Food

Simple, quick and easy lunch boxes for kids: 7 Tips

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Simple, quick and easy lunch boxes for kids: 7 Tips

If you follow my Instagram stories in the mornings, you will know that 3 or 4 times a week I like to share my children’s lunch boxes. Some very interesting conversations have taken place in my DMs as a result, i.e. people asking me how I set aside the extra time in the mornings to pack them, or people asking about quantities, nutritional value etc. I’ve also had a few people telling me they preferred the school canteen option, which I can actually relate to, as my children used to eat in the canteen prior to the pandemic.

I’ve written this post to break down my lunch box process from beginning to end, but bear in mind that my approach is extremely simple and suits my busy lifestyle. My children’s lunches are nowhere near as creative as the ones you have probably seen on Pinterest and Tik Tok. In fact I take my hat off to any parent out there who finds the time, energy and creativity to make fancy-looking lunch boxes for their kids everyday! This is not my reality, and I’m sure many parents will relate – we don’t necessarily have it in us to make the fanciest lunches, but we still want our kids to enjoy the experience and the food!

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Food

How to diversify and vary your family meals

by WaikiLeave a Comment on How to diversify and vary your family meals

Running out of meal ideas is a common problem in a busy household. Even looking at Pinterest and recipe books sometimes can feel a bit daunting because the choice is immense, you don’t always know where to start!

Now I’m definitely no nutritionist but as a busy household of five, I have gone through the tiring cycle of having to come up with new ideas, to avoid repeating meals over and over again… I’m the only person who cooks in this house, so the task of keeping our meals interesting falls on me and me alone.

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Career, Lifestyle, Stories

Gratitude and resilience in a time of uncertainty

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Gratitude and resilience in a time of uncertainty

I don’t know if I can call this testimony time… it feels a little premature and random but today I feel very thankfuk and blessed to be able call my creative venture a part-time job, especially during these uncertain times. It’s taken me years to get to this point and even though I still have a long way to go, it feels good to know I’m on that path.⁣⁣

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Lifestyle

Lifestyle choices and navigating discourse overload on social media: My ‘wellness plan’

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Lifestyle choices and navigating discourse overload on social media: My ‘wellness plan’

When is the last time you felt really confident about your lifestyle choices, or your opinions? With everyone on social media being so vocal about what they stand for, the things they agree/disagree with… with every social media platform encouraging some sort of discourse and debate, very often people’s lifestyle choices, opinions and habits will come under scrutiny.

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Food

Pancake day! Crepe recipe | A La Waiki

by WaikiLeave a Comment on Pancake day! Crepe recipe | A La Waiki

Happy Pancake day 2021! Crepes are a staple in our house. We make them pretty much on a weekly basis, and always honour Pancake Day in the UK. For an occasion like this, we prefer the traditional French crepe recipe. However, we do also enjoy American pancakes, and I’ll post a recipe for that soon too.

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Lifestyle, motherhood, Tried & Tested

AD | Coping with the demands of home learning – in partnership with Joy Learning

by WaikiLeave a Comment on AD | Coping with the demands of home learning – in partnership with Joy Learning

A few days after the very first lockdown was announced at the beginning of this pandemic, I looked at my husband and said “Academically speaking, this year is pretty much void, right?” He just sighed. We both had a feeling that we’d just have to erase this year from our children’s academic journey and start over next year! Being a teacher, he knows all too well the struggle to keep children’s interest in learning alive. He knows how hard it is to stimulate their young minds to keep learning at a time like this.

This past year, every time schools closed, he almost singlehandedly took care of our children’s education, home schooling them to the best possible standard and supervising them while they took their online classes. And all this, on top of having to teach from home himself. We have a routine, but let’s be honest – being at home with all the distractions just simply isn’t the same.

In times like these, that feeling of dread for your children’s future is normal. But you don’t have to do it alone, you don’t have to struggle. If you’re a parent who is finding it hard to give your children the additional academic support they need in their school journey, or if you’re simply looking for an affordable tutoring service of great quality, I’d like to tell you about Joy Learning (Click here to visit the website).

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Home decor

Changing my kitchen cabinets from ‘oak’ to white – Was it worth it?

by Waiki2 Comments on Changing my kitchen cabinets from ‘oak’ to white – Was it worth it?

Our kitchen is white! Ok, I’ll admit – It’s not much of a revamp, apart from the colour. Everything else is pretty much the same, and a work in progress, as we’re going to change some of the furniture and flooring too…

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motherhood

Encouraging honest parent-child dialogue: 5 questions to ask your children

by Waiki6 Comments on Encouraging honest parent-child dialogue: 5 questions to ask your children

I value the beauty of communication and dialogue with my children. The questions I’m about to suggest came to me completely randomly as I sat down with my sons for our daily ‘chit-chat’ – a mother-and-son moment we have every single evening, where we talk about their day and anything else that’s been on their mind: from “Mum, how are trains made?” to “Mum, I have this spot on my chin…” That evening, I decided to have a bit more of a structured approach to our chit-chat, and introduced a set of questions. I didn’t think they’d be so useful in making the conversation flow, and I’m surprised at how much the boys enjoyed answering them! N.B.: These questions are specifically aimed at pre-teen/teenagers. However, parents of younger children (and dads!) feel free to tailor as necessary.

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