DIY TV Dinner!

Where have you been all my life you adorable, heavy-duty, Stoneware TV Dinner Tray? Seriously. I love you.

TV Dinners are a memorable part of my childhood. Not because we ate them all that much. But because I wanted to! Each food neatly contained in its own compartment. Come on, how perfect is that? Especially when you're a kid. And, without fail, you could count on dessert. Again. Important.

But I understand that the legendary TV Dinner is not necessarily in a 10 year old's lexicon today. Tonight I said, "I'm going to make you a homemade TV Dinner!" to Spud. I was pretty excited. He promptly cocked his head and said, "A what? A TB Dinner?". Turns out he had no idea what I was talking about. Let's just call that a good thing, shall we? As I remember, while they were cool, they lacked nutritionally speaking.

He's a convert now though. And I'm so excited that I'm able to introduce the idea to him with "real food" ... um ... for the most part.

So what was in Spud's TV dinner? Peas and carrots. Of course! With a pat of butter that melted in the oven. Baked pasta with a browned cheesy top. Elk meatballs. You weren't expecting that, were you? And half a mini apple pie, which, just to be clear, we did not make, we bought. The diehards will note that the dessert was not in the centre compartment in the top row ... I had a hard time with that too. I'm over it now. I expect you will be soon too.

Did he eat it in front of the TV? Why, yes he did. Note to self: find a nice set of TV tables.

Want a pair of these dishes for yourself? I found them at Uncommon Goods where I also found approximately a million other unique, fun items to covet. Check it out.



DISCLOSURE: I sometimes get a freebie when I review a product or a service but I'm here to tell you that I will not enter into any agreement with a company that I do not believe in. To be clear, I don't gush about things that are not gushable. Just so you know.

Summer Fun Passport: Make a Kiwi Crate Project

It's always so exciting to see what surprises are inside the Kiwi Crate. For example, a star hole punch! That's a keeper! And a free (adorable) deck of cards. Not to mention the cool projects inside. Spud had a great time making this lantern yesterday. The star stickers glow in the dark. The tea light shimmers through the coloured vellum nicely. And we learned a bit about constellations.

We've posted about Kiwi Crate before ... here and here.

Check out this year's Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

DIY Freezies!

This has been on my wishlist for some time. I've always been a fan of freezies but thought it would be SO much better if I could decide what went into them. When I found these online you can bet I did a little jig.

Pour juice in each one, using a funnel. Place them upright in the freezer.

Once frozen, enjoy.

Rinse. And repeat.

Zoku Love

Pretty smitten with our new purchase! Here are a few of our first creations ...

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

It's December 6th, St. Nicholas day where Spud's Grandee is from ... so it's a tradition in our house to put out a shoe/boot the night before in hopes that he comes to fill it with goodies. Check out the loot!

• Freckle Juice, by Judy Blume
• Mad Libs
• Chocolate St. Nick
• Cute dental flossers
• Staedtler markers
• 1 happy cookie
• Robot timer
• Piranha ear bud tamer and keeper
• More chocolate!
• 2 egg cups

Lucky lucky boy.

Paper Toy Monsters and Dragons

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

Fun with paper toys: Djeco Dragons & Chimeras Folding Paper Toy Kit AND Papertoy Monsters

Another entry in our Summer Fun Passport

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.

Gettin' Organized. Making Caddies.

CADDY #1: PRINTING AND STAMPING

We are in the process of tackling that big, bad, old wardrobe full of art supplies, tools, keepsakes and half finished projects. Yay! One of our solutions? Samla caddies from IKEA! This is our first one ... themed "Printing and Stamping".

There are more stamps and pads here and there, around the place, that now have a place to live! So happy! This summer we will be using this caddy quite a bit ... as we are going to need stamps for our summer fun passport! Now it's more of a "grab and go" than a "where was the rest of that stuff?" situation.

Look What Came In The Mail: The Kiwi Crate

Look what those lovely people over at Kiwi Crate sent our way so we could try it out and share our findings.

It's a sample of a subscription box service that includes all the materials you need to complete themed projects ... with the kids! Isn't it adorable? Look what's inside.

... everything we needed to make our own wind sock and document our wind findings. First I want to say 'thank you' for the wicked pair of kid-sized scissors! Also the pastels and the beautiful shiny ribbon. I also loved that the glue dots and sticker-tape strips were just the amount we needed. No excess. So tidy.

It also came with a little booklet that gives the how-to and also some thought starters / tips on how to take the activities further.

When it came time to decorate, I asked Spud what he thought of when he thought of wind. He said "Sailboat!". He ran into his room to retrieve his muse ...

On the other side of this is a chart where our little wind scientist is keeping a daily record of the wind on our deck.

Ah, there it is, breezing about. Spud declared out loud "I'm proud of this!". Well, that's an endorsement if I've ever heard one. And you know what's really great? We still have a whole other project to tackle next weekend.

So, for $20 / month you get a Kiwi Crate delivered to your door (update: ships in Canada now too) filled with opportunities to use your hands and imagination together with your little people. I think this would make a fantastic gift ... you know ... the kind that "keeps on giving". Especially for super busy or not-so-crafty-type parents.  I can also see this being a very handy thing to bring on the next road trip, a visit to Grandma's, or even camping ... since it literally has everything you need contained in the box, it makes packing up activities that much easier.

Travel Treats: A Big Haul for a Long Haul

VIENNA + LONDON  |  TRAVELS WITH KID

Our up coming trip includes a glorious non-stop flight from London to home that we are SO looking forward to as a way of travel. It took us 36 hours to get home from Morocco last year, with a sleepover in Madrid (which turned out to be a highlight of our trip believe it or not) and a crazy long wait in Heathrow the next day (a nice airport to be stuck in). 

This time our long trek is on our way there ... better I think ... when we are still "fresh". We've collected this pile of goodies to help pass the time in the Calgary airport, the already long over Atlantic flight, as well as the great airport switch in London (from Heathrow to Gatwick) as we take a day and a half to get to Vienna. Sure, we could do it quicker. But we're cheap.

Anyway, the pile makes me smile. It looks way more elaborate than it is really. Here's a list of what's inside:

• Lost Cities Travel Game (reportedly a fun way to hone math skills)
• My wooden travel chess set that my Uncle Ronnie gave me when I was about Spud's age. 
• Books! Melonhead, Dunderheads, Kit Feeny, Horrid Henry etc
• A Roll of Giant Rockets (called Smarties in the States and Fizzes in the UK I just learned)
• A Giant Sucker
• Fun Dip ( Hubs and I have fond memories of these at his age)
• Non-peppermint Candy Stick (what kid hates peppermint? mine.)
• LEGO Mini-figures
• Angry Birds Dog Tags

We are travelling pretty light, one bag each, so the list is carefully thought out ... consumable or compact with high entertainment value or just downright practical (dog tags!). Along the way, before the boredom bug bites, we'll whip out one of these packages. The candy will be doled carefully, when we are trying to keep him awake, like say, right before landing. I speak from experience when I say it's difficult to deplane an 85 lb sleepyhead while juggling with luggage in a small space surrounded by cranky travellers. Hopefully some Fun Dip will help. Don't judge me.

Travel Journal Supplies

VIENNA + LONDON  |  TRAVELS WITH KID

Our travel journal supplies for our 2 and half week Vienna / London trip include:
· 3 ways of sticking stuff into our journals (acid free glue sticks, double-sided mounting squares, and tape runner)
· 3 neutral coloured Sharpies (great for when you want to do watercolour after!)
· 3 fine black Sharpies (for writing)
· Dual size Sharpener
· Multiple colour ballpoint pen
· 12 LYRA pencil crayons (including 3 metallics)
· 4 Staedtler dual ended felts
· 2 erasers (including "kneaded" eraser)
· 2 mechanical pencils (I'm going to have to add another one to this pile)
· 3 sizes of Niji waterbrushes
· small watercolour pad (I wish we could bring watercolour pencils as well ... not sure if I can squeeze them in!)

Here it all is packed and ready to go.

Travel Dog Tags Update

TRIP PLANNING  |  TRAVELS WITH KID

Last year Spud wore dog tags on our little trip to Morocco. I posted about it here. It was a peace-of-mind thing more than anything. It had our names and an emergency phone number as well as an email address that is set up to go automatically to our immediate family. On top of that, I rigged it so we could add our current hotel's address on the back, you know, in case we should get separated. 

So, we're doing it again this trip. With only one of the original tags this time (because we lost one on the last trip) plus one I found for our little Angry Birds fan. Spud needed a new chain anyway; over the span of our 1 month trip last year his cheapy chain got nasty, leaving an orangey-brown stain on the back of his neck. So this I Heart Angry Birds, lenticular dog tag is going to do just the trick. I can't show him this post though ... going to keep it a surprise until we get en route!

Spoonflower Fabric Design Contest: Robot Cheater Quilt

I've officially entered! Funny thing is, months ago I started this idea; putting together virtual fabric swatches from my Robot Gear Garden line, that you could just print, make a quilt, and you know, not sew so much.

No wonder they call it a cheater quilt! When I saw Spoonflower was having a contest specifically on the same project I had already started, well, that was reason enough to finish it and enter it. Curious to see what other people did too? Go vote for your favourites. This week's contest is at the top right, called Robot Cheater Quilts. Have fun!

Gryffindor Scarf Bookmark!

Look what came in the mail for Spud's valentine's day. All the way from Toronto, a wee Harry Potter scarf, handmade by his gran (affectionately known as GrandMary).

We so happen to be in the middle of the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire. The bookmark could not have arrived at a better time. Thank you GrandMary! We have a very happy Harry Potter fan on our hands.

Weekend Project: The Spice Cupboard

So this bad boy has been on my hit list for some time now. You may note from the picture below that I have a bit of a jar hoarding issue. When I acquire the "perfect" spice jar I keep it, even if it doesn't fit in the cupboard or if I have nothing to put in it. I'm not a hoarder by nature. I'm more of a toss-er-out-er actually, which gets me in a different kind of trouble. But this area for some reason is a weakness.

So what was the final impetus to get my sorry self in there to finally organize it? A trip to our local Indian neighbourhood (Vancouver's Punjabi Market), famous for its spices, among other things. Not only is the selection amazing, but the price! A fraction of what we pay in my overpriced grocery store across the street.

So we came back home yesterday with a bag of new, fresh spices that were just begging for clean, fresh jars with clear labeling. So that's what I did.

For the labels, I kept it as simple as possible; black masking tape with a white liquid chalk pen. Good-bye old spices and excessive number of jars ... I have no room for you. Ahhh. That feels good.

Portable Easel and Sketchbox

I had this idea, of Spud owning his own portable easel that housed a sketch box, for a couple of months. I searched high and low for one locally, that wasn't too big, too plastic-y, or too expensive. I found all kinds of things online but they were in the US which meant too expensive to ship or they wouldn't ship at all.

Finally, at good old Opus, I found the Sooke Mini Table Easel for $25! I filled it with 3 Niji waterbrushes (these are genius for al fresco watercolour painting! They hold the water in the brush handle, simply squeeze), 25 Sharpies (so many colours! and they don't run when you paint over them), 2 bamboo mechanical pencils, kneaded eraser, watercolour pencils, all of which were chosen for their portability. And a sketchbook with heavy paper that can withstand a lot of water without getting wrinkled. 

I love it because he can use it at home, but we can take on adventures and document what we see. Our first adventure was on Christmas Day. It was a wee chilly. Next time we will bring gloves.

Here is Hubs practicing the new ukelele that Santa brought, at the same time! Art and music on Christmas Day. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Santa Ornament 2011

I recently posted about Santa's habit of adding an ornament to our tree. Look! He did it again ... that's one cute Robo-Santa!

 Thanks Santa.

Sweet Robot Gear Garden Dress

Having someone make something so super cute out of your own fabric design might just be one of the coolest things ever. Check out this darling dress! Pop over to Oh!Sew's flickr site and tell her you love her work.

(Image Usage: permission granted from Oh!Sew)

Guyot Squishy Bowl and Cup Set

TRAVELS WITH KID  |  STUFF TO BRING

Found these at our local MEC yesterday: silicone cup and bowl set that will pretty much fit anywhere. Even your pocket. We think these are going to come in mighty handy on our upcoming pack-extremely-light trip. I can see these working well for many on-the-move, impromptu, kid-snacking scenarios in grungy train stations and the like.

weelife Robots on Nerdy Pop's Kindle Covers

I am SO honoured that the lovely and talented Lizz over at Nerdy Pop made one of her hoochie Kindle covers using our little wee robot friends! Isn't it adorable? Check out her Etsy shop for even more designs!

(Images: nerdypop)

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans

Jelly Belly's version of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans are called "Bean Boozled".  St. Nicholas must have a bit of a sense of humour it turns out, because Spud found these in his shoes this morning.

Spud has braved the toothpaste flavour over and over again — yet to find the Berry Blue flavour. Poor Hubs has had Skunk Spray, Centipede, Baby Wipes, and Pencil Shavings so far which has been wildly entertaining for the little one. I'm afraid it's going to be my turn next. I don't know if I can stomach it. Eeep.