Yeah....sounds disgusting cause I'm pretty sure it is.
I come from a small Midwestern town in Illinois where they have one of the best "ice cream" hot spots in the country. And I use those quotations very loosely because it's not at all ice cream, but rather FROZEN CUSTARD!!! I'm pretty sure this is a Midwest desert because when I lived on the east coast I never really saw it and here in the west coast/desert I never see it, which is really surprising! But man do I miss me some Ollie's Frozen Custard. It was just a short bike ride down the nature trail from my house and a few quarters out of my pocket before I was enjoying that smooth, creamy, oh so delicious decadent dessert.
So in remembrance of my childhood cravings I decided to make some homemade ice cream/custard. I'm pretty sure the main difference between ice cream and custard are the egg yolks. This recipe called for 8 egg yolks. I actually make this delicious treat memorial day weekend and it turned out phenomenally. It requires tempering the eggs, which is not exactly an easy task. I believe my first attempt at this recipe was a successful fluke!
Today I woke up early and started on the custard mixture. After tempering the egg yolks and adding them to the remaining vanilla flavored warm cream I reduced the heat to med/low (maybe not paying attention to that fact that it was a bit closer to medium) and walked away for only a few minutes before returning to do a quick stir/whisk. I peered down into my saucepan and what do I see? Scrambled Eggs....blegh! One batch totally wasted. I figure I'll stop by the store pick up some more whipping cream and 1/2 and 1/2 and start over a little later in the afternoon.
My second attempt of the day went similarly...tempered the egg yolks added to the mixture to the creams in the saucepan and then I needed to breastfeed baby Maddie. So I called the hubster over and instructed him to continue stirring until further instructions. As I sat down to feed Miss Maddie I must have totally zoned out because 5-10 minutes later I hear from husband from the kitchen, "how long am I supposed to stir this for?" crap crap double crap...I jumped up and take a hopefully glance into the saucepan hoping that the continual stirring has prevented the cooking of the eggs, but no such luck. Another batch...wasted?!?!
My husband turns to me and said hey why don't you just finish the steps and see how it turns out, either way if its bad it'll still end up in the garbage disposal. What a great idea. I pour the mixture into the mixing bowl and place in the fridge for cooling. A couple of hours I return to see very chunky looking custard. I whisk the custard thinking oh well let's see how this turns out and to my surprise...it smoothed out and became very thick and custardy!! So I've put it in the frozen ice cream maker attachment to my kitchen aid stand mixer and we will see...what...happens... but so far so good! :)
Looking forward to some delicious scrambled egg custard!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Milk Shortage
I'm panicking, I'm pretty sure I'm running low on milk and going to be forced to supplement with formula and Maddie isn't even 3 months old yet!!
Like I have mentioned before I work every day from home which leaves me at the office Mon, Wed, Fri. I can be gone for up to 14 hours a day which also means I'm pumping for all this time. Its so stressful because sometimes I don't have the luxury to pump on a regular 3 hour schedule.
Now over the weekend I came to the conclusion that Maddie is not getting enough from the breast. She was really grabby all weekend not taking extensive naps during the day as she usually does and at night having a difficult time falling asleep. I feed her in the middle of the night once around 2 am and another time around 5 am. To add to that I'm reading on all these mother/baby websites that by this age their babies are sleeping although all the way through the night. So I'm obviously doing something wrong!
Today my husband is at home watching Maddie while I am at work. I fed her around 7 am this morning and she ate again around 10 from the bottle. In the past she was regularly eating around 3 oz per feed. This morning my husband informed me she "GOBBLED" (his words) down 4.25 oz. Again I couldn't pump at the exact time she ate, but I pumped at 11:30 and only get 4.5 oz out of both boobs together!
When I'm saying I'm panicking I don't been oh this is funny I'm panicking blah blah blah blog talk....I'm literally stressed to the max! I took her to her 2 month check up a couple weeks ago and she was in the 90th percentile which technically should mean she is getting enough food from me right?? She's growing she's healthy, but now she's not sleeping like she use to which means she's probably not satisfied in regards to eating. I'm not pumping enough at work to keep up with my storage in the freezer (I have probably an extra 10 feedings or so in the freezer, if I'm lucky) I don't think the every other day she eats from the breast is stimulating my supply enough. And to seriously top this stress monster off my pump broke last week and I've had to manually pump for like 2 or 3 days now!! AHH my sister has a Medela Swing, which is a significantly smaller pump, but would do the trick so I'm going to snag that from her, but still....
I know formula isn't all that bad and that she'll be happier and healthier in the end, but honestly every time someone looks at her and sees how healthy she is and they ask oh is she breast/formula fed...when they hear me say "all breastmilk!" they get this smile on their faces and say "good job mommy!" like it's something to be seriously proud of....and I am!! What do I do now???
Like I have mentioned before I work every day from home which leaves me at the office Mon, Wed, Fri. I can be gone for up to 14 hours a day which also means I'm pumping for all this time. Its so stressful because sometimes I don't have the luxury to pump on a regular 3 hour schedule.
Now over the weekend I came to the conclusion that Maddie is not getting enough from the breast. She was really grabby all weekend not taking extensive naps during the day as she usually does and at night having a difficult time falling asleep. I feed her in the middle of the night once around 2 am and another time around 5 am. To add to that I'm reading on all these mother/baby websites that by this age their babies are sleeping although all the way through the night. So I'm obviously doing something wrong!
Today my husband is at home watching Maddie while I am at work. I fed her around 7 am this morning and she ate again around 10 from the bottle. In the past she was regularly eating around 3 oz per feed. This morning my husband informed me she "GOBBLED" (his words) down 4.25 oz. Again I couldn't pump at the exact time she ate, but I pumped at 11:30 and only get 4.5 oz out of both boobs together!
When I'm saying I'm panicking I don't been oh this is funny I'm panicking blah blah blah blog talk....I'm literally stressed to the max! I took her to her 2 month check up a couple weeks ago and she was in the 90th percentile which technically should mean she is getting enough food from me right?? She's growing she's healthy, but now she's not sleeping like she use to which means she's probably not satisfied in regards to eating. I'm not pumping enough at work to keep up with my storage in the freezer (I have probably an extra 10 feedings or so in the freezer, if I'm lucky) I don't think the every other day she eats from the breast is stimulating my supply enough. And to seriously top this stress monster off my pump broke last week and I've had to manually pump for like 2 or 3 days now!! AHH my sister has a Medela Swing, which is a significantly smaller pump, but would do the trick so I'm going to snag that from her, but still....
I know formula isn't all that bad and that she'll be happier and healthier in the end, but honestly every time someone looks at her and sees how healthy she is and they ask oh is she breast/formula fed...when they hear me say "all breastmilk!" they get this smile on their faces and say "good job mommy!" like it's something to be seriously proud of....and I am!! What do I do now???
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Fatty Neck Rolls & Curdled Milk
Umm....I am the worst mom on the planet or does this happen to everyone??
In my half sleeping daze this morning I was nursing my little chubsters. When she was satisfied and in a playful mood (which Mommy was not) she started squirming around begging for my attention. I reluctantly complied, especially because I couldn't resist those sweet little smirky cheeks!! So there I was in bed tickling my little girl to get her to give me a sweet little giggle and as she throws her head back in laughter.... I see it!! Red splotches hidden beneath the creamy white fatty cheeks and neck folds. I panic!! OMG what have I done, how long has it been like this, I inspect further to find what I can only assume is curdled milk!?!? Yuck, yuck double yuck! I quickly formulate a plan of attack...red splotched curdled milk folds must be terminated at all costs!!
I begin a rigorous sweep of the area with handy baby wipes. She is fighting me with all her might very much not wanting to tolerate me pushing her fat cheeks and neck folds out of the way to open the area of interest. Screams bellowing from her once smiling mouth, Plan A = FAIL. On to Plan B -- immediate execution of bath time. I bundle her into my arms frantically attempting to turn on hallway bathroom sink to medium temperature, insert Puj bathtub and strip baby to birthday suit. Commence serious bath time! I immediately target the "infected" area, trying with all my might to get into the secured area between the fatty cheek and upper chest. Gently I sweep a the area attempting to oh so gingerly clear the curdled milk from the depths of the folds. Upon completion of bath time, success rings through my ears. I cuddle her into her towel, drain the sink and with a spring in my step walk her to her changing table for a little rub down of lotion.
I start with her belly and her legs making sure to get her well moisturized in this dry desert atmosphere. I then continue to her arms and her back then her cute little booty. Finally I switch lotions and begin her face and neck. With my thumb and forefinger I get into the creased area under her chin and what do I feel.....MORE curdled milk!!!
WHEN WILL IT END!??!?!?!
In my half sleeping daze this morning I was nursing my little chubsters. When she was satisfied and in a playful mood (which Mommy was not) she started squirming around begging for my attention. I reluctantly complied, especially because I couldn't resist those sweet little smirky cheeks!! So there I was in bed tickling my little girl to get her to give me a sweet little giggle and as she throws her head back in laughter.... I see it!! Red splotches hidden beneath the creamy white fatty cheeks and neck folds. I panic!! OMG what have I done, how long has it been like this, I inspect further to find what I can only assume is curdled milk!?!? Yuck, yuck double yuck! I quickly formulate a plan of attack...red splotched curdled milk folds must be terminated at all costs!!
I begin a rigorous sweep of the area with handy baby wipes. She is fighting me with all her might very much not wanting to tolerate me pushing her fat cheeks and neck folds out of the way to open the area of interest. Screams bellowing from her once smiling mouth, Plan A = FAIL. On to Plan B -- immediate execution of bath time. I bundle her into my arms frantically attempting to turn on hallway bathroom sink to medium temperature, insert Puj bathtub and strip baby to birthday suit. Commence serious bath time! I immediately target the "infected" area, trying with all my might to get into the secured area between the fatty cheek and upper chest. Gently I sweep a the area attempting to oh so gingerly clear the curdled milk from the depths of the folds. Upon completion of bath time, success rings through my ears. I cuddle her into her towel, drain the sink and with a spring in my step walk her to her changing table for a little rub down of lotion.
I start with her belly and her legs making sure to get her well moisturized in this dry desert atmosphere. I then continue to her arms and her back then her cute little booty. Finally I switch lotions and begin her face and neck. With my thumb and forefinger I get into the creased area under her chin and what do I feel.....MORE curdled milk!!!
WHEN WILL IT END!??!?!?!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Maddie is 2 month!!! 05/26/2011
I cannot believe you are already 2 months old and that its been a whole 2 months since we were in the hospital anticipating your arrival! :) You have made some drastic changes and really grown up in the short 1 month span since our last picture session.
You have become incredibly interactive and your smile lights up a room. You are going to be one gorgeous lady and I'm going to have a hard time fighting those boys off for you, but don't get me wrong I'll definitely win cause I'm like one of those mama bears protecting her young!
I say this with the most pride a mother can possibly have and the most love I can exude, that you are one little chunkster. And I say with pride because after the tough time we had at the beginning with breastfeeding you have always been an eater and you are growing in leaps and bounds. I am eagerly anticipating your 2 months peds appointment tomorrow morning to see what percentile you are in, height & weight! :)
You are the sweetest little angel with the best termperment a mother could ask for. Only crying when tired (which you fight so hard to stay awake most of the time) and when you are hungry (you love you some milkies) but other than that you really enjoy taking in the world around you, cooing and babbling with mommy & daddy and getting super strong during tummy time.
You are our pride and joy. When you lay next to me and stare at my face with those gorgeous blue eyes of yours I just melt into a big puddle of mush and I can't ever imagine my life without you. I love you so much my sweet little Maddie-boo.
I don't want you to grow up too fast, but I love taking your monthly pictures my gorgeous little girl! Smooches all over your cute little cheekers!!!
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