When she was a bit less than 1-year old I made this quiet book for her.
I know it's not nearly perfect, I had to fix it a couple of times as Anabela plays with it sometimes a bit too aggressively. But she really, really enjoys it.
I put these pages together by sewing them together and filling with an additional cotton base, later I glued and sewed smaller elements on each page. If you don't know how to sew you can definitely make it just with using a glue gun and go for cardboard vs. fabric and felt pages and just glue the elements on regular cardboard pages.
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I used materials such as felt paper, colorful buttons, pompons, pieces of colorful fabric, zippers and tools such as needle and thread, glue gun, sticky adhesive dots, binder rings, eyelet plyers and eyelets.Since this one, I made a couple of more, more simple and easier to make quite books, this time I photographed the process and will share it with you in upcoming posts.
Until her second birthday, Anabela didn't know the names of many cartoon characters. Well...now she does! :)
Little before her third birthday (aka a few weeks ago), she became 'obsessed' with Peppa Pig and I noticed that she has a bit less patience, especially after most of the day spent in kindergarten, to do any educational activities at home.
This is why I use these materials as my 'jocker in the sleeve' for rainy days or cold weekend days and travels when I introduce them as a 'new toy' to play with. I will post here on my blog the art and educational materials I made or found through various free sources online periodically so you can also give it a try with your child if you want.
PEPPA PIG DIY EDUCATIONAL & ART MATERIALS
Coloring Pages
Even if you don't think you have a lot of time and if you are not too crafty, you surely can find time to just print out some coloring pages and give it to your child along with a box of crayons, this will also save you money spent on coloring books :)USEFUL TIP!
I print out coloring pages and staple them together and I just keep them in the stroller and give them to Anabela to color with a small box of crayons while we are in the restaurant or cafe rather than giving her my phone to watch cartoons.
To make the coloring pages last longer, you can run the printed out pages through the laminator and have my daughter color these pages with removable coloring pens. Later I just wipe out the pages with wet wipes and reuse them :)
Counting Puzzles
What you need to do with these is just print them out in color on A4 size paper, laminate it (as toddlers rip paper easily or spill over it) and cut it in strips following the lines, your child will put together each of Pepa Pig family members as a puzzle and at the same time remember how numbers 1-5 go in order and how they look like.I did the same with English Alphabet Cards print, laminate, and cut.
Dress Up Game
This one is Anabela's favorite! What I did with this sheet is print it out, laminate and cut and then I used magnetic paper cut it into tiny squares (you can just buy a strip which you can glue without glue gun) and glued them with a glue gun on the back of the each Peppa's clothing piece and her body. Next, I used small metal toy cookie tray I got from Ikea and used it as a backboard to play dress up with Peppa. This game is really great for the car and travel as the small pieces have magnets and will stick to the metal cookie tray background.
English Alphabet Placemat
As we are raising Anabela trilingual I try to make educational materials on all languages she is speaking. So, although we speak to her exclusively in Croatian (her maternal language, the language of emotion) she also speaks Catalan, Castellano, and English daily and in Fall she will start with Mandarine Chinese and Russian.This alphabet sheet I found on one of the Peppa Pig sites while ago and I decided to print it in A3 format and laminate it to use it as a placemat while Anabela is eating.
We try to always have her set her table on her own and sit and eat. In our family meals together are super important and social so we talk to her about her day and if she is having that day when she doesn't feel like eating we play a bit with this placemat learning letters with Pepa. :)
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Depending on their age they will spend less or more time playing with it. I noticed Anabela grew into some things I made several months later and started playing with it most intensively so do not get discouraged if you spend time making these things and at first it looks like your child is not interested.
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Normally, I don't make much of a dough pastry, other than different types of healthy muffins for my daughter. For a long time, I was looking for a recipe for the really soft and dummy-proof dough which is easy enough to make and which I can then fill with salty or sweet stuffing. Also, I am not to good with making pretty shapes so I was looking to find something I can shape easily with no special pastry tools.
I found this great pastry recipe, I tried to make it four times with different stuffings to make sure I can recommend it to you guys with confidence. This pastry is made with milk and egg whites. I tried to make it with vegan substitutes and the pastry came out equally soft.
The quantity of pastry in this recipe yields about 16-18 rolls, depending on how small you cut it. I went with golf ball size pastry ball to form each roll.
HOW TO CUT THE DOUGH
In order to get the rib form of the roll on top, roll out each golf ball size pastry chunk into a rectangle and place a bit - 2 teaspoons of filling (fresh cheese, cooked ham, and mozzarella; jam; Nutella etc.) on one far shorter end of the dough rectangle, roll the sides so the filling doesn't leak out while baking.On the other end of the dough, rectangle cut 4-5 lines with a very sharp knife but stop before the edge. Roll the dough from the filling side towards the cut side tucking the sides in as you go. At the end twist the form inwards a bit to form a roll.
Super Soft & Delicious Easy Pastry Rolls.
Super soft, dummy -proof pastry rolls with dough made with milk and egg whites, dough raises for 2 hours however it takes only 15 minutes to bake them.
prep time: 2 hour and 15 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 2 hours and 30 mins
ingredients
- 400 ml / 1.6 cups of warm milk
- 180 ml / 0.7 cups of sunflower oil
- 1 pack of dry yeast (2 & 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 tbsp / 1 soup spoon of sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 900g / 31.7 oz all purpose flour
- Linen seats / sea salt / sesame seeds (optional toppings)
- 2 egg yolks (to brush the pastry rolls)
instructions
- In large pastry dough add warm milk, oil, sugar, egg whites, yeast and mix it / beat it with an egg beater.
- Slowly add flour and salt, hand knead the dough slowly. It will be soft and sticky, that is how it should be.
- When the dough becomes the more compact place it on the floured surface and hand knead a bit more.
- Brush the large clean bowl with oil and oil the dough a bit with your hands, place the dough in the bowl, cover it with nylon wrap and let it rise for 2 hours on a warm spot.
- Place the dough on floured surface and cut it in equal pieces (about the size a bit larger than a golf ball). Roll out each small ball of pastry into a rectangle.
- Fill one far shorter end of the rectangle with filling (I used fresh cheese) and tuck in the sides so the filling doesn't leak out during baking.
- Make 4-5 cuts in the middle of the dough on the other far end of the rectangle but stop before the edge.
- Warm up the oven to 190C / 374 F. Line the baking dish with baking paper.
- Roll the dough from the filled side towards the cut side while tucking the sides in a bit.
- Form a roll. Place it on the baking paper lined the baking dish. Brush the pastry rolls with egg yolks and sprinkle with optional topping of your choice, I used linen seeds and salt.
- Bake the rolls in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
This is my go-to recipe for homemade bread. My family loves it and asks me to make it often. It is truly dummy proof recipe so if you have never made bread before, you can start with this recipe with no fear of failing.
I got this recipe from Croatian cooking facebook group which I follow, the recipe author's name is Rajka Sunajko and it has become legendary for how easy and simple it is to make, it tastes like old school grandmas bread baked in clay and it stays fresh for a couple of days.
This bread is crispy from outside and soft from inside. The most important parts of the preparation process are:
1. Leave the bread dough to rise for a minimum of 4 hrs, ideally overnight.
2. You should not forget to use the clay or glass casserole dish with a cover and warm the whole empty dish together with the oven before adding risen dough to it.
I hope that you enjoy making and eating this bread as much as I do!
Yield: 6
Grandmas Homemade Bread Baked in Clay.
This bread is crispy from outside and soft from inside. The most important parts of the preparation process are:
1. Leave the bread dough to rise for a minimum of 4 hrs, ideally overnight.
2. You should not forget to use the clay or glass casserole dish with a cover and warm the whole empty dish together with the oven before adding risen dough to it.
1. Leave the bread dough to rise for a minimum of 4 hrs, ideally overnight.
2. You should not forget to use the clay or glass casserole dish with a cover and warm the whole empty dish together with the oven before adding risen dough to it.
prep time: 10 minscook time: 40 minstotal time: 50 mins
Ingredients
- 3 cups of flour of your choice
- 1.5 cups of warm water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 pack of dry yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
Instructions
- Spoon mix together well all of the ingredients. No need to hand knead the dough. The dough will be liquidy, that is how it should be.
- Cover the bowl with the dough with the nylon wrap and place it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or ideally overnight.
- Heat the oven to the maximum heat. For my oven that is 250 C / 482 F along with the empty covered clay dish.
- Carefully take out the empty, covered heated clay or casserole dish out of the oven and line it with baking paper.
- Spoon out the dough onto a baking paper, cover and place it in the oven, leave it to bake for 30 minutes on maximum heat.
- Take off the cover off the dish and reduce heat to 200C / 392 F, leave it in the oven baking on this lower temperature for another 10 minutes.
- Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool a bit before serving.
In line with this year's blush pink holiday home decore trend, I got inspired for my post-holiday #ootd with blush pink, gold and a dash of sparkle colors and hues.
One of the most inspiring fashion influencers for me is most definitely Blair behind the well-known blog Atlantic Pacific, I love how Blair styles her looks and how she brilliantly wears bold colors.
In this pregnancy #ootd I am wearing some pieces from her limited edition collection for Nordstrom called Halogen.
A POP OF COLOR & A DASH OF SPARKL.
Although I am not foreign to adding color to my #ootd's I am certainly not very bold when wearing and styling colors which I would like to be and I am trying to change, because colors I am wearing indeed very much affect my mood (just like the weather does).For this look, I went with three stand out pieces: Halogen double-breasted wool blazer which reminds me of iconic Balmain blazer, my super old gold pleated skirt and sparkly mary jane flats also from Halogen collection.
PLEATED SKIRTS IN PREGNANCY.
Pleated A-line skirts are one of my pregnancy go to pieces because you can easily fit them just above the belly and just tuck the waist in when you can't close the zipper fully anymore due to your belly size. The gold metalic color of this one just ads aditional pop to this festive look.
SILK HAIR SCARF.
I have been wearing head scarves for years now to tame by long and rebelious hair, as God knows I am not very creative with my hair styling, but since past Summer I have been transitioning the seasons with this pink neck scarf from Uterque which I use to add a preppy flair to my every day ponny tails, buns or braids.I love how Barcelona's Gotico old town quarters where we shot this post give an antique and misterious back drop to this preppy and festive look.
Lastly, a pair of shoes I thought I would not wear often as I would never think of pointy shoes let alone glittery ones to be this comfortable but this pair made me absolutely change my mind and I wore then more than any of my flats so far. Even on my tired and swollen prego feet.
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Ethical fashion labels are my go-to choice whenever I manage to find a size and item that suits my personal aesthetics and most 'statement pieces' I have in my closet are done by independent designers. This oversized neon yellow and green jacket by Slovenian designer Miro Misljen is one of those pieces. This jacket is not something you would wear every day as you would a black coat but it is a true statement piece I often get questions about when I wear it.
As I am now 23 (almost 5 months) weeks pregnant all of the oversized clothing pieces are part of my daily outfits. For this look I was inspired by overized shoulders and sleeves so I styled Miro Misljen's stand out oversized jacket with my Asos chunky neon yellow sweater with braided sleeves while I kept the bottom of the outfit in black.
These sides tie up leggings reminded me of braiding on the sweater sleeves so I used this to connect top and bottom of the outfit. I got them a while ago from Nasty Gal if I remember correctly. The tight high suede S.Weitzman boots I got a few seasons back and they continue to be one of my best footwear investments.
Although, any pregnant women will tell you there is no such thing as comfortable footwear during pregnancy (if you exclude Uggs, Crocs and similar shoes which I don't consider shoes) sooner or later even sneakers bother your swelling feet especially if you run around a lot during whole pregnancy like I do.
Finally, when it comes to the dressing, I try to use my #ootds to brighten my mood as I am a mateoropathic person so I try to use rich, vivid clothing colors in Fall and Winter to brighten my outfit as for my mood it seems to be equally beneficial for my mood as bright and warm rays of Winter sunshine.
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This might not be your typical maternity outfit but it really works in so many ways. Other that is not so typical for pregnant women to wear head to toe white or cream as, well, all the curves are showing already in the second trimester, there are ways to wear it in combination with print and black to bread the head to toe one tone and to emphasize the waist and break the body curve.
MATERNITY WEAR OR REGULAR CLOTHES SIZE BIGGER?
For me this wasn't the question when I was pregnant with Anabela, I literally got all black maternity essentials and then combined them with floaty dresses and tunics I already had in my regular size closet.
What I do not feel at all comfortable wearing are pants and skirts so in this pregnancy as with my first I invested in Mamalicious over the bump leggings in basic black, navy and grey colors. These are suppppper comfortable to wear casual, for a workout or dressy with the wool sweater and over the knee boots.
Another thing I am getting in large quantity is pregnancy, over the belly tights in tan and black color as I do wear a lot of dresses during pregnancy. The last thing you want or need at this challenging life period is having pants or tights cutting into the middle of your belly, so do not save on comfortable bottoms during pregnancy.
ANIMAL PRINT ACCESSORY
Those of you who read my blog for a while know I am not shy to wear animal print or any other print or color for that matter. For this #ootd post, I was inspired by Mango's last collection with beautiful chunky knitted wool and cashmere pieces in nude.
Mango is where I got this super soft and comfortable knitted maxi strap dress (I got it in size bigger than usual not to feel super tight over my belly) which I then styled with organic cotton black t-shirt from H&M, I used my black eco-leather jacket from Free People to break the all beige silhouette and snake-skin boots from Mango to add a pop of print to the look.
These boots are not made for walking and I also got them in size bigger i.e. my prego swelling feet as these do not have a zipper closure but are rather pull on kind of knee-high boots.
I do hope you enjoyed my take on maternity clothing in this post, of course, this is not the outfit I would wear to park with Anabela, I would just switch the boots for black leather sneakers and pray to God my toddler doesn't spill anything on the nude dress 😂, because let's face it, wearing light colors for a mother is really living on the edge.
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Most of us parents to get more interested and start refreshing our basic school knowledge on pregnancy, delivery and baby development when we first become pregnant.
When I was pregnant with Anabela we did cord blood and cord tissue collection and it was truly quick and easy process, I talked about it a bit in my blog post The Best Pregnancy Tips By Trimester.
To provide you with accurate and trusted information about this important topic which often comes with some controversy, I interviewed the doctor Ann Smith from Smart Cells team and also enriched this post with useful information provided from their press release.
WHAT IS THE CORD BLOOD AND THE CORD TISSUE?
We do know that the umbilical cord (basically, a tube which connects the fetus with the placenta) is responsible for providing oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the growing embryo.After the baby is born, umbilical cord is cut. But even after the birth of the baby, there will be some amount of blood remaining in the umbilical cord and in the placenta. This blood is called cord blood (CB) or placental blood. Around 180 ml of cord blood can be collected right after the birth of the baby.
"Not just the cord blood, but the cord tissue also contains Mesenchymal stem cells."
"Umbilical cord blood and tissue are both a rich source of, particularly potent stem cells. A cord blood stem cell transplant can be used to replace diseased cells with healthy new cells and rebuild an individual’s blood and immune system."; said, Dr. Smith.WHAT ARE THE STEM CELLS?
Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including bone cells (osteoblasts), cartilage cells (chondrocytes), muscle cells (myocytes) and fat cells (adipocytes)."Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells and cord tissue is rich in mesenchymal stem cells which means they have varying clinical uses." Dr. Ann Smith continued.
WHAT MAKES THE UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD SO VALUABLE?
The presence of blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells that offer a life-saving status to the cord blood.WHAT IS THE CHANCE OF A MATCH FOR YOUR CHILD OR HER SIBLING?
The sample is a 100% match for the baby and can also potentially be used for a sibling transplant. Siblings have a 1 in 4 chance of matching and it can potentially match other family members too.HOW IS THE PROCESS DONE AND WHEN SHOULD PARENTS GET THE COLLECTION SET?
It is ideal to book the service 4-6 weeks before the baby’s due date. The process is very straightforward and once you have made your decision and confirmed your booking, the Smart Cells team will organize and send a stem cell collection kit to your home.The sample is collected straight after the birth and is performed by a trained and licensed healthcare professional. This could be a private obstetrician or midwife or an assigned phlebotomist depending on your hospital.
Once the sample is collected it will be picked up by a courier and brought to our laboratory ready for processing and storage.
WHAT ARE THE AVERAGE COSTS OF COLLECTION AND STORAGE?
The average cost of the umbilical cord blood and cord tissue service is £2545 with annual fees applied as required. I hope you got enough information in this post to make an educated decision on the cord blood and cord tissue collection.
If you do not choose to collect it, it gets thrown into the trash and it can possibly be life-saving for your children or family members. We all think serious illness will not happen to our family but unfortunately, it can happen to anyone.
The medicine is progressing very fast, stem cells are already used to treat most serious illnesses with great results, the price you pay for 20-30 year storage is very cheap in comparison to the pain and suffering of having a seriously ill child.
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