Half term has not gotten off to a good start here. After a wonderful day with my Son on Saturday celebrating his 6th birthday, I now have 3 children with a sickness bug and an over active 7 month old who this morning, fell off the bed and now nursing a carpet burn on his chin!
Judging by other Mummy's Facebook and Twitter updates, it seems many of you are in similar situations either with poorly children or stuck in over half term due to the poor weather (roll on summer!) So I thought I would share with you something that the children and I would have done today had they all been well.
Play-dough is a huge hit in our house, and often my 2 girls will happily spend a whole afternoon making shapes and models which is great when Daddy and the boys want some peace on a Sunday to watch the football. But I seemed to spend lots of money replacing play-dough that had dried up and gone hard or had been mashed with other colours to make a big brown goo so I decided to source a good play-dough reciepe to make our own.
I needed something quick, cheap and preferably easy enough so that the girls could do most of it themselves, knowing how determined they are, I knew they would want to do as much without mummy 'interfering'! Although, obviously I do not recommend the children do the hot water part themselves!
This recepie is the quickest by far and will keep for a long time after in sandwich bags.
I hope you have as much fun as we did!
Quick and easy Play-Dough!
You will need:
1/2 a cup of Salt
1 cup of plain flour
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of oil
1 cup of boiling water with a few drops of food colouring added
How to make:
Add all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix vigorously with the hot water (adult needed for this part)
Sit back and relax while the children play quietly (we hope!)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Aldo Zilli's Organic baby food pouches (7months plus)
Whilst I would like to pretend I am a domestic goddess who lovingly prepares every meal fresh for my youngest child, aged 7 months, the last time I slaved over the stove to produce pureed Sweet potato, leek and spinach, I managed to burn my hand, make myself late for the school run and when I actually tried to feed him my lovingly home made effort, Olly screamed as though I had fed him poison before happily demolishing the pureed pouch I had on standby.
The thought of dragging 4 children under 6 and an unwilling husband around the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon is enough to bring me out in a rash. So usually, I shop online on a Friday evening with a large glass of wine in hand (yes, this has given us many an interesting shop in the past, the best by far was a very bemused Tesco delivery driver who handed over 2 packets of kinder eggs and nothing else, I have no idea how I managed that one!!). However, whilst waiting for my husband to meet us in town last weekend, I popped into the nearby Waitrose for a few essentials and it was here I spotted the new Aldo Zilli baby food range. As I have said before I have a soft spot for things that are new and a little different so I grabbed a few pouches to try and have to say I was really excited.
The first pouch we tried was Zilli Fishy Dishy recommended for babies from 6 months I heated it in water for a couple of minutes and sat down an excited Olly.
I was expecting high quality, tasty food from a celebrity chef and I have to say I was very disappointed.
I do not like the smell of fishy baby foods in general but it was a milder smell than some baby fish pies and it had a reasonably good texture for a 7 month old, there were no big lumps it was more like very tiny flakes but I was very surprised by the consistency. It was thin and very watery, so much so that it was difficult to feed to Olly as it kept falling off the small weaning spoon and as for the taste I found it to be rather bland although Olly seemed quite happy to finish his bowl.
The next evening I sat down again with the Zilli Fruit and veg puree, suitable for babies from 6 months. the smell of this one hit me right away, it was quite overpowering and whilst it was not entirely unpleasant, I did feel a little awful feeding it to Olly as I would not have eaten it myself. Again, it was very watery and this time, even Olly did not want more than 5 spoonfuls.
I definitely would not buy this again and think that Aldo Zilli will have to work hard before the launch of the next 12 flavours in April to make me reconsider. I think it was overpriced for the quality and there are much better brands available for that price.
http://www.zillibaby.co.uk/
P-rice: around £1.29 per stage 2 (6months plus) pouch
The thought of dragging 4 children under 6 and an unwilling husband around the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon is enough to bring me out in a rash. So usually, I shop online on a Friday evening with a large glass of wine in hand (yes, this has given us many an interesting shop in the past, the best by far was a very bemused Tesco delivery driver who handed over 2 packets of kinder eggs and nothing else, I have no idea how I managed that one!!). However, whilst waiting for my husband to meet us in town last weekend, I popped into the nearby Waitrose for a few essentials and it was here I spotted the new Aldo Zilli baby food range. As I have said before I have a soft spot for things that are new and a little different so I grabbed a few pouches to try and have to say I was really excited.
The first pouch we tried was Zilli Fishy Dishy recommended for babies from 6 months I heated it in water for a couple of minutes and sat down an excited Olly.
I was expecting high quality, tasty food from a celebrity chef and I have to say I was very disappointed.
I do not like the smell of fishy baby foods in general but it was a milder smell than some baby fish pies and it had a reasonably good texture for a 7 month old, there were no big lumps it was more like very tiny flakes but I was very surprised by the consistency. It was thin and very watery, so much so that it was difficult to feed to Olly as it kept falling off the small weaning spoon and as for the taste I found it to be rather bland although Olly seemed quite happy to finish his bowl.
The next evening I sat down again with the Zilli Fruit and veg puree, suitable for babies from 6 months. the smell of this one hit me right away, it was quite overpowering and whilst it was not entirely unpleasant, I did feel a little awful feeding it to Olly as I would not have eaten it myself. Again, it was very watery and this time, even Olly did not want more than 5 spoonfuls.
I definitely would not buy this again and think that Aldo Zilli will have to work hard before the launch of the next 12 flavours in April to make me reconsider. I think it was overpriced for the quality and there are much better brands available for that price.
http://www.zillibaby.co.uk/
P-rice: around £1.29 per stage 2 (6months plus) pouch
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
COMPETITION TIME!!!
Would you like to win a pair of tickets to this weekends baby show at the ExCel arena in London?
just comment below and tell me which eco friendly parenting item you would like to see reviewed and I will pick one winner at random after midday Weds 16th Feb.
Competition closes at midday Weds 16th Febuary 2011
Would you like to win a pair of tickets to this weekends baby show at the ExCel arena in London?
just comment below and tell me which eco friendly parenting item you would like to see reviewed and I will pick one winner at random after midday Weds 16th Feb.
Competition closes at midday Weds 16th Febuary 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bumgenius V4.0
The first nappy I used was a Bumgenius One Size Version 4.0 so it seems fitting that the first review is for this well known brand.
First Impressions:
I had heard lots of great things about the Bumgenius range, they seemed to be very popular amongst the cloth community and whilst they were rather plain, they did come in 8 different colours which satisfied my need for something a little different although if I am very honest and maybe slightly picky, the white was not as white as I expected and in fact has remained unused as I think it looks discoloured.
The nappy is made up of two parts making it simple to use and comes with microfibre boosters for both the newborn setting and the older baby/toddler setting which is great if you are looking for a nappy that is not too bulky on a newborn but will still last until potty training. It is easy to get the inserts into the pocket and remove them when dirty but I did not like the feel of the inserts, and they did not keep their original clean colour (a very nice bright white) well after washing.
The test:
After getting the nappy on a rather wriggly Olly, I was very impressed with the fit. I was using a snap closure nappy and there were plenty of snaps to adjust the rise and the fit around the waist so I was able to get a good fit easily and quickly.The small insert meant the nappy was very slim although, If I had needed to, I could easily have fitted both inserts in the large pocket. Something that would be useful for night times.
There were no gaps around the legs and whilst I was confident in the fit it was not so tight that Olly was uncomfortable.
I left the nappy on for 4 hours and was pleased to find there were no leaks at all from my very heavy wetter. I would add though, that anything over the 4 hours and that would have been a different story but never the less 4 hours is good for a nappy and I was very pleased.
I tried one of the other Colours out with Kit who is a bulky 2 and a half year old and again, I got a very good fit with plenty of spare room should we need it as she gets bigger.
Kit is an average wetter and after 4 hours, the nappy had lasted incredibly well with no signs of a leak and later on in the week the nappy lasted her overnight, again, with no leaks.
On different occasions, we found the same, both children had lasted up to 4 hours in the nappys with no leaks and bowel movements had been contained well. The nappy shell washes up well and still looks good after 20 washes. and as they are a 2 part nappy drying time is minimal, the shell air dried very quickly as did the microfibre inserts, although, as I mentioned before I did not feel these washed up very well, they greyed very quicky and easily even after being washed only on a white wash and they did not feel very nice after. Perhaps a microfibre/bamboo mix insert would have worked better?
Overall, I have been very impressed with these nappys and they have become part of my staple nappy stash. They might be plain to look at (although you can now purchase limited edition prints by Chelsea Perry, very swish!), but they are reliable and do exactly what the manufacturers say.
As a side note,I have found the customer service from Baba me and Bumgenius to be helpful and friendly.
Price range:
around £14.99 per nappy
or £15.99 for the prints.
More information:
Baba me: http://www.thenaturalbabyresource.co.uk/site/index.html
Bumgenius: http://www.bumgenius.com/
First Impressions:
I had heard lots of great things about the Bumgenius range, they seemed to be very popular amongst the cloth community and whilst they were rather plain, they did come in 8 different colours which satisfied my need for something a little different although if I am very honest and maybe slightly picky, the white was not as white as I expected and in fact has remained unused as I think it looks discoloured.
The nappy is made up of two parts making it simple to use and comes with microfibre boosters for both the newborn setting and the older baby/toddler setting which is great if you are looking for a nappy that is not too bulky on a newborn but will still last until potty training. It is easy to get the inserts into the pocket and remove them when dirty but I did not like the feel of the inserts, and they did not keep their original clean colour (a very nice bright white) well after washing.
The test:
After getting the nappy on a rather wriggly Olly, I was very impressed with the fit. I was using a snap closure nappy and there were plenty of snaps to adjust the rise and the fit around the waist so I was able to get a good fit easily and quickly.The small insert meant the nappy was very slim although, If I had needed to, I could easily have fitted both inserts in the large pocket. Something that would be useful for night times.
There were no gaps around the legs and whilst I was confident in the fit it was not so tight that Olly was uncomfortable.
I left the nappy on for 4 hours and was pleased to find there were no leaks at all from my very heavy wetter. I would add though, that anything over the 4 hours and that would have been a different story but never the less 4 hours is good for a nappy and I was very pleased.
I tried one of the other Colours out with Kit who is a bulky 2 and a half year old and again, I got a very good fit with plenty of spare room should we need it as she gets bigger.
Kit is an average wetter and after 4 hours, the nappy had lasted incredibly well with no signs of a leak and later on in the week the nappy lasted her overnight, again, with no leaks.
On different occasions, we found the same, both children had lasted up to 4 hours in the nappys with no leaks and bowel movements had been contained well. The nappy shell washes up well and still looks good after 20 washes. and as they are a 2 part nappy drying time is minimal, the shell air dried very quickly as did the microfibre inserts, although, as I mentioned before I did not feel these washed up very well, they greyed very quicky and easily even after being washed only on a white wash and they did not feel very nice after. Perhaps a microfibre/bamboo mix insert would have worked better?
Overall, I have been very impressed with these nappys and they have become part of my staple nappy stash. They might be plain to look at (although you can now purchase limited edition prints by Chelsea Perry, very swish!), but they are reliable and do exactly what the manufacturers say.
As a side note,I have found the customer service from Baba me and Bumgenius to be helpful and friendly.
Price range:
around £14.99 per nappy
or £15.99 for the prints.
More information:
Baba me: http://www.thenaturalbabyresource.co.uk/site/index.html
Bumgenius: http://www.bumgenius.com/
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Reusable Nappies and wipes
I currently have two children in nappies, my daughter who is 24lbs and 2 years 7 months and my son who is 14.5lbs and 7 months. Kit is your average 2 and a half year old, she is very near to potty training (although I haven't yet bitten the bullet) and what you would class as an 'average' wetter and Olly is a very active baby, crawling since the age of 5 months, he has bypassed the sitting stage and likes to cause mischief wherever he can! he is a very heavy wetter and rather tiny for his age, to give you a guide he is just going into 3-6 month sized clothes, a great bonus as I really feel as though I have had value for money with his clothes!
Over recent months I had begun to notice a change in the disposable nappies we were using, they had become less reliable and I had noticed both children were getting severe nappy rash, I searched around trying a few different brands and then noticed a friend on Facebook had posted pictures of her daughter in cloth nappies. I am a sucker for things that are bright, cheerful and a little different but was slightly apprehensive as, like many other busy mums, I thought they would be very time consuming and fiddly so I sat down and spent some time researching all the different types of cloth.
My decision to switch to cloth nappies was set in stone the moment I realised how far they have progressed recently. Gone are the days when you would have to fold each nappy and then attempt to put it on a wriggly baby whilst the baby tried desperately to escape leaving you back at square one.
I was surprised and delighted to discover that you can even buy what is known in cloth world as an AIO nappy, it looks similar to a disposable, it's as easy to use as disposable but, unlike a disposable it was made from the softest minky fabric and was rainbow striped. I was sold!
Over the next few posts that I hope to get up in the next few days, I will be reviewing different brands of cloth nappy so if you are thinking of using reusable nappies any time soon you will have a good idea where to start whether its to be more eco-friendly, save money or just be the latest fashion victim, there is a nappy out there for you! ( or your baby at least ;-))
Over recent months I had begun to notice a change in the disposable nappies we were using, they had become less reliable and I had noticed both children were getting severe nappy rash, I searched around trying a few different brands and then noticed a friend on Facebook had posted pictures of her daughter in cloth nappies. I am a sucker for things that are bright, cheerful and a little different but was slightly apprehensive as, like many other busy mums, I thought they would be very time consuming and fiddly so I sat down and spent some time researching all the different types of cloth.
My decision to switch to cloth nappies was set in stone the moment I realised how far they have progressed recently. Gone are the days when you would have to fold each nappy and then attempt to put it on a wriggly baby whilst the baby tried desperately to escape leaving you back at square one.
I was surprised and delighted to discover that you can even buy what is known in cloth world as an AIO nappy, it looks similar to a disposable, it's as easy to use as disposable but, unlike a disposable it was made from the softest minky fabric and was rainbow striped. I was sold!
Over the next few posts that I hope to get up in the next few days, I will be reviewing different brands of cloth nappy so if you are thinking of using reusable nappies any time soon you will have a good idea where to start whether its to be more eco-friendly, save money or just be the latest fashion victim, there is a nappy out there for you! ( or your baby at least ;-))
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