My kids recently played by a frog pond with Lilly pads and a real frog, that they tried unsuccessfully to catch. The next day we made our own frog pond in the tub.
During the heart of the lock-down, in deep winter, I was at my wit’s end of what to do with the kids. The local child development coordinator, Jenny Raspberry, gave me this idea and provided the supplies for it. My kids loved it so much, we bought our own supplies and gave several sets as gifts.
What you need:
Frogs and turtles – the big frogs came from my local dollar store. The little ones came from Amazon.ca.
Peanut butter jar lids – these are usually green, like lilly pads and float well with frogs on them.
Flower muffin cups – we used paper ones that eventually got wet and sunk, but the kids liked playing with them even once they were soaked.
Coco powder – it made the water look swampy. And it’s good for the skin!
This activity came alive again, for the kids, when I brought it outside to do in the kiddy pool.
My dad and I have an ongoing, but loving, dispute about the value of dandelions. My parents live in a retirement community where a single dandelion is a blite upon the neighbourhood. I haven’t sprayed my lawn in years and have a busy family life that leaves the lawn somewhat neglected. When my parents visit in the spring, my dad remarks on how many dandelions are on our lawn. I, in turn, encourage my kids to pick bouquets of dandelions for him, serve him dandelion tea, chop dandelion leaves into salad, offer dandelion jam, and exclaim over the many environmental benefits of dandelions.
My husband and I have long had a joke that spite (not love) is the most powerful emotion in the world. It can make you work harder in school just to beat the smart kid, or get in really good shape after a break up. Well, this poem is the result of love and spite coming together. It is a sonnet that I wrote for my dad for Father’s Day… comparing him to a dandelion.
Shall I compare thee to a dandelion?
Though you are more enduring, deeper rooted.
Some may try to cut you, send you flyin’,
Your golden head doth come back up undisputed.
In age your gold turns white with seeds spread farther.
And on the wind, they fly to other places.
From you, they have a piece of what they are there,
As to the sun they turn their pretty faces.
But though you bring much joy to many grand-youths,
Father’s Day can be depressing for people who have lost a father or a child. I decided that we would celebrate Farter’s Day instead. (To put the poem in context, you should know that we have twin toddlers who are somewhat gluten and dairy intolerant.)
Whistling is such a cheerful sound. One day I heard Home (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) and felt inspired to make this playlist. It is my very favourite playlist.
The thing you never stop being asked for. All Day. Every day.
My daughter gets bored of food really quickly. One day I got inspired (I must have slept well) and made these (see below). The kids enjoyed guessing which kind of animals they were and ate more fruits and vegetables than I expected.
I Jacquified these cookies to make them more nutrient-dense and lower glycemic index. They’re also gluten and dairy free.
Jacquifying the Sugar: Stevia often makes things sickly sweet. Erythritol makes food taste too cold. These sugars are carefully balanced with regular brown sugar, to ensure you don’t get either of those effects. I brought these cookies to a beach date with my friends and many asked for seconds!
Super Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup oat flour 2 cups oats ¼ cup Erythritol (I buy the Erythritol/Monk Fruit Blend) 1/8 cup Truvia (a brand that is part Stevia, part cane sugar) ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp baking soda ½ cup brown sugar 2 eggs ½ cup coconut oil ¼ tsp vanilla Optional: Adding chocolate chips or 1 tablespoon flavourless protein powder
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then combine.
These cookies spread out a bit, so I either refrigerate the batter first, or put the rolled cookie dough into my silicon mini-muffin pan (see picture). I have gotten best results with the mini-muffin technique.
Bake for 12 minutes.
It will seem a little doughy inside at first, but once it cools down it’s perfect! I like putting the cookies in the fridge once they are cooled. The cookies firm up a bit more this way.
I grew up making apple pie with my mom, using my grandmother’s recipe. After I went gluten-free, I struggled to find a good pie crust recipe. Gluten free pastry is hard to work with.
This recipe uses the same flavours as my grandmother’s apple pie, but uses a store-bought gluten-free crust, and a crumble topping. It also uses a healthier oil and more nutrient-dense flour than my childhood pie recipe. It’s way faster to make, and my friend, LouAnne, says it’s the best pie she has ever tasted.
1 Frozen, Store-Bought Pie Crust:
I use Wholly Gluten Free pie crusts. They come frozen at my local organic food store, Fine Fettle.
Pie Filling:
6 apples, peeled and chopped 1/3 cup oat flour ¼ cup white sugar ¾ tsp cinnamon Dash of allspice Dash of salt Mix dry ingredients together and toss with apple slices. Pour mixture into pie crust.
Crumble Topping:
½ cup oat flour ½ cup brown sugar ¾ tsp cinnamon Dash of allspice ½ tsp salt ¼ cup melted coconut oil
Assemble:
Spread mixture evenly over top of apples that are in pie crust.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for around 40 minutes or until apples are soft.
Holidays can be some of the hardest times when you’ve lost a loved one. I wanted to share some ways we have included Jake in our holiday traditions.
Decorating the Gravestone:
Decorating Jake’s gravestone gives me a physical way to take care of him. It makes me feel like he’s included in the activities of the season. My kids enjoy helping me, and it shows anyone who walks by how loved he is.
Easter:
Our first two Easter egg hunts were at the cemetery. After we had more children, we moved it to our basement to reduce the effort with babies and toddlers, but we always have an Easter basket for Jake. Some years we have donated his basket to kids in need. Last year, in the context of Covid, we let our own kids divide it up.
Christmas:
Jake Tree
Riley Tree
Every year we decorate a Jake tree. We got this idea from our friend, Lynne, who does a “Riley” tree for her daughter. Lynne buys a memorial ornament each year to add to her tree. Jake is the angel on the top of our tree. We have decorated the rest of the tree in decorations that remind us of Jake. The candy decorations represent stories I have written for the kids about Jake and Robin (more on that in later posts).
On Christmas Eve, we sing Christmas carols to Jake at his grave. This tradition can feel pretty heart-wrenching, but we like to get our emotions out and acknowledge Jake before all the busy activities of Christmas Day.
Santa always leaves a gift for Jake. We also donate to Operation Christmas Child. You can pick a child who is in the same age range and gender as your child and fill a box with gifts for them.
We also like to donate gifts or money to a family in need, in place of the gifts we would have bought Jake.
Halloween:
Each year we dress up Jake’s favourite stuffed animal in a costume that coordinates with his twin sister. They have been Luke and Leia Skywalker, a dragon and a knight, and Peppa and George Pig. For the first Halloween after Jake died (which I was really dreading) a friend dressed her son as Han Solo (to go with Robin’s Leia costume). This gave Robin a little boy to accompany her for Halloween, but clearly did not replace her twin brother (who was going to be Luke).
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day:
My husband and I always give each other gifts from Jake. One year Jake’s gift to Rich was a donation to UNICEF to help reunite children with their parents after war or disaster. It seemed appropriate to help other parents and children be together, since we wish we could do that with Jake. One year Jake’s gift to me was sprouted kale and mint to plant in the garden so I could make his favourite smoothies. We also make sure to give each other time alone to go to Jake’s grave to honour our grief, as that day can be particularly difficult.
Birthdays:
On Robin and Jake’s birthday we have one cake for each of them. Robin also gets a gift from Jake and we donate Jake’s birthday present money to a family in need. Jake’s death anniversary is the day before their birthday, so there are a lot of things we do around that time to honour Jake. There will be more on this in other posts.
These traditions developed over the course of years, and are still developing now. What’s right for one family is not necessarily right for another. However, I hope that by sharing our traditions, it may help you think of ideas that work for you.
I felt really sorry for the university students who didn’t get to go away to school last year, especially the first years. Online Frosh Week is just not the same. When I started university, we got frosh kits. So, I made some for my two favourite university students, who had been devoted babysitters. I included every important thing a university student should have. I have listed the items here, in case you would like to make one for your beloved university student.
Granola
The ultimate study food.
Kraft Dinner
The ultimate student food.
Yellow Highlighters
I have tried every colour of highlighter and yellow is the only one that’s easy to read through, once you have highlighted the words.
Black Pen and Sticky Notes
This part comes with my fool-proof method for studying efficiently:
First, you highlight the important information with the yellow highlighter. On the second time round, you read just the highlighted bits, and underline only the information that you haven’t yet memorized. On the third time round, you read just the underlined parts, putting a sticky note only on the sections you still don’t know. Then you keep going back to the parts you’ve sticky-noted, taking the sticky notes off as you learn the very last parts. This way, you never have to sift through information that you already know.
Skipping Rope
This lets you do exercise anywhere. I always found exercise woke me up better than coffee. I often took 2-minute study breaks to skip. It woke me up and helped me focus. My friend and I would even bring a skipping rope to campus on the morning of a test to help us cram.
A Frisbee
Playing Frisbee on campus feels like the quintessential undergrad experience. And you can also use it as a plate in a pinch.
Key Chain Bottle Opener
Sometimes you just need a bottle opener on your keys.
Party Smart Pills
These pills prevent hangovers. This way, you can party on a Thursday night and still get up for class the next day. I buy these from my local organic store, Fine Fettle, but you can order them online. I have used them many, many times and passed them out at weddings and bachelorettes. Everyone agrees that they actually work. If you drink a lot, it won’t prevent a hangover, but you certainly won’t get the hangover you deserve.
Emergen-C
This is a powder that you mix with water and it gives you vitamin C and other vitamins. It helps wake you up when you’re not feeling great. Sometimes at university I wasn’t feeling that well and I wasn’t sure I could keep my commitments. Then I would take some Emergen-C and it would give me the energy I needed to go out to the bar.
Smirnoff Ice and Strawberry Zinfandel
I remember drinking these when I was young, and feeling very mature.
A laundry bag
Put all the things from the frosh kit inside a cloth laundry bag. This is how many frosh kits come, and the bag is very useful for carrying their laundry later.
As an added bonus, I also included a zip-up hoodie with the name of the university on it. I was never without my University of Waterloo zip-up hoodie as a student, and I still have one today.
Good luck to all the students who are not quite getting the experience they should this year and last year. I know you will be great at making up for lost time later!
It’s been a long pandemic. Even getting together with three other friends on a patio feels like a huge party! Some people can even get their hands on free COVID tests, which lets them get together confidently in even larger numbers. However you are doing it, you might enjoy wearing some of these COVID-Themed pins. They are a little naughty, so I suggest adult audiences only. I made these as a going away gift for my babysitter who was going to University for the first time!
I have both been to, and planned many bachelorette parties. Great bachelorettes have a fun theme and funny conversation starters, to let you mingle with the other partiers wherever you go. At a bachelorette, there’s a certain freedom that releases you from usual social norms, and allows you to be sensual, silly, and creative. Whether you are single, married, or the bride-to-be, these ideas are going to make your party awesome!
My basic ingredients for a bachelorette party:
1) Buttons – The group wears buttons to the bar that have clever phrases on them based around the party theme. Mine are almost always sexual innuendos (it is a bachelorette after all). This encourages people to approach, to ask about them. It breaks the ice and starts conversations out with the right vibe! If you make your own buttons, I recommend black words on a white background. It goes with any outfit, and it’s easy for drunks to read. You can also just write them on name-tag stickers in a pinch, but they may not stick as well to every outfit.
2) Stickers – Even if your theme is “bachelorette party” or “birthday,” having stickers to give out to guys is a great way to increase the fun and excitement and mingling. In my experience, guys really want them. It’s a powerful feeling to get to decide who gets best abs or best biceps. You may have to feel a few of them to be sure! Below is my favourite brand of stickers. You can find them online.
3) Signature Drinks – When pre-drinking before the bar, it’s fun to have some themed drinks for the events. You could have just one, or could have a shot, mixed drink, and wine or beer with a themed name.
4) Food and Games – These are very dependable on the theme. Check out the ones I did for specifics.
Because it’s gonna be a long time before you do this again!
Is your best girl about to start trying for a baby? You know you need one more epic night out before she calls it quits and settles down to Motherhood. These types of parties are particularly good for women who didn’t get a great bachelorette party before their wedding. Or maybe they have never been married, but totally deserve a bachelorette party! Let’s give it to them! I never actually got to throw this party for anyone. One friend got pregnant too quickly, and another ended up changing her life plans. If anyone does this party, please send me pictures! I will post them!
Buttons:
1) This baby needs a drink 2) If I cry will you take out your boobs? 3) I missed my nap for this 4) You can tuck me in tonight 5) Cutest in the room 6) I can do anything a baby can do 7) I have a toy to share with you 8) Tell me how babies are made 9) Don’t make me cranky 10) Which are better: Babies or Puppies? 11) Hooked on the bottle (with a picture of a beer bottle) 12) Drunk R Us 13) Wanna come back to my crib?
Games:
1) Have everyone write down an explanation of how babies are made that the soon-to-be mom can read out. 2) Attach blown-up condoms to a dart board with a sign above it saying, “Won’t be needing these.” You could even put folded up pieces of paper inside with dares on them. 3) Pin the sperm on the egg (always a classic).
Food:
Cake: Make a cake that looks like an egg. Then the parents-to-be can throw sprinkles (sperm) at it. Alternatively, you could have cupcakes around it decorated with sperm-shaped icing. Signature Drink: A margarita with fruity baby food in it. Snacks: Animal crackers, arrow root cookies, soother candies.
jacquify.com 