M2G Designs

Michelle — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:18:32 +0000

Funky shaking shamrocks

The below craft activity is simple and fast to make for St. Patrick day. This activity is a really good one for kids aged 4+ (they might need some help with some little parts). I made it today with my daughter 2+….she was very happy to help…and proud to wear her masterpiece!

Materials needed

Hair band, green felt, green pipe cleaners 60cm/24inch, scissors, plastic ribbon/ (green, orange and white the colors of the Irish flag) pencil and glue (I used my glue gun to attach everything but any strong glue should work). First cut 2 pipe cleaner pieces about 12 cm/ 5 inch in length. (I wrapped them around a pencil to create a spring effect.)

Next step, I cut a third piece of pipe cleaner approximately 20 cm/ 8 inch. Wrap this around the center of the hair band. My daughter helped with this. Put a small spot of glue on the end of each pipe cleaner and glue it to itself (to avoid any sharp parts from the wire). Remove the pencil from the inside of the wrapped pipe cleaner and glue it to the pipe cleaner on the hair band….guess who got to pull out the pencil!! Draw 2 shamrock shapes onto the felt and cut them out, and glue the shamrocks to the top of the pipe cleaners. Next, cut 6 pieces of plastic ribbon 20cm/8inch length and tie them to the top just under each shamrock. Funky shaking shamrocks.

St. Patrick’s Day 2010 – Germany

Michelle — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:20:03 +0000

It’s hard to believe we are here again, it seems so fast. It also feels like it was just the other day I was making shamrock cookies for T’s class in his Seoul school…http://www.eclcseoul.com/

This year I have two batches to make…for T at http://www.fis.edu and G at http://www.crazycaterpillars.com

….Well I have the shamrock t-shirts made…I was a bit ahead of myself and made them in January…well you do things when you have the time….well that’s my motto anyway…maybe this all comes from my years as a “brownie”.

This year in Munich there will be a big Parade; if you are nearby should be a fun day out http://www.st-patricks-day.com/st_patricks_day_parades_europe_germany.html

I am sure you might even find a nice little pup to have a pint in.

I am hoping to go to Mac Gowan’s Irish Bar in Oberursel http://www.macgowans.de/ for a pint and some “craic agus ceol” on St. Patrick’s evening…I am waiting to hear back from our babysitter…I think it might just be a wee bit late for the “2”.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

St. Patrick\’s Festival Parade, Dublin, Ireland

irish music 4 min 46 sec – 15 Nov 2008 www.youtube.com

Meat balls, (with hidden veggies & pecorino) & pasta

Michelle — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:43:53 +0000

Well sometimes in our house finding something that everyone will eat and can eat is a challenge. My son has a lot of allergies (Whole egg, cow milk, potatoes, pine nuts, well thats what we have discovered so far). My daughter seems to have a fear of all vegetables except broccoli!! so that has lead me down the road of creating new meals for the family…I am not the type to cook separately for all concerned..”.all for one and one for all” so to speak… below are some of my recipes and others….

Meat balls, (with hidden veggies) & pasta

(Serves 4)

250g minced beef

40g bread crumbs

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp tomato puree

Mushroom x 4 (Blended)

Skinned ½ courgette/zucchini (Blended)

20g grated pecorino cheese

Combine all the meat ball ingredients together and form into small ball shapes . If the mixture is too wet I add more bread crumbs. Fry the meat balls in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil until browned and cooked through and set aside on a plate.

Sauce:

425g canned tomatoes (blended)

1 cup water

1 onion blended

½ tsp worcestshire sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

Blend all ingredients and bring to a simmer add meat balls when cooked…serve with pasta

Enjoy!

Rainy days, snow days…just too hot days…

Michelle — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:02:49 +0000

What to do, what to do…..

Sometimes it is nice to give the kids an activity that they can do independently while you are getting something else done….

The below are some activities that T & G like to do independently while I am busy with work or preparing dinner. My children are 4 & 2 years so this activity might get a bit messy with younger ones. These are table top activities. Enjoy..

Ideas:

Hot & cold landscapes a sensory activity:

Materials:

2 basins, rice, flour, pasta, red lentils

Animals for warm and cool climates eg: lions, elephant, polar bears, penguins

Method:

Fill one basin with rice and flour about 5cm high and place the cold animals inside

Fill the other basin with pasta shapes and red lentils and place the warm animals inside

Water world:

T & G both adore water so …

Materials:

2 basins, water, water animals, food coloring, bubbles

Method:

Place some newspaper on the table and put the basins on top (less to clean upJ)

Fill the basins with some warm water, and add the water creatures. Food coloring or bubbles can be added for fun…

I always stay near to them when they are doing these activities…just in case…thank you to Adam Osborne for inventing the laptop.

Hello again

Michelle — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:47:16 +0000

Well I know I have been absent for awhile…but I have a reasonable excuse.

We relocated from Seoul, South Korea to Konigstein Im Taunus
, Germany this autumn…and let’s just say it has taken some getting used to for all of us… especially for my eldest T…he had a hard time settling into school and our new home. My main focus was on the children and getting them resettled.

“Love & Logic” great parenting books…check them out http://loveandlogic.com

I can honestly say this one is a help when it comes to raising kids. I have read a lot of books on parenting of late, as we are right in the middle of “the terrible 2’s” with G…and gosh boys and girls are so different..my, my.

But, I am happy to say I have been working away in the background on various projects now I just need to get organized and upload new images and ideas.

As I sit here typing this, I can see a few glimpses of green peeking through the snow that has engulfed us this winter. It never fails to brighten my day when I see the crocuses and daffodils getting ready to emerge from their winter slumber…and it is truly amazing to see how much growth went unnoticed while they were all covered with their thick white blanket. It has been a long hard winter, enjoyable and lots of fun was had in the snow but I am ready for Springtime, longer evenings, brighter mornings and new life.

A bad/good hair day?

Moira — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:28:13 +0000

Five Green Banannas

Michelle — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:11:00 +0000

So far I have read two of the short stories…very enjoyable…I have after an absence started to make time for reading…Now each evening I am having some time for me and my book….I recommend this one very nice to pick up…each chapter in the collection is written by a different author and all done online…the authors have never met…what an interesting world of technology we live in.

Websites,50 of the best according to TIME

Moira — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:06:34 +0000

Just found Time magazines 2009 list of the 50 best websites. Some of my favourites are in there, Facebook, Flickr,Skype Wikipedia,Etsy to name a few. I also really liked Kiva ” Kiva links “micro-bankers” like you and me with screened “micro-preneurs” in the developing world”. My favourite was Supercook. “Open your fridge and pantry, type the ingredients you have into the site’s search bar and stand back. Supercook will look through its database of 300,000-plus recipes and spit out the ones that match. The result? You can start cooking right away”.
You still need cook the meal, but it gives great idea’s if you do not feel like doing the meal planning.

The Upside of Down

Moira — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:58:15 +0000

While in town yesterday, we accidently came upon an exhibition that stopped us in our tracks. “The Upside of Down” is a spectular and beautiful collection of photos by Eva Snoijink. The photos are dispersed through the fountains at Spui. The noise of the water brings even more life, expression and feeling to the exhibition. It’s breathtaking.

Communication…new media versus snail mail

Moira — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:52:51 +0000

Do you like letters, postcards, stamps and notepaper, or are you up to date with all the new social media? And more comfortable with “tweets”, blogs, facebook and all the different ways we can communicate ? A recent article in Time magazine profiles some companies that offer the perfect solution to users of both the “old” and “new”communication methods. Whatever your preference, its a great idea.