Walking

When should a baby start walking? Or crawling? Or smiling? All those developmental stages are very individual but if you start reading books which gives you timeframes it's quite easy to get too concerned if your child is not there yet. Especially for a first time moms. I know a friend who rushed to a doctor to have her baby checked out and see if she's ok despite not turning on her back at a certain age. That little girl is absolutely perfect and chasing butterflies no problem.

Our little Plum has just turned 15 months and not walking yet. While other kids younger than she is already running around. But I know she has time. Child suppose to make attempts to walk between 10 and 18 months - that is the official version of a experienced Public Health Nurse who is looking after us. And I am sticking with that advice.

Over last couple of weeks our girl made huge progress - she can climb sofa and chairs. Two days ago she had a go on this wooden trolly which is now her favourite toy. She is very close to making her first steps on her own. Still she has to get more stable while standing on her own.

But this could be it! She is almost there. And we are delighted! No rush my little girl!

Day trip with a baby

We went away to Belfast to visit the Titanic museum. While the experience was amazing, the same cannot be said for the staff in the museums that was serving us. It was a lunch time for all of us and we went to the museum's little bistro to eat something. 

One of the great advantages of Baby Led  Weaning is the fact that your baby can eat whatever you eat providing its a healthy, nutritional meal with reduced salt. We have ordered a big salad and a burger ( for daddy only). Unfortunately all the pieces of food were landing on the floor. Not even underneath the high chair but in a wide radiance too! Normally we would pick up all the bigger pieces from the floor when we leaving as we don't like to leave a mess behind but this time we were really surprised by the reaction of the café's staff. They couldn't be nicer about the whole situation! We were told to not to worry about the mess and enjoy ourselves! They said it couple of times too! We ended up giving H our packed lunch from home and there was no problem with heating it up either. We appreciated it so much!

At the same time it's always good to apologise for the mess and extra work someone will have to do.

Hopefully this will not last for ever and throwing our food will end. This will be noted for sure!

A month without sugar

...was surprisingly sweet! 

I always knew sugar is bad for you, but we all know it - don't we? I was blissfully ignoring that fact for way too long. Following my uncontrollable binging on sweet things during the festive season the time has come to say stop. I've noticed increased cravings for sweets and realised its just a downward spiral. Also constant tiredness, mood swings and problems with focusing started to become alarming. And the last straw - clothes became suddenly way too tight.

Can't remember the exact day when I stopped eating refined sugar but that doesn't bother me. I know it's not for ever - life is too short to deny yourself creme brûlée (my favourite dessert) from time to time. But at the moment I am using nature's transition from winter to spring as a perfect moment to get rid of old bad habits and to recalibrate.

 First step for me was to cut out sweets. As my cravings for them were quite strong I had to find a replacement. I allowed myself to eat fruits and dried fruits too - but in moderation. I threw in nuts in the mix as well. It wasn't easy but it worked. After more than four weeks I feel cured of my bad habits. I know my taste changed too. I tried banana bread ( wanted to be polite) at a social occasion and it was shockingly sweet to me, way too sweet. 

But what I love most about it is the fact that I got more creative with my desserts. I have made delicious almond, dates and raw cocoa balls and they are just amazingly delicious. As my taste changed any fruit now is a huge treat. 

My clothes started fitting me better too.

Surviving winter

Dark early evenings are almost gone but the freezing weather still holds strongly. 

While I'm stopping to dream about spring and summer, I'm doing my best to survive and even more - enjoy winter season. 

Here are my favourites things to do in winter ( not including here any snow or ice related sports. The country I'm leaving in doesn't get much snow)

- warm breakfast 

Oh I love porridge with almond milk and cinnamon. But recently I got hooked on milet groats with coconut milk, pomegranate and maple syrup. It's like best party in my mouth. Also I started warming up brown flakes with almond milk and coconut. Delicious!

- warm smoothies

My favourite is warm almond milk with banana, two dates, walnuts and cinnamon 

- evening Netflix sessions 

We are finishing Homeland on our projector screen. Brilliant view and no ads at all!

The V day weekend

We never cared to much about Valentines but it would be risky if one of us forget about it. Simple flowers are enough to mark the occasion and this year I got lovely no fuss bouquet of red roses. Love them! We also decided to give each other a book and cook for each other. Mine was the desert and I created it according to my own recipe. The challenge was that there has to be no added sugar as we are both trying to give it up. The result was amazing I must say and we felt great after it. I made a blueberry tower. The layers are made of paste of raisins with dates, ground almond, bit of corn flour and a tbs of row cocoa powder. I baked them for 10 mins. On the top there is Greek yoghurt with almond flakes and it's all garnished with some grated hazelnuts in Orange juice. Delicious! 

Other then this we were tiding up the house. Very romantic.

It's a getting better weekend

Last week was really tough for all of us. Our nanny got sick and poor baby Plum had to be taken out of her rutine and transported to her granny so she could be minded in her house. The temperature dropped down again and we all got sick. Runny noses, blocked noses and chesty cough. Not fun for an adult and definitely nothing pleasant for a little girl. When I start sneezing I always reach for a natural remedy. I am strong believer that nature can cure us from anything. It's also been well documented in many books but where I got that from was my own mother and grandmothers advices.

So here is what I was drinking all day yesterday and previous evening. I feel great now. I know it's easy to buy lemsip, fervex or any other over the counter quick chemical fix-me-ups. But they actually cause more bad side effect and all the chemicals stay long in your body. 

Than why not trust old Mother Nature?

This quick hot drink is easy, accessible and delicious. I put a slice of lemon, slice of ginger and a tablespoon of honey into a cup and pour hot water in it, voila! 

Na katar i przeziebienie zawsze najpierw siegam po naturalne sposoby radzenia sobie z nimi. Pyszny napar z cytryny i imbiru z odrobina miodu jest moim sprawdzonym przepisem na cieknacy nos i pierwsze symptomy choroby. Tym razem po raz kolejny mnie nie zawiodl!

Winter mornings

It is so cold at the moment, middle of winter here. I'm looking for delicious views and tastes and flavours to wake me up and make the process a bit less harsh for me. So far I love:

- my orchid flower blossoming 

- hot water with lemon - I love lemon flavour

- warm soya milk with my bran flakes and bit of coco

- winter sky

Co tu zrobic by zimowe poranki byly lzejsze. Oto moje pick me up!