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Baby/Children’s Book of the Week: # 2 ~ Green Eggs & Ham

1/8/2018

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Welcome to week 2 of our reading journey!

I adore Dr. Seuss books and they were bound to make an appearance here sooner or later. And here we are at week 2 with the first, but not the last one, I’ll feature.

Reading aloud to your child is a wonderful shared activity to promote language development and early literacy skills in a fun and stimulating way, and as Dr. Seuss would say:
​
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss


​Title:
 Green Eggs & Ham
Author: Dr. Seuss
Illustrator: Dr. Seuss

Ages: Preschool and up
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Click here for:
  • Activities:
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First published in 1960, Green Eggs and Ham is a classic children’s book by Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss. The main character of the book, Sam-I-Am pursues his friend who is surprisingly nameless, and offers him “green eggs and ham” in numerous places with a variety of different dinner guests until he ultimately gives in and tries the “delicacy”.
Would you like them in a house? Would you like them with a mouse?
I do not like them
In a house.
I do not like them
With a mouse.
I do not like them
Here or there.
I do not like them Anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
And the result? Does he like them? You’ll just have to read the book to find out!
Although the target age is pre-school and above, Freyja at 12 weeks loves this book! She doesn’t have a favorite page yet, but enjoys the images and lyrical rhyming that is classic Seuss.

Written using just 50 words, Green Eggs and Ham is a delight to read and will quickly become a favorite with your kiddos reciting their favorite pages from memory even before they can read it themselves. It’s a must addition to your library.

Be sure to check-out the above activities courtesy of seussville.com for fun ideas including games and coloring pages.

Purchase from Amazon or borrow from your local library.

I hope you enjoy our choices as much as we do and if there are any that you’d like to see featured, please let me know.
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Baby/Children’s Book of the Week: # 1 ~ The Pout-Pout Fish

1/3/2018

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​I love to read and I love to read to and with my kids and wanted to share what we’re reading with you by way of a “Book of the Week”.

​Reading aloud to your child is a wonderful shared activity to promote language development and early literacy skills in a fun and stimulating way, and as Dr. Seuss would say:

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.” ~ Dr. Seuss



Title: The Pout-Pout Fish
Author: Deborah Diesen
Illustrator: Dan Hanna

Ages: Preschool and up

Click here for:
  • Activities
  • Teacher Resources
  • Videos

If you’re not familiar with this story, it’s an endearing journey of a sad and grumpy fish who learns that even the poutiest of frowns can be turned into the brightest of smiles. That being glum is not his destiny and he can do something about turning his frown upside down with the help of a special friend.

Catchy rhymes and beautiful, bright illustrations, The Pout-Pout Fish available in hardcover and board book format, is sure to be a hit with your little ones.

Although the target age is pre-school and above, even at 11 weeks Freyja loves this book! Sometimes she “zones” out partway through, but she more often stays focused all the way to the end and then I go back to her favorite parts which are when he’s blubbing lol…

Be sure to check-out the above activities and videos courtesy of PoutPoutFish.com for fun ideas including rhyming & matching games, crafts and coloring pages.
​
Purchase The Pout-Pout Fish or borrow from your local library

I hope you enjoy our choices as much as we do and if there are any that you’d like to see featured, please let me know.
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A Tribute To The Artwork Of Mrs. Mighetto

12/30/2017

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Miss. Klara
The Forgotten Tivoli
"For many years, the tivoli was spoken of but now it seems to have been lost to memory. There were stories of figures with special powers who could stop time and were able to hide from the world. Rumour has it that a few selected heroes were concealed in a very secret place when evil attempted to eradicate good. But that was so long ago that no one even tries to discover the truth..." ~ Mrs. Mighetto

I'd like to introduce you to "The Forgotten Tivoli" artwork of Malin Mighetto & Anna Sylvan and their company Mrs. Mighetto.

Mrs. Mighetto is a Swedish brand that creates magical prints/posters, wallpaper, and other decoration for a nursery or children’s room.


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The Forgotten Tivoli Limited Edition Print Collection

​Their beautiful creations are the inspiration for the following artwork I painted for baby Freyja's room.

Each character that they bring to life has a name and story behind them. In this instance, her name is Miss. Freyja.  She's smart, street savvy with a quick wit and marvelous sense of humor.  She's outgoing and forward thinking and loves to meet new people and becomes a friend of everyone she meets. 

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Miss. Freyja

The canvas is 12”x16” and was originally white. One of our older daughters, C,  had used this canvas prior but was dissatisfied with the results and has painted over it in black and so this was my base coat. 

After sketching in pencil and painting a rough outline, I then set about adding the layers.

It’s always hard to know when a painting is finished, but I think it is for now at least :)
Unlike Mrs. Mighetto’s gorgeous paintings, my medium is acrylics and not watercolors, however I hope that I have managed to capture the magic of this style its sense of whimsy.
​
This will be one of the paintings for Freyja's room and I intend to paint at least one more to accompany it.
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Close-up "Miss. Freyja"

I thoroughly enjoyed painting this and hope that our baby enjoys her too!
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When Life Gives You Lemons… Make Banana Coffee Cake!

12/20/2017

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Our youngest son’s current favorite expression is, “when life gives you lemons...” So, taking a leaf out of his book, and after a long night of the baby not sleeping and wanting to nurse every hour, I finally gave in and got up super early with her.
 
Putting her in the swing didn’t work, so I tucked her in the Ergo baby carrier and true to form, within 10 minutes of nursing in there she was sound asleep.  Not wanting to disturb her I set about organizing her diapers from the dryer and then had the overwhelming urge to bake of all things!  Spying the ripe bananas in the fruit bowl, I decided to make good use of them.
 
Typically, I make a killer [if I do say so myself] banana bread, which is super moist and a crowd-pleaser, but today I wanted to try something different and came across this recipe from the Canadian site http://www.lifemadedelicious.ca/, “Impossibly Easy Banana Bread Coffee Cake”.
 
This banana bread coffee cake is a tasty new take on breakfast!  Sliced and mashed bananas make this cake extra moist and delicious and as its Canadian to finish it off, you pour maple syrup over it!  Yum!
 
Not only is this banana coffee bread scrumptious and easy to make – basically a dump cake, it’s made with ingredients that you already have in your pantry.  As a bonus, it can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 12 hours before being baked fresh… A perfect easy Christmas morning breakfast!  A real treat for your family!

Impossibly Easy Banana Bread Coffee Cake.

​Ingredients:
​

Cake Mix
  • 2 to 3 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups), plus 1 large banana, sliced 
[I used 4 ripe and 2 sliced as they needed using up and weren’t very large]
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar 
  • 1/4 cup milk 
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • 3 eggs 
  • 2 2/3 cups Original Bisquick™ mix 
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 
 
Streusel Topping
  • 1 cup Original Bisquick™ mix 
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
  • 6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces 
 
Just Because
  • Maple syrup
[Be sure to warm the maple syrup or at least have it at room temperature]
​

​Instructions:
  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
  2. In large bowl, combine mashed bananas, granulated sugar, milk, oil, cinnamon and eggs.  Stir in 2 2/3 cups Bisquick mix and 3/4 cup walnuts/pecans; fold in banana slices.  Pour mixture into pan.
  3. In medium bowl, mix Streusel ingredients, cutting in butter with pastry blender or fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle over mixture in pan.
  4. Bake 30 to 36 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool for about 10 minutes and cut into 4 rows by 3 rows.  
  5. Drizzle with maple syrup just before serving.
[Be sure to warm the maple syrup or at least have it at room temperature]
 
As I mentioned above, you can make this up to 12 hours in advance.  Make as directed through step 3., then cover and refrigerate overnight.  Uncover, and bake as directed in step 4.

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​And that’s all there is to it!!  Enjoy this light, fluffy and moist breakfast treat, the maple syrup really adds another flavor layer so don’t leave it off :)
 
Remember, when life gives you lemons, make Banana Coffee Cake!

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Recipe adapted from here: http://www.lifemadedelicious.ca/recipes/impossibly-easy-banana-bread-coffee-cake-with-make-ahead-directions/3a6ad169-8a7d-4d91-83be-befa578b9f83
 
Photos and editorial original work by Red Wellies
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Red Wellies ~ From Keepsake to Namesake

12/19/2017

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​I’ve always wanted to have a blog and should’ve started one long-ago when the kids were little and their antics would’ve provided endless articles to amuse, but as they say, “better late than never!”
 
For those of you reading this who either have a blog or are thinking of starting one, and for me at least, the hardest part was deciding on the name.
 
I spent an inordinate amount of time on this, should it have “baby” or “kid” in it, does the name limit the audience, does the name mean anything to us?  We’d come up with a cool name, but within a couple of days it just didn’t sit right with me and it needed to for me to be passionate about writing for it.  For it to become our brand.

​My office is eclectic to say the least and I was in there looking at my shelves for inspiration, when it struck me… “Red Wellies”, yes, I know… not the typical item that springs to mind when looking at shelves in an office, but in mine I have a pair of bright little red wellies on the shelf.  You know, wellies, gum boots, rain boots… the epitome of the British wardrobe.
 
And these wellies have a story behind them, the more I thought about it, the more it struck me that the name "Red Wellies" was in fact ideal..
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My office ~ Can you spot the red wellies?
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This is why I needed wellies... Apparently I kept getting stuck in the drain in the horse yard... yuck!

Growing up in England and on a horse farm, you had to have wellies not so much as a want, but a necessity.  When I grew out of my first pair, my mum and nanna took me to the local shop to purchase the next size up.  My first pair I’m told, were bright yellow and I loved them, so when we entered the shop, I promptly marched up to the assistant and said “ellow wellies, please lady”.  Sadly, the shop didn’t have any “'ellow wellies”, they did however have a glorious pair of red ones, I tried them on… they were perfect!

​Now, you may be wondering why are these wellies sitting on my shelf in my office?  For some reason, my mum kept them out of all the items of clothing that I had as a baby/toddler.  Maybe it’s the way that I marched into the shop and asked for them, maybe it’s this one item that reminds her of me as a chubby toddler with bright red cheeks? 
 
Whatever the reason, I’m glad she did.   Not only did I wear them as a toddler, and then as a pencil holder in my bedroom during high-school, but when I became a mum, all 3 of my kids wore them and yet, they still survive today and look almost like new, ready for Freyja to wear in a few months...

These little red wellies tie together 4 generations of my family and have earnt a place on my office shelf and inspiration for this blog.
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I Love wellies!!

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My red wellies!
In case you’re wondering, the manufacture of these little red boots was Mothercare, circa 1974.  Mothercare is still going strong today and so are the wellies. Maybe the oldest pair that are?
 
Yes, I still own wellies today, but have been wearing Hunter Boots for years now and my latest is, yes you guessed it... a bright red pair.

What keepsakes do you have from when you were a kid or what will you keep from your child?  Let us know in the comments
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    Author

    Cate DuMont Warn was born & raised in England and is a descendent of King Charles II ~ Seriously she is! She now lives in Michigan with her husband and kids.

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