Fall Crafts for Toddlers

*I've been collecting fall crafts ideas.  I thought I would share some that I plan to do in our house.

1.  Fall Sticky Trees by  Two-Daloo.  Love this blog.  She's a speech-language pathologist and focuses on sensory play and fun. 2. Sun Prints at Parents.com.  3. Leaf Lantern by 5orangepotatoes.  4. Leaf Printing at thisisloveforever.com  5. Salt Dough Prints at thatartistwoman.org.  

My Review:

- Sun prints (#2).  This was super easy and turned out pretty cool also.  We want on a nature walk and picked out leaves and other fall objects (acorns, etc).  My girls enjoyed this.  Then we used a glue stick to attach them to construction paper (Dollar Store) and stuck them up in a sunny window for a couple days.  We then put them in frames from a thrift store.  They turned out great.  I recommend this one.

- Leaf Lantern (#3).  I did this with fake leaves from the Dollar Store and Modge Podge.  This didn't work so well and I wasn't a fan.  This project wasn't completed.  Maybe real leaves would work better.

Tasty Tuesday: Half and Half Homemade Pancakes

Half n' Half Homemade Pancakes 

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C white flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 T white sugar
2 1/2 C milk
2 eggs
3 T melted butter

Mix all of your dry ingredients together.  Add milk, eggs and butter and mix until smooth with a whisk.  You may need a little more milk.  Drop batter onto a skillet approx 350 degrees F.  I like to use a measuring cup for ease and uniformity.  Once edges dry a little flip and cook both sides until golden brown.  These are also good to make in bulk and freeze.

*You can do this recipe with all whole wheat flour or all white flour.  I like to do half of each, thus the name of the recipe came to be.

Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Gyoza / Potstickers

I'll be honest I don't know the difference between the two.  I love them both.  Menus where I live seem to list both names almost synonymous with what shows up on my plate.  So call it whatever you want and I'll call them delicious.  This recipe comes from my sister who lived in Japan for a time teaching English and conversational English.

Homemade Gyoza / Potstickers

1	Cabbage (Naptha supposedly works best; I used standard my first time making it)
1/2 lb	Ground pork or turkey (I used 1 lb ground turkey)
3 tsp	Sesame oil
3 tsp	Soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp	Ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp	Ground garlic
1 1/2 tsp	Salt

2                packages of wonton wrappers

Cut up cabbage into very small pieces. Put in bowl and add salt. The salt helps to purge some of the water out of the cabbage.  Squeeze cabbage to remove excess water before mixing with meat.  I also placed it on paper towels to press some of the water out. 

Mix remaining ingredients with cabbage.  You'll want to use your hands for this to be effective. 

Put a small amount of the mixture in the middle of wonton wrapper and fold.  The square type wontons fold over into a triangle and then connect the two corners.  Use warm water to seal the wontons and avoid getting the mixture on the edges. The back of  most packaging has helpful instructions and pictures.

Freeze if desired.  Flash freeze first (on a cookie sheet or flat surface) until frozen and not sticky.  After flash freezing you can place them into ziploc bags.

COOKING: Add 1 to 2 T oil to pan and heat over med-high. Fry bottoms of gyoza until golden brown. Add water to pan until bottom is covered but not too deep (1/4 c or less). Cover with lid and cook for 7-8 min or until bubbling sound changes to a sizzle. Serve with rice.

DIP: soy sauce and couple drops of chili oil (or even tabasco) and small amount of vinegar to taste.

* I made approx 1 gallon size freezer bag of gyoza / pot stickers with this recipe.  It works great for freezing...just add a couple more minutes of cook time.  When I cook mine I'll try to remember to add a couple more photos.

Scrub A Dub Dub

I never thought much of cleaning out all the water toys we use for bath time around here.  Scrubbing the outside yes but not so much the inside.  Then I started noticing a duck getting "shadows" and Pluto the same.  So I got some hot water and sucked it inside, shook them vigorously and squeezed it out.  Nasty!  Brownish gray sludge-like mold or growth of some kind came out.  I cleaned them all out the same way.  Disgusting.  I let my kids bath with this? Ewwww.   I thought it was just my severe neglect the first time that caused it to be so gross but a month or two passed and I just cleaned them out again the other day.  Not as horrific but if you need motivation to clean and seal yours (the holes on these will be hit with a hot glue gun tonight) look no further than these pictures.

Left: the number of toys cleaned (not massive)               Right:  the nasty mold and/or residue that came out

Planning Equals Motivation

One can hope right?

In an effort to get more done in a day...I'm in my pajama bottoms at 3 pm so you could say I have been feeling unmotivated recently.  I am potty training my 2 1/2 year old twin girls though so there is that excuse. But the committee (made up of well --- me) has spoken and there is need for some organization and accomplishment around here.  This is also definitely being motivated by a recent change of my husband's work schedule and less time together as a family and wanting to do more around the house.

I bring you my road map.  My blue print.  My calendar.  My plan.  Let's see how it flies.

I made sure to leave room to write things in day-to-day.  Also the following are ideas to fill my daily activities with our girls:
- Make Something Monday:  food, craft, blanket fort...something will be made
- Take A Trip: go to the park, walk or hike, museum, play dates...get out of the house
- Wet & Wild: pool day outside, splash pad or something wet or messy
- Whimsy / Imagine: imagination games and pretend play
- Think / Experiment: science experiments, learn something new...grow that brain
- Library: Story time or check out a new book or movie
- Fresh & Fun: try out something new and fun (ideas on Pinterest or internet)
- Family Night: spend time as a family or with family/friends

The Original

Tasty Tuesday: Ham Fried Rice

My mom has been making the best ham fried rice since I can remember.  It's super yummy.  Probably not really good for you but the taste says "eat me anyway".  I do of course.  Plus it's a recipe that leaves leftovers for work lunches or leftover night (we've been doing more of this to save on our budget).

Ham Fried Rice

1 stick of butter
6 eggs - scrambled in a bowl
3/4 C of frozen peas and carrots
8 oz cubed ham
4 cups cooked rice
Soy sauce
salt and pepper
1/2 can bean sprouts (optional - my girls won't eat them so we forego usually)

In a large skillet heat up stick of butter until it's melted and sizzles a little.  Pour in your beaten eggs and scramble them.  Next add ham and allow it time to heat up (pre-cubed is already cooked).  Then add frozen peas and carrots (I use about 1/2 the package) and give this time to thaw and heat.  Once everything in the skillet is cooked combine it with your cooked rice in a large bowl (this helps to avoid spilling).  Serve while still hot or warm.  It does reheat really well for leftovers as well.

ROAD TRIP: 2 Year Old Twins

This wasn't a short trip.  We are talking about a cross country trip with our 2 year old twins (32 hours... driving time only).  The mother load.  You can say it...we're insane!

I read and brainstormed for weeks on what to entertain them with.  What essential gear I needed and how to cut corners (because who can afford $20+ each just for a lap tray that they may hate).  So like many crazy moms who find their tips and tricks in the world of road trips...I'm sharing my wealth of knowledge.  Come let me impart my wisdom.

PRE-TRIP
I took some advice from one blog I read.  That was to clean my car out from fender to bumper ahead of time (vacuum every nook and cranny, scrub down and remove junk).  As parents, especially of little ones, we all know the damage and mess that is in our car from day to day.  I felt so much better starting out with a clean car, even knowing I would arrive back home with a mess after the trip.

NEW
Never seen or haven't seen in a few weeks.  This was my plan of attack.  New $1 store toys...standard protocol here.  Hiding their favorites for a few weeks before hand.  Bringing out a new arsenal when tantrums are imminent.

I bagged up a snack and a new toy in lunch bags and labeled them with the day and hour...I didn't want to blow my load in one day.  I didn't stick to the day/hour in the end but it did help to spread it out.  This was perfect.  The girls loved the "prizes" and it was a helpful distraction when bums were getting sore and destinations were a little more of a stretch.  I've read that some parents are against the "bribing" but I say it's for my sanity and my kids happiness.  When this got a little old and the crank still set in I also brought them into gas station stops to pick out a treat.  And no they don't expect this type of thing now that we are home and back into our day to day.

ARSENAL / GEAR
What road trip blog post would be complete without a list of the arsenal to bring?