Kitchen Wishes

WOW! I've been getting a lot of visitors lately, mostly thanks to The Mom With The Brownies featuring me on her blog. Among many other things, she has lots of free curriculum info posted. Thanks, Brownie Mom!

I am surprisingly un-stressed about my kitchenless status. I'm somewhat stressed by the fact that my employer keeps cancelling me. I'm an RN at a children's hospital. I am a "PRN" (as needed) employee and receive no benefits, including paid time off. They pay those in my department handsomely, but the trade-off is that when the patient census drops, we are the first to get cancelled--without pay! It's my choice, so I won't complain too much. Due to lack of childcare, I'm not able to pick up shifts when they have a need on an unscheduled day, but I'm working on that. I need my money because I REALLY don't want to be kitchenless too much longer!

In a previous post I said that in our marriage, I am the brakes, DH the gas. In spite of this we usually work very well together. We are both creative thinkers and he can build/fix anything! So I decided I want a copper counter top in my new kitchen. Did I mention DH likes to "debate?" I call it arguing. So I did some research on the benefits of copper and came across this very interesting article. I did this to keep the "debating" to a minimum, although I know that in the end, I usually get what I want. Not only is copper beautiful (and gets more so as time goes by), but it's actually antibacterial! Where would this benefit be needed more than in the kitchen? Google copper counter tops and you'll see the cool stuff that's out there. Since we're handy/creative, we'll probably be making ours ourselves.

My original idea was to wrap the copper sheet (a relatively heavy gauge) around plywood. DH has come up with the idea of adding tile to the edges. I see it in my mind, and I like it!

Kitchenless, part deux

Kitchenless

This is what my kitchen looked like...until 3 days ago. We'd been talking about renovating it for a while. I wasn't quite ready to go, but that's life with Courtney (DH). I always describe our relationship as him being the gas and me being the brakes, and this applies to most things: moving, money, home projects, etc.

The day this pic was taken (we posted it on Craigslist and did sell the cabinets and fridge) was probably the only time the kitchen was ever that clean. As you can see, there is minimal counter space. Except for the area next to the cook top, there's usually crap all over the place. I love to cook, but have hated to do so for the two years we've been in this house. Not just because of the lack of counter space, but because of the electric cook top. So as I write, the kitchen and 2 adjacent rooms are without a ceiling and most of the walls have been taken down. We are hoping to redo the whole thing for under $7K. I'll keep you posted.

I often brag about my husband's ability to fix anything. However, he has a shortcoming that I am going to try very hard to be patient about during this upheaval: poor time management skills. I pray to God that it won't take more than a month. Right now all we have is a fridge (a very nice GE Profile that I hear retails for upwards of $6K that we got for less than a third of that) our old double oven and microwave oven. No sink, no faucets.

I'm just going to pretend we're camping for now...

Home Made baby Food

From L-R: Apples & blueberries, squash, spinach/cauliflower/potato, carrot/potato, red lentil with mixed vegetables.

I make my own baby food for several reasons, the main one being that is saves sooo much money! Cooking is an act of love and I don't think Delaney should be the only one in the family I don't do it for! I like knowing exactly what's in her food, and adding this or that to boost nutritional content and flavor. All I do is steam whatever, run it through the food processor (a couple of months ago I'd strain it, but she's a big girl now), sometimes I'll add some breast milk or vegetable stock (form the vegs themselves, not store bought, if it's a little too thick) and put in ice trays to use later. I still buy jar baby food, because it's convenient when we're out all day or out of town, but not often.

Delaney has food allergies (milk), so that's another reason. A lot of jar baby food contains milk or milk derivatives. I'm able to feed her a varied diet without stressing over what's in it. And what keeps me doing it is the fact that she loves it!

Me, Cooking

This is my solution to getting things done when Miss Delaney insists on being held, which is most of the time. Although I don't believe in letting babies CIO (cry it out), poor Delaney has too more than her sisters did simply because I can't always get to her. The sling works every time.

Making Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Although we are not vegan (or vegetarian for that matter) I've found that vegan recipes work very well to acommodate Shelby's food allergies. She's allergic to eggs, milk, peanuts, fish, and we recently were told that she is also "a little" allergic to soy! Believe it or not, there is a lot she can eat, but I have to be imaginative. He appetite is awesome, but she's not always willing to try new things. I hope this changes as she gets older. You can get the recipe for these cookies here.

Delaney at 7 months (11/08)

The Girls' First Visit to the Dentist (12/08)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The more I try to not be too busy, the busier I am! I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions, but this year I WILL try to be more organized. Step one would be to get out of bed a lot earlier on days I don't work (my current get up time is 9-930), but Miss Delaney makes that very hard. She is almost 8 months old and still wakes up to nurse in the night. Now she's teething, so a good night's rest for mommy or daddy is pretty much out of the question.
7 am would be ideal. I could fold a load of laundry, maybe do a little websurfing...oh wait! I really need time on my treadmill. This post pregnancy blubber appears to be more stubborn than with past pregnancies. I weigh the same as pre-pregnancy (too much), but the fat has redistrubuted itself in a whole new way. Although I don't like it, I'm not as bent out of shape (no pun intended) about it as I thought I'd be. Getting up earlier would allow more homeschooling time, time for outside activities such as story time at the library and so much more.
I'll be uploading pics of Christmas and before at a later time, if I get a chance...