Make baby toys out of old clothes

A couple of nights ago i was browsing pintrest as you do, I got really inspired to make Aria a hand made toy, I took a couple of her old vests and made this, I drew the patten free hand as i wanted it to be as personal and as hand made as possible.

It was really easy to make and considering i stitched everything by hand only took a couple of hours from start to finish. I have no idea what its supposed to be but it started out being a cat but i realised it looks nothing like a cat, so now it's just a bear thingy... Aria seemed to really like it and kept turning it round from front to back, i think because the material is so contrasting.

I also planned on doing arms and legs but I think it looks quite funny the way it is.
I used toy stuffing available from most craft shops and haberdasheries, and i used a 3-6 month vest for the body, it just about fits both front and back but I used two different vests with contrasting pattens/colours so its more interesting to look at.

Here are some pictures of the process and the pattern is available at the bottom of the page. Its my first pattered ever so it's not very neat as i had to figure out how to digitalise it. Has any one got any tips for this as I think I might try and do a couple more?

Get your Free Patten here!

My Birthday Week (In Pictures)

I've had a bit of an up and down week this week, we had some great days out and my family flew over from Cyprus. But then Sunday was the first anniversary since my grandad passed and today my mum had to go to hospital because she wasn't well. So it got a bit tough towards the end but the rest couldn't have been better! Anyway here is my week in pictures :)

Had a nice picnic in the park with B and Aria the weather was so nice and we all had a good giggle!

L-R Went for a few birthday drinks with Simon, B and a few other friends

Went for another picnic with Simon and Aria.

Check out the stylish looking pony, on a walk from ours to Simons mums, he/she was so cute!

Daddy being silly.

We took a trip to the Trafford Centre and got some food at Five Guys, then we took Aria to Build-a-Bear but she just wanted to look at the stuffing!

We made a lovely lunch of cheese and crackers!

Went to see my family!! Aria had cuddles with my mum and brother :)

A sneak preview of something i made for Aria, there will be a post about it soon!

Went for a birthday meal with my friend Dani.

Aria's first milky button

Aria being fed by uncle Taki x

Naughty baby wouldn't take a nap!

At the hospital with Grandad

Simon had fancy dress again at work so he went as a SWAT person.

Aria's Food Diary #1

Up until lately we haven't really had a routine when it comes to feeding,
I'd feed her porridge sometimes mid morning and I might have given her a few spoonfuls of baby food here and there. So as of this week, we're getting in a nice routine, porridge for breakfast, home made purée for lunch and a bottle at night. I'll also be giving her milk in the day just less oz than normal.


I bought a hand blender last week, it's amazing! It's so easy to blend up her food without having to get the big blender out and clean it all out afterwards.
I also have these little pots from tommee tippee they're brilliant they come in sets of 4 with a tray to hold them up in the freezer. I just spoon out her puréed food in to the pot and put it in the freezer. Then when I want to use it just put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, Bam! Easy As Pie! (or purée in this case)

Up to now I've made her carrot purée and sweet potato purée! She loved both of them, I mixed a little of her milk up with it so it was more familiar. I also gave her a bit of banana purée from an upcoming recipe I'll be posting, but she wasn't keen on it! Infact all of the fruits I've tried her with she pulls her face at!
She's started doing this thing where if she doesn't like something she really purses her lips like a little old lady!

Also this week she's had cucumber slices which is one of her favourite,  an asparagus stick, which took her a while to get used to but seemed to quite like, and a slice pineapple, which my dad gave her, I wasn't too sure because I get lumps on the roof of my mouth with pineapple but Aria was fine, in fact she loved it! She even had a little paddy when Simon took it away from her. Obviously with the unpuréed food she doesn't eat the entire thing, she just likes to taste it. I'm not sure what I'll try next, I think maybe spinach or avocado.

Enjoying a cheeky Milky Bar Button ^_^

She's still not liking water or juice, I got her some baby juice which isn't as tart, hoping she would like that but no still no luck.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get her drinking water? I've tried in her normal milk bottle, a sippy cup, and even a spoon but she just spits it straight out again!

Rainbow Cake Recipe

This really is one of my favourite cakes to make, I'm such a big kid at heart. You can't help but feeling happy when you look at this cake never mind eating it!

The best thing about is it is super easy to make! I've tried a few different recipes and the best one is from Kerry Cooks.

I would love to say the recipe is my own but truthfully I wouldn't have known where to start, i do however have a few tips and tricks I learnt after attempting this cake 3 times already... god I'm such a fatty!

This cake serves 12 and takes 3 hours prep time and 15 mins to cook following Kerry's recipe.
It took me longer to cook as I couldn't fit all the tins in my oven at once, but half the time to prepare as i didn't leave the cake to chill between layers.

So my first tip, is if you don't have time to chill the layers, place skewers in the cake like so, then leave it for half an hour for the icing to set. That way the cake won't slide about.

Secondly, I wasn't too keen on the taste of the cream cheese in the frosting so I used water instead. It still set ok, you just need to add a few extra layers so you can't see the sponge underneath.

I used the Dr Oetker gel food colour available in most supermarkets, I didn't have the time to get the proper brighter ones from Ebay or a cake shop. But I think it turned out more to my liking, as you can see the colours are still vibrant but more pastel, and i actually prefer this.

Check out the recipe here 

Project Fill-o-Frame

That has to be the lamest post title ever! Sorry if i made you cringe a little.

So today is my birthday, I'm going to make a rainbow cake, tahdahh! I'll post the recipe later on or tomorrow!
But on to the post now, I thought I'd show you guys a little project I'd been working on. I've had this frame hanging around for years and just had random photos in it until now. I wanted to make it a bit different and personalised with a colour theme to match the room where it's going to go. (In my dining room - so I chose lilac and gold)

I first picked out my favourite photos of the moment and decided to make them black and white to try and stick as close to my colour scheme as possible.
I then printed some coloured/patterned paper that I thought would fit well. I also really wanted gold leaf but opted for a Easter egg wrapper instead.. hehe talk about being cheap.
Online there are tones of free printables you can personalise, I made a 'A is for Aria' one and a D+S silhouette one. (I forget what site i got them off but i will try and find it)

I then cropped and cut everything I needed and stuck the pictures to the glass using whitetac, its better than using glue for a frame like this as its not permanent and won't mess up your pictures if you decide to change it up later on.

This was how it turned out. I love it! I think it's a lot more interesting and easy on the eye than if I had just put photos in all the frames.

It turned out to be a quick, easy, cheap and fun little project. If you have any photo frames like that that need updating try filling some of the frames with patterns or other personalised things such as a handwritten family saying, or a favourite song lyric or poem or even a drawing.

Let me know if anyone has done anything like this or post links to other little projects like this, I'd love to try them!

Bumbo Review

I know there are probably a million and one reviews on the Bumbo, being such a popular must have product, but I thought one more can't hurt.
Before Aria was born my Grandma bought me a Bumbo, the typical price of a Bumbo ranges from £30-£35. Luckily she bought it of her friend for a fiver.

I say luckily as I don't believe on paying a lot for baby 'must haves' that you don't really need.
Needless to say I couldn't wait for her to be old enough to sit in it, it just seemed so convenient and made a change from either sitting in her bouncer, lying down or being carried
However the first time i tried her in it, about three months (too early IMHO) she only stayed in it for a minute and started to crying to come out.

The one we have comes with a table that clips on and off easily, although I do get a little nervous i might trap her skin in it one day. >_<
The table is good for feeding or plopping a few toys on to keep them entertained.

Clearly not impressed with her keys is she.










The material feels like a sort of coated foam which does feel like it would be comfortable, it has a high back and sides to support the baby, and a cut out for their little chubby legs at the front.

The idea of a Bumbo as a whole seems brilliant but there are little things that worry me... is it too tight on her legs? (she does have a chunky little pair) Is she comfortable? (she seems to get fidgety after a couple of minutes) Is she moving enough? (she just seems really constrained with her legs held in place) And finally will she tip back wards if she keeps doing this?

  Aria hasn't gotten as much use out of it as i would have liked at first, but after a couple of tries i think i would rather her rolling about on the floor or having tummy time. And don't think Aria would disagree with me. Does anyone else feel this way? Or is it something you absolutely love?

                                                                          

So i added Bloglovin whilst on the subject....

So this is possibly the worst most boring post ever but...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

No MPM this week!

As you may have noticed i didn't post my meal plan yesterday, Ok I'll admit I've been a little lazy lately but also it's my birthday on Wednesday, so I know we have plans to go for a meal or two and go round to see my mum who is flying over from Cyprus on Wednesday night, so we'll be out a lot.

As for last week I feel I have been a bit MIA, but i promise to make up for it.
Here's a preview of what's coming up over this week...

Aria's Bumbo Review

Project Fill -o- Frame

Rainbow Birthday Cake

Aria's Food Diary #1

There we go, so I'll hopefully get all this out in consecutive days so keep a look out for it!

Also just as an after thought, I think I might link up my instagram to the blog, and add a bloglovin link too!

Nobody likes stretch marks...

Stretch marks are unfortunately one of those things, most women experience during and after pregnancy. No matter how many creams, lotions and oils you apply for some they are just unavoidable. I know this because a would religiously use bio oil day, night and sometimes in between during the whole of my pregnancy. I was determined not to get them, but i did and now they're apart of me, a constant reminder I grew a little person.

It really is no wonder women are sad and ashamed of these marks, considering how mainstream media like to point it out like it's a flaw when spotted on a celebrity. Most celebs who can afford it do everything in their power to mask and treat stretch marks, where as 'normal' people don't have the time or money to achieve such a thing as a perfect body a week after giving birth. It's a shame that it does effect some women so negatively.

I kept feeling so guilty that I was lucky enough to have a baby and all I could do was complain about how my stomach looked, and effectively what my baby had done to my body!

I now realise some women would welcome stretch marks and saggy skin from head to toe for the chance to have a child.

It took me along time to accept my body had changed, I was never stick thin in the first place, but I was generally happy and comfortable in my skin before pregnancy.

As my belly grew and grew, I was somewhat smug that I didn't have any stretch marks and people would comment on how big I was and found it strange I hadn't got any. In my last month I started to get faint ones on my hips it didn't really bother me, but then a few days after I had Aria as my stomach started to go down they appeared really bad, like bright reddy purple on each side of my belly, they were also horribly itchy too.

I really hated them and got to the point where I couldn't look at my self in the mirror and hoped that one day I'd look and they'd just be gone. They are slowly getting lighter but still very much there, now though although I can't deny I would love to have a slim toned body, I'm proud of them, they make me feel normal and womanly and are scars of my greatest achievement.

Meal Planning Monday (12th May 2014)

So last weeks meal plan went ok.. apart from Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we had pizza because I was a bit lazy and too tired to cook. Sunday we had ham and cheese tortellini with mascarpone and tomato sauce with garlic dough balls. I'm going to make the salt and pepper chicken this week instead and might post up my recipe for it.
The chilli was a success! So I'm going to make it again this week but using pork mince instead of beef, I've never tried pork mince before so I hope it's ok.

Monday - Garlic and herb chicken burgers with fries and salad.
Tuesday - Pork chilli con carne with rice and garlic bread.
Wednesday -  Garlic chicken kievs with noodles and salad.
Thursday - Going to Simon's mums for tea.
Friday -  Salt and pepper chicken with salad and chips.
Saturday - Tex Mex buffet.
Sunday - Sunday Dinner at Grandmas.




Looking forwards to this weeks plan, I don't have to cook for two nights whoo!
Also I know I said I was going to be more experimental this week but I just haven't had the time to sit down and look for different recipes. There's always next week!

A Big Surprise....

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I got off to a good start with posting more or less everyday but I've just been so busy the last few days...

On Thursday my younger sister B surprised me at my door, all the way from Cyprus!
My mum, step-dad and two sisters moved over to Cyprus 5 years ago and have decided, now I've had Aria, to come back to England permanently. Which is great news as it means I also get to see more of my baby brother who was born over there!

Anyway I wasn't expecting them to arrive until the 22nd of May but B decided to come early and surprise me. Aww it was so nice! Aria really took to her straight away which is quite unusual. This is the first hold...

On Friday we went shopping in Manchester with my cousin Bex and I treated B to a new outfit and some makeup.
Oh also my mum crocheted Aria this super cute bunny! I'm not going to lie i actually want it for myself! I mean how cool can this guy get??

So just short post on what's been going on, Expect the meal plan up sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Aria's Yak Face(s)

I finished those bloody ponchos! Remind me never to agree to something like that again! They were well appreciated though, his boss bought my food and drinks for the day ^_^ and simon even let me draw a moustache on him!

Bless him, he looks so young on this picture! And look at the ridiculousness of that poncho! You have to laugh!

We're having chilli tonight, although its going to be a late one seen as though Simon won't be home till 11. No wonder we're getting fat from eating at that time of night!

What else, well I think Aria tried to utter her first mama today, twice! I was talking to her on the bed as you do, and she just went mamm ma! then did it again a few seconds later. I know she's too young to start talking with any sort of association yet but it sure melted my heart to hear her say it anyway :') 

I also fed her some banana and mango pudding today, she really wasn't too keen! She kept on making retching noised and going bleughh, her faces were amazing! 

 I actually thought it was quite nice!

On a sad note, on my way in to blogger this morning I happened upon a horrible story about the death of 5 year old Garnett Spears who is said to have died from a sodium overdose inflicted by his mother, who possibly has the psychological disorder Munchausen by proxy. I personally think it's a load of crap and yet another mental health excuse in the hopes of getting off lightly with the law. I'm sorry but this woman knew what she was doing, she knew well enough to try and dispose of the evidence. I'm not saying she meant to kill him but bloody hell, there are other way to get attention, ones that don't cost innocent lives! 

It was so upsetting to read and looking at the silly pictures of Aria above a can't understand how anyone could purposely hurt their own child. You poor beautiful little boy, I hope you are at peace now. 

I just needed to get that rant over and done with it's been niggling me all day and I really wish I hadn't read about it! I don't want to post a link to the story on here but if you want to know the details just google it

I feel like there was something else.. I'll probably remember after I hit publish wont i?

Oh well, Happy Tuesday everyone!