... a Sweet and Sour Feeling...

Weaning your little one onto solids is such a BIG accomplishment!

Making "delicious" first food that your baby will spit all over you, your furniture, floor, him/herself... Awww, delightful!

I started weaning Sam onto solid food when he was 5 months old. It was St. Patrick's Day, and he had soft carrot purée. Sam loved it! He was quite hungry and really liked his baby food.

When I started reading about introducing solid food to a baby, I remember I was really intrigued by the baby-led weaning method. Time to time, I gave Sam pieces of parboiled vegetables, like carrots or parsnip sticks or broccoli. He was mostly playing with the food, but really helped his coordination skills and his sore teething gums...

It was Christmas Day when I introduced Shannon to her first baby purée. It was carrots again, and she was only 4.5 months old. Because of her reflux issues, she wasn't feeding well at all and I think she was quite hungry, too. If I was holding her and eating something at the same time, she was looking at me and trying to catch it. Sometimes, she opened her mouth, probably thinking that it was for her. 

So, that was it...

Shannon is in love with the food. She changed a lot since she started her food. She sleeps better and she is more settled and calm.

Everybody has different opinions about weaning babies onto solids: when you have to start it, what should you give them first, how often... I think that once you have talked to your health nurse or doctor and you have understood how all this process works, then all the advices you can get are good advice. You can see it from a different point of you, which is fantastic. Just remember, YOU are the mum, and nobody knows your child better than you do... So, don't be afraid of asking for help or tips, and don't feel bad if you want to follow your instinct, instead.

Awww, my baby girl is growing up so fast... 
Shannon has been exclusively breastfed until now, and starting with some solid it is such an important milestone. My separation anxiety starts now...

A Merry Italian Christmas...

We were all so excited to have our Christmas Holidays in Italy...

We left Ireland on 18th December and flew down Italy to stay with my family for 2 weeks... so cool!

This was Shannon's first time in Italy. She met all my aunties and uncles and my beloved cousins. It was so great to see all of them.

 

We had dinner with my dad's side of the family on 23th December. We had lots of fun. We had pizza together (... my favourite!) and we played bingo afterwards... and WE WON!!!

 

On St. Stephen's Day, my name's day, we had lunch at my uncle and aunties' restaurant, with my mum's side of the family. Again, we had lots of fun and lots of beautiful tasty food...

 

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at mum's. This is the first Christmas we spent at home since Dad passed away. Last Christmas, my mum and sisters and Gianfranco ;) , my sister's fiancé, were over in Dublin.

 

 

 

 

We had LOTS of food on both days... mum cooked non stop for more than 24hrs!!! My mum is an Amazing cook! I cannot count how many courses we had... I just know that we were all stuffed!

 

Traditionally, we have fish courses on Christmas Eve, and meat courses on Christmas Day. Of course we had lots of veggies, too. Chiara, my sister, she is a vegetarian.

 

 

The weather has been quite mild. We had a few sunny days. We took advantage of it and had a lovely family walk...

 

The most significant event, though, was Shannon's Christening on 30th December. My mum and my sister Francesca were/are Shannon's Godmothers. We had a lovely ceremony at my local Church and then we went to my cousin's bar to party!

 

 

 

 

 

We had an awsome time together... it was so great to have family around and spend time with all of them. The thing I miss the most in Ireland is my FAMILY. We are all very close and not been able to share our everydays together, it's such a pity... 

 

Well, I guess this is my last post for 2013... I wish all of you a Wonderful 2014. I hope it will bring all of us many Happy and Serene moments...

Happy New Year!

It must be love love love...

I've been always a crafts-lover-kind-of-girl... 

I always loved making presents for my friends and family by hand. I think that handmade presents are special and like a charm, they bring positive vibes to the person who you gave them to... because they're made with love and care...

When I was in college, I was obsessed with candles... I had thousands of candles in my room. So, of course, one day I decided to make my own candles... That was so much fun... FOR ME! ... Not so much fun for my flatmates... Sometimes, the smell of wax and essential oils during my crafting hours was not a pleasure. And yes, accidents might happen, and yes, when you are melting wax you might burn some pots... It happened to one of my flatmate's pot that she used to warm her milk up in the morning... it got confiused with one of mine... I felt so sorry... I apologized, of course, and gave her three of my "special edition candles"!

My new crafting passions are cardmaking and papercraft... I could spend hours making "stuffs", if only I had hours to spare...

My first projects were Shannon "Thank You" cards after she was born

They were really simple, but sweet. I enjoyed very much making them and I loved them very much... lots of pastel colours and polkadots and butterflies... So, I thought that it would be really nice and special to make our family 'Merry Christmas' cards as well!

I went on line and I bought lots of supplies from a nice girl on Etsy... I got a few sets of rubber stamps and paper punches, then, from different shops I bought washi tapes, foam shapes, cards paper and more and more...

... As usual, I took a picture of the kids to put in the card...

Now, I'd love to show you the final result... but you will have to wait just a couple of more days...

... Or maybe not!

Christmas Spirit

Our Christmas tree is up!!!

The last two weeks have been crazy... I haven't got time to write or cook... there were days when I barely found time to shower, ops! That's too much information..

Shannon and her reflux are slowly improving, but the poor little girl is still in pain after her feeds, and also started teething... Happy days. Sam, on the other hand, is such a happy, super active boy. He is always on the go... so, when I'm not rocking, nursing and cleaning Shannon, I'm on the floor with Sam playing cars, trucks or airplanes.

My sister was teasing me the other day. She said that every time she reads my blog or sees one of my pictures, it's like looking at the little-happy family that you see in tv commercials... 

Ahhhh, truth is so far from it. Of course, we're having lots of fun, we all play together and we laugh, I might bake some cupcakes on the weekend, but... our house it's also full of screaming, crying and chaos. 

Yep, like every other house with children, our house is a complete mess!!! There are toys everywhere, clothes everywhere and boxes full of stuff (... that we should put in the attic at same stage, but are still sitting around the house)...

... And now, that the Christmas Spirit has knocked at our door, we have decided to put up our Christmas tree!

When you have kids, it's all about them, and making them happy! Seeing Sam all excited, and jumping and dancing around the room, showing Shannon the Christmas lights and decorations, made my heart burst with joy... and who cares if my sink is filled with dirty dishes... Christmas is almost here!

Comfort Food... Soup!!!

It has been quite cold lately...

The kids and I have spent our afternoons at home, playing in the sitting-room or watching tv. Although the garden looks so nice and there are still some flowers bloom, it's chilly out there, brrrr....

So, I thought: "It's now time for a hot, tasty soup... a butternut squash soup!", one of my favourite! 

It's a very easy soup to make. I love genuine and simple food. Beside, I won't have much time for elaborate recipes, lately... 

My two little monkeys require my full attention all the time... so it's not unusual for Conor and me to have a take away for dinner...

... But not tonight!

Tonight, I'm making 'Buttenut Squash Soup' for dinner! 

INGREDIENTS:

• A butternut squash

• 2 big carrots

• 1 medium onion

• 3 celery ribs

• olive oil

• salt

• black pepper

• 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon of ground all spices

• 2 vegetable cubes

• 100ml double cream

PREPARATION:

Wash your butternut squash and then cut in half and clean from seeds and guts. Collect your seeds, if you want ... you can roast them later, as I did! 

Dice you butternut squash and the place on a tray. Before put it into a preheated oven, dust it with salt and half of a teaspoon of cumin. Roast the butternut squash for 15 minute at 180°C.

While your butternut squash is roasting, wash and peel your carrots, onion and celery ribs and cut them into pieces. Heat up a saucepan and add 3 full spoons of olive oil followed by cumin, all spices and a pinch of black pepper. Fry your spices for 10-15 seconds before adding the onion and then the carrots and celery pieces.

Stir your vegetables for 2-3 minutes and then add your roasted butternut squash. Let them cook together for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat and stir time to time. In the meantime, get some boiled water ready. Add the vegetable cubes to your vegetables before pouring hot boiled water. You need enough water to cover up all the vegetables. You can now add 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.

Cook the butternut squash, onion, carrot and celery for 30 minutes, or at least until your carrots are cooked through, on a low/medium heat. When all the vegetables are nice and cooked, let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes before blending your soup to a smooth and silky consistency. 

Reheat your saucepan on a very low heat and add the double cream. Stir your soup for a couple of minutes...

Your butternut squash soup is now ready!

I added a dust of paprika, a teaspoon of Parmigiano and a tear of olive oil... and of course, some roasted seeds!

DELICIOUS!