Easy baking with kids

This evening I was wrecked, I had played as much 'farming' with TJ as I could take..,which was all of about 10 minutes, I'm just not very good at playing farming! TJ would have happily sat glued to the iPad, but I always feel guilty if he spends too long on it. I remembered I had gotten a jar of Bake it Easy cookie oat mix in my goodie bag from the Irish bloggers conference last weekend so I decided this evening would be the perfect evening to try it out. 

It was so easy and didn't make an absolute mess! All I needed along with the jar was butter, honey and an egg...which thankfully I had! 

Tj did all the mixing and stirring and spooned the mixture out onto the baking tray. Ok,,, there was no weighing or measuring ingredients, but to me it was time better spent than on the iPad! I wasn't sure if I had to flatten out the blob when I put it on the tray so I left them fairly big but, they didn't really spread so next time I would flatten them a bit more. 

After 12 minutes in the oven they were done! All of us liked the taste of the cookies...except TJ 😂 I'm not surprised, I'd say it was the oat texture he didn't like as oppose to the taste. 

I see on their Instagram page they are selling 2 jars for €10. I would definitely buy these again,,,they really do what they say on the tin and I love that they are an Irish company. 

This is my own honest opinion. 

Birthday parties...

I love a good theme for a birthday party! Over the years I've had lots of parties for the boys and I genuinely love the prep involved,,,I also love that I've gotten better (I think) at planning their parties,,, practice makes perfect as they say!
(If your looking for a girls party I've only thrown the one so far, and I warn you there was a lot of pink! Annabels 1st Birthday Party )

I think we are so lucky that we now have Pinterest for unlimited supply of inspiration,,,although this can sometimes be a curse when our own parties never quite get that same 'pinterest perfect' look! Also, I find shops like Dealz and Eurogiant brilliant for party supplies that don't break the bank. Also there is such a wealth of talent on Etsy if your organised enough to give yourself time to order off them.  

Here are some of my top boy themed birthday parties, usually the theme is whatever the boys were 'into' at that stage, I hope it gives some inspiration!

1. Soccer Theme...

We sent out soccer shaped invitations and everyone was asked to wear a jersey to the party. We were lucky with the weather and the kids spent most the time outside playing a soccer match and a penalty tournament. 

2. Farm Theme...

This was a mix of a cow theme and a farm theme! We went for John Deere green! The balloons were just white and I cut out and stuck on black cow pattern shapes. My sister printed the logo for his tshirt on iron on paper, it was so cute for the day but didn't wash well.
(As you can see the green table cloth was re-used from the soccer party!)

3. Magician Theme...

We had a magician for Senans 7th birthday party and he was amazing,,, he entertained the adults as much as the children! This would be great for a winter party where bouncy castles aren't really an option! I made the cake 

4. Superhero Theme...

For Senans 5th party we had a superhero theme by the lake. The invite asked everyone to wear a superhero costume if they wanted to,,,Senan was Superman obsessed at that stage so he wore his Superman costume and we had a superman cake. We went with blue and red balloons and table wear but other than that kept it fairly simple!

This was Senans 5th birthday, serious reminiscing here!

5 Top Tips for Fitting it all in

Everyone seems to have so much to do these days. We want to fit so much more into our lives. The buzz word seems to be 'balance', sometimes this isn't achievable, I think in life there are different phases when some things require more time and effort and other things have to slip for a while eg with small kids I think the priority is to spend time with them, when they're all grown up and gone I can shift more time back to pursuing my own hobbies. Sometimes its just not physically possible to fit it all in, so we need to figure out well what are the most important things to us.

1. Set your priorities, decide what is most important, is there anything you do that is just out of habit or for the sake of it, that you could actually stop.

Figure out not only how you need to start being more organised but also what you need to stop doing. (I had to delete the Daily Mail app because I literally spent hours of my life on it!!) Could you record you favourite shows and fast forward through the add breaks. So think about family, work, friendships, fitness, diet... what are your priorities? I find these Wheel of Life templates excellent, use the different categories to decide firstly what you want to prioritise and then by marking how happy you are in a certain area you can clearly see where you need to focus your time and energy.

I find these 'Wheel of Life' templates an excellent starting point.

2 Get up early or stay up late.....but NOT both! I am such a firm believer that everyone needs between 7 and 8 hours sleep to function properly! Personally I'm a morning person, I always have been even through my teenage years. Once it hits 8pm that's it, I'm off, I generally have no energy or want to do anything, so this is my watch TV, scroll through Instagram, chill out time. I do however get up early, that's when the washes get put on, lunches made, blog posts typed. But I am generally tucked up in bed by 10 o clock. I understand some people are night owls and I think this works great if you have a job that you can sleep in and get your 8 hours rest, its when you stay up late and have to be up to kids or for work, that's when it doesn't work. I think knowing when your most productive time of day is and using it wisely is key to fitting in more. 

3 Sometimes realise you can't actually do everything. Be fair on yourself. Ask for help. Build up a good network of people to help. delegate, get your spouse and children to help. Pay for people to help if possible. I think that when we look at celebrities or really successful people we forget that there is always a team of people helping them. I am not saying this to take away from their success, I am saying this to encourage us all build up our own team. Everyone has different skills and talents (cleaning is not one of mine, so I delegate this as much as possible!)

4 Write lists, allocate time for each thing. Make a plan. Again I know everyone is different but personally I have to write EVERYTHING down. From what I eat, to my exercise, to what phone calls I need to make. On a Sunday evening or Monday morning I write out my plan for the week. I literally feel so much calmer and have a clearer mind once I put everything on paper,,,it's like it empties my mind. I write down what has to be done each day, what I'm cooking for dinner and if I plan to exercise. Now sometimes naturally things don't go to plan and that's ok. I have lists on my phone that I go to regularly, for example my food shopping list, if I run out of something I just pop it in my list straight away so I'll remember to buy it when I go grocery shopping. Also at the start of each month I make a monthly plan, jot in any birthdays or events and it just helps figure out the month ahead.  

5 Multitask. Watch youtube videos or snapchat while chopping veg. Have a book in the car for when your waiting to collect the kids from activities. (bring a book for smaller kids to look at if they're in the car with you). Have runners in the car that if you have a spare few minutes you can pop on and go for a power walk, you get some fresh air and exercise. Don't try multitask changing a nappy and making an important business call. The trick with multitasking is knowing when to do and when not to! Putting activities that don't require much thought or have huge importance together means you can get double the amount done in the same time space.

Hope these help a little,,, let me know if you have any other tips or tricks!

Week 2 of Summer Holidays...

Our Week In Pictures 

So I hadn't intended on doing my week in pictures but after seeing last weeks I kinda like it, so here we go, this past week this is what we got up to!

We went to Kilkenny (without kids!!) Saturday night for a family members birthday. It was a great night away, we ate in Rinuccini's and had an area reserved in The Left Bank.....

 We did some gardening...

We went for lots of long walks in the countryside....bliss....

I went to a shoe event in Korkys in the Ilac Centre....

Here are some of the fab outfits styled by Justine King....

We brought the kids to Kildare Maze in Prosperous, Co. Kildare. It was fantastic, I would highly recommend it as a family day out! 

We had a busy morning of painting, blowing bubble and lots of water play in the sink, the toddler really loved it! I will definitely be doing more water play with him...

We went for a lovely breakfast in Miller&Cook in Mullingar, it was very tasty....

And we had a great world cup party!! Senan was party planner extraordinaire, its amazing how much a 9 year old can actually do when given the responsibility! It was great fun and we were delighted Germany won...

How are you summer holidays going??

My first week of summer holidays...

What a great first week of holidays we've had! We had very little planned (which is quite unlike me!) Things just kinda happened, the weather was a big bonus and made the days long, lazy and fun! 

Last week we.....

Played tennis....

Went to the playground...

Had a picnic in Pheonix Park...

Baked...

Played hurling...

Walked along the canal...

Went to the lake...

And ate ice cream...

Went to Kidz and Co...

And I went to my friends wedding...

There was lots of catching up with friends that I don't get to see during the school year, hanging out with family and of course plenty of laundry, cooking and cleaning!! 

If the rest of the summer goes as well as the first week we'll all be very happy campers! Fingers crossed the nice weather comes back! What are you up to for the summer? Any good suggestions for nice family days out? :) 

Style for the First Holy Communion

My sons First Holy Communion was in May, we had such an enjoyable, special, memorable day. Senan was so excited to wear his suit, he knew it was an extra special day! I got his suit in Next. It was sold a separates which was brilliant because the trousers were age 9, the suit jacket was age 8 and the waistcoat was age 7! The shirt I put with it was actually a school shirt that came in a packet of 2 from Dunnes Stores. His tie was one belonging to his Daddy! I bought his shoes in Paul Byrons in Mullingar. Baby TJ's suit was also from Next, lucky enough I bought age 12-18months even though he's only 8 months old! His little shoes I picked up in Penneys.
His Daddys bought his suit in Galvins Menswear in Mullingar, it was a fantastic deal they're running at the moment, the suit, shirt, tie and shoes all for €199! Such excellent value and I was impressed at the selection to choose from!
Lastly, me, I of course ended up in a mad shopping panic trying to find the right dress! After shopping in Dublin, Navan and Mullingar I ended up spotting a dress online in Coast. Being honest, I would not have looked at the dress on the hanger in the shop, never mid try it on! But, the dress looked lovely on the model. So after phoning around I found a dress in my size in Dundrum and thankfully it fitted and I loved it!! My sister spotted the coral coloured Mango jacket/blazer in House of Frasier. The icing on the cake were the shoes I got, they looked like they were made to go with my dress and u'd neve guess where I got them! When I went to the beauticians the Thursday before the Communion Lisa at Beautique Beauty (The Downs) sells shoes and handbags and had a perfect pair of shoes, and they only cost €40!

Ever have one of those weeks....that was just brilliant!

I had a full week off work this week which was lovely, especially since I'm only about 4 weeks back at work! Anyhow, my week off is nearly over and I'm just reflecting on how enjoyable it was! Just a perfect mix of kiddie time and me time!

I don't want to come across like I'm gloating because normally my weeks are fairly mundane and un-iteresting which made it even more important that I document the past week so I can look back and remember, you know what, life isn't all that bad or boring!

The Saturday of the May bank I met a friend in Malahide and we had a quick browse in Cari's Closet, some fabulous dresses and lovely friendly helpful staff. After that we popped back into Dublin Zoo with our kids, it was packed because of the nice weather but we enjoyed our afternoon strolling around looking at all the animals. Sunday was a day at home, no galavanting and I actually got into a cleaning frenzy (trust me, it does not happen often!) I even squeezed in a 5mile run, what a productive day! Bank holiday Monday we went to my local schools 50 year anniversary reunion, it was lovely seeing old faces and my brother had a piece of art work displayed especially for the occasion, he is so talented and his artwork looked amazing! After that I went to a hurling match, you know it's summer when there are constant GAA matches! But it was such a sunny day it was lovely to stand outside and watch the game, and to make it even better the team my boyfriend was on won :) To round off our Bank Holiday weekend off my boyfriend and I went to The Park Hotel (in Mullingar) for a quiet drink. In the picture I'm holding a wine glass but as you might have read in other posts I don't drink so its just 7up in the glass! I just prefer drinking out of the wine glass, call me crazy!
I am on a hunt for a dress to wear to my sons Communion this month so myself and 2 friends went to Dublin on Tuesday for a day of shopping! We started on Grafton Street, had a quick Starbucks coffee break and went over to Henry Street, after looking in soooo many shops I didn't find a dress, I ended up a bit stressed that I couldn't find a dress but we did get lovely food at The Church restaurant, very tasty! Cheered me right up!
Wednesday was a day at home with the kids, Senan loves when I (try) play the Xbox with him and TJ was happy watch me rearrange the wardrobe as I sang and played with him. Wednesday night I went to a play 'Move over Mrs Markham' in the Mullingar Arts Centre, it was a very witty, enjoyable show-lots of laughs!
Thursday was another kid free day and perhaps the best day of the week, I went to see The Lion King in The Bord Gais Energy Theatre, we went to the matinee show and it was absolutely fantastic, probably the best show I've seen yet, my only regret was that I didn't bring my 8 year old son, Senan, I know he would have been mesmerised by it! After the show we got a bite to eat in Elys Restaurant just across from the theatre , The food was so tasty and the waiter was so friendly and helpful, nice waiters make such a difference!
Week is nearly over, I promise! Friday I had lots of kids time in the morning, then I brought the boys on some more dress shopping in Navan! My main reason was to check out Ollie and Mac Boutique which I follow on Facebook and they are always posting fab dresses, I tried on a nice purple peplum dress but it just wasn't what I wanted for the Communion. Friday night I went for dinner to celebrate my friends 30th birthday, I can't believe it's all 30th's, feel like just yesterday we were celebrating our 21st's! We ate at Dominiques Restaurant in Mullingar, the food was amazing, I got the vegetarian filled peppers (I'm not vegetarian) and it was just divine! For dessert I got the chocolate brownie, unfortunately it was full of raisins and nuts which wouldn't be my favourite personally but 100% intend of going there again so will try out some of the other desserts! The food was presented so nicely and there was such a buzz and atmosphere in the restaurant it was lovely! I did have to leave straight after dinner though because the baby was awake and giving out, I think he may have bad
wind, he settled eventually!
Saturday and Sunday were normal, grocery shopping, parents over for dinner, hanging out with the kids, catching up on washing and watching Kim and Kourtney Take Miami! Back to work and normality in the morning!

How I try make my life easier

I think one of the reasons I love reading blogs and watching reality shows all the time is because we can learn so much from each other. Sometimes I feel we take for granted there is just one way of doing things, we grow up watching our mothers, who watched there mothers! However, in reality there are so many different ways to live out lives, raise our children, what to wear, what to eat, how to exercise, the list goes on! I love hearing new advice/information that can help make my family life easier and more enjoyable but also I love striving to live the best life I can live! Even if those around me think I'm a bit cracked! You can't make everyone happy all of the time, but as long as you stay true to yourself and what makes you happy and as long as your not intentionally trying to hurt anyone else, do what you want, the way you want! :)

Anyhow, that said, here are a few ways I like to simplify my life, or get the boring stuff done so I can spend more time on the fun stuff! ;)

How I make my life easier:

1. I use the tumble drier, I don't own a clothes line. (I know this may not be the best thing for the environment or my electricity bill, but it really makes my life easier!)
2. I make a menu /food plan for the week, so I'm not staring into the fridge every evening wondering what will I cook tonight!
3. I do one big shop once a week. I write my shopping list to correlate with the food plan I've made. I even freeze the milk. This way I don't have to make any stops to the local shop. Saves time and money!
4. I ask my boyfriend to help out. And I'm lucky to have a great family who are always willing to help! This makes an unbelievable difference, just knowing you have people you can depend on when you need a dig out is peace of mind.
5. I use batiste dry shampoo in between showers, its not the showers I mind it's how long it takes to dry and style my hair!
6. I use anti bacterial wipes to clean the bathroom. I give a quick clean round the sink and toilet, so a 'big' clean only has to be done every month (or two!) 
7. I use baby wipes to clean small patches of dirt on the kitchen floor instead of having to mop the floor everyday. Actually I use baby wipes to clean so many things in my house!
8. I don't iron clothes. I realise I'm lucky I don't have to iron men's shirts for work. What I try do is fold the clothes as soon as I can after the tumble drier is finished and for the most part they are crease free!
9. I hired an aupair, so no drop offs or pick ups with the baby, again such a time saver. I could do a whole post on how great having an au-pair is!
10. I bulk cook the babies food and freeze it.
11. I bought a good Hoover and steamer, and I've never looked back, it makes things quicker but also everything looks much cleaner!
12. Bulk buy stamps, a bit random I know but I always buy 10 stamps at a time which means I don't have to wait until Post Office opening times etc.
13. I don't drink anymore, again, I know a bit of a random one to put in here but it honestly makes my life so much easier! I don't have hangovers and I have more money at the end of the night which makes life a lot easier! 

Do you have any other ways you make life easy for yourself? Please share! :) 

Baby TJ is 7months old today! How he's doing...

Where have the last 7months gone!! I will admit I wished the first 3 months away! All I wanted was 6 hours of unbroken sleep! So at 7 months here's how he's doing:

His routine:
TJ usually wakes at about 6.30am, I give him a bottle and at 7am he gets a spoon feed. He stays up playing with his toys and wandering around in his walker until about 9am. I get him dreased during this time also. He's wearing 9-12 month clothes, although they are starting to get tight, I find dungarees the comfiest for TJ as the trousers can be a bit tight on his belly.
At 9am he goes down for a nap in his cot. He normally sleeps until about 11 although this can be a longer/shorter nap depending on the day. I try never to wake him up. He is quite a light sleeper and wakes easily if there is a lot of noise in the house.
He has a bottle and spoon feed at 11am. Stays awake playing until about 1pm, then goes down to his cot until approx 2.30pm. I can tell now he's getting tired because he starts rubbing his eyes and whingeing a bit.
He gets his next feed at 3pm, again a bottle and spoon feed. He's awake for the evening then. At 6pm he gets his bottle and last spoon feed. He's changed into his sleep suit and goes down to bed by 7.15pm. He can get narky at this hour of the evening and seems to get excited been brought down to bed! We always say 'Night night, TJ go sleepies'. We even get babysitters to say this! (a tip I got from Alison Scott-Wright's book 'The Sensational Baby Sleep Plan')
When we're going to bed we give him a bottle, he stays lying in his cot (a bit like Nina Fords 'dream feed'). Some nights he takes 4ozs, other nights he might only take 1oz! Many nights he wakes looking for his soother to be put in his mouth, although last night he didn't wake at all!!

Feeds and food:
7am: 6oz's of aptimal hungrier baby formula.
Millupa creamy porridge.
11am: 6oz formula
homemade puréed fruit
3pm: 6oz formula
Millupa/Cow & Gate boxes of food: I try all the different flavours, pear and rice etc.
6pm: 6oz formula
Home made dinner puréed, veg and meat eg. Sweet potatoe and turkey, carrots and chicken, potatoes and fish etc.
10pm: between 1 and 4 oz's of formula.
Snacks/Finger Food: Liga and rusks, squares of cheese, fruit
TJ has definitely cut down on the amount of formula he drinks, he generally isn't as interested in his bottles but loves his food! If he doesn't drink all his formula it gets mixed up with his solids.
He does seem to eat quite a lot of food for a 7month old but I also think he's bigger than the average 7month old, and my mantra is 'Every baby is different!'

What he can do/milestones:

• He can now sit up by himself!
• He can put is soother in his mouth. (and anything else he can get his hands on!)
• He rolled over once so far! Waiting for him to do it again!
• He is not a fan of tummy time!
• He can kind of hold his bottle in his mouth, wouldn't be able to feed himself the whole bottle!
• He can whizz about in his walker.
• He is starting to babble and shout.
• He has no teeth yet!
• Noticing everything that's going on around him.
• Plays well with his toys and rattlers, they can now hold his attention.

Baby Fashion-Chinos

I love baby TJ in this outfit! I have to say I'm a sucker for a knit jumper and chinos! It's one I my favourite outfits to put on the boys!
The navy and white stripy jumper is from Next and the chinos are from Heatons. Navy and grey socks are Baby Gap.

Keeping the kids busy- Idea #2

I know this isn't a very original idea but baking is always a winner with kids! Here's just a few tips:

1. Keep it simple!!! You don't need to try out a new recipe, rice krispie buns/cake always work well, or simple fairy cakes, scones are also an easy one too.
2. Let the kids get creative. Have sprinkles, food colouring, extra sweets for toppings. Kids feel more pride in the finished product if they have put their own personal touch on it rather than having it look perfect or exactly as it looks in the picture!
3. Use this as a great opportunity for developing oral language: mix, measure, how much, stir, ingredients, temperature,,, just keep talking about what you are doing and the utensils you are using.
4. I know there are lots of fancy cookie cutters out there and if you have some fantastic! But, if not, encourage your kid to get creative and use different size glasses, lids of tubs, egg cups, have a root in the drawers you'll be amazed at what you find!
5. Take time to enjoy the fruits of your labour! If it's a nice day go outside for a picnic with your freshly baked treats or if its wet and cold, how about setting up a tent or hut wit cushions and blankets and have an indoor feast!

A website I find lovely simple recipes on is www.odlums.ie
They have a specific 'Baking with Children' category. One of our favourite recipes are the Oaty Cookies.

Keeping the kids busy- Idea #1

With children all over the country getting 2 weeks Easter holidays today I thought I'd share some ways I've found to keep Senan occupied during school holidays!
With all the rain outside today I thought the first one I'd share is very apt!! Senan loved making a toy boat to test out in some of the many puddles and ponds left in the fields beside us! We just used plastic containers left over from fruit and veg, Senan made a sail out of paper and stuck it to a wooden skewer (old colouring pencil would do too) we used blue tack/mala to help it stand up in the boat. Then we wrapped up well and went outside to test it out! Senan had great fun, we just used things we already had in the house and if you want it to take longer encourage your child to put lots of effort into designing and colouring the sail! I hope you have fun trying it out!

Baby food blitz

I like to bulk cook TJ's food. This morning I had a busy morning, cutting, cooking and puréeing!
TJ is almost 7months old so i can't wait to start experimenting with different fruit, veg and meat! I'm very lucky he LOVES his food!
I prepared apple and pear, plum, and apple and plum, TJ loves these fruit purées for lunch.
For dinner I cooked potatoes, carrot and parsnip, chicken and a small bit of onion (it's very tasty!) I also cooked sweet potatoe and chicken, sweet potatoes is one of Tj's favourites!
I would love to know any nice recipes your baby likes to eat!

Boys fashion

I love how boys fashion can be so trendy now a days, I got this entire outfit for Senan in Penneys. I'm lucky Senan has always been happy to wear different shades of pink.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 🍀

I love any excuse to match the boys! So what better excuse than St.Patricks Day! Baby TJ is in a Dunnes Stores green and white striped jumper and beige chinos from Heatons. Senans green jumper is Penneys and his jeans are Levi's. Do you like putting your children in co-ordinated outfits?

Happy Mothers Day

Definitely one of the toughest jobs is being a Mammy but without doubt one of the most rewarding jobs! Happy Mothers Day to all the Mammys out there ❤

Lunch tip!

This is just one thing I do to try speed up getting ready in the mornings! I pack lunch for the entire week, I try always have some fruit, calcium (frubes are handy), a cereal bar and carbs of some sort, maybe a croissant or crackers. They are in the same press an Senan can get them and put them in his school bag himself!

My Boys!

I have 2 boys who of course are typical 'Mammys Boys!'-spoilt rotten! I've an 8 year old who is soccer mad! Fairly common for 8 year olds I think! And I have a 6 month old (yes quite a gap!!). He is just recently getting into a good routine. it has been a shock to the system to go back to nappies and bottles and crying but it is all worth it! And time does fly by so I try to enjoy it all as much as possible as oppose to wishing the days away.
There will be plenty of baby and kids posts to look forward to! :)