MIA and Camping!

I haven't written since May? That cannot be right! Well, I guess the time stamps don't lie. It's easy to forget writing. If only my thoughts automatically typed out then things would get done a lot faster. Anyways, enough excuses from me. What have we been up to? SO MUCH!

This has been a fun Summer. Filled with camping, swimming, sprinklers and avoiding the heat laying in our air conditioned house! Plus the usual chores, renovations and yard work. Parker turned ONE! Holy moly time flies. I'll make a separate post just for his birthday later (hopefully soon.... not in 4 months).

So this summer we went camping with one of my closest friends and her family. Her daughter and Cooper are best friends. He will even tell you that Lily* is "my girl". And before you start getting wedding bells in your head.... They're "cousins". While it was a great camping trip, there are definitely things I would change. Camping with toddlers is hard! I've camped in snow, torrential down pours, in the bush and yet it has nothing on camping with toddlers. 

I will say that I was a little under prepared for the weather. It was slated to be hot all week. Not while we're camping! I froze my little (big?) tooshie off. Plus the air mattress that we brought for Cooper had no cap, thus no air. So he slept on a water floatie..... that clearly had a hole in it! That morning Evan and I went into town to grab some warmer clothing and something for Coop to sleep on. 

So the unfortunate part of camping in the Summer in BC is that there are campfire bans. My cousins had just gone canning and had taken a propane fire pit. Genius! So we packed up the fireplace and it worked perfectly. 

Our campsite was great. We had an empty area behind us that the two big kids could run around in. The only downfall was that because we had two tents on the site, it made for very little space for the kiddos to ride their bikes. Plus when the youngest cries for hours during the middle of the night, your camping mates can hear your awful rendition of "Hush little baby".

Overall, it was a great experience and we definitely know for next time to be more prepared! 

Three-Oh

I have something to confess.

Recently, I turned thirty!

To most people this wouldn't be a big deal but to me, this has been a huge deal. The worst part is that I don't actually know why I hate the thought of being thirty. I know it's just a number and we all age but for some reason this birthday has been a big issue for me. To prepare for it, I decided to reverse age a couple years ago to give me a couple more years in my twenties BUT I was called out. My wonderful Hubby decided to plan a 30th birthday bonanza!

I was excited when he brought up the idea. Not having to do anything for a party was a fabulous idea! Even though I know he's not a planner and I'd end up doing part of it myself. In my mother's words, I'm a bit of a control freak. So Evan planned out the food with my mother while I was able to put my Silhouette Cameo 3 to good use and do the decor.

I started with making toppers for a cake and cupcakes. For the cupcakes I used a gold cardstock and glued the numbers onto a toothpick. These sat perfectly upon my favourite Red Velvet Cupcakes. The cake topper I did the same but reversed the image to back it and give the script a little more strength. If I were to redo the cake topper, I would get some thicker cardstock. It was a little flimsy and bent quite easily. It placed perfectly up top the gluten free mocha cake that my husband got from The Polly Fox Bakery. This cake was so good plus nobody would guess that it was gluten free. Every last bite of it was enjoyed. Mostly at the party and the rest I ate before the kids woke up in the morning. 

My next crafty item is probably my favourite. A month and a half later it is still on the front door. This was my first attempt at a rolled rose. My brain is still a bit mush after 2 kids, so, it took me many attempts before I finally figured it out. Hot glue was the answer! I can't wait to make some big flowers for my craft room. Such an easy and cute look, once you know what you're doing.

As I'm writing this I've already changed my mind on favourite item for the party. It has to be the pinata! My brother in law's partner, Alejandro, is from Mexico, so for Coopers first birthday he brought an authentic pinata! It didn't get used for that party, so it has since sat in my parents garage, our garage and finally our basement. Evan was set on party games. He wanted something like pin the tail on the donkey but as I was cleaning up the basement, I saw it. The perfect party game for a 30 year old. It just needed a little refresh to match my colours. After a can of spray paint and some more flowers we had the coolest pinata ever. We don't really have a ceiling to do it inside, so outside we went to play. We sure got some stares from the neighbours... It also could have been because I was in a tutu.

As you know, I have two beautiful boys. I don't get to have frilly outfits for their birthdays, so I insisted that I have one fore my own! Off to fabricland I went to purchase some tulle and the cheapest knit fabric I could find. I had researched on pinterest different ways to make them, so, I figured it couldn't be too hard. Tulle is hard! It's

so fluffy and slippery. That is the hardest thing I have ever sewn. It is definitely not perfect as I finally said good enough but it was still cute. I paired it with a t-shirt I made that truly represents my age. 29-ish.

It was such a great day and I'm so thankful to have been able to spend it with my friends and family. I better keep the shirt in good shape as I'll be needing it again next year.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love to bake although I don't usually have much time. Baking for fun and baking with a toddler is a whole new ball game. Anytime I have a special event coming up, I make these cupcakes. They're always a hit and I rarely have leftovers. The hint of lemon in the frosting adds the perfect tartness to these moist chocolate delights! 

Photo by Lea Caveberry Photography.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1⅓ cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup buttermilk

1 tbsp liquid red food coloring

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp vinegar

Frosting:

8 oz package softened cream cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1½ cup icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

To make cupcakes:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
4. In a glass measure, combine buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.
5. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk mixture, until blended. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until batter is smooth. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. I use an ice cream scoop. It seems to make the perfect amount every time.
6. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a pick inserted into cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cupcakes should be cool before frosting.

To make frosting:

1. With mixer on medium, beat cream cheese, lemon juice and butter until well blended.
2. Add icing sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy. I like to firm up my frosting a little bit by popping it into the fridge for 10 minutes.
3. Once frosted, I’d recommend placing the cupcakes back into the fridge. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Eggtastrophe

A couple weeks ago, while browsing Walmart for Easter gifts, I found a little craft. A dozen cardboard eggs with dye! I picked it up and was reading the contents, when another mom saw me looking at it and said "Those are so great. Way better than real eggs". So, thinking I had another mom's craft approval I tossed it into the cart. When I got home, Cooper saw the eggs and immediately wanted to play with them. I love when he gets excited about craft time. It's the perfect bonding time for just me and him.

The instructions say to put down plastic or newspaper but I didn't have any, so, silly me thought that the tabletop is black, no big deal if dye gets on it. That would later come bite me in the butt.

The packages that the dye were in leaked everywhere as soon as I cut the tops off. They wanted the dye in the provided plastic bags, well, that was a joke. One of the bags had a hole in the bottom. So finally, hands covered in dye, I grabbed some cups that I figured Coop could roll and paint the eggs in. The only problem was that they didn't provide any sort of removal tool like a typical egg dye kit. So to get them out of the bags and the cups we got more dye on our hands. Cute craft turned annoyance in less than 5 minutes. Yeesh! 

I will say that once dry, the colours were pretty cool on the eggs. So if I'm crazy enough to use these again, maybe just paint? 

It definitely wasn't a mom that came up with colouring eggs. Who comes up with a kid craft that uses food colouring? Cooper dyed one egg at preschool, so here I thought he could manage this task when Uncle Nick brought over a dying kit. I clearly forgot the key point... He's three! He has so little patience for a craft like this. The real eggs needed 5 minutes in the dye but every thirty seconds, "Are they done yet?". It takes him 20 minutes to get his shoes on in the morning and yet he can't wait 5 minutes for a silly egg!? Colouring Easter eggs is definitely a two drink minimum kind of craft.

-The Cooped Up Mom

Pocket Full of French Fries

Recently, my mom friend, Jenn, sent me a great picture. I find this the perfect picture to showcase toddler and mom life. A little back story, we had been having some crazy weather here in the Vancouver region. Raining one day; snowing the next. I've never in my adult life seen weather like this in our area. Last year, around this time we were prepping our gardens and mowing our laws. This year we're still salting the walk and wearing winter coats on occasion.

So this particular night, Jenn goes for her nightly walk with her pup. As she's walking she pulls out an ENTIRE meal of chicken nuggets and French fries. From her pocket! As a fellow mom of a toddler, this didn't surprise​ me too much, except that she couldn't remember when those nuggets and fries were put in there. They were in a jacket that had been put away!

It's pretty funny to think about but really, this brings us to two bigger questions. First, why didn't her son eat them? Almost every toddler I know would live off nuggets and fries if they had the chance. What is it about fast food that children love so much? I could make breaded chicken any day of the week and Cooper would maybe get two bites out of it.  Yet if I make them into nuggets, he'll eat every single one and beg for the ones on our plates.

Secondly, and maybe the bigger question. Why didn't Jenn eat them? I could go on as to how us mom's don't get time to eat or we don't want to waste food but really the only answer is.... nuggets and fries are just delicious. I think for me it's that they remind me of the days before responsibilities. Stopping at McD's after a night out drinking and dancing with girlfriends. Oh the memories. Now instead of late nights with girlfriends, it's late nights and early mornings with kids. Just not the same.

-The Cooped up Mom

It's a Circus in here!

We're going to do a little throwback Thursday here to show you my circus themed birthday party!

I love to party plan. I get joy seeing people eating and having fun just as much as I do myself. I also love crafting. So why not put those joys into a party for Cooper!

Cooper was born a week before Christmas and as my mother can tell you, it sucks having a birthday during the Christmas season. People can't make it and everything is decorated for Christmas. So I vowed to make his birthday separate from anything related to the big man in red. 

Coming up to his birthday, I had two things stand out to me for his them. Dumbo was out of the "vault" and dumbo fabric at the store. So, I decided we had to do a circus theme for his first birthday! Who doesn't love a circus. Hot dogs, popcorn, lions, elephants and laughter. That sounds like the perfect birthday theme.

The hardest part of the planning was that I had just started back at work from my maternity leave, which is a year here in Canada, when his birthday was happening. So time to do decorations was limited. We also had our townhouse on the market to sell, so location was not in our favour. Luckily, my parents have a great big house that could support us for our small "Big Top".

We started off with our invitations. I easily made them with Canva. It's a mostly free design site that I've come to love even though it is quite limited to it's use. How cute is that little porker?

The dollar store made for some easy cheap decor. I picked up some raffle tickets, streamers, balloons, party hats and all the colourful plates, cutlery and glasses. I don't understand why they sell plates and cups anywhere else. If it's going to be thrown away ten minutes later, why spend a lot! I used the raffle tickets for table decor as well as for the party favours. I ordered some Dumbo, Little Golden Books from Amazon, that I simply bundled with a couple raffle tickets and colourful ribbon. I also had one book that I had people write a little note to him. Hopefully, it's not destroyed before he's grown and can actually read the scribbles that were left for him.

If I could have a favourite item for the day it would be his cake. The cake was made by a local woman who loved baking in her spare time. Unfortunately, 'Oh, for Goodness Cake' is no longer in business. It's quite a shame because she made amazing, I can't even stress that enough.... AMAZING cakes. I had sent her pictures of what I had in mind and she blew me away. We picked up another cake a couple days later for Coopers cake smash. Boy was that delish. The leftovers were supposed to stay in the freezer but I think they were gone within the week.

Photos by Deanna Nilson Photography

The other favourite item, that is now in Coopers bedroom, is the marquee. I had seen marquees in stores for a ridiculous amount of money by the time you added up all the letters of his name. So with some time wasted away on Pinterest and a couple hours of crafting later. A sign was created. 

Marquee in progress

I think I spend days searching for the perfect font. I printed them out onto 2 pieces of paper to get them to the big size I needed and then cut the letters out of sturdy cardboard. I  cut out even strips of cardstock and using a glue gun, I built up the sides. I had a lot of extra glue coming out of the joints to get it to hold but it actually worked well in my favour. My husband helped cut the holes for the globe lights to go through (which I purchased at Target USA for super cheap! I guess one plus to needing lights at Christmas time). I then spray painted all the letters individually. I didn't realize until I was spray painting that the cardstock was shiny on one side. So it took a couple coats to stick nicely.

Once the letters were spray painted all the extra glue looked like solder joints! How perfect. It definitely added to my old marquee look. We reattached the lights and grouped the letters in 2 groups, gluing them together for easy transport. It couldn't have turned out better. It was definitely a big hit. And two years later, it looks amazing in his bedroom with the frame my husband made for it.

Toppers made by Stamping with Loll

My mother in law is a very talented and professional card maker. So, Loll, graciously made the moustaches for the straws (which I can't find a picture of) and the cupcake toppers with her silhouette Cameo for the cupcakes I made. We have used both the straws and the toppers again since this party. They're just too cute!

Cooper and I were even able to dress up for the party.Nothing huge but I pulled out my mini top hat. I bought it as a joke many years ago for my birthday. What a better way to say it's your birthday than with a top hat! It made for a perfect ringmaster hat. Cooper wore a "1" body suit with bow-tie that I quickly stitched up for the event. 

Our only family photo of the day

I wish I wasn't so busy on the day to take proper pictures of everything. I didn't get the full food effect but I can tell you it was all amazing. It was a great way to spend Cooper's first birthday.

-The Cooped up Mom

Shaving Cream Marble Painting

I'm from the land of rain. Greater Vancouver. Raincouver. The Wet Coast. Clearly, Mother Nature didn't get the memo this year. We've had more snow this winter than I can remember. It snowed buckets in December, January, February and even snowed today!  I'm not a snow person, unless it's on the mountains. If I want snow, I drive to it. So, with this crazy weather, we've been a little 'cooped up'. Today, I was a little fed up with the usual colouring, paw patrol, trains and lego. Off to Pinterest land I went and was quickly reminded of one of my favourite activities. Shaving cream painting!

Cooper is still a little young to understand the full concept of it but we got a couple good pieces out of it and he had a blast. He's asked me multiple times tonight to foam paint.

Shaving Cream Marble Painting

Tools

• Shaving cream (I use the cheapest foamy shaving cream I can find)
• Spatula
• Paper (either cardstock or watercolour papar)
• Container (I use a baking pan)
• Paint (or food colouring, watercolour paints etc)
• Stick (Paintbrush, dowel, straw or the back of a spoon)
• Scraper (I used a wooden tong but any flat surfaced object would work)
• Paper towel or a washcloth (For the kiddos mucky hands)

Instructions

First, clear an area aside. I was painting with a toddler, so I made sure that NOTHING was in the area that he could get his painted hands onto. 

Spray the shaving cream into the pan and spread it out evenly with a spatula. The kids could do this part. Cooper tried but he didn't have enough strength to push the top of the shaving cream.

Drop the paint onto the surface of the shaving cream. You could do as little or as much of the paint as you're wanting. Due to the shaving cream, a little does go a long way.

This is the fun part. Use your stick to mix the colours. lines or circles. There really is no wrong way.

Place the paper into the design and push down gently. You want to make sure that all pieces of the paper have touched the shaving cream.

Next pick up your paper and use the scraper to scrape off all the shaving cream.

Voila! You're done. You can re-use the same mixture to create another image, add more colours to it or start fresh with a new design!

After a couple of designs Cooper decided that he had enough of his stick and just mashed it all into one big grey mess. So now came the second fun part. Paint foam in the shower. Fastest way to get him clean and also a bonus that I had time to clean up and even finish my cold coffee.

Once these are dry you can use them for all kinds of other crafts. I'll be using mine for another project. So stay tuned!

-The Cooped up Mom

Naked

When my toddler was born, I was given a cute bodysuit that said "I'd rather be naked". In three years that has not changed.

Why do toddlers feel the need to be naked all the time? I know it's not just boys because my mother once said she thought I would be a stripper.

Currently, my son is watching Dora, doing the mambo, in his birthday suit. He doesn't want to put underwear on as it hurts him. He wears it every day and yet today it hurts him. So instead he runs around the house naked.

This is one of those instances where if a roommate acted this way, they'd be kicked out!

-The Cooped up Mom

Gluten Free Banana Pancakes

I don't normally make breakfast for my kids because Cooper rarely eats it. Cooper is the biggest eater I've ever seen and yet in the last couple months he's become super picky. He turns his nose up at former favourites like steak, spaghetti, chicken, and even french fries. His ideal breakfast is a dry Eggo waffle or a dry bowl of cereal. So why spend the time making food that he'll just tell me is stinky. Is it good? "Uhhh no. Not good." Really, bud? Because I'm pretty sure you haven't even tried it!

Well, today I had a couple overly ripe bananas that I thought would be perfect for some pancakes. He didn't like the typical eggs and banana, so I added some oats and flax to bulk it up a bit and they were a hit with both kids! Plus even better it's super easy. I'm gluten free, so I made mine with gluten free oats but you could do just the flax or regular oats.

Gluten free Banana pancakes

2 - ripe bananas
3 - eggs
1/4 C - oats - ground in the blender
2 Tbsp - ground flax
2 tsp - vanilla

Mash banana and combine all ingredients (or add all ingredients into a blender).
Ladle batter onto hot lightly greased griddle or frying pan, using  roughly 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook on medium heat until bubbles begin to form on top, then flip to brown the other side.

Can't get much easier than that plus they're getting a healthy breakfast! Maybe I should make breakfast more often....

P.s. Cooper said he didn't like them, until he saw his little brother eating them!

Always has to be difficult.

-The Cooped up Mom

Kids have no filter but is it necessarily a bad thing?

Recently, I watched my girlfriends daughter, Lily*, while she had to work. Lily is the sweetest girl. She's three months older than Cooper and a good fit for him as they're totally different. 

So this particular afternoon while I was bending down to pick something up she said to me, "Auntie Nikki, you have a BIG bum." A lot of emphasis on big. 

I giggled and replied "Thanks, yes I do".

I'll be honest it caught me off guard. How does one reply to that? She's not being offensive. She's not being mean. She's being an observant 3 year old.

Her mom has apologized multiple timess but it's totally unnecessary. I'm glad she's observant. Luckily, kids don't see differences as a "bad thing." Whether it be my big butt or my own toddler talking about how I have extra boobs on my back and stomach, it's okay that they speak their minds.

So my question is when does our perception change? At what age is it not okay to comment about someone's differences like weight?

Until we find these answers, I'll be out walking off the pounds. Just kidding, I'm watching TV and eating ice cream. 

-The Cooped up mom

You will join me for dinner

How does one not laugh at the ridiculous things a child says? My 3 year old is hilarious. He just doesn't know it.

Just now he yelled at me from the bathroom. "You will join me for dinner". We've been working on potty training for what seems like forever. I'd like to say he's potty trained but we still have to remind him to go pee. This statement was his defiance to having to go to the bathroom.

This isn't the first time he's said it either. Took me months to figure out what he was meaning.

Clearly, dinner is a punishment or maybe it's just my cooking?

We don't force him to sit at the table, so it's not like we are yelling that at him. Where does this come from? He's always coming up with crazy things. Usually from his favourite show, Paw Patrol. This one I couldn't place. 

Finally, it clicked. My favourite Disney movie! Beauty and the Beast. The Beast says this to Belle when she first gets to the castle. Cooper picked up on the angry voice but not the actual words the Beast is saying. Maybe this just means he's watching this movie too often? Naw, it's a classic.

So, Cooper, I will gladly join you for dinner. Are you cooking? Because I'm beat.

-The Cooped up Mom