Dora the Explorer Competition

"Dora the Explorer is back for another adventure!  Paramount Home Media Distribution is excited to announce the world’s most popular preschooler, Nick Jr.’s Dora the Explorer, is back with Dora the Explorer: First Bike, released on DVD on 20 June 2012. The latest DVD invites viewers to watch Dora demonstrate the magic of friendship as she helps her best friend Boots, to ride his first bike and find his missing boots, plus more.

Dora The Explorer: First Bike features four fantastic friendship adventures including three new-­‐to-­‐ DVD episodes including:

Boots’ First Bike

Boots is ready for his first big-­‐kid bike! Help Dora take him on an adventure to the Bike Shop, and help other friends do new things for the first time too!

Vacaciones!

It's Vacation Time! Help Dora and Boots pack up to meet Diego and Baby Jaguar for a night at the Rainforest Campground, and help Dora's friends get set for their trips too!

Bouncy Boots

Boots can't wait to get his boots back from the Shoe Shop, but when he gets bouncy boots instead, Dora and you need to help him on a bouncy adventure to find his own boots!

The Big Red Chicken's Magic Wand

Big Red Chicken accidentally breaks his magic wand after turning Boots into a chicken! To turn Boots back, help Dora return to Magic Land and fix the wand at the Wand Shop!"

Both kids here love Dora the Explorer, in the car, at home and everywhere else!  When I saw there was a new dvd out we couldn't be more excited!  We love the learning, the fun, the music and the general great feeling of the Dora series.  And who doesn't love Boots!  If this is your children too then I have the giveaway for you!  I want to know who has the biggest Dora the Explorer fan in their house, to enter post your comment below telling "why is your child the biggest Dora fan?".  Entries are open until Friday 13th July until 7pm.  I will then choose the top 5 Dora the Explorer fans and each will win a copy of the new release DVD.  Don't forget to leave your email address so that you can be contacted.  Good luck and can't wait to read all the entries! Good luck!

Kate xxx

DIY Cubby House

I am forever grateful that my husband is one handy and clever fellow!  I am a little bit fussy when it comes to things I require built, as in I have a set picture in my mind and don't even think about changing it!  Control freak you may say, well yes actually I am.

When we decided we wanted the kids to have a cubby house I was straight onto the internet to find what I was visioning in my head to show my husband.  We had a look at a few places selling cubby houses but the builder in my husband came out and he wasn't happy with the finishings of them.  Then he suggested he make one- I wasn't so sure!  Not that i don't have full trust in my husband but remember I am a control freak!   But we all have to move out of our comfort zone occasionally so I gave my husband the printout of what I wanted and let him go with it!  He didn't disappoint!  In fact he built it better than the picture I gave him and with more style.  The best part, is the kids now tell everyone "Daddy built our cubby house" and that fills me with joy but my husband even more so!

He did such a fantastic job of the cubby house and he put a lot of time and care into making it just perfect for the kids.  We are in the process of painting the walls inside- blue and pink, we have a wooden kitchen ready to be put in there and the kids will have hours of fun in this I just know!  All of the cubby houses we looked at were from $600 right up to $2000 and they were no where near as big as our cubby!  The grand total of this cubby was $250, it took my husband 2 full Sundays to build!  Nothing better than a homemade piece of play equipment you can sit back and watch your kids enjoy day after day!

Kate xxx

The Magic of Discovery Making a Vegetable garden

From the minute they are born children are discovering, the magic of discovery is encouraging your kids to discover new things about the world.  This will differ from age to age but they never stop discovering and learning.  This is so clear in our household, with an 18 month old who is still discovering the very basic parts of "his world" here at home to an almost 4 year old who is just starting to discover the world outside of the home.  Both so different but just as magical as each other and helping them with this discovery is so rewarding.  Discovery for kids happens all year round, but winter can sometimes bring unwelcome bugs to our little ones and stop them discovering.  Here in our house we use Nurofen for Children as it gets temperatures back to normal faster than paracetamol so the kids can get back to the magic of discovery.

Just a few of what we purchased to plant

The kids are always with me doing the groceries and just the other day my almost 4 year old Miss P asked me several questions about different foods I placed in trolley.  From where they come from, who puts them there, how they get to the store and more.  So this opened up an opportunity for discovery.  At home we discussed that people planted the vegetables, cared for them and then picked them.  Miss P wanted to do this so we decided to make a vegetable patch (small but suitable for us).  So off to the nursery where Miss P helped choose the vegetables we often eat, soil to help them grow and of course some new gloves!  Not to forget our 18 month old Master X, who unable to discuss with us about the process, he was doing his own discovery in the nursery itself and then helping with digging the vegetable patch.  Discovering new textures, smells and skills all magic to him.

Discovering how to dig in the dirt

Different texture, digging in the rocks

Miss P really enjoyed digging the holes for the plants as we discussed again that we need to care for the vegetables in order for them to grow.  Miss P discovered that it wasn't an instant process, something which I feel is a valuable lesson, that we can't have everything instantly!  So with the vegetables planted and watered, the magic of discovery was great and we are still talking about it.  The vegetable garden will be our little ongoing discovery as our vegetables grow and then again when we get to pick and eat our vegetables from our own garden.  I cannot wait to see the excitement on Miss P's face when they are ready to pick.  The magic of discovery is alive here and we love it.

Loving the magic of discovery

Explaining that Master X "isn't doing it right"

For more information on how Nurofen can help with your children's fevers visit their website www.nurofenchildren.com.au 

Kate xxx

By Societies Rules

Society Paves The Way

I am by far a hippy, but I believe I am a natural/attached parent, well I try to be in the best way I can be. By natural/attached I mean listening to my baby's cues in regards to breastfeeding, sleep and in general, we co sleep (in order to get sleep), I believe my children will become independent when they are ready and I believe separation anxiety is real and I help my child with it not push them through it. Ok I still use 85% disposable nappies and cloth occasionally, remember I said I try to be natural! But society today and in many Western countries tells us all of the above is ridiculous and that I am letting my child control my life! Well yes I am and yes we do in this family let our children control our life! Now before you scream that our children will be brats and get what they want, I don't mean we let them do what they please and have free range of everything! What I mean is we believe that our life now is devoted to our children who need us to guide them and attend to their needs. We plan our outings and events around our children's needs, we don't push the kids to do things even when others are making comments like "he should really be sleeping all night" or "are you still breastfeeding?" I am on number 2 child so those comments slide right off my back but when I was a new mum they confused me and made me doubt my 'mother instincts' so often! This is so wrong of our society to confuse and make new mum's doubt the best sign, their instinct! I was prompted to write this post after reading this article by Jen from The Path Less Taken (read full article here). The article was spot on and I just couldn't agree more!

Why should a mother be frowned upon because her baby sleeps better next to her? Of course the baby will it has just spent the last 9 months inside her! Now I realise this doesn't "work" for everyone and we all have our own ideas and feelings on parenting, but thats just it, if I want to comfort my child immediately after they fall then I will and it won't make him/her a sook or me a helicopter parent, no the opposite it will show my child I care and I am there to support them! I have no degree in Psychology but I do have 2 small children, I have watched my soon to be 4 year old develop and grow into a confident little girl. But guess what, shock horror, she co slept, she had separation anxiety and I nurtured that, I never left her with others (unless she was happy), I spent and still do spend all my time with her. I had people inform me that she will be cling, no confidence and won't grow- silence is golden isn't it- i now hear nothing from them and God forbid they say what a great job I have done! I am very respectful to ALL parents, even if I strongly disagree with something they do or they do things different to me, in the end it is their child and they are the parent. But what I disagree with is not being given the respect I deserve as a parent doing what I feel is best for my child! The way some people have acted in response to my mothering ways you would think I was neglecting my children not the complete opposite! Let me be the mother I choose to be, let me nurture my children the way I feel is right for them and keep your comments to yourself. No mother needs to hear someone say 'oh how does your husband feel about co sleeping or breastfeeding or you never leaving the kids', to those who ask those questions or want to here is my answer- we both realize we have 2 small children who need our undecided love and affection in order to well adjusted adults, and when they are well adjusted adults we can enjoy our 'alone' time congratulating ourselves for sticking to what we felt was best for the kids! We had children o involve them in every part of our life, to create a family not to be told 'you spend too much time with your children, what about each other' our children see us looking after each other which is worth more than a thousand words!

So go on with your parenting ways, do not let anyone stand in your way and say its wrong (unless it really s wrong as in against the law or neglect then please cease immediately) be proud of who you are as a parent and just love your kids! I don't and will not ever enforce my opinion or the way I do things on others- if asked i will offer my opinion, I will blog about my ways but never imply they are the best or better than anyone else. Our children are the next society so let's instill some good old fashioned morals and values back into them and allow them to bring up children in a world where your way isn't ridiculed or frowned upon.

Kate xxx

Delicious Recipes

So we all know just how hard it can be to find something our little one likes, then to make sure its healthy just adds to that dilemma!  Master X (18 months) has been loving his mashed vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato and broccoli) since he started solids at 8 months, although this is great and excellent for his health, I wanted to experiment with a few new tastes plus add meat to his diet.  In previous attempts to add chicken to his veggies the chicken was either dry so Master X wasn't a fan of this or too chunky so he gaged most of the time which then led to him refusing his whole dinner!  I stumbled upon some recipes and tweaked them a little to suit Master X.  Below is the recipe for Chicken, Carrot & Garlic Mash, Salmon with Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato & garlic mash and Chicken, Sweetcorn & butternut Squash Puree. The beauty of ALL of these recipes is they can be made a a first puree for 6-9mths, then mashed for 9-12mths and then used as a side or full meal for older babies by not mashing as much!  Very versatile and the big plus they all freeze well, which is always great to be able to grab dinner from the freezer knowing its full of healthy things!

Chicken, Carrot & Garlic Mash

For The Mash

225g peeled floury potato, chopped into 1cm cubes (I used normal washed potato)

175g peeled carrot, chopped into 1cm cubes

1 clove of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

125ml chicken or vegetable stock

1 tsp butter, softened

For The Chicken

1tsp butter

25g raw chicken breast, trimmed of fat

2tsp chicken or vegetable stock

1. Pre heat oven to 180c

2. First make the mash. Put the potato, carrot, garlic and stock into saucepan and bring to boil.  Reduce the heat, cover with lid and simmer for 15 mins until tender.  Leave to cool for 10 mins and then add butter and mash until smooth or puree if smoother texture required.

3. To cook the chicen, lightly grease the base of a small ovenproof dish with butter and place chicken in.  Dot the remaining butter on the top of the chicken and add stock.  Cover with foil and bake for 15 mins in the oven.  Allow the chicken to cool a little then finely dish (or shred with hands as it will be quite tender).

4. To serve, combine the chicken with the mash.  This can either be all mixed together then pureed for younger baby or just lightly mixed for older baby.

Be warned it is extremely yummy so you may want to put extra in bowl as I guarantee you will eat some!

Salmon with Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato & Garlic mash

For The Mash

175g peeled sweet potato, chopped into 1cm cubes

175g peeled butternut squash, chopped into 1cm cubes

1 clove of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

125ml chicken or vegetable stock

For The Fish

25g trimmed salmon fillet, skinned and deboned

3 tbsp milk

1. First make the mash.  Put all the prepared vegetables in a saucepan, add the stock and bring to boil.  Reduce the heat and cover with lid, simmer for 15 mins or until tender.  Mash (or puree) and then leave to cool.

2. To cook the fish, place the salmon in a small saucepan with the milk.  Gently poach on a low heat, uncovered for 4-5 mins or until fish flakes easily.  Remove the fish from the milk with a slotted spoon and then flake the fish.  Make sure you do another check for any bones missed.

3. To serve combine the flaked salmon with the mash.  Again you can puree this together or you can mash it for older babies. 

Chicken, Sweetcorn & Butternut Squash Puree

225g peeled butternut squash, chopped into 1cm cubes

5 tbsp drained sweetcorn (you can use either frozen or tinned)

50g cooked chicken breast finely chopped (cook this chicken the same way as in the first recipe to give it a great flavour)

Put the butternut squash in a saucepan and add 250ml water.  Bring to boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 12 minutes or until just soft.  Add the sweetcorn and chicken and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.  Puree this mix or gently mash.

Once you find a recipe that your little one loves just double the ingredients to make a bigger batch that way you can freeze them.  All of these recipes, even though they are purees, can be used in the family meal to save cooking!  We had Steak and the carrot and garlic mash last night and it was delicious.  So you can make one batch of mash but serve it in different ways to suit each family member.  I think the garlic really makes it yummy plus the health benefits of garlic especially in winter are great!

Let me know how you go with these recipes and if your family love them as much as we do!  I will be doing a post on recipes for older children which can also be great snacks in the lucy box too!

Kate xxx

Space for rent

Life is full of events that occur where we sit back and wonder why?  It is full of times we feel we will never get over something.  I have personally been through times like this and as much as they are not fun they definitely improve our lives in some way.

I am currently going through a time of wondering if I will ever get over something, the hard thing is this 'thing' hasn't actually had an official end and I think that is what is making it even harder!  I love all my friends- I have friends who I only see or speak to few times a year, friends I only see at special events, friends I see all the time, and friends who hold a special place in my heart.  When a friend that held one of those special places in your heart decides to move out, it leaves a vacant space in your heart!  Many people have said just move on or people change and I get that I really do but that vacant space is still reluctant to put a for rent sign up just yet.  I find myself drifting back to times we laughed, the memories not only we created but created with our children and families.  The hard thing is we only have control of ourselves I cannot control how this other person feels or acts, I wish I knew how to mend this situation (as there was no argument or disagreement to be the cause) but I am lost for answers.  Is it wrong to "fight" for a friendship?  I don't think it is and for the time being my gloves will remain on, I will fight for this friendship (so to speak).  I will until I can no longer, until the time comes that I begin to be not valued by this person any longer, I think that time is close but until then her space still fills my heart.

My husband and I have a great connection and he listens and supports so well but when it comes to women and friendship, he just doesn't cut it (I say that with respect and kindness).  To me you have few friends in your life you can ring in a crisis and know they'll have your back, call them right after you've stormed out of the place after a meaningless argument with your husband only to end the conversation with 'we really do have the best husbands out', the one you ring when your child does something that amazes or frustrates you, the one you ring just because!  When one of these friends leaves you you feel venerable and a little lost!  Don't get me wrong i am not walking around the place with my head hung and not being able to function, I am perfectly fine in that sense and my life is continuing on in a great way but that vacant space still hurts from time to time.  I know people change and I accept that but when it happens so fast and practically overnight it really hits you for a 6.  I love social media and email, I find it so helpful with business but it has given people an escape route, they don't need to call you or meet face to face to discuss things anymore it can all be done viral!  This is hard in these situations as you cannot tell the persons tone of voice through email or text or Facebook!  

For now I am hoping things may just creep back the way they were, as I give my dear friend the space required, but honestly I can kind of feel her slipping away and that hurts ever so much.  Tell your friends how important they are, don't take them for granted for one day they may end their lease with you even when you never ever thought your friendship would end.

"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost." 

                                                      - Charles Caleb Colton-

Kate xxx

Let's Celebrate!

Disney are famous for making children's lives that little bit more magical with their movies, shows and books!  Well they didn't disappoint with this years Disney on Ice show!  It was amazing, oh and the kids thought it was great too!

Just prior to meltdown for Master X

I was a little nervous to tell you the truth, you see both of my kids are asleep by 6pm and the show started at 6pm.  I knew Miss P would be fine it was Master X I was nervous about, I kept thinking this could go one of 2 ways- screaming hysterically and overtired or falls asleep through show.  About half way through first session I began to think he was going to go the first way!  Luckily intermission was close so outside the doors we went for a run and change of scenery.  We then purchased a massive bucket of popcorn and Master X was set, back in our seat he sat with popcorn on his lap and focused on the show- we dodged a bullet, thank you food!!!

Master X and his bucket of popcorn!

Back to the show, WOW! Firstly the ice skater are amazing, I realise they have to be to perform but just so graceful and then the people in those huge costumes I take my hat off to them!  I can only just ice skate myself I couldn't imagine flying around the ice in a huge dinosaur (from Toy Story) suit!!! The lights, the music and special affects gave me goosebumps and was so exciting!  Of course Miss P was so excited when all of the Disney Princesses came out (Ariel mostly) and of course Tinkerbell!  Although she is going through a fascination with scary things at the moment so she tells me the Halloween part was her favourite bit!  

Then to the merchandise!  I am a shocker with it, I can't help myself but get the kids at least one piece of merchandise each!  This time they got the Disney (Mickey and Minnie) light twirlers.  After about 5 minutes of receiving them Master X had a forehead full of red marks from the twirlers whacking him in the head (mind you he found this hilarious!).  These twirlers saved me a few times too at the onset of a Master X meltdown!

Light twirlers!

It was a great night, we don't go out at night with the kids much, so it was exciting for all!  Once at car into pjs and by the time I had reached the first roundabout outside the Brisbane Entertainment Centre snoring was coming from both of the kids!  Disney you did it again, great show and great memories!

Kate xxx