Picky Eating

Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed Calleigh is becoming a bit of a picky eater. Picky eating is something most toddlers and young children go through so I have been expecting it. I was quite the picky eater myself when I was younger. If I didn't want to eat something because it looked funny, or smelled funny or even just because my friends didn't eat it, then I didn't eat it. In fact it was only this past year that I started eating steak and even then I order it pretty much burnt to a crisp (I don't like blood in my food) and refuse to eat it if it's a little bit pink (I know, that is like the worst think to steak connoisseurs). So I can definitely see where this phase of picky eating has come from. 

Daddy on the other hand will pretty much eat whatever you put in front of him apart from coconut and liver (don't blame him there). So I'm hoping Calleigh will follow in Daddy's footsteps instead of mine, don't think I could handle two of us being so fussy. 

As a baby Calleigh was really good and happy to try new foods and different flavours but I did notice that, while she liked most of what we gave her, she knew straight away if she didn't like something and would refuse to eat it even if offered again and again. 

One of these things was broccoli, she would not eat it, even when I tried to hide it in her mashed potato she knew and checked every spoonful before it went anywhere near her mouth. She loved mashed potato, she would eat it until it was coming out her eyeballs. 

She also loved sandwiches when she was younger, especially with cheese spread and always finished her lunch. 

Now I am beginning to find it hard to put things on her plate that she will eat. She no longer eats mashed potato and no matter how many time I put it on the plate, it is always still there when she has finished. 

She doesn't eat her fish fingers anymore and will only eat chicken nuggets bathed in tomato ketchup. 

And no matter what fillings I put in her sandwich she doesn't eat them. 

It's not all bad though, she still loves her vegetables, especially peas (and even Broccoli) and she adores her bananas. 

I tend to find myself just sticking with the things I know she eats as I get worried she will not eat enough if I try her with new things. Hopefully it will pass soon and I will be able to try out some new and interesting recipes and take her out to restaurants again. 

Eating her peas (I don't know why the play icon won't go away???) 

More Vaccines for Calleigh

At the moment we are in the process of getting everything ready for our green card application. This means if it's approved we will be able to stay here for as long as we please once our visa expires. It will also make us official residents of the United States and it will make things like buying a house and a car a hell of a lot easier for us. 

The early stages of this process involve all of us getting full medical checks and making sure we are all up to date on vaccinations. Daddy and I both require a booster for MMR and Tetanus, which we are going for today. 

It turns out Calleigh was also in need of more vaccinations, and although both the ones she needed are optional, for our green card application they are not and she needed to get them done. 

The two she needed are Hepatitis A and B. As these, once again, are not offered as part of the normal immunisation schedule on the NHS I was unsure about what they actually protect against and why she needed them. I also needed to know about all the possible side effects and if there were any possible serious ones involved with getting them done. 

Both Hepatitis A and B are diseases that affect the liver. Hepatitis A is an acute liver disease, it comes on quickly and runs a short course that doesn't linger. It is the most easily spread of the two and is commonly spread by close personal contact with someone who has it or via contaminated food or water. Hepatitis B on the other hand may start out as an acute disease causing mild symptoms but has the ability to develop into a lifelong illness that can cause long term liver problems such as liver cancer. Hepatitis B is spread through blood or other bodily fluids.

So they both sound like pretty serious diseases and I was convinced that it was a good idea to get her vaccinated against them. After talking to the nurse she confirmed that both are completely safe and recommended and that there are no real concerns when it comes to side effects and I shouldn't see more than a bruise around the injection site. 

She had her injections on Friday and once again, like the trooper that she is, she did little more than flinch during and was completely fine afterwards. The injection site is pretty bruised, which is horrible to see but I know it was for a good cause. Other than that she has been completely healthy and not shown any signs of having side effects, just like the nurse said. 

I am really glad she had them done and once we have ours done we will have everything we need for the green card process to go ahead. 

I do worry over here sometimes that I am not as clued up as I felt I was back in England. I found out the other day that Calleigh is also overdue for her Pneumonia Vaccination- another thing I didn't even know she needed. 

In England I knew all of her Immunisation schedule and when she was due check ups. Over here I feel like I am just failing terribly at keeping her healthy. I think I need to spend some time looking into it over here so I can be sure I am doing what is best for Calleigh. 

And Then She Turned On Us

So we were all hanging out on the drive the other day, Calleigh and I were doing some artwork on the drive when Daddy decided he should really water the grass (not that it would help at all, it died whilst we were in Florida. Who knew you had to water it so often out here). 

As soon as he got out the hose pipe and pulled it past Calleigh her eyes lit up. 

"Ooooh" She shouted and quickly got up and ran over to Daddy. 

Water really amazes her at the moment, she loves playing in it and really enjoyed running through the mist of water. She was having so much fun and then for some reason Daddy decided to show her how to use it. She caught on quick and before we knew it she was holding it in her hand and squeezing the trigger, laughing uncontrollably every time water squirted out of the hose. 

And that's when she turned on us. 

She quickly turned and aimed the hose, first at Daddy and then at me. Once again laughing as we both ran off in all directions to avoid the jets of water. 

Luckily we could run faster than she could so we managed to remain relatively dry. 

Little monkey! 

Pink Butterfly Cupcakes

Ingredients: 

For the cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup of self-rising flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Butter cream:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) soft unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• red food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake cases. 
2. Put all the cupcake ingredients into a mixer (or a big bowl) and mix really well until the batter is light and fluffy (I did it by hand and it took some time so if you do have one, use an electric whisk).
3. Put heaped teaspoons of the batter into the cupcake cases and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden on top. 
4. Let the cupcakes cool while you prepare the butter cream. 
5. To make the butter cream beat everything together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Should take a few minutes. 
6. Add the colour to the mixture to get your desired colour and make sure it's well blended. 
7. Once the cakes have cooled use a spoon to cut out a circular section from the top of the cake. Cut that section in half, these are your wings. Do this for all twelve. 
8. Spoon the butter cream mixture into the hole on the cake and press in the wings.

And the verdict is:

Yummy!!! 

Outfit of the Month: August

 

Best Photo Ever!

White T-shirt- Cherokee 

Leggings- Cherokee

Cardigan- Cherokee

All from Target.

With Autumn (Fall) just around the corner I thought it was time to get some new clothes that are both suitable for the last days of summer as well as the much cooler nights we are getting. This simple but cute white t-shirt and grey legging combo has a really nice matching pattern and is perfect for the day. Add in the light grey spotted cardigan for when it cools down in the evening and it's perfect. 

I love the combination of white and grey in this outfit. It's not as pink and girly as her other outfits but still looks super cute on her.