Foiled dividers

Heard of the minc machine by Heidi Swapp? If you’ve heard of it you know what this post about. If not…take a look at this video

the wonderful Jennifer Mcguire recaps foiling in a great way

Since I have a laminator, I had to give it a try. But getting a hold of foil paper was more expensive than I thought. There are so many beautiful colors to choose from…what color to choose? Well actually I wound up with another option. Instead of using the recommended foil paper, I used foil meant for nail design, since I had it laying around from an earlier nail project. And the results…really nice

This only works with toner printed so I printed a few transparencies with beautiful black and white patterns I found online. As I wanted to make new dividers for my planner, I cut them into size before foiling them.

With the hearts divider, I choose to make one heart in another color….so I added a silver heart…

Still waiting for a copper and turquoise colored foil for the last dividers. So still missing the last of my new dividers for my planner setup for 2017… Oh and I used these nail foils…bought of ebay of course…

- have you tried foiling with a laminator?
- what are your 2017 planner plans?

Now what to foil next?

Teddy playgroup

Last week I arrived at SweetieS’ wardrobe like a big question mark. At her in-door wardrobe hung a big bag with a teddy bear and a big binder with blank pages. On further inspection, the binder belonged to Teddy. After talking to the employees I found that Teddy is a bear that belongs to the kindergarten and every week a child is picked at random to take home Teddy. In his binder you/your child documents what you have been doing the past days.

When we came home DaddyO were like “did they get inspired from Peppa Pig?” I probably missed that episode…but here it is the episode if you are interested in getting some background info about the concept.

Needless to say SweetieS was pretty excited about getting Teddy home.

Luckily this weekend we had plans and we weren’t the most boring family in the word….SweetieS wanted a page for each day we had Teddy visiting. So 3 pages in total! Let us just say there were al ot of hand drawn flowers on each page…

- does your kindergarten have a mascot that your kid can bring home?

Some here and there

After being sick the past week I haven’t had time to write a post on the things I finished before I fell ill.

Been playing around with a new monthly layout in my planner… I’m just not happy with all the work I have to put in every month and the general layout. I posted about my previous monthly layout here. My new monthly layout is a fold-out version inspired by DIYfish. I used a monthly calendar scaled down for printing from timeanddate.com. (I just need to find a sticker of some kind to cover the timeanddate logo in the top left corner )

updated pictures of my new monthly layout

I see I haven’t posted about the change in my weekly layouts either…changed them a while back. So here is a picture of the layout I’ve been using lately…plain and simple.

last week

I changed the weekly layout when I found that I just needed more space to write. As an early (or late) Christmas/birthday for myself, I bought me an Polaroid zip printer. So now I can hopefully print some pictures to my weekly layouts and have more of a memory planner touch to my planner.

You can read more about the Polaroid zip here, and buy it here (Norwegian store).

Memory planners is a concept that is fairly like scrapbooking – document your memories on a daily/weekly basis. All who know me in person know I’ve been scrapping for a while. So memory planners are just up my alley. (I haven’t scrapped for a while now….ever since SweetieL was born the day just isn’t long enough to do all I want and still get enough sleep). Heidi Swapp has some beautiful memory planners. Lots of videos about memory planners on Youtube. Like this one(by Heidi Swapp herself) or this one (by Tiffany Julia, her blog here).

- how do you document your memories?

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Today the first snowflakes of Winter came falling down….late for a typical Winter in Norway. While most Norwegians start singing “det snør, det snør tiddeli bom” in my head I start playing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” by Johnny Mathis.

Getting in a Christmas mood…

Growing up watching Macaulay Culkins movie “Home Alone” EVERY Christmas has left its marks. Hearing this song got me into the Christmas groove and had me thinking of this years Christmas wishlist for the girls…so here goes! This year the list is in Norwegian, as it was put together by DaddyO (and I’m too lazy preoccupied to translate). I’ll try to add more as I think/come over more stuff we “need”…

Dec 3^rd – added more to the list
SweetieS

• Bukkene Bruse på Badeland, klaffebok 239,- (link Ark bokhandel)
• Bukkene bruse på Badeland, DVD 199,- (link Ark bokhandel)
• Bukkene bruse vender tilbake, innbundet 189,- (link Ark bokhandel)
• Fargeleggingsbøker (fargeblyanter?)
• 2-delt pysjer (str. 98-104)
• Fleecesett (str.98-104)
• Smykkeskrin, svart med to "lag" (link Zendi) 460.-
• Klokke 249,- (link Juvelen)
• Barnekniv/knivsett, 349 (link Brødrene Øyo)

BabyL 

• Jellycat Bashful Kanin, beige 219,- (link: kortogkos)
• Ullsett (str. 86/92)
• Fleecesett (str. 86-92)
• Smykkeskrin, svart med to "lag" (link Zendi) 460.-
• Gyngesau, 699,- Coop obs
• Chicco Animal cottage, 279,- (link Kozmos)
• Dyne, Junior str.
• IKEA gavekort
• Trunki koffert (link cdon) 359,-

DaddyO

• Dressokker (str 43)
• T-skjorter (str L) ensfarget
• Boksere (str L)
• Deo, type Hugo
• Bildekkoppheng, til fastmontering på vegg (link Biltema) x2 sett

MommyS

• Wink of Stella shimmer pen, clear (link: Bikuben) 69,-
• Smykkeskrin, svart med to "lag" (link Zendi) 460.-
• Twilight forever DVD set (link Amazon)
• Sjerf/sjal i ull, str 60x200 i nøytral farge (f.eks: Spennerigården)
• Johaug Åslia votter (link: Gmax) 399,-

R.I.P Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

I woke up this morning to the sad news of Mr. Lees passing. Although he passed peacefully in his sleep at the age of 91 years old the news kind of puts an end to an era. To all Singaporeans Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is THE father of modern Singapore, being the founding Prime Minister of Singapore…

For those of you who know me personally you know my family migrated from Singapore before I was born. But I still have strong family ties to Singapore and I visit as often as I can. Thank you Mr. Lee for building the Singapore as I have always known it.

For those of you who don’t know of Singapore and it’s history, you can read here.
Or even watch a 3 part documentary on youtube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Singapores current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held a beautiful speech when announcing his passing.

Transcription and translation is available on the PMO site, here.

Rest in peace Mr. Lee, you will never be forgotten.

Banana

A fun discovery we made this weekend. Banana crash as SweetieS called it. While watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood  on NRK Super they made a fun, frozen desert.

It’s as simple as 1-2-3…
Put a ripe banana in the freezer.
Using a blender, blitz for a few seconds – until you get the crumble consistency you’d like.
Enjoy!

I managed to snap a picture right before SweetieS chowed down…

I did however make some discoveries along the way.
- peel the bananas before freezing them (saves time waiting for them to defrost and then being able to peel them when putting them in the blender)
- use very ripe bananas (the sweeter the better)

Here @CasaR we always have bananas that we end up throwing away when they get so ripe that they feel to mushy to eat. This is a great way to use those bananas instead of wasting them.

Another tip for when you have overripe bananas, make banana bread. Here (from Det Søte Liv – it’s in Norwegian, but Google Translate should do a decent job translating) is a recipe I’ve used a lot.

- do you have any trick to overripe foods?

For those of you who don’t have any overripe bananas at hand..enjoy this vid…

just love these guys…

Goodbye 2014, hello 2015

Just a short post to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Take a moment to contemplate the past year and set goals for the new year.

 

New years eve was moderatly celebrated at CasaR with my best friend and her family. As all the fireworks create a lot of fog, there wasn't much to see at midnight. So I wrap this post up with a fireworks video I found on youtube.

from the great city of London, thanks to youtube

- what are your goals for 2015?

Catching up

The pregnancy has taken its toll on the joints of my fingers. So haven’t been sitting much in front of the computer lately.

Just dropping by to do some catching up…both on “reading” and blogging.

The other day I got a little gift from my sweet friends Lexipo…as a thanx for “washer time” – as their washer have been on the fritz and fixing it took forever. With two kids in kindergarten you CAN’T live without a washer.

the bake-it easy set by Porsgrund

Love this baking pan! You bake, cook, store and serve all in one pan. What’s not to love? You can read more about/buy it here.

Unwrapped and started using it today….my first baking project with this new pan? An apple cake for BabyS to bring to kindergarten tomorrow…thank you Lexipo for the great tasting receipt.

Yes! BabyS is turning TWO this weekend! It feels like yesterday I was holding her in my arms for the first time. Have been trying to catch up on some scrapping since I started my maternity leave. Looking back at pictures from the last two years, how much BabyS has grown and evolved into a little person with her own unique personality.

With the new baby arriving any day now I feel I should do some prep-work. With wardrobe, nursery, baby stuff covered I do feel like I’m ready for the new babys arrival. BabyS got lots of knitted blankets during my previous maternity leave…as I have had to sit a lot with my legs raised lately I started on a knitted blanket for the new baby. One he/she can call their own, not one that BabyS has had first…

this time around, diamonds…

Speaking of blankets…Now that this blanket has been given to it’s rightful owner, I can post a picture of it! A reversible stars and stripes blanket for a little prince.

have a feeling I’ve posted a picture before…

Now off to watch a YouTube video I’ve posted before (here)….that worked well for me!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Cancelled: End of…

…the World.

Well “They” were wrong…and today is December 22^nd. Which means TweedyBirds birthday! So Happy Birthday to me.

For me, today will be a family filled day with lots of family dropping by CasaR. Hmmm should I be baking a cake???

My new “best friend”

Breast feeding a baby is a fulltime job (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise). A few days in between she does require feedings every other hour (babies need more nutrition to grow ) and with rocking the baby back to sleep, my arms have had the work out of a lifetime.

In Singapore my family have always had a baby hammock hanging for all the babies that have gone thru their house. When we were in Singapore last year we bought one to bring back to Norway. And now we finally have use for it!! The rocking motion soothes the baby right to sleep…

Rock-a-Bye Baby

And here is a little lullaby to go with the rocking…

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all

Baby squawk

My sweet sister-in-law recommended a youtube video months ago, in preparation for the coming baby. I watched it then…and after Sophies arrival I watched it again.

Recommend everyone expecting a baby to watch it….helped me A LOT!

For those of you who don’t have time to watch the whole video, here is the essence:

1. “neh” – hungry (^w/sucking reflex)
2. “owh” – sleepy (oval shaped mouth)
3. “heh” – discomfort
4. “eair” – lower gas
5. “eh” – burp (air in the upper body)

It’s free…

Don’t know how many of my readers watch(ed) the Matt Groening series Futurama. but just have to share this little youtube clip when talking about free stuff

It’s free…

Being pregnant I have gotten a few tips from friends and family about the free stuff I should sign up for to the baby. So I thought I would share them here (sorry, but I think these are only available in Norway):

• Svangerskapsboken (I’ve mentioned this ‘journaling’ pregnancy book in an earlier post)
• Rimi barnepakke 
• Vitus apotek babypakke Babybaby
• Apotek1 babypakke Babybox
• Babyshop Sangenic nappy disposal system (you have to register in a Babyshop store as website is no longer available)
• Barnas hus Angel Care nappy disposal system
• Libero startboks (you need to register for the their club, but in return you get a starter package, @6months  you get an Up&Go starter package and @12months a birthday package)
• BAM trial package
• Goboken welcome package

Well I think that is it…I’ll do an update post as I receive my packages.

It's snowing!...again

Didn’t expect it would be snowing when I woke up this morning. It’s not many days ago since I posted about the first flowers showing up in my backyard. But living in Norway it’s not a total surprise…
Well with this kind of weather I guess I will be using our fireplace and curling up in the couch…and doing some crocheting. Hopefully I will done with the baby blanket I started on soon.

...feel warmer already...

To cut, or not to cut?

…that is the question I’m asking myself these days.

It’s been a while since I had my hair cut and now my hair is starting to show signs of wear and tear, breaking off easily and ends splitting up. Since it’s Easter almost everything here in Oslo is closed. So a visit to the hairdresser is out of the question. Since I haven’t had many great experiences with hairdressers in Oslo, I thought I would look into the option of cutting my own hair.

I took a look at cutting tips on Youtube and found the following videos:
http://youtu.be/f-GAilMmCqQ
http://youtu.be/hK1BcftdyaY
Both contained advice I found applicable to me…now the question I ask myself, to cut, or not to cut?

Luck of the Irish

With Paddies’s day just passed in the weekend I’m in an Irish mood. So when I came over a song I haven’t heard for a looong time, I thought I would share it with you…

It’s by The Corrs, remember them?

“Beannachtai Na Feile Padraig Oraibh” (Hope I got the spelling right…)

The Corrs - Buachail On Eirne

A walk down memory lane

Finally got my copy of Svangerskapsboken on my last check up at my midwife. Being this is my first time pregnant I got this book recommended from my sister-in-law (though she did recommended just about a library of books – this was just one of them). Svangerskapsboken is in Norwegian (so sorry to my non-Norwegian followers). In addition to giving information about what happens during a pregnancy week by week, it also has pages for filling in information acquired during check-ups/follow-ups and journaling pages.
So far I’ve written “everything” in a plain journal. By using this book I’ve noticed it’s way easier to track my pregnancy thru the weeks, connecting my notes to the information pages.
Today I started writing everything from my plain journal into Svangerskapsboken. And I realized that a lot has happened/changed with my body during these 29 weeks of my pregnancy so far. And according to all my friends who have been pregnant, more is yet to come…
Ole was nice enough to provide me with a little music while I wrote in the book. Using Wimp he shares music playlists with me. So I get to listen to music I haven’t heard in ages.
Remember this one?

RollerGirl–Dear Jessie

For those of you how want to get your own copy of Svangerskapsboken, it can be ordered here: http://www.goboken.no/Butikk/Produkter/Id/GBN80026783/ The publisher is out at the moment, but should get it in stock any day now (according to their customer support) PS: the publisher only ships to addresses in Norway.

Finally back!

Being sick the last few days have given me some time infront of the TV to do some catching up…

Today I saw the trailer for season 2 of Game of Thrones. Gonna miss Sean Bean as the head of the nobel Stark family.

So mark your calenders! April 1st 2012 the new season airs.

Here’s the trailer, linked from Youtube

For those of you who live in the US or can proxy thru the US, watch the full episodes on HBO Go

For the rest of us I guess we’ll have to wait until a local TV channel airs or the episodes are downloadable (shhhhh)