Making blueberry muffins with kids

by Rebecca This is a perfect recipe to make with your little one. I got it from the Meals Matter Web site – they have lots of really great info about parenting and children from birth on, including many ‘to make’ together recipes.

These muffins end up being perfect in mini-muffin size for the Boy’s snack at preschool.

Have fun together – it’s okay if the flour spills (it will) or if they eat the blueberries and get it all over their hands (they will) – that’s part of the fun! The recipe can be found on the Meals Matter, but below are our pictures.

**NOTE: The recipe calls for buttermilk, but I rarely buy it. Instead, add 1 tbsp of vinegar and add regular milk until you reach a cup.

This recipe makes 24 mini-muffins and 6 large, or a dozen large yes, that is a baseball spatula. That’s the one he cooks with ;) Yum! Enjoy

Rebecca blogs about family and motherhood, is a self-professed foodie, and dabbles in online engagement and community giving.  She has a strange love for maple syrup that can possibly only be matched by her love for chocolate and coffee.

Moving and Grooving on a Rainy Day

by Ezmy After a few rainy days in the row, I began to feel as though Budsie might be getting bored with the usual chilling out on the family room floor, reading and playing with puzzles and his musical fridge. Frankly, I was pretty stir crazy myself. One can only play so much ‘Pull The Laundry Out Of The Basket’ or ‘Let’s Count The DVDs’ before one starts to feel a little nutty.

But what to do? I tried a rainy walk but while the kid loved it, I came home covered in mud and feeling icky. Hmpf. Then, one particularly gloomy morning, I gave Budsie some Os and threw on some music while I unloaded the dishwasher. When I turned around to show Budsie how to put away cutlery, I was rewarded with the best sight: my little man just rocking out to Simon and Garfunkel. He’s always been a big fan of music - I think most babies are. But this was the first morning he really went all out, swaying back and forth in his highchair, laughing and bobbing his head.

Well.

New rainy day activity for me and Budsie? Moving and Grooving. I set up our laptop in the family room and popped on CD after CD of music that A. and I both enjoy. Some of it worked (Amy Winehouse and Queen) and some did not (Tool and The White Stripes). But boy, when it worked it was so much fun!

So if you’re feeling icky and the rain is bringing you down, Moving and Grooving is a sure fire way to pick up the spirits and make a rainy day seem less doom and gloom. It might even wake you up a bit, which is handy particularly if like me, you're getting less sleep because somebody (I'm not naming names) seems to think that 2:30am is a perfectly reasonable time to start playing with toys.

Here are a few of Budsie’s suggestions for a rockin’ good rainy day:

*Queen - “Another One Bites The Dust” *The Foundations - “Build Me Up Buttercup” *Simon and Garfunkel - “Cecilia” (this was a HUGE hit)

Have a happy dancing day!

Ezmy is a new mum to son Ewan (aka Budsie). When she isn’t working on her master’s thesis, or playing games with her boy, she’s blogging furiously about life as a stay-at-home mum in our nation’s capital. Follow Ezmy on Twitter (@ezmytweets) where she posts daily resolutions and updates on life with an active and very vocal baby.

Summertime at the park

by Brie

Our family spends a lot of time at our neighbourhood park. And I mean a lot. We are there once, usually twice a day. Sometimes the only reason we leave the park is because I need a break from all the activity and fresh air. The kids would be happy to never leave!

 Ottawa has some great city parks. Some of them have pools and splash pads, which are perfect for this warm weather (and look for pools to be opening in the next week!). Some parks are best for toddlers and some have great climbing structures for older kids.

What I love best about spending time at our park is that it is free, we meet some great kids and parents and it is about as free-range as my two and four year old kids can get living in the city. When they are playing with their friends they feel like they are off on their own, but I am still there to keep an eye on them.

Here are some of my tips for making the most of summer at the park:

1. Bring lots of water: on hot days my kids get so thirsty running around and they end up drinking a lot of water. Some parks have water fountains but it is good to pack extra just in case.
2. Pack snacks to share: Nothing tastes as good as other kids' snacks. My four year old is a snack scammer and wants to try everyone else's snacks but her own. But that is okay, because we end up sharing all of our snacks too.
3. Watch out for the sun: I have a hard time keeping hats on my kids' heads. They always get thrown off eventually and, a couple of times when it was really hot, I had to take them off myself because the kids were overheating. I try to combine hats with some sunscreen and encouraging the kids to play in the shade when possible. I am also planning to get some long sleeve swim shirts once the pool opens.
4. Go over the rules of the park: At the start of park season every year I go over the rules with the kids. Rules for us include always being able to see each other at the park, not talking to strangers and not going to the bathroom without a parent. As the kids get older the rules are getting more detailed (I can't wait for the day when no hitting doesn't have to be included as a rule anymore) and I am talking to them more about strangers.
5. Become a regular: One of the reasons that our park means so much to me is because of the people. I have met a lot of great parents at the park and consider a lot of them to be my friends. Part of the reason for this is that we are regulars. We visit the park at the same time every day, the same days every week. Because of this we see the same people and get to know them. I also try to talk to anyone that comes within five feet of me! I remember what it was like not to have a lot of adult conversation in a day and so I always try to connect with other parents I meet.

 Do you have any tips for making the most of summer at the park?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 year old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Bouncing around the Backyard

Looking for something fun to liven up your backyard? Not convinced you have the space or energy to build a play structure? Why not get a trampoline!?

That’s what we did last summer and we haven’t looked back.

Our backyard trampoline has been a lot of fun for the whole family. My daughter enjoys showing off the moves she learns in gymnastics, and has already taught her brother how to do a seat drop. It’s also been a good way to interact with some of the neighbourhood children.

There are many different sizes and styles of trampolines to fit most budgets and yards. We have an 10-ft enclosed trampoline that we got on sale at Canadian Tire. It took a few hours to set up, and we left it out last winter with no ill effect. It takes a while to dry after a rain storm and water may collect under the safety mats, so you can expect wet feet.

Injuries can occur on trampolines, so we follow some basic safety rules:

• No flips
• No shoes
• Eyes on the smallest person on the trampoline
• Only two (or three depending on size) people on at a time
• Stay off the mats covering the springs and no leaning on the netting

So far these rules have been enough to keep us safe.

The trampoline has been a great addition to the backyard. It’s been such a success that we’re wondering if we’ll have to get a bigger one for next summer!

The Main Event for kids

by Brie For the last two years we have made sure to hit The Main Event, the Old Ottawa East yearly neighbourhood party. It reminds me of some of the country fairs I used to go to as a kid. It's pretty small, don't expect anything like WESTFEST, but it is fun. This year's event is happening Saturday, June 18th. Rain or shine!

The Main Event includes a Friday night outdoor movie screening, a neighbourhood garage sale and, our favorite, the Family Fun party on the grounds of St. Paul's University (223 Main Street).

The Family Fun party is always a hit with the kids because of the inflatable structure (one year it was a bouncy castle, another year is was an inflatable slide). There are also crafts and games to occupy the kids. The community stage has music throughout the day and it is always fun to watch the kids, especially the little ones, get up and dance.

The Family Fun Party has a BBQ, but you can also hit up the Main Street Farmers' Market (also at St. Paul's) for great cooked food and produce. And if you are wandering around the area looking for garage sales, make sure you stop by the fabulous Children's Garden!

Do you have any neighbourhood or community parties that you and your family attend every year? I am always looking to add more to my list!

Brie is the mom of a 4.5 year old daughter “the girl” and 2.5 year old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.