Homesick for My Kitchen

     I really miss my kitchen. I miss the way it smells, looks, and makes me feel. My family has been so busy with harvest, working ground, and hay season that I haven't had much time for my favorite thing: cooking. This is probably why I have lost all my baby weight plus an additional 3lbs! Kudos for this accomplishment! But truth be told, if I had time to make homemade pumpkin pancakes slathered with real butter and maple syrup, I would gladly pack those 3lbs back on! Alas, due to heat and time homemade anything isn't happin' much around here. However, during my "dairy" sessions I get 15 full minutes all to myself and I spend them on the computer working on my cookbook. I ran across some recipes that I love. Love. Love. Love! One in particular is Cube Steak Parmesan. I mean look at this baby, isn't she beautiful?! Such a hardy meal too. You have your cube steak breaded with one of my favorite ingredients, Panko, lots of glorious cheese, homemade spaghetti sauce, and pasta.

Cube Steak Parmesan

Last time we had this meal, Alli made Mascarpone stuffed strawberries to go with it.  Anytime you can add Mascarpone cheese to fruit you have a winner, at least in my opinion. Allison is proudly showing off the strawberries that she stuffed herself. Isn't she too cute?!

Proud Chef

She's my chef in training. At 4 years old she can make her own sandwiches, cupcakes from a cake mix (I do the oven part), fruit salads, and is a big help doing numerous other jobs. She's so eager to learn that she's wearing out all of our butter knifes (and using all the cheese) practicing her cutting skills. I'm amazed how much math she's learning too. She can measure ingredients to the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 cup by herself! I think the Bernstein Bear cooking game she plays on PBS Kids helped with this too. I'm thrilled that she shares my love for the kitchen. I have a feeling that as she gets older, we'll make the perfect team. I love to cook but not so much bake, while Alli seems to prefer baking recipes to cooking. I look forward to the great memories we're going to create from our time together in our kitchen.

Balance

I feel like it's been forever since my last blog. Oh wait, I just spotted the last blog entry date and realized it has been forever. When I reflect back on what all I've done I realize that I need to learn the art of balance. I feel like my time is spent doing one of two things: taking care of family or working. Lately, I've been a tad edgy and overwhelmed. Who would have thought one extra person, especially a tiny little person, could create so much extra work? Reid's lucky that I'm in love with him, otherwise we might have had a problem. ;) But really, this has been an interesting year. I've learned so many things including how to change out the o-rings in the bathroom sink, take apart the freezer to clean out the condenser and fan, and  drill holes in wood planks in order to mount a new mailbox that was maimed by a local farmer. Most importantly I've learned how to enjoy my time with my kids at home or wherever we may be. This is a huge feat because I'm not the stay-at-home type. Since I accomplished all of these things, I'm going to challenge myself with the whole balance thing. I need this. It's July and I haven't spent any quality time with my friends since baby #2 came along. I have no idea where the time went but I'm taking what time I have left back so that I can enjoy some me time over the summer vacation. Now that I've actually put that thought into words I feel a bit anxious because this means having to leave Reid behind. I know that it's important for both of us to have some time apart but at the same time, he's my baby!! He's the last baby I'll ever have, hold, cuddle/sleep in the chair with, stare at for hours...see where I'm going with this? I've become that kid who needs to leave the nest and won't, only worse in real-life I'm the mom who won't leave her kid. Balance. If I can attain this I may actually have a chance at "getting a life" and maybe one day Reid or Alli won't have to tell me to get one!!