Easy Peasy Autumn Leaf Suncatcher

I loved doing this autumn activity with Eden this morning! It's great if you have a young preschooler (like Eden, who's 22 months) as they can do a lot of it themselves. 

1. I started by cutting out 6 squares (approximately 13cm wide) of sticky back plastic that I found hidden in a box in our spare room - the type you use to cover school books with. I used masking tape to secure 3 of the squares loosely to Eden's craft table, sticky side up.

2. We picked some leaves to use out of the autumn sensory box that we made last week, and placed them on the sticky squares. Eden added some sparkly flower and butterfly confetti as well.

3. Eden experimented and tore up little bits off one of the leaves to stick on too - it looks really good.

4. Once we'd finished our masterpiece, we stuck down the other 3 squares to seal the leaves inside. I trimmed the edges to tidy them up, as Eden had helped me stick. Then we hole-punched some holes, added some ribbon, and taped to the window.

The sunlight shines through the leaves, intensifying the red, orange and golden colours.

It really brightens the room up!

You could take it a step further by decorating and adding a cardboard frame border, or cutting the suncatchers into leaf shapes. 

Find loads more play ideas here:

Our Autumn Sensory Box

The weather this week is just amazing! So warm and sunny and such a great excuse to get outside and make the most of what's probably the last of the 'Indian Summer' weather that we're having.

At the bottom of our road there's 4 or 5 large conker trees (I know they have a proper name, I just had to google it and they are in fact horse chestnut trees - I should know that really - I blame my pregnancy brain).

Yesterday Eden and I took a stroll down to fill a lidded box with lots of leaves, seeds, twigs and conkers for an autumn-themed sensory box. We took it home and had a good explore of all the textures and colours. I have a few autumn crafts planned that we'll be using some of the things in the box for, but will be saving those for a rainy day, in the meantime let's enjoy the sunshine!

Advent Calendar Bunting

I'm not very talented when it comes to 'crafty' things - I just don't have the patience for perfection. The pragmatist in me just likes to get on with it and give it a go, and hope for the best when it comes to the results. I really do like attempting to make things for Eden though, and I hope in years to come when she's older she can look back at all the things I 'made with love' for, despite them being far from perfect.

My latest make for Eden is an advent calendar in the form of bunting. I did a google search typing in 'DIY Advent Calendar' to get ideas, and I based my bunting on a similiar idea from Pickles. 

I'm really chuffed with the results! The fabric cones aren't too difficult to make for a complete novice like me. I picked up my sewing machine a month ago from a car boot sale for £4 - it's very basic and only just coped with some of the thinner materials that I used. Thankfully, because the cones are all lined inside, all of the stitching and hems are on the inside too so it's a very forgiving pattern for mistakes!  I didn't fancy attempting to stitch numbers onto each cone, so instead hung some number beads off the bottom of each one.

Here's some photos of the finished bunting - shame it's another 2 months before we'll be using it. I plan to put a chocolate coin and a Christmas activity/preparation for the day inside each cone.

Hanging out with Eden

I'm loving Eden's age at the moment! She's just such a fun little person to be around and I feel very privileged to be in the position that I'm in, where I spend pretty much 24/7 with her, bar the odd day here and there when I take off my Mummy hat and put on my Dietitian hat.

Eden's 21 months old now, she's always been a social little person, but as she grows up and her language develops I'm so enjoying the new interactive conversations and experiences that we have. Yesterday is a good example. After the usual morning wake-up routine and breakfast, Eden pulled out her music box and we had a fun half an hour singing songs and banging drums. Eden now 'marches' to the Grand Old Duke of York (the cutest thing ever), does a lot of the actions (with an abundance of enthusiasm) to many nursery rhymes and songs, and fills in the last word of each line in our fave drumming book 'Skunka Tanka'.

We popped to the shops yesterday morning, not a tear or tantrum in sight. We chatted away about what we were buying - a few last minute things for Daddy's birthday, and shared a lovely girlie shopping trip together.

After her lunch and nap, we got the paints out. Eden helped with the preparation, insisting on carrying the paintbrushes and painting shower curtain/floor covering into the lounge. We had such a fun time painting together, with no frustrations from the little person arising - something I've learnt through practice. Filling a small trug with warm soapy water was a great way to draw the activity to a close - Eden washed the paintbrushes, while I washed her legs and hands, and then we both carried the trug into the kitchen to empty. Allowing Eden to help with preparations and clearing up really helps avoid her getting frustrated and upset.

The funniest moment of the day was when Daddy arrived home from work. We'd bought a chocolate cake earlier in the day to celebrate, and as it was only little I though Eden would love to be the one to carry it in to him (candle unlit of course). She proudly and carefully carried it with 2 hands the short walk from the kitchen to lounge. Unfortunately, she tripped just in the doorway, and cake, candle and 'Happy Birthday' decoration ended up on the floor. It was so difficult to keep a straight face, especially as Eden very seriously and unfazed tried to stick the candle back onto the cake before continuing her walk, bless her. 2 minutes later we were all tucking into a slice each, and with me sitting on the floor, Eden was giving me a side hug, hand on my shoulder, so grown-up!

Throw in a few proud mummy moments yesterday too - Eden through her colouring and toy kitchen play now knows the colours orange, green, pink, red and (nearly) blue. She also told us on 3 occasions that she needed to use her potty. Up until now we've been sitting her on regularly which has been working fine, but we've been looking forward to this next step.

As always with little ones, every day brings new developments, and I love hanging out with my own little lady.

5 A Day Books - Holidays

We were away camping last week, so I took along 5 holiday-themed books for the 5 A Day challenge. Eden loved the beach-related books, and brought them over to us several times a day to read in the tent with her. It was great to have themed books to tie in with our own trips to the beach, and to observe Eden linking what was in the books to her own experiences at the sea side, for example placing stones and shells on the side of the sandcastles, just like Wendy does in one of the books.

Usborne Look and Say 'Beach'
A simple picture book showing various items you find at the beach. No 'story' to read, so I enjoyed talking through what the people figures on each page were doing.

Maisy Goes on Holiday by Lucy Cousins

Eden's favourite book of the week. Bright colourful pictures on each page telling the story of Maisy's first day on holiday.

Cheeky Monkey on Holiday by Anne Cassidy and Lisa Smith

A playful enthusiastic monkey ends up spoiling little girl Wendy's activities on the beach, but Wendy has the last laugh...  

Kipper's Sunny Day by Mick Inkpen

Lift the flap books are always a winner with Eden. Another book focussing on the sea side, with a question at the end of each page it encourages conversation and memory skills. 

Boris Goes Camping by Carrie Weston and Tim Warnes

A loveable bear and his classmates go camping, and find themselves in  trouble. This book was a bit too long for our 21-month old's attention span but Luke (my husband) informed me he enjoyed it!

Read more 5 A Day Challenges this week here

Silent Sunday

Camping Fun

We like to go camping at least a couple of times every year. Usually we have our annual long weekend 'Strickland Camping Trip' with the wider family at the start of the summer, and then take a week off at the end of the summer holidays.

Last week we camped in Dawlish Warren, South Devon. We found a lovely uncommercialised traditional campsite, 10 minutes walk from the beach, with clean facilities and a play area for Eden. 

We first took Eden camping in June 2010, when she was 6 months old. We had a fair few 'you're brave' comments at the time, but apart from upgrading our small 2-person tent, to a much more comfortable 6-person tent, we didn't have to make many adjustments. We bought a small travel steriliser for her bottles, switched to organic baby food jars for the week, took along her bumbo, and bought her a toasty warm long-sleeved fleece sleeping bag and we were pretty much sorted. Needless to say with all the fresh air, she slept really well once it got dark (she's always been a light sleeper needing quiet and darkness to sleep). 

This year as Eden's reached toddler-hood, she's loved the freedom that camping offers her! She can toddle about inside and out of the tent until her heart's content, and she spent many mornings on the camp site doing just that while Luke and I were able to relax and even do some reading!

Eden was happy with the slower pace of lazy days while we were away and we stuck to a loose routine where we could, so just like at home, after lunch she went straight down in her travel cot for a nap. Afternoons were spent on the beach, building sandcastles and paddling in the sea. And eating lots of ice cream as a special treat! 

We took a couple of trips out to some local attractions. Typically, on the one day we forgot to put the toddler carrier in the car we went to the highest waterfall in England (Canonteign Falls). Eden was a little precarious on Daddy's shoulders up the 90 victorian steps, but the hike to the top viewpoint was worth it. 

We found a 'hidden gem' in nearby Shaldon, a small village next to the sea, buying lunch from a local bakery and eating it watching the boats. 

The village of Shaldon is a bit off the beaten track, not particularly advertised to tourists, with no tacky gift shops and amusements. We visited Shaldon Zoo, with a wonderful collection of monkeys and other animals - all of them were very active at 10 in the morning (even the tortoises), and looked very happy in their enclosures. We also walked through Shaldon's smugglers' tunnel finding a sheltered beach on the other side. 

Many of my early memories as a child are of being outdoors; playing football on the campsite, making friends with a fellow camper's pet dog, visiting pony centres, playing on the beach. Eden's 21 months now, maybe still a bit young for first memories, but nevertheless I want to provide her with lots of experiences of being outdoors. Even last week, with all the stimulation she was getting, her language and communication with us really developed, she said her first 3-word sentences (in the bed, on the chair), and she did brilliantly keeping up with her potty training despite the extra potential distractions that camping and days out could have been.  

Above all, watching Eden have such a fabulous time was a real joy, just what memories are made of. 

Dino Daisy Amber Teething Necklace: Review and Giveaway

I'm a HUGE fan of amber teething necklaces! My daughter Eden started teething at around 2 months old - her cheeks turned bright red and she had a constant dribble. She was 8 months old when I discovered amber teething necklaces and I only wish I'd found out about them sooner. 


With her teething necklace on, Eden's dribbling improved immensely and her bright red cheeks completely disappeared within a day of her wearing it. On the rare occasions that we've forgotten to put it on in the morning, by late afternoon her red cheeks are back, and that's when we realise we've forgotten to put her necklace on that day – I know this may sound unbelievable, but it's happened a few times and hand on heart it's true!

I think Eden has been a 'constant' teether, rather than an intermittent one. When her teeth are actually cutting through she still requires pain relief from medicine and still gets a sore bottom, but for the daily effects of teething (her red cheeks and dribble) I can say from first-hand experience that the amber teething necklace has worked wonders.

How does it work?

I'd always thought that amber was a semi-precious stone, but it's actually a resin that comes from tree sap. It contains 8% succinic acid, and has been used in traditional medicine around the world for it's healing properties, helping to treat aches and pains. The amber teething necklace when worn next to the skin is a natural analgesic, providing pain relief for teething babies.

Dino Daisy Amber Teething Necklaces

Dino Daisy is a fantastic UK-based site, with a huge selection of necklaces and anklets, something to suit everyone's taste, and with custom designs available. The main focus is on teething necklaces and anklets for your little one, but there's also a Dino-Mumma section, with gorgeous amber jewellery for us Mummies too!

The jewellery from Dino-Daisy makes for a very special RUP (Really Useful Present) for a new baby, a christening gift, or a special first birthday or first christmas.

Safety issues have been considered – each bead on the necklace is individually hand-knotted either side, so in the unlikely event of breakage there won't be any scattering of the beads, which could be a choking hazard. Strong cord and clasps are used for safety.

Important: Baltic Amber teething necklaces are not designed for chewing and parent supervision is recommended at all times when your baby is wearing the teething necklace.

Dino-Mumma Necklaces

I was sent a Dino-Mumma large bean necklace to review. The website describes it perfectly – 'A really pretty necklace, which is simple but elegant'. The beads are beautiful, I've been wearing it every day as it goes with everything thanks to its fashionably classy look, without looking pretentious.

The Dino-Mumma necklaces are a stylish accessory for every Mum. They have the same safety standards as the teething necklaces with knotting between each bead, for extra peace of mind.

Additionally, the Dino-Mumma necklaces have all the benefits associated with the healing properties of amber – they're perfect for post-birthing aches and breastfeeding, as well as helping with that general 'run-down' feeling. Also part of the Dino-Mumma range are nursing reminder bracelets that can be easily switched over between wrists to help remind you which side you last fed from.

Giveaway:

Dino-Daisy have kindly offered a rainbow teething necklace to one of my readers. It's really gorgeous, made up of a combination of cherry, cognac and dark cognac amber beads.

To be in with a chance of winning, you need to do the following 2 things: 

1. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect - the link is on the right hand side at the top of the page (under the tea cup) and 
2. Visit Dino-Daisy's website then pop back here to tell me what your favourite product is on there.

For additional entries you can do the following (leave a separate comment below for each)

• Follow Dino-Daisy on Facebook here
• Follow me on Facebook here
• Follow me on Twitter here
• Tweet the following: 'I've entered @pondering_kate 's giveaway to win a Dino-Daisy amber teething necklace! Enter here http://ponderingsfromthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/dino-daisy-amber-teething-necklace.html'
• Link to me on Networked blogs - link on the right hand side ->

Winner will be picked randomly using random.org
Remember to include a way for me to contact you if you're the winner - either an email address or twitter ID.
Closing date:  Sunday 11th September, 8pm.
UK entrants only please. No cash alternative.

AND THE WINNER IS.....
Thanks for all the entries to win this fabulous teething necklace from Dino-Daisy. The winner selected using random.org is comment number 11:


@Clairew137! - Well done!

Please get in touch with me to claim your prize!


Find more competitions here:
ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions
Loquax Competitions

5 A Day Books Challenge

Last week I stumbled across The Imagination Tree's 5 A Day book challenge and decided to give it a go with Eden. I've always been an advocate of reading to Eden, and books have been part of daily play at home. However, I love the idea of introducing a bit more of a structure to reading books, rather than the randomness of picking and choosing whatever happens to be lying around, that has up until now been the form.

On the subject of literacy skills, The Imagination Tree highlights the importance of developing TALK and LISTENING skills first, before focussing on reading and writing skills in children. I guess another way of putting it is talking and listening are the BUILDING BLOCKS providing the foundation for reading and writing.

The 5 A DAY challenge involves the following

1. Choose 5 titles from your book collection or the library
2. Read them every single day for a week
3. Short pictures books with rhyme or rhythm are especially useful in helping children's memory of words, so they can join in too
4. This empowers them to be able to 'read' and re-tell stories from a young age.

Our books this week and how we got on:

As it's our first week on the challenge, the books I chose this week were ones that had a theme of interest to Eden, that I knew she'd enjoy.   

Rabbit's  Nap (Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler)

One of our current library books, picked out as the authors are the creators of The Gruffulo, a fave of Eden's. As the week progressed, I noticed Eden's increasing interest in rabbits, learning the word 'hop' and putting her own rabbit soft toys to bed for a nap. This book's great as a wind-down before a child's own nap-time or bed-time, and on the last page, rabbit finally gets her nap 'ssssshhh!'  

Bath Time (David Bedford and Leonie Worthington)

Another library book, and another book featuring rabbits (part co-incidence). There's a repetitive theme and rhyme all the way through about various animal's 'likes' at bath time. What I noticed with Eden reading this book everyday, was how she picked out a certain bit of 'detail' on each page - her own 'thought' and repeated it each time. For example on the lion page she would notice the bubble on lion's nose, and on the monkey page she'd notice the toy ducks. It was really interesting to see her thought processes through the book. 

That's not my monkey (Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells)

Great for exploring textures, the bright pictures hold Eden's attention. I picked this book as Eden loves monkeys, and we haven't read it for a while. 

Spot Goes to the Farm (Eric Hill)

Spot goes on a lift-the-flap adventure to find baby animals with his Dad. A good book for teaching animal sounds, and learning about baby animals - something Eden has taken an interest in having recently got our own kitten.  

Postman Pat's 1,2,3 (Heinemann Books)

I wanted to include a counting book this week, and Eden really enjoys talking through what's happening on each page of this book - pointing out Postman Pat's glasses and hat, the cat, the sheep walking across the road. For a 20 month old like Eden, the pictures on each page contain just enough detail to have an interesting story behind them that she can recognise. 

So there we have it, our first 5 A Day! I've really enjoyed it, and the repetition of the same 5 books has led to the bonus of watching how Eden's responded to each book in different ways - something I wasn't aware of previously.

You can read more 5 A Day challenges from this week here

Silent Sunday

Potty training: We've decided to 'go for it'....

As  it's the summer holidays our social diary has been pretty free this week, with none of our regular toddler groups running. I thought I'd take the opportunity to spend the majority of the week at home with Eden and concentrate a bit more on potty training. She's 20 months now and has been showing signs of being 'ready' for a good 3 months, I'm sure part of this is to do with her being in cloth nappies. In that time we've had lots of nappy-free evenings at home where she's successfully used her potty, taking her lead and just going at her pace. This week I've taken it a step further and left her nappy-free (with just a t-shirt on) all day at home.

Since the beginning of the week, Eden's made her own way over to the potty when she's already started 'going' realising that's what the potty's there for. As a result we've only had a couple of full accidents all week, although we've had plenty of trickles on the floor before she's made it to her potty. She likes our little routine that we have, of taking her potty to the loo to empty, flushing the loo afterwards and washing her hands (she loves that bit), so this has kind of been a reward in itself to her using her potty and has worked well. However, until today we hadn't progressed any further with her getting to the potty in time before starting, or with her telling me she needs to go (although she quite good telling me about poos).

I was confident that with an extra incentive we could get her weeing on her potty without any accidents, so this afternoon I bought her some chocolate buttons, and they've worked a treat (for a little girl who never has chocolate she thinks this is amazing)! Since introducing the chocolate buttons as a reward (this is different to a bribe) she's cracked it, and has done 4 wees and a poo with absolutely no accidents on the floor. She's also wee'd when I've asked her to on the potty, something she wasn't doing previously even if she needed to go.

So we appear to have taken the plunge, and made enough progress this week to be considering not going back into nappies in the day. I've got the trainer pants out, and her big girl's pants, the next step is to introduce these, and she has her 'My Carry Potty' travel potty ready for out and about.

Courgettes Galore!

With limited growing space (and time to devote to nurturing growing veg this year having taken on our new house), we went a little overboard on the courgette plants in the garden, we have nine to be precise. I'd like to stay I naively planted nine not knowing what I'd let myself in for, but truth be told, I knew we'd end up with loads! Having for the past five years had a satisfying chest freezer full of home-grown produce from our previous garden and allotment, this year is a little shock to the system, and the glut of courgettes is some small consulation!

I've made some lovely recipes recently though, and thought I'd post them up for anyone else who has hundreds of courgettes taking over their kitchen at the moment!

1. Courgettes fried in Beer (a great starter)

• Slice the courgettes thinly.
• Make a batter by adding water to flour, while whisking. Once smooth, add in 1/4 can of beer, continuing to whisk. The batter will froth.
• Dip the courgettes in the batter, and fry in a little hot oil until soft.  

2. Grilled courgettes with mozzarella

• Slice the courgettes lengthways into 1/4 inch strips
• Coat in olive oil
• Grill for 8-10 minutes on a medium grill, turning halfway, until soft
• Whilst grilling, arrange sliced mozzarella in a circle around the outside of a plate
• Place some olives and any other salad veg in the centre of the plate
• Drizzle the cooked courgettes in a little more olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and black pepper
• Arrange the courgettes inbetween the mozarella slices and serve

3. Courgette, leek and pea slow-cooked soup

I made this the other day by just chucking all our leftover veg from the fridge into the slowcooker, the results were impressive!

• Slice 3 courgettes and 2 leeks - put in slow cooker
• I shelled a bag of peas (took ages!) and added them too, you could use frozen peas instead
• Sprinkle a vegetable stock cube over the veg, and add boiling water to the slow cooker to give a good covering to the veg
• Put the slow cooker on auto (if you have the setting) or otherwise high for an hour, then switch to low
• I cooked for 4 hours
• Once cook, use a hand blender to blend into a smooth soup
• Add a good-size wedge of grated parmigiano cheese (approx 50g)
• Serve with crusty bread

4. Chocolate courgette brownies 

These were delicious! Taken from www.rivercottage.net

• Ingredients:
• 125ml vegetable oil
• 300g caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 40g best quality cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 250g grated courgette

Preheat the oven to 180C/ Gas 4. Grease and flour a 22x33cm baking tin. In a large bowl miz together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 40g cocoa, bicarb and salt: stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the courgettes. Spread evenly into the prepared tin. bake for 25 - 30 minutes until brownies spring back when gently touched. 

So there you have it - a few of my recent recipes for anyone who's in need of a little courgette inspiration!