Playing with fondant

My love-hate relationship with fondant continues. But when one of my girls is marking her birthday, I set aside my differences with fondant and go ahead and make her a cake, covered with fondant and complete with 3D decor.

I may have a long way to go in terms of fondant decorating, but it's still better than my piping skills. And all cake needs a beautiful frosting finish. Without it, it's a bread. So, fondant it is for my Via who's turning 1.

It is difficult to make fondant. It takes time, and a very patient person to slowly stir in the icing sugar into the melted marshmallow. And that's already the easiest recipe. You want it as smooth and as white as possible. I have recently dropped the vanilla extract and replaced it with lemon to make it immaculately white. I have also skipped the salt to prevent it from feeling grainy. Then it is time to knead, and knead, and knead. This could be an enjoyable experience, depending on how good you prepped your fondant. The rest is child's play.

For Via's cake, I came prepared and watched videos online to teach me how to make alphabet blocks and a clown. It's another Gymboree party for our youngest!

And I think I got this one in the bag. 

Did you also know that fondant makes a good clay for your toddler to play around with?

When I am experimenting, I let Caitlin have some fondant for her to roll out and make into all sorts of shapes. That also means she lets me be because her hands are busy. 

Fondants aren't as bad as when I first began making it after all. I am growing to love it more than I hate it. And I hope fondant will love my daughters more and vice versa.

What are you playing with lately?

- Mommy Smiley

Sing your books

When I began reading rhymes to my eldest, the surest way for me to memorize them is by inventing a tune. I was happy to hear during my child's Kindermusik class that this is encouraged. So I sing some more books to my two girls now. 

It's easy, I think you ought to try. As a form of encouragement, I also learned that, in your child's ears, no singing voice could parallel mom's.

Happy singing!

I love singing Mama Mama by Jean Marzollo to my youngest. Sometimes, my eldest sings along with me.

- Mommy Smiley

Join us on a bear hunt

Books that let your toddler get up and move enhance her gross motor skill. They are also a good way to introduce new and fun words to her.

An example is "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, that the girls and I are enjoying reading. It's one of the books included in the Before Five in a Row "curriculum" that we are using. 

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt" is a fun-filled, adventure-ridden book that sees a family go through a meadow, river, forest, and even brave dirty mud and swirling snowstorms to hunt for a big bear. It's high in drama as you need to act out most parts in order to fully experience the story with your tot. By all means, skip, carry, huddle, and let your child ride piggyback like how it's done in the book. Sometimes, my toddler even let her stuff toys join us in the hunt.

Because of the action, however, I am finding it hard reading it because I need to hold the book up, support a baby who's just learning to walk, and sometimes hold hands with my toddler. By the time we get to the part where we need to go through the thick, oozy mud, I am already out of breath.

I thought of writing cue cards to help me so I need not use the book, and sought help from my toddler who said she wanted to draw the mud scene. So we drew all the scenes instead and put in the words to help me. Then we pasted each sheet all over the house. By the end of our second run of bear hunting, the baby's all knocked down and the toddler's asking for some rocking time. 

Now, I am thinking of hunting again at night with daddy as the big bear chasing us all over the house and maybe we can make the girls go to bed a bit early. A mom can hope. 

What are you reading to your child now, mommies?

Join us as we go on a bear hunt.

We go through the long and wavy grass several times.

My toddler's version of the thick, oozy mud.

We stumble and trip as we go through the big, dark forest.

Going inside the narrow, gloomy cave brings us to another part of the house.

- Mommy Smiley