Back in the Saddle

After seven and half months, I'm finally back in the saddle.  What am I talking about?  If you haven't guessed, you probably don't want to know.  But it's been causing me some mental anguish, so I'm glad to have reached this milestone.  

It's new years eve.  Last year we spend NYE with our good friends who had recently bought the house almost across the road from us.  I was so tired that night and so cranky.  People were cheating at Trivial Pursuit and it was driving me crazy.  No, not crazy, but CRAZY.  I ended up calling it a  night shortly after 23:00, and left DH with them to ring in the new year.  I brought in the new year in bed by myself, having a pity party and crying because I didn't want to be alone.  If only I had known how much I would love the beautiful little boy growing inside of me!  I probably wouldn't have felt so alone... 

This year things are so much better.  We decided not to go out (although we had a wonderful offer to go to the same place as last year, and a second wonderful offer from my parents to babysit) and have opted for a quiet 'normal' night at home.  After BB went to bed, I poured myself a small glass of wine and DH and I watched a few TV shows and nibbled on some yummy cheeses that we bought at the market last weekend.  After I had enough TV, I came back upstairs, finished adding comments to my Christmas album on Facebook, and now I'm writing my final blog entry for 2008.  

It's been an amazing year.  I wish there was a way I could remember every tiny detail from this year.  I've fallen more in love with DH.  I've fallen in love with BB.  My heart brims with happiness.  I'm a bit sad to let go of such a wonderful year.  

I have no resolutions for 2009.  I only want more of what I have had in 2008.  

Should I Do It?

I haven't posted on my other blog in quite some time.  My plan was to try to make this blog all happy and fluffy.  You know... the side of you that you want the world to see in hopes that the world will think you are a better person than you actually are.  However, my plan failed, and instead I've exposed myself as I really am.  :)  

Tonight I discovered a way to import another blog into your current blog.  I don't really want to delete my old blog because there are some posts from when I first found out I was pregnant that I'd really like to hang on to.  But I hate stumbling across abandoned blogs when I'm blog browsing.  So I'm considering importing the old blog into this one.  I'm on the fence about the whole thing.  Maybe I should just keep them separate and admit that I am someone with an abandoned blog?  

Decisions, decisions.  

Holiday Thoughts: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It's December 29 already!  I'm not sure where the last five days have gone!  It's been a blur of activity.  As usual, there are a few things I'd like to record here so that I don't forget them.

• N is an amazing friend.  When she and her hubby couldn't make it to her in-laws for Christmas due to a storm, she offered to come watch BB on Christmas Eve while I worked on my final preparations for Christmas dinner.  And when BB napped, she helped me in the kitchen.  I was having a bit of a panic attack over everything that needed to be accomplished, and then DH had to work on Christmas Eve, so I really wasn't sure how I would possibly be ready for Christmas day.  But she completely saved the day, and I am so grateful to her!

• Another storm threatened to arrive on Christmas Eve, so we almost didn't make it down to mom & dad's to celebrate my brother's birthday.  I'm so glad that the storm wasn't as bad predicted, because it was great to maintain our usual tradition of being with my family on that day.  My brother brought his Johnny Cash Christmas Special DVD, which was nice to see and gave us a few laughs too.

• While we were at my parents' place, Santa's Elves visited our place and left BB a pair of pyjamas to wear to bed for Christmas!  He wasn't old enough to understand what was happening, but I think it's important to start our family traditions now.  :)

• A tradition that we started two Christmases ago was to watch 'A Christmas Carol' starring Patrick Stewart over the holidays.  Normally we watch it Christmas Eve night or Christmas night, but this year we watched it on the afternoon of the 28th with BB.  BB normally doesn't get to watch TV but we made an exception and he managed to sit still for about an hour of the movie.  Okay, so he wiggled and squirmed, but it was happy wiggling and squirming.  

• My brother helped BB open several of his gifts Christmas morning.  It's a memory I will keep forever.  

• We hosted a very large Christmas dinner.  Not normal for us.  All of DH's family, all of my family, plus my friend N and her hubby joined us.  Everyone seemed pleased with dinner, which makes me happy.  I made my own cranberry sauce with blueberries and pecans, I found an awesome dressing recipe online, and I made three glorious pies--rhubarb-strawberry for DH, coconut cream for my FIL (I used the coconut cream filling from the Purity Cookbook and the cream topping portion of this recipe.  The whole recipe looks yummy, but I didn't have time for it) and apple pie for my father (I used the filling portion of this recipe.)  The coconut cream and apple were amazing.  Seriously.  I've never had such a yummy apple pie, if I may so say myself!  And I'd never had coconut cream before, but wow, was it good!  By the end of dessert there was only two pieces of that one left!

• It is wonderful to be with your family on Christmas.  But I think it might be even better to also be with your close friends on Christmas.  You know, the people you choose to have in your life, rather than the people who are there because they are blood.  Not to say anything negative about my family, but it was a lot of fun having N and her hubby here too.

• I wish I could be nicer to people.  I can be a snippy witch sometimes.  I've been rude to a lot of my family over the holidays.  Sometimes when I get a bit stressed or tired, I open my mouth and the words come out.  Sharp words.  And then later that day I feel really bad about it.  I'm a lot like my aunt that I tend to have negative feelings towards for this exact reason.

• My mother washed a LOT of dishes here on Christmas day.  I'm very grateful to her for it!  

• I tried turnip for the first time on Christmas day.  N brought a turnip casserole and rolls.  I don't think turnip is something I would go out of my way to eat again, but it wasn't bad in this casserole.

• My two BFFs are having a crappy holiday this year, both for completely different reasons.  I feel terrible for them, especially since I think this might be the best Christmas I've had yet.  I wish I could do something to make things better for them, but I don't think there's much I can do besides just being there if they need me.

• BB was a very good boy Christmas morning.  By the time my in-laws arrived that afternoon, he was a bit overwhelmed, and was done.  Done done done.  

• Christmas evening, after everyone had left, DH and I spent the evening on the floor playing with BB.  BB was finally at peace with the world again and we were happy to just be the three of us again.  It was so nice.  Another memory I will always keep with me.

• BB received some wonderful gifts from his family and our close friends.  A very lucky and loved little boy, he is.

• Everyone always wants so much from BB, but he only has so much to give them all, and then he wants to be with me or DH again.  I think that was a big reason for his Christmas day crankies.  They all want cuddles from him; they all want to play with him.  When he has had enough of the constant mauling, he cries.  And then they all seem hurt.  My MIL, especially, has a hard time with this.  And my FIL keeps teasing me, telling me that I'm spoiling BB.  I know he's just teasing, but he says it over and over again.  A little voice deep down tells me that he means it.  So then I want to explain to him why I hold BB when he cries, etc. etc.  But I know he won't understand.

• Another memory I will always keep with me is serving pie with N on Christmas day.  She scooped ice cream while I sliced up the pie.  Nothing remarkable happened, I just doing it with her.

• N and I exchanged gifts on the 23rd.  I think she liked her Booga Bag.  I was very nervous about giving this to her as a gift.  She claims that she was hoping I'd make one for her.  However, the negative, self-doubting voice in my head tells me she was just saying that.  I hope she did like it though.  S's gift wasn't mailed until that same day, so hopefully she will receive it this week.  I don't doubt for a second that S will like her bag.  I only worry about N liking hers because it isn't her usual 'folky' style.

• N gave me a beautiful purple sweater as part of my Christmas gift.  I love it.  She says that she knows that I won't buy myself clothes anymore, now that I have BB.  It's true, clothes are pretty low on the priority list these days... they used to be top on the list.  N knows me well, and is so thoughtful.

• We made the two hour trek to visit my in-laws on Boxing Day.  BB slept in the car both ways, thankfully.  We were late getting out of the house due to the car having issues, and BB having a massive poop after he was buckled into his carseat.  It exploded out of his diaper, through his clothes and even onto me, but we did make it there eventually!  

• I don't believe for one second that Christmas is all about the gifts.  But that being said, I do enjoy the gift giving part.  I'm noticing that the kind of gifts I enjoy receiving has changed drastically.  Some of my favourite material gifts this year include two hooded sweatshirts, socks, a gift card for a pair of jeans, Anne of Green Gables DVDs (I've wanted these for YEARS).  Oh, and I received a Magic Bullet Single Shot, which I'm hoping will come in handy for making BB's food.  Notice a theme here?  With the exception of the DVDs, everything is useful.  

• This is the first Christmas ever that I have gone to bed on Christmas night and not been disappointed with the day.  I remember as a kid, crying when the day was over because it felt like something was missing, something wasn't right.  It wasn't perfect.  It wasn't all that it was built up to be.  As an adult I usually didn't cry about it, but that feeling like something was missing was even more intense.  This year nothing was missing.  The difference?  BB.

Holiday Expectations

Our first Christmas in our first house, I decided that we should have Christmas at home that year.  So we invited both of our families to join us.  I made it into such a huge deal in my head that it (of course) resulted in disaster.  I wanted the day to be perfect for everyone.  Instead, I spent the day with a black cloud hanging over my head.  No one showed up as early as I had hoped.  Then my parents showed up first.  We didn't know when my in-laws would arrive, so we went ahead and opened gifts.  My in-laws arrived close to the time we told them we'd be eating.  So we quickly opened their gifts and then it was onto meal preparations.  Our mothers had asked what they could bring, so we told my mother pie and DH's mother dressing.  I expected the dressing to arrive in a casserole dish ready to be popped into the oven.  But no, it arrived in pieces and had to be assembled.  So that meant my MIL was squeezed into our tiny galley kitchen with DH and I.  And of course she didn't know where anything was, so we were trying to help her with the dressing, all the while trying to prepare dinner for eight.  Then once the meal was over, everyone was like, "Let's do the dishes!"  "Let's clean up!"  "Oh, come on, let us clean up!"  Finally I lost it and snapped at everyone to leave the G.D. dishes alone, they can be done later, just relax and enjoy the day.  Merry effing Christmas!  

We haven't tried to host Christmas at our place since.

...Until this year.  

But, I'm going into this a bit more relaxed.  My first and foremost priority is BB.  I don't want his memories of his childhood Christmases to be of mommy snapping at everyone and rushing around all day.  So I'm planning to keep my cool, and make the day all about him.  Because, for us, and our entire family I'm sure, it is all about BB.  I told myself that I have no expectations for the day, other than for BB to have a good day.  

But I realized today that I did have some expectations that I wasn't aware of.  I found out that my brother may not be here for Christmas.  I totally can understand that he might be spending Christmas with his girlfriend's family; however, I still felt disappointed that he might be missing BB's first Christmas.  In all of my mental images of Christmas day, he was always there.  I feel bad that I don't get to see much of him, even though he lives here in town.  I feel bad that he isn't spending a lot of time with BB.  We've asked him to take BB if the unthinkable ever happens to us.  I wish that he had more time to spend with him now, so that they have a fab relationship if something terrible ever were to happen.  

I'm trying to let go of the expectations that I didn't even realize that I had for this Christmas.

Please, Don't Feed the Baby

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a craft sale here in town.  There's one vendor who has some delicious preserves, chocolate sauces, etc.  I purchased some preserves from them at the show in November, and decided that I wanted to try some more of their products.  The lady was very friendly and helpful, and was very happy to let me sample their products.  Then she looks at BB, and says, "Has he tried chocolate yet?"  (In her adorable little British accent.)

I cheerfully said, "No", not expecting what was coming next.

She then dipped a popsicle stick in a jar of chocolate sauce, and started walking towards his stroller saying, "Oh, well, let's give him a little taste then!"  (The accent is suddenly not so adorable.)

My mother and I both practically jumped out of our skin and quickly said, "NO!"  

The lady looked at me like I had three heads.  How dare I deprive my six and a half month old from experiencing the joys of chocolate?

Fast forward to the next day.  I took BB to the children's Christmas party hosted by my office.  I was sharing the chocolate story with my co-workers and couldn't understand why no one there seemed to understand my disgust with the situation.  Then I looked around.  Four of the six kids that were under a year old were all sucking on garlic fingers!  Only BB, and a two month old who couldn't even hold his head up were the only two not going to town on the greasy old things.  

What is wrong with these people?  For starters, everything I've read says that you shouldn't introduce chocolate to a baby until they're at least a year old.  And really, the day he turns a year, do you really think I'm going to say, "Here baby, have a chocolate bar!"  Um, no.  And why are these people feeding their kids garlic fingers?  As long as BB is young enough that I am able to control what he eats, I want him to eat healthy food, not crap.  I want him to develop an appreciation for healthy food.  When he gets a bit older I will have no issues with him having a treat.  We all do it.  But for now I don't want him to develop a taste for junk food.  And people wonder why there is an obesity problem in North America.  

Today we had some family here visiting for lunch.  BB had already had a bowl of bananas (which he gobbled down!) and had been breast fed.  He was definitely full, and was sitting happily in his high chair with us while we ate.  One of our guests looks at him and says to me, "Oh, I feel so bad eating in front of him."  She then looks at BB and says, "I wish I could give you some food from my plate, but I know they wouldn't like that."  No sh*t we wouldn't like that!  This is someone who is always telling us that she would like to babysit for us sometime.  I had been starting to consider leaving BB with her some evening so that DH and I could have a couple of hours out.  Not now.  I'm too worried that she'll try to slip him some food that I'm not ready to introduce to him.  She definitely blew her chances for a while. 

Why do people seem to think they know better than I do what's best for my baby?  He's our son, and we are doing what we feel is best for him.  Giving him some chocolate, or a garlic finger, or a piece of bacon or french toast is not something that I feel would benefit him at this point.  I don't think I'm wrong for feeling this way.  And if I do find out that someone has been slipping BB food behind my back, thinking that what Mommy doesn't know won't hurt her, they should be aware that if Mommy does find out, there's a good chance they are going to be cut out of BB's life.  I'm that serious about this topic.

Cooking with Breastmilk

BB hasn't been eating as well as usual lately, and I'm guessing it's due to teething.  This morning when I made his pot of rice/oatmeal for the next few days, I decided to cook it in breastmilk instead of water.  I figure this way he'll get more nutrients from it, since he isn't getting as much from me right now.  Plus, I had a pretty good stash of milk in the fridge from pumping every morning this week.

My house now smells very odd.  I wish I could describe it, but as you've probably noticed, I'm not that great with the words.  It certainly doesn't smell like I've been cooking with dairy!  I wonder if the dogs are downstairs salivating?

'Tis the Busiest Time of the Year!

I haven't been showing much love to my blog lately!  The reason?  Christmas!  I've been out two nights this week shopping (not buying oodles, just lots of stops) and yesterday afternoon and last night I got all of the pics of BB that we're giving for gifts framed and wrapped.  I also finished the second Booga Bag early this week, and finished the second boring I-Cord yesterday!  (I'll try to post some pics of the bags at some point.)  I'm planning on heading back to town tonight.  I'm armed with a list, and providing a store that I need to visit downtown is open tonight, I'll be able to finish my shopping tonight!  I've never been been so ready for Christmas!

Next on the agenda, knit a little hat and mitts for BB.  I picked a ball of yarn from my stash last night and started casting on the hat this morning...  then BB needed some love, so I shoved it aside for later.  I need to make pies for Christmas (I can make DH's strawberry-rhubarb and my dad's apple pie now and freeze them, and closer to Christmas I'm going to try my hand at coconut-cream for my FIL), cupcakes (again, for my FIL... but they're easy, he wouldn't appreciate the effort if I made them from scratch, so I just crack open a box for him!) and maybe another pan of squares or some cookies--only because I like eating them.  

Although BB's tooth has broken through the gums, he's still not in the best of spirits.  He's sleeping pretty good at night (yeah!), but his daytime naps are really short (say, 45 minutes a pop!) and when he's awake, it's hard to keep him occupied.  He doesn't cry a lot but he's whiney.  When he is content to play on the floor, he's constatly trying to play with the Christmas tree!  It's funny, but I worry that he's going to pull it down onto himself.  He seems happiest when I hold him and read stories to him.  Good thing I've bought him a bunch of books for Christmas, because I'm getting sick of the ones he currently has... it wouldn't be so bad if all of his books were options, but we can only read the board books because as soon as we start to read a paper book he grabs it out of my hands and starts to crumple and chew on it.  I'm smiling as I type this... he's so funny.  It's been a somewhat trying week, but I have abolutely no complaints about it, and from what I hear other parents say about their children teething, this has been a walk in the park.  

Milestone

BB has been rather cranky this week.  It hasn't been impossible to deal with, by any means, but he hasn't been his usual cheerful self.  I figured it might have something to do with teeth, but wasn't certain... DH has a cold, so I thought that maybe BB might have picked it up off of him.  

About an hour ago he bit my finger.  OW!  He has a sharp little tooth there!  And it wasn't there this morning.  (He chews on my hands a lot!)  I don't think it was even there for his 11:30 feeding.  He's been chewing on books pretty much all day though, so I guess it must have just broke through!  I'm not looking forward to his next feed...  Let's hope my nipples stay intact.

Tired of Trying

I just returned home from round 1 of Christmas shopping.  Whew.  I now have all of our pictures printed that we're giving as gifts, and frames bought for the pics.  I'm tired and headachy.  The roads are total crap, and The Settlement road is beyond crap.

This is just a quick post to announce to the world that I'm tired of caring about everyone.  When I see a friend posting a status on Facebook that is reaching out, looking for a friend, looking for a hand, looking for anything, I'll often acknowlege it.  Let them know that I'm thinking of them.  Try to help them not feel so alone.  Most times, I find I rarely get a thank you, let alone a response.  For some reason I seem to care about these people and how they're feeling... afterall, they are my 'friends'.  If they're having a rough day, I feel bad.  It happened yet again today.  Don't reach out and ask for a friend and then push away someone who offers to help you.  

I know I'll probably continue caring and trying, but for tonight, I'm sick of it.

The Rise of the Chicken Burrito

DH made chicken burritos for supper last night.  They might just be the best thing he's ever created... which is a bit crazy, since he's pretty fricking good in the kitchen.  I ate one for a bedtime snack last night and am eating another one for breakfast.  Why am I typing this as I eat?  I should be sitting in a quiet corner and concentrating solely on the wonderful flavours mingling in my mouth.

Oh Christmas Tree

I put up our Christmas tree today.  It looks the same as it does every year.  The tree is about 21 years old.  It belonged to my grandmother, and I believe she bought it the year my grandfather died.  I "inherited" it about nine or ten years ago.  It's been around.  My decorations have been around too.  Some of them are from my childhood.  And my flashy silver garland has been with me even longer than the tree has.  I think I bought it in college, so let's say about 1997, since I don't think I put up a tree in 1996.  My lights are about five or six years old.  They're rope-style, clustered, coloured mini lights.

It's a tacky tree.  It doesn't have the pretty ribbons and clear lights that so many people decorate their trees with these days.  Martha Stewart, or whoever the currently worshipped decorator is, would be appalled at it.  But it's my tree.  And it will be BB's tree too.  And because I don't expect it to be perfection, I'll be happy to let him help decorate it when he's big enough.  And I won't follow him around and rearrange all of the ornaments.  

This year, since BB is still very young, he sat on the living room floor and watched it go up.  He just started sitting up on his own this week, without needing us to be right there in case he topples over.  Yesterday was definitely the turning point for him.  So today I plunked him on the floor with some toys, and a couple pillows behind him, to break his fall, just in case.  He totally didn't need the pillows.  He sat square on his behind and watched the entire tree go up.  In fact, he barely touched his toys, he was so interested in what I was doing.  I ended up picking him up before he even thought of falling over.  

I'm always singing songs to BB.  I get tired of constatly babbling to him, so I often sing children's songs.  I tried to sing Oh Christmas Tree to him while I was putting up the tree, and realized that I don't know the words beyond, "Oh Christmas Tree."  Whoops.  I'm sure once I get some Christmas tunes cranked it will all come back to me!  

I've been listening to the CBC for the past week during the days.  I always used to make fun of people who listen to the CBC.  Now I'm one of those people.  I have become tired of listening to the same songs over and over again on the stations here in town.  It seems that they play one song I like, two I'm okay with, and then five that I can't stand.  So I decided to give the CBC a try.  And it's interesting.  And I'm learning lots.  Today while I was putting up the tree they did a call-in show where people could share some of their favourite Christmas food memories.  It was great.  And since I haven't dug out the Christmas tunes yet, it helped me to feel Christmassy while putting up the ol' tree!

So what does the ol' tree look like anyway?  Well, I'll try to post my first pic ever on here so you can see... (I tried two different settings on my camera.  I'm just getting around now to learning a few things about the settings about it.)

Note:  Edited to upload resized pictures.  Live & learn.  :)

Flattery Will Get You Everywhere

I received a message on FB the other day from someone I went to elementary school with.  We reconnected last spring and haven't really talked much since (even though she actually lives in The Settlement as well.)  Anyway, she messaged me because she has discovered that her one year old son has some pretty serious food allergies.  She says he's a huge eater, but she doesn't know how to add variety and keep him satisfied.  She said she has the impression that I am health-conscious like she is, and even though BB is younger than her son, I might have some ideas for her.

I'm not quite sure where she got the impression about me being health conscious, but it definitely is true.  I'm not a fanatic by any means, but over the last few years, healthy living has become a much bigger part of my life.  And now that BB has begun solids, I'm learning even more about healthy eating--and loving every second of increasing my knowledge in this area.  

I was pretty flattered that she thought to come to me for advice, and I love this sort of a challenge.  So I asked for the list of what he can eat, and also the list of what he can't eat, and then scoured all of my baby food cookbooks to come up with some meal ideas for her.  Once I started looking at the books, meal ideas were popping into my head that weren't even in the books!  I spent quite a bit of time working on this, but it was exciting and a lot of fun.

When I sat down to email her with some of my ideas I became a bit nervous.  What if she thought my ideas were stupid?  Or maybe she's already thought of these things; after all, some of them did seem pretty obvious.  She replied back and was really excited about some of the ideas (she even mentioned that she was really pleased with one of the obvious ones!)  I'm going to send her some recipes for my ideas, because she says she is not much of a cook.

Perhaps I missed my calling?  I am definitely more excited about doing this than I have ever been about my real-world job.

Christmas Panic

I'm starting to feel the Christmas panic.  I thought I'd manage to avoid all that this year, since I'm actually home.  But nope.  

Tonight after BB went to bed DH helped me lug up all of the Christmas decorations and the tree from the closet under the basement stairs.  I'd like to get started putting the tree up tonight, but there is a year's worth of dust, dirt, and dog hair accumulated on the totes (I think it falls in between the little cracks where the back of the stairs meet the part of the stairs that you step on) and I don't want to disturb BB's sleep by running the vacuum cleaner.  So everything is lined up and ready to be vacuumed first thing in the morning.  

I'm going to cool it on the Christmas baking for now.  I have two types of cookies and the nanaimo bars in the freezer.  It doesn't sound like much, but we don't have much (or any!) company...  aside from Christmas day that is.  I need to focus on decorating and finalizing gifts.

Normally on Christmas, we go to mom & dad's for Christmas Eve because it's my brother's birthday.  Then we go back down Christmas morning and are home around supper time because the dogs need to be let out.  We usually head to GF to DH's parents' place either on Boxing Day or the 27th.  But not this year.  We've decided that we need to start our own traditions now that BB is on the scene.  Sure, he won't remember a thing from this Christmas, but we need to start sometime.  So Christmas is taking place at our place in The Settlement this year.  

We've invited my family and DH's family to join us on Christmas day if they would like.  I believe my parents and my brother are joining us, and DH's parents are supposed to be coming down.  I'm not sure if DH's brother is coming or not.  I'm not really certain what sorts of traditions I want to establish for BB.  I've read of some families that give their kids a new pair of PJs on Christmas Eve from Santa's Elves.  I think that's cute, and I might start that.  Aside from that, I'm not sure.  Once BB is older we'll make cookies for Santa too.  That will be fun.  I'm sure other traditions will evolve over time.  Everything doesn't have to start this year.  But my Christmas focus has definitely changed since last year!  It's all about BB now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Best Nanaimo Bars Ever

I used to buy the box of nanaimo bar mix.  You know, the kind that you just add some butter and milk to, then press them into the pan.  I thought they were wonderful.  Until last Christmas.  I was about four months pregnant, and all I could taste was chemicals.  I swore off the boxes of nanaimo bars forever.  

Fast forward to now.  Or a couple weeks ago actually.  I received an email from Rogers Media with some receipes.  (I seem to get a lot of emails from random companies with recipes.)  This particular email had a recipe for Quintessentially Canadian Nanaimo Bars, which I decided to make today.  It was an all day affair, not because the recipe is that difficult, but because I had to work on them whenever I had the time.  I prepared the base while BB was in his Jumperoo just before his afternoon nap.  I spent his nap-time making tonight's supper.  The creamy middle was prepared after supper, while DH watched BB for me.  And the chocolate topping was prepared after BB went to bed tonight.  30 minutes later I got to try them.  Oh.  My.  Gawd.  They are wonderful.  

I have to admit, I was sketched out by adding the raw egg to the base.  I even considered omitting it.  Next time I make them, I'll probably buy some of that fake egg product, just to be on the safe side.

I doubled the receipe and put them into my 9x13 pan instead of the 8x8 the recipe calls for, and it worked out beautifully.  My plan was to put them in the freezer as part of my Christmas baking.  Now I'm not sure if they're going to be put in the freezer, or into my belly.

Getting it Together

It's hard to believe it's December already.  BB is 6.5 months old now.  I finally feel like I'm finally getting it together.  I'm much closer to running my house.  It feels good.  Last week I started with a to-do list.  It's helping to keep me focused.  When I had completed the list at the end of the week, I felt a sense of accomplishment.  My computer died last week, and while I was offline, I got a lot of stuff done.  I've discovered that I waste a lot of time sitting here!  Now that I'm back online with a new computer (not a nice expense to have so close to Christmas!) I'm aware of what a time waster it can be.  

A friend came to visit at 11:00 on Sunday.  I slept in Sunday morning, and when I woke up I didn't have to go into a mad panic to clean, because my house was already clean.  I just had to quickly put a few things away and tidy up, and I was ready to go.  I even had time to whip up a batch to cinnamon sticky buns before she arrived.

My to-do list for this week is already quite long.   But I know I can get it done, as long as I stay focused.  

Perhaps eventually I'll be able to move all of this goodness to the basement...  now that's a disaster.