Babyccino

A Hearty Breakfast for Valentine’s Day!

Esther — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:00:54 +0000

With Valentine’s Day approaching soon, I couldn’t resist purchasing this amazingly cool heart shaped frying pan. I’m not yet sure whether I’ll serve the pancakes or the eggs, or maybe both… But I’m positive my family will love them (and me)!

I got mine from this shop here in the Netherlands, but it’s — among other places — also available from this UK website.

xxx Esther

Love Poems

Natalie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:00:26 +0000

I have to confess that I don’t usually do anything on Valentine’s Day. Many Australians cynically call it “Hallmark Day” — it’s pretty much seen as a commercial exercise. However, I am a romantic. So I thought I’d share a story about one of the best “gifts” I ever received…

One day I was sitting in a cafe waiting for my boyfriend to arrive. All of a sudden a man sat in the chair opposite and started talking to me. I was a little confused about what was happening. Perhaps he had mistaken me for someone else. Or maybe he was a little mad. But little by little I started to recognise the words he was speaking. They were from one of my favourite poems by American poet Frank O’ Hara. Now this was really weird. And then I realised. My boyfriend had been up to this mini performance. I started looking around for him. Sure enough: at the end of the poem he came into view. Smiling a big gummy grin. And I couldn’t stop laughing. All this, for me?

Yes, love can be grand. And has nothing to do with money – he asked an actor friend to recite the poem to me! I hope this inspires you… or your loved ones.

- Natalie

Delicious pasta — even when camping!

Courtney — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:00:29 +0000

Cooking nutritious meals in a campervan in no easy feat. First, the kitchen is tiny, the utensils are very basic, and there is no oven. Secondly, it’s already hot and sticky in the van, so you don’t feel like cooking anything. So, for the sake of our sanity, we’ve learned to keep it simple. We’ve made this pasta twice in the past two weeks, and it is so easy to make and yet really good. The only sign of it being a camp meal is the plastic dishware we’re eating it on! It is delicious, and the kids love it.

Another bonus of this pasta is that you can pretty much rely on your pantry cupboards (canned tomatoes, canned tuna, pasta, olive oil, etc.) You’ll only need a handful of fresh basil and parsley.

Here is the recipe:

Tuna and tomato pasta:

-4 cloves of garlic, diced
-olive oil
-2 cans of chopped tomatoes
-handful of fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
-1 can tuna (in oil)
-handful of fresh basil (chopped)
-salt & pepper
-pasta (penne or farfalle, etc.)

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil. Add the canned tomatoes and the chopped parsley, then simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes. Season to taste. (While the tomatoes are simmering, boil the water for the pasta and cook the pasta for specified time.)

At the very last minute, after the pasta is cooked and drained, add the tuna and chopped basil to the simmering tomatoes. Toss everything into a large bowl and serve.

Enjoy!

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

-Courtney

Moving house (with children) — 10 tips

Esther — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:00:59 +0000

We experienced again that moving house with a family is not an overnight job — it’s like giving birth, you sort of forget how painful it actually is! The new house is very nice though, and room by room it’s slowly coming together.
Here are some tips that I have found helpful for before, during and after the move:

1. Take measurements (including ceiling heights) of the new place before the move and make a basic plan of what furniture should go where. Think about how you will get bigger pieces into the new house — is the doorway big enough? And the stairwell? Does it fit through the windows, maybe?
2. Clearly label the boxes. It should be extremely clear to what room what box should go — don’t worry too much about the content. Your kids can help label / decorate the boxes!
3. Don’t overload boxes with heavy items (books), they will be too hard to handle and they will only break. Keep inserts of drawers together: dump them in a ziplock bag, in the new house you can easily dump them in the drawer again. Only bother wrapping breakable pieces and keep them in a separate, clearly labeled box.
4. Keep handbags, laptops, telephones, passports, jewelry and other small valuables together and move them in your own car. Also keep a box with power cables, extension cables, router for internet connection and a couple of table lights with you. And the tool box!
5. Pack a suitcase with overnight essentials for your family, toilet paper, clean bedding for the beds and some towels. Make the beds in the new house as soon as possible, chances are high you’ll be too exhausted later!
6. Buy plenty of drinks and some beers. Think about cups and glasses. Make sure to have plenty of bread and cheese available for sandwiches, and ingredients for coffee. Buy some bags of crisps and apples. Keep all of the food in a separate bag, and keep telephone numbers for delivery services handy. Don’t even dream about cooking!
7. Try to have the kitchen and bathroom cabinets in the new place clean before you move, so you can start unpacking in these rooms. It’s nice to have these rooms in working order as soon as possible!
8. The kids should be ‘out of the way’. Ask if they can play at a friend’s house for the day, and ask if they can have dinner there as well. Make sure the kid’s room is cozy and their beds are made before they come home from their day activity!
9. Buy some new DVD’s for the kids, these days are exhausting for them as well and they will love to lounge on the couch, while you can focus on some more unwrapping and organizing.
10. Get plenty of garbage bags for all the stuff you decide you don’t need after all. Think of the new place as a new start!

xxx Esther

P.S. Thanks Bibi, Rebecca, Katie, Destri, Sandra and Vicky for your advice, we followed it all and it really helped!
P.P.S. Do you have more tips for a smooth move? Please leave a comment!

Half Dot Brooklyn

Emilie — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:07:52 +0000

My youngest daughter is 22 months old, and really starting to assert her independence. Her main war cry at the moment is “WALK” every time she sees the buggy appear. I really don’t get it — she could be sitting comfortably in a buggy but instead she wants to exhaust her little legs stumbling down Parisian pavements! All part of growing I guess…

The problem with pushchairs is that you cannot put a kid in a long coat in them. The straps squish them and the coat rides up and they look so uncomfortable. Which is why I love her little cape from Half-Dot Brooklyn, a lovely little new brand that is, as the name suggests, based in Brooklyn. The cape is super practical, it is easy to put on and keeps her nice and cozy. She really looks like a little version of Sherlock Holmes in it — very cute.

- Emilie

Our favourite travel game — Djeco Bingo

Courtney — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:43 +0000

Just our luck — we’ve driven into a cyclone storm here on the eastern coast of Queensland! It has rained every day for the past five days… which is seriously NO fun when you’re living in a tiny campervan and you have three kids with pent-up energy!

Thankfully we brought loads of colouring books, cards and travel games with us, which we have now played about 100 times! Our favourite is this travel bingo game by Djeco because it’s so easy even the 2-year-old can play!

The concept is easy — everyone takes a puzzle board, empties out the six pieces (6 different animals), and then takes turns spinning the wheel to try to fill their puzzle back up! The first one with a completed puzzle wins! Fun!

-Courtney

Plümo — (this one is actually for the mums)

Emilie — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:42 +0000

After putting the kids to bed and sitting down with a good, warm cup of tea (you just cannot take the Irish out of a gal, even when living in Paris), I grabbed my computer to sit down and write some blog posts. I was suddenly inspired not to write yet another post about great things for kids but, for a change, something about some great things for mums!

So here is one of my latest discoveries — the lovely UK webshop Plümo full of beautiful trinkets, clothes, shoes and furniture. Whomever the person is who sources the items, they have fabulous taste and I want to get almost everything… And the best thing about it? At the moment they still have a sale going on!

You see, this is my way of thinking: if you have daughters, like I do, everything you get for yourself will have a second life in the future. The girls will steal things out of your cupboard, wear them and call them vintage. So if you shop now, all you are really doing is investing in the future…

- Emilie

Hobby Horses by Dobbin and Drum

Sara — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:17 +0000

I love traditional toys that allow my children to use their imaginations — toys that inspire their creative play. I also love toys that look great in my home. (Hey, I haven’t earned the title ‘toy snob’ from my friends for nothing!) Enter Dobbin and Drum’s hobby horses. Just gorgeous. They are made from 100% natural fabrics — Australian hardwood dowel, leather trim and are filled with the highest quality 100% lightweight pure Australian merino wool. Now these hobby horses are no ordinary run of the mill horses, they are of heirloom quality and completely and lovingly hand-made. In a world of electronic toys and high tech gadgets, I am proud to say my children love their hobby horses and they regularly feature in their creative play. To be honest, they also make the odd appearance when they are fighting….

Dobbin and Drum are a small Australian company that produce a select range of natural fibre quality crafted toys — toys with ’soul and substance”. For the full range of hobby horses (including the fabulous unicorns and dragons) and for stockist information, refer to their website. Despite being a little tricky to wrap (I always end up resorting to just a ribbon) they make the perfect gift for a young child.

P.S. I can also recommend Dobbin and Drum’s teepee’s and drums — the very best I have seen.

- Sara

Name T-shirts

Esther — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:00:08 +0000

I have such a bad memory for names, it’s just terrible. I don’t understand how people do it (remembering names) — it has something to do with immediately saying the name out loud as soon as you hear it, like ‘Nice to meet you, Eileen’, or ‘How do you do, Ronald?’. Doesn’t help me much though.

My little boy started school a few weeks ago, and you can imagine how difficult I regard the teacher’s job of remembering 20 to 30 names in a few days time. I decided to help her a little, and simultaneously boost my son’s confidence of course, by dressing him in a personalized T-shirt with his name (and a fire-truck) on the back. Although the teacher never said, I imagine she must have been immensely thankful for the help…

I got Pim’s personalized name T-shirt at Simply Colors, a good place because there are unlimited combinations of fonts, sizes, images and colours, and you can play with your design on-line and will see instant results. Another good place to go is the designer’s collection of Stuck on You, where there are plenty of cute designs available and the quality of the T-shirts is really good.

I’m thinking, maybe the whole world should start wearing clothes with their names on it — how easy that would make life for me!

xxx Esther

Salmonella and other reasons why I am afraid to eat anything ever again….

Dina — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:00:47 +0000

On New Years Eve, during a major snowstorm, one of my daughters became violently ill. The timing, of course, could not have been worse and after a call to the doctor we were put at ease, told to stay in, to push fluids and to ride it out. “There’s a stomach bug going around and it will pass” — we were told. But “stomach bug” I knew this was not. This thing, whatever she had, was far more sinister. A day later and two separate trips to the emergency room we wound up in the hospital for seven days of pure agony. Not only were we quarantined in a room that we were not allowed to leave but my potty-trained daughter was back in diapers –- going to the bathroom up to 30 times a day and screaming every time (sorry tmi). The poor thing was finally diagnosed with Salmonella (it takes 3 days to show up in a blood culture), and even rarer, it had spread to her bloodstream. Where she got it – I still don’t know. Salmonella is one of those things that you can get from food, playing with a turtle, anywhere really – nobody knows. And when a kid gets it, especially if it gets into the blood, it is nothing short of terrifying.

After my own bouts with food poisoning in the past (I have been hospitalized twice for food contaminated illnesses from work, once with Salmonella from a CANTALOUPE!), I have been fearful of food and have become very particular about what I eat and what I feed my children. But you can’t be vigilant 100% of the time, and sadly, there is really no control over the situation. The food supply in the US is worrisome to say the least and unless you are shopping at local farmers markets or paying top dollar at Whole Foods you really have no idea where your food is coming from.

So where am I going with this? I guess after seeing my daughter go through such an excruciating situation I am on mega high alert which reminded me of two books that are worth reading. Two excellent books about the state of the food supply in the US are The Omnivores Delimma and In Defense of Food. I was lucky to have grown up with a mother who was a hippie so I was quite aware of what was healthy to eat, but these two books were eye opening to say the least.

And last week I finally watched the documentary, Food Inc. If you have not seen it – watch it now! Oprah just did a special on it. Buy it or rent it or get it on demand. It will blow your mind, make you sick and might even make you a vegan overnight. I hate to bring this up and scare people but I am worried and I don’t even know what to eat anymore — if you have ideas, please send them my way. I am pretty confident this is a US related issue but not sure. I just get the feeling that in Europe there are more markets and access to fresh food. Please let me know. I am just curious.

-Dina

Sparkle and Spin

Mo — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:47 +0000

As Courtney mentioned I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to children’s books, and Sparkle and Spin is my latest aquistition. The book is about words and is SO SO SO beautifully illustrated. I really love it. Without even knowing it, it appears I have stumbled upon a pretty powerful author/illustrator team with Paul and Ann Rand.

Paul Rand is known as one of America’s greatest graphic designers having designed logos for IBM, UPS and ABC. He teamed up with his wife, Ann, in the 1950s and ’60s to produce some children’s books. Rather then stories, their books explain things like how words are used (as in Sparkle and Spin) or what ‘knowing’ is (in ‘I Know a Lot of Things‘, which I have on order) or being alone in ‘Little 1‘ (also on order!).

I’m just hoping that the final of the 4 books they collaborated on ‘Listen, Listen’ is put back into print soon (as it is out of my price range in the used-book stores!).

-Mo

Do as the Dutch do, bike on a bakfiets

Esther — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:00:27 +0000

Thanks to its flat (meaning not hilly) landscape, the Netherlands is the perfect place for getting around on bike. It’s also quite safe: bike lanes are virtually everywhere, and drivers are so used to the many bikes around that they take them in careful consideration. So the ‘fiets’ is the preferred means of transportation for most, if not all Dutchmen. We cycle to work, we cycle to school, we cycle to the shops and we also grab the bike if we go out at night (this will also conveniently save us the money for a parking ticket or a taxi).
Kids? No problem. We just take them in front with us when they are little, in a special seat hanging from the steer. When they grow bigger, they get a seat on the back of the bike, if necessary combined with the pre-mentioned seat on the front for a little sibling.
If you have three or more children though, it’s probably time to get a bakfiets. A bakfiets is kind of a cross between a bike and a beach wagon, and you can conveniently fit in as many as 4 children (although I’ve seen people squeeze in even more!). If you’ve ever been in Amsterdam, chances are high that you’ve noticed them around.
Bakfietsen come in many shapes and varieties. Foreigners usually choose the variety with two wheels in the front for more stability, but most Dutchmen get one with just one wheel in the front because it’s lighter to cycle and easier to maneuver… I think if we were to (finally) get one, we would get the one pictured.
If you’re ever in Amsterdam with children and are interested in doing as the Dutch do, I suggest renting a bakfiets in one of the many places in the city. It’s the most convenient way to get around, and super fun!

xxx Esther

P.S. We typically don’t put helmets on in the Netherlands, not even on the kids!

Sweet Parting Gifts…

Dina — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:00:26 +0000

So someone dared one of my husband’s very conservative and straight-laced co-workers to grow a shaggy 1970’s style moustashe last month. I guess everyone chipped in $10 and pretty soon the guy was going to make a small killing — so he did it. Anyway, after a month or so the moustache was in full force and he looked, as predicted, ridiculous. So after the jokes were told ad nauseum the poor guy got his loot and was free to shave it off. As a parting gift, they took a picture and printed out his face on an M&M and gave tiny tin boxes to the entire staff. I thought it was a cool idea! Who knew you could print an image on that tiny thing? While I don’t advocate the eating of junky candy per se, I do like silly ideas. We just ordered a bunch with a picture of the girls to give out at their birthday party next month.

-Dina

Little Sapling Toys

Mo — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:00:42 +0000

I found this beautiful wooden stacking ring in a cute little interiors shop near my parents’ house in the Midlands (called Bagel & Griff in Market Harborough, for any readers up that way). Not only is it beautiful to look at, but totally natural, safe and soothing for babies to play with (and chew on). It is made by Little Sapling Toys and I just found out they have an Etsy shop.

I love their teething rings — my favourites being the little bird and the hedgehog — a perfect ‘new baby’ present!

Mo. x

Family Life

Sara — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:00:23 +0000

Most parents discover fairly early on that if they want to meet in a cafe with friends and have any hope of conversation (one that spans more than 10 seconds), then a distraction for the children in the form of a book/toy is imperative. It allows at least some semblance of communication between the adults whilst in the company of young children — where you can form a full sentence… in one go!!

Many cafes in Melbourne answer this need, providing crayons and butcher paper to occupy the kids. And that certainly helps! But Family Life Home & Café in Grattan Street, Prahran goes one step further. Not only is it a divine Balinese inspired space, incorporating a cafe and boutique, but it has a gorgeous imaginative play area for the children.

So… whilst you leisurely sip your cappuccino on a comfy couch, chat to friends, read the newspaper (without being interrupted every. single. sentence) and shop for hand-made toys, eco homewares, exotic recycled furniture and some great kidswear — the children are happily playing nearby in the enchanted forest or putting on a show in the gazebo! Happiness all around!

If you are visiting, be sure to check out the kidswear. Not only do they carry some great Aussie designers like Mill&Mia, Sudo and Jellyfish but they also carry a more obscure Balinese designer called Paul Ropp. His distinctive and vibrant pieces are truly amazing!

Family Life will also throw a fantastic kids birthday party, with every little detail taken care of!

- Sara

A+ for BB+++

Esther — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:08:30 +0000

I just love how Kellie from BB+++ keeps coming up with the utmost original ideas for her children’s clothing. There’s always something different, funky or unconventional about her pieces, but yet they are always very easy to wear.
Take the blue Mary Jane dress my daughter was wearing today. The blue knit top part has a semi-tight fit, but is super comfy due to the stretchy nature of the material. The lower skirt part of the dress is made from black cotton, and is detailed exactly like an up-side-down man’s dress shirt, complete with buttons and windsor collar. It is really a super cool dress, and if you fasten the buttons irregularly (or not at all, as my daughter prefers), you get a rather unconventional, sweet look.
A real recommendation if you have daughters (especially now that I noticed they are on sale)!

xxx Esther

“Don’t Like It”

Emilie — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:00:04 +0000

Does this scenario ring any bells with you? You want to treat your kids to a delicious meal and so you slave over the stove to make sure the meal has the right nutritional value and is above all, tasty! Then you hear the famous words: “I don’t like it!!!!” Sometimes followed by the even more inane question: “Can I have a bonbon instead?”

I do sometimes wonder why I bother peeling potatoes and carrots, trimming beans, deciding what shape they should be cut in, asking myself if they would be better steamed or roasted or even just boiled. I think the phrase “Don’t like it” is one of the most disheartening things for a parent to hear.

By the way, the same goes for clothes: you spend hours thinking about what you should buy for you little one, what would suit them and what they would be comfortable in… only to be told: “Don’t like it”!!!

My mother always remembered that one winter she decided to only buy me trousers because I did not like tights… only to be told one morning: “I don’t like trousers”. She insisted and had a battle on her hands every morning getting me dressed.

I do know that this is all about kids establishing their independence and a degree of “Don’t like it” is unavoidable. I do sometimes wish that evolution would have left out the independence gene in small kids, ideally replacing it with an appreciation gene…

- Emilie

Who’s Hiding? and Spot It!

Mo — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:00:15 +0000

Here are two books that my son (aged 3) and I love: Who’s Hiding? by Satoru Onishi and Spot It!: Find the Hidden Creatures by Delphine Chedru.

Both books are about finding things in the pictures — ‘Who’s Hiding?’ is a bit like playing that memory game with a tray of objects, but in this book we have a line-up of animals and we have to find which one is hiding or crying or asleep. I was so surprised that my son could do it when we bought the book about a year ago as I found it quite difficult.

‘Spot It!’ is much harder but so beautiful you don’t mind staring hard at the pages to ’spot it’ — creatures hide within graphic patterns and we often have to stare for a few minutes before finding them. I love how we both start to panic when we can’t find them immediately (he obviously takes after me with his impatience)!

Both books are available from the Babyccino Bookshop (both US and UK).

-Mo. x

Something for the mommies….Lollia Bubble Bath

Dina — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:00:30 +0000

Bubble Baths are considered a real treat at our house. Lately, my girls seem to go suddenly deaf when I call them to come in for an evening bath, but when I mention that bubbles will be present… it’s party time! That being said, I have spent countless dollars trying all sorts of “organic” and “all-natural” products from Whole Foods and the like… but to be honest, I really don’t like any of them. The bubbles are totally lame, they don’t smell all that great and they are expensive to boot! Look, my thought is… if you are going to take a bubble bath then you just have to make the commitment. Mr. Bubble didn’t kill any of us and it’s all going to be ok. I received this Lollia Bubble Bath as a gift and I absolutely love it — I mean, how cool that it’s in a wine bottle! A small quantity makes a ton of bubbles, it smells great without being too overpowering and my girls don’t come out covered in hives. I would give this to a mommy in need in a heartbeat as it is great for the whole family and even better as a housewarming gift for a new mom!

-Dina

Noodoll

Emilie — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:00:42 +0000

I do love new designs/books/characters that appeal to grown-ups and kids alike. My girls are going crazy for the Noodoll characters I brought home recently, and so am I.

Noodoll lives in Noodle town where everyone and everything is made out of noodles. His main arch enemy is Rice Head, who is constantly trying to stop the Noodles. The illustrations are great, very simple and funky.

The world of Noodoll and Ricehead spans from books to accessorizes and toys. And, if you have a spare second do check out the website — the noodle and rice recipes are some of the best I have ever found!

- Emilie