We started the big one on TV at a very young age. We'd place her in front of Baby Einstein videos while she was swinging or in a bouncer. As she grew she continued to be enthralled with video entertainment, moving on to BooBah and Sesame Street. At one point I remember cancelling our cable because she would actively watch whatever we were watching.
The little one is very different. She has never cared about TV. She won't sit and watch the flashy colors of Baby Einstein or the oddly gastric BooBah. That is, until now.
Enter Melmo.
Or Elmo.
Melmo, as she calls him, has entranced her little mind to the point where she watches the DVD constantly. Elmo plays almost back to back to back either on the computer upstairs or the TV downstairs.
But honestly, I can't complain. In fact, I LOVE IT! I love MELMO!
Yesterday I was in the kitchen and I suddenly realized that I could do anything. The big one was busy playing, the little one was watching her movie, and I was free! I went in the bedroom and read a book. DURING THE DAY! I almost read the whole chapter. It is amazing.
You know how people always say that when kids digress they're just preparing to take a big developmental leap? Well, this kind of falls under that category from a mother's perspective. The turmoil of a sick, nursing, non-sleeping 2 year old has suddenly given way to a (semi)independently entertained, fairly well, sleeping all night (I shouldn't even say it, lest I jinx it) 2 year old.
*Sigh*
:)

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted! I kept thinking that I should change that previous post so as to move along the great picture of me after giving birth to the little one. But not even that got me posting.

The last few weeks have been riddled with illness (like the rest of the winter), warm spring-like days, and lots of food.
I recently tried a recipe that I found on foodgawker for the world's easiest bread.
You mix:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T kosher salt
6 1/2 cups flour
in a huge bowl (just stir it together.) Then you let it sit out for 2 to 5 hours. Then you refrigerate it up to 2 weeks. When you want to make something, you tear off a hunk, shape it and let it rest/rise then bake it.

When I made it I used whole wheat flour, so I used more water and I also added olive oil, just because. I just guessed on the measurements, but I went for a wet bread dough consistency. The resulting goods were a bit salty, so next time I'll reduce the salt to 1 T.

Overall it was tasty! I made donuts and rolls out of it. (Given the chance we'll fry anything at least once!) The flavor is a little fermented, but really good and bready. The consistency is spongy in the middle. For the effort, it was great. It only lasted 2 days in our fridge (becuase I had use for it,) but I like that you could have it accessible for a long time.

Today my little one is 2. Just like every other mother out there, I can't believe how fast the last 2 years have gone. She's changed so much from the quiet, observant, peaceful baby that she was when she came out.

She was born underwater at 12:55am. I had the privilege of using the newly-approved birthing tub at my hospital. Once I was in there, it only took about 3 1/2 hours before she was born.

Her big sister has always loved her. Even now, when she's deep into the "MINE!" stage and regularly a pain, her sister still loves her.

Now she's two and she can tell you she's "doo." She loves jumping and cd's and being naked. She talks as much as her sister ever did, except you can't understand most of it. She started potty training before she could walk (while she was still scooting.) She loves to set the table for supper. She loves clothes and shoes. She has a special preference for high heels. She's a real pill, but she's so darn cute that she can do just about anything.

I guess that the dehydrator is a fine place to nap...

if you're a cat...
that's constantly being attacked by crazy and often-naked children.

What delicious treat did we have to accompany our homemade pizza tonight?...


CREAM PUFFS! (I know, I know, they're only slightly less excessive than donuts.)
They were delicious. Obviously. How can something that combines eggy, buttery dough with custard and whipped cream, not be?

The whole family loved them.

The little one's half-drunk expression really sums it up.

What did we have for supper tonight? Pizza and donuts. It may have been excessively greasy, but it was equally as excessively delicious and delightful.
I'm working on my homemade pizza. I have figured out the sauce and the cheese. The crust is getting there, but it still needs a little work. Tonight's pizza was some of the best that I've made, but there was still plenty of room for improvement, i.e. pre-cooking the crust.
The donut portion of our meal was courtesy of foodgawker. The original post was about frying biscuit dough to make donuts. Surprise, it works! I was a little wary of the idea because biscuit dough is riddled with little bits of fat and then to fry it seemed like it could be too much. And it may have been. The best part, however, was my little sister's idea to use cinnamon rolls. They fried up into delicate little greasy treasures that was filled with uncooked dough (because they were thick) that was like pudding. Slap a little cream cheese frosting on that and presto! Death a little sooner than was previously expected.
All in all it was a treat. Or rather a treat after a treat after a treat until we had to roll ourselves to bed. It did solidify the fact that I may not own a deep fryer, ever. It would be too dangerous for me and my loved ones.

I love to cook and create and ponder tasty foods. I have a few good cookbooks that I use as staples, but really, honestly, who needs books when you have the Internet. (I know it's terrible to say.) There is this site that I LOVE. You can find me sitting here, way past my bedtime: sometimes at 10 or even 11 o'clock! It's www.foodgawker.com and that is exactly what it is. It has little pictures from different food blogs that you can click on for the recipes. I have bookmarked recipes for homemade pop-tarts, pierogis, grapefruit yogurt cake, deep fried cupcakes (!), Vermont mac and cheese, and lots more. It's just thrilling. Did you know you can deep fry biscuits to make donuts? Oh and mmmmm. And white chocolate raspberry scones! Oh, and there's 269 pages to look through with new additions daily. Enjoy!