Switch it Up: How to Entertain Your Kids in the Dining Room

As a chef, I'm always in the kitchen trying new recipes. As a mother of twins, I'm always looking for new ways to balance my time and keep my girls entertained. Over the years we've had to get creative. Instead of always going back and forth between cooking in the kitchen and checking on the girls in the playroom, we came up with something fun (and efficient). Occasionally we turn the kitchen into the playroom.

I know what you're thinking — how's it possible to do both? Well, our kitchen and dining room are combined in an open area, so while I'm busy baking the girls are close by. I can easily come play while waiting for the yeast to rise or oven to preheat. Instead of the usual coloring and crafting, here are five fun activities we do in our dining room. 

Create a Fort

Using old quilts, heavy dictionaries and flashlights, one of our favorite activities is to transform the kitchen table into a fort. The dictionaries keep the blankets in place and hold flaps open for easy door access. Though, I prefer to take it down before dinnertime, we've been known to keep the fort up for days at a time. It turns into a reading nook for us to curl up and tell stories. 

Take Your Turn: It's a Table-Tennis Tournament

Rectangular dining room sets are better than oval-shaped ones, but we've made use of both over the years. Using simply two paddles, a small ball and something to act as a divider, turn the table into a ping-pong court. Before we had a small net we made a line using plastic cups to mark the middle of the table acting as a net. No one (besides family) would know it, but posted inside one of my kitchen cabinets is a running tally of our matches. 

Completely Devoted to Finishing a Puzzle

A few times a year we'll take a week and devote the whole kitchen table to a giant puzzle. The whole family gets involved and we'll spend hours working on it each day. We only have a week, so it keeps us motivated to finish, but not so overwhelmed that we burn out before its completed. Plus, everyone seems to like spending mealtime cross-legged in the family room — Moroccan style! 

Theater Puppet Show

One of our crafting projects in the past was to decorate a cutout-cardboard box and make it into a puppet stage. The girls will use socks, dolls and sometimes anything they find around the house to act as stars in the show. Before the box, we'd just drape a blanket across the table for them to hide behind while lifting their arms to put on the show. I often record the show so when the girls get tired they can watch their performance. 

An Outdoor-Indoor Picnic

Especially when its cold and rainy, we like to move the table, lay out a blanket and have a picnic in our dining room. This is relatively easy for us because our kitchen table is so light, but for homes with heavier furnishing you may want to find another room to play in. Equipped with all the familiar favorites, I pack a basket filled with sandwiches, chips, bite-size fruit and lemonade. We tell stories and lie on our backs pretending to find shapes in the ceiling and walls. We've made some fun memories, and the girls will play there for hours after dinner. 

Author Bio : Carolyn Briggs is a pastry chef and mother of twins, Carolyn shares her helpful tips for making healthy and delicious meals that your kids will love and that you won't stress over preparing.

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Top 5 Things to Look for When Hiring a Professional Photographer

Hiring a professional photographer has so many advantages that people are willing to invest in it just for the quality services. A professional photographer brings with him not only his experience and knowledge, but also lessens your worries. This is because you are relieved of thinking about the intricate details of photography whereas if you hire an amateur photographer, you would have to worry about everything continuously.

It is important that you hire the perfect Chicago photographer. The following points will help you –

1. Experience In Photography – People assume that photography is just picking up a nice camera and clicking. It is, of course, much more than that. Photography is an art which gets better with practice and experience. A simple camera can give you brilliant results if you know how to use it properly. Thus, when you look for a professional photographer, always judge him by his experience in the field. An experienced photographer would have a much better grasp on the finer points of photography than an inexperienced one.

2.   Photography Equipment – The stress is not just on quality equipment to take pictures. A professional would always be prepared for calamities and unforeseen events like last minute fault in equipment and other similar things. There must always be back up cameras and memory drives to make sure that such mishaps are taken care of in advance. Not only that, if you hire an amateur and their equipment fails to work, your entire day would be lost along with the memories you want to preserve.

3.   Capturing Emotions – In an event, there will be a range of emotions that the photographer will get to see during the day. As a professional, their job is to remain as cool and detached as possible while capturing these. Also, it is pretty difficult for amateurs to distance themselves from the field of action and they might get too involved in the proceedings and that shown in their photography. Most professional photographers would even make you calm with their professional and controlled attitude.

4.   Professional Coordination – An event is divided into many sub events and they all have different requirements from a photography point of view. A professional photographer will review the entire program schedule in advance and make sure everything is taken care of. Also, there are places where cameras and photography is not allowed and special permission has to be taken. Only a professional photographer can ensure these technical things.

5.   Educational Qualifications – A professional photographer would always have a degree in photography. You should never hesitate in asking them about their qualifications. Also, check their portfolio before you hire them. Some people pursue photography as a hobby. This doesn’t mean that they are worse than people with proper qualification but a formal degree is always preferable.

It is true that it might cost you a bit more than normal but hiring a good photographer always pays in the end.

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Buying Guide for an Electric Shower

When you are looking to update your bathroom, one of the options you will have is an electric shower. Many homeowners are finding that electric showers are not only a beautiful addition to their bathroom, but they can also provide some additional comfort when installed properly. Before buying any of these lavish options though, you will want to take a moment to look over some key points.

As you may be aware, the shower is going to be a vital part of your bathroom. This is one of the reasons why you must take the time to put some though and effort into the buying process. While you could simply choose any basic system to install, you are going to discover that the extra time and effort you spend on choosing this unit is going to be worth it.

When you begin to explore your options for an electric shower, pay close attention to more than just the cost of the unit. There will be things like water pressure, heating and other items that are going to have more of a bearing on your overall experience. Additionally, keep in mind that not all models of electric showers will work in all bathrooms; some do have size and spacing requirements that you will need to be able to meet.

The Power Rating

Typically, the electric shower options you will find are going to have a pair of power ratings. The first will be 8.5 KW, while the second will be 10.5 KW. This number is important, because it reflects the wattage it uses to heat the water that it will spray. The higher the number, the quicker it will be able to heat the water in the pipes. Typically, a 10.5 KW unit will be able to heat water in just a minute, while 8.5 KW will heat your water in a matter of minutes.

Water Pressure

The next thing you will want to look for when you are browsing electric showers will be the water pressure they offer. While traditional showers are dependent on local water pressure, you will find that the electronic unit can help to boost pressure to ensure that you are able to maintain a strong and steady stream of water.

Wiring
If you have an existing electric shower in place, you will need to ensure that the wiring is the same as the old model. However, if you are installing a unit for the first time, it is important you understand that the power rating you choose to install will be the standard for any future electronic showers you choose to install in the same space. When you have decided on the wiring, be sure you hire a trained electrician to handle the installation as improper installation can have deadly results.

There is no denying that an electric shower can be an exceptional investment for your home. Make sure you take the time to explore all the options you have and choose the best electric shower you can afford.

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A Niece's Birthday

We're at our hut. Kids wore blue jean pants :)

Hanna, the birthday girl. Hope the best for her.She wore blue jean pants too :)

The blue restaurant sign, blue kid toys and my blue striped hat :)

Last Sunday, we had a family lunch to celebrate Hanna’s birthday. The lunch was held at a seafood restaurant (Gubug Udang, Cibubur, West Java, Indonesia) that has watery view. Suits with the name, Gubug Udang or Shrimp Hut, the restaurant offers various shrimp dishes. We like most dishes that we ordered.    

The restaurant was full of visitors. My SIL has booked the place earlier; we're able straightly to the reserved table. There are many people who's waiting for their turns. Some visitors wore blues.

Blue Monday

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