Salt Dough Footprint

I tried out this salt dough that I saw on the imagination tree. It worked great! I didn't paint it, like they did, but I'd like to do it again when my baby is a little older and let her paint it. I do also wish I'd put a hole in the top, so the footprint could be hung.

Adjustments I made: I used an ever-so-slightly greased cookie sheet, rather than baking parchment when putting the dough in the oven.

Inexpensive Toddler Toys

This has been one of the most simple but most clutch Pinterest finds. Milk caps in an old baby wipe container. Duh! The post, titled, 10 Ways to Keep a Toddler Busy (without buying new toys) is on the Learning Through Play website. It gives several ideas to try out with your toddler. We did this one and the plastic eggs in an egg carton. Both were hits, this one especially. At first it was all about taking the milk caps out, but as your child gets older they'll probably enjoy putting them in too. I cut a wider opening for easier access. What other homemade toys has your toddler loved?

All Things French

This wasn't originally a pin. One of my sisters told me about the book, Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman. She is an American who moved to France and had her children while there. She talks about her experience of being pregnant, giving birth, and raising her kids in France. She realized that the French have a different way of parenting, in most cases, I would say a better way. I really enjoyed it and learned things that I want to incorporate into my own family. 

 

I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that it led to a new board on Pinterest dedicated to "All things French," mostly consisting of books to read. The next one I read was French Twist, by Catherine Crawford. She lives in Brooklyn, but decided to incorporate French parenting and other customs into her life. This one is my favorite so far. This book shows a stark contrast between the way things were before the author starting "going French" with her family and after she successfully implemented some changes. And she's funny, so its a really quick read. 

 

I don't know about you, but when I get excited about something, I want to talk about it a lot. A lot. Ask my dear husband. Seriously. Sometimes I know I am being ridiculous, trying to recount every detail, but I can't help myself. I get so excited, I might explode. And I'm sure my poor husband feels like he's going to explode! So rather than explode, I thought it would be easier if my hubby read it. He did and he had some good laughs while reading too. Now we are able to discuss what aspects of French parenting we want to embrace. And I can calm down, because I know he's read all the goodness that I wanted to tell him about. I love the ideas of teaching children to be more independent (even from a young age), teaching them to have a meaningful part in conversations, teaching them to appreciate beauty of all kinds, being strict on the big things, but knowing its okay to give a lot of freedom too...see, I could go on. You are just going to have to read it. 

But...one last thing. I love the French way of appreciating food. Good, real food. This is mentioned in both books, but to delve further into it, I'm now reading French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I'm making changes to how I approach food and eating and it's been quite enjoyable. Basically, I've been slightly obsessed with French things lately, and wished I would have cultivated this interest when I was taking French in high school. C'est la vie!