to baby with love x

A craft book review YCate

To Baby with Love

35 gorgeous gifts to make for babies and toddlers

by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell

One of the major perks of my job is the hundreds of beautiful books that pass through my hands. 

"To Baby with Love" is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

I want to make nearly EVERYTHING from this book. Mostly though it's a toss up between the yo-yo nursery decoration, the plump wise owl door stop or the wash cloths bound with vintage fabric.

Hope your day is filled with some beauty therapy too x 

Y Cate

p.s. If you HAVE to have it - find it here.

Otherwise visit your local library Y

find your own answer

A children's book review Y Cate

What Kind of Fairy Is Merry Berry?

by Lindsey Renee

No dust settles on this little book. It doesn't even sit on the shelf at the library. No sooner is it returned then it is borrowed again by a little sparkly, fairy loving reader.

Aimed at Pre-Prep to Year 2 this fairy book ticks all the rights boxes. Rainbows. Glittery pages. Pink. Purple. Pink. And special instructions on becoming a fairy.

Under the glitter is an empowering message. Don't look for others to fix your world. Look to what you love and find your OWN answer. Very magical!

Y Cate

I love you to Eris and back...

I was snuggled up reading a book with my little branch last night, when she said that her teacher read her this book at kindy. Oh lovely, I say. Because it was one of those beautiful, almost sickly sweet mummy-loves you-forever-to-that-planet-past- Pluto, that’s not really a planet…. You get the idea.

Yes, little branch says, “I told my teacher that you don’t love me.” Pardon?! Me, who is reading you the third book for the night, who plays fairies with you, even acknowledges you at the shops when you have a massive tantrum? Me, who gets up to you in the night, tucks you back in, kisses you on the forehead and says I love you every time?

Yes, me. She smiles cutely and snuggles in to me. So I explain to her that I love her and we talk about all the ways people show they love each other. About forgiveness. She has well lost interest by now, keen to get back to the great book.

I think that is why I do love reading to my kids at the end of the day, no matter how old they are. You discover the most interesting things. Like how I have now learned that I have to go and do OTT displays of affection at kindy so the teacher doesn’t think I am awful!

I also think that there aren’t many problems in kids' lives that can’t be solved by reading just the right book. They are such visual learners and stories help us connect to children. 

My favourite non-sickly sweet books are anything by Peter Carnavas. 

and "I love you forever" by Robert Munsch which is also a subtle story about the life cycle.

A not too sickly sweet recipe to pair with your reading:

Key Lime Pie

Pastry
• combine 1 cup SR flour, ½ cup plain flour, ¼ cup cornflour, ¼ cup custard powder, ¼ cup sugar 
• rub through 125 grams chopped butter til you get the breadcrumb thing happening 
• knife through an egg or two depending on the size 
• when it's combined, knead into a ball 
• cut the ball in half 
• press one half into a large pie pate (and freeze the other half for next time!) 
• bake the pie shell for 10 mins at 1800C then remove from the oven

Filling
• combine tin of condensed milk, 3 eggs, juice of 3 limes (don’t throw the skins away) 
• pour into the half baked pie shell and return to oven for approx 20 mins 
• remove from oven (should be a bit wobbly in the middle) and allow to cool 
• refrigerate

Topping
• whip 300 ml cream with 1 tablespoon icing sugar 
• fold through zest of 3 lime skins (told you not to throw them away) 
• spread cream over the filled pie, and back into the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving

I would love to hear other people's suggestions on their favourite books to read.

Holly Treechange

Images

http://cbishowcase.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/peter-carnavas.html

Copyright (c) <a href='http://www.123rf.com'>123RF Stock Photos</a>

despair is inevitable

The five tenets of social injustice identified by researcher Professor Daniel Dorling are:

elitism is efficient

exclusion is necessary

prejudice is natural

greed is good

despair is inevitable

I'm reading Professor Dorling's book at the moment. I feel at turns angry, stunned and called to action (or at least deeper thinking and self reflection) by what I'm reading. He posits that:

Elitism, exclusion, prejudice, greed and despair will not end just by being recognised more clearly as unjust. Slavery did not end by abolishment. Women were not emancipated by being allowed to vote. Child abuse by dangerous labour did not end with the Factory Acts.
It is in our minds that injustice continues most strongly, in what we think is permissible, in whether we think we can use others in ways we would not wish to be used ourselves.

My most favourite part I've read so far is the rejection of the fiction of inherent intelligence and the description of the very few adults in European history who helped rescue and shelter Jewish people in occupied Europe.

It is worth repeating that when the rescuers' backgrounds were looked into it was commonly found that their parents had set high standards for them as children, high standards as to how they should view others, and their parents did not treat them as if their were limits to their abilities, nor did they tell them that others were limited.

I would like to think that despair is not inevitable...I would like to be part of that revolution.


Y Cate


image from http://www.borders.com.au/book/injustice-why-social-inequality-persists/23606330/

Valium Monday

Down in the national news section, there's an article on a new pill, the 'Valium' they're calling it, 'to help women cope with everyday challenges.' God, I could use about ten of those little pills right now. ― Kathryn Stockett, The Help

I have just finished reading The Help and loved it. You can find many great book reviews for it both negative and positive: but I found it moving and inspiring and I'm calling it the "To Kill a Mockingbird" of our times. Big call.
             
Monday's not my favourite day - I know, hardly original - but no Valium for me today. I engaged in some beauty therapy instead. I met with some beautiful friends and created something beautiful. Will post a picture tomorrow. 
        
My dog looks like he's having a Valium Monday! He's our totally loopy, adorable, chocolate Field Spaniel called Fox.

Y Cate