Baked Veggie Crab Wontons

SAVOURY SNACKS FOR THE FREEZER


1 envelope of dry vegetable soup mix
20 oz ricotta cheese
8 oz crabmeat or chopped shrimp
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/8 t. ground black pepper
A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
wonton wrappers
1 T. oil or non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350° and spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Combine soup mix, ricotta, crab, garlic and onion powder and pepper in a bowl. Mix well. Place 1 tablespoon of mixture in center of each wrapper. Dip finger in water and run the edges of the wrapper [kids can help with this]. Fold each corner to center and press to seal. Place on cookie sheet and brush with oil. Bake for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and do 10 – 15 minutes on the other side until they are crisp and golden brown. 350 degrees for 25 minutes, turning once, or until crisp and golden brown.





Thankfully these freeze well because my kid won't try them yet. I'm pretty sure he'll like them because he likes all the ingredients, but he's not been into trying new things lately. I thought these little packages would be great for his bento lunch but I'll have to try them on him a few more times, in one of his more adventurous moods.

Playdoh Cupcakes

FUN WITH FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Delicious Baby gave me the idea of using silicone cups for Playdoh to make mini cupcakes. And given my recent quest for fine motor skills activities that Spud can get into, this sounded perfect. He loves cupcakes after all.

Lace a Snake

FUN WITH FINE MOTOR SKILLS
And continuing my quest for fine motor based activities that my kid actually likes doing... this one worked.

Materials:
·scrap cardboard
·hole punch
·felts
·shoelace

The little guy likes snakes quite a bit so he and I made a snake maze for him to lace up. He's usually pretty shy about projects like this one but he really warmed up to the snake, naming it even. Next time I will try a car.

Mini Easter

FUN WITH FINE MOTOR SKILLS
And what better a way to hone those skills than with mini Easter items. I was so excited to find mini bento boxes and other wee items for Spud's playhouse, which he promptly adopted for his little bunnies on Easter morning.





And this is what happens when daddy gets a hold of the toys; that's right, the vinyl toy is wielding a club. Nice.

Pancake Sandwiches

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER PANCAKES



I throw them in the freezer, between layers of wax paper. To thaw, I simply throw them in the toaster. Next I make a sandwich out of them. This past weekend I used maple butter and apple slices.

Spud also loves good old PB + J this way and sometimes I put in some banana slices too. I slice it into quarters so it can fit in his bento box.

Easter Basket

I know, I know, Easter baskets are old news. Bear with me while I document some of the fun we had this past weekend ... I will enjoy reviewing it next year.

So this was my second year decorating a basket. My goal is always to try to do it with stuff I find around the house. I realized this year that I have some pretty crazy stuff around the house. Okay, and I did cheat with a couple of items I found at the dollar store last Thursday.

First, my husband added a coat hanger handle to an existing IKEA basket we borrowed from Spud's shelf.






Here is some of the stuff I collected to use for the project:
·Felt dirt for the sides of the basket. I wanted it to look like the eggs and creatures were growing from the soil, like in a garden.
·Felt Easter creatures double-sided taped to the end of bendy straws. Spud and I also decorated some paper eggs and taped them to the end of straws too.
·Large paper blades of grass for decorating and some reusable shredded plastic for making a bed of grass for the coloured eggs.
·A micro string of lights, IKEA [yes, we did just have it around ... which is a little embarrassing]



And then some dirt-coloured ribbon and a wire-o-leafy-garland-thingy for the handle.




Et voilà.





Last year's bunny basket was also made up of stuff around the house. We had the googlie eyes, the construction paper, chenille wires, cotton balls and a 4 litre milk jug. As far as I'm concerned, it only has to last the weekend, and then I cannibalize it for next year, or other crafty projects.

Space Centre

ONE OF SPUD'S FAVOURITE MUSEUMS | VANCOUVER



The 'menu' of what's going on in this establishment can be quite overwhelming. It's best to march right up to the ticket booth, look a little stunned, and they'll map out your day for you. In 2 hours you can easily fit in a Planetarium show, 2 stage shows, and a motion simulator ride. In between show times, the highly interactive Cosmic Courtyard has loads to offer ... like touching a real meteorite.





Planetarium
Stars for Starters and Harold's Solar System are just 2 of the shows they have in a day.


They call this thing Harold. It's a 360 degree projector that simulates the night sky overhead in a large theatre.

GroundStation
Rocket Lab and A Day in Space are two of their live stage shows. We took our 3-year old Spud to the show on rockets. At some point he asked "why is she talking so much?" and then declared "this is boring!". At least I'M now up to speed on Newton's 3 laws of motion. She really had his attention when she made a rocket though. It was well worth the wait. And the 6 to 8 year old crowd were well engaged all along.

Virtual Voyages
Mars Motion Simulator Ride. More details here.

WHAT ABOUT SOME LUNCH?
The famous Siegels Bagels is on the way [1883 Cornwall Avenue at Cypress]. Considered by most to be the most authentic Montreal-style bagel shop in the city, first kettle boiled and then baked. Try ordering what's just coming out of the large wood burning oven ... warm and oh so good.

Obstacle Course

HONING GROSS MOTOR SKILLS



OUTSIDE: Cutting Down the Dawdle Time
"5 giant steps. Then 5 baby steps. Hop. Balance on one foot for the count of three. Touch your toes. Run around the tree" Repeat a few times or vary sequence.

First I announce the sequence. And then I prompt each move. This activity is great for those days my little guy needs a little help to stay focussed. Otherwise, he stops at every store window and wants to explore in every other flower bed. It also gives him practice with his gross motor skills.

INSIDE: Rainy Day Thing To Do
"Go around the lamp. Then crawl through the tunnel [a blanket spanning over two chair backs]. Spin around. Leap frog. Wiggle your body. Flop on the couch." This is a fun way to get some physical activity indoors, in a controlled manner. You can also use this activity as a memory game.

Mad Scientist Bath

GET THEM CLEAN. GET THEM THINKING.



Tonight's bath included a few drops of food colouring, some baking soda and some vinegar. A little of this and a little of that and our wee one is making purple and asking questions about the mighty frothy bubble. Spud didn't want it to stop. "What other sorts of experiments can we do?".

Next: The Delights of Density
Will it Float? [sung like Paul Schaffer]
I'll collect various items from around the house in a container and ask the little guy to make predictions before tossing each item into the drink. This will be my first batch: a cotton swab, a coin, small toy dinosaur, a sponge, 2 bottles — one filled with water and one not, and a straw. That should be a good start.

And After That: Conservation of Liquid
Having fun with the idea that a quantity remains the same despite its change in appearance. For example, fill a tall thin container with bath water and tell your wee one that you are going to pour it into another [short, fat] container. Ask if it is the same amount of water. Famous French Child Psychologist, Jean Piaget, says kids typically don't get the concept that the amount of water doesn't change, until age 6 or 7 but hey, you can have fun with it in the meantime.

Making Magic Mud

My wee guy refused to put his fingers in this delightful goo. But he helped stir and I glooped and glopped while showing him how playfully the substance goes from a solid to a liquid and vice versa.





5 T. cornstarch
3 T. water
a few of drops of food colouring

kithaus

A house. That comes in a kit. That you can toss in your backyard! I'm thinking home office on one side and a wee play space on the other.




Check it out here.

Happy Hour

WHEN YOU HAVE A SITTER | PORTLAND
We just don't have a happy hour tradition like this back at home. We were without child on a Sunday evening and took full advantage. We started at Huber's and ended with the Portland City Grill [with an extended happy hour on Sundays ... until closing time!]. We essentially happy'd our way through dinner instead of having a proper sit down meal. And it was heaps of fun.

HUBERS
411 SW 3rd Avenue
Happy Hour: 4 – 6:30 and 9:30 – close
Portland's oldest bar. Inexpensive appies such as mussels, beef skewers, shrimp cocktail etc. Their crowning glory? The flaming Spanish Coffee [$9].

You CAN actually bring minors here "during meal hours and for the purposes of eating". We would have felt comfortable bringing our little dude and he probably would have loved to see the waiter light people's drinks on fire. Who wouldn't?







PORTLAND CITY GRILL
111 SW 5th Avenue. 30th Floor.
4:30 – 6:30, Monday – Saturday
10:00 – Midnight, Monday – Thursday
4:00 – close, Sunday
That's right, the 30th floor so the view is sublime. The food here is really fine too, like the Furikake Crusted Ahi on Crispy nori chips with firecracker aioli and scallion oil [$5], for example. As the night wears on, the proportion of singles escalates significantly and the mood changes from a cooing couple haven to a bit of a meat market. In either case, not good for the kiddies.

Perhaps Best in the World

KID-FRIENDLY BRUNCH | PORTLAND
GRAVY: 3957 N Mississippi Avenue

This find is credited to my buddy Elaina who will be posting all her favourite spots in Portland soon.

So. Gravy. Yes. As in sausage gravy with a hint of Thanksgiving spices. And they put it on some crazy places. Biscuits, of course. And on omelets too! They also serve a beautiful oatmeal brulée. A kids menu is not really an issue. Portions are epic and easily shared. Almost everyone leaves with a doggie bag it seems. There are also fine vegetarian and low carb options too.

This is a hot spot on the weekends so make sure you sign yourself in as soon as you arrive. No reservations. We had about 6 groups before us which gave us about 20 minutes to window shop on Mississippi Avenue.



Finished shopping and still need to wait for a table? Grab a free coffee and take a seat in the window. There's also a small box of toys to amuse the little people.

Shopping in Portland

Portland is just so cute I could pinch its cheeks. This is the shopping we managed to squeeze in one weekend:

1. Woodburn Outlet Mall. 30 miles south of downtown. Um ... tax free AND outlet stores. You do the math. It also has a great tree house for the kids.



2. Powell's Books. New and used and so big it'll make you cry. The largest of its kind in the world actually. The cafe is packed full of people reading and sipping until 11 at night. Tables and chairs in the kids section host families like it's a public library. Silly poetry, small giggles, exaggerated surprises all create the soundtrack to your browsing adventure.



3. Saturday Market. 108 W Burnside Street, Old Town. It turns out it's on Sundays too. Dozens of vendors. It's colourful. Perhaps just the cultural education you were looking for, for the wee ones. Punks mingling with hippies mingling with tourists mingling with students. And a wide range of arts, crafts and cool products. And loads of food vendors. On our visit there was live jazz playing at one end of the market and live rock playing at the other. It really gears up over the summer but runs March through to December.

4. N Mississippi Avenue, North Portland. Once a depressed area, this street has really come to its own. Darling shops selling flowers, chocolates, salts and my favourite, Black Wagon [3964 Mississippi Avenue, across the street from Gravy, my new favourite brunch spot in the world] selling kid wares.

T-shirt found in the window of Black Wagon: "All and all, you're just another..." Love this.



It also sports some sweet graffiti.



Next time we will check out the Pearl District and the up-and-comer NW area ... we just ran out of time.