Toddler water play

The weather is heating up! Summer is just around the corner and I have a very active 2year old, who likes to be busy and doing things all the time. I needed something to keep her entertained and cooling off.
A plastic "baby" water play table and a face washer = a good 30 minutes of baby washing and care. 2.0 decided to wash her dinosaurs and sea shells instead. Needless to say she ended up saturated and stayed cooled.
Such an easy activity that keeps her entertained and I got to have a coffee in peace while sitting outside supervising. I know she loved the activity because I found her sitting next to the dog water bowl with her baby and washed just yesterday!!! 😝

Halloween party food

Miss Lumpy had a Halloween party to attend with her Girl Guide unit this week- where it was bring a plate to share. I may have gone a little crazy on Pinterest and found a few things I wanted to make!
I managed to control myself and only make 3 things.. Lumpy was so impressed, she said "Thank you for your hard work making all this awesome food"

- White chocolate strawberry Ghosts,
- Witches broom sticks
- Oreo spiders!

I will give a quick instruction how to do each of them.

First up the Broom sticks

You will need

- Cheese stringer/sticks

- Pretzels

-Chives

Cut your stringer cheese stick in to 3 pieces, Leaving space at the top (about a finger width) string up the bottom parts to look like a broom. Stick the pretzel in - not too far or the stringer will break (also why we don't pull the strings too far) make ribbons from your chives (I got 3 or 4 from each chive)

Next the chocolate strawberry Ghosts- 

You will need-

-Melting white chocolate

- Strawberries

- Edible gel pen

- Mini m&m's for eyes

 

Melt your white chocolate in your preferred method. While that is melting get some baking paper and line a tray, remove all the green from your washed and dried strawberries.

Dip the strawberries into the white chocolate, don't remove the excess, let it make the tail of the ghost, While the chocolate it still wet, add the mini m&m's, once they are set draw on the mouth. refrigerate until needed. 

Next up- Oreo spider

You will need

- Mini Oreos

- Lolly laces or liquorice

- Mini m&m's

- Small amount of melted white chocolate for the eyes to stick 

Open you oreos - you will need to keep the sides with the filling, the plain side isn't needed for this (but can be cursed up and used for dirt for any other treat's you'e making). Cut 4 lengths of lolly lace, to the length you want the legs,  and place the across the Oreo filling (so one length will do 2 legs) do this 3 more times. Then place another filling side of the Oreo on the top to hold them all together.
With a small dab of white chocolate on the top add two m&m's for eyes and let set.

ENJOY! 3 easy and relatively inexpensive Halloween party treats!

Christmas decorations!!!

Pretty sure it's no secret how much I love Christmas. So, I was pinteresting away looking at lots and lots of ideas on things to make and do for Christmas.
I saw a cute little frame with a glitter reindeer (Original here) and I decided to give it a try!
I checked a few departments stores and cheap stores but was unable to find the glittery reindeer. So I decided to make my own! It was a very quick and easy activity, Lumpy will be able to do some with me. Also considering we had most of the supplies it was also very cheap and I am pretty impressed with the end result!



Supplies required -
Photo frame of your preferred size (I used a spare I had)
Printed silhouette of reindeer (I did a few different designs so I could see which I like best)
Paint and glitter in colours-  I went with silver and blue colour theme - (already had these also, well Imade do with a lighter blue paint)
Backing paper/card - I went with silver wrapping paper we already had, however the next one I want to make, I think I will use card in the colour.
Glue that dries clear

Gather supplies

Once you cut out your preferred silhouette, give it a coat of paint.

While the paint is still wet, sprinkle with our glitter (once dry you may need to touch up a few spots to get even cover)

Glue on to backing paper once dry (I didn't get a photo of this step), and pop into frame. I left the  glass and boarder on.
I think I will do an A4 sized one for this space. As much as I love Christmas I wont be leaving this set up! it will go away with the other decorations until 1st December 

Somerset Dam

I was lucky enough to have a day off on the weekend, so we decided to have a drive somewhere localish and have a BBQ picnic. We decided on Somerser Dam, we had not been as a family and neither one of us could remember going more than once as a kid (a loooooooooong, looooong time ago).
We went to the Lake Somerset The Spit day use area - we really didn't know where exactly we wanted to go so just drove there and picked somewhere!
There were lots and lots of undercover tables and chairs, there were lots of BBQs (some were a set of two to share between a few of the covered areas). They were all very clean and well maintained. There was an area to swim, a boat ramp, a play ground, lots of open space to run around. There was a food van/truck there also (cash only).
Now to the serious stuff. The amenities.
There is 1 block of toilets. Lumpy, at the age of 6.5, had her first encounter with long drop/pit toilets. She was not happy "MUM, these toilets are broken! they go down a long way" then afterwards she walks out and says "I prefer electricity and running water"!!!
We had a small play/splash around in the water however it was a little too cold to go all in.
A great day was had by all, we stopped at the Somerset General Store on the way out to have an ice cream on the deck (they take card and cash). The blisters I got from doing the monkey bars and climbing wall with the girls have now settled.

Playgroup!

Something I never did with Lumpy, mostly because I had a lot of friends with babies/toddlers/children the same age- both friends and mothers group through the health centre, was join a Playgroup, I looked at them but never signed up or attended. With having a 4.5year gap between Lumpy and 2.0 and not many friends with babies at the same time, I found I needed to find something to help socialise not only 2.0 but me too.
We have been attending Playgroup during the school year this year, we love it! There is always so many things set up - some crafts, play dough, puzzles at the tables, on the floor there are play kitchens, dress ups, dolls, a clothes line and pegs, some blocks, cars or other transport activity for the children to play with to their hearts content. There is also some other activities, this week was an obstacle course. 2.0 loved it. It was the first time she actually went through the tunnel and discovered how much fun they can be.
There are other children of a variety of ages and after a play and afternoon tea, they do some songs and listen to a story.
I am glad I gave it a go and have met some wonderful parents and grandparents and 2.0 has more people to interact with.
to find your nearest play group click here

Glow sticks and balloons!

My girls are obsessed with balloons and glow sticks at the moment. 2.0 especially has been playing with balloons every day - Balloon play is fantastic for gross motor skill development (kicking, throwing, catching) and I have noticed they also helping with colour recognition. While glow sticks are fun but I haven't found any benefits developmental benefits, I did find a heap of uses for doomsday prepping though, that's a whole new blog though. Anyway, we had some friends over for a play date and decided to try putting the glow sticks inside the balloons (let me tell you, it's easier in theory than in practise!). It's safe to say the kids enjoyed themselves. and once the balloons popped, we used the glow sticks in the bubble bath.
Photographing balloons with glow stick, in the dark, is very tricky. I apologise for the poor quality photos.

Supplies needed -
Ballons
glow sticks (we used both the thin and thick ones, the thin were easier to slip in after the balloon was inflated, the thick ones were brighter though)
A dark room or night time :)

Hervey Bay road trip and camping!

As I've mentioned once or twice before - I am all about making memories on a budget. So with this in mind, for the second week of school holidays I took the girls camping in Hervey Bay, we stayed here.
 Torquay Beachfront Caravan Park the facilities were very clean, they had multiple camp kitchens (microwave, kettle and locked fridge), the sites were flat and big (though we had a very small set up) right on the beach. There is a park just next door for the kids (and a few more along the esplanade), cafes, convenience stores and restaurants in walking distance, It's a small drive to the water park (info), Urangan Pier and other wonder things to see and do. We spent most of our time down on the beach, between the flags, in the stunning water. It was calm/no waves and very small child friendly.

Lumpy was very impressed and said it was a great trip! 2.0 keeps asking to go back to the beach for a swim. I'm going total that as wins and that the trip was a success.

As I was the only driver with a 2 and 6 year old, we had a few stops along the way - or as Lumpy said "More adventure stops". Including the Mary Poppins statue and story trail in Maryborough, the birth place of P.L Travers. We also stopped at the Bauple museum which had a lovely fenced playground to let the kids stretch their legs and burn off energy.... Ok, yes, I did do the slide. Only twice.

Our small set up!

There is a stunning Lagoon and Tea Garden not too far in the car from where we stayed  - the coffee was pretty good! https://www.arkarra.com.au

Mary Poppins statue!

Play ground at Bauble museum