Instrumental Dreamland from Putumayo Kids

I've posted many, many times about how much we love the Putumayo Kids albums in our home (and car), particularly the Dreamland collection.  The soothing lullabys from around the world are great for winding down with the kids as well as for inducing some in-car napping on the way to the grandparents' house.

On February 28th, Putumayo Kids will be releasing the newest title in the Dreamland series, Instrumental Dreamland.  We previewed a copy, and I think it's probably the most soothing of the titles we have, particularly because it's instrumental.

In speaking about Instrumental Dreamland, Putumayo Founder Dan Storper says "These selections were chosen for their calming effect and appeal to children and adults alike. An instrumental lullaby CD has been the most requested children’s album since we began the label."  I was definitely one of those parents hoping for a lyric-less Dreamland cd.

Instrumental Dreamland has some familiar tracks, like Brahms' Lullaby, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and What a Wonderful World, along with others from around the world.  You'll be treated to the melodies of harps, ukeleles, pianos, acoustic guitars and the kora.

It's a wonderful compilation both for children and adults.  My only "complaint" is that it's too short! You can keep up with Putumayo Kids on Twitter and Facebook.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Instrumental Dreamland for review purposes.  All opinions are my own.

More Adorable from Kidorable: Dragon Knight Collection

With muddy, wet, Spring weather on the way, it's time to start pulling out the kids' rain gear.  And Kidorable is the place to go for the coolest rain coats, boots, umbrellas and more.  Their newest addition, Dragon Knight Collection, is so appealing, especially to my little boy.

Despite his look in the photo below (it was a bad photo day), Soren loves the raincoat and matching boots form the Dragon Knight Collection.

Not only is it a great, lightweight, not-so-stiff raincoat, but it's a great costume for playing knights and dragons. It gives our weekly playdates a dash of imagination and fun.

The boots are also nice, with a coordinating dragon and nice castle-wall details on the gray background.

 

I like the detail of the hood, which is reminiscent of a medieval knight's helmet.  

I know one little boy who now can't wait for it to rain so he can put on his Dragon Knight Raincoat and boots.  Check out the other adorable collections from Kidorable too, from Pirates and Ballerinas, to Space Heros and Lucky Cats.

You can keep up with Kidorable via their Facebook and Twitter pages.
Disclosure: I received a raincoat, boots and a hanger for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Valentine's Treat: Chocolate Chip Yogurt Scones

It must be some latent British genes that have caused Chris to be so enamored of scones.  I probably make this version a few times a month, and it's rare that they last beyond a few days.  They're great for breakfast (often I use frozen blueberries in place of chocolate) and are especially tasty with coffee or tea.

I'm forgoing the chocolates boxed in hearts and rich, fudgey cakes in liue of these not-so-sweet sweets for my sweetheart.  Easy to make, and too easy to eat!

Chocolate Chip Yogurt Scones (makes 8 scones)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (plus a tsp extra for sprinkling)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla (omit if using vanilla flavored yogurt)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet are fine)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat the egg, oil, sugar, vanilla until smooth.  Add the yogurt and stir until thoroughly combined.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to the wet mixture and fold together until flour is incorporated.  Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.  If the mixture seems really dry, add a tsp of milk or two.

Flour your work surface, then turn the dough out onto it.  Knead a few times (flour your hands to help), then pat into roughly an 8" circle.  Sprinkle with remaining sugar and cut into 8 wedges (cut in half, then half, then half, then half) and transfer onto baking sheets.   For my Valentine ones, I made a little indentation with my floured finger at the top to create a heart-like shape.

Bake for 20 minutes or until brown on top.  Cool on a wire rack, and devour!

Dial "M" for Manual

This weekend I made a huge step in fulfilling my New Year's Resolution of learning to really use my DSLR camera; I learned to shoot photos using the Manual mode.

It's incredibly easy, despite being initially intimidated by that "M" on my Canon's dial.  Earlier this month, I was frustrated when noticing that photos taken with my point-and-shoot were looking so much brighter and more vibrant than the DSLR.  {Those of you who already have great photography skills  (I'm looking at you, Sheena), just bear with me here.}

While I don't think I have a problem with composition of photos, I am often disappointed about the quality of lighting in my shots, particularly indoor ones, since we live in a house with mostly North-facing windows.  I did have some understanding of exposure, however it often confused me, especially ISO (which still does).

I picked up a copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure at the library, which has been a great resource, as is this tutorial, which is a little more colloquial in its explanation of exposure.

On Sunday, I started fooling around with the camera using the tips I had read about.  What a mighty leap this has been for me, understanding what the former-jibberish on the camera's LCD panel means.  Understanding the light meter alone has been huge.

You might not be able to tell in the photo above, but I can.  It's so much brighter than my prior photos taken in the living room, though shooting two moving boys is challenging with slower shutter speed and a larger aperture (ie. plenty of blurred shots). I'm still learning though.

It's such an incredible feeling when you finally "get" something that you've wanted to understand for some time now, especially when you make a huge leap in that understanding. It's rare for that to happen; it seems like things like this usually take lots of time.  I'm even more eager to share my photos here in the upcoming weeks and months!

Totally Radical! Retro Big G Cereals at Target {Giveaway}

As a child of the '80s, I grew up on cassette tapes, Hanna Barbara cartoons, Atari and old-school Cheerios.  I'll admit, it wasn't a time of high fashion--in my opinion--and I nearly gagged (with a spoon, no less) when I saw the neon-colored women's accessories as I strolled into my local Target.  (Note to young buyers: you WILL blush with shame upon seeing photos of yourself wearing these years later).

However, another tastier retro item has recently taken up residence at Target, Big G cereals with 80s throw-back packaging, starting this month and continuing into mid-March.

Participating General Mills cereals include: Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Cheerios® (18 oz.) and Cocoa Puffs® (16.5 oz.), each with Atari-themed games on the back.  (Didn't you just love reading the back of the package while slurping down Cheerios as a kid? I sure did).

Speaking of Atari, did you know it's its 40th Anniversary this year? Be sure to check out GrocerySavvy.com and test your online Atari gaming skills at Asteroids while also entering in a sweepstakes for chance to win Target gift cards and Atari merchandise.  I sure would love to tackle Space Invaders and Pac-Man again.

WIN IT!

Are you ready to slide up to the 80s again at the breakfast table?  I have a little prize package for you to win.

• boxes of participating Big G cereals
• $10 Target gift card
• A free download for “Atari 80 Classic Games In 1”

To Enter
Visit General Mills and leave a comment about your favorite retro cereal or a fond memory from the 80s.
Extra Entries (you must complete the first mandatory entry before doing the extras.  Also, leave a separate comment for each one):
~Subscribe to my updates
~If you're a Fan of Katydid and Kid on Facebook leave a comment letting me know
~Follow @GeneralMills on Twitter and leave me your Twitter handle
~Follow @katydidandkid and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments. You can tweet once per day (leave a comment each day). You can copy and paste my tweet if you'd like: #WIN a #Retro BigG Cereal Prize pack+Target gift card from @GeneralMills http://goo.gl/fb/qrVsq @Katydidandkid #Giveaway #MyBlogSpark

You must do the first entry in order to enter ("I want to win, thanks!" comments will NOT be considered). You will have until Sunday February 26th at 11:59pmEST to enter. The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email.I'll also post the winners on my blog HERE. If I don't hear back from the winner within 24 hours, I'll pick another. 
Disclosure:  The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills, Atari and Target through MyBlogSpark.

Juice Box Robot Valentines {Tutorial}

Finally, my son is interested in something cool like robots.  Naturally, I'm going to exploit it as much as I can, first with Valentine's Day, then with his birthday party.  More on that to come, of course.

Since this is officially his first Valentine's party at a school, I wanted to make something fun to give to his friends.

I found some robot tattoo Valentines at the Dollar Tree, some robot bags in Target's Dollar zone, and thought I'd package them with something else.  Hmmm, what could it be?

Affirmative! It's a juice box robot.

Here's what you need:

Juice box | Candy (I used Hershey nuggets, smarties, starburst) | Googly eyes | Glue Dots or clear tape | Robot Valentine cards or tattoos | Red paper | Sharpie marker

Adhere the Hershey nuggets together to make the head.  Alternatively, you could use any other square candies.  Then stick them to the top of the box.

Add the googly eyes (mine thankfully were sticker ones, which made it easier).

Add some Smarties for arms (or any other long-ish candy, like Laffy Taffy) and stick on your card (in my case, the tattoos).

We added some Starburst candies for the feet, but you could also use them for the neck.

On the back, I added a little construction paper heart that said "I'm nuts and bolts about you!"

If you can't find robot-themed Valentine cards, you could always put the heart on the front with your child's name on it.

Here's the final result, a thirst-quenching friendly robot.

Cute, huh?  Definitely worth the extra time it took me to assemble 14 of these for the class.  I then stuck them in the cellophane bags, just in case any candy pieces came off.

I kinda wish adults did these sorts of exchanges.  Though I guess that's what husbands are for.  But moms are so much more creative!

Lazy Morning {this moment}

Still in pajamas, even at 11am.

I'm linking up to Soule Mama's "this moment" today.  Happy weekend friends!
({this moment}=A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.)