Bunchland

Cookie mogul Eden Hertzog shares recipes she enjoys with her family

We got back from Costa Rica last night. One week of concentrated sun, blue sky, horses grazing around, fresh pineapple juice, ocean waves and lots of fun. It was our first real vacation with Cedar. I would say the experiment went well, other than his teething, which is now entering its tenth week of torture. But hey, teething in Costa Rica is better than teething in Toronto.

We didn’t take a highchair with us figuring that most places would have one for us to use. They didn’t. Let’s just say that mealtimes were a comedy of errors, ending with two disgruntled parents covered in food and still hungry. Eight days gone, times three meals a day, is twenty-four meals without a highchair.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. “If you lose your patience with a child who is having a melt down, you might just be creating a vicious circle, rather than helping matters.” Even if they’re embarrassing you in front of all the other Whole Foods patrons, keep calm during your kid’s tantrum.

2. Researchers have developed a scale to help kids deal with needles and explain how they feel about them. They probably won’t like the needles any better, but it could help further down the line re: fear of doctors.

3. Why is drug abuse awareness education the same as it was when we had it?

4. NY Times Motherlode blogger KJ Dell’Antonia is instating a no eating in the car rule. Why? We think it has something to do with “the great mouse-nest-in-the-car incident of 2004.” *Shudder*  Read more...

Breakfast time!

Today’s Postcard from Bunchland comes from Flickr user fractalworld.

Gavin McInnes thinks you should try some fancy pancakes

It’s fairly noble to have a mommy-lie-in day where you get up with the kids and make pancakes but it is downright knightly to make those pancakes into the shape of their choice. The king of said knights is a nobleman named Jim who not only makes hearts and candy canes, he can perfectly replicate a Millennium Pancake Falcon!

This level of artistry is obviously way out of our league but by trying to come close, I’ve learned a few tricks. Here they are…

My batter was way too thick here so My Little Pony looks more like My Huge Pony.

1. THIN OUT THE BATTER  Read more...

Robyn Knickle shares stories from Hamilton, Ontario

One of the things I love most about living with two pre-schoolers is how pumped they get about holidays.  It doesn’t matter what the holiday is for, they just love to celebrate!  Our kids were so excited when we told them that Mommy and Daddy were staying home from work and that they were staying home from daycare to celebrate Family Day.  I must admit, we were pretty thrilled about it, too.  It’s so nice to do weekend things on a Monday!

We decided to take a walk just a few blocks away to spend our day at the Hamilton Children’s Museum.

We were greeted at the door by a turtle, whom my 3-year old named Peaches.

Next, we met a gecko, (also named Peaches).

We turned plain old pinecones into bird feeders,  Read more...

Beth Blenz-Clucas blogs about music for kids that grownups will love too

One of the most exciting new releases for kids this year so far is from Farmer Jason. Jason Ringerberg is an internationally touring artist who built a huge fan base in the 1980s as frontman for the cow punk band Jason and the Scorchers, for which he won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. These days, Jason spends most of his time as the kid-friendly host of an Emmy Award winning Nashville Public TV series and touring as Farmer Jason. He just released Nature Jams with the brand new Universal Music label myKaZoo Music. Jason’s new songs point to the fun and excitement of being in nature, enjoying active pursuits like hiking and canoeing, and appreciating animals. Jason corralled an amazing lineup of guest artists to record these energetic songs, including Mike Mills of REM, Iris Dement, Brandi Carlile, Hank Williams III and Todd Snider, just to name a few. The excitement continues with Farmer Jason’s music videos, which rotate regularly on the new music video channel for kids, myKaZootv.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Former congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, is writing a children’s book. Wait, it gets better! The book will be called Mousetronaut: A Partially True Story.

2. For young moms under 30, most babies are born outside of marriage. But, are they all single moms, or are they babies born to co-habitating parents who just aren’t married?

3. Measuring healthy birth weights, but taking ethnicity into account.

4. One writer/film maker says that distraction is a good thing, and that there’s nothing wrong with his son who is also easily distracted and he rejects the idea that his kids needs Ritalin.

5. A dog can be such an important member of the family, this one is even teaching the baby new tricks:

Photo by tikos79 via Flickr