Meal Planning Monday (5th May 2014)

Here's the meal planning Monday I was talking about. I don't know why but I found it really hard deciding on what to pick for the whole week, usually we just decide on the day and that's that, also except for maybe the chilli I stuck to what I know, however next week I think I'll try and be a bit more adventurous.

Monday - Chicken salad wraps and fries.
Tuesday - Chilli con carne with rice and garlic bread.
Wednesday -  Chicken tikka with rice and naan.
Thursday - Tuna tomato and pasta bake.
Friday - Hot dogs and fries.
Saturday - Jackets and salad.
Sunday - Salt and pepper chicken with salad and chips.




On Friday just gone i  picked up everything I need for the week so I'm all set. It was surprisingly a lot cheaper than I thought it would be!

Ponchos and Cheesy Spinach

So you know that family fun day Simon's having at work Monday? They all have to dress up and somehow I've been roped in to making Simon and his boss a Mexican poncho. I found out last night,  it's Sunday today and I'm off to see my grandma later so couldn't get round to the shops to get anything.
I very nearly ended up cutting up this lovely purple blanket from Next, until I remembered we keep a load of old bedding in the attic. So I found a red bed sheet and cut it in two, then cut a hole in the middle of each. Now I've spent most of last night and this afternoon cutting up  bits of wool to make tassels for it.

I wouldn't mind but it looks slightly ridiculous and I seriously underestimated how many tassels I need. Why do I get my self in to things like this :'(

On the plus I've started weaning Aria again, I tried last month after succumbing to 'peer pressure' from Simon's mum who was convinced she was ready. She'd started all her kids on solids at 3 months. I just knew she wasn't ready though, she'd get stressed out and keep spitting it out all the time, it really wasn't fun for either of us.
Now though, she's so much better! I've started her off in the mornings with a sugar free rusk mixed with water or banana porridge. She loves it but it has to be warm. She doesn't quite manage a full rusk but that leaves some for me nom nom! And she has maybe 3-4 baby spoons of the porridge powder with boiled water.

And today I tried her with the Hipp Organic cheesy spinach and potato bake, I thought she'd pull her 'yak' face and spit it out straight away, but the ate a third of the jar with no problems at all! She probably would have had more if I'd give it her. She hardly made any mess either, usually it's all up her nose and in her eyebrows ect.

So we're definitely making progress although I keep trying her with cool boiled water just to give her a bit more fluid that just milk, but she hated it for some reason, she pulls the biggest yak face ever! And it's just water! It has no taste! I don't think I would be the first to admit babies are as confusing as hell!

Meal Planning Mondays

I have so may ideas for this blog, unfortunately I'm not the best when it comes to time management and i get easily distracted. But hopefully i plan on writing maybe 2-3 times a week.
One thing i want to try is to do a Meal Planning Monday post, a brilliant idea from the blog At Home with Mrs M.

Every Sunday night / Monday morning, i want to sit down and plan ahead the weeks evening meals. At the moment, tea time is a last minute thought that often ends up in us ordering a takeout or banging a frozen pizza in the oven. 

Simon often works late and rather than cooking twice it would be good to have quick easy meals to make up when he gets home or meals that can be reheated and don't end up tasting like baby food. 

So whilst writing this post, i already started planning which then lead to me checking the fridge for what foods we can use up, ultimately leading to me cleaning out the fridge and re-organising the freezer... see what i mean about being easily distracted? 

Really fancy having prawns next week which isn't like me at all as I'm not a big fan of seafood, maybe I'll try and make a paella or a curry. I'm also going to make my first chilli con carne :O   

Anyway I'm just waiting for Aria to wake up from her nap and then we're off to Morrisons to get some bits for the week. Simon finishes work at 4 but if I wait for him we'll only end up buying a load of crap, so we have venture alone.

I haven't yet mentioned Simon works at a Leisure centre and on Monday they are having a family fun day, where employees and members families can come in and they have a BBQ and other fun family activities, so I think we're going to go with Simon's mum and his little brother A.

A's 7 so i think he might enjoy it, might try to get him to partake in the egg and spoon race or something equally embarrassing for him ;) 

Think I'm going to have a quick coffee while I wait for Aria.

Aria's First Roll

On Tuesday Aria rolled over for the first time, she's been trying for so long, I have to admit it was frustrating to watch so god knows how she felt.  Luckily I've managed to get it on film, I was determined, every time she played on the floor I was there with my phone ready to capture her first roll.
So here it is...

Ta-Dah!!!

I think Aria was more shocked than anything. She went ridged and super still, when I went to look at her face this was her expression...

It's like 'did I just...?' :O funny baby!

Lamaze Freddie the Firefly Review

Let me introduce to you Aria's new favourite toy. Freddy the Firefly. Ever since she started to notice toys she's loved the Teethe and Read book by Bright Starts but I'm ashamed to say I seem to have misplaced it, it's been MIA for a couple of weeks and I can't for the life of me find it. Not that Aria would care but the softy in me decided to replace Mr Book so that's how Freddy the Firefly was born.
She hasn't put him down since we got him,  it's easy to see why she's so fascinated by all the bright colours and textures.

Each wing has a different activity with that crinkly material the same as Mr Books.

Top Left
Three little wings in front of the main wing all of different colours/textures. You move them out of the way to find a rather smug looking ladybird staring back at you.
Bottom Left
Has a fluffy white pompom and a blue silky blob with a squeaky bit in it. She hasn't mastered the squeaky bit yet but has a little giggle when I do it for her. I imagine it would be quite hard for a baby to do anyway as to make it squeak you have to squeeze it from both the front and back of the wing.
Top Right
This has a mirror (kind of) under a little flap with two holes is. The mirror is a bit rubbish but Aria likes to look at it anyway.
Bottom Right
I love this one, it has a cute little knitted pocket with a red plastic ladybird in. The lady bird comes out attached to a yellow cord so it doesn't get lost. This is great for her to chew on to help with her teething.

He also has a bell in his head, because the crackly wings aren't noisy enough. A white link at the back of his head lets you attach it to a pram or car seat..or play mat... or highchair... oh the possibilities! He has has a pully tail with two hoops attached to it, i first thought it would have made a sound when it's pulled but it just seems to be a pully thing after all. So that's Freddy two days he has been in her life and he's already her best friend, as you can see.

Price wise it ranges from around £9.99 to £17.99 i got mine for £10 something from Debenhams. Age range is from 0-24 months, which is pretty good... if he lasts that long, two days and he's already spit drenched and his wings are all askew. We shall see, i mean what harm can a 5 month old do really...

We went to Chester Zoo!

I thought my first real post should be at least a bit exciting, nothing much happened today so I thought I'd write about out trip to Chester Zoo on Monday instead.
I haven't been for years and years, I don't think Simon had ever been, he said he might have been to Blackpool zoo once but isn't upper class like myself and couldn't afford to go to the zoo every weekend  :O he likes to imagine I come from a very posh family with butlers and maids for some reason. It's not true in case you were wondering, I think I've been about twice...




Anyway, we weren't sure how Aria would be, or even if she would notice the animals but it would be a nice family day out none the less.
Turns out she was fascinated with the fish and turtles, she was kicking her little legs like crazy and had a constant :O face.
She also liked the rhino who was having his tea, he was such a noisy eater like he was crunching stones, I wouldn't mind  but he was just eating straw!

Everything else was either too far away to grab her attention or too quick/slow/small for her to notice its existence.

We saw a giraffe who was constantly 'making out'  with the door of his house, he was licking and nuzzling it, causing Simon to do a  rather crude voice over of course.
We went on the butterfly journey, a big greenhouse type building with huge butterfly's fluttering around. I loved it until I felt a tickle on my back and hair :(
Similar to that was the bat cave, but ten times worse! I thought it would just be a few bats chilling out upside down, but there were hundreds! Flying about everywhere! In the dark! You could make out shadows of them but you only really knew they were there when they flew past your face and you felt a slight sudden gust of wind. Probably not something I would go back to see in a hurry I'm ashamed to say I acted like a little kid with my hands over my head stood in the middle of the room not daring to take another step. In fact even the little kids didn't act as pathetic as me.

I think Aria had a bit too much excitement she didn't really sleep much on train there or on the way round the zoo, so she decided to let us know how tired she was on the busy train home by screaming and grunting. The only way I could get her to calm down was by singing 'Time for your checkup'  from Doc McStuffins over and over again. Some of the things I see parents doing for their kids used to baffle me and I used to think I'd never be like that! I've definitely surprised my self to say the least.

We actually had a really nice day but it was so tiring! Aria has only just recovered from it now and it's Friday! She was so grumpy Tuesday and Wednesday, I literally couldn't put her down without her crying straight away. Luckily she seems back to her normal self again but I think we'll wait a while before having a big day out like that again.

A Sucky Introduction...

Hello, I'm Danni and as you'll probably guess by the name of this blog, I'm a mummy and decided to blog about it.

There are so many mummy&baby or family blogs out there that I enjoy reading. I decided today would be the day when I make my own, I think it will be great to look back and remember important events and  just everyday life in general and what better way to do that than write about them  as they happen.

So now let me introduce my little family:
Simon
This guy has been my rock for the past seven and a half years, we often fight like cat and dog but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Aria
My nearly 5 month old baby girl,  she was named after Arya from Game of Thrones (yes, we're those kind of parents) She's such a little character already!

We live in Manchester, England. And have a bunny who is just called bunny or bunbun because he doesn't suit any other name (poor little guy).

I think inspiration for this blog stemmed from a number of things. Obviously mainly from having Aria, but also from reading other family blogs and already having a beauty blog I share with my cousin The Two Twenty Somethings.  Finally as I mentioned before, it would be nice to have something to look back on  in years time, I'm no good with diaries I can never keep up but there's something different about blogging that I hope will spur me on to keep writing.
As well as daily life I plan on doing a lot of reviews on this blog mostly of baby things, but there might be the odd wild card thrown in there too.
Any hauls that I do, isn't meant to brag and we try not to spoil Aria, (but that's hard, especially with a first born) I know I'm not alone when I say I love haul posts about anything from baby clothes to makeup. And I often end up going out and buying things I see on hauls, so to me it's not about bragging and I hope I don't come across that way :).

As for this being my first post, sorry it sucked a bit, I've always found it ridiculously hard to write opening blog posts, I'd rather just jump straight in, but that would be just plain rude ;)
So  if you've actually took the time to read all this THANK YOU! And bear with me this was just a warm up :)