I was tired.
I rediscovered it a couple of years ago and have started wearing it again. Both my daughters loved it when they were tiny. It would distract them when I changed their nappies, as it dangled over their heads, just out of their reach.
I discovered Very Sisters, a new French jewelry company that specialises in jewelry for moms and their daughters, whilst trying to find a present for a friend who just had a baby (after all, the mom did all the work).
Their jewelry is beautiful and so simple. I especially love their baby ball pendant. It is a simple silver ball attached to a simple silver chain. Inside of it is a little bell. It looks cute and a baby can spend hours playing with it and the little sounds that come out of it. The perfect gift for a new mother, her baby and generations to come.
- Emilie
One meatless day per week?
My husband is, if I can toot my own husband’s horn for a minute, one of the most forward-thinking people I know. He has been on the environmentally conscious bandwagon since before it ever became the thing to do. And, while he kills me sometimes with his turning off of every wall switch, electric appliance, and even our heating like an obsessively crazed man, I adore him for his commitment to the environment.
This is why, when a couple months ago I noticed him opting for more vegetarian meals instead of the hearty/meaty meals he normally goes for, I knew that there must be something more at stake than his health. And indeed there was: farm animals around the world, he told me, generate more carbon emissions than even cars, buses and airplanes combined. Can you believe that? And, apparently eating less meat creates less demand for, and in turn fewer, farm animals.
This article in the New York Times offers an interesting perspective on the issue, and has encouraged us to think about our meals and to try (even though it’s difficult) to go without meat at least one day a week.
-Courtney
il Rosa al Caminetto
Il Rosa al Caminetto is the restaurant of a 4 star hotel behind the Duomo, in the very centre of Milan. Thanks to Marcello Forti, a young entrepreneur and new dad, the restaurant has taken a turn and become quite family friendly.
First of all, children under 8 eat free on any day, lunch or dinner. Then they have a big amount of crayons, markers and colouring books which they will happily bring to the young customers to keep busy while waiting for their meals…or while waiting for their parents to eat their own (a rare thing to find in Milan!).
We were there on a Sunday lunch when they serve an Italian version of brunch. There was a starter buffet with cheese, cold cuts, salads, quiche and grilled vegetables. This was followed by an entree and a main course, and we finished the lunch with a trip to the dessert trolley! (more…)
Totem
Last weekend my husband, 3-year-old daughter and I had so much fun together… We took the most out of the afternoon nap of our cute (but very destructive) toddler and decided to play with Kidsonroof’s fantastic building system called Totem. Totem is a mix between building blocks and model building and is made out of very sturdy recycled and biodegradable cardboard. They have the most beautiful patterns on them, like flowers, animals, coins and other mysterious prints, so for starters it all looks really, really cool. And all the Totem models are compatible with each-other, so with a little bit of fantasy you can make creatures of your own imagination!
We just followed the instructions (we’re beginners after all) and built a church, a dragonfly, a rooster and a spider. They turned out beautifully. I really enjoy seeing them on my window sill!! (more…)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Left, right, man, woman, black, white…• A little organization (and a lot of cool)!
A simple straw
I have just had a revelation which is making my life a lot easier: I have taught my 8-month-old baby to drink with a straw! By teaching, I mean that I put a glass of water in front of her and stuck a straw in it and waited… sure enough after having a bit of a chew on it, she started sucking and emptied most of the glass. This might be completely obvious to everyone, but I had no idea that a baby could do that!
I have to explain that I am not always the most organised person. I have a tendency to change plans and don’t usually have all the “right” baby equipment with me. So this new trick is great: Today I lost track of time and suddenly realised it was lunch time. We decided to pop into a little restaurant for lunch — I ordered a vegetable soup and a piece of bread for the baby, asked for a glass of water and a straw and away she went: minimal mess, no fuss. My little girl is growing up fast….
(In case anyone is wondering: I did actually have to feed her the soup and hold the glass for her, she was not sitting on a chair doing all of that by herself. She is not THAT advanced at 8 months!)
- Emilie
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Left, right, man, woman, black, white…• A little organization (and a lot of cool)!
Shadow puppets
When you have a child with a particular obsession or interest, it’s funny how we as parents feed it. I have a son whom, as you know, is wild about sea creatures. It’s not the usual temporary phase (you know… one month dinosaurs, the next month trains), but one that has lasted for well over a year now. The boy is obsessed. So, of course I’ve given him every book you can possibly find about whales, fish, sharks, etc. The boy has every Schleich sea creature they make, and we continue to feed his curiosity with new and educating products.
This Whale Tales shadow puppet kit by Orange Moon Toys is the most recent addition to his sea creature collection, and it is by far one of our favorites! The kit includes six different whales, a set of movable and removable puppet sticks, and a fun fact card which gives a brief description of each whale. (more…)
Vlijtig
One night I was browsing the internet a little (just a little), and I’m not sure how I ended up on Kristel’s website, vlijtig, but I’m very glad I did! Because besides the fact that her blog is an interesting and inspiring read, Kristel also makes the cutest personalised stamps, and of course I just had to order two stamps for my children…
I sent Kristel some photos and the names of my children, and the stamps arrived today and I think they turned out super cute!
What a fun way to name drawings, thank-you cards and letters and such…
Also a great birthday present, coming to think of it!!!
xxx Esther
