Summer vacation may mean a break from school for my big girls, but it doesn't mean a break from their regular activities which, for the most part, are running right through the Summer just as they do through the school year. This means that not only are we out and about a lot doing fun Summer Vacation type stuff, but we're also out a lot at Ava and Lola's (twice weekly) karate and swimming classes. While Ava and Lola practice their swim strokes or their sparring techniques, Mathilde and I get a little one on one time - much of which is spent eating!
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Gerber Lil' Beanies
Summer vacation may mean a break from school for my big girls, but it doesn't mean a break from their regular activities which, for the most part, are running right through the Summer just as they do through the school year. This means that not only are we out and about a lot doing fun Summer Vacation type stuff, but we're also out a lot at Ava and Lola's (twice weekly) karate and swimming classes. While Ava and Lola practice their swim strokes or their sparring techniques, Mathilde and I get a little one on one time - much of which is spent eating!
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Grand Canyon
Here we are, the first week of Summer vacation and I still haven't finished sharing our trip from Spring Break! Truth be told, I still haven't finished sharing our trip from Winter Break either. I really need to start playing catch up! Let's start with a look at our visit to the Grand Canyon over Spring Break...
We visited the Grand Canyon as part of our Spring Break in the desert trip. We started our trip in Las Vegas before heading to Valley of Fire State Park, Zion National Park and then the Grand Canyon.
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
Cooking with Kids: English Muffin Pizzas
Now that the girls are on Summer Vacation they're home for lunch every day.
During the school year sandwiches tend to be our go to lunches, but with the girls home for lunch we've got the opportunity to have a little more fun with our food. The girls love getting involved in making their food so I've been thinking about recipes that are super simple, yet tasty, that all three of my girls can help with.
Today's lunch was about as simple as you can get. Mini pizzas made with English muffin bases. Not the most gourmet cuisine, but tasty none the less. I love this simple recipe as it really is easy for little ones to make with minimal help, it's super quick, and it's easily adapted to suit even the fussiest of eaters. Plus making these little pizzas with the kids brings back childhood memories of making them myself with friends.
Monday, 20 June 2016
Father's Day 2016
Yesterday was Father's Day here in America, and the first of two Father's Days that we celebrate each year. Lucky Kim gets to celebrate American Father's Day in June and Australian Father's Day in September.
For Kim's present, the girls and I made a Chatbooks photo book featuring designs by our favorite illustrator, Dallas Clayton. We're all big fans of Dallas Clayton's simple yet meaningful style, so as soon as I saw that Chatbooks was teaming up with him I jumped online to order a book. Of course, our photo book needed a matching card, so the girls dressed in their matching Dallas Clayton t-shirts and romper from Rags to Raches, grabbed a few balloon props, and we had a little photo shoot.
For Kim's present, the girls and I made a Chatbooks photo book featuring designs by our favorite illustrator, Dallas Clayton. We're all big fans of Dallas Clayton's simple yet meaningful style, so as soon as I saw that Chatbooks was teaming up with him I jumped online to order a book. Of course, our photo book needed a matching card, so the girls dressed in their matching Dallas Clayton t-shirts and romper from Rags to Raches, grabbed a few balloon props, and we had a little photo shoot.
Monday, 13 June 2016
Pink Lemon & Pink Grapefruit Lemonade
A few days ago the girls and I were in Trader Joe's and we came across pink lemons. The girls were pretty excited at the prospect of pink lemons, especially Lola who is a little obsessed with the color pink, so I just knew that we had to give them a try. Seeing as it was pretty warm over the weekend we decided to use our pink lemons to make pink lemonade.
Now, as you'll see in the photos, pink lemons aren't actually all that pink. In fact, the skin is variegated yellow and green, which is rather pretty, but it's not pink. The pink color can be found in the lemon's flesh, and even then it's more of a slight rosy hue rather than pink. Admittedly, the juice doesn't end up looking all that different to the juice of a regular lemon. Pink lemons taste a little sweeter than regular lemons, although judging by Mathilde's reaction to tasting one, they're still quite sour!
Most pink lemonades are colored with the addition of a red juice (often cranberry) or by muddling berries into the mix. I wanted to keep our lemonade citrus based so we went for a slightly different approach and added pink grapefruit. This resulted in a rosy colored syrup, but by the time it was diluted with extra water it looked like regular lemonade. Oh, but it tasted so much better! We also added berries as a finishing touch because berries make everything better.
Saturday, 4 June 2016
May on Instagram
Can you believe that it's already June? Where did May go? It was such a busy month for us with birthdays, parties, sporting events, major events like Maker Faire and a Cure concert, plus lots of trips to the park.
This past month on Instagram there have been lots of photos of Mathilde on her balance bike because she rides it absolutely everywhere now. She's so fast on it - I often have to run to keep up! She's so desperate to be a big kids like Ava and Lola.
I love seeing all of my girls growing up, learning new things (like super high karate kicks) and experiencing new things (like getting their hair dyed purple), but oh how I wish they would slow down a little. They're all growing up too fast.
Make sure to follow Little Hiccups on Instagram to keep up to date with what these crazy kids are up to - because you know I'm always a little behind here on the blog! Me, late? Never!
This past month on Instagram there have been lots of photos of Mathilde on her balance bike because she rides it absolutely everywhere now. She's so fast on it - I often have to run to keep up! She's so desperate to be a big kids like Ava and Lola.
I love seeing all of my girls growing up, learning new things (like super high karate kicks) and experiencing new things (like getting their hair dyed purple), but oh how I wish they would slow down a little. They're all growing up too fast.
Make sure to follow Little Hiccups on Instagram to keep up to date with what these crazy kids are up to - because you know I'm always a little behind here on the blog! Me, late? Never!
A photo posted by Sally Mason (@littlehiccups) on
A photo posted by Sally Mason (@littlehiccups) on
Thursday, 2 June 2016
Donut Hair DIY
National Donut Day is just around the corner (it's tomorrow Friday June 3rd) so I thought it was the perfect time to share a fun, crazy hair DIY with you!
About a month back Ava and Lola had Wacky Hair Day at school. If you're following Little Hiccups on Instagram you've probably already seen Ava and Lola in all their crazy hair glory. Lola had bright pink hair, colored with hair chalk (which, surprisingly, is still yet to wash out completely in places!) and Ava's hair was transformed into a plated donut, complete with pink icing and sprinkles!
About a month back Ava and Lola had Wacky Hair Day at school. If you're following Little Hiccups on Instagram you've probably already seen Ava and Lola in all their crazy hair glory. Lola had bright pink hair, colored with hair chalk (which, surprisingly, is still yet to wash out completely in places!) and Ava's hair was transformed into a plated donut, complete with pink icing and sprinkles!
Jack's Night Market
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Jack London Square. All opinions are my own.
Summer is almost upon us.
The kids only have a few more weeks left at school, the weather is starting to warm up, and the fun Summer events have started.
A few Fridays back the girls and I celebrated the imminent arrival of Summer at the first of many fun Summer events at Oakland's Jack London Square. Jack's Night Market is a fun monthly event held at Oakland's premier waterfront location over Summer. A mix of local artisan vendors, tasty food, music and quirky entertainment, Jack's Night Market has something for everyone.