playdough part 1....

My first try to give my son playdough was a bit of a failure. I tried a recipe for salt dough, and he tried to eat it... oh my, the poor boy.
So after a few days to recover( I had to toss the dough which is a thing I hate to do) I came up with the idea of making real dough to bake.
Baking is of course a nice traditional thing to do around Christmas. But somehow last Christmas I couldn't get myself to do it. One thing is that I am not so into sweet things. Also I am not so fond of butter. I like anything salty and crispy... Tom does, too. We have a little ritual in the morning a little while after breakfast when he "reads"his books and has some nibbles.
Owl nibbles, to be correct (on the right).
So why not make some dough out of flour, water, olive oil and salt and make some nibbles?
Our first try is shown above, looks strange but tasted really nice.
Next day, I went into a toy store and got some equipment...
...but he liked a tool from the kitchen drawer best.


elefant nibbles, car nibbles, bird and so on nibbles before going into the oven.

arrrrgh

pirates in the house (a hat for paul).
pattern by hello yarn.

What To Do When There's Nothing To Do

Winter with a toddler can be hard. When Tom was still small I used to bundle him up in a lot of blankets, put him in the stroller and take long walks. Now he wants to do everything on his own of course. Really bad weather even keeps me inside. Sleet and freezing snow and a lot of dogs not being walked far in this weather... if you know what I mean... We play with the clean snow on our terrace as he likes to taste it. And indoors...
I remembered my mum had a book when I was small and when I asked her she sent it to me. It's a big help. It is called "What To Do When There's Nothing To Do" from the Boston Children's Medical Center, 1967/1969 (I've got the german copy). It is all about keeping it simple. Taking things from the household to play with. I could not find it on the Internet anymore, but I will keep you posted as long as this winter goes on...
So our first try was foam: I made foam by beating up washing liquid and water and even gave him a little shaving foam. Tasting is not a big problem cause it tastes like soap. Then I threw in some brushes, plastic cups and what else I could find that would not brake nor hurt him.
foam day one
foam day two
Big success. He played for an hour, and when he started to go for the walls, I got out the old beaten up playhouse for him to paint.


In the end, I drilled some holes into the cardboard house with scissors and we tried his wooden screws and clothespins as 'nails'. Now I just want to get a little wooden hammer.
The end: One happy child, relaxed mum and very clean table:)
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update: I found the german copy on amazon.de
and the english version here and here

our place

...on a monday night.

some snowy stuff

what we do these days: building snowmen
our friends papa, baby and mama, (I'm the one on the right)
mama enjoying some time alone in the snow
a second birthday
more snow
and snowmonsters
and knitting wristwarmers

happy new year.