Friday, August 2, 2013
Ch-ch-cha-changes!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
2013-2014 Pre-K Curriculum
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Ricotta Cheese
Right!
Some of my fondest childhood memories take place at my grandparent's or Nonno and Nonna's house on Sunday nights. Nothing but family, love, and food. Oh, the food!
I'm fairly certain I have been eating ricotta cheese since I could walk. And all the more, loving ricotta cheese since the very first time the yummy, rich, dangerously addictive food reached my mouth. I can just hear my Nonno say, "Lorena, mangia! Mangia!" (Lauren, eat! Eat!) as he heaped a giant spoonful into a bowl. Sometimes, he would mix it with a little bit of jelly or preserves. And other times with a little bit of fresh tomato sauce. Whatever way it was served, I ate it. Happily.
Since, I have been enjoying cooking more of what my family eats from scratch, I set out on a journey to make my own ricotta cheese. When I tell you that this is by far one of the most delicious and easy things to ever grace my kitchen, believe me. I could barely pull myself away from it. I will never, ever buy it pre-made again. Try it, you too, will find it makes you weak in the knees.
Ricotta Cheese
4 cups whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Sea salt
*Note: I used all organic dairy and saved a bunch making this myself. Organic ricotta cheese is very pricey and hard to find!
Line a strainer with a triple layered piece of cheese cloth and place it in the sink.
Combine milk, buttermilk, and cream into a sauce pan and heat on medium high.
It will start to slowly boil and solids will start to form. This is the whey (liquid) and the curds beginning to separate. If you have a thermometer, you want it to reach a temperature of 185 degrees. A candy thermometer is best but I don't have one so I used my turkey thermometer. I'm fancy like that.
If you don't have a thermometer, don't worry. You will be able to see this happening. It should take about 10 minutes.
After the curds have formed, remove from heat and use a slotted spoon or hand strainer to scoop out the cheese. Place it in the cheese cloth lined strainer. Every few scoopfuls sprinkle with sea salt.
Now stand over your beautiful creation with a spoon and admire/taste the goodness.
You are welcome, in advance.
Buon Appetito!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Loving Two
I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?
Then he is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you’ve never shared me before.
I hear you telling me in your own way, “Please love only me”. And I hear myself telling you in mine, “I can’t”, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.
You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.
But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying him, as though I am betraying you.
But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.
More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.
But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times – only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.
I watch how he adores you – as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.
I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you – only differently.
And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you’ll never share my love. There’s enough of that for both of you – you each have your own supply.
I love you – both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.
Author Unknown
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Babies Don't Keep
He will only be this exact way today. Tomorrow brings growth and new developments and one morning I will wake up, these days nothing but a memory. There is nothing more important or pressing to accomplish than for this mama to just sit and hold her baby.
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
-Ruth Hulbert Hamilton
Monday, November 26, 2012
3
It's ridiculously hard to even comprehend that I am now a Momma to a 3 year old.
Kai turned 3 a few days ago. Man, that went by fast.
How I love that sweet child.
Here is his 3 year old birthday/love letter:
Little man,
Today, You are three and most often; are completely perplexing me. Still, so much a baby but with every blink of my eyes you become more and more the little boy I always imagined I would have. You are the boy who believes he is Godzilla fifty percent of the day. I love that two of your favorite pastimes are washing your hands and brushing your teeth. You also LOVE to floss, you are awesome. My boy who wants to be just like his Daddy but is still very much a Mama's boy. You live in a world I am no longer a part of, a land of hiding holes and make believe. Just when I think I have you all figured out, you throw me through a loop hole and I'm off, again chasing after you. I follow you around the world and watch your undying curiosity make leaps and bounds. This life is so interesting and I can feel the youth in my soul awaken as I experience childhood once again. Except this time it's through your eyes. Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream and I dream too.
It's hard to imagine that one day you will pack up your things and set out into this great big world. So, I plan on hanging on to every second of your childhood and soaking it all in. My little boy who loves dragons and monsters. Who wants to help me with everything I do. Who likes to jump on my back and be carried down the stairs. Who grabs my cheeks and kisses my nose.
I can't wait to see where 3 takes you.
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living,
My baby you'll be.
Xoxoxo Mom
Monday, November 19, 2012
Lochlan's Birth Story
It's been almost two months since you graced our family with your presence and I decided that now was a good time to write the story of your birth. Details are already becoming fuzzy and I know I will kick myself later if I don't do this now while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind.
In the days and months leading up to your birthday, I had been a giant ball of emotions. One minute, my heart was jumping with excitement and the next, I would be paralyzed with fear and anxiety. Doubts would flood through me and I would have to make a conscious effort to turn off my mind and have faith that all of my payers and choices had brought me to this moment and the decision to birth you completely naturally in the warmth and safety of our own home. In the week before you were born, I remember waking up every day wondering if today was the day we would see your sweet face for the first time. It wasn't until two days before that I began to think that you really were on your way, though I kept telling myself it wasn't time as to not disappoint myself too much.
Saturday September 15, 2012
I had been having contractions all day. Nothing painful or intense but they didn't seem to ease up for the entire day. I went on like usual, your Dad was working at the tunnel and I went shopping with Kai, Grammy and Stephanie. We went to target, my happy store, and walked around. Your brother being the almost three year old that he is, was testing the boundaries left and right. At one point, I even at to walk him out to the car to discipline him. What a sight we probably were! I even thought, "Watch my water break while I'm lugging this wailing child outside!" Luckily, it did not break then, although not so lucky for our midwife. More on that in a bit. So by the time our shopping trip was complete, I was persuaded to call Donna, our midwife just to give her a heads up to what was going on with me. Which at this point, I still thought was nothing. Your Dad came home that night and we ordered Mexican for dinner. I sat with your brother for a long time playing with play dough, reading him books, and telling him stories of all the adventures that you and him would go on some day. I remember haing a lump in my throat and a gut feeling that life as we knew it was about to change drastically and I remember wondering if I was up for the challenge that was ahead of me. Dad and I went to bed quite a bit earlier than usual, around 9 pm, and by midnight my sleep was interrupted by my first actual labor pain.
I jostled your Dad to get up and he suggested I call Donna and/or try to go back to sleep. Agreeing with him, I called Donna and told her my contractions were painful and from my guess were somewhere around 4 minutes apart. I also told her I was still able to talk through them and that they weren't anything terrible. She too, suggested I try to get some rest and I obliged and told her I would call her when things intensified. Now I'm not sure how I managed to do this but I went back to sleep for two hours! At that point in my labor, it was a pretty awesome feat to accomplish.
It was now 2 am and my contractions were intense. Each wave stronger than the one that preceded it and I could no longer lay down during them. I woke your Dad up again, in which he responded that I should try to lay down again. I humored him and attempted to lay down for one contraction but was far too uncomfortable to do so. I called my midwife from the bathroom and updated her on my progress. Still explaining that I was fine in between them but it was getting harder to keep my mind off the pain when I was contracting. She said she would start heading over and that I should call Mel, my very dear friend whom I had asked to be an extra support person during your birth. She too, had given birth at home to her second son and I was fortunate enough to attend her birth as her doula. It was such an amazing experience and I was giddy on the high of her birth for months. So I had your Dad call Mel, because at this point I was losing the ability to talk in between my contratctions. I needed the time in between to rest and mentally prepare myself for the next one.
Looking back, I probably should have realized that my contractions were starting to be one on top of the other but my perception was clouded by the idea I had put in my head that I was going to be in labor for days. Your Dad immediately went into his "Be Prepared" mode and had rearranged the furniture in our living room, lit candles, and put on the pandora station I had selected to give birth to. He was so cute, my heart instantly warms a little when I think about him busily rushing around to get things ready for you. When Mel arrived, my contractions were already more than I thought I could handle. I found comfort in sitting on the toilet and I could feel my desire to seem "in control" slip away. The stronger my contractions became, the louder my voice became. I remember thinking and speaking my doubts that I was not going to be able to do this. I was very kindly reminded that I was in fact, doing it and I was doing it well. At one point, I remember thinking that pounding on the wall and knocking things over sounded like great ideas. I'd like to think that my primal human instincts were to blame for that, but in actuality, it was probably just because birthing you hurt like h***. At this point, your Dad walked into the bathroom and informed me that he was going to go fill up our gas tank. "Just in case", he said. Now at the time this made perfect sense and I didn't think twice about it, maybe I didn't even think about it at all, but looking back now it makes me smile and want to kiss your Dad for being so cute. He had received some advice from Selwyn, Mel's husband, on being prepared and man, did he ever take that to heart. So anywho, he left. To go get gas. :) funny guy.
I'm pretty sure within minutes of your Dad leaving I was fully dilated and effaced. I started to get this overwhelming sensation that I needed to push. The more I resisted pushing the more extreme the pain. Finally, when I couldn't hold back anymore I gave in. I kept telling Mel that I was trying not to push but I was! And where was my husband? And where was my midwife? Mel told me that she was pretty sure that when you had the need to push that you were pretty close to having a baby and I laughed/cried/screamed and said "That would be nice but I'm not getting my hopes uppppppp!"
Your Dad returned in record time and I was so glad. I felt a little, tiny, itty bitty part of me relax. He took over pressing on my back during my contractions and gave Mel a break. In the corner of my eye, I had been watching her text Donna then when I began to say I needed to push, she went out into the kitchen and called her. She came back to the bathroom after the call and said, "She is on her way! She is going 90 and will be here in a minute." Thank. God. I thought.
When Donna walked through my door it was like watching an angel walk into my house. Man, was I glad to see her! This labor had gone from 0 to 60 in just over an hour and I there was no possible way I was giving birth to you without her next to me. She immediately walked over and hugged me. I told her I needed to push and she said "Ok, let's check and see how much progress you have made." "All I feel is a bag of water!", she excitedly replied afterward. I couldn't believe it. it was game time.u
We moved to the living room and your Dad, Mel, and Donna covered up the chaise lounge and got me sitting on up on it. Your Dad was sitting behind me, holding me and loving on me. I gave my first push and a giant gush of water splashed everywhere, including all over my wonderful midwife. Yep, my water broke all over. Giving birth is amazing. By the time I got to the living room I had given in to the pain and contractions and was just going with it. Honestly, I don't remember this pain nearly as much as I remember the pain fom not pushing. I pushed for 12 minutes and you were born.
At 3:58 am on September 16, 2012 I reached down and brought you up to my chest and looked into your eyes for the first time. You were absolutely perfect and it was the most blissful moment of my life. Every pain I had experienced had ceased and was long forgotten. I had you and I had the birth I had been dreaming of. It was one of the most incredible feelings in the world. A high ten times better than anything I experienced during my skydiving days.
Your birth was ideal in every form of the word for me. It was 100% natural. I was at home surrounded by people that I love and people who love me. It was quick. It was safe. And it was beautiful, was it ever beautiful.