Bake like a chef Cake pop machine review

You might have seen the new craze  of making cake pops  or even tried some of the DIY or silicone bake methods. Your not a lone and yes I know what your thinking, OMG it’s a lot of work  or what a was it doesn’t work. Well I’m glad to say I got the opportunity to use a  Bake like a chef cake pop machine (www.bakelikeachef.co.za)  and its fabulous . Quick and easy and I’m now cooking everything I  can in a snack size ball.

The cake pop machine brings the easy fun and delicious cake pops and pop treat trend into your very own kitchen. It is much cleaner, quicker, and healthier, too.Its easy to use and only takes 4minutes a batch to create 12 perfect little spheres, yip that’s right 4 minutes. All you need to do is mix up your favourite recipe or use one of the fantastic ones provided, pour, bake and decorate. Is so simple, it takes four easy steps: mix, pour, bake and decorate!

 The cake pop machine is useful for parents that need to bake their kids treats for a class party, quick snacks or those last minute bake sale  that just pop up.  The use or endless , its so great I even make savory snacks in it.

My daughter a little to young to bake , so I tried with a 6year family member. Oh what excitement there was , as she dressed the part the excitement and her smile grew and how cute she looked.  It was a painless baking experiences I must say and she loved it . Form mix the ingredients to pouring the mixture into the holes in the machine (this was the stressful part for me as one has to keep an eye out as the machine is hot like a sandwich maker). The super fun part of course was the icing and decorating of the pops…super messy but fun.

I jotted down some tips to help with baking with kids: 

•Let them dress the part

•Keep it up beat

•Keep it simple

•Try and do everything at there level

•Make sure you are relaxed and  good mood

•Keep deco choices to one or two

•Clean up as you go

•If they young or toddlers prepare the ingredients for them so all they need to do is pour into 
bowl and mix them

•Tastes test as you go

Just remember to have messy fun and create fun memories ! The memories will last much longer then the mess. 

You can get your cake pop machine for R180 from www.bakelikeachef.co.za or from there online store

 

#CarseatFullstop - better safe than sorry

http://www.carseatfullstop.org

After traveling this weekend, i noticed that there are still a large number of parents traveling with there babies or kids not in car seats. And to make it worse most of them are sitting on laps of an adult. The other fact that i released on speaking to mom's most of them still don't understand the in's and out's of car seats. So i decide to help spread the word of  #carseatfullstop campaign.

Most parents and family members don't seem to know what the legal requirements for driving with a child in the car? I found that the AA website   had one of the easier reads on the law of car seat

The National Road Traffic Act does not have a specific regulation in respect of children sitting in the front seat.

A baby should be in an approved and preferably rear-facing child seat.  Older children (15-25kgs) should be secured in a booster seat with a seatbelt on, preferably in the rear of the vehicle.

We at the AA recommend that a child is always properly restrained with a car seat or booster seat until the child can safely be secured by the seatbelt.

However, the regulation deals with seatbelts in respect of age categories.  Road users are broken down into the following categories: 

1. Children are defined as being between the age of 3 to 14 except where the person is taller than 1.5 metres
2. And adult is defined as being 14 and over or taller than 1.5 metres tall. 

The Act requires that an adult must at all times make use of a seatbelt. The only exception under these circumstances where an adult may be exempted from using a seatbelt is where there are no seats with fitted seatbelts available. (This refers to older vehicles that weren’t manufactured with rear seatbelts).

It is the obligation of the motorist to ensure that where there is a child restraint available (car seat / booster seat), a child must be securely seated in it.  The Act further requires that where there is no child restraint available in the vehicle then the child must be secured in a seatbelt. In other words, in the case of an older vehicle with no seatbelts at the back the child must be restrained in a seatbelt at the front.

The Act is silent as to the minimum weight for a child to sit in the front seat of a car.

 
#CarseatFullstop is sponsored by Volvo Cars. You can download the free Children and Cars Manual here.

So safe travels and don't forget to follow #carseatfullstop campaign  

How to entertain baby from 8 months to 12 month

Gone are the days when your baby stayed put where you placed them , most babies are now crawling, rolling or walking. Making entertaining them both more fun and difficult as its more work. Not only are you entertaining but having to baby proof and watch everything your little mover and shaker does.

Things i did to help keep my little one stimulated and busy:

• Blocks - let them build or breakdown them down
• Stacking cups - let them build or breakdown them down
• Thread items on string
• Put stuff in tin- i took my formula tins made holes in the lid and got her to post lid bottles or straws in.
• Throwing and kicking ball
• Water table

•        Push ribbons into the neck of  a bottle and pull out again. 

•        Sensory bag with hair gel or gelatin in a zip log bog. Add other small objects, such as googly eyes or sequins, if desired. Tape it to the window to explore in the sunlight.

•       Sensory foam with dish washing liquard and a little bit of water and food coloring in a food processor. Put on a tray to explore! 

•        Bubble magic : most babies are fascinated by bubbles. Sit your baby in a bouncy chair and blow bubbles around her. See how she follows the bubbles with her eyes as they float down. (be careful it slippy)

•        Texture bucket : Fill a bucket with cellophane cut into strips  and let them play with it – just watch that they don’t eat it .  You can also hide toys for them to find. 

         Have fun and enjoy your little mover and shaker