Category: Parenting Hacks

Posted in Dip Life, Parenting, Parenting Hacks

Two pots and frying pan…

Posted on by ottawaem

Moving is scary, moving to a new country is scary, Moving to a new country with Tiny Humans is very scary. We were lucky that we were able to move into our flat as soon as we arrived and were greeted with a “Pack Up Kit” of basic furniture and kitchen items.

The kids named our loaner couch the “Naked Muppet” and we quickly discovered that a) our temporary beds were on wheels, wheels that did not necessarily lock. b) our sharp metal TV stand was not really intended to withstand a very curious 10 month old. c) Cooking for a family of five with minimal cookware is an excellent opportunity to find new recipes.

Overall we did fairly well with packing the basic essentials to get us through our first few weeks in a new country until the cargo container with our worldly possessions arrived. We brought plastics plates, cups and bowls for the kids along with basic toys and baby essentials. But there are a few things that I wish we had thought of.

  1. Pizza Cutter – With literally two pots and a frying pan we ended up eating a fair bit of pizza. Hacking the pizza with a knife was moderately successful but not very graceful.
  2. Garlic press – I underestimated how much I cook with fresh garlic, especially as I was slowly rebuilding my spice collection.
  3. Plastic containers and beeswax wraps – I had enough foresight to pack lunch containers for the girls and some small snack containers for Tiny Human #3 but did not think about smaller snack containers for the girls now that they were having lunch at school or bigger plastic containers for left overs. We used a great deal of plastic wrap and tin foil in the first few weeks. Beeswax wraps would have also been helpful for left overs as well.
  4. Reusable bags – We happened to have a few bags with us but I wish we had thought to use some of our reusable bags as cushioning in our luggage to help make grocery shopping a bit easier.

Recipes that use minimal dishes:

Here are some of the new recipes I discovered in our first few weeks in Geneva:

One Pot Lemon Chicken and Rice – Tin foil and a frying pan was my friend in the absence of my beloved Le Creuset pots.

Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Peas – This one became a regular part of our family rotation even after we got our full cookware

Gnocchi with Bacon and Sweet Peas – Using lardons made this even easier.

Galette – Very adaptable with what we had on hand. The butcher’s daughter need meat so I just fried chicken or ground beef or sausage in advance.

Korean Keema – The trick is finding the right paste and stocking up on some pantry staples but once I did it was a really easy recipe.

Orecchiette with Peas, Beans, and…OK a Little Sausage – Another really versatile recipe with easy meat and pasta substitutions.

The famous Naked Muppet Couch
The TV stand vs. The 10 month old

Posted in Parenting Hacks

Threading the Needle (From Hair Accessory to Kid-Friendly Needle)

Posted on by ottawaem

I confess that there are likely bobby pins in every room of my house.

Tiny Humans #1, #2 and I are notorious for playing with our hair and taking out our barrettes. This usually drives M nuts BUT Tiny Human #2 has discovered a new use for our favourite hair accessory.

As I have mentioned before, the Tiny Humans are huge craft fans. Lately, they have been VERY into beading, but Tiny Human #2 struggles to thread a needle. After a couple of failed attempts with wire, I realized that bobby pins are the perfect size to use as a needle for large beads. Best of all, no more frustration when she accidentally unthreads her needle.

Posted in Parenting Hacks

Milk Management System

Posted on by ottawaem
Boss Baby Drinking a Bottle

One of our better parenting decisions early on with Tiny Human #1 was have M give a night bottle to allow me an extra couple hours of sleep.

This means there are usually 2-3 bottles of milk lurking in our fridge, identical bottles with an identical amount, making it hard to know which bottle to use first. That is until we instituted:

The Banzet Milk Management System

I place a rubber band around the oldest bottle in the fridge so M knows which bottle to use first. BUT what if you don’t give a bottle everyday (which we don’t). I pump a bottle everyday but M doesn’t necessarily give Tiny Human #3 a bottle everyday.

Milk only lasts in the fridge for 4 days. I have started to use coloured stickers to mark each bottle and just jot down on a sticky note the date I pumped the bottle.

I admit it is a little Type A but it does keep us organized.

Posted in Parenting Hacks

Surprisingly Useful Baby Appliance

Posted on by ottawaem
How could you not love that smiling face?

After often seeing it listed on Top Ten Lists of the most unnecessary baby gear, I feel the need to come to the defence of one of our most surprisingly useful pieces of baby gear, The Baby Bullet.

While the Baby Bullet was handy for preparing and storing baby food, the device really came into its own when Tiny Humans 1 and 2 became toddlers. In fact it is one of the few pieces of baby gear we received as a gift for Tiny Human 1 that we have used consistently ever since.

Why has a baby food blender taken up valuable cupboard real estate for the past 8 years?

  • The Blender Bowl is the perfect size for 2 Tiny Human size portions of smoothie.
  • The Blender Cup is the perfect size for 1 Tiny Human portion of smoothie.
  • The Grinding Blade is great for making up to one cup of oatmeal or rice flour.
  • The Snack Cups are easy for tiny hands to open in their lunch box. We use them to take berries, cereal or small crackers to school OR if they are really lucky small amounts of Smarties or marshmallows. We have also brought them with us travelling to hold single servings of rice cereal or to hold left overs to snack on later.
  • The Silicone Mould is is useful for freezing left over juice for smoothies. I also recently realized that the mould is the perfect size to make egg bites in the Instant Pot.
  • The Spatula is small enough to get into the corners of jars to get out that last little bit of food.

I admit I rolled my eyes when Tiny Human received the blender for her first Christmas. We were still living in the condo and space was at a premium but the happy little blender has proved its utility time and time again.

Posted in Parenting Hacks

Save the Couch Cushions

Posted on by ottawaem

A couple of years ago I wrote about my tips for coping with a sick Tiny Human. One of the tips I found was to place a vinyl tablecloth on your couch for easy clean ups. But what about the everyday mess that comes with Tiny Humans, especially Tiny Humans prone to spitting up (looking at you Tiny Human #3). I realized while folding laundry on the couch one day that the Len Mattress Protectors from IKEA are the same size as our couch cushions. I just slip the mattress protector between the cushion and the foam to place an extra layer of protection between the couch and the Tiny Humans.

Posted in Parenting Hacks

Playpen Sheets…not just for babies

Posted on by ottawaem

In addition to the two Tiny Humans, we also share our house with Bajan Mutt, our slightly spoiled immigrant pup from Barbados. Being the pampered pooch she is, Bajan Mutt has several dog beds throughout our house. M is slightly allergic to dogs so I try to wash the covers on Bajan Mutt’s dog beds as often as possible. A couple of years ago we bought her new beds from Ikea which are comfy and easy to wash but the beds do still get damp when she comes into the house wet. (Or the Tiny Humans spill on the dog’s bed.) That’s when I realized that waterproof playpen sheets are the perfect size to protect the mattress and extend the life of the dog bed. For smaller beds you could probably wrap both sides or for bigger dogs use a crib mattress cover.

Posted in condo living, Parenting Hacks

Camping in the Bedroom

Posted on by ottawaem

We know it won’t last forever but for the time being the Tiny Humans are very happily sharing a bedroom. Well for the most part happily sharing a room, Tiny Human #2 is a night owl and Tiny Human #1 is exhausted by school and fancies herself a “morning person.” All this to say that light in the room sometimes causes friction. We invested in remote controlled blinds for the bedroom but that does not help with light in the room or Tiny Human #1 waking up Tiny Human #2 when she got up in the morning. On a trip to Ikea to stock up on batteries, waffles and meatballs we noticed these little tents for the head of their beds. The bottom of the tents slips under the mattress providing each Tiny Human with their own personal cocoon for blocking out their sibling. The tents unfortunately don’t stop Tiny Human #1 from waking up her sister to ask if she’s still sleeping, or Tiny Human #2 shining a flashlight in her sister’s eyes to see if they are open.

Posted in Parenting Hacks

Summer Fun

Posted on by ottawaem

One nice plus of our new house is that it is a 5 minute walk from an awesome wading pool and just down the hill from a splash pad. This has not helped us tackle the last of the boxes piled up in the corners of our house but it has helped make it easier to take advantage of our prime location and play outside as much as possible.

Here are some of my favourite tips and products to make the most of fun in the summer.

  1. Cosmetic bag for wet bathing suits-If you buy your cosmetics at a department store, you probably have a few garish cosmetics bags lying around from gift with purchase promotions. While not all bags are created equal, bags with a zipper and thicker lining are great for holding wet bathing suits.
  2. Monkey Mat– Probably one my best summer fun/travel with kids purchases, the Monkey Mat is a nylon mat for the beach, picnics at the park etc., basically anywhere you want a clean dry surface. (We bring it when traveling to create a portable play space on hotel room floors.) The mat is machine washable and super quick drying, with weighted corners so it stays where you put it. We have even used it as an emergency rain shelter for the Tiny Humans riding in their wagon. On more than one occasion, the mat has also proved useful protecting car seats, hotel beds and carpets safe from unwell Tiny Humans when traveling.
  3. Saltwater Sandals– My new FAVOURITE summer sandals. Saltwater sandals are made to go in the water (no need to change into flip-flops when we go to the splash pad), super quick drying, cute and don’t seem to get as stinky as the Tiny Humans’ old sandals. Best of all, they make them in Mommy sizes as well. I found these by chance a few years ago and am hooked. No more soggy Birkstocks when I get caught in a summer rain shower or venture into the splash pad to turn on the water or retrieve a wayward Tiny Human.
  4. Poncho towels- Now that the Tiny Humans are getting a bit older I have discovered  poncho towels make great mini mobile change rooms…. The Tiny Humans can quickly slip off their bathing suits and slip back into their sundresses without the need to flash the neighbours or go into the dirty changeroom.
  5. Mesh bag for sand toys- Another great dollar store purchase, we just toss our sand toys in the bag when we are done and give the bag a good shake to get rid of the sand.
  6. Beach chair for the splash pad-Once upon a time as a desperate Bajan housewife I purchased a folding backpack style beach chair for long afternoons at the beach, fast-forward 10 years (gulp) and the chair now goes to the splash pad and wading pool. The back pack attached the chair is a perfect size to carry our towels and other essentials. The Tiny Humans have also clued into the fact that they get to stay longer at the park when Mommy isn’t sitting on a hard bench or pile of tree roots.
  7. Swim diaper-The Tiny Humans are out of this stage in life but a good swim diaper is a must for enjoying the water. I cannot seem to find the style we have but the one linked above my AppleCheeks is pretty close.
  8. Muslin swaddles– A hold over from the tiny baby days, muslin swaddle blankets are part of our summer kit list. We use them as towels (especially when travelling) or for emergency blankets when the Tiny Humans get chilled.
  9. S’well water bottle- I have written before of my love for my S’well water bottle which keeps hot things well hot and cold things cold. Like the comfy beach chair, having cold water to enjoy is another convenience that makes me more inclined to extend our visits to the park.
  10. Super large ziplock bags- Not fancy but perfect for containing wet towels, bathing suits and sand toys.

 

Posted in Parenting Hacks, Travel

The Amazing Folding Placemat and Clever Cleaning Hack

Posted on by ottawaem

I am not a germaphobe but I’ve never been exactly comfortable with the Tiny Humans eating directly off the table as Tiny Humans are prone to do. This is particularly the case at restaurants, especially fast food restaurants lacking plates.  I usually improvised with napkins or food packaging but after purchasing a new changing pad that rolled like a yoga mat, I started to wonder if something similar existed for portable placemats. During my scouting mission I happened upon Skip Hop Zoo’s fold and go placemat. I am a sucker for the cute characters, but there are similar thin silicone or plastic products on the market that roll up tight enough to earn a space in a mommy bag.

Tiny Human #1 has thankfully curtailed her need to spread her meals across the table but Tiny Human #2 quickly embraced her new eating surface.  Depending on the food whims of Tiny Human #2 however, the mat does seem to get a little sticky or greasy and it’s not always convenient to run it under the bathroom sink for a quick rinse.

This is where the clever cleaning hack comes in. (NOTE: I didn’t call it clever, M did) On a recent road trip to visit my family, I realized that a little splash of vinegar is perfect for giving the mat a quick clean before returning it to the mommy bag. Quite a few restaurants have vinegar in packets or bottles, no doubt intended for french fries, and I have taken to stashing a packet or two in my bag.  Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and does a great job of cutting through any greasy or sticky mess created by Tiny Human #2. Unlike using a baby wipe or alcohol wipe, I don’t need to worry about rinsing the mat before Tiny Human eats off of it again.

Posted in Crafts, Parenting Hacks

Toddler Friendly Paint Trays

Posted on by ottawaem

The Tiny Humans are quite the artists and craft time is a regular activity in our house. M and I have also found ourselves buying more and more craft beer in cans. How are these two things related?

I realized one day as I searched for a plastic lid to use as a make-shift paint tray that the little plastic trays many breweries use to hold a four or six pack of beer cans together are the perfect size for a dollop of craft paint. It’s easy to keep each colour contained or add several colours together to make that perfect “turtle green” or muddy brown.

Did I mention the trays are also great for corralling Easter eggs!