I asked a few of you to throw some questions at me to answer be it personal, baby or blog related. So here they are - your questions answered!
Let's start with the most hard hitting question of them all...
1. Who was your favourite spice girl?
Posh Spice. No idea why though, but I even dressed up as her all the time. I had the haircut and the little black dress, my friends and I all dressed up as them, sang the songs and did the "peace" sign all time - no one ever wanted to be Scary Spice though.
2. How has it been going from two parents to solo at the moment?
I have days of feeling super in control and onto it and then days where I struggle and feel exhausted. I don't think it's been as difficult as I was anticipating because I was already the primary caregiver of Ella anyway. I think the hardest part is there isn't really much respite at the end of the day, no looking forward to Tom coming home so he could take over and give Ella a bath and get her ready for bed, it just makes for longer days.
The other side to it is that your partner's not there to talk about things or bounce ideas off. I miss having adult communication in the evening after Ella is in bed and I miss waiting for him to come home. I miss just having him there. It's hard having a long distance relationship and it sort of feels like everything's been turned upside down. I know it's not forever and it's just for a few more months but it is a struggle some days.
3. My go to/ easy meal ideas.
When dinner rolls around quicker than expected and I don't have anything planned for dinner for Ella my go to meals are normally pasta or mashed potato, kumara and mixed veggies. I try and plan dinner in the morning but when I don't get around to it these are a couple of pasta meals I fall back on...
Spaghetti or Penne in a tomato sauce.
Boil up some pasta and add some Tomato & Basil Passatta, chop up some cherry tomatoes, grate some cheese on top and away you go. If you wanted to add more veg you could heat the passatta in a pan first, add in some spinach, allow it to wilt and then use a stick blender to blend until smooth - a good way of getting extra veg into a fussy baby's diet.
Chicken and Bacon pasta in a garlic sauce.
This is a favourite of Ella's and is hoovered down within minutes If your baby is not used to garlic you could add a little less or substitute pesto. Pan fry some small bits of chopped chicken and bacon. Put some spiral pasta in a pot to boil. In a clean frying pan add a decent knob of butter (a tablespoon or two) add two tablespoons of pureed garlic (the store bought tubs with no added salt) and fry off a little. Sprinkle in a tablespoon or two of flour and mix with a whisk, allow the flour to cook off a little bit and then add 2/3rds of a cup of milk and half a cup of chicken or vegetable stock (reduced salt or no added salt) and allow the sauce to reduce until thickened. Add sauce to your pasta, bacon and chicken and then great a little parmesan cheese on top.
Crumbed Chicken or Fish Fingers
To crumb your protein coat in flour, dip into (one) egg beaten with a fork, and cover in breadcrumbs pan fry with a tiny amount of butter, vegetable oil or even coconut oil until cooked through you could even bake if you prefer. This could be done in half an hour but if you have more time you could roast some pumpkin, kumara and potato's with a little olive oil and serve alongside your fish fingers as chips. Add some peas or mixed veggies and your away!
4. Have I planned Ella's first birthday party yet?
Yes! It's going to be a (light) woodland creatures theme with touches of pink and gold. I haven't really bought anything yet but I have just sent out invitations and will slowly buy the things I need over the next month. I will also do a blog post on the whole day, including details on decor, party food.
5. What do I want to do with my life when all my babies are in school?
Get back into Makeup and try to make a good go of it! Whilst I was pregnant with Ella I went to makeup school and graduated with a diploma in fashion makeup artistry. I sort of lost interest a little bit - after an intensive few months of constant makeup applications - especially in my last term of pregnancy when I was so tired and was in the process of nesting in preparation for Ella's arrival. Now, that she's almost a year old I have started to build my kit back up again bit by bit - which is NOT cheap! - in the hopes of getting back into it properly next year! I want to try and get my freelance business off the ground and hopefully earn a steady income from weddings mainly.
6. Do you find that people only talk to you about Ella and being a Mum now? If so, how do you feel about it?
Yes! I quite enjoy it, to a point, though - honestly I could talk about Ella all day haha, but I think most Mum's would do that though. There are times where I miss talking about things other than babies though and I crave normal adult company. I also find now, that as soon as I see someone it's straight away talking to Ella, I'm sort of an afterthought, I miss being my own person not just Mum or not just Ella's Mum - you sort of lose your identity as an adult when you become a Mum and it's nice to just talk to people that want to talk to me - about things other than babies.
7. Favourite colour for Ella to wear?
Blue, red or peach! She suits blue so much, because of her eyes I think and I love peachy colours on her as well. I try to not put her in pink too often because I think it's nice to not constantly dress her in the typical "girly" pink - not that she never wears pink!
8. Do you have a "go-to" or old faithful outfit?
Two words. "Mum Uniform". The standard t-shirt and jeans! These days I dress for practicality and comfort. I still like to dress nice though. Normally, I'll wear a t-shirt with an oversized cardigan, jeans and ankle boots.
9. Do you watch teen Mom?
Yes! Well I used to anyway until they brought out so many series'. I liked to watch the original girls Maci, Catelynn and Amber.
10. Favourite baby clothing store?
Cotton on kids! Hands down. Second to that would be the Carters range at Farmers.
11. Favourite meal?
Italian! Anything italian! Mainly pasta or lasagna. You can't beat a good Italian. I'm longing to go back to Italy to eat "proper" Italian food, I am yet to find a place that really matches up to authentic italian food - Jeez, I sound like such a snob! Haha
12. Ella's favourite food?
Cherry tomatoes, Cheese and yoghurt! Haha
13. My opinion on dummies?
Simple. I love them more than Ella does! Haha. Honestly, though each to their own. I don't judge, if you want to use one - great, if not that's entirely your opinion.
14. How many children do I want to have?
At least two (including Ella), I quite like the idea of three but I'll see how I feel after having a second one.
15. Does Ella have any teeth?
She has four now - two on the bottom and two on the top - and I think possibly another one coming through.
16. Favourite TV program?
The Block or anything home and renovating related. My Kitchen Rules as well.
There you have it! Another Q&A done and dusted. I hope you learned a little more about me or maybe just some useless pieces of information! Haha
