Flying checklist part 1

Out of the last four flights we have taken with Nate we have taken a carrier with us three times. The first time we flew with Nate he was 9 months old and it seemed silly not to take a carrier when he spent most of his time in it at home. The next time we were going on a short weekend away with no space for a pushchair and then we flew without it for a short weekend. I can't say I missed it as we were able to wheel the pushchair right up to the plane and pick it up from the same place and Nate is walking which is a help and a hindrance in equal measure at times. 

This trip we know we won't get the pushchair until baggage reclaim so we need something to carry Nate while we have to shuffle papers at customs. 

As we sit at the airport now Nate is strapped to my back in our Ergo carrier fast asleep after refusing to go in the pushchair as he was overtired. The decision to carry another item was worth it in this instance. 

All ready for his adventures. 

Travels with gNappies part 2

I've written a blog about travelling with gNappies before but I thought this time I'd show you how I travel with them. We use the disposable inserts when travelling as we are flying to Barbados, it's an eight hour flight too long for wet cloth for me.

There is a lot of things we have to remember in out hand luggage. The last time we flew to Barbados we ended up doubling our hand luggage after security with all the bits we ended up buying. "Calpol, check, nappies, check, wipes, toys, blanket, dummy etc... The list seems never ending. 

To make nappy changes easy for me, I pack a little nappy change kit which contains a nappy, nappy insert and wipes. 

Then I pack an extra complete gNappy in a nappy bag and in another nappy bag I have pack six extra inserts which should be more than enough. 

I have an emergency Eco disposable packed just in case. 

Organix Paste Pots.

Well, we finally tried the Organix paste pots as we needed a few small meals for Nate for the evenings. We've found that Nate is ready for his dinner after we have eaten as he eats tea just before we pick him up from Nursery. It was a good time to try the paste pots I bought a little while ago.

We decided to use the Red Thai paste pot.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe, I didn't grate the carrot I chopped them up small instead. Also Nate isn't very keen on peppers so I decided to use baby corn, which he loves. So after sweating the onions and red pepper for a few minutes. I then browned the mince.

The desiccated coconut and paste pot go in. At this point I got a little worried as the mixture seemed very dry and I have to say I added a little bit more water than specified in the recipe. I think next time I would probably add some tomato paste along with the water

For the last few minutes the sweetcorn goes in. I portioned them out to four Nate sized portions with pasta instead of rice as stated in the recipe and froze them. I had a little taste and have to say they are quite nice, you get a lovely taste of the lemongrass and it is a perfect introduction to Thai curries for Nate. 

gTea Summer 2013

Friday was the day for gNappies gTea, I'm a bit of a fan of gNappies or gDiapers as I first found them. It was a great day with lots of lovely gMums and gDads.

The lovely gCupcakes

There was even a surprise guest in the form of the new royal gNappy. It's a lovely dark purple with a minkee finish unlike the other gNappies and with embroidered embellishment of the g and crown. We can't wait for it to be released.

As part of the gTea, gNappies were filming and taking lots of pictures of the gBabies who all seemed to have a really lovely time walking up and down the carpet babywalk. There was even a table with a few nibbles on some of them were supplied by a lovely gMum who couldn't make it to the gTea itself.

Eating his strawberry while being filmed

At several points the rain started and stopped, so we made for cover under some trees. Even the rain didn't spoil the sprit of the day.

It was a great time for swapping cloth advice and asking for any help with your g's or any cloth nappy, the gCommunity are always lovely and happy to help if you have a look at the gNappies facebook page you'll see examples of gMums helping other gMums. 

Photo Day

I just love this picture, Nate is sitting proudly with his sunflower he made.

Dairy Free Pizza

Not too long ago Nate's nursery said he wasn't eating his tea. It didn't take us long to work out why, all of the other children were eating pizza while he had toast with vegemite. They asked if I could think of an alternative so I went home and made special pizza's for him. I use a basic pizza dough, there is one on the BBC website that works well. Once the dough has had it's first rise. I divide it up into small balls and stretch it out by hand.

Once it has been stretched by hand, add a little tomato paste this time I used sun dried tomato paste.

On top of the paste, I added sliced courgette. Normally I get the baby courgettes as they work better on the small pizza's.

Just for a fresh tomato taste sliced baby tomatoes.

Then some sweetcorn and sliced pastrami for this pizza, I've used sliced ham or pre-cooked chicken before.

I freeze them on a slip of greaseproof paper individually on a plate and then after half an hour package them up with cling film and send them up to nursery individually packaged. Nate loves them and if he sees me making them has to have one for his supper that night. They are perfect for a quick supper if we need something for Nate. 

Easy lunch

Today, we didn't know what to have for lunch and were a little bored of sandwiches. I had a quick look in our fridge and we had the jus rol croissants and ham and pasta stir in. That looks like an impromptu lunch with no dairy. 

 First of all I added a little of the paste to the croissant. I only put it on the base of the croissant but you could add more but not all of the way to the tip otherwise it would get a bit messy.

 Then I added a little ham, once again you could add more but I felt this was enough as the croissants are only small. Roll them up, like you would normally.

This is how they came out after 15 minutes in the oven. Yummy!

Jamie's Italian

Our newest food love is Jamie's Italian. The first time we visited Jamie's Italian (pre Nate) we loved the food (especially the polenta chips) but we didn't go back until recently. Nate rarely eats a different meal to us, we normally order for ourselves and then share with Nate. He eats really well like this as he always wants whats on our plates. At Jamie's we had previously tried the Italian Feast (this isn't available in all Jamie's) as it gives a starter and then three different mains (smaller portions). Between Nate and his dad I didn't get a look in at the pasta alla Norma. 

This visit however, it was just Nate and myself so I thought I'd have a look at the children's menu. It looks pretty good as about half of these options are on the adults menu as well. I didn't ask if it was possible to have a children's portion of an adult meal but they are pretty accommodating we had a quick conversation about the no dairy, Nate had the Spaghetti Bolognese and followed it with Elderflower sorbet.

Nate's Spaghetti Bolognese arrives. My starter and Nate's main arrived at the same time and Nate digs straight in. I had a quick taste and it tastes pretty good, not overly salted. The only thing I would improve is the portion sizes for an older child I think the portion may be a bit big but for Nate is was way too big he didn't eat half of it. Maybe have a smaller toddler size meal as well.