September Baking

I almost made it 30-for-30, but one Monday tripped me up. G was cluster-feeding and I didn't manage to get semi-prepared during his one real nap of the day and then by the time I did have time it was 9:30 and I just was too tired to do anything. Sigh. I was surprisingly disappointed that I couldn't make it to a perfect string.

But, here's what I learned in my month of baking:

• It's easiest if I prep for whatever it is I'm going to bake as soon as I can. What I mean is measuring everything and having it ready to go, so that if need be I can dump ingredients into a mixing bowl with one hand while the other holds the baby.
  
• Bread is not that scary. And it is sooooo goooood it's worth the effort.
  
• Apparently I do not ever get tired of chocolate.
  
• Tyler Florence has a killer coconut bread recipe.
  
• Everything I've ever tried by Dorie Greenspan is killer.
  
• Pie crust is also not that scary. But it is impossible to roll while holding a baby or even wearing him, so plan accordingly.
  
• I counted baking from a mix twice. Because my point in this month was mostly to clear out my backlog of new recipes, but also to clear out my baking cabinet of odds-and-ends, which included some mixes.
  
• I love love LOVE trying new recipes. I thought I'd get annoyed by it or something, but nope, never did. In fact it inspired me to continue with it even more. Details to follow.
  
• I need to trust my instincts, because I had a recipe that was a complete disaster and I thought it seemed weird when I was preparing it. I should have followed my gut.
  
• L never questioned what I was doing with all the baking, or what was going on. He just enjoyed it.

I Love This Time of Year

And by "this time of year," I mean, of course, football season. (Something tells me Jennifer knew what I meant).

I watched a ridiculous amount of football both Saturday and Sunday. I completely enjoyed some of the games (see: USF on Saturday, and the Colts on Sunday), and was very disappointed in others (see: IU on Saturday, and the Steelers, Dolphins, and Falcons on Sunday).

What I am NOT crazy about is the late start for Sunday (and Monday) night games for those of us in the Eastern time zone. I fell asleep before the end of the Colts game yesterday. So what if the game was all but over, I still couldn't manage to stay awake to actually see it end. Tonight I don't even know if I'll make it to halftime of the game. This is when I miss living in the Mountain or Pacific time zones. I could watch games until the end! And not regret it the next day even!

I forgot to put G in his Colts outfit yesterday. He's got an aunt who is a RABID Colts fan so she made sure he would be appropriately attired for the season. That and she wanted to preempt him from possibly having his first sports clothing be for any other team.

Baby Updates

G had his 2 month appointment this week. Two months! I know, every mom says it, but still. It seems impossible that it's been two months already. And I still haven't managed to write up his birth story.

The big news from his appointment was his stats - 26 inches long and 14 pounds 5 ounces. Let me repeat that: FOURTEEN POUNDS, FIVE OUNCES. a.k.a. a whole lotta baby.

And let's not overlook that length; it's 99th percentile and 4 inches more than his birth length. No wonder I feel like he eats a lot.

Everything looks good with him other than his moderate-to-severe case of cradle cap. He's quite scaly, and the doctor suggested using dandruff shampoo twice a week. If only I'd remembered to buy some at the store...

Not so good news is his bottle strike. It began with just him needing lots of encouragement to take a bottle. Then it was refusing a bottle now & then. Then always refusing the bottle. And now it doesn't matter what's in the bottle; he reacts as if we're torturing him by offering it.

This does not bode well for me ever leaving the boy.

He's still super cute though!

Weekly Menu Plan

Sunday - leftovers

Monday - baked gnocchi

Tuesday - black bean quesadillas

Wednesday - baked mushroom risotto with steak

Thursday - linguine with butter and pecorino

Friday - minestrone soup and homemade bread

Saturday - pizza

August Books

Robin Elise Weiss - 150 Tips and Tricks for New Moms: From Those Frantic First Days to Baby’s First Birthday: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Your New Addition

Charlaine Harris - Shakespeare’s Trollop

Alan Gordon – The Lark’s Lament

Elizabeth George - A Mom After God’s Own Heart: 10 Ways To Love Your Children

Nevada Barr - Borderline

Elizabeth M. Ward - Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, & After Pregnancy

George Barna - Finding a Church You Can Call Home: The Complete Guide to Making One of the Most Signifi-cant Decisions of Your Life

Laura Hunter and Jennifer Walker - The Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby Care: The First 6 Months

Beverly Connor - One Grave Too Many

Jan Burke - Nine

Sue Grafton - T is for Trespass

Erin Hart - Lake of Sorrows

Gladys M. Hunt - Honey for a Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life

Royal College of Midwives - Successful Breastfeeding

La Reine Chabut - Lose That Baby Fat! Bouncing Back the First Year after Having a Baby

Rick Warren - Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods: Twelve Ways You Can Unlock God’s Word

Stephanie Barron - Jane and the Stillroom Maid

Conrad Allen - Murder on the Marmora

Weekly Menu Plan

Sunday - Leftovers supplemented with fresh corn on the cob.

Monday - Mexican rice skillet.

Tuesday - Penne with beef & arugula.

Wednesday - Lentil sloppy joes.

Thursday - Homemade PIZZA in honor of the NFL season starting.

Friday - Clean out the fridge!

September Goals

For no other reasons then I think it's time for me to start accomplishing more than just surviving day to day, I'm setting some goals for myself for the month:

1. Read the Bible everyday. I'm out of the habit since having the baby, and need to get back into it.
   
2. Bake something new every day. So far I'm 5-for-5, and have a variety of recipes picked out that require varying amounts of energy so I can tailor them to my day. Update: I'm 12-for-12!
   
3. Blog twice a week at minimum.
   
4. Meet people for lunch twice (one down!)
   
5. Take G in to work to show him off
   
6. Set up online portfolio with pictures of G to share with friends & family easily.
   
7. Submit receipts for FSA reimbursement.
   
8. Call the hospital about bill; think they've forgotten to credit me with some that was already paid.
   
9. Take recycling to bin & glass to store for deposit.
   
10. Buy some (3 or so) new tops that work for nursing. (Update: I've got 1. I'm going to have to order some online for the rest.)
    
11. Pay the hospital & doctor bills

Still Here

I *hope* (no, really, I'm serious) to start blogging more regularly this month. And by regularly, I'm thinking twice a week. Last week I had a visitor (hi Susan!) and felt like my limited time with a functioning brain should be spent talking with her rather than writing here. She can attest to just how little time that is; I felt like most of the time I was saying how tired I am and how I couldn't wait to go to bed as soon as G would let me.

And speaking of G, he's doing well. He's generally very happy, as long as mama holds him. He's content to spend a little time with others, or in his bouncy seat, or gazing at his activity gym, but generally he tires of that after about 10 minutes or so and wants to go back to me. I've almost perfected internet surfing with one hand, because I've got a lot of time where he's dozing in my arms, and will wake up if I put him down, but is out of it enough where I can fritter my time away looking at blogs or recipe sites. If I could figure out how to write using only a mouse there would be a lot more posts here I can tell you.

G discovered his mobile a couple of weeks ago and that's a sure-fire way for me to get some time for me to run to the bathroom, or get a snack, and he's so enthralled in the motion that he doesn't care that I've left him. I'm trying not to overuse it lest it loses its effectiveness.

I'm hoping to get out of the house soon to go shopping - I fairly desperately need a few nursing tops; making do with my old shirts isn't working so well and if I hope to nurse in public I'll be better off with more than two shirts that allow it modestly. So far my desire for the shirts hasn't outweighed my reluctance to drag him with me to shops & squeeze into the dressing room as I try things on - just the logistics seem like more trouble than I'm wanting to handle right now. I could leave him with L and go out alone, but in the evenings after dinner I'm too tired to face it. Perhaps this weekend...

G still has some issues with his dad - he won't look at him (as in make eye contact or even look at his face in general), and often in the evenings he doesn't want to be held by him at all. He does better earlier in the day still fortunately, but I hope that the outgrows this evening thing soon. I just feel so bad for L!