Saturday, March 30, 2013

Baking and why you should never let your infant help you crack an egg

All I can say is...WOW! I never knew baking with your infant could be so messy and yet so fulfilling at the same time. Let me start out by saying I hate messes. I get stressed out, start to sweat and I the next thing I realize is that I'm half naked, cleaning while my bub is hanging off my leg. This is what I was expecting.

We decided to bake Banana muffins. I started off pretty enthusiastically trying to get my little Jimbo involved and interested in what I was creating. His only goal was to shove everything possible into his mouth, including and not limited to, a half cracked egg, flour, and paper cupcake liners. So lets back track a bit. It started out fairly well..
Sitting pleasantly playing with his spoon and bowl

It wasn't long before Mr. Spoon was in his mouth and Mrs. Bowl kicked to the curb, er, floor.
She is on her way down

Alright, moving on, I decided against my better judgement to help Jim stir the flour. We ended up with his hand in the bowl grabbing handfuls and eating it.

Mistake made, mess everywhere, lets try something new! Help mommy crack an egg into the batter. As he helped crack the egg by squeezing the life out of it, he then decided to try it. Hmmm...not bad considering he was smiling! I turned for a second to grab a towel and sure enough, egg shells all over his chin...yum! I think i might see some in his poop :) Well after that little pit stop I decided to let him help get the pan...nice and simple..
Finally mommy found me something that is too big for my mouth

Okay, batter is done let me show him how I stir the batter with a beater, maybe he will want to help stir too because of all the vibration and stuff! Yeah..perfect idea. Again, he is more interested in eating it!

Now that the batter was made, it was time to put in cupcake liners. I'd offer to help him but I'm pretty sure he has got this!

We finally had reached the end! Muffins made it into the oven in one piece and I proceeded to clean. This is where I could feel stress levels soaring and blood pressure rising. I stopped, looked at my gorgeous meatloaf and decided that I would not freak out. I made the decision to enjoy every moment of the time I had with him, even the messy times! 

Score: Creative mommy 1; Stressed mommy 0

Friday, March 29, 2013

The Journey Begins

Off we go! Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be a stay at home mom. I had aspirations that were out of this world (I literally wanted to work for NASA). Soon after I had gotten married, my eggo was preggo and I saw my life's goals falling into pieces around me. It wasn't long after having our baby Jim that I found myself adjusting into 'mom' hood fairly well. Jim and I found a great routine and I actually enjoyed staying home with him. Now as any parent knows, being home with a babe all day can be chaotic and fun, but it can also be quite monotonous. On many occasions I found myself sipping wine at noon watching 'The Office' on my couch while my little nugget played on the floor. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not an inattentive mother. I made sure he wasn't eating his own poop or playing with the electrical outlets, I just am not the kind of mom who sits on the floor playing with her kid. Even when I did, I found my brain turning to mashed spaghetti and after about 30 minutes I couldn't even remember basic Calculus.

One day after describing my boring, wine drinking life to a very close friend and beautiful mother, I realized that I needed to find ways to be more creative with my child. I needed to open myself up to teaching, playing, and enjoying my son that would still utilize my brain. So here we are, Day 1. Where to begin? I think today we shall try a little baking!

Directions for Banana Muffins + 1 child

  • Ingredients for Banana Muffins
  • One small child in highchair with own spoon and bowl
  • Pour small amount of batter into child's bowl
  • Clean Mess
  • Eat Muffins at Gouter (French snack time)
Live it...Learn it

Check out the next blog for the end result of our baking adventure!