52 Uses for Coconut Oil

I came across this post recently on 52 uses for coconut oil.  I'd never realised Coconut Oil was so useful!  I love that you can use it as a base for so many home made cosmetics and medicinal balms - some of which would make lovely home made gifts.

(Image from the http://www.deliciousobsessions.com article linked above)

For those who haven't used it before, coconut oil isn't a liquid like most oils we're used to, its a thick balm like substance.

Ingenious uses for everyday household items and staples

I came across this list of household tips using items most people would already have and some are just brilliant.

My favourites are re-using aluminium foil to scrub casserole dishes, removing stains from chopping boards with cut lemon and using citric acid as a dishwasher cleaner (they said Kool-aid but its hard to get here and its the citric acid that makes it work anyhow).

What's your favourite?

Lumpy's 2nd Birthday Party

Yesterday Geekling and I helped Lumpy celebrate her 2nd birthday - what a lovely party!  Thank you Mara and Lumpy for having us!

 Adorable teacup treats

Geekling LOVES to play with sliding doors

Check out the cake - a joint effort between Lumpy's mum (who baked the six different coloured cakes) and friend Jaime who is a cake decorating queen and came up with the awesome marbled fondant.

 SIX layers of bright rainbow colours!

There was also had a DIY cupcake table that the kids just loved.  Geekling did a decent job of applying his own icing with a spoon and dotting it with m&ms and jellybeans before toddling off to eat it.  I was very impressed he didn't try to over-load it or sneak a few lollies in the mouth while decorating.

 Spreading his cupcake with icing

 Decorating his cupcake

 Ready to devour his masterpiece

The birthday girl decorates her cupcake with lots of crumbled oreo - yum!

I was also very impressed that he was able to communicate his need to go to the toilet in an unfamiliar environment and didn't get 'stage fright', including a stop on the way home just before jumping on the highway (which I was very grateful for).

Pinterest

Like every crafty mum in the blogosphere, I too have succumbed to Pinterest.

Follow me at http://pinterest.com/homemademumma/

Do you pin, too?  Let me know!

Muffin Tin Meal Planning

We serve Gabe muffin tin meals semi-regularly (that is, not as regularly as we'd initially planned especially now he eats with us so frequently).  It really seems to appeal to him and its a great way to get him to try new things, as well as having other items as 'back up' right there for him to eat and sometimes he will return to the less popular foods in the same sitting and try them again.

There is an entire blog dedicated to these adorable meals, and Muffin Tin Mom has just posted a little Muffin Tin Meal Plan printable which I think could be a great way of tracking which foods were well received and which were not.  I'm told that it can take presenting a new food 6 - 12 times before it is accepted by a child, so you could also keep track of how many times a food has been offered and gauge any change in the child's attitude towards that food.

Previous Muffin Tin Meal posts:
Vegies are tasty!
Muffin Tin Meal #1
Muffin Tin Meal #2
Muffin Tin Meal #3

IKEA Finger Puppet Mobile

How cute is this idea??

It is a baby mobile made from IKEA fish finger puppets, a couple of sticks and some string/line.  IKEA also have a range of other animal finger puppets, or you can buy finger puppets very cheap on ebay.

I wish I'd thought of this when Geekling was tiny, I never got around to finishing the mobile I was making him - I was still sewing it up while in labour and it got forgotten in the haze of feeding, changing and new-parent narcolepsy.