RECIPE: {No Added Sugar} Banana and Oat Scones

Having two very ripe bananas sitting on the side prompted the creation of these Banana and Oat Scones. I've made banana muffins and pancakes for Isabella loads of times, so fancied something a bit different for her. These scones are packed full of goodness and by using wholemeal flour they're really filling too. Isabella enjoys them spread with peanut butter (the 100% peanuts variety) or cream cheese. They don't just have to be for toddlers and babies though; these are a great healthier alternatives to regular scones too.

DIY: Special Day Keepsake Journal

Remembering special days over years and years can be difficult, a lot of us don't have time to look through photo albums to find certain photos and reflect on the days that mean so much to you. This year was my first Mother's Day as a mummy, so I really wanted to capture it. As a parent, time is limited so I wanted to create a journal I could quickly add to each year. I love the idea of recording every single Mother's Day all in one place, but this could be done for any other special day that happens yearly (birthdays/Christmas etc).

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #44

Happy bank holiday weekend everyone! I've actually got a few days off next week, so I'm looking forward to a bit of break and lots of quality family time. It's been so busy with the launch of Isabella Mai-de (which is now available on Etsy), Isabella's had conjunctivitis and trying to keep on top of blogging. We've got some fun plans over the next few days, including a trip to the beach to celebrate our niece's third birthday and lots of quality family time. There's also a whole day to myself when my husband will be at work and Isabella will be at nursery - the first day alone since Isabella was born almost 14 months ago! What to do?? I'll probably just enjoy working on Isabella Mai-de and this blog with a hot cup of tea. Hope you all have a lovely long weekend, whatever you get up to :)

Day 1

TODDLER: 12 Easy Garden Activities

Despite almost being in June the weather in the England has been very unpredictable. We've had it all: hot days, rainy days, days that were rainy, cold, hot, hailing and cloudy all in one. However, we've not let that stop use having fun in the garden.

BUSINESS: Isabella Mai-de Launch!

Many months ago I started researching ways I could personalise Isabella’s clothes, that’s when I stumbled upon hand stamping. It was instant excitement and after many trips to Hobbycraft/orders online I was finally ready to start hand stamping Isabella’s leggings. I stocked up on plain leggings, designed and made stamps, hand stamped the leggings and was amazed by the results! It quickly became a hobby I would do in any spare time I had, with the added challenge of carving my own rubber stamps too.

5 THINGS: That have been hard since returning to work

Last week I wrote a post about 5 things that have been easier than expected since returning to work (catch up here), but it's not all been easier. There have been hard times where tears have been shed and thoughts like 'have we done the right thing?' crossed my mind. I never want to paint a picture on my blog that every life decision we make as a family is an easy one, so to balance out my positive post last week I thought I'd share five things that I've found harder since returning to work.

FINGER FOOD: Apple and Apricot Flapjack

Flapjacks are brilliant for children due to all of the nutritional goodness in oats, however standard recipes are full of fat and sugar making them not particularly baby friendly. When I was searching for versions without any sugar I came across a Banana and Date recipe, but as a lot of the 'sweet' recipes I do are banana based I thought I'd mix things up! I chose to use sulphur dioxide free dried apricots (from Holland & Barrett), which are darker in colour, because it's recommended that babies don't have sulphur dioxide. It's completely up to you though, 'normal' orange dried apricots would work perfectly too. 

FAMILY: Time to think about baby number 2?

Now that Isabella's a year old there's a question that keeps coming up - "So, when will Isabella become a big sister?" If I'm completely honest I thought Isabella would already be well on her way to being a big sister. I have absolutely loved become a mummy and the idea of going through the whole pregnancy/labour/newborn process again excites me beyond belief. If you'd ask me when she was a couple of months old I would have said that I would have loved to be pregnant again by now. Obviously it's not necessarily as easy as that, but I also don't think I'm ready yet. Are we ready yet?

BABY STYLE: A week of outits #43

Aside from work, this week has been filled with exciting preparations for Isabella Mai-de. All of my plans, products and spreadsheets are ready to go, so it's now a waiting game until the launch date - Wednesday 25th May 2016! I will be selling my hand stamped children's clothing on the isabellamaide Instagram account and via the Isabella Mai-de tab here on my blog. I'm so excited (and extremely nervous) to share the designs and receive feedback. There may be a sneak peek of one of the trial designs in this post, but I'm not saying anymore than that! You'll have to check back on Wednesday 25th May to see the whole collection :)

Day 1

ORGANISATION: My Meal Planning Top Tips

Returning to work, after maternity leave, meant we had to up our organisation game considerably. I no longer had endless time to cook fresh meals for us all, made even more challenging by the fact that the three of us eat slightly different meals. I'm a vegetarian, my husband eats meat and Isabella has meals with little to no refined sugar/salt in. I was determined that my return to work wouldn't lead to not having home cooked meals every night, we've always done it so why stop now? 

5 THINGS: That have been easier since returning to work

Returning to work for anyone who has been on either maternity or shared parental leave can be a really daunting step. I've documented a lot on here about how worried I was about returning to work and therefore having to leave Isabella. I've now been back at work for over a month and it has honestly not been anywhere near as bad as I had built it up to be in my head. I'd worked myself up, spent so many nights laying awake worrying and not listening to other parents telling me it's not as bad in reality. So I thought I'd share five things that have been much easier than I thought they would be since returning to work, in the hope it will help anyone who is currently struggling with the thought of returning to work.

RECIPE: Vegetable and Quinoa Burgers with Tzatziki

 

These burgers are truly packed with goodness and make ideal finger food. This recipe makes a lot of burgers, so if you don't want to fill your freezer with these then I'd recommend reducing the amount of each ingredient. The quantities aren't too important, the only thing you have to make sure is that there is enough egg to bind the grated vegetables otherwise your burgers will fall apart. You could also mix up the vegetables (nothing with a high water content) using a combination of swede, celeriac, beetroot, turnip or potato. 

10 THINGS: To do whilst feeding your baby

Bottle or breastfeeding babies takes a lot of time in those early months especially. Days would pass and I swear I hadn't done anything other than feed Isabella, all in a sleepy daze. Before you know it those long feeds are distant history and you have a baby that crawls/climbs around so you can say goodbye to any level of relaxing during the day! Below are my top 10 things to do during the longer feeds, they may seem like they'll never end but they will and you will have lost that precious 'sitting down' time. Embrace it!

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #42

This week has been a VERY big week - two very exciting things finally happened. Firstly, the plans for starting a new venture are really starting to take shape now. I will be selling selected summery designs from my hand stamped baby and toddler clothing range!!! I can't believe I've been brave enough to take this leap, it's very unlike me. I'm just so excited to start creating new designs, making unique hand stamped clothing for your lovely little people and seeing the way you style them. I have been working hard on the summer collection this week and without giving too much away expect bright colours, fruity designs and nautical themes. I hope you're as excited about it as me - if you want to follow the journey and be one of the first to find out when the selling begins follow the 'isabellamaide' instagram account where it will all be happening! 

The second exciting thing that happened this week is that this blog finally became self hosted, now it's www.treasureeverymoment.co.uk. It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time, so pleased to have finally ticked it off the to-do list. Now to work on increasing my DA! 

Day 1

5 TIPS: Planning a childrens birthday party

Now that Isabella's birthday party has happened and been enjoyed (read all about it here) I thought I'd share a few tips for planning a child's birthday party that I've learnt along the way. Personally, I've loved the planning experience and very much used it as a distraction from returning to work. Planning a party can either be a small or big job, depending on what you want from the party and your own productivity. I spent 3 months planning Isabella's, just little bits here and there as I knew I'd be strapped for time just before her party. But it certainly doesn't need to take that long and doesn't have to be stressful either!

DIY: Floral Number or Letter Tutorial

 

Floral numbers or letters make the perfect addition to baby showers, weddings, birthday parties or special occasions. It's actually surprisingly easy, though it is quite time consuming arranging the flowers so make sure you have plenty of time for that part. I had seen floral number ones all over the internet and looked into where I could buy one. It became apparent that they are not only hard to source, but also very expensive due to the fresh flowers and time consuming elements. During a trip to Hobbycraft I spotted this cardboard one and thought I'd had a go at creating my own, always looking to save some pennies!

RECIPE: Spiced Roasted Roots Houmous

Homemade houmous is such a versatile recipe and so easy to make! You can change the roasted root vegetables for pretty much anything you like - roasted red pepper, homemade pesto, fresh herbs, pea & mint etc. It's a great way of introducing exciting new flavours to your little one and you can enjoy it too. The shop bought versions have salt in, which is why I go down the homemade route for Isabella - she loves it with pitta bread. You could also serve this houmous with falafel or homemade vegetable crisps.

BABY: DIY Handprinted Clothes Lookbook #2

My favourite thing to do while Isabella's napping is to do some more fabric painting (see my tutorial here and Isabella's first handprinted Lookbook here). I can't stress how easy it is, it's so rewarding and relaxing. I've recently started stamping tops for Isabella too, which is a whole new challenge. My latests designs have been slightly more summery, I'm just hoping they'll still fit Isabella when the summer months finally arrive! Everytime I hand stamp a piece of clothing for Isabella I ask my husband which is his favourite so far. It was the strawberries, but after making the colourful raindrops design he changed this mind to those. The colourful raindrops took the longest time to print - over 4 hours (including drying time) so I'm glad they were liked.

BABY STYLE: A week of outfits #41

Well hasn't the warmer, sunny weather been lovely this week? On my two days off Isabella and I have spent hours playing in the garden, collecting stones, going on the swing, practising her walking and having our first ever picnics together. These are the kind of days I dreamt of when I was pregnant and I couldn't be more filled with love for these days. Spending time showing Isabella the big wide world, that she has so much to learn about, is truly an honour. However, we do now need to work out how to teach her to explore safely. Any tips? Roll on the summery outfits...

Day 1

DITL: Weekend, Sealife Centre and Meal Out

I love watching 'Day In The Life' (DITL) videos on YouTube, it's so interesting seeing what other people get up to in their day to day life. If I think back to what our days were like a couple of months ago they were so different to now. Isabella napped at a different time, therefore the order we'd do things would be different. DITL are the perfect way to capture what life is like at various stages, so I thought I'd start sharing some of our days. Nursery days, work days, days off and weekends - they're all so different. 

WARDROBE: Updating to Spring/Summer

 

It's that time of year again when Isabella's wardrobe needed updating. She had outgrown a lot of her clothes and they were no longer suitable for the weather, or that's my excuse for the update anyway. As I said on Monday I am so excited for this summer because Isabella will be old enough to run around and play outside. We can have trips to the park, feed the ducks, days out at the farm and maybe even the odd trip to the beach...I can't wait! 

WEANING: Cheesy corn cakes with an avocado salsa

 

The combination of cheese, avocado and sweetcorn is a winner in my eyes. I've actually enjoyed this recipe for lunch on many occasions, it's so nice when Isabella and I can eat the same things. These are pretty much made up of store cupboard ingredients, making them ideal for quickly whipping up at lunch time or for a quick tea. Finger food lunches are a favourite in our house and Isabella loves that she can eat these completely independently. To make these corn cakes I chose to use wholemeal flour for added fibre, though it isn't necessary.

TODDLER: Little Green Radicals Spring/Summer Collection

 

 We're well and truly into spring now, summer is just around the corner and it can't come quick enough! Days playing in the garden, exploring local parks, days out at the farm and family picnics all make me so excited for the warmer days of summer. There have been quite a few blue sky days recently, which have been enjoyed with playing in the garden or the odd lunch outside in the fresh air. It's not quite warm enough for long days outside yet, but it hasn't stopped us getting Isabella's summer dresses out and eating fresh strawberries in the sun.