How to calm your crying baby- The Hold

If you have a new baby at home, you have probably gone through a couple of nights where he/she just would not stop crying. I want to share this video called "The Hold"with everyone because it does work for most baby's. This technique of holding your baby was discovered and mastered by Dr. Robert Hamilton (pediatrician in Southern California). 

So i hope this helps you and your baby through those difficult nights as it has helped me.

xxx 

Natasha

5 ways to get ready for Baby's 1st Christmas

We are getting ready for baby's first Christmas and even though he is still to small to recall we hope to make this holiday as special for him as he has made it for us...

1.Take some pictures for the memories:
Even though baby is to small to remember it will be super cool to look back and show him how tiny he actually was.

2. Put up the Tree:
After a challenging past few months i can finally say that we are getting in to the Christmas spirit.

Usually i would of gone festive crazy from the 1st of November but due to my brother being in  a car accident and hospitalized, us moving homes, and having a baby bump as big as a watermelon; Christmas prep was something that just did not feel quite right to get in to.

Luckily my brother is doing much better and hopefully soon we will have him in tip top shape and back home again. With faith in God and the Angels we wait patiently.

But now we have our Baby Boy to celebrate and this will be his 1st Christmas!!! So our this years humble tree has been put up and we now have our first family photo...

3. Make Baby's 1st Christmas ornament.
I made this one out of Polymer-clay; This decoration was made for my God-Son Sotiris who will also be celebrating his first Christmas. The S stands for Sotiris.

4. Play Christmas music.
Eve though baby can't remember events at this small age, baby can get accustomed to sounds and smells. So play your favorite Christmas songs for your baby. I really enjoy "Kenny G Christmas" and baby finds it soothing and actually falls asleep to it.

5. Festive Smells.
Same as sounds and music start filling your home with the festive smells. These smells will remind your baby of his home childhood for ever. So bake something festive, light a scented candle and drink tea with a cinnamon stick in it.

5 Steps to getting back into your jeans

So... i have about 15-20 pairs of jeans in my wardrobe; and yes, i love them all!
Trouble is after 9 months of pregnancy and 3 weeks of breastfeeding, none of my beloved jeans actually fit :(

Therefore i decided that its time to get back in to shape (without affecting the quality and quantity of my breast-milk). My current weight is 62 kg and my goal weight is 55 kg. And these are the 5 steps i plan on following to get there...

Step 1: Cut out the sugar.
As i have been drinking a lot of warm beverages like tea for the cold weather and not a fan of honey in my tea; i have been adding 1 tsp of sugar to each cup of tea. I know... not the healthiest decision. So starting now sugar will be band from my beverages!  And this will be my step 1 to getting back in my pre-pregnancy jeans!

Step 2: Portions.
I am known for overdoing it a little when it comes to my meal portions. So for me this will probably be the hardest step but i am determined to make this change. So i will be reducing my portions to healthier quantities rather than that little extra that was usually added to the plate.

Step 3: H2O.
Yep, we have all heard it before and most of us just ignore it! Drink water!! So step 3 will be to get a sufficient intake of water which i believe has been lacking in my regular diet.

Step 4: Move it.
Time to get moving again! Before falling pregnant i was going to Taekwondo classes, dancing and taking dog for walks. Never-mind living on the second floor with no elevator. Now at a ground-floor home and a new born in my care; its a little hard to get out or do classes. But this wont be my excuse as i will make time for at least 30 minutes of moving it during the day. It may include dancing around the house while cleaning up and doing a few sit ups and a few squats for start.

Step 5: Rethink the grocery list.
Before i take my list and head off to the grocery store; i will be filtering my choices. Instead of the chocolate covered cereal we usually get, i will get some oats or even some special-K cereal. Plan to make better choices!

xoxo Good Luck!

Natasha

Breastfeeding - 5 things you should know

I am currently breastfeeding my 3 week old baby boy and am so glad to have these 5 things in mind...

1.Small Tummy: Newborn tummies are quite small; so in the beginning of breastfeeding your baby does not need a lot of milk to feel full. Nevertheless new babies may find breastfeeding as a little bit of hard work so it might take a new born approximately 30 min-1 hour of suckling to get the few drops needed to fill up.

2. Fast Milk: Also breast milk is easily digested, so don't worry if your baby is looking for the next feeding after an hour from the last feeding.

3. Breast Pain: Breastfeeding can be painful for the first month or so. But as time goes by your breast will feel less painful and the experience of breastfeeding will become more enjoyable. Also there is Lanolin cream to help with the nipple sores and pain.

4. People will talk: No matter what you decide to do, people will always think they know best. Don't allow anyone to pressure you in to breastfeeding or o feed your baby formula. It should be your choice and what suits you and your baby.  Advise on  techniques and helpful tips can be very helpful but further then that make sure you feel comfortable with the decisions you make.

5. Comfort: Make sure both you and your baby are comfortable. Breastfeeding can be stressful if you are feeling uncomfortable. So don't be shy to excuse yourself for a feeding if you not happy with the environment you are in. Also wearing easy open and close clothing will make your life easy as baby does not have much patience when he/she is hungry to wait for you to undress.

So these are the 5 things that i found helpful to know and comforting during my first weeks of breastfeeding.
I hope they help you too.

xoxo Natasha

Preparing your Dog for a new Baby

We have had our Baby Boy home for two weeks now; but have been preparing our Lab Hugo for the Baby's arrival for quite a while now.

In general our dog is such a sensitive and gentle soul on his own, so i was not to nervous about how he would receive the new family member.

Nevertheless my husband and i took a few steps to ensure that everything would go smoothly.
At 8 months pregnant it just happened that we decided to move home. So we needed to get settled in ourselves as well as get our dog Hugo used to the new environment.

Luckily the new place has a large back yard which is very helpful for the times that we are not able to take Hugo on all his walks. Hugo was used to go out for a walk 3 times a day (morning 7:00, afternoon 16:00 and evening 20:00) as we used to live in a apartment on the second floor with no garden obviously.

Prep 1- DOG WALKS

Moving in to the new place helped us lay out a new schedule for our dog. My husband continues to take him for the 7:00 a clock morning walk, i let him out in the garden about twice a day for 30 minutes a time and in the evening my husband takes him out once again.

It is very important that the dog still gets his time outside and his regular exercise even after baby is here. So make sure to prepare a walking plan before baby arrives.

It would be a good idea to get your dog used to going on his walks accompanied by different family members and friends that might be helping you out when baby arrives.

Also if it is difficult to keep to a stable walking time; try taking your dog out at various times so that he/she may get used to going out at irregular times.

Prep 2- BOUNDARIES

Get your dog used to boundaries before baby arrives. For example make sure that it is clear that the nursery is off limits. Do not try to implement new rules after baby arrives as this might create a little jealousy.

Prep 3- FEEDING & HEALTH

Do not on any circumstances neglect your dogs basic needs. Make sure your pup is well fed and healthy. Also do not skip visits at the vet as your dogs health should be in tip top shape especially when expecting a new born.

Prep 4- OBEDIENCE 

It is important that there is clear understanding between you and your dog before baby arrives. Your dog should be able to recognize  and obey simple commands like sit, stay, and know the meaning of yes and no.

If these 4 prep steps are covered there should be no problem bringing your baby home to meet your pup.

Hope you enjoyed this post as well as our photos of Hugo and a Baby Mario.

xoxo Natasha

Baby Boy - First experience as a mother - Breastfeeding

We had a Baby Boy!!!
Its been two weeks now that God has Blessed us with such a beautiful soul.
My husband and i are now proud parents of our son who we named Mario after my father.

For those who have read a few of my other posts, you may know that we did not find out the gender of the baby util baby was actually born...
You would imagine that after 9 months of suspense the gender would be the first thing you would want to know as baby comes out; but at that moment to be honest i forgot that i did not know the gender and just help my baby in my arms thanking God that the delivery went well and that baby was ok.

It took me several minutes to remember and ask what the gender of the baby was. I asked my husband who was sitting at my head and he already knew. So i suspect that the doctors must of mentioned it before, but with my confusion i did not even hear them.

Nevertheless i am super happy to have my beautiful boy  here at home and its been an unbelievable two weeks; full of surprises, mixed feelings, nerves, challenges and many many rewards.

Night 1:

The first night with baby was at the clinic. Most of the other mothers who gave birth on the same day (2nd of November by the way) had left their new born in the care of the midwives. But then again i was supervised to find out that most  of the mothers were not planning on exclusively breastfeeding their baby's. After the first night with baby by my side i kind of figured out why the other mothers decided to add formula to their baby's diet. Baby would wake up and cry for food every 10 minutes or so. At this point i was scared that i was starving my baby; but i just kept getting up and giving him the little breast milk i was producing every few minutes.

In the morning when the pediatrician came to check on baby i asked if my last nights experience was normal and he confirmed that it was. He advised to be  an option if patient and that slowly but surely more milk would be produced on baby's demand. The doctor also reassured me that giving formula would be only an option if baby dropped weight radically and more that usual ( it is normal for baby's to loose some of their birth weight in the first days).

Night 2:

Night 2 was not much different from night 1 and on that day i asked my husband to run to the supermarket to get some formula just for in case. Having the formula around gave me the safety that if needed it was there. 2 weeks later i still have the unopened-unused formula and proud that i have not been tempted to use it even during the sleepless first nights.

Day 3 - Night 3:

After day 3 i seem to have more breast milk coming down and baby seems more satisfied. He does not wake up so frequently and has made a routine of waking very 2-3 hours for a feeding.

At this point i must worn you about a few breastfeeding related discussants... 

• Sensitive and painful nipples: This starts immediately when first breastfeeding the first week is quite painful but it does get better and by the second week the pain is no longer an issue; Although nipples still are quite sensitive in week 2 also. 
• Leaking: Once the milk starts coming down you will experience some leaking. I use breast pads from NUK which are quite comfortable.
• Hard breasts: You may notice that your breasts start to harden when the milk comes down. This can also be painful. I managed to keep this under control by applying the shower head (with warm water running on to my breasts every time i would take a shower for a few minutes. This was a helpful tip from m sister which i find totally worth sharing with other new moms.

Night 4 and so on:

Breastfeeding has become much easier and baby is content with his meals. We have taken Baby Mario to his first check us at the doctors since the clinic and he has gained 500 gr which the doctor was very pleased with.  Dr. said there is no need to give my baby formula as his development seems to be good just with the breast milk. 

Helpful gadgets:

I have a breast pump at home which is very helpful! I recommend that every breastfeeding mom have one. This is very convenient to have a bottle or two pumped out for when baby is strapped in the car seat and gets hungry. This limits crying in the car or having to stop in random places to pop out the breast.  I am using the SWING MEDELA breast pump which i am very happy with and find easy to use. 

My Sunshine themed Baby Shower

At 37 weeks of pregnancy i was pampered, surprised and spoiled by my sister and my loved ones with a beautiful baby shower.

The theme of the shower was Sunshine and my sister went all out; from food to gifts to dipper cakes (nappy cakes), sunflowers and DIY's...

Oh! she even had me dressed in a custom made dress that made me look like a ray of sunshine ;)

The location was at  Breakfast at Teafunny's on Limassol Avenue in Nicosia. All the staff were super helpful, attentive and sweet. We all had a blast!!!

Here are a few images i can share with you:

Big Thanks to my sister Luisianna for such a unforgettable day.

NEW HOME - DECLUTTER

As things were not hectic enough... in a twist of events we just moved!!!

At 8 months pregnant i was packing up three years of my life in boxes and trying to gather all our necessary things for the baby that we are expecting VERY SOON!

It seems like we have accumulated so much stuff within these 3 years that i do not know where to put everything. This might be because the house we are moving in to is substantially smaller that the current place we are living.

Nevertheless... I am trying to declutter as much as i can by separating our stuff in to 4 categories:

1. Keep, 

2. Give away, 

3. Throw away 

4.Sell

CLOSET (No.1 place for clutter)

Figuring what to keep out of my closet is probably the most difficult part! Now with my pregnancy most of my pre -pregnancy clothes are not being used and i am not quite sure what will and wont fit after giving birth. This leaves me packing up all my clothes to take to our new place leaving me with a overfull closet.

So here is the game plan:

• REPLACE - if someone gives me something new or if i buy something new that i already have an old on of. The old one must go!!! Unfortunately  it seems like i have been keeping the old trainers just for in case of needing to wear them for dirty jobs and my black boots that have been used and abused but because they were my favorite instead of getting rid of them, they just get stuck at the back of the closet.
• GIVE BACK OR GIVE AWAY - so i have been given quite a bit of clothes during my pregnancy. Now i am left with clothes that used to fit me at 5 months of pregnancy but no longer fit me at almost 8 months. These should be given back o the original owner or given to someone who will need them. Same goes for any other items that you no longer have use for.
• DE- ATTACHE - If you have been keeping items in your home for sentimental purposes here is the question to ask yourself to finally make the decision if it should go or not: "If I lost it by mistake, would I really care, or could I even possibly be glad?” 
• EXPIRE DATE - give your stuff an expire date. If i don't fit in my old jeans after 6 months of pregnancy, maybe its time to get rid of them and think of buying a pair that fits my new shape and size. If you have not used that shirt for almost a year then its time to make your separate ways.

Don't know what to Throw away? Here is a list of things you can dispose of today!

• EMPTY BOXES (you know... the box of the salad bowl that you have been keeping for encase you need to move it and the box might keep it from breaking! Shoe boxes...)
• CARDS - some cards are worth keeping but others that do not have sentimental value must go.
• SOCKS WITH HOLES - lets admit it; if you have not sewed the hole up yet, its probably never going to happen!
• MAGAZINES & BOOKS - you have read them and now they just taking up space.
• CLOTHES WITH STAINS & HOLES - you know you probably never going to wear them again, so why are they still taking up space?
• CDs & DVDs- we have stopped listening and watching them. We do not own a CD player or DVD player anymore but the drawers are still packed with them. Give them to a second had shop or just give them away period!
• KITCHEN THINGS YOU DON'T USE - its been in the kitchen cabinet for 3 years and you have still not used it... Buy buy!
• DRIED FLOWERS - these accumulate dust and are not very feng shui friendly anyway!
• SHOES THAT YOU NO LONGER USE OR THEY JUST DON'T FIT
• OLD MAKEUP & MEDICATION- check the EXP date. if its passed throw it away!
• OLD PAPER WORK, MANUALS, RECEIPTS, TICKETS, COUPONS, WEDDING INVITES, OLD OR JUNK MAIL - if its paper and you no longer need it; get rid of it!
• OLD CELL PHONES & GADGETS - you know that you never going back from your smartphone to your foot-sized NOKIA!
•  CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS YOU DON'T LIKE OR LIGHTS THAT DON'T WORK.
•  OLD ARTWORK 
• HAIR AND JEWELRY ACCESSORIES - if its old, rusted, faded or broken then it must go!

Believe me the feeling of relief of getting the clutter out will make you feel much better and the open space in the drawers and house will make things more practical, easy to find and you will feel like a breath of fresh air!

What's going on at 36 weeks of pregnancy

I have not posted in a while due to some hectic events... We decided to move!!! Yes, move during my 33rd-34th week of pregnancy. I am glad though that we decided to do it then and not now during my 36th week. It would be almost impossible to pack all those boxes and move around now. Even driving has become a bit uncomfortable with all the humps and bumps in the roads.

At 36 weeks of pregnancy: i have officially reached 70kg making my total weight gain 15kg.

Baby is 2.800g (almost 3kg)

Doctors appointment was on the 7th of the month and the next will be on the 23rd. After that i will be visiting the Doc once every week.

Baby is moving loads and we can see a foot now and then poking on the side of my tummy :) Movement is most frequent when i am in the car, after a meal or resting.

We are still keeping the gender a surprise; 

so for now we are calling the baby "Baby" or "Jigglyputff "

 

or "Doof doof "(because that's the sound of the baby's heart beat).

Sleep? whats that??? Waking up 4-6 times a night to visit the bathroom has become a routine and also finding a comfortable position to sleep is a mission. So i am lucky if i do not wake up every 2 hours during the night.

This week i had my Baby Shower that was organized by my older sister who did an amazing job! (i will post photos and details of the My Sunshine themed Baby Shower in a separate post.

 The search for the Baby's Doctor has started and we will meat our first option on the 20th of the month.

Maternity Bag for myself & baby was put together this week. (i will be showing what went in to my bag in a separate post)

In two days time i will be entering my 37th week and i am getting a little anxious about the thought of giving birth. Although the excitement of meeting baby has been giving me butterflies :)

Essentials for a New Baby

Here is a list of what you Really will need.

(The most essential and basic)

Baby Clothing:

• 8 Undershirts (especially if you having a winter baby)
• 8 one piece pajamas
• 8 pears of socks or booties (booties fall of easily so i prefer socks)
• 3 hats
• 1-3 dress-up outfits
• Loads of Diapers (we call them nappies) 

Baby Sleep:

• Crib/Cot or Bassinet (Moses Basket)
• Crib/Cot or Bassinet mattress. Check out how to choose your baby's mattress.
• 2-4 fitted sheets
• 4-6 light blankets
• 1-2 thicker blankets

 Baby Care and Bath:

• A surface to change your baby. (Not necessarily a changing table. You could use a bed, or a dresser as long as a changing mat and your changing gear can fit within reach)
• Changing Pad
• Loads of dipper/nappy cream. (we like to use Sudocrem)
• Baby wipes (unscented to prevent irritation). Alternatively use some pure cotton wool dipped in lukewarm water
• Soft wash cloths
• Baby nail clippers
• Thermometer
• Petroleum jelly/Vaseline
• Baby oil (to help with cradle cap)
• Baby soap
• Baby bath

Baby feeding:

• Breastfeeding Milk Pump (if breastfeeding)
• Milk storage bags
• Formula (if using formula)
• 10 bottles and nipples
• Burp Cloths

Baby Transportation: 

• Baby Stroller
• Infant Car-seat

So if you have these for the first months of your baby's life you will be covered!

Definitely there are loads more baby stuff being promoted and sold. Some of which could make your and your baby's life easier and some that you will never actually use.

Try not to get carried away in all of the new and upcoming baby products as they will never stop coming! And use your own judgment to know what is practical and efficient for you and your baby.

xoxo N.G

DIY Building Blocks for Nurcery

Started preparing the baby's room yesterday...
As we do not know our baby's gender we are keeping it gender neutral but colorful.

I started the process by looking around the house for all the little things left over from older projects and that i have been keeping such as ribbons, peaces of material, Styrofoam and anything else to get the creativity working.

So i ended up finding some wooden letters that i had purchased a while ago for a projects when Christening my sisters baby boy, some felt in 3 different colors and a piece of Styrofoam from when we purchased a piece of furniture.

Step 1: I combined these materials together by cutting the Styrofoam in to 3 same size cubes.
Step 2: Laying the cubes over the felt i measured the amount of felt i would need to cover the cubes and then with a scissors i cut them to size.

Step 3: I sowed the loose sides of the felt closed. On the last stitch i made a little loop so i can hang the cubes possible to be a part of the baby's hanging mobile.
Obviously i am not the best sower and this is a little clumsy.

Step 4: Using glue i added the letters of the alphabet to the cubes.

All Done!

Scrabble Coasters

I have been wanting to make a few DIY projects to not only save some cash but also add some character to our home. 
So yesterday my hubby and i took a trip to the second hand store; we came by an old Scrabble board game at the price of €4.00. I thought this would be a good opportunity to make some coasters for our coffee table at home.

It was supper fun to sit down and come up with four letter words that would make up a cute coaster that would be interesting to read while taking a sip of your drink.
We spent about an hour or fun figuring out the words/sentences we wanted to use. This is what we came up with:

Second step was to find a base to glue our coasters on. I could of used the actual board but ended up using the back of a couple of old photo frames that had broken over the years and were not being used.

Using some Superglue we started gluing the letters on the frame boards.
Once the letters were all glued in place we used a cutter to slowly and carefully cut the coasters in shape.



That's that! Our Scrabble Coasters!!! 

Winnie the Pooh Cake for Baby Shower

So as i have mentioned in my previous posts, we are still in our 4month practice stage.

Taking the opportunity of one of our family members expecting her first Baby Boy, we decided to Bake and decorate the cake for her Baby shower.

The whole theme of the baby shower was Winnie the Pooh and the mommy to be is planing on decorating the nursery with the same theme.

Keeping this information in mind we started baking...

Making a 3 tier rectangular cake to feed 30 people. We chose to make bottom and top layer vanilla flavored and middle layer chocolate. For the icing we used butter-icing that is the families favorite.

Baking took us a couple of hours and thankfully we have two ovens in the house which made things easier. We had the two vanilla tiers in one oven and the chocolate in the other all baking at the same time.

Obviously we stuck to the theme and wanted to take it a step further by creating something that the expecting mommy could keep.

We decided to created the characters of the Winnie the Pooh series in polymer-clay so that they could be part of the nursery decor.

Using colorful fondant and cut outs of bay bottles and strollers for the cake decor...

Done! our fist large cake project!

xoxo

N.G

Pregnancy Nesting

At almost 26 weeks of pregnancy i have noticed my Nesting instinct kick in.

Nesting is the urge we get to start creating a home for our new born; somewhere safe, cozy and clean.

As we have decided not to find out the sex of our baby until its born... I have been keeping to a gender neutral color pallet as i start buying little bits and peaces for the nursery.

Sticking to tones of cream colors, wooden brown (crib) and highlights of turquoise. Baby pink or blue will be incorporated latter on.  All together this gives the room a little bit of a vintage look.

Yesterday was Monday and i started taking upon my self to clean the room that will be the nursery as well as the rest of the house step by step.

I would like to get as much as i can done before i become to heavy! Already bending over is not an option as the baby is a little bigger than the usual for 25 weeks; said the Doctor, at our last scan. This makes me believe that it might be a boy ;)

This week end we made our first purchase for baby clothes. Nothing much just 4 baby vests and a hat. Oh! and also a pair of curtains that i happened to find second hand in great condition for just €6.00 :) Nevertheless it was exiting to pick them out together with my hubby and imagine our little bundle of joy wearing them soon.

So yesterday was Nesting Day 1:

I ended up washing window, windowsill and shutters of the large window in the baby's room.

Then came the fun part which was hanging up the curtains we had picked up this weekend!!! It is incredible how curtains change the image of a room with not to much effort.

The next item i would like to purchase for the room is a double bed quilt in the same color pallet of the room. We decided to keep the existing double bed in the room to come in handy if we have guests over or for those night when baby keeps us up. I will probably also make use of the bed as a changing station.

Also on the to-do-list is to get hold of some of those small hangers for baby clothes. Luckily most times when buying baby clothes they come already on the hanger which is very convenient if you planning to hang clothes. But nevertheless i think it will be a good idea to get a few more. I know IKEA carries them and will probably be taking a trip there soon. I might also start making compartments in the wardrobe for the smaller items like hats, socks, mittens and other little items.

We are expecting in the beginning of winter so i want to make the nursery as cozy as possible. Hopefully i will be able to save up a little and get a nice rug or carpet for the room. Financials are really an issue these days so i will be looking out for a bargain.

Hopefully i will be able to add a few pictures of the nursery soon when things start taking shape.

But until then i still have a lot of scrubbing and cleaning to do!

Practice makes a perfect Business

We all have heard that practice makes perfect!

This should be no different when it comes to starting up your own business. So once you have done some soul searching and found that special idea that excites you to move forward don't just jump in to it with no experience in your back pocket.

Make a Plan:

Decide on a time span that you can afford and that would be adequate to gain a good amount of experience for the idea that you have chosen. As my idea is creating a home cake bake service i have set aside the next 4 months for practice/experience and experimentation.

Goals for this time period:

During this time my goals are to bake as much as possible.

 - Try out new recipes without being afraid of the flops.

 - Keep all the good recipes and make my "bake bible"

 - Have as many people as possible taste my creations and give me their honest opinion. (keep an 

   open mind and take critical criticism constructively)

 - Volunteer to bake as many cakes for special occasions as possible (birthdays, celebrations, 

    baby-showers, family functions etc.)

 - Day Dream about what my business will be like... Thinking of names (just as if you were planing 

   on having a baby). Your business should feel like something you love and want to nurture just like 

   a  new born baby.

 - Take advice! Listen to the people around you that have more experience than you and learn as 

    much as you can from them.

 - Save!!! Having the means to start your own business is probably what will make or break you. If 

   you worried that you may not have all the funds that you need start saving! If you can save 10 

   dollars; those are 10 dollars more then you had yesterday!!!

 - Be afraid! If  you do not fear about what may or may not happen; then probably you are not 

   thinking to seriously about this new change! Being scared helps you stay focused, challenges your 

   determination, makes you practice more and work harder to achieve your goals. So don't be scared 

   of feeling scared!

Here is a sneak peak to one of my practice cakes "Doukisa Cake with a Summer Theme" (we made this to take to a friend house when we were invited for drinks...

I believe this still needs some more practice to make perfect. But it was a good start and i probably know what needs to be adjusted now so that the recipe will be perfect.

Apple & Cinnamon Cake

So i made this delicious apple and cinnamon cake that wowed everyone at the office!

 Loads of people have asked me for the recipe! So here it is:

Ingredients:

3 Cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
5 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup oil
3 cups chopped up Apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons whiskey
Some icing sugar to sprinkle on top (i also sprinkled a little cinnamon on the top)
Butter and flour / non stick spray for cake pan (not to stick)

Preheated Oven: 170°C

Here is How:

Step 1 - Wisc the flour and baking powder together in a bowl.
Step 2 - In a larger bowl beat your eggs until frothy. Add sugar to the eggs and keep beating until creamy. Once creamy add the oil and whiskey to the eggs and sugar mixture.
Step 3 - Add slowly and one cup at a time the flour mixture to the egg mixture.
Step 4 - Add in a separate bowl your chopped up apples and one teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix together so all the apple has cinnamon on them.
Step 5 - Add the apples to the egg and flour mixture folding in with a wooden spoon.
Step 6 - Butter and flour your cake pan to insure no stick.
Step 7 - Poor the cake mixture in to cake pan and allow to bake for about 40min.

 Here it is:

 

Saving achievements and setbacks

From the beginning of the month i had planned to save some money as last month i had literally found the bottom of my savings.

This has not been easy but i have still not lost hope; with 17days left for the end of the month the goal is to save €140.00 which would be double of what i was able to save last month.

There have been quite a few demanding challenges to overcome this month and i have been trying to tackle them one by one with these few steps: 

Lower the Bills:

We all know that they are coming and they can not be stopped. The bills will end up at our door step no matter what we do! Nevertheless this does not mean that we can not do our part in lowering the amounts. By taking caution of the electricity use at home i was able to lower our electricity from the usual €90.00 to € 63.00. :)

• I was able to do so by making sure to remember to use the full potential of daylight and not switch on lights during the day. Also remembering to turn the lights off when leaving a room. 

• I reduced our loads of washing to once or twice a week rather than the usual three times a week. Bonus! i don't have a bunch of folding to do so often :) 

Second Hand:

Preparing for a new baby one of the first items on our must have list was a Stroller and car seat. After searching online for a while; we were able to find a good quality stroller (Graco Evo pushchair stroller with car-seat) second hand in great condition and for the fraction of the price of a brand new stroller. I'm not saying it was easy! we had to go through a lot of rejects as many adds would say good condition but in reality they were quite worn away, used and abused. Nevertheless we finally got lucky and i am super happy with our purchase of €95.00!
So i recommend having a little bit of patients to search and check out what is out there second hand.

Creative Gifts:
This month happens to be high wedding season here in Cyprus. Meaning... we have to not only attend but provide wedding gifts for many couples to who's wedding we have been invited to. For a special friend who i wanted to give something nice to i ended up making her a hand crafted, 3D-bridal duplicate of herself made from POLYMER CLAY which i had at home. She thought this was very special and ended up loving it. So, i was able to give her a gift that i was proud of without having to spend extra.

Catalogue Shopping:

Besides making a list of all the things we needed from the supermarket and keeping to the list. I was able to find the Specials Catalogue of some of our local supermarkets online. I made sure to get the items that were on my shopping list according to the Specials and Offers that were advertised on the catalogue. Yes, this might mean that you would have to sacrifice your favorite shampoo brand for an alternative one that happens to be on special. But surprisingly enough i have discovered brands that i like even more with this tactic; brands that i would probably not have tried if not for this new shopping system.

I must admit that i was not all good this month...
On the days where i felt to tired and to pregnant to even think of cooking i fell in to the temptation and easy solution of ordering in or eating out.

Also ended up buying a few things that i had not planned on purchasing this month. That is what happens when you get the idea of just taking "a walk" in the mall!

Also indulged in a night at the movies which came up to about € 32.00 for 4 people.

I estimate that my setbacks have a total of € 132.00

So, with 17 days left i am hoping to have saved €140.00. It would be great if next moth i could double that amount but lets see how this month goes first!...

Lego theme party decor

Here are a few more creative ideas that we used for our Lego Themed Party (Christening)

Photo Booth 

This was great fun to have at the Party and most of the adults enjoyed it maybe even more than the kids :) It was a fun addition to the Lego themed Party.

Styrofoam Lego Decor

My sister and her hubby stayed up all night spray painting these Lego centerpieces that came out looking amazing!!!

One for each table...

 

 

Actual Legos

The younger kids were entertained for hours playing with actual Legos that we had here and there. We also ended up with beautiful creations to take home...

Lego Crayons for Lego theme Party

Here are some creative ideas that were used for our Lego Themed Party (Christening)

Lego Crayons

What you will need: 
Lego themed silicon mold 
Old (or new crayons)
Oven
Knife (or scissors)

Method:
1. If your old or new crayons have paper on them; peal the paper off.
2. Sort your crayons by color
3. Cut the crayons in to small pieces
4. Preheat oven to 220 C. 
5.Fill the molds with small pieces of crayon (after a couple minutes in the oven you can    pull them out and add more pieces of crayons to the ones that needed it.)
6.Place mold on a baking tray and into the heated oven for 5 minutes to completely 
   melt.
7.Once fully melted, take out of oven and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Then 
   place in the fridge or freezer till hard.

NUTELLA BRAIDED TEAR AND SHARE BREAD

Found this video for  NUTELLA BRAIDED TEAR AND SHARE BREAD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwvYmBo_bN4&feature=youtu.be

We have tried and tested this recipe and its delicious in every way.

Here are our before and afters:

Breakfast Treat: French Toast with Honey & Cinnamon

This week end was full of Breakfast Treats.

Saturday morning started with French Toast with Honey & Cinnamon; simple and easy but nevertheless delicious.

French Toast with Honey & Cinnamon

Ingredience:
6x slices of bread (of your choice)
4x large eggs
1x tablespoon of milk
sprinkle of cinammon
Table spoon of butter or cooking vegetable oil
honey as much as needed
1x non stick pan

Method:
1. In a bowl beat the 4 eggs with the milk. Add the cinnamon and beat until mixture becomes smooth.
2. Add the butter to your non stick pan and allow to melt/ vegetable oil to warm up.
3. Soak both sides of  2 slices of bread in to the egg mixture and then place in pan. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until they look golden. 
4. Once golden squeeze some honey on the top of each slice while still hot so the honey will melt in to the french toast.
5. Repeat this for the rest of the bread slices until mixture if finished.

There you have it... easy and simple breakfast treat!!!

12 Best Tips for Saving

Here are a few tips that will help keep some cash in your pocket:
 
1. Saving your change! Gather all your loose change in one place (not in your purse or pocket where you will end up spending it). This could be kept at home and over the course of one year, you will surely have a good gathering of an emergency fund.

2. Keep Track! It is important to know what you spend and were you spend it. Keeping track of all small purchases will help you evaluate your expenses and also allow you to make better choices in the future. Example: I bought bread and milk from the local bakery and spent €3.25. On a different day i bought bread and milk from the local supermarket and spent €3.10. Not a big difference? Well a little goes a long way... Take note of where you can purchase your essentials cheaper and keep track of how much you have spent over the course of one month.

3. Think Before you Spend! You saw that beautiful dress in the store window and you just got to have it? Or do you? Don't buy it on impulse, take a day to think about it. Is it an evening dress; will you ware it more than once; will you get good use out of it if you do purchase it? If you give your self a little time to think it over, you will have less regrets about impose spending.

4.Create a Budget! Start from the first day of the month and keep all your receipts of all purchases (big and small). By the end of one month, you will be able to know what are your major monthly expenses and what are your & your family's needs and expenses. You will be able to then create a realistic budget for all these expenses and always keep keep within that budget.

5. Spend what you have! Yes, it might be the easy way out to use your overdraft option when paying with credit or debit cards. Unfortunately this will leave you in dept and could effect how you sleep at night. So spend what you have and no more. Make this a Golden Rule!

6. Prevent! Do you avoid certain things until they just have to be done? Do you neglect the cervice of your car until it finally breaks down, leaving you with a repair bill that is be double the amount of your regular service? Make a plan and add these chores to your monthly budget. If its accounted for there will be less change of you avoiding what has to be done before any disasters.

7. Sales/Discounts! Take advantage of the months were all the stores go on Sale. This would be the best time to purchase birthday/Christmas gifts in advance. Its the perfect opportunity to buy that something special at 50% off.

8. Tangible Goals: If you plan on putting €200.00 or more toward your savings; chances are you will not meant your goal. But saving €20.00 a week is a more possible scenario.  Keep your goals simple enough to be able to keep them! 

10. Shop On-Line! Are you planing on having a party? Are you expecting a new baby? If you have a heads up on upcoming events, it is not a bad idea to purchase items online and in advance. Also try to purchase things in bulk so shipping fees are reduced.

11. Plan ahead: Are you spending quite a bit of money on ordering food for lunch? Planing ahead by making little extra food from the night before so  you can take to work the next day; will have a large affect on you savings. 

12. List It! Before heading out to the market make sure you have your grocery list in hand.  Make sure you keep to the list and do not end up purchasing the unnecessary items just because they happen to be on promotion.