Tweet Tweet!

Tweet tweet tweet!! So it would seem today is national bird day (thanks again Google!), which makes another great theme for some crafts. I don't really know many birds so thought I'd go with the English robin and a colourful parrot.

As always, just basic materials needed - white paper can be used but I went for green and blue card - green jungle for the parrot and blue wishy-washy winter sky for the robin.

The Zebra loves nothing more than painting with her hands and feet and was more than pleased for me to paint the blue and yellow to make the parrots body 

After you've made your foot print, paint the hand with yellow and blue. Put the palm of the hand onto the toes, so the fingers point down and create tail feathers.

The robins are much easier, just two brown footprints! Use each foot once so the birds are looking at each other on paper.

Add a brown branch, orange beak and googley eye to complete the parrot...

...and a red tummy in the foot instep, orange beak and googley eyes for the robins!

While I finished the birds, I let the Zebra have some good free-play with the paints - she really does love it!

Tweet!

Spaghetti Day

Thanks to some random googling last night, I found out today is National Spaghetti Day. I'm not sure which nation this is for, but it seemed a good theme for the Zebra to enjoy!

I had two activities in mind, using just a few basic supplies I'm sure most people would have! I used orange card, but plain paper would work just as well.

To prepare the lion, I drew the basics of a lion face on the card, then, using a sponge brush I made a mane with pva glue. The spaghetti I snapped in half to use as hair.

I showed the Zebra how to stick a piece of spaghetti down, and she had a go but clearly doesn't have the fine motor skills yet. I snapped up the spaghetti until it was all very little bits in the jug, and then let her pour it over the picture! To make them stick, she would pat them down onto the picture. 

To fill in the gaps between pasta, we used gold glitter which worked a treat!

I stuck on some googley eyes to complete the fun spaghetti lion!

To keep her busy while I tidyed up and started tea, I gave her some whole spaghetti sticks and the collinder. She loved fitting them through the holes and it will help improve those fine motor skills!

"Create a Treat" ornament cookie kit

One of the many present the Zebra received for Christmas was this biscuit decorating pack. The product is dated May 2016 so it won't keep till next year, so we decided to give it a go on our first baking Saturday of the year!

The pack is pretty basic, and although I don't know how much it cost to buy, we could have made it from scratch, in minutes, for pennies.

As soon as the Zebra saw the pack of brightly coloured sugar strands, she went into full blown tantrum until she was allowed to hold them. 

I cut the corner of one pack of icing and showed her how to squeeze it out onto the biscuit. However, it was so thick if just slowly gloobs out in big chunks.

I managed to smear a bit of the icing around and then opened the sprinkles. The whole pack got dumped over one biscuit. Then the feeding frenzy began. Once she had tasted the sugar it was too late, there was no stopping her.

Time to give up and clean up!

I managed to press two biscuits onto the scattered sprinkles and we will have them for dessert later. After a quick taste of the icing - I don't have high hopes!

Would I recommend this product for a toddler? No. Would I recommend for older children. No. 

This is the first ready-made pack we have used and I'm most disappointed.

New Years Eve sparkle

New Years Eve is not a holiday that can really be properly celebrated with a toddler! However, we have ended our crafty year with lots of glitter to make fireworks 

Just basic supplies needed for this craft. The more variety of glitters the better.

Using a paint brush, I let the Zebra paint the glue onto the paper 

After that, just let loose with the "shake-shake" 

If you use the glue to write straight onto the paper, you can also make some funky pictures 

This glitter can be added all over to give a shiny look (just remember to leave it flat when drying!!!!)

 Or the glitter can go on in stripes or blocks!

Whatever you decide - you will still be finding glitter all round the house long into summer... 

How to enjoy New Years Eve when your a single mum to a toddler...

Wine. Lots of wine.

Yeah, if only! Having a toddler means you'll be up at the arse-end of dawn tomorrow, and being single means it's always your turn to do the early shift. And day shift. And night shift. So as much as I would love to drown in my sorrows, the thought of New Years Day with both a hangover and a child is way to scary.

End the year with a positive accomplishment.

No matter what ups & downs you've had over the last 12 months, end the year with an up. No matter how minor, it will make you feel better!

I finally tackled the baskets and piles of clean clothes that needed putting away or going into the "outgrown" box. 

It's lovely to walk down the stairs again without navigating the toppling pillars of cloth.  

If like 99% of the the population your resolution will be to go on a diet in 2016, today is a great day to enjoy tasty food before you say farewell. For a week at least. 

By removing all the temptations today, it will make tomorrow easier. Plus it means you get to eat every last scrap of chocolate and cheese and not feel guilty about it. 

Once the Zebra was asleep in bed, I did a quick tidy of the house. I wish I could leave the mess till tomorrow, but it would annoy me all night and that's no fun. But do allow yourself to do the upmost bare minimum that you can get away with. Shove it all in one room and shut the door if you can! 

Treat yourself. Be totally selfish. Do what makes you feel happy. You could read, or take a bath, do your nails or hair. Me? I bought my self flowers, drank a bottle of prosecco, ordered pizza and indulged in trashy films.

It was bliss.

As the clock strikes midnight, there are only two places you will want to be:

A) Watching your little one snoozing away, wondering how your child can look so innocent while sleeping

B) Passed out asleep, in bed or in the sofa, it doesn't really matter. Anywhere at home is better than the New Years of my past. Highlights include wondering around St Ives in the pissing rain, in fancy dress and unable to get any alcohol. In a pub with two friends literally crying on a shoulder each. Or the year which ended in A&E. 

Some times I miss being young and being able to party. Then memories like this come flooding back and I feel smugly happy about my cup of tea and blanket.

 

Nothing wakes you up and gives you a kick up the arse like weighing yourself after the festive season. I started to celebrate Christmas around mid-Novemeber and I'm certainly paying for it. Still - we all have to start somewhere.

After standing on those scales (and feeling a bit ropey from the food and wine yesterday), take the opportunity to get out into the blustery outdoors and blow away the cobwebs. Start the year as you mean to go on - looking bedraggled, feeling tired and craving a bacon sandwich. 

Happy 2016 from the Zebra and the Zoo Keeper xx

Thank-You Cards

Living in a digital age, it's so easy to forget about the humble Thank You card.

Personally, I think if they are going to be sent, they need to be done within a few days. With it being such a crazy, busy time of year, I went for a quick but sweet idea.

I simply let the Zebra loose with some new craft supplies she got for Christnas.

First we tried out the pink paint and print blocks. She enjoyed working then out, and also stacking them!

The zebra then asked for the green paint, and we tried some of the big sponge-stopper style brushes. 

We then threw in some yellow for good luck, and a few more brushes.

There was a huge temptation from the Zebra to paint her hands and feet, but I just couldn't face the mess...

Once the paintings had dried, I glued each one inside a thank you card and cut to shape. 

The perfect way to get a toddler to "write" a card, before they can spell 

Mince Pies and Mulled Wine

It's Saturday, which in the zoo means it's baking day!! 

As we are in the festive mood we went for some mince pies and alcohol-free mulled wine 

I had a bottle of alcohol-free red wine, and added:

200g of caster sugar

2 satsuma's, including peel

2 cinnamon sticks

10 whole cloves 

1 tbsp nutmeg

3 bay leaves 

Cap of vanilla essence 

Stick it all in a pan on a high heat until the sugar dissolves on a rolling boil. Let it simmer for at least 20 minutes. I left it bubbling until our mince pies were ready

For the mince pies you will need:

1 jar of mincemeat for the filling

180g plain flour

130g butter

60g caster sugar

2 eggs

Icing sugar to decorate 

****preheat oven to 180****

Tip the flour into a bowl

Add the sugar 

And the butter 

Whisk one of the eggs and pour in

Mix well until you have pastry

Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 10 minutes 

As our table cloth is covered in glitter glue, I stuck down some grease-proof paper to roll out the pastry on

Cut out 6 big circles for the bases and 6 small circles for the lids

Fill the cases with the jar of mincemeat

Whisk the second egg and use to brush the top of the cases before adding the lids - it helps seal them when cooking

Pop in the oven for 15 minutes and have a tantrum when they take too long...

The middle will be boiling hot and take a long time to cool down 

They are worth the wait!!

The smell of the mince pies baking and mulled wine boiling really has made the house smell of Christmas