Author Archives: danielleridgway

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About danielleridgway

Momma to an angel and a rainbow. Journeying through grief, parenting after loss, and living life one day at a time. Want to hear more from me? Follow me on Instagram: @greyskies.rainbowhighs If you have any other questions or anything else, just let me know. Thanks for reading!

Backyard Mint Mojito

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One of my favorite parts of having a backyard garden is making new recipes! Since my mint is sort of taking over, I needed to find something quick.

A mojito sounded like the perfect drink for my little problem.

I’ve never made a mojito at home before, but I figured I’d try! After seeing how easy it was, I’ll definitely be making it again.

Here’s the ingredients you’ll need:

  • 10 mint leaves
  • 1/2 lime juiced or 4 ounces
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • 2 ounces of white rum (I used lime flavored)
  • 3 ounces of seltzer
  • Ice

The first thing you need to do is collect your mint! You can get some at stores or in your backyard. This is what I’ve been working with lately…

My little garden smells so good, but it’s a lot of mint. I cut off two stems. They gave me the perfect amount of leaves and there’s still a ton of mint left.

After you figure out your mint situation, the fun begins.

The first thing you need to do is muddle your mint. I personally don’t have specific bar equipment, but I’m guessing it’d be easier. Honestly, I used the back of my spoon and it seemed to work pretty well.

Then, add your muddled mint, lime juice, rum, and simple syrup in a glass or cocktail shaker with ice. Again, I didn’t have a cocktail shaker, but I shook them with a glass and plastic cup.

It worked so I’m pretty impressed with my ingenuity.

Then, strain your mojito mixture in a glass filled with ice. Top the rest of it off with seltzer. After, you can garnish with extra mint or a lime wedge.

After you’re all done, enjoy it!

I love the taste of mint, so I added extra in there. It ended up tasting amazing, especially after letting it sit for a little bit before I drank it. It just tasted extra minty.

Hopefully I’ll be able to try and make a mint julep sometime this summer too. I have more than enough mint to experiment with! Once I find a recipe that I love, I’ll share it on here. Fingers crossed it goes as easily as this Backyard Mint Mojito.

Let me know what your favorite summer drink or refreshment is in the comments. If you tried this recipe, tell me how yours tasted too!

Enjoy!

Looking for some other tasty summer drinks, try these too!

Celebrating Fathers with a Fatherless Daughter

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Simplicity of Grace

‘A mama, a papa, and a baby.’

My two-year-old says as she brings me three different sizes of stuffed animals. This concept of family, what a family is supposed to look like is new to her. After a few movies, she’s realized our little mother-daughter unit is not the same as her favorite characters.

Being a single parent, I didn’t think we’d have conversations like this for a long time. I tell her some families have a mama and a papa, others just have a mama or a papa, or some have two mamas or two papas. And no matter what a family consists of, all that matters is the family’s love and happiness. A lot of that information goes over her head and she reverts back to her mama, papa, and baby pretend play.

As I sit and watch her play like this, I worry about her future and if she will think it’s negative she doesn’t have a ‘dad’ in her life. I think she’s happy with just the two of us, but moms always worry.

With Father’s Day nearing and with my daughter noticing talk of dads, my worry for my fatherless daughter has increased… until I realized family is so much more than a mama, a papa, and a baby.

Through this journey of motherhood, I realize ‘father figures’ are not always biological dads.

My daughter is impacted every day by men in her life that choose her. By widening the scope of what makes a family, she has never missed out on having a ‘dad.’ She has a grandpa who protects and plays with her. An uncle that chases her around and helps her fix things that are broken. A great-grandpa that makes sure she has everything she needs and cheers her on. There are countless of other ‘uncles’ who watch over her, ask about her days, and continually want the very best for her. She might not be ‘theirs,’ but there isn’t a shortage of love and fatherly influence.

So on this Father’s Day and every day, I want to say thank you to all of them for showing my daughter what a dad is supposed to look like. Thank you for choosing her when hers wouldn’t. She has soaked that impact up more than I could have ever imagined.

Thank you to the dads the make a difference in their children’s lives and the others that aren’t theirs too.

To my daughter and other children who don’t have involved fathers, I hope you see that there are so many that love you and want the best for you. A family isn’t just a mama, a papa, and a baby, but a group of people who pick each other and support them unconditionally.

Originally published on Newsymom.

Road Trip Tic Tac Toe

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Ever since I’ve been a little girl, we’ve been on vacation for Memorial Day weekend. One way to make the road trips go faster were games.

I love that family has been able to take the same trip with Mila too. Besides last year of course. It’s so sentimental that I get to see Mila enjoy the same place I did growing up. Plus, she LOVES the beach.

I was a little nervous for the road trip with a three year old, so I remembered our games. This year, Mila has been into tic tac toe, so we made it road trip friendly!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A baking sheet
  • Bottle/milk caps
  • Washi tape
  • Magnets
  • An amazing road trip!

This is a simple activity to put together. Let’s just say you’ll have more time teaching your toddler the game.

All you do is put a tic tac toe board with washi tape on the baking sheet.

Then, use peel and stick magnets to put on the inside of caps. This way they can easily stick on your tic tac toe board without you losing them! You can also use other magnets with a hot glue gun.

After that, it’s time to play!

We used a mason jar to keep all the caps in one place, but you could just as easily slip the whole baking sheet in the back of the seat.

This was so easy to use in the car. It withstood passing it back and forth with my crazy toddler.

I also loved that we were able to reuse bottle caps and didn’t have to buy a special board. Once we’re done with it, I’ll just take the tape off, wash it, and clean with the baking sheet again.

Although, I think it might be tricky to take away from her since she likes the game so much!

Let me know in the comments what games you played during your family road trips? Do you kids like different ones?

Toddler Activity: Ice Cream Bonanza

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With the temps steadily increasing, Mila keeps asking about one thing for breakfast: ice cream. To make her ice cream dreams come true, we had an ice cream bonanza (after lunch) to celebrate life.

I mean… there doesn’t need to be any reason to eat ice cream, but we had to make it special. They’re only three and this excitable once!

The first step was to make an ice cream charcuterie board!

We used all our favorite ice cream toppings for this. M&Ms, Oreos, strawberries, whipped cream, and of course sprinkles. Plus a little more too. Mila was shocked this whole board was for her!

Good thing she didn’t eat everything off of it. That would have been a fun sugar rush.

After she was satisfied with her dessert, we opened up her new Little Bookish Wardrobe box. We’ve been subscribed to this monthly box since last year! It’s a great way to add to your library. Plus, it comes with a dress up outfit AND a few activities to do too.

This month’s book was Izzy: The Ice Cream Fairy by Make Believe Ideas. It’s an adorable book that Mila had so much fun reading.

The story is set at a beach. Izzy and the ice cream fairies run out of ice cream. So, they go on a trip to find more. So much drama! Mila’s face throughout it was hilarious.

Honestly though, the best part of our whole bonanza was seeing Mila dress up as an ice cream fairy.

She thought her dress up outfit was perfect for the day.

After the book, we did the activities on the card. She also answered all my ice cream related questions, which made me happy.

Apparently her favorite ice cream is vanilla. Sprinkles are her favorite topping. She loves the ice cream from The Tusky Dugout and Dairy Queen. Cookies do NOT go on ice cream, but they’re good to snack while you’re eating it.

I love three.

Have you ever had an ice cream party for your toddler? What’s your favorite type of charcuterie board? Sweet or savory? Let me know in the comments.

Toddler Activity: Backyard Scavenger Hunt

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Being outside is a staple in Mila and I’s life. Everyday, we explore our backyard and the world around us. To keep the fun going, we love to do mini backyard scavenger hunts.

We’ve done this before by finding different colored objects. It’s great for color recognition, but sometimes can be hard to find all the colors.

To switch it up a bit, we got really specific with our latest hunt.

If you’d like to do this activity and prep, all you need is a scrap piece of cardboard or paper to write down the different items. Then, just get outside!

For ours, I wrote down different items that I knew were in our yard. I ended up drawing little pictures of the items too because Mila can’t read. It helps her see the words, but also understand what she needs to get too.

We set up a home base for the cardboard to stay, then she went on her search.

She’d point and say which item she was going to go get. Then she went on her way. It was fun watching her pick out the items.

I could have sworn she’d get a handful of dandelions, but came back with a little white flower instead. Her rock also made me laugh the first time because it was so big. Then the second time she did it, she found a really small one.

I love activities that get her outside and thinking. We could have had different items on this and will most likely expand too.

Other items could be leaves, dirt, bug, and maybe a random object. Or you could do a specific count on the items. Such as, find five rocks and three flowers. The opportunities are endless!

Mila actually did this for a little while. It was nice to just sit and work on my computer as she found the different items. We’ll definitely be using different scavenger hunts all summer long since she loves them so much!

What items would you have your child find in your backyard?

My Everlasting Flowers.

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I always dreamed of Jensen picking flowers for me. We’d have a house filled with dandelion and wildflower jars.

Although I do have a house like that now, it’s not from Jensen. Mila brings as much love as she does flowers into our house. Our life is happy, but we will always be missing a piece.

For a long time, I’ve wondered how I could get the dream of flowers from Jensen. Then I got a random tattoo.

After that tattoo, I talked to the tattoo artist about Jensen and how I’d love a bouquet of forget-me-not flowers on me. I wanted to always carry them, just like how he always walks with me.

So, we scheduled another tattoo session.

In a couple hours, I have my flowers picked by my Jensen. Every time I see blue forget-me-nots, I think of him. Now when I look at my arm, I think of him and the countless amounts of flowers he’ll have for me.

It felt a little radical to get a tattoo on my forearm that can always be seen, but I love it.

He and these flowers are a part of our story.

Most of my tattoos are in remembrance of Jensen. I love knowing that even though he’s not physically with us, I can always see him in my body. No matter if it’s on my foot, wrist, or arm, I can always catch a glimpse of him.

By the way, Mila likes this tattoo way more than the one on my ankle. She loves counting them and telling me how blue is for her brother.

What’s your favorite tattoo that you have? Or if you don’t have one, what would you get if you did?

Toddler Activity: Fruit Flower Art

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Two of our favorite parts of spring are the flowers and fresh fruit! Since we love playing with our food, we were inspired to paint our favorite spring things.

Mila has painted with different foods before. It’s always fun watching her experiment with how the paint works with random objects. Even more fun, is how it all turns out at the end.

For this project, we ate a fruit salad for breakfast and then used the tops for her artwork. It was a way to reduce waste and be creative all in one.

Try saving some of your fruit scraps and try this flower painting out.

Here’s all you’ll need:

This activity is really simple to set up.

All you need to do is prep your fruits, get a painting space, and pour paint. Your child will figure out the rest as they paint.

For Mila, I asked her if she wanted to paint flowers and we looked at the ones in our yard.

Since we practiced the parts of flowers, she kept telling me which part of the flower she was painting. It’s amazing how much little ones remember! She also kept telling me the apples made bigger flowers and the strawberries made smaller ones.

I absolutely love watching the world Thats in her head come alive on a canvas. She’s always telling a story when she paints too.

We make sure to ‘sign’ and date the back of every painting she does. One day I’ll need to get a huge storage box for all of her paintings. For now, they’re decorated all throughout my house.

With these paintings, you can have your child paint whatever they’d like. Mila just loves flowers and it’s perfect for springtime.

I think she did an amazing job!

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever painted with and what do you think Mila and I should try next?

If you’re into playing with your food, but just prefer eating it, check out these recipes from other mamas. I’m sure you’ll love them!

Toddler Activity: Birdhouse Motel

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Mila and I love watching birds in our backyard. After making DIY bird feeders, we thought it’d be fun to expand their spot on the tree. We created what I like to call a little birdhouse motel.

If you didn’t know, birds hold a special place in my heart. They remind me of Jensen and whenever I see a red or blue bird, I feel as if it’s him saying, “hello mom!” There are also birds on his urn. For some reason, his urn called out to me. It felt like it was a freeing image and after that, birds just felt right to celebrate him with. With that being said, we really welcome them in our backyard.

I’ve been looking at different birdhouses to purchase, but have been so busy I’ve forgotten to order one. Thanks mom brain! When I last went to the dollar store, I found two little kits, so I had to buy them. Then I figured we could reuse something at home too.

Not everything has to look perfect or expensive, it still turns out cute when made with love.

Here’s what we used for our birdhouse motel:

As I said before, if I could do this again, I probably would have ordered a different birdhouse kit. Yet, this one worked out perfectly because it wasn’t so big that Mila lost interest.

For the kits, I followed the instructions on the back of the package.

Honestly, I threw away the wood glue and went straight to my hot glue gun. It went a lot quicker! If you’re up for the challenge and have the patience, you could try the wood glue.

After the hot glue was dried, Mila and I each painted one of the mini birdhouses.

She wanted to pick out the colors and of course chose purple and pink. They’re truly her go to colors! It makes me laugh that most of the crafts and artwork in our house are bright and girly. Let’s hope the birds like it too!

While Mila continued to paint her birdhouse (which she did all by herself!), I cut out a big chunk of the juice carton and then washed it out. I also cut two holes across the top to pull string through to hang. It would have really helped if I had done this before I painted, but… I forgot!

Afterwards, I ended up painted it black (against Mila’s wishes) with a purple little heart on it. When it was dried, I pulled the string through and tied a knot.

When the kits were done, I also tied the string and hung them all together.

Mila went to find some grass, small sticks, and a little bit of bird seed to welcome in our new friends. It was so cute seeing which objects she thought the birds would like. If I were them, I’d feel right at home!

I can’t wait until we can get more birdhouses and maybe do another DIY.

These two were simple enough for us to do it in an evening. As she gets older, we can definitely do more complicated things. For now, she’s in love with our birdhouse motel. I am so proud of how well she painted and worked on her little project.

Now we get to wait to see who decides to move in and benefit from the motel. Hopefully different types of birds will visit and maybe even a bluebird or two. Fingers crossed!

What’s your favorite type of bird? Let me know in the comments.

If you love birdhouses and want some other inspiration to do a DIY one, check out what these moms have done.

Weird Things My Toddler Does: Part 15

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Welcome to another issue of “Weird Things My Toddler Does.” From the previous 14 parts, we can definitely see that my toddler (like most) is pretty weird. I guess that’s what makes them so much fun.

Mila has taken her weirdness to the streets this time.

With all her shoes and outfits, she has decided to make a twist on what goes together. No, it’s not making weird clothing choices, it has to deal with her shoes. More specifically, crocs.

At this point of being three, Mila has thrown out everything she’s known about wearing shoes. Instead of mimicking the adults around her by wearing matching shoes, she has decided that the perfect outfit centers around one glitter croc and a blue one.

Seriously. Everywhere we go she has to wear this combination.

At the zoo recently, the other parents took notice. They asked if she dressed herself and one even asked if we had lost the other ones. Politely, I just said, “that’s what she wants to wear.”

Although it’s so weird, it was easy to point her out when she went down the slide. Or when I was scanning when she was playing up on playground equipment and I could only see feet, there were the mismatching crocs. I guess her weirdness helps in that way.

Plus, it’s not really conducive to fight about something that goes on her feet. If it makes her happy then that’s what we do.

I think the funniest part of all is she is adamant that these are the feet the mismatching has to go on. She refuses to change it up. The blue has to be the left foot and the glitter on the right.

Three is about making choices and becoming independent… it’s just weird Mila decided to show it off like this.

Cheers to crocs and they still look cute mismatched.

What weird things are you toddlers doing lately? Do you fight with your kids about what they wear or just roll with it?

Toddler Activity: Flyswatter Painting

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We love process art! With spring here, as well as the bugs, we had to find a creative way to make a unique piece of art. This time, with a flyswatter and a hyper toddler!

Mila has a love hate with bugs. On one hand, she’s afraid of most of them. Then, on the other, she likes butterflies and the ‘pretty’ bugs. She despises flies and gnats, but was pretty impressed last year when she was introduced to the flyswatter. It’s like she’s on fly patrol whenever she sees one.

To get her creative and being active (which she loves), I thought this activity would be fun for her!

Not only is it fun for Mila to paint and have fun with it, the texture the flyswatter made was amazing to me. It turned out to be a great project.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Canvas or paper
  • Flyswatter
  • ‘Bugs’ (aka paint)

I love activities that have an easy set up. It works for Mila’s patience level and if I just need a quick activity, it’s so nice. This one was just like that.

The only real planning we did was picking out paint colors. Mila, of course, went for her normal colors: pink, blue, and purple. We had everything else already on hand, but you can find all of these materials almost anywhere.

Then, I just poured little dots of paint all over the canvas. I told Mila to pretend they were bugs and to smack them!

She had so much fun hitting all the different bugs. If I do this activity again, I’ll have her hit the certain colors to practice color matching. It would be fun seeing if she or any toddler would try their best not to hit any other colors too.

The patter the lines on the flyswatter made were perfect. When she asked for more bugs, the layered look was so cute. Somehow, the paints didn’t all muddle together and you could see all the different colors. I was worried they’d just become a huge purple blob!

I think this pattern would end up making great homemade wrapping paper too!

Mila had a ton of fun hitting the canvas and we ended up doing the same activity on a big wood board too.

I hope to finish her painting off with writing a quote on it in the near future. I love to combine her artwork with encouraging words! It just makes for a fun team project that I know we’ll enjoy for years to come.

Let me know in the comments if you like bugs or if you’re on Mila’s side of the flyswatter.

Check out how some other moms incorporated bugs and insects in their learning.