(More) Taste-safe slime

So a few months ago we made edible slime (see here) and although D enjoyed playing with it, after 24 hours it wasn't as stretchy and didn't feel as nice to touch. To be honest I was also a bit wary of Iz taking a massive mouthful and then me having to clean up humongous poops for the next week... 

So when I found another edible slime recipe on FunAtHomeWithKids blog I had to try it. You can see the whole recipe and instructions here but I ended up having to tweak the amounts slightly. I'm not sure if it's because we don't use "cup" measurements in the UK and so I had to approximate, or whether cornflour is subtlely different to cornstarch? But anyway, here are the quantities I used:

30g seeds

1 box cornflour (250g)

350-400ml water

So I used more water than the original recipe said (I found with less water it was more like Oobleck and less like slime - this may be because I used slightly more cornflour during the oz-g conversion). I then made another load and coloured one red and one blue.

Stretchy red...

And stretchy blue...

Fun to squish hands into :)

Even Iz enjoyed making handprint impressions!

Other tips/observations:

- you need a LOT of food colouring to make a difference

- if you want a marbled effect add the colouring to the dough, if you want a more uniform colour add it to the water 

- store it in a Tupperware in the fridge between plays (we kept ours for 7 days)

- "refresh" it with a tablespoon of water at each play if it feels like it's dried slightly. Knead the water into the slime and it then regains some of its stretchiness (but we always found it to be most stretchy on the first day)

Transferring it between containers is always fun

Iz could also stretch it

This slime actually felt quite nice to handle, and oozed between your fingers. It wasn't too 'slimy' and comes off your hands pretty easily. 

Love watching them engrossed in the same activity :)

Fascinated by the slime

You can even make a slime beard!

And this is why it had to be taste-safe!!! Lol

This was on day 7. D sprayed a little water on it, kneeded it in and then got squidging :)

Next we're going to try the chia seed recipe :)

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Disclaimer: as with any activity involving your baby, use your own judgement and common sense. I always closely supervise any sensory play and always inspect items for wear/tear carefully before each playing session. Always make sure you are confident with the safety of whatever your baby is playing with.

Toddler cooking (7)

I haven't done one of these posts for waaaay too long... D and I have been cooking together but I just haven't got round to blogging about it. If you want to see any of my older toddler cooking posts just click on the "cooking" label at the bottom of this post. Anyway - here are some of the things he's helped make in the last few months:

Vegetable bake cake

Easy to make and super healthy - I just grated the vegetables and then D did the rest :) just mix flour, eggs and cheese with grated carrots, courgettes and a mashed sweet potato. Pack into a baking tray and cook for 20ish minutes until cooked through. Slice up whilst still warm and enjoy. Perfect finger food for little ones just weaning, or  a great healthy snack for toddlers.

Chicken quesadillas

I love the simplicity of these, and how D can choose what goes in them. He first made them aged 19 months (see here) and he still enjoys making them. Now he just has to make twice as many so there are enough for Iz too!

Mini pizza

These are similar to the quesadillas and something that D has also been making since he was 17 months old (see here). We've experimented with lots of different bases. Iz likes a muffin cut in half, D prefers puff pastry or wraps. Again it is so easy - D can prepare them himself (once I've got the ingredients out), you can have endless variety and all I need to do is put them in the oven.

Apple and cheese muffins

These are *so* delicious and so simple. Just grate some cheese and an apple (after peeling) and lightly toast half a muffin. Sprinkle a handful of apple onto the toasted muffin, top with cheese and grill until the cheese is melted. Iz loves these, D is not so sure. But that's ok as then there are more leftovers for me... Mmmmm

Fruit cake

These were super easy to make. We used a packet sponge mix, made it up as instructed on the back and then added in a diced apple, mashed banana and a handful of raspberries and blueberries. After I diced the apple and sliced the banana D did all the rest himself. Super delicious warm and even better with a spoonful of yoghurt on the side :)

 

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Have you done any cooking with your toddler recently? What have you made?

Nuby weaning equipment - review

A while ago I reviewed some Nuby bath toys they kindly sent us. At the same time they also sent us some suction bowls and lolly moulds. We've put of them to the test and this is what we think:

Stackable suction bowls with lids

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with these bowls. I *love* (as does my toddler) that each bowl has a lid - me from a practical point of view, good for storing/stacking etc and D because they are fun to open to see what's inside! I also love the bright colours, the fact that they are different sizes so you can pick the right size for the meal and the fact that the suction base is part of the bowl (rather than being separate - like on our vital baby suction bowls).

Loving the lid

Stuck down good :)

However... I'm not sure if it's me, or my kids or what but I'm not completely sold on the suction. When it works it is amazing and I can hardly get it loose myself. But other days (when I think I've stuck it down the same way!) Iz manages to get it loose in about 10 seconds! Lately (she's nearly 10 months) she's also learnt to slowly jiggle it side-to-side whilst hugging it towards her. That normally gets it free! Lol

Is anyone watching if I start tugging...

Woohoo it's free!

Despite this I use these bowls every day for Iz at all 3 meals - another benefit is because there are 3 on a pack I can use one for each meal and not have to wash up til the evening :) 

They remain my go-to bowls and seeing as I'm always sitting with her when she's eating it's no big drama if she manages to free the bowl - I just squished it back on her tray. Weirdly (again I have no idea why - my strange kids!) I've noticed she is much more likely to feed herself food if it's in the bowl rather than on the highchair tray... So thanks Nuby, I will continue to use these bowls every day.

Happy with their bowls :)

Garden Fresh fruitsicles

This lolly maker is great. When I saw it online I thought it would be perfect for the approaching summer and for Iz teething and it is. It is super easy to use, made of thick plastic so is very hardy (yes I have accidentally dropped it on the floor a few times!) and D loves the bright colours - he chooses which colour lolly he wants - usually the pink one for some reason - perfect colour recognition practice :) 

Easy to hold (at 6 months)

The handles are also very easy to hold - even Iz at 6 months had no problems - and they have a great "no drip" design so any drops get caught in the handle rather than dripping down your child's hand/arm.

Love her "too cold" face :)

But she still always goes back for another mouthful!

Are there any downsides? The tray does take up a bit more space in your freezer than it needs to (if it was in a square design I think they could've made it quite a bit smaller - although that may well have made it harder to extract the lollies at the end). And a tip - leave the lollies in for a few more hours than you think they need. If you try to get them out when they've only just frozen solid then I only got a 50% intact-extraction record... But wait another few hours and it was always 100% :)

To show how easy they are to us here is D making our first batch:

Line up what you need

Fill each compartment with fruit puree

Sample a bit of the product while you're there

Clip in the handles

Put in the freezer and wait for the freezing magic...

Now there are a million and one fruit ice lolly recipes online but every single one I read involved using a juicer/mixer etc to purée the fruit. They may have sounded delicious but I'm a bit lazy in the kitchen so here are 4 tried and tested recipes that we've done which only require a fork :)

Mango/Strawberry/Yoghurt

- using a fork mash up a slice of mango, 2 strawberries and then mix in a small yoghurt (we used a baby Yeo valley fromage frais). This made enough to fill all 4 lollies and have enough left over for Iz's pudding (unfrozen)

Banana/Raspberry

- mash half a banana with 4 raspberries. This made enough for all 4 lollies and a spoonful of fruit left over for me :)

Banana/Pear

- mash a banana and pear together (the riper the better as then easier to mash!). This made enough for the 4 lollies and 2 pots which I froze for later puddings

And finally, the laziest of them all... A fruit pouch squeezed into the lolly compartments and frozen - this perfectly filled all 4 lollies :)

Mmmmm yummy

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Have you ever found a bowl that 100% stays stuck all the time? Or have you made different flavoured ice lollies with your kids? I'd love to hear :)

Toddlerisms

The current 'in thing' for lots of bloggers seems to be "keeping it real" and complaining about just how difficult and awful life is with a baby/toddler... but we all know about the tantrums and the fussy eating and the sleep refusal. I'd rather celebrate the nice bits, the bits that make me smile, the things that make the sleep deprivation worth doing ten times over. Those are the bits of D's toddlerhood that I hope I remember forever.

Here are just a few of his recent "toddlerisms" that I love :)

The way he calls his sister "Izybella"

His robot impression

How he holds his hand up and shouts "thank you!" to cars when we cross the road

The way he wears his sunglasses

His Eskimo kisses

How you *have* to give everyone in the room a kiss AND a cuddle before you leave or you'll hear wails of "daddy cuddle!!!!! Izzy kisses!!!!!" following you out of the door...

His limpet cuddles at night time when he wakes up for a drink

That any food his brother likes is instantly his favourite too

How excited he is by bubbles

When he runs into the kitchen after you shouting "Me help you! Me help you!"

How at 2 years old he knows the way from our house to Sainsburys and back again

How his stock answer to pretty much any question is "not sure". Unless the question was "would you like a snack". And then it's "yes please mummy"

The way he loves "Daddy's cheese" way more than his own

How he sneaks kisses to Iz when we're not in the room (and how excited he was last week when she kissed him back for the first time :) :) I think she was actually trying to latch onto his cheek but I'm not going to tell him that! Lol)

How much he loves to read - both with us and on his own 

That he is really into the old Disney movies - like Snow White, Cinderella (or "Cinderbella") and Sleeping Beauty. I know lots of children now grow up having never seen them but I love that he enjoys watching cartoons I watched when I was little. And how he calls all the bad/evil people naughty - "naughty queen", "naughty sisters" said in a very indignant tone

The way he says "Bless you!" to anyone who sneezes. Even if they are on the other side of the room and he has to shout :)

How he calls ice lollies "nonnies". It's just too cute to correct!

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So what about your toddler? Join me in celebrating rather than moaning :)

Spin Art

I can remember going to the Newbury Show when I was 11 and paying an exorbitant (to me at the time!) amount of money to make a spin art picture. If only I'd known how easy it was to do it at home!

What you need:

A salad spinner (make sure there are no holes in the bottom!)

Paper plates (or card)

Paint (poster paints or tempera work well)

An enthusiastic child

It is so easy to do:

1. Cut your paper plates to the right size

2. Secure in the inner spinner compartment with a big lump of blu tac

3. Squirt in some paint in the centre

4. Spiiiiiiiiiiiin (D loves doing this but needs a bit of encouragement to get enough speed up to 'spin out' the paint. He can do it by himself if we used regular kids paints but not when we tried the thicker fabric paints (in our spin art t-shirts)

5. Leave to dry and then admire :)

Raring to go...

Having a sneaky peek to see how it's looking

Ta-da! Finished picture

How pretty are they? You could make lovely cards from them, or gift tags, or even gift wrap if you used less paint and thinner paper (but not too thin or it'll rip when spinning).

Iz is a bit young to join in but D's cousin (21 months) quickly got the hang of it:

D could happily do this activity all afternoon and its a fun way of talking about colours, seeing which ones come out strongest, adding a different colour and responding to change the whole picture etc.

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We've also recently made "Spin art" t-shirts (thank you Jersey Momma for the idea - see her original post here) - you can read how we did it here :)

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Have you done any spin art recently? Do you even own a salad spinner?! We had to buy one specially (£5 on Amazon) but it was definitely worth it - it's one of D's most favourite things to do at the moment :)

I'd love to hear any other ways to incorporate spin art into an activity, or any more ideas for using the pictures (as I think we're going to end up with a lot of them!!).

DIY rain clouds

When I saw these on Growing a Jeweled Rose blog I knew D would have so much fun with them. Shaving foam? Water? Pipetting colours? What's not to love? And in fact those are pretty much all his favourite things to do!

How pretty are these? I love his concentration and his exclamations of "ooooo" and "wow" as the colours started to seep through, and then very excited "it's raining!!". He definitely grasped the concept of the activity :)

The next time we made multi-coloured rain, using all the different watercolours (he'd just finished using them in his star painting for Toddler Book Club) - so pretty!

We did talk about rain coming from clouds but he's still a bit little for this to be much more than something cool to look at/do. But with older children you could definitely build more of a "learning" aspect into it, with where rain comes from, why it falls etc. 

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And even better this activity leads perfectly onto making shaving foam pictures - you can just scoop the foam off the top and reuse it - perfect!

Have you done any cute weather-related crafts with your kids?