Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sewing Projects: Fabric Coasters

Do you want to make your own coasters? Do you want to make ones that match your decor? Do you want to start sewing and you don't know from where to start? This is an easy and fast project that a beginner can do it. I used the tutorial of Crafty Gemini to make these coasters. They are washable and customized to your taste. I bought the Fabric from Hancook Fabric. You can use Fabric scraps to make it.



Let's Zumba!


I heard a lot about Zumba through friends and I wanted to try. I really need to have some energy to do my housework and take care of the kids.  I did some search online for Zumba classes in my area. I found 2 trainers that give Zumba classes. I chose one of them. Her name is Amy and I went 2 times now. It is like a dance and aerobics class at the same time. The first time was good but I couldn't walk that day .. really literally. The next day, I felt much better and had more energy. The second time was good as well to the extent that I felt that the class went so fast...which is weird and nice :)  I hope I could go two days a week... at least!

Wish me luck!!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Baklava .. Love it!

Few days ago, I baked some Baklava. I really loved it and it was really easy to make :)
 
Just need:
1. 1 box of filo dough
2. Mix of Nuts, sugar and cinnamon
3. Some Butter
4. Cold Syrup ( bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar into a boil and then add lemon Juice (half a lemon is enough) and 1 teaspoon of Vanilla on a medium heat)
 
I used Walnuts!
 

The dough should be covered all time as it is very sensitive and  dry out easily!

 
Filling triangles with mixed nuts, sugar and cinnamon
 
 
After Baking .. Looking delicious!
 
 
After dipping in the cold syrup ..easy ha! and yummy too!
 
 


Beautiful Headbands

 

I got these 2 headbands as a gift from a dear friend. She designed and made them for my baby girl. Love them :) This will encourage me to design some headbands for my baby. love to have a baby girl
 
 
 


 
 


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Baby First Channel!


It was hard to find a good TV channel to watch with the kids. Baby First is really an amazing channel for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Its number on Dish Network is 9400. It has number of interesting programs well designed for babies and kids development. It presents Math, language, art and music in a cheerful and interesting way.

Also, its website has some of the videos of their programs:

http://www.babyfirsttv.com/

This channel is not only in English language but also in Spanish, Hindu, Portuguese, German, French and Mandarin.

I highly recommend this channel for moms that want to present simple concepts to their kids in an interesting way.

Have a nice day :)  

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Story time - IPad App Review




My kids love stories. I found really good application on IPad called story time. It is interactive and funny. It has classic stories like Alice in wonderland, Goldilocks and three bears. There are two options: read to me and read myself. I usually go for read to me. A lady with a nice voice reading the story with a really nice music in the background. Some books are for free and others are for only 99 cents. The application has also some activities like coloring and finding the difference. I recommend this application for toddlers and preschoolers who love to hear and watch stories... :)

Have a nice story!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

New Activities for my baby!


In the last 2 weeks, I introduced 2 new activities to my baby girl!! I want to teach her the "IN" concept. To put objects into something. She loves to remove the laundry from basket, her toys from the box but never return them back :)  As I mentioned before, I am always looking for simple activities that are easy to put together and keep my toddler busy even for few minutes which is hard to achieve sometimes :)

These 2 activities promote eye hand coordination and fine motor skills.

Materials I used are:

1. A Jar (bought it from Micheals) you can use a cup or shoe box.
2. Easter Eggs (bought 48 eggs for $2) it can be used to teach colors too!
3. Egg Tray
4. Scissors
5. Clothespins
6. Glue gun

First activity: Jar and Easter eggs:


I used the glue gun to close the egg so it doesn't open when we play with it  



I put the jar and eggs on the floor and my baby automatically goes and put the eggs into the jar.....yayy!!

Second Project: Egg tray and clothespins:

I used the scissors to remove the bottom of egg tray to make holes. My baby should try to put clothespins into the holes. It seems that egg is our hero in these two activities :) 

Have a nice day!
                             

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sour Cream coffee cake - Recipe Review


Another cake recipe of www.joyofbaking.com. This is Sour cream coffee cake that was easy to make and so yummy. I did this recipe 3 times now. I just preferred to put the mix of nuts just inside the cake not on top. Also, it doesn't contain coffee. It is a cake that you can drink it with a cup of coffee or tea.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Recyclying and storage project


You have a lot of shopping bags everywhere? I used them as trash bags especially for dirty diapers. However, I don't know where to store them until their usage. I found an easy tutorial on YouTube to make a HOBO bag using an old T-shirt. I used my husband old T-shirt for this project. You can also store socks, kids light toys..etc. This tutorial was done by a very crafty and talented lady. Her name is Vanessa and she has a very crafty blog called http://craftygemini.blogspot.com/. Please check her blog for more projects.

Here's the link for the HOBO bag :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2mJtTBbBvg

Please like or comment if you find this project useful for you.

Have a nice day!

 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Our visit to the local Library!

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to the local library to attend the story time. It was really nice to go and she did well for the first time. The library lady did sing some songs, tell the story and give the kids a picture to color. It was a new experience for my daughter and myself :) I will try to go every week for storytime.

At the same time, I found a really good book of activities for toddlers (1 1/2 to 3 years old). It is called "The Toddler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner. It includes 365 creative games and activities that anyone can do with their toddlers throughout the year and using materials found around the house. The book writer is a mom of five children and she wanted to keep them busy all day by doing useful and planned activities. The book doesn't have fancy pictures but it is good resource for parents and caregivers. I plan to try the activities mentioned in this book and share my feedback on my blog.... See y'all

 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe Review

Hello everyone,

My husband loves cakes so much. I used to make cakes using cake mix until I found a really good website. It contains lots of recipes not only cakes but also for cookies, muffins, ...etc you name it. The website called www.joyofbaking.com I tried the pineapple upside down cake and it was my first time to use fresh fruits in baking a cake (I used canned pineapple though). The cake was absolutely yummy and easy to make :) I used 8 inch heart shape pan...voila!



Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Montessori activities at home!

In the last few days, I was looking online for Montessori activities I can do with my 20 months old tot. I found so many ideas that I can use materials from around the house to make them. I made yesterday a sorting tray that helps kids to differentiate colors and shapes. It was easy and fun!

Materials needed: 

1. Back of snack box (I didn't have card stock) 
2. Markers 
3. Scissors 
4. Pencil 
5. Snack tray ( I already have it in the kitchen) 

1. Cut the side of snack box to open it 


2. Trace the shapes using a pencil like circle, star, circle and square on the back of the box 



3. Cut the shapes using scissors 


4. Color the shapes in different colors and put in the tray ... voila!! Enjoy your time with your toddler. 



I recommend to laminate the shapes because my tot loves to put things in her mouth :) 

My tot doesn't get the idea of this game yet but I will try to work on it every day. 

Enjoy!







Friday, March 1, 2013

How to get my baby to sleep?

Last night, I tried to get my 2 kids to sleep but bedtime took forever. I know they are both sick and can't breath well from their noses. However, this applies every night whether they are sick to not especially when their dad is around. Also, I am trying to change their bed routine because I am suffering to put them in bed every night. They get to bed late and wake up late in the morning. I was looking online to see what I can do to get them to sleep. I found some useful tips on this website:

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/fussy-baby/31-ways-get-your-baby-sleep-and-stay-asleep

I hope these tips will be useful for moms like me suffering to get their kids to sleep.

Till next time ... see y'all:) 

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Stop bullying!



I saw a report on CNN about bullying in US schools. I think bullying is not a new phenomena. It was there all the time.Teens are always looking for their identity and they hate people to criticize them because of their weight, sex or race...etc Awareness is one of the ways to stop bullying in schools. Also, the family is responsible for stopping it by listening to their kids problems and trying to solve them. Schools can't do everything and parents should be more involved. My kids are still babies. However, I can't imagine what I will do if one of my kids are subject to bullying. It is bad feeling as a parent not to be able to protect your children outside the house. May God protect our kids .. Ameen!