Novelty: Snow in the South

It's a freakish event, I will admit. We haven't had this kind of weather in 5-6 years (2004 ice storm.) And even as I look out the window it's disappearing a record speed. Here is a picture tour of our few snowy days!

(Sidenote: L did not trust the snowman. He finally verbalized he was 'scary.' So mommy replied, 'He's not scary! He's just tall!' And that has been the party line ever since... But he still didn't want anything to do with him. :)

Day One:

Snow started around 4pm

Day Two:

About 4-6 inches to play in

Day Three:

Lots of icky slush that will be melted off in another day with the 50degree weather coming!

Mama's Choices

Nap time holds a myriad of choices for a mama:

Do I join the kiddo in a nap and get some coveted rest?

Busy myself doing my WAHM (work at home mom) projects in the sewing corner?

Does the kitchen beckon with piles of dishes and meal planning to investigate?

Has it really been two days without a shower? (gasp)

Today I feel (for me) I chose wisely:

Tea and freshly baked cookies

A bit of Bible reading

Cycling two loads of laundry

Knitting in between

In other news...

L has been an absolute puzzle maniac lately. He's learning more how to put them together, understanding what the corners and flat sides are. It's the only thing he wants to do! (Thank goodness we have a moderate variety!) He's breezing through the set labeled for 3+ and I'm going to be on the lookout for more challenging ones.

While mama's been in the kitchen he's been napping mostly, but helping as well. He is always up for playing in the sink, or measuring out spoonfuls of flour. I multitasked as well, completeing the gigantic task of transferring my childhood family home videos to DVDs. It only required a few brain cells to pause recording and stick in another tape. But we're talking nigh unto 20 tapes. Next to record is the remainder of our personal family videos and then the moster tv and recording paraphernalia can be removed from our house! Something I've been longing for!

L's been VERY fixated on one particular friend the past few days. Unfortunately for us, this family is on vacation! L's sweet little brain is foggy with wanting to see, play with, show and tell and simply be in the general proximity of his little buddy. We called our friend already once this week and they jabbered to each other for like 15 seconds (I think that only served to fuel L's fire.) And I've resorted to declaring that we can do (insert things/toy/activity) next week when our friend comes to visit. They don't know this yet, but they MUST come over for a playdate!

We're both still a little under the weather but pulling out of the funk I believe. Today he's extra drippy and hasn't eaten much, I'm going to try and head a flareup off by the trusted standby's: Vit C and herbal cough syrup. Say a prayer for us!

Baby K2 is doing well. We had a prenatal visit yesterday and all is on track. Our last visit revealed I had gained 4 lbs in 2 weeks... a bit, er... excessive. Much to my delight, (unintentionally) this week the scales showed only 1 lb gained. See, it all evens out! Baby must have had a growth spurt or something! But he/she is in there squirming around and basically behaving itself. Thankfully, staying head down as well! We're cruising right along!

Maximizing Time and Space

What else? MORE freezer cooking! (I'm starting to think it's an addiction...)

-Today I made a chicken, rice and bean burrito filler and froze two portions.

-Currently there is a 3x portion of pizza dough rising in the oven, waiting to be used tonight and portioned and frozen.

-I cooked 4 lbs of chicken; it's cooling now and will be chopped and portioned and frozen.

-And L and I are going to get crackin' on making cookie dough to freeze and enjoy.

-My hope for Sunday is to obtain the veggies needed to portion what is needed to make our favorite meal, Moroccan Black Bean Stew, as well as more Chicken tetrazzini.

Go ahead, Laugh all you want (it is a bit ridiculous ...) but MAN life will be that much easier after Baby K2 arrives.

Freezer Cooking Followup:

Well, the great Freezer Cooking Day was interrupted by other things. We spent the morning with some friends talking and enjoying each other. I rushed home to put L down for a nap and then the fun began. And exactly 1 3/4 hour later L was up and we rushed out the door. (Mommy got to go out on a Mommy Date sans children!)

In a mad rush I was able to brown the sausage, mix and back the meatballs and scramble the eggs. Tonight I loaded the meatballs into the freezer and am currently baking 4 small loaves of banana bread. Tomorrow I'll assemble the burritos after obtaining the wax paper from the grocery store (foil is not microwavable for obvious reasons, and plastic wrap is--- icky.) Tomorrow I'll need to grind my wheat for the rest of the baking as well.

What I'm learning?

It's not hard to prepare/cook/bake in bulk, but it is hard to do it all in one day.

For me it's going to be a slower process than with other moms, but I'm still really pleased at the opportunity to 'put back' food for a later date. And I'm on the learning curve still, this being the first time and all. But I'm already thinking of things that I can add to my list of recipes to package up before March.

Freezer Cooking Beginner:

To ease the transition of Baby K2 arriving in March, I'm planning to have a few things put back in the freezer. I have been toying with this idea for a month or so but haven't been motivated. I slowly picked out recipes that appealed to our palates and although they are seemingly unorganized, they are what I feel like cooking...

The menu:

Chicken Tetrazzini

MMMMeatballs

Banana Bread

Waffles

Breakfast Burritos

Softbatch chocolate chip cookies (for making sandwiches with)

Thanks to all those out there who have gone before to guide and to offer up successful recipes and plans.

Today I busted out a first run of the Chicken Tetrazzini-- it turned out great! I say first run because I'm not a huge fan of this kind of dish so we tried it on a smaller scale, but adding about 1.5 Tbls salt made this a huge hit! I'll be whipping up another larger batch soon (3 freezer bags instead of just one...)

Tomorrow's Gameplan:

1/2 order of Breakfast burritos

MMMMeatballs

And Cookies!

(I'll get to the banana bread if I can!)