Bon Appetit mon petite Bugaboo!

Who could this be, but Chef Bugaboo! Oh dear, now it sounds like I'm accessorizing him. Meh, oh well, I guess I kind of am, but in a useful way. So here are the long ago mentioned photographs of the super snazzy apron and chef hat I made my little Jamie Oliver (I was going to put Gordon Ramsey, but that guy scares me).

The apron was no big deal, just cut out the shape it looked like it should be, threw on a pocket, edged it all in bias tape and looped more bias tape under the arms for the straps. I liked white for this, because it's so grown up on the little guy it just struck me as being rather droll!

The hat however, was a little fancier. I found a free pattern here and I highly recommend it. It was simple and turned out exactly the way I wanted it to. Both the apron and hat are cotton twill, something that is cheap and easy to use, but has a bit of wear and strength to it so the apron is functional and may last a little while (we'll see).

All in all, I'm very pleased with myself.

Along the line of thought of cooking with Toddlers, I have a happy little two part list for you! You'll have to wait until Monday for part deux, but today I bring you:

A Dozen or So Things to Do With a Toddler Indoors!

1. Paint / Colour / Play Dough



2. Puzzles / Books (there, now the really obvious ones are out of the way)



3. Dance Party (you know, turn on a groovy song, pick up the munchkin and boogie!)



4. Cook / Bake



5. Visit a Museum / Aquarium (if you're lucky enough to live by one; you'd be surprised where you can find them)



6. Go to the library



7. Build a fort (can be as simple as throwing a blanket over the table, or as elaborate as rebuilding your entire living room)



8. Hide and Seek (Boo!)



9. Call Grammy (or whomever would enjoy it) Some mornings I just dial up the grandparents and give the little guy the phone and he takes them around the house. They all love it.



10. Make your own music; harmonicas and ukuleles are fun little kid instruments, pots and pans are great, plus there's a lot you can do with recycling and dried beans (just to get you started)



11. Go for an inside walk (the mall is good for this)



12. Make an indoor sandbox; use a big Tupperware container and dump some dry rice (or some such) into it. Tadaaa!



13. Play date / Tea party; if you're bored at home, chances are your friends with toddlers are too, invite some over.



14. Write a letter, well, you write it and have the little ones decorate it, or if they're a little older, have them tell you what to write. Grandma will love it!



15. Clean. With the little one, don't try to accomplish much, but let them enjoy vacuuming or take a few sections out of the swiffer and kid-size it. Dusting and laundry can also be fun for kids.

Now, I know that most people have figured this kind of thing out by the time their little ones are toddlers, and not much of this is revolutionary, but I thought it would be nice to have a little list just to check out in case there's something you hadn't thought of, or if you're like me and can think of these things while you're relaxed, but not when you're 2 year old is bored and you're losing it. These are for you! Also, please feel free to mention any Gold-Star-Goodies I may have missed!

Have fun!

Ta-daaa! (photo-heavy, which I kind of like)

So starting in reverse order of projects actually accomplished (silly, I know), my brother-in-law's baby is currently in the process of being born! Right now! Very exciting! Unfortunately, this is the baby for whom I've been knitting that blanket forever, and still haven't finished it, but I guess I have a little extra motivation to kick it in to knitting-gear and get it done.

Also, I have started a quilt. Actually, I've gotten a fair amount accomplished (not considering the actual quilting which will have to soon take place). I don't have any backing for it, so it's on hold.
My friend and I finally got together for some sewing, but only finished our aprons, and never got around to the hats. However, soon. Here's Bugaboo helping me with some cooking. We made Salted Caramels from this recipe here, and so I did most of the cooking (it being up on the stove) and he enjoyed a snack in his new apron.

We have finally broken dirt in the ol' garden, planting peas and some onions. I'm weathering my tomatoes so they can go in next week too. I'm getting excited, but I think I'll miss the lush forest growing on my windowsill. Perhaps a herb garden, something which greatly intimidates me, will have to be in order.

And lastly before I get to my fancy-schmancy BIG news, I made up some Mother's Day cards! We normally give our Moms and Grandmoms a call, but I was feeling we could do a little better than that, so here they are! They've all been sent out and I hope they get there (the other side of the country) on time. Well, we're normally late, so no one would mind, or be surprised, if they are a little bit belated. As you can see, some are more audacious and some are quite muted, but I figured that would suit my Mom, Mother in-laws and all our grammies respectively.

And of course we had to include a picture or two in each!

And now, are you ready? I finished my shirt! For the Spring Top Sewalong 2011! Done! Well, no, I need one more button, but if it comes down to the grind, I have one that's not quite the right shade of yellow. Maybe I can go hunting tonight...

Well, it's a glorious glamorous day, and my little Bugaboo needs to be woken up from his nap. I'll have the official super fancy posed-to-the-max shot of my shirt later, so I look forward to posting it too!

Tadaaa!

Baking Cookies! Yum Yum Yum

My little man is old enough now that he understands that you shouldn't touch what is hot, and that Mommy doesn't like it when he plays in the cat's dishes, the garbage or near the top of the stairs, all of which enable us to let him into the kitchen when we're cooking now. It may not seem like a big deal, but it's amazing being able to cook safely without having him yell at you through the bars of the baby-gate. And actually letting him help, well that's one of both his and my favourite things to do.

So to get my little chef in training set up, I badly needed a Bugaboo-sized apron. I tried tying on a tea towel or using an old apron of mine

(with a little creativity; those are blueberries for muffins he's eating), but they were not good enough. A friend with a little boy Bugaboo's age is just starting sewing and I've been helping her. I thought this could be a nice easy project to help her feel more comfortable with sewing, but while I wait to find a time where our men can take our boys for a few hours, I needed a quick fill-in. So here it is.

It's not overly clear, but it's just a piece of scrap from a blanket that was turned into shepherd costumes for a Christmas pageant. I simply cut it out to the shape I wanted and sewed on the ties (which were strips cut from old curtain material that doesn't fray). I'm uneasy about things tied around little ones necks, so I looped them under the arms instead. It took no time at all and I'm going to use the same design for the nicer version.

It had to be tried out as soon as he woke up from his nap and the cookies were great fun (with little kids, sugar cookies are nice to make because you mix them up with their help, and can cook them later when the kiddies are asleep, after the dough has chilled. It'seasier not having to try to keep their attention on cooking for too long). He refused to let me take it off until I told him we were going outside for a walk and he had to leave it at home. I suppose I could have let him wear it though.

Anyhow, in other news, I have a close friend who started knitting when I did. Both of us were taught by our mothers, but because they live so far away, we've been stumbling through the stitches together, learning quite a lot as we go. Well she got me a stitch-a-day Vogue knitting calendar for Christmas, and everyday it has a new pattern with instructions on it. I've been tempted by quite a few of them, but as is Vogue's reputation for patterns, I've been daunted by the complexity of the instructions. However, Thursday's pattern was too wonderful not to try. I actually had to keep myself from ripping it off a day early. However, I held strong and muddled through and ended up knowing how to do this!

It's called a Scalloped Shell and can't you just see it along the edge of a little girl's pinafore or a baby's cap! The wheels in my head are just a whirring with plans however, I have to finish this baby blanket first, so I guess I best get knitting!