Holy moley! It's chilly today. I've been saying for about a week now that at night it smells like winter- the smell of chilly moisture, and people's furnaces running. I made a pork roast last night, and warmed the apartment a little. It would have been better had I baked bread or baklava or something equivalent, but who has time for that? The holidays are almost here, and it's got me thinking about baking a lot of things. My mom and I have decided to have a bi-weekly baking/sewing day, where I can let Daddy and Baby have some bonding time, and I can get a little Mom time, and get some Baklava made (I found a recipe for Chocolate Baklava, and Orange Baklava- both sound awesome. If you'd like the link posted, let me know and I'll get it on here). I also have been wanting to try and find a good recipe for fudge, and have recently learned about Aroniaberries and their health-benefits (superest super fruit of them all, more anti-oxidants than Blueberries or Cranberries) and have been itching to make a white fudge with Aroniaberries, Blueberries, and Cranberries instead of nuts. I came across a recipe with good reviews for an Irish Creme Fudge, which is right up my alley. I have a weakness for Rum Cake also. On top of all of that, I have my traditional recipes that I'd like to get done this year also: Pumpkin Orange Gingerbread, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and who can go without Sugar Cookies? I can't wait until Baby is old enough to have a baking day with me (and Umah of course).
My daughter is a little over 6 months old, so she can't really say many words, but she calls me Mama, and my mom Umah. (I know this because I was at my mom's house when she wasn't home, and Baby kept looking around and saying "uuuuummaaaaah....... Umah? Ummmaaah?" I came to the conclusion that she calls her Umah, which is German for Grandma, which tickles me, because I'd hoped she'd catch on to some of the various languages that frequently fall out of my mouth. I don't really speak anything other than English fluently, but I know quite a bit of Spanish, and can understand a lot of German, French and some Portuguese, and have been working on learning Russian. The earlier they hear other languages, at least in passing, the easier it is supposed to be to teach them later- the goal, being, to speak as much as possible of both. I encourage my friends who speak other languages to talk to her in something other than English, so we'll see how that turns out.
I came to the conclusion that if being a first time parent is really mostly experimentation, then why not experiment with some other things- like shoes for instance. I read somewhere that shoes are now being discouraged for children up to 18 months, or longer, to help the child learn how to use all of the muscles in their feet. It makes sense. Shoes are confining. Plus Baby doesn't really like socks or shoes. We'll see how that turns out. Her cousin, who is 4 months older than Baby, has been wearing shoes since day 1, so I have a fairly controlled test group. Not a large one, just controlled. I'll revisit that in a year and see where we are.
Once we get some sewing days in, I'll be able to start Baby's new crib bedding set. I still can't get over how expensive they are. Even at Wal-mart, which, for me, consistently has some of the lowest prices (Hy-vee being a solid first place), crib bedding sets can cost $70 or more. While I may spend easily $30 on supplies to create the set I've engineered, I'll have a complete set (Blackout Curtains for naptime, a bed skirt, comforter, and a pillow case for when she's old enough for her own pillow, and some sheet sets bought separately to match), and They'll be custom made to fit my daughter's tastes and needs. She rarely sleeps if it's light, she loves fuzzy and satin-y textures, and she loves patterns of stripes or dots. I've tailored my plans to fit her needs, and for me, that's more important than some name on a tag. Isn't that the basic rule of parenting anyway? Tailoring your plans to fit your child?
What kinds of things have you done to fit your kids' needs? What's your favorite holiday recipes? And has anyone else tried some 'experiemental' new-age parenting advice? How'd it turn out for you?
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