Day at the Zoo & Park

Feature Wednesday 'Living Chandelier'

Thank you for everyone that got involved in yesterday's #Week5 'Feature Wednesday' Linky Party. 
You all have wonderful & inspirational ideas - it's so great to see your sharing them.

Congratulations!
This week's winner is Julia over at 'Positivity Glamorous' with her bespoke DIY 'Living Chandelier' tutorial.
Julia's recycled chandelier (found from a Barn sale) has been transformed to a beautiful floral piece, letting your potted plants grow in your home. An amazing tip to water the plants (with no mess) - Icecubes! So simple, so frugal, perfect for the new season!
For the full post please visit HERE.

'Feature Wednesday' #Week 5

#Week 5 of 'Feature Wednesday' has arrived. Thank you for everyone who entered last week's feature post. I hope you all enjoyed winner Janine over at  'Encourage Play' for her 'Stuffed Animal Jet-Pack' tutorial.
If you have a post you would like to share live on 'Mama Bee Simple', simply add your link at the end of this post. I have selected a small group of topics to cover this week's linky party.

I do like to create a theme each week however any links related to activities, food, lifestyle & children is fine.

#Week5 Theme: Homemade, DIY, Budget, Recycle, Frugal

The most suited link will be chosen by the end of the day and I will feature your post at 'Mama Bee Simple' as well as all my social network sites.

Mama Bee knows that you all have some wonderful creations and spend so much time wanting to share so here is a lovely opportunity!

Good Luck!

Mama Bee

OXO Tot's Divided Plate

Unquestionably the most useful product during the weaning stage!

Do you usually guess the portion when it comes to your child's meal time? Too much? Too little?
This divided plate (6m+) teaches you the correct portion of proteins, grains and vegetables. 'OXO Tot's Divided Plate' also features a central 'dipping tray', perfect for sauces and condiments.
There is also a removable 'outer ring', great for guiding food onto little one's utensils and keeping food ON the plate rather than falling on the floor!

We all know keeping a balanced meal for your little ones is important for growth and development, however portion control is also very important. We all need a balance of certain food groups in our meal- enough of the guessing!


OXO Tot have a wonderful weaning range on their website, all important for little ones' development stage and tools that truly will be handy.

I just had to test this fantastic product for Leon!

'A new plate for me? Yay!'

'Look at all those colours!'

I'm so pleased Leon loved his OXO Tot plate, the useful outer ring prevented the food from spilling out of the plate, yes! I highly recommend owning this divided plate. You know your child is getting that perfect portion and your children will understand the different food groups. You can find this plate HERE in various colours. 

5 Minute Fresh Fruit Flan

Fresh Summer berries on a bed of Greek yoghurt and moist flan base. Drizzled with honey, this incredibly basic recipe could have been created by my 1 year old.
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and any other berries you can think of are a perfect way to get your children to eat and enjoy fresh fruit. We all want our children to eat as much of their '5 a day' but sometimes this can be a struggle for those 'picky eaters'.
This flan contains calcium, plenty of vitamins and is a treat to eat!

Your child can learn different fruits, colours and textures. Eating should be enjoyable and also educational - who knew a flan could do this?!

Scroll down for recipe:

Leon enjoying his flan! 'Yum'

Ingredients:

Flan Base
Greek Yoghurt (full or half fat)
Blueberries
Strawberries (cut in thin slices)
Raspberries
Drizzle of honey (to taste)

Firstly you want to prepare your flan base onto a plate. Using a large spoon, dollop your Greek Yoghurt in the centre of the flan and spread out to the sides. Chop your strawberries (thinly) and arrange them around the base. Fill in the gaps with the blueberries and raspberries. Finally drizzle honey and let it rest to allow the flan to moisten.
Enjoy!

Rustic Apple & Cinnamon Porridge

Breakfast. Does it seem quite repetitive or even boring? Not having enough time in the day probably means you've gone for the easiest option rather than the best option! If your a porridge fan you must try this recipe. Grated dessert apple drizzled with a touch of 'runny honey' is toddler approved and a family favourite! (My son even scraped the bowl!) Really simple to make, low-cost and your house smells so warm and cosy!

'Because this is a 'rustic' bowl of porridge, perfection is off the cards.'
Scroll down for the recipe:

I think there is no right or wrong way of making porridge. If you don't use cow's milk, use an alternative. If you use water, then you know it's not as creamy but still the porridge you love and know. Having time on my hands, I like to use the microwave to cook my rolled oats.

Ingredients:
Rolled Oats (serving portion)
(Milk/Milk altern/Water) - Your choice
Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Dessert Apple (Grated)
Drizzle Honey

Because this is a 'rustic' bowl of porridge, perfection is off the cards.
The rules are simple, cook your porridge either on the stove top or in the microwave. You know it's ready when the porridge is creamy and glossy. If you have used water you will know the consistency that suits you! Whilst your porridge is piping hot, quickly peel and grate your dessert apple. Mix your apple into the porridge followed by a pinch of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.
Ready, get, set, EAT! 


Enjoy

The Royal Garden Hotel

London. Very rarely has a trip to London not been action-packed! The vibrant red buses, the busy streets of flawless fashion & coffee shops every where you look. Of course,  using the London Underground, seeing Buckingham Palace and going on the London-Eye are pretty much the top 3 things on the list when you first visit. What's on the top of your list when you think of visiting the Capital?
How about visiting Kensington? One of the wealthiest, family-friendly parts of London? You might be wondering where this is leading to. Tots100 are giving UK mum Bloggers a wonderful opportunity to be a guest at the Royal Garden Hotel! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps - what a fantastic treat that would be for our family.

Kensington is surrounded by plenty of museums such as the Science and Natural History Museum. I can just see my son pointing at everything and overwhelmed by how our world works. My son (& fiance) love 'stars' 'dinosaurs' 'aliens', you name it. Not sounding soppy - being away from my partner half of the year always gets to me. I can never get used to the fact he is away at sea every other week - nor our 1 year old son! It's a wonderful time when he comes home from the Ferry and we always try to cram in as many activities as possible. As soon as I saw Tots100's competition I just HAD to enter.

Lloyd and I love to travel, in the UK, abroad, or even down to the beach. The company and family time is always so important. One of the things I have learnt since being a mother is that time is precious. Too precious. 

Thinking that we wouldn't have to do the 'same old' chores means we can have that quality time to enjoy ourselves - and use that expensive rucksack for Leon to sit in on day-trips. (Hardly used). 

The idea of enjoying a spa treatment not worrying about play-dough drying up on the carpet would be a bonus. Come on, Mother's Day was brilliant but wouldn't this be the icing on the cake?

If you'd like to have a chance to win a trip to the Royal Garden Hotel, click HERE.