The 100th Post (And Altered Cupcakes)

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It’s my 100th post! Bring on the celebratory streamers, party poppers and lashings of ginger beer.

Or my Altered Cupcake ‘Recipe’

How to alter a vanilla cupcake recipe to make different cupcakes.

The first thing you need to do is find an awesome vanilla cupcake recipe. I thoroughly recommend this one from Glorious Treats – there are amazing recipes over there to check out! Then you need to decide what kind of cupcakes you want to make. I decided to split a recipe in half, and make half Chai and vanilla and half orange with chocolate icing. I don’t recommend this, unless you’ve got a way to accurately split mixed items – it’s much easier to make a full batch and not wonder about what you’ve done when . . .

Chai and Vanilla Cupcakes

Before I started cooking, I heated up the buttermilk (using a little more than in the recipe). This is a bit of a smelly task, so be prepared! In a normal coffee mug, I put a couple of chai tea bags and poured the warm milk over it. I left this while I prepared the other ingredients.

Just before I started adding the dry mixture and the buttermilk, I took the T-bags out and stirred the chai flavoured buttermilk. I think the best thing to do here would be to heat up and prepare more than you need, then measure out the right amount of milk for the recipe.

I used the new cream cheese frosting you can buy at the shops now, and topped it with cinnamon sugar and sliced, crystalised ginger. My husband suggested that I use less ginger next time, as it was a bit over powering.

Orange Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

This was so easy to alter! Instead of adding vanilla, I added orange flavour, two drops of yellow colouring and a drop of red. I probably could increase the colouring and the flavour a bit.  I iced this with chocolate cream cheese frosting pipped through a bag – next time I think I’d run it through the food processor a bit to make it fluffier – then decorated with those icing tubes and a jaffa (the outing comes off the jaffa in the fridge though).

You could probably have even more fun with this recipe by adding mini choc-chips through the batter, or swirl some melted chocolate or chocolate cake batter through the orange batter – mmm, new ideas to try.

The final thing to think about is this – once you’ve got a good base recipe, there’s an awful lot you can do to alter it. There’s all sorts of flavours available to experiment with – I got inspiration from the chocolate and lolly aisle! Just make sure you share your yummy cupcake alterations!

Squirm’s Book Reviews: An Edition for the Birds

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Each week we review some of the books we’ve been reading with Squirm. This week, we’re looking at books with birds in them.

Peggy by Anna Walker

Peggy is a hen with a very normal kind of life. Every day, she had breakfast, played and watched the pigeons. Then one day, a big gust of wind came by, lifted Peggy up and landed her right in the middle of the city. From here, we watch as Peggy makes herself comfortable in the city, before realising that she’d really, rather go home.

This is a beautifully simple book, with the story being told through pictures as much as words. Peggy is a well-defined character, particularly through a few comic-style pictures. It’s very easy to become involved in her story and want to know what will happen next and if she’ll ever get home. The ending wraps up a little neatly for my liking, but it is fun to see how Peggy’s life changes after her excursion.

With this book, it would be really fun to think about what might happen if Peggy was blown into your city or your neighbourhood. What would she do? Where would she go? Where would she sit? And how would she get home again. You could tell this story verbally, or create your own book using pictures or photos of your local area. You could also learn more about chickens and pigeons (the main birds in this book). There’s two double pages in the book which tell us more about the story through a collage of Polaroid style illustrations. You could try telling stories by taking photos and using a photo editing program to put it all together.

 

Little Penguin: The Life of Eudyptula Minor by Josie Montano and Matt Ottley

This was a funny, but rather strange book. When you took the text alone, it told the story of Eudyptula – a little penguin – following him through his life. It’s a bit twee and rather unforgettable. But then there’s the pictures, which show Eudyptula like a human, dressing up each day and taking a boat out to see to work. Living in  apartment style buildings and avoiding foxes in fast cars on the walk home from work. It’s very strange, and I’m not really sure how I feel about the book as a whole.

Of course, it makes a perfect introduction to penguins, and you could use it while learning about Antarctica. It would also be great to use with a child who’s into the David Attenborough style wildlife documentaries. You could attempt to write your own documentary with your child, or you could narrate every day events, documentary style (I once did this with Squirm’s nappy change. It amused me, if nothing else). Another thing you could try to do, if to write a story, but subvert it with pictures that tell more of the story than you get in the words.

 

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

This book was first published in 1941, but it’s still a fabulous read. Two ducks, Mr and Mrs Mallard were looking for a safe place to live so that Mrs Mallard could lay her eggs. They find a lovely park, but are concerned by how busy it is. So they fly out to an island, and swim back to the riverbank where they make friends with a policeman. Of course, this is until Mrs Mallard lays her eggs and has ducklings to bring up. One day, Mr Mallard decides to take off for a while, and Mrs Mallard needs to take the ducklings through the busy Boston streets to meet up with him in the park.

Obviously, Mrs Mallard is the hero of this book, rounding up Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack and getting them safely to the park. But all in all, this is a sweet story of people going out of their way to help the smaller creatures around them. The book is illustrated with simple line drawings, but the characters really seem to come alive, even if we only see them on one page.

You could use this book as an introduction to learning about ducks, but you could also get some pretty cool map lessons out of it. You could trace their path around a map of Boston, look at how maps change over time (try and find old and new maps for your city). You could map out a path for the ducks to take around your neighbourhood or use Google Street View to see what the ducks might see if they were to take the same trip today. You could use the book as an introduction to learning more about Boston (which is on my dream list of cities to visit), and look at how Boston celebrates the story – including the duck sculpture.

What’s your favourite book with birds in it?

5 Reasons You Should Take Your Baby to the Library

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Squirm was just 5 weeks old when we first visited the library and we’ve visited at least one library a week ever since. However, some people aren’t sure if they should take their babies to the library, or what benefits there are in visiting. Here are my top five reasons you should take your baby to your local library.

1. It normalises the library

I joke that Squirm is always more comfortable if he wakes up in a bookshop or a library. It’s a joke about the places we frequent together, but like a lot of jokes, there’s more than a little bit of truth to it.

Libraries are free to visit and join, but so many times I’ve walked into libraries that are being under used. People aren’t comfortable with the idea of going to a library on a regular basis, or they find the library a bit intimidating. They might buy into the popular culture view of libraries as silent, forbidding places with stern, hushing librarians.

By taking your baby to the library regularly from an early age it makes the library a comfortable place to be. Hopefully that comfort will be with them through their childhood and into their adulthood.

2. Libraries are encouraging babies to join

Every single library I’ve been to on the library tour have been open to babies being there. On our first visit, the librarians were thrilled to sign Squirm up and give him his very own library card. The children’s program in the Moreton Bay Regional libraries start from birth – Squirm’s even won himself two certificates for his borrowing 🙂 There’s also lots of available information about reading to babies.

The best program for babies in libraries is Rhyme Time (or Baby Rhyme Time or Babies, Books and Rhymes). There is a growing concern about children ‘losing’ the old nursery rhymes, and the language benefits that come with learning them and reciting them. Rhyme times are always different depending on which library you go to and who presents it, but you usually find one or two rhymes you haven’t learned before, not to mention relearning the actions you might have forgotten.

3. There’s more in libraries than you might think

What’s in a library? Well, there’s books, of course. But there’s also audio books, CDs, DVDs and in some libraries you can even find toys to borrow. It’s a great way to try before you buy. We borrowed CDs from the library when we first started going. It was through these CDs we discovered a love of ABC Music, and have since bought a number of CDs for ourselves.

4. Free books! That you get to take back!

Books are expensive. And they take up a lot of room. We have tonnes of them here, and we’d love to buy tonnes more, but our storage space and our bank balance just won’t allow it.

By borrowing from the library, we have access to thousands of books for free. They’re all sitting there in their low shelves, waiting for us to borrow them. Then, when we finish reading them, we just take them back and have access to a new pile of books. This also means we’re not spending money on books that aren’t that good, while discovering new books, which we might not have found in the shops.

5. A good reason to get out of the house

It’s so easy to stay at home when your baby is small. You don’t need to pack a bag, you don’t need to wrestle with a carrier or a pram, you don’t need to worry about feeding or changing or what to do when the baby cries. You fall into a trap where you don’t get out, which in my case at least, is a great way to find myself getting blue.

When you go to a library, you’re in a place where there’s usually comfortable chairs for feeding, a change table in the toilets, and people who are actually pretty understanding about babies crying. Making an appointment to get out to borrow books or go to rhyme time, is important for looking after yourself, as well as looking after your baby.

When did you first take your child/ren to the library? Can you think of any other reasons to take babies to the library?

Being an Ambitious Mother

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am·bi·tious

[am-bish-uhs]  

adjective

1. having ambition;  eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, 
2. showing or caused by ambition
3. strongly desirous; eager
4. requiring exceptional effort, ability, 

 

A week ago I read Mia Freedman’s column, Birth of New Era, in the Sunday Mail. It started off good, talking about how the word ‘ambitious’ is seen with a negative view when it applies to women, though it is a virtue in men. In fact, a lot of the column is good, pointing out once you get pregnant everyone starts asking you what you want to do about work – and that it’s impossible to know the answer to that until the baby comes along.

Then the second last sentence comes along: “And more women are better educated and actually WANT to work.”

In that one sentence she swipes a paintbrush full of generalisations over those women who choose to stay at home with their children. She paints them as less educated and refuses to acknowledge their work as work. It immediately sends your mind back to earlier in the piece, when she talks about being concerned with nothing more than tiny socks or which breast you fed from last, like that’s the kind of thing that always fills the minds of stay at home mothers.

It’s not going to be surprising to anyone when I point out the stupidity of this. While those small socks are amazing, and those early days are a bit of a haze (lack of sleep induced, usually), there’s plenty of highly educated mothers who intend to stay at home. There’s plenty of stay at home mothers who are interested in the world outside (or the parts that matter, anyway.) And there’s plenty to learn from our children, as well as plenty of work to do with them.

Like the development of language skills. Squirm couldn’t communicate in any way but crying when he was first born. Now he babbles to us, experimenting with a wide range of sounds. Every day, there seems to be a new sound he can make. He’s at a point where he babbles, then stays quiet while I talk, then babbles again – he’s learning how to hold a conversation. At a time where more and more children are coming to school without adequate speech skills, I think that learning from and participating in this is pretty important work.

Like watching him work out how to move more effectively. In the last month, Squirm has gone from waving his hands at thing and being amazed if he made contact with them, to reaching deliberately for things and accurately pulling them towards him (usually towards his mouth). He can even turn the pages of a book, now. I think learning from and participating in this is pretty important work.

And it’s this kind of work I want to be ambitious about. I am ambitious about being the best mother I can be, just like I used to be ambitious about being the best teacher I could be.

For me and my family, my staying at home is the best choice. For other families, both parents working is the best choice. For other families, the father staying at home is the best choice. And, I bet for most of these families, they are ambitious to do the best by themselves and their children, no matter what choice that might be.

Mia Freedman didn’t need to make it an us versus them thing. She didn’t need to make it into ambitious versus not. It comes across, quite frankly, as a way to be controversial and throw another punch against other mothers. Or, otherwise, it was just lazy writing, which is just as bad. Working at home or away from home, women are working their hardest to do the best by themselves and their families.

They’re ambitious that way.

The Great Library Tour: Chermside Library

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This visit was a bit of a special one, because we visited Chermside with my aunt, who hadn’t met Squirm before this. The Chermside Library is one of the few Brisbane City Council Libraries open on a Monday. It’s also one of the biggest Brisbane City Libraries.

We were there right on time for the Babies, Books and Rhymes session which is held in a meeting room outside the library itself. It was very popular – lots of parents with babies younger than Squirm, which I don’t see that often – but wasn’t particularly good. There wasn’t any focus on books and by repeating all the rhymes over and over, there was a really monotonous feeling. I also object to doing the Grand Old Duke of York six times! My arms cannot haul a 7 kilo baby up and down the hill that much! The woman sitting next to me said it wasn’t like that all the time – it’s usually a lot better. There was a lovely friendly feeling among the parents, though, and a lot of them went in for books after, which is something I wasn’t sure would happen with the rhyme time being held outside the actual library.

The library itself is huge and really well organised. It’s got big non fiction and fiction sections, a quiet room, places for studying and a lounge area set up near a display of the more recent books. There’s also a cafe area, thoughtfully set up near the magazines (as well as having an outside area). The kids area is quite separate from the rest of the library, with a half wall around it.

The kids area has been decorated with a space theme. There’s a console set around a kids computer (complete with buttons to press and lights that light up), a big painting on the wall, a chalk board shaped like a rocket, rocket shaped shelf ends and an extremely popular reading nook, shaped like a capsule. There’s lots of comfy chairs, low shelves around the outside of the room, and a comfortable disorganised feel – the kind of place where you’re happy to pick up any of the books in the place. The staff were noticeable in the children’s area, and were restacking the shelves when we finished up – a huge job since there seems to be more books than shelf room.

There was a big range of books to choose from, and the books ranged from extremely well loved to brand new and barely touched. There was also a pleasant buzz around the whole library – and as both my aunt and I noticed, a wide range of ages was represented. I’ll definitely be going back – I’m already booked in to hear Mem Fox speak there next month!

The best parts of Chermside Library

  • The space themed kids area
  • Great staff – very knowledgeable and helpful
  • The cafe was awesome and extremely affordable
  • The wide range of people using the space

Important Information about Chermside Library

375 Hamilton Road
Chermside

Website – There’s a lot of events on each week, so it’s worth checking this out.

Open all week. See website for details

Limited parking available in the carpark which is shared with the swimming pool. Be aware that nearby Chermside Westfield charges for parking. This is a good public transport library.

While we were there . . .

There is a popular pool complex right next to the library, which would be great in summer. There’s also a massive shopping centre nearby. At the northern end of the shopping centre, you can go for a quick walk outside and across the road to Kidspace Park (or 7th Brigade park, I think) which has a massive play area for kids, including a huge fort.

All I Want For Christmas (and My Birthday)

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Last week, I posted about some of the toys I discovered when shopping for Squirm’s Christmas present. This year, I’m putting together my own wish list. Christmas wish lists are always difficult for me, because I need to include enough gifts for my birthday which is 4 days after Christmas. Luckily, this year I have a few ideas. So, if you feel compelled to buy me lots of presents, here’s what I most desire 🙂

Breastfeeding Necklace

Squirm is once again living up to his nickname when he’s feeding. Since he’s discovered he can use his hands, he’s been vigorously using them to thump me. These necklaces would give him something to do and are also available for him to chew on when he’s teething. They’re safe for chewing on and have a safety clasp on the back for those times he pulls really hard. They also look really nice – I’d love to go back to wearing necklaces again. These ones are available from MummaBubba Jewellery, which also does bangles and bracelets.

Anything From T2

Ok, I admit it. I’ve become a bit of a T2 addict. I blame their impeccable customer service 🙂 Pretty much anything from the shop would be good for me. I love trying all the different types of tea, and the cups and glasses are gorgeous.

Books and notebooks

I’m happy with any notebooks from Kikki K or Typo. And nothing makes me happier than a Dymocks voucher 🙂 Though these days, an Amazon voucher would also be awesome.

Donations

I’ve been really inspired by the recent blogger’s trip to India. So, this year I’ve added World Vision to my preferred charities. Other charities include the Smith Family, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and any charity related to children and reading.

I’m sure I’ll think of other ‘must have’ gifts as Christmas comes along, but at least this is somewhere to begin!

What’s on your Christmas List this year?

Linking with TinaGray{Dot}Me and her Christmas Linky. Check out her gorgeous Christmas Table. I’m terribly jealous!

Weekly Wrap Up – 23 November 2012

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Nudgee Beach

Originally, I was doing a Smell The Roses post at the end of the week. I’m graduating that to a Weekly Wrap-up, mostly so I can talk about more. You can find Smell the Roses posts here.

Smell the Roses

This has been an extremely busy week, but there were two particular highlights. First was seeing my Aunt, who I hadn’t seen in over a year. We went to the library together, before going to visit my grandparents. The second highlight was going to see A Chorus Line which was AMAZING!

What I’ve Been Reading

Itsy-Bitsy Babies and Peggy with Squirm. Get Her Off the Pitch and Pro-Blogger for me.

What I’ve Been Doing

After a weekend of storms, my ‘working’ week started with a library visit to Chermside, which was amazing and I’ll review on Monday. I then braved the outside world on my own, leaving Squirm and Mr Pilot alone while I went to A Chorus Line. On Wednesday I went out with my sister and my parents for a great walk around the Nudgee Beach waterways. Then I met up with a group of Baby-wearing mums yesterday. Finally, I finished off by spending some quiet time at a cafe while Squirm finally slept. It was a very busy week!

Favourite Blog Posts of the Week

What have you smiled at, read or done this week?

Going Back to University

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Accepting my Education degree

I’ve been to university twice now.

The first time, I was a young thing – only just turned 17 when I first walked through the Great Court at University of Queensland. I knew nothing – I didn’t even know how to reference properly – but I was young and anxious to learn everything. I completed a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Ancient History and History, but I also did classes in drama, philosophy, American politics and Ancient Greek language. It was a great time, overall. I loved the lectures and tutorials. Loved the atmosphere at UQ and loved learning.

A couple of years after completing that degree, I was back again, though at a different university and for a different purpose. This time I was at the Kelvin Grove campus of Queensland University of Technology, doing a graduate degree in Primary Education. It was a different type of university experience, much more focused on the outcome than the learning – though without the kind of lessons that would have made teaching easier.

Although there were early thoughts about going back to university to do a Masters degree, I finally settled on the fact that I was done with university. And now, with Squirm, I knew that was the case. I mean, trying to take a baby with me while doing a full course of study – well that’s just silly.

The problem is, well, I kind of like learning. When I was teaching, I would take on qualifications and courses that involved research and study. I may have grumbled about it from time to time, but I loved the focus it gave me. And I loved learning something new.

So, when I read about Coursera, it seemed kind of perfect. Free university courses offered from some of the best universities in the world. Respected professors taking advantage of online presenting methods to share their expertise with a much wider audience. Courses available in history, politics, computers, english, mathematics and more!

Before I really knew what I was doing, I had signed up for two courses which are running next year. The first one, which starts in January is an overview of Modern Global history. Which might sound a little dull to you, but really excites me. Also exciting is the fact that the course is being taken by Philip Zelikow, who has written books on a number of topics which interest me.

Later in the year, I’ll tackle Archaeology’s Dirty Little Secrets, which promises to be a hands on introduction to archaeology and might have me doing some strange things.

I promise to keep you up to date with the courses as they start and progress. Especially if I have to do any really strange things for the Archaeology course 🙂

What would you go back and study if you could study anything?

(Obviously, I’m not being sponsored by Coursera. I’m just quite excited by this)

Grateful for Aunts

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Aunts of all kinds. My aunt was visiting earlier in the week, and Squirm and I got to spend some time with her. Then yesterday, we spent time with Squirm’s aunt (my sister)

Aunts are the cool ones, of course, the ones who buy the cool and noisy toys. Squirm has aunts and then lots of ‘aunts’. They spread from Melbourne to Townsville and are universally awesome. Squirm is pretty lucky to have so many cool people in his life.