Bear Creek Lake Park

Andrew wanted to take Oliver for a hike, so we headed out for Lair of the Bear. On the way, we passed Bear Creek Lake Park. It's about four miles from our home, and we've been meaning to check it out to see what the campground is like. We decided to spend the afternoon there instead.

Unlike most parks and open spaces in Jefferson County, Bear Creek Lake Park had an entrance fee. It's $5 a carload, which isn't so bad. As we drove into the park, there were forested areas for hiking and picnicking. We went further in to Big Soda Lake, which advertised a swim beach. It was quite the place! There was a playground, a bike rental shop, beach volleyball, and a swim beach full of kids. Further down was a dock for boaters and a place to rent boats.

Oliver wasn't dressed for swimming, but I'd brought an extra outfit along just in case. Thankfully, I'd put sunscreen on him before leaving the house, too. Andrew took Oliver straight down to the water. At first, Oliver protested because he wanted to go to the playground. Once he discovered the rocks along the shore, his attitude changed for the better.

He found more rocks!

Quick family shot:

Dredging up rocks from the water to throw:

I had to get back in the shade! Here are more photos of my two wonderful guys:

Oliver loved it when Andrew dipped him into the water:

We were only there for about half an hour, but for a toddler, that was enough time! He came back happy and worn out. We peeled off his lake-water clothes and let him pee in the back of Andrew's car (in the potty, of course).

After getting settled back into the car, we drove to check out the campsites.

I was very disappointed to find out that the campsites weren't in the forested area. In fact, there was no shade around the tent area whatsoever. It was just prairie. That would be a hot, miserable, and public place to camp. All the tents were close to each other, too, which meant that if Oliver got fussy while camping, he'd disturb all of the other campers. Boo.

As we drove on, we found two yurts. One was in the sun, but the other was in a shaded area, away from the other tents. How cool would it be to rent a yurt? Andrew and I made a mental note to try it out one day! Maybe we'll do it next season when Baby Girl is with us.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 43: Pasta Play

Yesterday, I spent most of the day at my parents' house because we had relatives visiting. After Oliver's nap, my mom decided to give him a bunch of stuff from the kitchen so he could pretend to cook. She gave him a large bowl, a small bowl, a small appliance of some sort (I think a water boiler), some measuring cups, some spoons and dried pasta.

I have never seen my son so happy and occupied for so long. Oliver played chef for about an hour and a half. He scooped the pasta from bowl to bowl, had fun putting lids on and off, stirred it around, and just enjoyed himself immensely.

Today, I decided to reenact the scene from yesterday. When Oliver and I were at the store this morning, I purchased a box of rigatoni pasta. The noodles are wide enough to fit on fingers.

Once we were home, I poured out about 1/3 of the box of rigatoni into a bowl. I cleaned out the mostly-empty flour canister and put that on the floor. After surveying my appliances, I selected the food processor. I obviously didn't give Oliver the blades. I put that on the floor with the flour canister and added a pot with a lid and a cupcake holder. I grabbed a few spoons and whisks, and, then, I presented Oliver with the pasta.

Oliver was elated and got to work right away. He transferred pasta into the food processor. Sometimes, he'd take the lid off of the processor, and other times he'd put it down the food chute.

After twenty minutes (literally), I went and heated myself up a mug of tea. I kicked my feet up, relaxed, and watched Oliver play.

And Oliver kept playing. And playing, and playing.

We started our activity at 3pm. Oliver continued to play until dinner time at 6:30pm. I got to play with him a bit, relax, fold laundry, do dishes, make dinner and clean up after dinner. Oliver didn't want to leave his pasta. In fact, he had two accidents while playing! I can't remember the last time he had an accident while he was awake, but he had two while playing with the pasta. Oops! He didn't want to come to dinner, either, even though I'd made some pasta for him to eat. Throughout the entire meal, he kept begging to go back to the pasta. After dinner, I let him play until bedtime. Even then, he was unhappy to be leaving his pasta behind.

I can't believe how entertaining pasta is to my son. Typically, I consider an activity to be a good one if it keeps him happily occupied for twenty minutes. The fact that he played with pasta for hours is unbelievable. I give Pasta Play an A+, and I'd give it bonus points if I could!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 42: Make Hot Cocoa

Oliver and I took a walk along the creek early this evening. It was chilly enough that he needed a jacket, although he was upset at having to wear one. When we got back, I thought it would be fun to make him a hot cocoa. The idea got even better when I decided he could make it (mostly) himself.

I got out the Ovaltine and let Oliver take off the lid. I told him we'd do three scoops. I gave him the spoon and let him scoop as I counted. Most of it went into his mug.

After scooping the Ovaltine, Oliver twisted off the lid to the milk. I helped support the heavy carton as Oliver poured. Again, most of it got into the mug!

Oliver wasn't too interested in stirring the cocoa, so I stirred it as he worked on getting the lid back on the milk. We quickly cleaned up, and then I put the mug in the microwave. I held Oliver up to the microwave and let him shut the door. I typed in 20 seconds, and Oliver hit start. Once it was done (Oliver announced, "It's DONE!"), I stirred it again to ensure even temperature and checked to make sure it wasn't too hot. I gave Oliver the mug, and...

...he drank it!

Oliver doesn't like milk, so the fact that he drank the whole mug was amazing! We're lucky if he gets six ounces of milk a week, and here he drank a full six ounces in under five minutes. Oliver and Mom were very happy.

While not a good idea to get your kid hooked on sugary drinks, I think this is a very fun, occasional activity. I look forward to doing this again after spending time outside on another chilly evening. I give this activity an A-. While so much fun, it made a bit of a sticky mess and isn't good to do all the time.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 41: Handprint Mold

This past February, we made handprint molds of Oliver's hands. We sent one to Aunt Julie for a Valentine's Day gift.

While struggling to come up with an activity today, I decided to try handprint molds again. Last time, he was too little to do much with the molds. I wondered if it would be more fun for him this time. Here's what we made back in February:

There were a few recipes I found online. Here's the one I ended up using this time:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup salt
1 cup water, plus more as needed
food coloring (optional)

1. Mix the flour and salt together. Set aside.

2. Dissolve food coloring in water (I used 5 drops of green and got a very light, pale green).

3. Mix colored water into the flour mixture. Add more water as needed to achieve a dough consistency.

Once we had our dough, I let Oliver play with half as I smoothed the other half out by rolling it into a ball on the table. I rolled it out and helped Oliver smash his hand into it. Our first try wasn't a success because I didn't smash his hand firmly enough. We ended up doing three attempts. By the end, Oliver knew the routine, and he enjoyed rolling out his half of the dough and mashing his hands into it, creating a mosaic of handprints.


I used an upside-down bowl to cut out a circle shape on the one I wanted to keep. Then, I used a chopstick to create a hole on top for a ribbon later. Using a dead pen, I wrote Oliver's name and the year. The recipe says you can just let the print dry for 24 hours. I put ours in a 200 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 30 minutes to get it set. I'll let it continue to set for 24 hours so I don't mess it up.

This ended up being a lot of fun for Oliver. I don't know if he realized we were actually making something, but he enjoyed the process of mixing and rolling it out. He definitely had a good time. I liked creating a keepsake, and I plan on mailing the finished product to Andrew's grandma (Oliver's great-grandmother). All in all, it was a lot of fun for both of us. I give this activity an A!

MOMS Club at Weaver Hollow Park

Now that Oliver's more interactive, I really want to get him exposed to other kids. My plan is to attend more MOMS Club events. Sometimes, it's difficult because all the events seem to be around 10am or 11am, when Oliver is starting to wind down for his nap.

Early this morning, we decided to join another mom at Weaver Hollow Park. She had a daughter there who was turning three this fall. She was adorable and vocal. Oliver and the little girl were interested in each other and kept watching each other play, but they didn't directly interact or play together.

Here's my little man testing out the horse at Weaver Hollow Park:

Meatless Monday: Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

I have a confession. Even before I was a vegetarian, I'd never had crab or lobster or any shellfish. I have a memory from my childhood of my aunt sending my mom a box of live lobsters in the mail. It really freaked me out! A decade later, I treated my friend to lunch at Red Lobster, and seeing all the lobsters crawling around in the tank made me queasy.

That said, I can't tell you if these "crab" cakes taste like the real thing. I can tell you that they're delicious. There are lots of recipes available online for zucchini "crab" cakes. Some are more simple than others. If you want more protein, you can try adding pressed tofu (I haven't done this, but I image you'd have to add more bread crumbs if you added in tofu). If you want a variety of vegetables, you can use shredded carrot or thinly sliced mushrooms. Some recipes call for panko instead of breadcrumbs. The variations are endless. The simplest vegetarian crab cake recipe I've found is from allrecipes.com (link here).

My husband and I have made these cakes a few times. It's rare for me to be in the mood for fried food, but, when the feeling hits, these really hit the spot. The first time we made them (a year or two ago), Andrew was so excited about them that he told me he wanted to make them for his fish-loving brother.

We eat these cakes with our own variation of tartar sauce. It changes each time. I've mixed a little diced dill into Miracle Whip and used that. I've minced onion and added it to the Miracle Whip as the sauce. Usually, I just mix a little grainy mustard into Miracle Whip and serve up the "crab" cakes with that.

Finally, the nutrition information on this recipe will vary widely, depending on your frying technique and how much oil is absorbed. My nutrition information will only be a rough estimate. This dinner is low on protein, but it's very cost effective. Consider serving it with a bean salad to add some protein to the meal.

Vegetarian Zucchini "Crab" Cakes, serves 4

2 zucchinis, grated
1/4 cup onion, minced

1/4 cup celery, minced
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons Old Bay or Chesapeake Bay seasoning
3/4 to 1-1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup vegetable oil, for frying

1. Using a clean dish towel, squeeze the grated zucchini to remove any excess moisture.

2. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, onion, celery, egg, butter and seasoning. Stir in 3/4 cup bread crumbs. Slowly add more bread crumbs until mixture is dry enough to form into patties.

3. Shape zucchini mixture into eight patties. Dredge in flour.

4. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Fry patties until golden brown on both sides.


Per Serving:
Calories: Approximately 320
Protein: Approximately 6 grams
Cost: Approximately $1.25

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 40: Unwrapping Game

I took today's Unwrapping Game from The Toddler's Busy Book again. It's pretty self-explanatory. You take your toddler's favorite toys, wrap them up, and give them to him (or her) to unwrap and discover what's inside.

I wrapped up Oliver's stuffed monkey and Duplo dog toy when Oliver wasn't looking. When I handed the packages to Oliver, he inspected them and peeled the tape back a bit, but he quickly lost interest. Even with me prompting, "What's inside?" Oliver wasn't interested. Finally, I told him there was a dog inside of the package. That did it! Oliver immediately wanted the package to open. He got the dog out in no time:

After he got the dog out of the wrapping paper, Oliver wasn't interested in the other package. Nothing I said would motivate him to explore it and open it. Nothing, that is, until I told him Monkey was in there. Suddenly, the package was interesting. Here's Oliver opening up the package with Monkey in it:

In all, this game was OK. I give it a C grade. Oliver wasn't that interested in the activity, and so it seemed like a (slight) waste of effort and supplies. I don't think we'll play it very often, but I told my husband that it would be a good idea for us to play it before Oliver's second birthday party next month. Maybe with some practice before his party, he'll be able to open presents himself!

The Thirty Week Mark is Here!

Baby Girl and I have officially reached week 30! Week 30 is my B goal (reference from past blog). I was happy when I reached week 24 because that's when fetuses are viable. I'm even happier to reach week 30 because that's when babies who are born are able to do pretty well and have low-risk of long term side effects. It's good to know that, from this point forward, if I go into labor, our little one should be OK.