When in doubt, brûlée

I wish I could take credit for this; alas, it's thanks to following SomebunnysLove on Pinterest. Kimberly has incredible taste in food, and I swear I'm gaining weight just following her pins.

From Chef In Training, I give you the recipe, with my two slight adjustments. The first is substituting honey for corn syrup, the second is replacing the bread with croissants.


I also would recommend serving with bacon, whipped cream, and strawberries- all on the side. Mmmm.

This serves 6-8 people, and next time, I'm doing two batches. That's how good this is.

Overnight Creme Brulee French Toast

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup butter
2. 1 cup packed brown sugar
3. 2 Tbsp honey
4. 10 croissants
5. 5 eggs
6. 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
7. 1/4 teaspoon salt
8. 1 teaspoon vanilla
9. Dash of cinnamon

Directions

1. In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, and honey over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture onto large, greased jelly roll pan (18x13x1"). Spread around to cover surface. Cut the crossaints in half, place them crust-side down in a single layer to cover pan. Mix together eggs, cream, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Spoon mixture over each piece of bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Pull out of the fridge (about 1 1/2 hours before baking) so that the baking dish can come up to room temperature. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan and serve. If not serving immediately, turn each slice of bread over (this will prevent bread from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

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Bon apetít!

Oatmeal and butter

This weekend was challenging, and I am the only one to blame for it. Before I get into the challenging bit, here's something that is going really well:

Oatmeal CVM from Patti Sexton, Monterey Wool Auction 2010

Plying! I spun 9 oz of CVM singles on a borrowed Hansen Minispinner while I was expecting  DangerMouse. Since I'm getting ready to start my SPAKAL spinning, I thought I should ply the TWO sweaters worth of singles I have resting on the plastic weaving bobbins. (This is, for the record, the only issue with using the plastic weaving bobbins for storing singles.)

I spun this woolen, because the staple length is on the shorter side, and if I thought I loved spinning it, it wasn't as much as I'm loving plying it. I just need to set it and pick which Hannah Fettig sweater I'm knitting out of it. Plying this makes me feel really accomplished and incredibly talented.

It also makes DangerMouse sleeeeeeepy.

(This is important to point out. I'm not just being a bragger-sandwich.)

I spent Saturday in the kitchen. Between baking sugar cookies for Easter dinner with my in-laws and doing prep for Easter brunch (at our house), my kitchen was a'bustlin' with activity. I really, really missed cooking and baking and it's so satisfying to be able to get back to it.

I pulled out my trusty copy of Joy of Cooking and looked at the recipe for sugar cookies. We were looking to make cookies that look like these:

Image stolen from justcrumbs. But seriously, go check out her etsy shop.

So. Sugar cookies. I looked at the recipe, and the recipe says it will make 3 dozen 2" round cookies. My cookie cutter was a 3" egg, and my brain mangled the math. I read "3 dozen 1" round cookies".

So I quadrupled the recipe. QUADUPLED.

"This is SUCH a good idea!" I kept saying, "I'm so excited to be baking! And they're going to be SO CUTE."

That meant using 10 sticks of butter. Somehow, this made PERFECT SENSE to me. I went along, cheerfully mixing, rolling out, and refrigerating the dough. Then it was time to cut out the cookies and bake them.

I made use of Andrew and his excellent spatial skills, so he did the cutting out, and I fired up my oven to the "convection" setting. (Three sheets of cookies baking evenly, simultaneously. It makes my heart skip a beat. But that might be the butter talking.)

After AN HOUR of cutting out cookies, Andrew asks how many more we're planning to do. It was at this point that I realize, we will have OVER ONE HUNDRED 3" eggs. That we're going to decorate.

Andrew may have voiced some concern about halfway through, to which I kept insisting, "This is STILL a good idea."

After the cookies were all baked (minus the scraps, which Mom rolled and froze for later use), I looked at the stack and nearly wept at the idea of having to ice and decorate all. These. Cookies.

This is only some of them.

Andrew had the great idea to only decorate the 48 cookies we were planning to take to Easter dinner, and it was an INSPIRED idea. We set up an assembly line, and iced, ear-ed, eye-d, and tail-ed the cookies.

I felt really stupid pretty, and to be totally honest, I was pretty hard on myself. Straight-up abusive. To his credit, Andrew insisted that it was STILL a good idea, the cookies were delicious, and hey! When have we ever had a hard time finding people interested in eating my baking?

Lesson learned? If you're tired and having a "pretty" day, have someone ELSE check your math.

Unless, of course, you have neighbors like ours, who told me that they would *cheerfully* take one for the team and help us out with the extras. It's definitely a tasty, tasty way to get closer to your neighbors.

What I do for love

I have completely lost my mind. We announced the SPAKAL (SPin-Along-Knit-A-Long, pronounced "spackle") on the podcast, and I declared that I would not *only* spin a sweater on my spinning wheel and knit the chosen sweater, but I would ALSO spin for a sweater using a drop spindle.

It's a KCL modular spindle, and that's orange Targhee X I'm spinning on it.

Yes, drop spindle is technically slower than wheel spinning. But, it happens to delight one certain DangerMouse, and I am a slave to her moods. Especially the good ones. Also, you really can't beat the fact that it keeps her actively engaged and entertained for 45 minutes at a time. (This is further proof that she really and truly is my daughter. You know, if you ever doubted it.)

I mean, wouldn't you spin for this face?

"The most interesting baby in the world" (captioned by Kidbrother Sam)

That's what I thought.

AlaKAZAM!

There has been lots of baby talk on here as of late. I'm still amazed at how much time and attention tiny people (who seem to spend most of their time sleeping) require. Lest you fear that I have forsaken my love of All Things Fiber-y, I offer you a little proof that I have not.

Skeptical Houdini Socks for Andrew

I decided to try knitting a pair of Houdini socks for Andrew- mostly because they're really, really satisfying to knit - and partly because I know he likes his socks snug, and these totally fit the bill. He was skeptical that he would like the fit of any socks that weren't ribbed from cuff to toe (the one problem with having a man who knows his knitting), but I assured him that he would love the fit of these.

I can't explain *why* these fit better than a sock with (for example) a short-rowed heel, but they do. Someday, over a mug of coffee, I will ask Cat to explain it to me, and I will finally see the light. (I promise to tell you what the secret is, as soon as I know.)

These are further than they appear in the photo (first sock is DONE!), and I had Andrew try it on. I have a feeling that one Tall and Handsome Man will be having a serving of Crow with a side of Humble Pie shortly.


There are so many things I love about these socks; especially the yarn. Oh Regia, yarn of my heart. What I may love most is the bold 10-year warrantee on the label. Way to throw down the gauntlet, Regia.

The most appealing part of these socks might be the complete lack of a wretched heel flap. It seems to take me a year to knit a 2 1/2" square of fabric, but 12 inches of stockinette tube and seven inches of ribbing? I can knit *that* in ten minutes. (Not really ten minutes. Allow me some hyberbolic license here.)

I am enjoying the knitting on these socks so much that I'm actually *excited* about knitting a fresh drawer of socks for Andrew.

Somehow a drawer full of socks seems less daunting than finishing the sleeves on the sweater. It's all about perspective these days.

Me, for the win

On Monday, I had a Parenting Win. At 11 weeks, Genevieve is 24 1/2" long, and 12 lbs, 14 oz. She is tall, like Andrew, and has some good meat on her bones. I can't find the percentiles, but I assure you, she's well above the 50% mark on both. (Fortunately, she doesn't have her father's giant head. Quoth the pediatrician.)

I'm interactive!

I am utterly delighted. For the first time, I feel like I'm really doing something right. The pediatrician told us (basically) that all of the preemie concerns were well behind us, and that we have a robust and thriving daughter.

I can't even begin to describe the relief I feel. Andrew and I were high five-ing each other all the way home after her appointment.

Success as a parent is - apparently - measured in inches and pounds.

Forty-two Squares

I've been spending a lot of my time taking pictures of Genevieve. About a month ago, I took pictures of her on the Love Blanket _TM that a few of our podcast listeners made for her.
 

Diaper cover by Zookies.com. No affiliation, just a happy customer.

I know that a month is FOREVER in baby time (Genevieve has filled out considerably since this shoot), but these are some of my favorite pictures of her. Every time we use this blanket, I think of all the well-wishes, anticipation, and love that was knit into it.

I love her duckling hairdo.

It's the perfect size for snuggling under on the couch or the glider, and because it's superwash wool, I don't have to worry about handwashing it. You know, because Things happen. And knitters plan for these sorts of Things.

The square her feet are on is a square with BABY FOOTPRINTS!

It has directionality, and because I'm me, I insist that we show off the pretty side, and right side up. (There's even a Star Trek square. This is how well our listeners know us.)

DangerMouse: 1 month, 8 days old

It's so cheerful, that it brightens up whichever room we're using it in. (Usually the living room.) Until the past couple of days, it hasn't really been cold enough to take it out of the house and show it off. Given that the high the last couple of days has been in the low 50's, that is changing. Oh boy, is it changing.

Both the blanket and the baby are super-snuggly.

Despite the fact that I only managed to finish a hat for her before she was born, Genevieve has made off with a HUGE haul of knitterly loot. Every time she wears a hat or sweater that one of her knitting aunties has made for her, I make sure to tell her how well-loved she is, and how excited we all were to have her join us.

This goes even more so for the Love Blanket _TM. I tell her that people who *have never met her* were SO excited that she was going to be born that they surprised us with a blanket - just for her. Thankfully for me, Genevieve is good about sharing it.

 For now.

Fifty percent

This last weekend, we took Genevieve out to her first Stitches West.

Three generations, picture courtesy of WonderMike

I was thinking about this picture, and what I kept coming back to is that half of me came from Mom, and that Genevieve is half me. It completely blows my mind.

Speaking of Mom, check out what a great job she did on my hair! After a lot of discussion about parenting and identity, Mom facilitated the re-pinking. It's stupid and superficial, but I just didn't feel like myself as a brunette.

After Mom did the bleach and color on my hair, we went to get it cut, and Suzy the Stylist declared that I looked like myself again, too. Nothing like a Mom to make sure you don't lose yourself, right?

Stitches was fun; it was a completely different experience with Genevieve. We did a lot more sitting and a lot less partying, but you know what? It was a much more restful weekend. And we can always party when she's older.

What I *will* say is that she LOVED staring at all the colors. She can't help it; it's in her genes.

Good advice

Waaaaaay before I was old enough to even consider having children of my own, I used to babysit for Aunt Constance's kids. She would talk about being a mom, and how she dealt with some of the challenges. Like diaper changing time.

Diaper cover by Zookies.com. No affiliation, just a happy customer.

For those who don't have kids, diaper changing is (sometimes) gross, but also can be the source of great acrimony for all parties involved. It seems that (across the board) babies HATE being wet, but they also - confusingly enough- hate the process of getting their diaper changed.

Enter Aunt Constance's sage wisdom from all those years ago. She would sing to her girls while changing their diapers to help make it a more pleasant experience. This has turned out to be completely invaluable information.

While what we're singing might not be *exactly* what my Aunt Constance may have had in mind ("Forget You" by Cee Lo Green, "I'm sexy and I know it"), it TOTALLY works. And that is really what matters.

[SIDE NOTE: I have heard Andrew sing more in the last six and a half weeks than I have in the 10 years we've been together. It's completely charming.]

Add more good advice; Nathania spread the gospel of the wipe warmer. It has made all the difference. Singing + warm wipes = awesome. (In case you're curious, we also use these wipes.) Rachael suggested a white noise app; also great advice.

Most notably, Sean told me to keep living my life the way we already do, and let the baby adapt to us (instead of the other way around.) Fantastic advice!

So, here is your chance to help a new mom. What's the best parenting advice you would give? Lay it on me.

Brought to you by Mom

Being a mom is the most demanding thing I've ever done. I adore Genevieve, but there are more than a few moments where I feel utterly incompetent and wonder what I've gotten myself into. Fortunately, I have a ridiculous amount of help and support.

Sweater made by DangerMouse's Auntie Dynasty
I have always known that my mother is amazing; now, I understand how that is a complete understatement. Every time I feel like I'm falling short on all counts (parenting-wise), she says or does something to make me feel like I haven't just gone skydiving without a parachute. She makes it all look easy. Effortless.

Which brings me to my point. Every time something appears to be effortless-a party, someone's appearance, or in this case, appearing to grow extra arms and doing Mom-Fu - it is the opposite of effortless. It takes a LOT of work.
I could be bitter and claim that I was duped by her masterful parenting, but that would be ridiculous. Instead, I'll brag.

Mom has kept a watchful eye over us. I have been dealing with a breastfeeding issue (over-production, forceful letdown), and Mom has been coaching me- and helping me get to appointments with the lactation nurses when she maxed out what she could do to help.

She reassures me when I'm certain I'm doing a terrible job; she answers my parenting questions. And oh, does she laugh when I am under fire. (Parents, you know what I'm talking about.)

When I'm exhausted, Mom comes over, changes diapers, makes coffee, tidies around the house- you name it. So that I can get a little extra sleep.

It's remarkable what a little extra sleep can do for you. Little things don't seem so overwhelming. The sun shines brighter. Laundry (that your mother did while you were sleeping) smells better. Even the coffee (that she made) seems to taste sweeter.

What I'm saying is: things are going well, courtesy of Mom.

Genevieve, enter stage left

On January 3rd at 4:07PM, I gave birth to our daughter.

Genevieve Danger, day 1:  6lbs 11 oz, 19" long

She's utterly fantastic. It's insane how much I love her. She makes the most amazing faces, and is (so far) pretty easygoing. She cries when she's hungry or wet, but that's it. Seriously.

She smells amazing, and she snuggles like it's going out of style. Also? She has crazy fantastic dimples, which I'm hoping to catch on camera. Because the cuteness will kill you.

Napping in Andrew's arms

She sleeps pretty well (about four hours at a time at night), so we have no complaints. Andrew is an amazing father; he changes (cloth!) diapers like a champ, and he's been taking fantastic care of me, too. I'm really happy that his company has such a phenomenal paternity leave arrangement.

My parents have been over the moon over Genevieve (who we've been referring to as "DangerMouse", since she yawns like a mouse), and the only issue seems to be that whoever isn't holding Genevieve thinks the person who *is* holding her is "bogarting the baby". (A term that has been bandied about quite frequently around here.)

Genevieve holding Andrew's finger

I've gotten a lot of questions about the particulars of her birth, and how Genevieve is doing, so I'm going to do my best to answer them here.

The dogs:

Niki and Elphie are adjusting nicely to Genevieve. Elphie was totally cool from the start; Niki had some ... challenges with the adjustment. It took about two days for Niki to relax and ease up on the assertive grooming.

Elphie seems to have taken a shine to Genevieve; she checks on her everytime Genevieve makes a peep, and when she comes back in from a walk, she checks on Genevieve FIRST- before getting water or having her leash taken off.

We are using the tips from Childproofing Your Dog, which have been really helpful. Andrew and I both recommend it, and we got it based on our favorite vet's recommendation.

Breastfeeding:

Genevieve latches like a piranha. I'm pretty sure that I've heard her growl as she goes in for the attack. I got really excellent lactation support at the hospital, so the first few latches were pretty awful, but we're over that particular hurdle and on to finessing the other details. You know, like being able to unhook the nursing bra one-handed, and finding the "just right" angle. All details.

Diapers:

Cloth. We're doing basics- prefolds and covers, like Mom did for me and KidBrother Sam. Cloth diaper technology has come a long way, but the favorite of the family is the bumGenius Diaper Sprayer. The thing is AWESOME!

Since Genevieve was three weeks early, we didn't have ANY diapering stuff. Thankfully, there was wi-fi at the hospital, and within two hours of Genevieve being born, I was ordering a few basics (to be delivered the same day we were discharged).  Thank heavens for Amazon Prime. Seriously.

Since I prefer to support small businesses, we did most of our diaper shopping at Tiny Tots in Campbell. I got fitted for nursing bras, got a sling tutorial, and Andrew got to ask all his cloth diapering questions- and they were cheerful about taking the time to help us. PLUS! The prices are *really* close to prices on Amazon. So, it's a win on all fronts.

I love her eyelashes.

STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT BIRTH DETAILS. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

The birth story: 

Genevieve wasn't due for another three weeks (and one day) the day she was born. Our day started early- around 2am, when I got up for my regular 2am mosey to the bathroom. I did my thing, washed my hands, and as I went to crawl back into bed - SPLASH! My water broke. Spectacularly.

I was horrified. Not only was she not due for another three weeks, but SWEET MOTHER OF MERCY it was gross. I froze there for a minute, trying to figure out how to get back to the bathroom without making a wet mess all over our wood floors, when Andrew startled awake (let the record reflect, with a scream).

He helped me to the bathroom, we did the requisite checks of fluids/colors that you do, and then called Labor and Delivery like we had been instructed to do in case of such an event. The L&D nurse declared us "another full moon baby", and told me to have some breakfast, grab a shower, and come on in.

My contractions really kicked in about ten minutes after my water broke. I told Andrew that I just. Wasn't. Ready. I needed my three weeks. Andrew informed me that it wasn't really up to me at that point.

Mom and KidBrother Sam came over right away; Mom made me some oatmeal for breakfast, and KidBrother Sam made himself comfortable on the couch to keep the dogs' routine regular. I called my dad, who was in Los Angeles visiting family- because we had THREE WHOLE WEEKS until the baby was due. In the meantime, Andrew grabbed our mostly packed "go bags" and scrambled to get the last few things thrown in there, and loaded the car up in a flash.

My dad answered the phone with a start, and gasped out an "Is your mom okay?!" Because at that hour, the news is rarely good. I informed him that the baby was coming, and that he may want to head home a little earlier than he had originally intended. (By the way, he made it back home in RECORD time.)

We got to the hospital around 4am, got checked in (and checked) and I was 85% effaced and 1cm dilated. Andrew was a champion coach, and we used all of the tools we had learned in Bradley class. He was AMAZING, seriously. (Who knew that among all of his many talents that he was an incredible doula as well? What do you call a male doula? A dude-la?)

I made good progress, but as the hours passed, my contractions became more and more painful. There was vomiting. There were tremors. And, sweet mother of pearl, there was back labor. Yes, my friends. My precious daughter was going to be born face-up.

After 8 1/2 hours of natural labor, we had exhausted all of the coping skills we learned in class, I was in mind-numbing pain, and I was utterly knackered.  I asked for some painkillers and was able to rest for about an hour. Once the painkillers started to wear off, Andrew and I decided that it was time for an epidural- the back labor was not easing up.

The epidural was a patient controlled one, and I had it for about an hour before I was ready to push. In that hour, I went from 7 to 10cm. Booyah.

Once it was time to push, I pushed. And pushed. According to Mom, I pushed for about 30 minutes. Assisted by the midwife, Mom got to "catch" Genevieve. The cord was wrapped around Genevieve's neck, and she was as purple as the umbelical cord, but she still cried as she came out. Andrew cut the cord and she was whisked over to the warmer where they gave her some oxygen to pink her up.

Me? Second degree tear. Exhausted. Oh yeah, and my blood pressure and temperature had spiked (pre-eclampsia), so I was put on magnesium sulfate and antibiotics to make sure I didn't have a seizure or infection. It made me feel terrible, and I had to stay in bed for 24 hours. Thankfully, I had Andrew with me the whole time, and he was able to be both SuperDad and UltraHusband.

Since Genevieve was *technically* premature (a term that stings like a thousand shallow cuts and makes me feel like I failed her from the start), we got some extra help with nursing. She also had jaundice (which is normal), and her levels were low enough that we could bring her home, provided that she was on a biliblanket all the time- except when her diaper was being changed.

She was on the biliblanket for five days, total, before her bilirubin levels dropped sufficiently. We did it with skin-to-skin contact, because everyone told us it was better for Genevieve. Also? It's totally delightful to snuggle a newborn skin-to-skin.

We got tips from the nurses, and Andrew made sure to pay close attention on how to keep an eye on both of us recovering. He's been changing diapers, fetching and carrying, and making sure that on those days where I start feeling like my old self, I don't overdo it and backslide. (Who, me?)

We're almost two weeks out, and we're all doing great. It's because of our family and friends- Laura cooked us a week's worth of meals AND did the emergency shopping/laundry so that Genevieve would have luxuries like socks, diapers, and some onesies.

We've had other folks drop food off for us; my in-laws have brought dinner when they visit AND tidied the kitchen when we were done. My parents have been helping out by running errands, cooking, cleaning, and holding Genevieve while I live it up and take hot showers, or attempt to eat food while it's still warm.

Thank you all for your well-wishes and congratulations. I am so happy to be sharing my baby with all of you.