Like, Want and NEED: Toy Edition

I've seen a few bloggers do a "Like, Want, Need" post lately! So I thought I would do one of my own... Toy edition!  

LIKE LOVE: You all know that I have a not so secret love for wooden toys! So of course I am absolutely in love with this wooden toy shopping cart from Pottery Barn! It is just so over the top cute, I can barely take it! Thank goodness, there is no Pottery Barn Kids here and that shipping is ridiculous or else this thing would totally be bumped up to a want or need item!! Hehe!

WANT: I've noticed lately that the little monster loves to get into small spaces and hang out! So I thought that she would really WANT one of these pop-up tent/tunnel things (maybe one less colorful than the pic)!

How fun is that? Unfortunately, Husband vetoed me and told me to stop spending money on junk that's ugly, colorful and takes up so much room! I even played the gross motor card, but he still said NO! I was pretty bitter that he said no, and I'm defiant so I retaliated by building her one!! Mwahahahahaha *insert evil laughter* It's ugly (but not for long) and takes up way too much room but it was made from recycled boxes... so technically upcycled!! Yulli loves it, so Husband can't argue with that!

NEED: The monster is OBSESSED with seeing what we're doing in the kitchen and loves "helping out"! Every single time we're at the sink, she immediately runs and drags the step stool over! It's actually super cute... but totally unsafe!

So Yules NEEDS a Learning Tower!!

OMG this thing is awesome but also comes with a not so awesome pricetag!! I even thought of doing some type of Ikea hack and making one! I wondered if it was even that awesome... and concluded that YES, it is awesome and that she NEEDs one! Although it is giant... it comes in many color options, so it can match the house! SOLD!! Haha! Anyways, I took the big plunge and bought a giant learning tower and so far it has proven to be super AWESOME! I'll definitely have to do a separate post once I've explored it's full awesomeness!

DIY fine motor toy!

Here's a super easy DIY activity that the Yules quite enjoys! All you need is a plastic container with a lid (think large yogurt size but clear is best), some popsicle sticks and an exacto knife! All I did was slit some holes in the lid!! Ta-da INSTANT toy!! Haha told you it was easy!

My objective for this activity is to work on the all important pincer grasp, build on hand strength and of course hand-eye coordination! All baby has to do is insert the sticks into the slits! Yules loves this thing and can play with it for quite a while! She initially needed me to insert the sticks into the slit and then she would push them down! Now she can for the most part do it all by herself! We count them as she puts them in and she likes to see where it goes... that's why it's nice if the container is clear!

You can kick this toy up a notch by using colored sticks to teach the colors! Or even label the slits if you want to do some matching or recognition thing! My goodness there are soooo many ways to supe up this thing! Let me know if you make this for your babe and if they like it!

A Win and A Fail!

Two messages gave me a good chuckle this week... so I thought I would share them with you guys!

The first is a FAIL:
I attempted to make cinnamon buns yesterday! This is something I don't usually make because it requires way too much work! I also don't use yeast very often because it is difficult to work with. Needless to say, my cinnamon buns didn't rise! FAIL!

What made me chuckle was this message in response to my failed cinnamon buns!! Ahahahaha

 

And then to add further salt to my wound...

I used the SAME recipe she did!! AIYAH!!! FAIL hardcore!!

 

 

Okay now for a WIN: I received this message the other day!







I'm FAMOUS!!! Get my autograph now while you still can peeps!! Hahaha!

 

 



Valentine's Sensory Box

We finally got some sand for the monster's sensory table! YAY for us... only took half a year!! Haha! Yules has also decided that she still likes eating sand! Bleahhh! Haha, oh well I guess that is all part of sensory play! Not sure if you can really see in the pic but that's sand spewing out of her mouth and that's her Oh-was-I-not-supposed-to-do-that look!!

This week, we made the sand a little more Valentinezy! I added pink scoops and spoons, cookie cutters and foam hearts!

The monster enjoyed the usual scooping and transferring, but now likes to hide the hearts and find them in the sand!!

Bathroom Sprucing Up!

Ikea had another sale on picture frames, so I picked up a few more for the basement bathroom! You guys seriously need to give me some MAD props for choosing something that wasn't silver or grey or white!! It was for realz out of my comfort zone!! Haha! I chose some large square wooden frames!! I KNOW!! WOOD color...and not even dark wood... they actually match very nicely with the wood tones in the bathroom vanity!

I didn't want these frames sitting around for another year, so I asked Husband to put them up PRONTO!! Only problem was that I had ZERO artwork for them!! They are also a strange size since they are large and square! The only quick solution I could think of was scrapbook paper... which happened to be the perfect size! My intention was to put it up temporarily so it was at least UP on the wall... but I am quite happy with how it looks, so there it will stay for a while... or forever!! You also have to give me a HUGE pat on the back because I picked different COLOURED paper with patterns!! Holy smokes!! Who am I? I'm like a new person!!

And to finish off the space, I added a couple vases and a CREAM colored curtain!! No over the top stylizing, just kept it simple! SERIOUSLY, I can't believe this room exists in my house!! There is wood, color, pattern and cream!! YIKES! Haha! Completely not where I thought I would take this space but overall I like how it came together! I am especially proud that I ventured out of my typical cool color palate!! Pat on the back for me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minion Monster!

The Yules went to a minion party today! She was lucky enough to borrow some boy overalls from a friend! It was so very strange to see her in something other than a dress! Haha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Art

Obviously this post is a little late... but better late than never I say! You've also obviously missed the boat if you wanted to do this Christmas project with your little one... but using pink, red and white would make a great Valentine's art project!!

I had picked up some more paint colors for the monster and she got to work creating some more marble paintings!! Throw paper, paint and marbles into the box and roll around! EASY! Yules wanted to make some special Christmas art for a couple of her special friends! Oh and the Kalbster helped her too! I tell you, slap anything in a frame and it looks good! I love how they all turned out so different and unique!!

Breakfast cooking tips!

So a couple of you have asked me about my brunch eggs... so I thought I would share a few of my cooking tips!!

Eggs: How did I get my eggs so perfect looking you ask? Well... I cooked them in the oven in a muffin tin! Simply grease your muffin tin with a little oil and crack your eggs inside! You can do scrambled eggs, or quiches the same way! I cooked my eggs for 15mins at 350C and even though the yoke looks raw, they are perfectly cooked through! Cook for 8-10mins if you want a soft or runny yoke! I use a regular muffin tin and didn't really have much trouble with it sticking but I heard if you use a silicon tin, they pop right out! This saves so much time if you are feeding lots of people since you don't have to stand at the stove frying eggs! These are also great if you like making egg mcmuffin breakfast sandwiches! I think a large size muffin tin would be a better size ratio though! I've also used the oven/muffin tin technique to cook hard boiled eggs too! Works like a charm!

Sausage: My tip for cooking sausage is to boil them first! This ensures that they are fully cooked through and also cooks away a lot of the fatty grease! Sounds sacrilegious I know, but I want my heart to live a little longer so I can enjoy eating these types of foods longer! And then after boiling, just give them a quick fry to give it a nice color and crisp!

Bacon: I also cook my bacon in the oven! Line a baking sheet with tin foil and lay out the bacon nicely! I cook it at 350C and cooking time will vary depending on how crispy you like your bacon! There are sooooooo many advantages to cooking bacon in the oven! First off, lots of the bacon smell is contained so your house doesn't reek of bacon! I know it smells good but you don't want your house smelling like that long after you have devoured the bacon! Again you don't have to stand at the stove frying bacon! Cooking the bacon in the oven also keeps the bacon stick straight... notice how when you fry it in a pan it always curls up? And lastly, once the left over bacon grease solidifies in the tin foil, you can just scrunch it up and throw the whole thing away... you don't even have to wash the baking sheet!

Hopefully these cooking tips are helpful....

New Years Brunch!

We usually get together during Christmas and celebrate with some close friends! With vacations, family get-togethers and birthdays, our little get-together was postponed until New years day! So I decided that brunch would be a great way to celebrate! I initially wasn't planning on anything fancy... but at the last minute my inner décor monster got the best of me and I spruced things up just a little! Yules helped me make the cute little circle garland!! We had a great time socializing with friends, exchanging gifts, stuffing our faces and having fun!!

 

 

 

Happy 2014!!!

Adios 2013 and Welcome 2014!! This past year has been a really rough year for this little family! I haven't really blogged about it too much because Kalbs&Yules is supposed to be a happy place! We've had so many ups and downs and it's been a real rollercoaster ride! I am so thankful for our amazing family and friends for all their support and of course to my number one man upstairs for guiding and watching over all of us! While we've had a great year in many ways, I have no problem saying good-bye to 2013! I welcome 2014 with open arms!! Happy New Year everyone!!! Wishing you all the best in 2014!