Fun with Little Mouse

31 Days to Clean

2011-12-04T09:03:00.000+02:00

I was blessed with a copy of this book by my dear friend Shannon from Welcome to our Wonderland.

Ever since receiving my copy I just couldn't get enough! I have re read 31 Days to Clean so many times and every time I find a new little gem inside. We all need to clean, but let's be honest very few of us really enjoy cleaning! Sarah Mae shares how to have a clean house, but also why we should have a vision to take care of our homes or domains. Having a Martha House the Mary Way.

“Life-giving is about receiving from God in order to give to others.” Barbara Mouser, Five Aspects of Woman

"The heart of our homes is not in the ability to keep it perfect at all costs; the heart of a home is love. We live in a thing, a non-eternal structure that needs to be maintained. The thing is worthless without the life we bring to it and through it. This book is about bringing life to the mundane in order to love well." Sarah Mae

Why not spoil yourself {and your family!} this Christmas by purchasing 31 Days to Clean {Only $4.99} You will love it!

Disclosure: I am a member of 31 Days to Clean affiliate program and do earn a small commission from purchases through any links clicked above. Thank you for your support!

Something yummy for the festive table!

2011-12-02T16:31:00.000+02:00

Remember this little guy?

The "once you taste it you are hooked for ever and ever and you don't want anything else" spice?

Flippen Lekka Spice's Andre Cabano just released a brand new recipe book, filled with 50 mouth watering, super yummy recipes.

If you are looking for some sure to be family favourites or just some new ideas on what to make for dinner this little book is a must. Not only do you get a recipe book you will also receive a 100ml Flippen Lekka Spice!

Price for Cape Town Northern Suburbs R75.00 (including delivery)
Price for all other areas R95.00 (including postage)

Contact Andre on 071 371 0499 for orders, will make a great Christmas gift too!

Disclosure: I was provided with a free recipe book for review, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Advent Calendar 2011

2011-11-28T16:52:00.000+02:00

My dear friend Celiah Ann from FUNdametnals inspired this beautiful little Advent Calendar set! Her's is so beautifully done that I just had to try my hand at making some for Mouse. I've been meaning to make a proper Advent Calendar for her for almost 3 years now and finally got round to doing something special for her. Here are some of the Christmas stockings, each one has a number on for the day and then a little embellishment. Everything was hand sewn with loads of love and I truly enjoyed this project! I inserted a little eyelet in each and added some ribbon to enable it to hang on our tree.

I only need to add some treats and then we are all set for out countdown to Christmas!

Love for me is...

2011-11-09T14:24:00.000+02:00

I love my husband. He is an amazing father to Mouse, soul mate and friend to me. I praise God every single day for him in my life. He carries me, he is my rock. He shows his love daily by leading our family in God's word, by loving us unconditionally, by working so hard every single day in order to provide for us, his family. This is what true love is, in my opinion true love is not defined by the amount of gifts, flowers, chocolates, cards or letters you write, true love is loving that person unconditionally, treasuring them, walking with them on the road of God. Carrying each other, caring for each other. I see my husband's love when I look at my gorgeous little girl. I see my husband's love when he comes home from work, tired, but smiling. I don't need material things to know he loves me and appreciates me.

"And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." 1 John 4:16

This is all I need, all I want. This wonderful love God in His mercy and grace granted me. Thank you my love for being you!!

Learning with Mommy: Visit to the Cape Town Museum

2011-11-04T17:29:00.000+02:00

We are fortunate enough to live in beautiful Cape Town! The Cape Town Museum is about 30 min drive from our home and it was such an awesome visit. At only R20.00 per adult (children enter free) it is well worth a visit! The Dinosaur exhibition was by far Mouse's favourite. She loves dinosaurs. Here she is happily posing with a replica fossil.

These huge Shark jaws were also a firm favourite with Mouse.

I loved all the animal displays, so many learning opportunities. I was amazed by the questions Mouse had, she wanted to know what they ate, where they live, etc. Animals that were strange and new she also asked to be identified.

We didn't even cover all the exhibits, it is that huge! We will be doing a dinosaur unit soon :) and I will schedule another visit to the dino section of the museum with Mouse.

The bird section is also huge, hundreds of birds species on display - another fun unit for the future! What I loved about this trip is that she could see the actual animals, their real sizes and what they really look like, not just a picture in a book. Granted not a live animal and a visit to our local zoo or aquarium is also important to see the animals alive and in a habitat, but she was able to view animals that normally would not be seen in Cape Town, as well as extinct ones.

We had a fun time and she did learn some fun and interesting facts as well, plus I spend time with my beautiful little girl!

Knitting: Christmas projects 3

2011-10-26T11:21:00.000+02:00

These two cuties are part of a set of 6 pin animals that I'm busy with for Mouse. They are so adorable and I love the ease with which they knit! Still to follow with this set: puppy, parrot, froggy, cow and a ball.

Mouse of course requested some other items as well :) I have enough knitting projects to keep me busy till June next year!

Learning with Mommy: Arts and Craft Fun!

2011-10-26T10:50:00.000+02:00

We have been having some fun with arts and crafts. Mouse really enjoys painting and crafting and she actually woke up asking to make a kitten with a pom pom nose!

I cut her some shapes from craft foam and she glued everything on her own. Love the 4 whiskers on the one side and the 2 on the other!

We also had some fun with paper plates, such a versatile homeschool and art and craft tool!

Mouse drew some silly faces on the plates and then with some runny paint and a straw she added some silly hair!

When some sweet friends came to visit we made these paper plate frogs, this was great fun!

We also made some salt dough critters, once again 4 feet on one side and two on the other! I cut some q tips in half for the feet and we added some googly eyes. We are still going to paint them :)

We have some more crafting ideas lined up, cannot wait to share :)

Knitting: Christmas projects 2

2011-10-18T15:02:00.000+02:00

Remember this little cutie? I knitted a blue Humpty Dumpty for my nephew as well, don't they look just adorable? Mouse promptly requested a blue one for herself as well :)

Looking forward to seeing him play with it!

My dear friend Celiah Ann showed me how to knit these little cloths, ever since she showed me that was all I was thinking about! I've completed 3 so far, one for Mouse and these two will go into the gift cupboard as well. Gorgeous soft 100% cotton cloths to use as face cloths or even dish cloths.

Will share some more projects as I finish them!

Knitting: Christmas projects 1

2011-10-07T11:55:00.001+02:00

I have started on my christmas gift projects already, super excited and I've completed one so far! I bought this cute little book {available on the shelves now!} from Huisgenoot / You.

Only R29.95 for this little gem! Available in English and Afrikaans and includes the most precious patterns for toys and other fun items for the home.

I started with a Humpty Dumpty for Mouse {she insisted on a pink one!}

Turned out rather cute! As a beginner knitter I found that the book really caters to my knitting skills and I knitted this with ease. You can order one from Media 24 on 0860 103 686 for Afrikaans copy and 0860 103 687 for english copy , they also published a super cute baby knit book with the most adorable baby goodies in! Will post other projects as I finish them!

Please note that I was not paid for this review, nor did I receive a book for free. I purchased mine. This book is just so cute that I wanted to share with you!

Learning with Mommy: Clever Kids Club

2011-10-07T11:40:00.000+02:00

Last week we did some activities from our Clever Kids Club packs. Both of us enjoyed it since all the planning was done for me and Mouse really enjoyed the variety of activities in the packs. I can highly recommend the Clever Kids Club to all!

Each pack consist out of the following:

Flashcard {starts with the ABC, and colours as well as numbers follows in future packs, completing the entire ABC, numbers up to 20 and 10 colours}
5 fun and educational activities for the week
Fun game / acitivity or colouring in page

You receive 5 of these packs in one bumper fun pack per month. Subscription is R75.00 for 3 months, which works out to only R5 per week!!

Here's some of the fun goodies we did last week from our CKC packs:

Activity: Read a book and discuss My Body
We read the story of Babalela by Martie Preller. This is by far one of Mouse's favourite books. We looked at the Babalela, with the help of our little Babalela doll, and discussed his arms, the amount of fingers he has, the colour of his ears, the amount of ears, eyes, etc and how it compares to us humans, the colour of his tail and the fact that he has one! She loved this and I had to read ALL our Babalela books (there are 3 in the series).

She loved this!

Activity: Paper plate duckies
We used some paper plates, cardstock for the heads, feet and beaks, yellow and white paint

Give your little artist the head, etc to paint and fold the paper plate in half - paint the one side.

Leave to dry. I painted on a wing as well, but you can cut one from cardstock if you prefer.

Once dry assemble your ducky. Glue the two sides of the plate together. Glue on the beak, eyes, feet, etc. This is Mouse's ducky. She glued everything on her own, so proud of her.

Here's my version!

Activity: Science fun - milk and food colour experiment
Get your supplies together for this really fun experiment: milk, food colouring, dish washing liquid, tootpick, bowls.
Add some milk to a bowl and drop in the food colouring, now dip your toothpick in the dishwashing liquid and insert the toothpick in the colour blobs in the milk, you will see a colour explosion! The soap breaks the milk's surface tension allowing the colours to mix and swirl creating beautiful patterns. Mouse absolutely adored this activity!

Overall we had so much fun and I will be incorporating CKC activities into our daily homeschool schedule for sure!

Disclaimer: CKC supplied me free packs for review, I also receive a small commission for any subscriptions through this blog post. Subscriptions for CKC as well as pack send outs are administrated by myself and you can contact me regarding CKC on admin@raisingcleverkids.com

Safe Laaities

2011-09-22T14:07:00.000+02:00

I've recently discovered Safe Laaities, a non profit cause to promote the use of car seats.

The following statistics are from their website:

South Africa has the highest motor vehicle accident rate in the world!
Each day 3 children die due to motor vehicle accidents, more are left critically injured, brain damaged or paralyzed.
Car accidents is the fourth leading cause for unnatural deaths in children in SA
84% of our children travel unrestrained on our roads!!

Isn't these statistics shocking!

Car seats reduce the risk of death in an accident by 71% in infants and 54% in toddlers, this is why we need to buckle up our children in car seats. Please read some of the articles on the Safe Laaities website on non car seat use.

How can you help this cause?

If you are a company you can donate in various ways. Contact mag@mommies.co.za for more info.
If you are an individual please head over to their website and sign the petition. Signing will enable Safe Laaities to approach government to pass a car seat law. To do this they need your signature!

Please help and support this cause, even if you just sign the petition. I already did.

Disney Princess Theme

2011-09-19T14:28:00.000+02:00

Little Mouse absolutely loves the Disney Princesses. I've been meaning to do a proper Princess Theme with her for ages now and only got round to it last week. We had so much fun and she enjoyed it so much! I made all the printables and all links to both english and afrikaans pages are at the bottom of this post. Please feel free to download and enjoy! If you do download please email me with links / photos. I would love to see how you enjoyed this theme as well! All the pages are for black and white printers, you can either colour the pics yourself, as I did, or ask your little one to colour it. I've downloaded the clipart from Disneyclips.com

We started off our Princess theme with a cupcake party! One of our special friends joined us for a cupcake decorating feast. Mouse wore her tutu and both of them had a blast.

She had to of course also wear her Belle T shirt!

I made her this I spy page, it was so easy to make. I simply cut some pictures from her Disney Princess Magazines and glued them onto a piece of card stock. She then had to look through the magnifying glass to find certain items that I called out to her.

We practiced some pre writing skills as well as the letters A, B, C, D, F and S.

We matched some friends.

Coloured in some items in certain specified colours.

Counted with flashcards and with these bingo marker pages as well as completed a story sequence and size sequencing.

She also enjoyed playing with her paper dolls that I made for her - again pics cut out from her Disney Princess Magazines that I glued onto card stock and covered with contact paper.

This week we will be doing some activities from Clever Kids Club - looking forward to sharing those with you as well!

Links to printables:

English

Aa for Aurora
Bb for Belle
Cc for Cinderella
Dd for Dopey
Ff for Flounder
Ss for Snow White
Match the Friends
Princess Colours
Size Sorting Belle
Size Sorting Ariel
Count Flounder
Complete the Story
Writing exercises
Princess Bingo Markers

Afrikaans

Aa vir Aurora
Bb vir Belle
Cc vir Cinderella
Dd vir Dopey
Ff vir Flounder
Ss vir Sneeuwitjie
Pas die Maats
Prinses Kleure
Grootes Belle
Grootes Ariel
Tel vir Flounder
Voltooi die storie
Skryf oefeninge
Prinses Bingo Merkers

Enjoy!

Guava Chocolate Cake {Pudding}

2011-09-05T18:23:00.000+02:00

This cake turned out so divine! Soft and moist with yummy cream and soft, gooey guavas. Yummy! Ideal pudding cake!

I preserved the guavas myself, but you can use fresh or tinned ones.

Recipe for preserved guavas

Thinly peel all the guavas, cut in half and immediately place in a bowl with the following mixture in, 5 liters of water plus 15ml salt and 15ml vinegar. This will stop the guavas from turning brown.
Make a syrup by boiling 200g white sugar and 500ml water for about every 500g of guavas that you have. In the meantime boil your guavas for about 5min till soft. Add the guavas to your prepared syrup and boil for another 10min. Bottle the guavas immediately in sterilized jars and seal immediately.

I like this recipe since the guavas aren't too sweet, they are gooey and soft and heavenly! If you are planning on preserving your guavas yourself, make them a day ahead of the rest of the cake.

Chocolate Cake recipe
This is my all time favourite, never fail, always a success no matter what, cake recipe! I got this from my home economics teacher in grade 8!

Ingredients
500ml Flour, sifted
10ml Vanilla essence
450ml Sugar
4 Eggs, seperated
20ml Baking Powder
125ml Cocoa Powder dissolved in 250ml boiling water. I used the Willie's Cocoa, but you can use normal powder
125ml Oil

Method
Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees celcius and grease two 20cm cake tins.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, oil, vanilla essence and egg yolks well, it is best to use an electric mixer. Slowly pour in the cocoa mixture while mixing.

In a seperate bowl whisk the egg whites till soft peak and then gently fold into your chocolate batter.

Pour batter into prepared tins and bake for 30 - 40 min. Cakes are done when a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Leave to cool completely in cake tins before removing.

Cream recipe

250 ml fresh cream
30 ml icing sugar

Mix the cream and icing sugar and whisk the cream until soft peaks.

Assembling

Place a layer of cake on a plate, top with half of the cream mixture, place the other cake half on top and top of with the remaining cream. Add some of your gorgeous preserved guavas on top and drizzle with some of the preserving syrup. Enjoy!!! This makes the perfect pud!

I'm linking this to Heidi's Crafts: Fortnightly Baking Fun Challenge

Please visit this inspirational young lady's blog. She is 14 years old and such an inspiring young lady!

Staying Organized as a Mom

2011-09-01T18:53:00.000+02:00

Being organized is always a huge mission, and yet, when I'm not organized it feels as if I just cannot function properly. Things get left behind or not done and then I have to work twice as hard to just keep everything under control.

I've started a new habit since January of this year, each night I sit down and list everything that I should do the next day. In order from most important to least important. The next day I start at the top of my list and work through it, things that does not get done moves to the next day and their priority changes to urgent. I also sit down in the beginning of the month and check for any birthdays, making a list of gifts that I will need to buy. This is then worked into our budget and I go out and buy all the gifts when I do my main monthly shopping. Everything gets stored, including wrapping paper etc, in our gift drawer. All ready! Doing little things like this has so simplified my life, my life seems to run on autopilot in certain areas.

This has left more time for me to concentrate on homeschooling and caring for my family. I also write down any cleaning duties that needs to be attended to, for example to clean on top of the fridge in my diary. This is then scheduled for specific days, in this way I stay on top of any cleaning that needs to be done. I also schedule my days away from the house to only 2 days a week, all errands are done on these two days, saving time and petrol!

Two brilliant resources for keeping me organized and sane is Flylady and the MOM Diary.

I just cannot function without my beautiful pink diary! It is A4 sized, which means loads of space for me to write down everything that needs to happen at home, homeschooling, errands or anything else that needs to get done during the day.

The diary was developed by a mom and really meets all my needs. There is even a little space to jot down any appointments or need to remembers for your kids!

The MOM Diary is available in beautiful colours, A4 and A5 sizes and only costs R175.00 each. You can order it through Alison, deliveries of the diaries for 2012 is scheduled for November of this year. I've already ordered mine!

Pond theme and Letter M

2011-08-29T17:55:00.002+02:00

We started of with some bingo marker fun, Mouse just loves these little paints, thank you auntie Donette! I printed this M page from Confessions of a Homeschooler

She loved using all the colours to dot the two M's

She also used the markers to paint a picture of a duck, also from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

The week would just not be complete without Mouse being silly! I heard her say that she applied some kitten make up, puzzled I went to take a look at what she was talking about, only to find that she used markers to draw blue and green whiskers on her cheeks!

We enjoyed reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle {again!} After we finished it she asked for an ice cream, just like the caterpillar. Here she has a beautiful ice cream smile!

She enjoyed loads of cutting exercises

Mouse also loved the pre writing exercises from Confessions of a Homeschooler {don't you just love Erica's blog!!!}

I printed some different sized turtles, ducks and fish for her to size sort.

She also searched and coloured all the number 2's on the weekly shopping ads. I learned this trick from Rene Lighton, she is a brilliant lady! Her motto is use what you have at home, educating your children should not necessarily cost you a fortune. I attended one of her workshops, which was truly inspirational and I also have one of her books, Let's Get Ready, I can really recommend this!

Will post some more pond theme and letter M goodies soon!

Fire Station Visit = FUN!

2011-08-29T16:40:00.000+02:00

A fellow homeschool mom organized a visit to our local Fire Station, Mouse was joined by two of her best friends and fellow homeschoolers, Sweet Pea and ArrowBoy. This is the kind Fireman, Fireman Rowen, that showed us around the Fire Station.

Here's one of the Fire Trucks

Mouse even had a turn holding the fire hose! With the help of this kind Fireman {Lady}!

Here Mouse is exploring the inside of the Fire Truck

She was really intrigued by the size of the Truck

A fun and very informative day! We all learned something. Thank you to all the kind staff of the Durbanville Fire Station!

Book Review - The Promises she keeps

2011-08-24T09:00:00.000+02:00

I was send a free copy of The Promises she keeps by Erin Healy to review by Booksneeze.

It's her destiny to die young. The man who loves her can't live with that.
Promise, a talented young vocalist with a terminal illness, is counting on fame to keep her memory alive after she dies. Porta is an aging witch and art collector in search of the goddess who will grant her immortality.
When Promise inexplicably survives a series of freak accidents, Porta believes that Promise is the one she seeks. But Chase, an autistic artist who falls in love with Promise and opposes Porta, comes between the women with his mysterious visions and drawings, and plunges everyone into a flesh-and-blood confrontation over the true meaning of eternal life.

I found this book extremely difficult to read. I truly struggled through this book, I always try and do a positive review and highlight aspects that I enjoyed about each book, this one unfortunately I did not enjoy at all. There is no doubt that Erin Healy is an excellent writer, this work of her, unfortunately, I did not enjoy.

I found the story not only difficult to read, but the title and short description of what the book is about is also misleading. I blog with integrity and I am always truthful in my reviews. This is my opinion on the book, but please feel free to read the book to form your own.

Why Homeschooling is fun..

2011-08-23T09:00:00.000+02:00

....because if it is a gorgeous day outside you can read your books with your doggy!

Cotton Ball Craft {Lamb}

2011-08-22T09:00:00.002+02:00

This projects has been on my to do list forever! We finally got round to it this week. I found the idea here. They have a great step by step tutorial.

You will need:

Toilet Paper Roll

Glue

Black Felt

Black Pom Pom

Felt in any other colour for your bow

Black Pipecleaners x 1

Scrap Paper

Wiggly Eyes

Cotton Balls

I preconstructed part of the lamb by inserting the scrap paper into the tube, adding the face with black felt, the eyes and ears as well as the pipecleaner legs. Just wrap the pipecleaners around the tube.

I then covered the tube in glue and while holding it, Mouse stuck the cotton balls on. Lastly we glued on the pom pom for a tail as well as the blue bow. I trimmed the legs a bit to add a bit of stability.

She is very impressed with the lamb and very proud of how it turned out!

I used normal glue stick, which worked okay, but a stronger glue like craft glue would have been a better option.

Bingo Marker Fun!

2011-08-20T15:29:00.000+02:00

We have finally completed our My Body Lapbook! It was so much fun and Mouse really enjoyed this lapbook.

As an add on to both the My Body lapbook as well as the Stone Soup lapbook we did I printed some Bingo Pages from DLTK on healthy eating and healthy food choices.

Mouse used her bingo markers to colour in the objects that I shouted out, we then also identified them either as a healthy food choice or an unhealthy one.

In the completed My body lapbook we also did the following:

Counted our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers and toes
Drew a face
Memory game
Tracing - I drew a mouth, nose and ear in dots and she had to trace them
Funny faces with different eyes, ears, noses and mouths {this she loved!}

Also from DLTK is this carrot dot to dot page. Instead of the normal 1 - 10 this one was an ABC dot to dot. We identified each letter and she dotted with her bingo markers from A to F.

Currently we are concentrating on the letter M. We used our Kinderwerf alphabet cards and word cards for this. We also re created the words on our word cards with felt letters.

For our calender time I also incorporated colour of the day, shape of the day and memory verses thanks to tips from Donette and Grietjie.

Next week we will be doing a Pond Life Theme, 5 Senses and the letter M.

Have fun and God Bless!

Flippen Lekka Thai Style Soup

2011-08-13T09:00:00.003+02:00

We love Thai style soups and this one is so easy to make!

Ingredients:

Vegetable or Chicken stock
Chicken pieces (about 2 pieces per person)
Noodles (thinnest you can buy!)
Red Pepper, diced
Carrot, diced
Baby Marrow, diced
Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice of course!
Soy Sauce

Method:
Start of by cooking your chicken in the stock, the amount of stock will depend on the amount of chicken pieces you are cooking. It needs to cover the chicken completely. Cook until done, remove chicken from stock (save the stock!) and bone and skin the pieces. Shred into little bits. Season the chicken well with Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice. Keep warm. Strain the stock into a bowl and set aside. Season with some Soy sauce and keep warm.

Stir fry the veg until done, you can add as much or as little veg as you want.

Cook the noodles per package instructions, drain.

Assemble your soup:

Dish some noodles in the bottom of your bowl, add some veg and chicken on top and add some of the broth.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for providing the free spice used in this dish. All veg in this dish was bought from FineCuts Veg. FineCuts are also agents of Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice and you can order through them!

Calender / Circle Time

2011-08-12T15:20:00.000+02:00

I've been wanting to do a proper Calender / Circle Time with Mouse for some time now. There is such cute printables available on various blogs but they are all in English and our home language is Afrikaans. After I saw this post by Nadia from Fun With Mama I knew I had to make my own!

The first poster has the following on:

1. Today is, Tomorrow is and Yesterday was grit

2. Date of today

3. Day name

The second poster has the following on:

1. Seasons

2. What is the weather like today?

3. Letter of the week

4. Number of the day

5. Extra pouch

You know something is a hit when your child kisses it!

I saw this super cute idea for a Weather Bear on Little Sprouts, she has a printable version that you can download and print. I made our own version - Tatam die weer beer! {Tatam the weather bear}

A dear friend blessed us with some lovely vinyl stickers ages ago - I used the stickers to cut out our bear and he is such a cutie! Because it is vinyl I don't need to laminate.

We then designed some pretty clothes to go along with Tatam, it is raining in Cape Town at this stage and he had to get an umbrella of course! The clothes we are just sticking on with some press stick at this stage, but I would like to get some velcro at some stage.

Any other fun ideas for cirlce / calender time?

Stone Soup Lapbook

2011-08-12T14:42:00.000+02:00

I read the story of Stone Soup a while ago and it was so cute that I decided to fit it in as a lapbook in between our five senses and body work. The story is about a clever little fox that outsmart some farm animals that was not that nice to him. He asked for some food and all the animals refused. He then asked for some water to make some soup and sheep gave him some. Proceeding to add a stone to the water and putting it on the fire to boil all the animals were intrigued, they tasted the soup and saw that it needed something, all of them in the end gave up some of their food for the stone soup! Cute story! There are loads of different versions of this book available. We used the one by Tony Bonning.

I started off after reading the book for the first time { we have read it multiple times now and I had to renew our loan from the library twice now :)} by preparing a tray with a naartjie, pear and a yoghurt cup on. I then asked her to study the tray identify each object and to remember what was on the tray. I then removed one of the objects without Mouse looking and she had to tell me which one I removed after she took a look at the tray again. After this observation game we made a mini fruit salad with our ingredients on the tray!

For our second activity on the book I cut out some fruit and veg pictures from an advertising page from our local community newspaper as well as some sweets, chips and cookie pics. I drew on two separate pages two pots for her. One labeled Healthy Food and the other Unhealthy food. I asked Mouse to sort the pics into healthy food options and unhealthy ones, explaining to her the difference and the benefits of a healthy eating plan. She then had to glue the pics onto the correct pot.

I drew an apple on the healthy pot and a sweetie on the unhealthy one as she cannot read at this stage - this just helped her to identify the different pots on her own.

Here is the finished pots!

I also found some cute colouring in pages on DLTK especially for the stone soup story.

I made some flash cards of some of the animals as well as some items found in the book, I showed them to Mouse and asked her to identify the items in the book.

Mouse needs some practice with sizing, so I made these sizing cards for her, also with different items in the book. She loved this.

In between all the Soupy fun we had to built a tent of course!

It is also important to dress appropriately when you are going to do some serious colouring in! I made this tutu for her a few days ago and she looks so cute in it!

Have fun!

Giant Floor Playmat

2011-08-03T13:38:00.000+02:00

I love felt, I love the feel of it, I love the ease of working with it and I love how felt is such a forgiving medium, you can make tons of mistakes and the end product always looks great!

I made this giant floor playmat for Mouse, this thing is seriously big! I totally got carried away with all the felty goodness :)

These little cuties are finger puppets, two sets for two sweet birthday boys.

And then our giant floor mat needed some houses! I made this from a recycled juice carton. I first saw this idea on Joyful Mama's blog. This little house was a huge hit!

I have some more projects lined up, hopefully I will be able to finish them soon!

Reward System

2011-08-02T09:00:00.000+02:00

I've been searching for a reward system that actually works. We have certain rules in place and the use of our timer have been great, but I needed something visual to encourage Mouse. My dear friend Grietjie from Joyful Mama made Mouse this awesome little hairclip holder. I'm using this a little differently at this stage and it works great! I painted some pegs in pink, purple and yellow and I am keeping them in a glass jar in her cupboard. As soon as she does something as asked of her or if she behaves she is rewarded with a peg. When she reaches 10 pegs she receives a reward, which is anything from a visit to the zoo to a sweetie. Each time she adds the peg herself and she counts the pegs as well, so I'm sneaking in some maths as well!

Homeschooling: Measurements

2011-08-01T15:42:00.000+02:00

Having introduced weights and scales to Mouse the previous week I thought that it was a great opportunity to do measurements as well. We firstly measured her and wrote down her length in her My Body Lapbook and then we had some fun with measurements and different lengths of items.

To illustrate this to Mouse I took different sized pencils, we named them as biggest, small, smallest, etc.

We also drew with each one, determining which one worked the best!

Mouse also measured some items in and around the house with my measurement tape.

Mouse also made this cute little bag! I cut out the bag for her and stitched it for her, she glued all the felt pieces on the bag by herself. She loved this.

To add on to our body study we had some fun with our Suczezz My Body Felt Set.

We will complete our My body lapbook and we are also busy with some Five senses fun! I'm also planning on how to implement more into our homeschooling without spending money, will share some ideas with you soon.

Sewing Projects - for Mouse!

2011-07-21T09:00:00.000+02:00

I've been happily sewing away on some extra warm goodies for Mouse! I made her this cute little pj set, she looks adorable in it, and this little fleece top.

The top was made with some leftover fleece I had from my pj project, I also had some pink left over that I used to make a top for a sweet friend.

I just completed two other sets of pj's, one for Mouse and another for a sweet little friend's birthday. Will post pics soon of this set!

At this stage I'm busy with birthday gifts for two little birthday boys who's birthdays are around the corner and I'm also knitting an adorable little pink jacket for a friend who's baby is due a bit later in the year. So many projects and so little time!

Bubble fun!

2011-07-20T08:51:00.001+02:00

We have been blessed with some amazing summer weather in the middle of the Cape Town winter! When I saw this fun Bubble Snake post on Confessions of a Homeschooler I knew we had to do it! Erica has a superb tutorial on her post, just click on the above link!

I took an old 500ml cooldrink bottle, cut off the bottom and removed the top. I then used a piece of polar fleece that I attached with a rubber band to form our bubble blower!

Mouse loved dipping the bottle in the soapy liquid, we went through 1liter of liquid!

When you blow on the top the bubbles comes out as a long snake. I couldn't get a great picture of the end result because Mouse kept on dipping it, she had tons of fun! Visit Erica's blog to see some great pics of her kiddos with the bubble snakes. I of course also had a bit of fun with it!

Princess Tea Party

2011-07-19T08:37:00.001+02:00

We invited two sweet little friends, Sweet Pea and ArrowBoy, over for a Princess Tea Party! We had tons of fun and the girls looked super cute in their tutus and crowns!

I made them each a crown from yellow construction paper and gave them some fun stickers to decorate their crowns with. They had so much fun doing this.

Doesn't ArrowBoy look adorable?

In between decorating the crowns there were a few laughs! I love the sound of my little girls laugh! I'm feeling so blessed that she has such sweet friends!

The highlight of the morning was the cupcake decorating! I made loads of cupcakes, some icing and gave them sprinkles and smarties and they came up with these creations all on their own!

It was such a fun morning and I'm already planning something fun in two weeks time! The kiddos had a great time and an added bonus was I spend some time with my dear friend as well :)

Having fun with scales!

2011-07-18T09:00:00.000+02:00

About a year ago I received a free lapbook from A Journey Through Learning, a great site by the way, on My Body. Mouse was still a bit too young to do some of the activities and I decided to save it until now. I printed out the first section of the lapbook, it is a HUGE lapbook and I think it is real value for money, and we started on that.

The first section covers:

Birthdate (year, date, age, name)
Weight
Lenght
Body features (to draw in eyes, etc on blank body template)
Drawing of real body features via tracing

She loved adding the details to the body template, I ended up drawing a few more templates for her to complete.

She also stamped some details on the templates with the birthday stamps that I made for her!

We weighed her and completed the section in the lapbook. I then gave her some items from the kitchen cupboard to explore weights some more. We weighed all the items determining which was the heaviest and which was the lightest. I explained the working of the scale and weights to her.

She loved watching the needle move on the scale!

To make it even more fun I asked her to fetch 4 items of her choice to weigh. We weighed each item and wrote down our findings next to a drawing of the object. We determined which one was the lightest and which one the heaviest. I gave her both items to physically feel the difference.

She laughed herself silly when she saw my drawings!

We will continue with the lapbook as well as measurements, the human body and some other fun activities!

Feeding the Duckies!

2011-07-17T09:00:00.000+02:00

Mouse loves feeding the duckies at our local dam. She especially loves it when daddy goes along!
I just love this pic of the two of them.

Here she is being all silly and pretending to take some photos of her own!

Baking time!

2011-07-16T22:25:00.000+02:00

For her birthday a few weeks ago Mouse received beautiful cookie cutters in different shapes! We couldn't resist baking some real cookies with it.

She had so much fun picking out the shapes, rolling the dough and of course, eating the cookies!

We now have two tins filled with delicious home baked cookies. Yummy!

Zoo Visit

2011-07-16T22:17:00.000+02:00

We are fortunate enough to live close to our local Zoo, only about 30 km's drive. We've been there before, when Mouse was a bit younger. A friend suggested we do something fun with the girls and the zoo was the perfect answer!

They loved all the animals and had a blast enjoying the amazing sunny day in the middle of winter.

I was impressed with Mouse, she counted the animals in the cages and asked questions on what animals they were, what they ate, etc.

She even named one of these Storks Alicia! Loved the zoo and planning another visit soon. All the fresh air and walking also ensured a wonderful night's rest!

Flippen Lekka Sausage Rolls

2011-07-14T15:59:00.000+02:00

I just love sausage rolls, but I do not love all the hidden fats and preservatives in the shop bought varieties. I found the original recipe for this absolutely yummy homemade version on the MasterChef Australia website, I made some changes though, but if you click on the MasterChef link you can download the original.

Ingredients:
1tbs unsalted butter
1 large carrot, grated and peeled
1tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 t minced garlic
700g lean beef mince
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs {best to use fresh crumbs, if you using shop bought crumbs, half the amount}
2 x rolls ready to roll puff pastry {I used Today's}
1 egg yolk
2 t Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Heat butter in saucepan and add grated carrots, cook over low heat until the carrots are really soft and yummy! Season with some salt and puree very fine. Set aside to cool.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the onions and garlic. Season with some salt and black pepper, put aside to cool.
Combine mince, 1/4 cup carrot puree, onion and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice. Mix well. Divide mixture into 4 and roll into a log shape (about 25cm long). Roll out your puff pastry to about 4 mm thick. Slice each sheet in half lenghtways and place a sausage log across the closest edge of the pastry sheet. Roll to cover meat mixture, seal edges of pastry with some egg yolk. Cut of any excess pastry, brush with egg wash and bake on lined or greased baking sheets for about 20 min.
Slice each roll into little sausage rolls once cooked and serve!

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for providing the spices used in this recipe. Flippen Lekka Spice is available in a variety of sizes and hot or not!

Mouse is 3!

2011-07-13T15:58:00.000+02:00

My baby girl is three years old! Hard to believe that she is not a baby anymore. This year we had a Winnie the Pooh party. She chose the theme herself and she was super excited about it!

I didn't spend loads of money on decorations, in stead I used what toys we had and I also used our Winnie the Pooh blankets as table cloths. It all made for a fun atmosphere!

Auntie Noenoes from next door blessed us with this Winnie the Pooh sugar picture for the cake! It turned out gorgeous!

Mouse looked forward to blowing out her candles on the cake, last year she didn't want to, but this year she was excited about it.

For little gifts for each special guest I made stamps. I used old milk bottle tops and stuck foam stickers in fun animal designs on them. They made cute little gifts! Auntie Noenoes also blessed us with Winnie the Pooh Gift bags and some other party favours for each little guest! Thank you Auntie Noenoes!

I made sleeves for the juice boxes, just to make it a bit more fun!

Some of the gorgeous girls that enjoyed the day with us!

We had so much fun!

My little girl is super sweet, she is calm and easy going {most days!} I love her to bits! Happy birthday my sweet angel! May God bless you and keep you! I pray that you will live life to the full, that you will experience God's richest blessing every day and that you will recognize and see God's Grace in your life. Love you!

The photos without our name was kindly taken by my sweet friend Georgia from Love and Lollipops, thank you my friend!

Rules and Discipline

2011-06-01T16:08:00.000+02:00

Having a almost three year old in the house I constantly need to check on discipline and behaviour. As a mother I also constantly ask myself if I'm doing the right thing, if I'm being to strict or I try and see what others do and how their children behave. Of course the last option is totally wrong as each child is unique and you as a mother could not and should not compare yourself to others. As a mom I know that I should look to our Lord and Saviour for answers and therefor discipline and lead my child according to His will.

I do however love to learn from other Christian moms on how they handle certain situations and what they choose to implement. I do not compare our routine or rules with them, but rather use it as a guideline. One such Christian mom that I respect is Grietjie from Joyful Mama. She is also a very dear friend and I just loved this new idea on implementing rules in their family that I had to not only implement this in our home {adjusted to suit our needs}, but also share it with you!

Explaining rules to a three year old is daunting to say the least, what they really understand is something I always question, but with this super cute and easy to follow Umbrella rules chart Mouse totally understands what is expected of her and what she may and may not do!

I explained that as an umbrella keeps us safe from rain, rules are there to keep us safe as a family. Under our umbrella is daddy, mommy and Mouse with Tatam {there on her demand!}
Our rules are drawn on the umbrella, in both text and symbols for Mouse that cannot read at this stage.

We talk nicely to each other - no tantrums!
We take care of our goodies
We clean up after ourselves
We need to listen to Mommy and Daddy

At first I thought that it might be to advanced for her, but she quickly grasped all the pictures and meanings associated with them. Now when she does something that is not allowed, for example in stead of asking nicely for something she whines, I will ask her what the mouth on our poster means. She understand immediately and will correct her own behaviour! Please visit Grietjie's blog to view her stunning post on this and her chart. As you will see Mouse already personalized this poster by drawing on it!

The other tool that we started implementing is our timer. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever considered that a timer could work so well! We usually had to fight to stop playing and get into the bath for example - this is now something of the past. She loves and thrives on the fact that she can see the time passing and know when it is time to move onto the next activity when the timer's alarm goes off. We started off slowly with just a few minutes on the timer and we are up to 15 minutes per timing session now. It is making such a huge difference and I cannot imagine being without it now!

Hope that you have a blessed week and if you have any ideas on discipline and behaviour please feel free to comment!

Book Review - The Principles of the Path

2011-06-01T14:49:00.000+02:00

How do you get from where you are to where you want to be?

Often we set goals or have life dreams for ourselves, but we end up way of track. The Principle of the Path is a great book to empower you to identify your path that will lead you to your goal or dream.

I'm not big on self help books, but this one is different. The author, Andy Stanley, is a pastor and founder of North Point Ministries. The book is written with a Christian perspective and frequently quotes scripture. I liked that it was scripture based and I also enjoyed Andy's writing style, grounded and easy to follow.

Andy points out that insight into what we want is not enough - we need God!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

lean not on your own understanding,

In all ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Without our Lord and Saviour in our lives we will not be able to accomplish anything. The book will help you to identify some key aspects, for example:

Why do I hesitate to give God full access to every part of my life?
What do I fear will happen on the other side of that decision?
What is the most difficult area of my life to yield control?

The book includes a short study guide that will be perfect for small groups to use and discuss. I truly liked this book and enjoyed reading it. Andy offers sound advice that is easy to implement in daily life.

The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be - Amazon Link
Kalahari.net Link

I blog with integrity, all opinions expressed in this review are my own. I was provided with a free copy of the book by Booksneeze.

Flippen Lekka Portugese Style Chicken

2011-05-30T09:00:00.001+02:00

Quick easy and super tasty with Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice! A bit of a bite, but you can just add a bit less of the peri peri.

Ingredients:

5 Portions of Chicken
1t Paprika
3 t Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
1/2 t Peri Peri
1/2 Sweet Red Pepper diced
1 t Garlic
1 Tomato peeled and diced
a dash of Olive Oil

Method:

Mix all the ingredients, except chicken portions. Keep on side and prepare the chicken. Place chicken in an oven proof dish, and sprinkle with some Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice, add some water to the bottom of the dish - I usually cover half of the chicken portions in water. Sprinkle the prepared mix on the chicken.

Bake in preheated oven of 180 degrees celcius till done.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for providing me with free spices used in this recipe.

Sewing Projects {PJ's and Jacket}

2011-05-27T09:00:00.001+02:00

I made this cute jacket for Mouse as one of my sewing projects for May. She was super excited about it! After finishing the entire jacket with just the button holes to finish up I realized my sewing machine's button hole function wasn't working. Mouse had to wait a few days until I had the chance to visit my Mom's to use her machine to finish up the button holes. After finishing it Mouse insisted on putting on the jacket immediately! She has been wearing it since every day!

I also made these PJ's for myself and I am in the process of making some PJ's for hubby as well. Then I will need to take my machine in for a service and to fix the button hole function.

I have some more projects planned and I'm looking forward to it!

Picnic Time!

2011-05-25T14:51:00.000+02:00

On one of the last beautiful days here in Cape Town we had a picnic in our garden! It was so much fun having our lunch outside in the sunshine. The dogs of course decided to join in :)

Book Review - Vegan Family Meals

2011-05-25T14:29:00.000+02:00

What a wonderful opportunity this was to review this wonderful vegan book by Ann Gentry! A while ago we decided to rather eat more vegetarian and vegan dishes, to not only improve our health, but also the aspect of animal rearing that is so controversial at this stage.

I loved this book, the book is not only beautiful and easy to use but the mouth watering recipes will make sure that you don't even miss any meat! I love the fact that the recipes are easy to follow and that it doesn't contain any ingredients that are difficult to get hold off.

This book is not only for vegans, but for anyone that wishes to start a healthier lifestyle.
Large-scale studies have shown that mortality from ischemic heart disease was 30% lower among vegetarian and vegan men and 20% lower among vegetarian and vegan women. Additionally, those following a meatless diet tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and fewer incidences of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease and other disorders.

Great book with wonderful yummy recipes for everyone!

Vegan Family Meals: Real Food for Everyone - Amazon link
Kalahari link

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing a free digital edition via NetGalley of this wonderful book for me to review.

Flippen Lekka Kiddie Friendly Dish

2011-05-23T09:00:00.001+02:00

I have a very fussy little eater. She eats only the minimum amount of food, therefor I need to get creative to get the most nutrition into a few bites of food.

Ingredients:

3 x Carrots (cleaned, peeled and diced)
1 x Potato (peeled and sliced)
300g Mince
1 Egg
1 &1/2 t Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
15ml Chutney
15ml Tomato Sauce
1 slice of bread soaked in a bit of water, water squeezed out
Cheese grated

Method:

Start by cooking the carrots and potato. As soon as they are tender and done, puree them into a smooth puree.
Mix the mince, egg, Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice, chutney, tomato Sauce, bread and veggie puree.
Place in an oven proof dish, sprinkle with some cheese and bake in a pre heated oven of 180 degrees Celcius for about 30 min.

After it is done you can serve with rice or pasta. The veggies is already inside, so fussy eaters will be none the wiser! I normally boil some rice and then make up small bowls of the rice and mince mix that I freeze. Great to just pop out and defrost when you don't have time to cook. The end product is not very firm, it is soft, this is to enable little ones to eat it a bit easier.

Enjoy!

Website {babynursryrooms.com}

2011-05-17T10:40:00.000+02:00

Looking for a fun and informative site while planning your baby's room or nursery? Visit http://www.babynurseryrooms.com - here you will find everything you need! I just love the Ladybug room!

Images via babynurseryrooms.com

Flippen Lekka Herb Braai Chicken

2011-05-16T08:59:00.000+02:00

We love cooking a whole chicken on the braai. This is super easy to make at home in stead of buying the pre made versions from your local shop.

Ingredients:
1 Free Range Chicken ( I prefer Elgin) - cut chicken to flatten it by cutting through the breastbone
5 t Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice Hot
2 t Crushed Garlic
50 ml Olive Oil ( I love the truffle infused olive oil available from Woolworths)
3 sprigs of Rosemary, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon

Method:

Prepare chicken by cutting and flattening it. Now prepare your marinade. Mix your Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice, Garlic, Olive Oil, Rosemary and Lemon Juice. Rub generously into chicken. I usually sprinkle some extra Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice over the chicken before placing in on the braai. Leave to marinate for at least an hour.

Braai and baste with excess marinade throughout.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for sponsoring the spice used in this recipe. Spices available in Hot or Not and various sizes.

Arts and Crafts {Cotton Ball Craft Series}

2011-05-14T09:01:00.000+02:00

I like doing arts and crafts in a series, that way you can pack in much more than just one of two crafts and explore the mediums much better as well. I found some cute little cotton ball crafts that we will be making over the course of a few weeks. :) Cannot wait to start crafting away!

I always find that Mouse is so super excited when we start with a new medium that the first craft never goes according to plan. She always wants to explore everything on her own before listening to what I actually had in mind. This time I decided to do things a bit differently in that I gave her all the different mediums that we were going to use for the actual craft to first explore and basically do what she had in mind with it - totally open ended. She loved this!

I gave her some cotton balls, glue stick, pencil, black sharpie and normal paper.

She really had fun and enjoyed playing with all the different art supplies. This is her finished open ended cotton ball craft!

When she was done with the open ended version I started introducing the concept of actually doing a set craft with the cotton balls. I drew around my hand and coloured in the finger tips and thumb to form feet and a face for a little sheep. I then showed her to glue the balls onto the body of the sheep.

Very easy and simple craft, but a great start to our cotton ball craft series.

She insisted on re doing the sheep's face.

Here is the finished sheep cotton ball craft. Nothing fancy, but now she is excited about creating more fun goodies with cotton balls!

I found the cutest 3 D sheep craft with cotton balls that I will be sharing next week!

My first knitting projects!

2011-05-13T13:05:00.000+02:00

My friend Celiah Ann from FUNdamentals, inspired me to start knitting. She makes the most beautiful knitted goodies and you can take a peak at her work on her craft blog Ann's Work basket. For my very first knitting project I made this scarf for Mouse. She is so excited about her scarf and I enjoy watching her wear it, it is made with love!

For my second knitting project I made these sleep socks for my hubby, it is getting cooler and the weather is perfect for these little socks! They were really easy to make. I downloaded the pattern here.

I'm busy with a pair for myself now and I am really enjoying my new hobby! Thank you C for the inspiration!

Book Review {2 Children's Books}

2011-05-11T09:00:00.001+02:00

What to Expect When You're Expecting Joeys by Bridget Heos

Congratulations, marsupial parents-to-be! You're about to meet your tiny bundles of joy. They're called joeys. Some are as small as a grain of rice when they're born! Read this book to find out how many babies to expect, how to help them find your pouch, and what those little joeys will do in there all day long. Whether you're a possum or an opossum, a kangaroo or a wallaby, a koala or even a shrieking Tasmanian devil, you'll find answers to all your parenting questions here.

This super cute little book is packed with facts on marsupials! I thoroughly enjoyed this little book and will included this in our homeschooling when we do marsupials. What I also liked about this book is that it is easy to read and understand for older children that self read already. Mouse loved the illustrations, which are beautifully done. A great addition to any home library!

Amazon link: What to Expect When You're Expecting Joeys: A Guide for Marsupial Parents (And Curious Kids) (Expecting Animal Babies)

Thank you to Lerner Publishing Group for providing me with a free digital copy via NetGalley for review.

Small Medium Large by Emily Jenkins

The colorful, lively characters in Small Medium Large will captivate young readers as they discover the wonderful world of relative sizes--an important stepping stone to learning early math skills. Small, Medium, Large and all their friends: Extra Large, Huge, Enormous and Teeny-weeny, Itsy bitsy, Miniscule and others join Colossal in this super-sized learning adventure featuring a dynamic double gatefold that can hardly contain all the fun!!

This is one super cute little book! I loved the fact that it Emily Jenkins included words like colossal and miniscule as well. This is a great teaching aid to teach all little ones about sizing. Not just your normal small, medium and large but other terms that refers to the same concepts as well. This will also be a great tool for us to include English in our homeschooling. Mouse also loves the beautiful illustrations and the text is easy for beginner readers to understand.

Thank you to Star Bright Books for providing me with a free digital copy via NetGalley for review.

Homeschooling May 2011 {Week 2}

2011-05-10T16:16:00.000+02:00

We had some more fun with our letters of the alphabet that we are currently busy with! At this stage we are learning the following letters: t, l, a, m, k, b

We are concentrating on the following:

1. Identifying the different letters {only lower case at this stage}
2. Identifying one word that starts with each letter {according to our Kinderwerf Reading Course}
3. Identifying objects in the house that starts with the letters.

To make it a bit more fun and also sneak in some gross motor skills as well as shapes and colours I took out our trusty beanbags. I'm so glad I took the time to make these, they have so many possibilities! I made cards for each letter that we are busy with and placed them on the ground.

I then asked Mouse to throw the red square on the letter k for example. I had to still indicate which one was the correct letter, but she loved this! Whenever the beanbag didn't fall properly according to her she would go and adjust it!

We need to start concentrating more on maths and the foundations for maths. I made this super easy little game for her. She really enjoys playing with it and it also has so much possibilities! I love games that can double up as something else as well.

I used a little piece of card stock and drew the snail and leaves on it. I then took a milk bottle top and drew 10 circles using the milk bottle top as a stencil, I then numbered the circles 1 - 10. Using 10 milk bottle tops I also numbered them 1- 10. She can now match the snail's route to the leaves using the milk bottle tops! If she is playing on her own she can simply match the numbers or I can ask her to count from 1 - 10 while matching. Later on we can remove only certain tops and she must identify the missing numbers, etc.

We had a beautiful sunny day yesterday and we took the opportunity to play outside before the Cape Town rain starts. I received this set of planks and blocks from my aunt, the idea is to build a course for your little one to complete to help with balance and other gross motor skills. After spending some time designing a course Mouse only walked it once and decided that she would much rather spend some time building something totally different with the planks and blocks!

She build this "chair" and "table" and we both sat down and had some cool water, while we chatted. She loved this and didn't want to go inside! I love seeing her creative side, it is always amazing to see what she is thinking. She is such an amazing blessing in my life!

Hope you have a blessed week!

Flippen Lekka Basil and Tomato Pasta

2011-05-09T08:49:00.003+02:00

I love super quick and easy recipes over weekends. This one is one of those! The plus side is that it is also super tasty! Mouse also enjoys this pasta recipe.

Ingredients:

1 t Minced Garlic

300g Mince or Chicken Fillets cubed

1t Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice ( Hot)

1 t Tomato Paste

1tbs Basil Chopped

2 Tomatoes (Peeled and chopped)

grated Cheese

Pasta of your choice

Method:

Bring some water to the boil and add your pasta to cook, drain when cooked.

In the meantime gently heat some oil and fry the garlic, you just want to cook it don't let it brown, otherwise it will have a horrible bitter taste. Add the mince or chicken and brown. Add your Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice (I used the hot version, which isn't hot at all, just some gorgeous flavour! Mouse ate it!), Tomato Paste, Tomatoes. Cook to fuse flavours and to soften tomatoes.

Just before serving stir in chopped fresh basil.

Dish by placing pasta on the bottom, then your mince / chicken mix and top with your favourite cheese.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for sponsoring the spice used for this recipe. Spices available in hot or not plus various sizes!

Homeschooling May 2011 {Week 1}

2011-05-05T12:31:00.000+02:00

We had loads of public holidays now here in SA and we are finally getting back into the swing of things with full 5 work day weeks.

I just love the Kinderwerf range of products, I love the fact that everything is in Afrikaans (our home language) and that every product is so well thought out and planned. We have recently started using the Kinderwerf Reading Course Level 1. It might sound crazy, but I'm not teaching her to read, yet. The course consist out of alphabet cards, word cards, posters with lower case alphabet, upper case alphabet, mixed alphabet and then also the cutest posters to teach kiddos the difference between b, d and a, which looks very similar to little eyes! We have been going over just some key cards at this stage. There is a wonderful parent manual included with lesson plans in, but because Mouse is still so young we are taking it slow and just having fun with the alphabet at this stage. If you want more info on these stunning products please feel free to email me. There is also great English learning aids available and the recently launched Clever Kids Club is the English leg of Kinderwerf. There's some great free resources available on Clever Kids Club, be sure to visit!

Here we are busy having fun with our reading course material.

She loved learning what the letter t looks like, because that is what her favourite bear, Ta Tam {the grey lump beside her!}, names start with.

She loves puzzles, we build at least 2 a day, here she is finishing up her Barney puzzle. My MIL gave her this and she loves it. She also finishes it all by herself.

A very proud little puzzle builder after she finished her puzzle.

Here she is with her finished work.

We also love the Rainbow Animal Cards from Suczezz, the amount of games that you can play with this little game is astonishing! Great for language development and other skills. If you would like to find out where you can purchase any of the Suczezz goodies please feel free to email me.

I'm busy planning, planning, planning for the upcoming months homeschooling. I will hopefully be able to upload both our homeschool plans as well as our arts and crafts schedule by next week.

Mouse is going green!

2011-05-03T08:49:00.000+02:00

We always have time for a bit of silliness in our house! I was a make up artist before Mouse was born, I still do the odd bridal make up, but for the most part my kit is just standing there. This weekend we rediscovered some fun hair pieces and an old make up bib. She had so much fun playing with it!

All geared up with her green hair piece, make up bib and some extra hair pieces in pink and blue!

She loved this and didn't want me to take it out! I'm sure we will still have loads of fun with our "new" dress up goodies!

Flippen Lekka Lamb Shank

2011-05-02T09:00:00.001+02:00

Melt in your mouth tender lamb shank with Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice! So easy to make, very little prep and you have a great meal!

Ingredients:
2 x Free Range Lamb Shanks
1 x Onion, diced
3 x Tomatoes, peeled
2 x Carrots, diced
Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
Beef stock

Method:

Brown onions, add carrots and tomatoes. Cook for a minute, season Shanks well with Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice, add to vegetables and brown on all sides. Add enough beef stock to cover the shanks halfway, place in oven proof dish, cover and cook in pre heated oven at 180 degrees celcius for 2 hours. Switch oven off and leave for another 45min before removing from oven and serving.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice that sponsored the spice for this recipe.

Book Review {Craving Grace}

2011-04-27T18:03:00.000+02:00

For Lisa Velthouse’s whole life, Christianity had been about getting things right. Obeying her parents. Not drinking. Not cursing. Not having premarital sex. Vowing to save her first kiss until she got engaged, even writing a book called . . . well, Saving My First Kiss. (This, it turns out, does not actually help a girl get a date.) Yet after two decades of trying to earn God’s okay, she found her faith was lonely, empty, and unsatisfying. So she turned to more discipline, of course: fasting! By giving up her favorite foods—sweets—Lisa hoped to somehow discover true sweetness and meaning in her relationship with God. Until, one night at a wedding, she denied herself the cake but failed in such a different, unexpected, and world-rocking way that it challenged everything she thought she knew about God and herself. Craving Grace is the true story of a faith dramatically changed: how in one woman’s life God used a bitter heart, a broken promise, and the sweetness of honey to reveal the stunning wonder that is grace.

I loved this book, I loved Lisa's honesty, how she honestly described her journey toward the sweetness of God. I requested the book a couple of weeks ago, then suddenly just before receiving it I went through a personal crisis. I had a miscarriage. This was such an unexpected shock. Lisa's book arrived and through the hurt I started reading it. The book in itself was send by God and just one little example of His Almighty Grace! He knew what He had planned and He had me request this wonderful book for review. Since reading it I've been more open to see how His Grace works in my life. A wonderful, honest book that I can recommend to anyone!

The book was such an easy read, once I started I couldn't stop reading, Lisa's examples of Grace and faith is true to life and hits home. I really enjoyed reading and reviewing this book!

Craving Grace: A Story of Faith, Failure, and My Search for Sweetness {Amazon Link}
Kalahari.net link

I blog with integrity, thank you to Tyndale who provided me with a free copy of this book to review, all opinions expressed within this review are my own.

Flippen Lekka Mince and Potato Bake

2011-04-25T09:00:00.001+02:00

I love easy to make recipes for those evenings when you just don't have time to make a huge dinner, but you still want something tasty and filling. This is one of those easy and yummy recipes!

Ingredients:

300 g Minced Beef
1 teaspoon Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
1/4 Packet Mushroom Soup
4 Small Potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
1 Onion, finely chopped
Cheese, grated

Method:

Brown onions and mince, add the Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
Mix the Mushroom soup with some hot water, add half to your mince mixture.
Place the mince mixture in an ovenproof dish
Place the finely sliced potatoes on the mince, add the rest of the soup mixture on top of the potatoes.
Place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius for 30 min.
Test to see if the potatoes are done, add the cheese to the top
Bake for another 10 minutes
Serve with rice and side salad.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for sponsoring the spices for this recipe.

Easter - Resurrection Cups

2011-04-20T16:08:00.000+02:00

I've wanted to do Resurrection Eggs with Mouse since last year already, but I couldn't find enough plastic eggs to do it. This year I was determined not to have that same problem, so I've made Resurrection Cups in stead! I used little sample pots in stead of plastic eggs.

I downloaded the inserts from Lapbook Lessons. I don't have a colour printer, but the originals are beautiful full coloured pictures.

On the front of the insert is a picture depicting a scene from Holy Week.

On the back of each I wrote the corresponding piece of scripture. Great to see how eager little hands open each container to listen to the message inside!

My prayer is that each of you will experience this Easter for the wonderful Holy Week that it truly is. may God bless you and keep you!

Flippen Lekka Chicken and Chutney Recipe

2011-04-18T09:00:00.001+02:00

Make this super easy and super yummy chicken dish using Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice!

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces (about 8 pieces)
Mushroom Soup packet (only half a packet)
50 ml Chutney
50 ml Mayonaise
30 ml water
Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice

Method:

Season the chicken pieces well with Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
Place in an ovenproof dish
Mix the Mushroom Soup (only half a packet), Mayo, Chutney and water well. Spread evenly over the chicken pieces. If you find that you need more liquid add more Chutney and Mayo to taste.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius for about 30 min or till done. Enjoy!!

Serve with some fresh veggies and salad.

Thank you to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for sponsoring our blog by providing free spices.

I miss you

2011-04-14T16:52:00.000+02:00

Today is just a little over a week since I lost our little baby. My heart is still sore, it feels as if the sadness and heart sore is just starting now. I'm fine during the day when I'm busy with Mouse and in and around the house, it is in the evenings when all is still that the sadness, memories and pain comes rushing in. I am sad that I will never know the feel of that little baby in my arms, I'm sad that I will miss his / her baby smell that I will never get to know. I wonder if he / she would have loved reading and painting as much as Mouse, of if he / she would have had curly hair and blue eyes like Mouse.

I can still hear the little heartbeat on the sonogram. It is so vivid and fresh in my memory. I can also remember the last one where there was no heart beat. That is also much to vivid and fresh in my memory. I miss the feeling of having our baby with me.

I know that there is a plan and purpose. God has something amazing planned for us. I also accept that He had to call our baby for His higher purpose, but I still miss our baby.

Thank you to all my family and friends that still calls, emails, facebook, etc. I truly appreciate it. Blessings to all of you.

Fun Find {Dixi's Gifts}

2011-04-11T13:07:00.000+02:00

I found this little gem of a gift shop on facebook! Dixi's Basket stocks quality, natural products to not only spoil yourself but they also make great gifts! She posts her stunning products nationwide, but if you are in the Louis Trichardt area pop in at her shop! I just love the following Ice Cream soaps!

Aren't they gorgeous! I can just imagine how much fun bath time will be with these little cuties!

Visit Dixi's Basket on Facebook or their website for more info and prices.

Disclosure, I didn't receive any product or compensation for this post, I just thought her goodies were so cute that I wanted to share it!

First Blog Sponsor! YAY!

2011-04-11T12:28:00.000+02:00

I'm super excited to say that Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice is my first Blog Sponsor! YAY! I just love Andre's Spices. He only uses natural ingredients and does not add any MSG's to his products. I discovered Andre's spices in December, since then it is the only spice I have been using on ALL my food. When I say all, I do mean everything! I use it in my lasagne, bobotie, meatball and patty mixes, on chicken, beef, lamb, in mince and even on popcorn! Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice is not cut with flour, the entire container is filled with delicious natural spices, herbs and salt.

Every spice container is sealed with a safety seal - you know that you are purchasing a fresh and quality product!

Visit Andre's Facebook page or click on the link in the right sidebar for more info and contact details. You can also phone Andre on 071 371 0499.

I will be posting some of my recipes made with delicious and super yummy Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice for you every week.

Here is my meatball recipe!

Ingredients:
Mince about 400g
Onion, grated
1 teaspoon Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice
1 Egg
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chutney
1 slice of bread, soaked in water, water squeezed out

Method:
Mix all ingredients well, roll in little balls and place in oven proof dish. Add a tiny bit of oil to the bottom of the dish and bake at 180 degrees Celcius for about 20 - 30 min. Enjoy!

You do not need to add any extra salt - the spice is perfectly balanced and adds enough salt to your dishes!

What are you waiting for? Give Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice a try!

Andre did provide me with some free spices, the opinions expressed here are my own. I was not paid to do this review, I was provided with free spices.

You know you are a homeschooler when...

2011-04-10T11:01:00.000+02:00

I'm afraid of moths, a terrifying fear that I just cannot control. I am also not too fond of butterflies, for the same reasons that I'm afraid of moths! I finally had my fear under control for an hour or so and we visited Butterfly World. I never freaked out and we actually enjoyed it so much that I will go back! The experience for Mouse was also wonderful, I loved to be able to show her not only butterflies, but different kinds of animals. You know you are a homeschooler when you visit Butterfly World and you are afraid of butterflies!

The gardens where the butterflies are kept are gorgeous, everything is a lush green and there are flowers and fruit for the butterflies to snack on. You walk into the cages where the butterflies are kept and they fly freely around.

There are also a number of fish ponds with the most beautiful Koi fish in. We watched as they were being fed.

There were loads of different butterfly species. There is also an exhibit showing you the lifecycle of butterflies as well as separate cages with eggs, etc. in. If you are lucky you may even see a butterfly hatch!

They also had these two adorable monkeys! They were friendly and even hopped onto some of the visitors shoulders!

This beautiful Iguana was so still we almost didn't see him!

There were also loads of different bird species, from the exotic to the everyday.

We also saw loads of different lizard species, Mouse enjoyed these little ones!

This shy little Blue Duiker was so cute! Beautiful little animal.

Outside there was also some ducks on the pond. We enjoyed it so much and I can highly recommend a visit! Butterfly World is outside Stellenbosch.

We have been busy!

2011-04-09T18:59:00.001+02:00

We live in beautiful Cape Town and for our first theme for homeschooling 2011 I decided on a Oceans Theme. This was also just a sneaky way to get in a visit to our local beach! Although we live in Cape Town it is still about half an hours drive to our local beach.

Daddy and Mouse had a blast! She just adores the beach and she had so much fun, she didn't want to go home afterwards!

Beautiful Table Mountain in the background!

While we were on the beach I collected some sea sand. The sea sand on Blauwberg beach isn't proper sand, but little pebbles, which made a great transfer activity to practice fine motor skills.

We used seashells to transfer as well as spoons.

We painted our own beach towel! I helped with this project.

We made a sea star with contact paper, rice and blue coloured tissue paper. This is always a huge hit in our house!

We have a cute little shop, Khoki, were you can buy educational toys, materials and fun art supplies, I bought this plastic ocean scene mat there. You can colour it in with normal wax crayon, or paint as Mouse has tested it for us :) and then just wipe clean. She had a blast with this. As she was colouring in the different ocean animals we discussed them and chatted about what they eat, where they live, etc.

I made a few batches of play dough and we had loads of fun creating different sea creatures and other favourite characters. I had to make several Mikey Mouses!

Still a firm favourite in our home is felt. We both just love felt! She played with this ocean theme felt pack for hours. The bulk of the pack is from Suczezz Toys.

A while ago I made her this foam fish set with numbers, emotions and shapes on. We dusted it and had some fun with it. I was amazed at how she had grown and how much she has learned since we last used this set!

We love felt and to reinforce our bible study I made this creation felt set for her. She loves playing with this, telling me the story of creation as she plays. :)

Mouse loves music and dancing! I snapped these while she was busy having some fun!

I got her this Drum design set a while ago, both of us had tons of fun painting and assembling it! Mouse loves playing and banging on it!

She loves helping me in the kitchen, a few days ago she burned herself, not serious, just enough to give her a fright! Now whenever she is near the stove she insists on wearing oven gloves!

Then we always have time to be a bit silly!

3 D glasses!

One of her new favourite things to do is clear out her closet and make a bed in it! Complete with blanket and pillow!

Have a blessed week!

Some personal news

2011-04-06T11:17:00.000+02:00

On Monday I went for an ultrasound scan, at that stage I was 12 weeks pregnant, during the scan we saw that our unborn baby did not have a heart beat and baby also stopped developing a few days earlier. This was such sad news, my heart is sore, but I know that God has a higher purpose and plan with our baby. I had a miscarriage on Tuesday morning at about 5h00 and Leon rushed me to hospital. I spend the day at the hospital and was discharged at around 19h00 last night.

I want to thank my wonderful friends and family for all your love and support. To mention each of you by name will take forever, just know that each of you have such a special place in my heart and I am truly privileged to know each and every one of you and to call you my friends and family. I love each one of you and I'm blessed to have you in my life. A special thanks to G for taking care of my family by providing yummy homemade meals while I was in hospital, I love you so much my friend, God has truly blessed me with you in my life. Also C for driving all the way to Durbanville to give me a hug - you are a true friend and such a blessing! Thank you Ouma and Oupa Erasmus and uncle Nic for rushing through to our house at 5h00 in the morning to babysit Mouse, as well as all your love and support. Thank you Ouma and Oupa van Dyk for each phone call and all your love and support. I appreciate each and every phone call, sms and email. All of you have been carrying us through this. May you experience God's richest blessings my dearest friends!

I want to thank my wonderful husband, Leon. Even though my love you are also hurting, sore and shattered you have been my rock. I love you so much, you are so strong and you have been here for me every step of the way. You are my soul mate and the love of my life, you are part of me, I don't know where I end and you begin. I love you so much and I know that God is planning something amazing for us. I thank God for blessing me with you in my life. I love you.

Thank you also to Dr Frikkie Smit, thank you Doc for all your support and all the care during the past few days. You are a star!

Blessings to all of you my dearest friends and family.

Book Review - iShine Bible for Teens

2011-03-16T13:00:00.001+02:00

This is absolutely one of the most beautiful bibles I've ever seen! The soft leather like cover is fun and vibrant for every tween girl! My little Mouse loved the bible, and didn't want to let go of it! It is safely stored for now until she is old enough to use it. :)

I love that the bible is especially written for tween girls. The text is in New Living Translation, making it super easy to understand.

This compact Bible have added features to build tweens’ faith. Full-color pages inside focus on one of the central themes of iShine: V.I.P. –Value, Identity, and Purpose. Tweens will see how they are valued by God, how their identity is found in Jesus, and the purpose that they have because of this. The iShine Bible answers questions relating to many of the issues that tweens face with a tween-friendly index. It also features articles on having a relationship with Jesus and growing in faith.
iShine is a tween brand that combines music (CD, and the iShine Live touring event), TV (iShine Connect Available on DVD through Provident/Sony), a web community (http://www.ishinelive.com/), and other media, including DVDs of the iShine Live concerts and “Sermonettes” by one of the hosts of the TV and concert tour, Paige Armstrong.

A wonderful addition to any tween girl's bible collection!

Kalahari.net link
iShine Bible NLT (Bible Nltse) - Amazon Link

I blog with integrity, the opinions expressed in this review are my own, I did not receive any compensation for this review, I did however receive a free copy of the iShine bible to review. Thank you to the wonderful team of Tyndale Media for the free copy and the chance to review.

Clever Kids Club

2011-03-07T10:43:00.000+02:00

Wow! I just love this new site! Clever Kids Club makes fun activities with your kids a breeze! You join for 3 months at a time, paying only R75.00 / $12.00. Each Monday you will receive a new fun pack with daily activities, flashcards, games and colouring in pages! Enough for the entire week! This is ideal to supplement any homeschool curriculum or if you just want to include some fun learning activities with your pre schooler. The activities are suitable for little ones from 2 - 6 years of age.

You can download a free starter pack to get a great idea of what the fun packs consists out off.

For more info visit the website or email admin@raisingcleverkids.com

Clever Kids Club generously sponsored a months free activities for one of my readers - simply visit their site and leave me a comment on how much it works out per month! Easy as that. The winner will be chosen using random.org and the closing date is 30 March 2011. Open worldwide!!

52 Weeks 52 Scraps | Week 1

2011-01-12T13:00:00.000+02:00

Shannon from Butterfly Wishes and Wonderland Dreams had this fantastic idea to make a scrapbooking page per week for each of your kiddos. That way at the end of 2011 you can give them a completed book with their entire 2011 captured in a scrapbook! The linky is up on her site every Saturday, so please join in!

Here's my first week of January's page:

Scrapbooking pages and elements from Shabby Princess and the font from Kevin and Amanda. This is basically my month theme page - I'm still in the process of creating one with her activities / highlights on.

Muffin Tin Monday - Skewers Theme

2011-01-03T22:02:00.000+02:00

I'm really excited about MTM this year. We've made a commitment as a family to adopt a more healthy lifestyle and to rather invest in a bit more expensive organic and free range foods. Mouse has always been, not necessarily a fussy eater, but she eats the minimum. To get food into that tiny little body is sometimes an impossible task. MTM always works and I find that if I dish her food in the tins she will eat or try most of it. I'm planning to make full use of MTM to introduce more and more healthy food options to her!

For today's skewer theme I decided to give it to her without any skewers or picks, she is still fasincated by little objects like that I'm probably being over careful, but you never know! Instead I rolled her food for her.

She had:

Red Cup: Ham that is MSG free, Organic homegrown Tomato wedge!, Green Cup: Organic Goat's Cheese
Bottom two Cups: Some bread and butter.

She ate most of it, except the tomato. She is always super excited to get a tomato, but she never eats it!
Head on over to Muffin Tin Mom for some awesome Muffin Tin ideas or to link up as well!

Willie's Supreme Cacao

2011-01-02T21:53:00.000+02:00

I loved following Willie's program on DSTV, I soon realized that this was a labour of love for him, not just another product but this is his life's passion. I was over the moon when I saw that Woolworths stocks his 100% Cacao bars and chocolates! I purchased a bar today just to give it try, the bars were almost a R100 each, but after one try it is worth every single cent! This is the real deal, no added sugars or any other funny ingredients, only 100% pure Cacao.

When I opened the bar the most amazing aroma filled the air, it smells of pure chocolate! I could have eaten the bar just then and there! Being 100% pure Cacao it is not sweet at all, you have all the lovely aromas and the wonderful flavour and depth of chocolate without any sugars or sweetness. Great for various dishes and bakes. I decided to make some real hot chocolate for us.

400 ml Milk

200ml Water

200ml Grated Cacao

some sugar to taste

{this is enough for about 2 cups}

Gently heat these ingredients

The Cacao will melt quickly, thickening the mixture to form a smooth, velvety chocolate heaven!

Pour into mugs and enjoy this delicious drink! Oh my goodness, this was exceptionally good!

Mouse really enjoyed this drink, and the best of all - I knew what went into the drink as it was homemade!

I can highly recommend this range of products. I tried the Venezuelan Black bar and will definately be visiting Woolworths soon to try the rest.

For more info and recipe ideas you can visit Willie's site. Enjoy!

Sewing Project | Pajamas for Mouse!

2011-01-02T21:35:00.000+02:00

I've been meaning to start doing more sewing projects, but I always find an excuse not to start or even worse not to finish what I've started. Celiah Ann inspired me to start again, at this stage I'm not any good at it, but I'm going to do more and more projects and hopefully I can document my improvement!

For Christmas I made Mouse a whole set of different coloured play doughs and felt that she needed a little something extra under the tree, I then decided to make her a new set of pajamas. I had the material on hand as well as the buttons and decided to give it a go. I didn't use a pattern and just improvised as I went along.
There were loads of mistakes made with this one, so please don't look to closely!

Front

Back

Mouse in her new PJ's!

I really had fun doing this and will definately be doing some more projects throughout 2011.

December Holidays 2010

2011-01-02T21:27:00.000+02:00

Hubby went to France for a training course just before Christmas, luckily he got back safe and sound and wasn't stranded in France due to the heavy snowfall! We have been out and about in the Cape Town area during the holidays, and we are planning some trips to the museum, the gardens and the castle as well.

What have we been up to since Christmas?

Mouse taking a little break, why you may ask...

It's hard work unpacking Mommy's baking supplies cupboard!

You will also notice some play dough, oats and a flower on the freshly washed floor....

Mouse helped Daddy in the garden

We also visited Hout Bay, and enjoyed a light lunch. The wind was a bit strong at times, but otherwise we had a great time!

After lunch we visited Uncle Hermanus and Aunty Robyn in Simon's Town.

On our way!

Beautiful views from Chapman's Peak.

Just before New years we visited my mom and dad in Langebaan and we celebrated new years back in Cape Town at my mom and dad in law. We really have been enjoying our holiday so far!

I would also like to wish all of you a wonderful, blessed 2011. May God bless you!

Christmas Gifts 2010 - More Homemade Goodies!

2010-12-21T10:23:00.000+02:00

I decided to add on to my nephew's gift, I already made him this rattle block from Felt and wanted to give him a little something extra. I quickly made these felt shapes for him:

Earlier in the year I made a set for Mouse as well, these are different in that they are reversable, I used two different felt panels for each side of the shape, now the cute little man can learn colours and shapes! I'm busy on a alphabet set for both him and Mouse, hopefully I will have that finished by the new year.

Pumpkin / Butternut Bread

2010-12-15T06:52:00.000+02:00

I've had a few requests for my pumpkin bred recipe. I wanted to take pics as I go along and do a proper recipe post, but I forgot to take pics of half the steps! Just a quick note - I prefer using butternut as to pumpkin, I find that pumpkin can be a bit watery,

Here is a photo of the finished product in a mini loaf tin and the recipe:

250 ml Sugar
125ml Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
5 ml Salt
2 ml Ground Nutmeg
2 ml Ground Cinnamon
125ml Water
250 ml Cooled, mashed cooked pumpkin / butternut
375ml Cake Flour
7 ml Bicarbonate of Soda

Mix everything well, pour into greased loaf tins / tin and bake for about a hour at 180C, if you make mini tins it needs about 45 min baking time - easy as that!

We have been making this recipe for years in our house and I'm not sure were we got it from originally. My little sister likes to add in some chopped nuts as well.

Enjoy!

Christmas Gifts 2011

2010-12-11T22:51:00.001+02:00

This year we all agreed that we are not going to spend a fortune on Christmas Gifts, we are going to stick to eats for gifts. For the grownups I'm making some delicious fudge and homemade Pumpkin bread, this of course I'll only be able to make on the 23rd! The kiddos will each be receiving a jar of homemade play dough and my little nephew receives a special gift as he is only a few months old!

I made him this jingling cube from felt, super easy to make for that special little one.

I cut 6 squares of felt all in different colours, stitched them togheter and half filled it with cotton.

I added a small plastic container in the middle with a bell inside, covered that with more cotton and stitched the opening shut. Easy as that! No blanket stitch or anything like that, I'm totally hopeless when it comes to blanket stitching.

I saw some other great designs of the same kind of concept on these two sites:

My Poppet - great step by step tutorial!

Make Baby Stuff.com

Product Review and Giveaway {Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice}

2010-12-09T10:34:00.000+02:00

During my search for natural foods without added nasties I found this little gem of a product! Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice is truly an all in one seasoning! I met Andre a few days ago and as we stood there chatting about eating, food and his gorgeous product I immediately saw that this isn't just another product, this is made with much care and loads of love from his side for good honest food and seasoning. I was shocked to learn that some spices are cut with flour, to make them affordable - but now you are trying to cut out wheat or you have a child with allergies and you are giving them flour through spice! Scary stuff! His spice is full of natural herbs, spices and salt. No added MSG or unwanted flour or any other surprises for that matter!

I made some gorgeous Elgin Free range chicken yesterday with his spice and it was so delicious, I'm hooked! Taste good and it is good for you too!

The Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice is an all round spice, you can use it on any meat {beef, chicken, lamb, mince} and in dishes such as potjies or stews. You only need one spice in your kitchen from now on! It is R15.00 for 100ml and all containers are sealed for freshness and quality. If you would like to order some you are welcome to contact me on trudie@jollymommy.co.za

Andre very generously sponsored one bottle for a giveaway. Easy to enter, simply head on over to Flippen Lekka BBQ Spice's Facebook page, friend him and leave me a comment to validate your email and user name on facebook. Easy as that! Closes 14 December 2010 and the winner will be chosen using Random.org. This is open to RSA postal addresses only.

Playdate at Stodels Nursery

2010-12-03T23:48:00.001+02:00

I consider myself blessed to know two wonderful blogging moms. Georgia from Love and Lollipops and Grietjie from Joyful Mama's Place. Not only did blogging bring us togheter, but they are now very dear friends in "real" life! I always enjoy spending time with them, after a visit I always feel relaxed, refreshed emotionally and spiritually, and I feel ready for the next challenge in my life, knowing that they will be there to support me. On Thursday we had a playdate at our local garden nursery, Stodels. The children had a blast! In the picture right at the top you will see Mouse, Sweet Pea and Little One sitting in a little "tree house".

Here's another one of the 3 musketeers, you can see the top of the slide that is the exit out of this little house!

Sweet Pea's sweet little face looking out of the window!

Mouse on her way to join Sweet Pea :)

Mouse using the exit slide! :)

ArrowBoy and Mouse trying to climb up the slide!

Mouse, ArrowBoy and Sweet Pea on the trampoline = loads of fun!

Mouse pushing Ta-Tam in a little trolley while we watched the new baby lama!

A very fun day! Thank you my dear friends!

Book Review {Lead Like Ike by Geoff Loftus}

2010-12-03T22:57:00.000+02:00

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, I'm normally not one who can read through a business book without getting bored halfway through, but because this book is based in history and reality I really enjoyed reading and learning from it.

Book Description

Dwight Eisenhower’s leadership methods during the most daunting project in history, the D-Day Invasion, provide invaluable strategies for today’s business person.
No modern CEO has ever led such a large organization—the immense Allied military forces of the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada—in the face of such crushing pressure to succeed. Lead Like Ike begins with Eisenhower reporting for work as the CEO of D-Day Inc., facing a ridiculously tight timeline, having to create an executive staff and company, and then managing D-Day Inc.’s early projects, the invasions of North Africa and Sicily. By analyzing military operations as business operations, and the commanding general as CEO, Lead Like Ike finds management lessons for modern corporate executives.

Well written and laid out it is easy to look up key points after a chapter is finished, there are 10 chapters all with their own distinct business strategy. A good read if you want to learn more about business!

Kalahari.net link for South African readers

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through the Booksneeze program, but I blog with integrity and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thoughts on Food {My Elgin Chicken Test!}

2010-11-29T10:00:00.000+02:00

In my first post in this series of {my} Thoughts on Food I mentioned that I'm going to cook both an Elgin Free Range Chicken and a "normal" chicken to see the difference, the difference was so unbelievable, both hubby and myself was astounded! The "normal" chicken was dry and shrunk to almost half it's size. Taste wise it tasted like chicken, but the skin didn't crisp up as I would have wanted it too - I didn't even want to take pics.

Then on Friday evening we cooked this Elgin Chicken. From the beginning I could see a huge difference, there was no blood in the package, in other words no fluid and moisture drained from the bird so it was not injected with water to make it heavier! The bird was huge in comparison to the others on the shelf and it kept it's size after cooking. This one chicken could comfortably have fed 6 people. The skin was wonderfully crisp and the flavour was amazing!

I only seasoned it with a bit of salt, olive oil, lemon juice, coriander, lemon zest and some paprika and a tiny bit of chilli.

Hubby braai'd the chicken beautifully and also commented on how easy it braai'd - no burning or excessive shrinking!

We enjoyed this beautiful chicken with a home made garlic bread, some oven roasted veg and a green salad. Superb!

I will always buy Elgin chicken from now on!

Kinderwerf Expo

2010-11-28T10:00:00.001+02:00

A few months ago I was fortunate enough to exhibit at the Home Educators Expo in Cape Town. It was so much fun meeting homeschooling moms and chatting to them about schooling and their kiddos. I exhibited the Kinderwerf range of products, quality Afrikaans {and English}educational products and learning aids.

Here's my stand:

Love the new 2011 Calenders!

Perforated pages for easy removal of the past month, great rhyme for every month. With every calender you get an extra pack of stickers and ideas that you can print and use to mark special days, or to help you teach your little one about months of the year, days of the week,etc. Available in Afrikaans and withing a few days also in English! {R80 each}

I couldn't resist taking a few pics of Mouse with Loebi the Dragon! Loebi is the central character in the Kinderwerf book series. Mouse L.O.V.E.S Loebi!

I'm also hosting a Kinderwerf Breakfast if you would like to come and see, touch and feel all the wonderful Kinderwerf products!

When: 11 December 2010

Where: Lazaffe Restaurant, High Street, Bellville

Time: 9h30 - 11h00

Cost: R100 per person {includes 2 course breakfast plus a Kinderwerf Product}

RSVP: Trudie {trudie@kinderwerf.co.za} before 6 December 2010.

Hope to see you there!

Advent Calender

2010-11-27T14:16:00.000+02:00

I've been meaning to make an Advent Calender for some time now, what always held me back was where do I store it afterwards? It is packed away for 11 months of the year and I really am short on storage space. There's so many awesome designs and ideas on the internet of Advent Calenders, but I immediately fell in love when I saw this great idea on Muffin Tin Mom, create a Advent Calender in a Muffin Tin! Super easy and you only have to worry about storing 24 paper discs!

I also had heaps of Index cards laying around and I decided that this was the perfect project to recycle them:

I cut the circles out of the Index cards and punched out some stars and simply assembled the design. I then added a magnet to the back to stick to the muffin tin.

To display it, I simply pop it into my recipe book stand - it takes up little space and it works beautifully!

I only have a 12 cup muffin tin, so I will need to add the 13 - 24 after the first 12 days. Now I only need to fill the cups with treats {healthy options as well!}.

Homeschooling Highlights

2010-11-27T12:40:00.000+02:00

Doesn't she look super cute with her two pigtails? We are still keeping learning fun and without too much structure, it works for us!

Just some highlights to show you what we have been up too:

We used our Suczezz Number set to help us count to threee, the set goes up to 10.

{you can contact me if you are interested in more info on any of the suczezz products}

I made her this Ice cream Felt set a while ago already, the idea is to match the coloured ice cream part to the cone with the same colour dot on. She did really good and loved this! This idea was inspired by Shelly Lovett

We played on a jumping castle = loads of fun!

I bought her a Mikey Mouse activity pack at Game {think it was about R100} one of the activities was this Minnie Mouse sand art page - we had loads of fun creating this togheter!

While Mommy was busy ironing, Mouse also did some ironing and earned a sticker for her chart!

We also spend loads of time as a family, loving each precious moment.

Hope you have a blessed week!

Healthy Eating by Real Moms

2010-11-26T15:42:00.000+02:00

This is a guest post by my dear friend Donette from The Journey, I've asked a few moms to guest post and tell me about their experiences with healthy eating and food.

This is what Donette had to say:

Growing up, we were what the polite would call "financially challenged". Crisps on rolls or a opened tin of curried vegetables on toast was quite a filling meal and considered healthy!
Other times our plates were piled high with pasta. Every scrap would have to be finished off. There were no healthy snacks in between meals. Fruit was something I knew very little about. Never mind the benefits!
My increasing large size was blamed on a "big" bone structure and a mindset of "it's in the genes", where in actual fact I am actually quite average boned and every big person in my family has big plates of food all the time. It would never have been thought of to once question the calorie intake. Since getting married I have thankfully been introduced to wonderful delights of fruits, vegetables and other delights I would never have thought to try.

When my son was born I introduced fruits and vegetables as per the guidelines in most books. Unfortunately my son is a bit Orally sensory defensive. What this means is that my son refuses to eat fruits and vegetables unless cooked. He will eat bananas on good days and none on others.
How do I provide healthier meals for him, was often a question I asked myself.
Sugar is the answer at this point. I definitely notice that the more sugar my son consumes through chocolates or sweets the worse his behaviour!
Breakfasts are the easiest meal to organise. No sugared cereals are the first step. Yoghurt, fruits and home-made fruit bars are often the best for snacks. I have recently started using Jessica Seinfeld's deceptively delicious cookbook to hide more fruits and vegetables in our food and although it does take some thought to get started it is so much better for us.
Now although we are not completely sugar-free - I dont plan to be either, it does help to offer different choices. I am sure there are other avenues we will later look at, for now sugar is our first battle.

One other statement I will make is that often people blame TV as a being used as a baby-sitter...How many times have we used food as a baby-sitter..."here's a packet of crisps while Mommy pays for groceries. Just be quiet!" I have been guilty of this, But I have realised the dangers in offering food to avoid situations.

Something else on my mind...
When one begins to run their own home, shopping can be a chore. I used to go to the shops, see a "good deal" - especially on the fresh produce side and buy bulk. At home, the produce seems ok. We often just accept that this is the quality/taste that is on offer. Two days later, when half the bag has gone bad, off I go again.

I came to realise that some more finesse is required when buying healthy food. Instead of always looking at the price, look at the quality. Looking at what I am buying often saves me some money in the end as well as keeping me from poisoning my family with less chemicals.

There is a common sales pitch that seems to be used with meat especially....Advertised as grain-fed beef, we think, OK this must be healthy for us then!
Is this a joke? Well unfortunately the joke is on us. We have no idea what goes on with the production of the grain! How many pesticides and other poisons are used when growing the grain?
We are sometimes blessed with some mutton and lamb straight from the Karoo. The difference in taste in the wholesome naturally fed mutton/lamb versus the mass produced/grain-fed is indescribable!

Thank you Donette!

Thoughts on Food {My Challenge}

2010-11-25T09:11:00.000+02:00

I was super excited to go to the book launch of Justin Bonello's new Cooked Out of the Frying Pan. He is such a sweet guy, humble and down to earth. During the launch he chatted a bit about where our food really comes from, what do we as consumers really know about our food's origins, how is the cattle fed, how are our pigs treated, what is really sprayed on our fruit and veg? Do we really know? The sad truth is, no, we as consumers don't have a clue what is really going into our bodies. He has a Facebook page with a petition for real food, please visit and lend your support to this cause.

After his totally inspiring talk last night I set myself a challenge. From now on, I'm going to ask questions, I'm going to expect my supplier {supermarket, butcher, etc.} to be able to tell me how the meat was reared, or any other question I might have. I am going to start with a research campaign and will try and give info through to you. I am by no means an expert, just a concerned mom who is trying to do her bit to make sure my baby girl's nutritional needs are met, but also that she is not getting in "stuff" that is not supposed to be in our food.

Jeanne from Elgin Chickens was in contact with me and we are planning a talk and information day in the new year, she will be able to shed some much needed light on what is truly a free range and organic chicken. I'll post dates and details as soon as it is finalized.

Hope that you will join me in this challenge!

Thoughts on Food {What we eat}

2010-11-15T11:03:00.000+02:00

I've always enjoyed Justin Bonello's Cooked series of programs. What I like about it is the fact that it is good, honest food that is regularly available in SA. No nonsense kind of stuff! Yesterday on DStv I watched his new season of Cooked {Season 5}, the series will be about where our food actually comes from, how it is grown, harvested or where our meat comes from. How the animals are reared, etc. The first episode was on Elgin Free Range Chickens, it really made me think. We just take the suppliers word on how good the food actually is for us, we don't really know what is in our meat, do we really know how much antibiotics or growth hormones / promoters are in it? I'll definately be buying just Woolies Free Range Chicken or Elgin Free Range Chicken from now on. I don't just have to think about my own health, but also the health of my two year old little girl!

Elgin Free Range Chickens are free from antibiotics, growth hormones and growth promotors. What you get is pure chicken and nothing harmfull added. In the program Justin closed by sayng, buy a free range chicken and a mass produced one and taste the difference, you will be amazed. I'm planning on doing just that! Will post pics etc as soon as it is done! In the meantime, let's all be a little more vigilant on what we put in our bodies, and let us support the local manufacturers that have our interests and the animals best interests at heart.

Hubby bought us this book last weekend, cannot wait to start cooking from it! Click on the link above for the Kalahari link.

Mouse's First Bike!

2010-11-12T22:18:00.000+02:00

Daddy bought Mouse a bike for Christmas, yes, way to early, but we couldn't wait! :)

Mouse looking at her new bike, you'll notice that Ta-Tam is already in the carrier!

A proud Daddy and his Little Mouse!

She loves her new bike!

My Little Girl {I love you!}

2010-11-12T12:39:00.000+02:00

I really enjoy spending time with my little girl, she is the sweetest little thing. Always happy, smiling and filling the room with love and joy. She is truly such a great blessing in my life and I cannot imagine life without her.

I love how she can make a huge mess in a matter of seconds :)

I love how she is always laughing and smiling :)

I love how she always points with her little hands when she is talking!

I love the way she paints :)

I love how she always shares her food with the dog and that her favourite blankie Bear Ta-Tam is

never far away :)

I love it when she is being silly :)

I love you my baby girl! :)

Sweet Lollipop Goodness!

2010-11-09T16:30:00.000+02:00

I was super lucky to win a Sweets hamper from The Sweet Lollipop Shop. Louise was even kind enough to post it all the way to SA! Mouse was over the moon when we fetched it at the post office, we had to open the parcel then and there and she enjoyed some of the sweets in the car already! What lovely sweets, all Louise's sweets are hand made and they are super yummy. I loved the fact that she also makes Natural sweets, without any artificial flavours. I truly enjoyed every little candy jewel!

All the candies were beautifully packaged in re sealable packaging, not that they were left for too long!

My hubby loved the Clove flavoured ones, I loved the Toffee and Mouse ate everything! Please visit her Etsy Shop and spoil yourself!

My Mom - Update

2010-10-27T16:32:00.000+02:00

Firstly thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, beautiful comments, emails, phone calls and skype messages. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. You have been carrying me through this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

My mom was moved from the ICU on Monday to the Surgical Ward. She is still weak and struggles with the negative effects of the antibiotics, but she is positive and a bit more awake and alert. She has started moving around and a physiotherapist is helping her with walking during the day. I have been to her earlier this afternoon and she was very tired from the walking with the physio, but she still smiled and made some jokes.

I took Mouse in for the first time in more than a week, I tried to explain that Granny was still sleeping in her hospital bed, but you could see that it did affect her a bit, but I'm glad I did. I think my mom really misses her.

I will keep you updated as to her progress.

Thank you and God bless!

Prayers needed...

2010-10-21T15:20:00.000+02:00

It feels as if the year 2010 is our family's year to spend next to hospital beds. My mom is very sick. She has a serious infection after a minor operation and she needs your prayers. She is very weak, and had to receive blood on two occasions already. The infection is preventing her marrow from forming new red blood cells and therefor she needs blood on a regular basis. She is on 3 different antibiotics to combat the infection and this also has side effects.

Please keep her and my family in your prayers. Pray for her for healing and strenght.

God bless.

Time to breath...

2010-09-15T20:37:00.000+02:00

I was spoilt yesterday, super spoilt to be exact! I received a gift voucher for a back massage from a friend, firstly what a great gift and secondly what an awesome treatment!

Sune did an awesome job, I couldn't walk after the treatment, I couldn't talk! I mumbled and stumbled my way out off there, that's how relaxed I was! For the first time in a long while I felt like a spoilt and beautiful woman and not a mommy with chocolate stains on her shirt.

She asked me when the last time was that I had a treatment, and I honestly couldn't rembember. On my way home I remembered that about 3 years ago I visited a la de daa spa and their treatment didn't come near to Sune's .

I went in for a back massage, but she also did a mini scalp massage and even treated the pressure points on my feet! Her client care and professionalism is amazing. She is truly the best therapist I have ever been too, and I should now, I'm a therapist myself and worked for various skincare companies.

If you are in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town, do yourself a favour and phone Sune to book your treatment today!

Sune 083 446 0922 or salonbenisse@gmail.com

Homeschooling - Week 2 - 3 | 26 Months

2010-09-15T20:25:00.000+02:00

We finished off our fishy theme with this great little craft kit I found at PNA. It has a little fishing rod with a magnet at the end, foam fish and little rings for the fish. The rings were way to tricky to get onto the little fish, so I took some paperclips. They worked great, they have a bigger surface as well, so it was easier for Mouse to "catch" the fish! I can see many more games with this little fishing rod! The entire craft pack cost me about R12.

I had to work on Saturday and Daddy took Mouse to feed the ducks and ducklings at our local pond. She loved it and I decided to have a Ducky theme!

We started with this little game I made. I took 6 little bath ducks, 6 milk bottle tops and a tray. On three of the tops I drew dots {1 with1 dot,1 with 2 dots and 1 with 3 dots}. On the other 3 I wrote the numbers one to three. The idea was that we would count out for example one ducky, find the corresponding top with the number as well as the one with the dot.

Mouse was super excited about the game, but she had a different version in mind!

She placed each litttle ducky on a top!

Got to love this little girl! I'm working on some more ducky fun, and I will post more often! A friend pointed out the other day that I'm not posting enough :)

Homeschooling - Week 1 | 26 Months

2010-08-25T22:40:00.000+02:00

You may have noticed that things are a bit fishy here the last couple of weeks, it seems to calm her to do fish activities and we continued with it.

I made Mouse some Craft Foam Fish activities, we are busy with basic shapes and this game worked great for us. I cut out some fish shapes from Craft Foam and drew some basic shapes on them with a black marker. She then had to sort them in pairs and name the shapes for me. Mouse loved the fact that they were on fish shapes.

I started with emotions as well, she can name certain emotions like afraid and sad, but I also drew faces on the fishies that was happy, surprised, angry and sad. This one didn't keep her attention for too long, but I will give it a try again.

I'm busy teaching her to not only count to 3, but that the numbers also means something, that a value is attached to them. I made this set with the fishies as well as craft foam numbers 0 - 3. On each fish I drew a dot / s for the appropriate number.

For a craft we made a big goldfish. Georgia, my friend from Love and Lollipops, gave us a stack of these great pizza plates and I thought that it will make a great base for our goldfish. I gave Mouse a bingo marker, with the idea that she should dot on scales, but she prefered to squeeze the paint out and paint the plate.

When she was done with the painting, I cut out the mouth of the fish, glued on a eye and promptly glued on the tail upside down...*sigh* silly mommy...:)

Still turned out sorta cute though!

She also practiced puzzle building skills with her new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Puzzle. She loves Mickey Mouse and this puzzle was a huge hit.

I bought it at Checkers for about R30.00, well worth it!

I glued some old fridge magnets onto pom poms and showed her how to trace the letters with the pom poms. We started with the letter M for Mouse and Mickey Mouse!

I have wanted to do this project with the shape beanbags for a while, and finally got round to it. I cut out some basic shapes from felt, stitched them and filled them with some old lentils and beans I had in my cupboard. She loves these beanbags!

I would ask her to hold up a specific shape and she did so good!

Just some of the fun things we were up too. I also made a felt set for The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I'll post some photos on that soon! Have a blessed week!

My Little Girl...

2010-08-19T16:18:00.000+02:00

I just love this little girl so much. I love her super curly hair, her big blue eyes, the way she laughs from the bottom of her belly and her wonderful sense of humour.

I cannot imagine my life without her, love you my little girl! Forever and ever..

These super cute pics were taken by my dear friend Georgia from Love and Lollipops.

Soothing a broken heart...

2010-08-19T09:55:00.000+02:00

Last week our goldfish, Ross, died. Mouse really misses him, yesterday she saw a big fishtank filled with beautiful fish and she cried all the way home for a new fishie. At this stage the last thing I want is a new fishie, Ross was my pet for 9 years and I cannot imagine replacing him at this stage.

Mommy decided to do the next best thing and make a new fishie for Mouse.

First gather your supplies:

Orange Craft Foam, Green construction paper, Blue Crinkle Paper, Black marker, Scissors, Glue, Cotton and an empty Coffee Jar.

I used the Blue paper to add to the bottom of the jar, now your "tank" has water in it!

Take the inside plastic seal out of the glass lid. Make a little hole in the centre, thread some cotton through and glue it in place.

Now you can cut out a fishie from the craftfoam, add a small hole {I found it is easiest if you thread the other piece of the cotton with a needle through the fish} tie the cotton and attach the plastic liner to the lid again.

Add some green construction paper plants and you are done!

Now your little girl has a fishie again...

She was super excited about this project and she loves it!

Glass Painting

2010-08-18T16:05:00.001+02:00

I found this cute little craft kit with paints, the framed glass picture and a brush. Mouse loved doing this and she did most of it on her own, I did help her a bit, I just couldn't resist a bit of glass painting! There is still loads of paint left over, and I'm already thinking of some great ideas on jars for christmas and birthday presents...

Giveaway Time!

2010-08-18T15:23:00.000+02:00

The kind team from the CSN stores is sponsoring a $50 gift certificate to one of my lucky blog readers! CSN has over 200 online shops, you can buy anything from cookware to lights to furniture!

I just visited the CSNstores.com website and found this stunning art furniture! I want....

What do you need to do to enter this fabulous giveaway? Easy, leave me a comment - any {nice} comment!

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian postal addresses only. Closes 1 September 2010, winner will be drawn using Random.org on the 2nd and notified via email. You will have 2 days to respond to email, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. I didn't receive any free products or payment for this giveaway - I'm doing it just for you!

Goodbuy Ross..

2010-08-17T14:10:00.000+02:00

Our Goldfish, Ross, died last friday. He was 9 years old and I really loved this little guy. So friday morning we had to have a little funeral. Mouse was so upset about Ross. I tried to explain to her that Ross is sleeping now, forever and that he is with Jesus.

She kept saying that Ross is supposed to be in his tank, sleeping in his tank and not in the garden. It broke my heart to see my little girl so upset. Since then she also went to bed with a plastic bath fish for a day or two.

I cleared the tank away, but when she passes the place where it stood she will stand still for a moment and I sometimes hear her say that "the fishie is dead".

How do you handle a situation like this? I need to teach her about life ending and the wonderful life that awaits us in heaven, but she is only 2 years old and losing a pet really impacted her so much. She loved standing on her little step in front of his tank and watch him swim. It is better already, but she still asks me about Ross sleeping in the garden...

Shapes, shapes, shapes!

2010-08-17T14:03:00.000+02:00

We are busy learning our shapes and I find that she will try and draw the shapes we learned, this is super cute!

Here's her drawings:

After she drew them she told me what picture was what shape. I marked it to remember it forever.

Mouse's Art

2010-08-17T14:00:00.000+02:00

We have been having the most gorgeous wheater in Cape Town, you will never say that it is still supposed to be winter in Cape Town! I snapped some photos of Mouse and Daddy over the weekend.

Such a cutie!

Yesterday I was busy with some work and Mouse asked me if she could paint something, I thought that I'll give her just one paint, a brush and a huge piece of paper. Leave her to paint on her own {crazy, I know! :)} and quickly finish what I was busy doing. I was still busy typing when she called me to say that she was finished, I got up with some idea of total chaos waiting for me, but to my surprise she closed the paint, took the dirty brush to the sink and was waiting for me in the bathroom to wash her hands. She is really getting so big now! She didn't paint the floor or anything else "illegal". Here is the painting she did totally unsupervised and on her own!

I love you my little girl!

Muffin Tin Monday - No Theme

2010-08-17T13:48:00.000+02:00

For this week's Muffin Tin I used my beautiful new Heart Shaped Muffin Tin that my friend Donette from The Journey gave me during the Muffin Tin Swap. I am just so in love with my new tin!

Mouse is on a "I hardly eat anything phase" I added all her favourites of the moment to this tin:

Rice, Cheese, Olive and Avocado - funny combination, but at least she ate it!

Visit Muffin Tin Mom for more awesome Muffin Tin Meal ideas and to join in the fun!

Muffin Tin Monday Swap

2010-07-30T22:15:00.000+02:00

Michelle from Muffin Tin Mom hosted a Muffin Tin Swap. I swapped with Donette from The Journey and she sent us an awesome package! We were so excited when we drove to the Post Office, the guy at the counter must have thought that we were insane or something. Mouse kept giggeling! All the way home we eyed the package on the seat, wondering what was inside. It felt like Christmas morning! When we got home we opened it to find these awesome goodies inside:

Some funky straws, wonderful pink sprinkles and this gorgeous heart shaped muffin tin! Thank you so much Donette!