Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Early Spring

Today is a special day, it comes just every 4 years on Leap Year. I was getting kinda down that February, my least favorite month of the year, was going to be prolonged another day. But it hasn't been bad at all, it's been a wonderful day of welcoming spring!

It was 67 degrees, and let me tell you, after a long winter of being inside, that 67 degrees feels like heaven! We went on a mid-day walk and spent the afternoon exploring the new plants and flowers poking through in our garden and enjoying the fresh air.

It was also the first time Snowflake was able to be outside without being covered up. She was able to feel the breeze and taste the air!

I know we can still can get snow for another month, but I think the worst of winter is truly behind us now. Fresh open windows, flowers and sun are so close I can taste it!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Freezer Batch Cooking

A few weeks ago, I snagged a great deal on organic milk. It was marked down 50% off to $2.99 each, which is a steal, but the "sell by" date was just a few days away. I bought 2 gallons anyway, knowing that the date is arbitrary and that I could find some good uses for it in the next week or so.

I decided against freezing the second gallon, even though it was still unopened nearly a week later. Looking back, I probably should have just frozen it, but we had fun thinking of all the ways to use it up quickly! Enter the completely unplanned and terribly long waffle and pancake freezer cooking session!

(Note to self: do not attempt something like this ever again without much forethought when you have a sick and whiny toddler and a constantly nursing newborn!)

First, I made a triple batch of pancake batter. I have one griddle. One batch made 13 pancakes. Each group of pancakes took about 6 minutes to make, give or take, depending on how closely I was watching them in between cleaning up all the batter that ended up in strange places.


This was the first group. I think I might have over-sprayed the griddle or either was temporarily attending to a toddler disaster which caused them to burn a tad (but no one notices if you just flip the pancake over and serve them the unburnt side up!)

After the marathon pancake making, which lasted almost 2 hours with all the distractions that life with 2 under 2 brings, I was exhausted and did not even want to think about freezing cooking for oh, about a year.

But the next day, the nearly bad milk was starting to mock me, so I went ahead and made a triple batch of waffle batter (but this was after I had already made one batch for breakfast that morning). I have 1 waffle maker. Each giant waffle takes about 5 or 7 minutes to make. Each batch makes 3.5 large waffles. This therefore took forever. You would think I would have learned my lesson from the pancake episode just a day ago. But I like a challenge. And now we have pancakes and waffles in the freezer ready to pop in the toaster for those mornings when I don't feel like cooking a big breakfast (which is just about every morning these days!).

But I don't think I will buy that much extra milk again. Or if I do, I will come to my senses and freeze it!

Have you done any freezer batch cooking lately?

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

One Month Old!

Snowflake turned one month old a week or so ago, and she is growing like crazy! She weighed around 10lbs and is almost 22 inches long! She has been such a laid back baby compared to her older sister, which has been somewhat of a relief for Mommy and Daddy! She is already a very efficient nurser as well, and I am not struggling with a low supply like last time either. Already she is fitting into size 3-month clothing, which her sister did not fit into until 4 months! It amazes me how different they are!


Peanut has been quite the little helper with her sister- trying to soothe her when she cries, bringing her blankets and stuffed animals and sippy cups! Whenever I need to change, bathe or nurse Snowflake, Peanut is at my feet, watching and trying to be as helpful as she can at this age. It is so precious to see them together and the love she has for her baby sister!

Because it is winter, we have stayed inside a lot this past month to protect Snowflake from the germs out there. Cabin fever is beginning to get the best of us however, so we will be resuming our normal activities soon!