Easy banana muffin lovin'

I'm not sure how many people can relate, but after having Kiyomi, I've basically had very very little time to eat.  This is complicated by the fact that I am the world's.slowest.eater.  In the early days, I didn't even have time to go into the fridge to grab leftovers to re-heat.  I just went without food and prioritized sleep.  It's really God's grace that I'm still producing enough breastmilk for Kiyomi! 

But I digress.  One of the lovely ladies at my church dropped off some chocolate chip banana muffins for me while I was adjusting to motherhood, and I loved them!  They were somewhat healthy, and easy to eat.  So, I went on a mission to find a recipe that I could duplicate and have been having banana chocolate chip muffins every morning for a week now.  Love love love them!

Here's the recipe (adapted from this recipe submitted by TRUTHISBEAUTY)

Ingredients:

3 large bananas
3/4 cup sugar (I cut this down to 1/2 cup and they were still deeeeeelish)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup melted butter or unsweetened applesauce (I used butter, because that's what I had on hand)
Chocolate chips to taste (I used half of a 350g bag)

The first time I made these muffins, I also added in 1/3 cup of quick oats for extra health benefit.  Because you know that's why I eat baked goods.  Because they're "quick", they soak up the moisture in the muffins and don't make it dry at all!

Directions:

1) Mash bananas in a bowl.  I just used a fork and actually added the sugar here, for faster mashing.
2) Add egg and sugar.
3) Add melted butter or applesauce.
4) Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips (and oats, should you choose to participate in this eating healthier thing).  Stir until just combined.  Muffins turn out fluffier when you don't overstir.  You should see bits of flour (not chunks) within the batter.
5) Fill muffin tins approx. halfway with batter.
6) Bake for 18-20 mins at 375° F, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.  If you hit chocolate chip while doing this test, just lick it off and try again in a different part of the muffin.  And keep the muffin for yourself!

I must use large size muffin tins because this recipe only yielded 12 muffins for me. 

Happy muffin-ing!

Macarons and macaroons

Mmmm...I love coconut macaroons.  And French macarons.

My first attempt at making macarons!  Dulce de leche, straight from Argentina, sealed the deal, yum yum!

But, I had always heard that French macarons were finicky and difficult to make.  Judging by this looooong blog post, it is.  Enter Ann Reardon and her helpful video.  I'm a visual person, so it was great to see all the photos and video of her maracarons, both good and bad.

This is the recipe we used.  A lot of people recommend using the weight measurements, but we used the volume ones (cups), and they turned out fine.  The ground almonds we used were quite coarse, which is why we ended up with the grains in our macarons.  I liked the added texture, and then sandwiching the dulce de leche made them delectable!

We also made coconut (American) macaroons.  I had no idea how easy they are to make!!  We used this recipe, because we wanted a gluten-free recipe, and it doesn't have flour, which is an ingredient in a lot of other ones.

We did a lot of tasting during the baking...and now I have a sugar headache.

What did Kiyomi do in the meanwhile?  She tried out her new (used) jumparoo!

Are quiet books really quiet?

Ever since Kiyomi started going to sleep earlier, I have been on a crafting kick!  I've made cards, and started sewing.  Lately, through my Pinterest browsing, I have discovered quiet books, and I am on a mission to design and create a quiet book for Kiyomi.  Basically, a quiet book is an activity book (usually made of felt, cloth, or even paper) made to keep your child busy, and hopefully quiet, on car trips, plane rides, during weddings, at church, etc. etc.

From the craftpicker.com

Sock-matching page from imagineourlife.com

Here are some that have inspired me:

The pages in these books are beautiful!
The Star Trek Quiet Book (because my husband is a Trekkie)
A cloth and felt book
Mr. Potato Head quiet book
Lots of different page ideas and more detailed instructions for making the pages

So I'm busy making a list of all the pages I want in my quiet book, and have realized that I will have to cut the list down.  I think I'll split the quiet books (ha, when did this become a multiple book project?!) into themes.  I'm planning the first one to be a food theme, because hey, I love food.

I think I really have to thank my mother for my love of crafting.  She made me a quiet "book" quilt when I was young, which was the same sort of idea, only each "page" was a square on the quilt.  I'll have to dig up a photo to post, but goodness, I loved that thing!  So excited to start my own quiet book(s)!

Cloth diapers

We love us our cloth diapers!

I grew up with cloth diapers, but the ones we had back then were so primitive compared to the stylish, convenient ones that are available today.  Kiyomi's cloth diapers are colourful and so easy to use!  Safety pins are a thing of the past!

Kiyomi in her Cherry Tomato red Applecheeks

We use both all-in-ones and cover/insert diapers.  All-in-ones are basically a one-piece cloth diaper (ie. the same principle as a disposable, but made of cloth).  You use it once, then you wash it.  We use these for when Kiyomi has a babysitter, to make it easier for the non-cloth-diaper inclined to change her.  My favourite all-in-ones are Rumparooz.  We have the ones with snap closures.  I love the inner gusset (the elastic ruching really reduces leakage), and they seem to fit Kiyomi really well.  Rumparooz are really adjustable in their absorbency, as they come with two inserts that you can mix and match, depending on how thick/absorbent you want the diaper to be.  I've also tried Totsbots Easyfits, but I find they really aren't as absorbent as Rumparooz or Applecheeks, especially since they switched to a minky lining.  

Our favourite brand is Applecheeks, which is a cover-insert system.  Here's why:

1) The bamboo inserts.  Bamboo is much more absorbent than cotton, and it absorbs faster.  I have bamboo hand towels, and they literally suck the water right off your hands in one swipe.  They are AMAZING.  So, it follows that the bamboo diaper inserts that Applecheeks has are also super-absorbent!  I also find them much softer than the cotton inserts.

2)  Adjustable sizing.  Applecheeks are a two-size system, and each size is really adjustable because it has so many button snaps!  We started Kiyomi on size 1s when she was just a few weeks old, and she still fits into them.  We predict that we'll have to move up to the size 2 in another month or so, as her thighs are getting quite chunky!

3)  Re-sale value.  Did you know there are Applecheeks collectors?  They scour the internet for the limited edition prints, especially.  I've heard of a diaper cover selling for up to $60!!  Either way, you can sell the lot of covers plus inserts

I think the main reason we use cloth is the monetary savings!  The startup cost for cloth diapers is high, but once you have a stash, you don't have to spend any more money on the diapers.  There are water and hydro costs of course, but you still end up saving money.  There's a great article about the cost of cloth diapering.  Especially since we plan on having two children, our savings really add up!  Once we're done with them, I plan on attempting to resell them on Craigslist or Kijiji, so we can recoup some of the initial cost.

Now, you may be wondering how ridiculous our laundry schedule is.  Kiyomi has 6 covers, with three inserts per cover.  This gives us 18 diaper changes, unless she dirties the diaper cover.  Usually, we can go around 3 days before we do a load of laundry, so it ends up being 2-3 extra loads a week, just for her diapers.  We were blessed to inherit a huge diaper pail, so there's no smell (and even when we just use a wet bag to store the soiled diapers, there's really no noticeable smell....and we keep ours in the main living area of our small condo!).  Overall, I'd say that once you get used to it, there's really no hassle.  I should let you know though, we started cloth diapering Kiyomi around 3 weeks in, because I was mentally and physically unprepared to transition to doing more loads of laundry than necessary!  We used disposables until that point.

I'm not a hippy, or a super eco-friendly type-gal, but I really really really think cloth diapering is a great idea!

Happy 5 months, Kiyomi!

Wow.  I can't believe you're 5 months old already!  You have grown by leaps and bounds this past month!

Weight: 16 lbs!!!
Height: 65 cm

Just after your 4-month birthday, you discovered your feet.  Now, you can't get enough of them, especially when we're changing your diaper.  You love the freedom and will grab your feet as soon as your diaper is off.  You bring your toes up to your mouth and suck on them, although you scrunch up your face as though you don't like the taste.  I can't blame you, because sometimes your feet smell a little sour.

You also love to clasp your hands, and can pass toys back and forth between the two hands.  You tend to clasp your hands a lot as you're holding onto one of your favourite squeaky star toys, sucking on one of the points.

Your neck muscles are so strong now!  When you're lying down and want to get up, you crane your neck forward as if you're going to do a sit up.  You also grunt, to get our attention, so that we know to pick you up.  I think you're also getting used to the word, "Up", because we try to say it before we pick you up.  Your grip strength is also amazing!  After we say, "Up!", if we give you a finger to hold, you will grab on and we can pull you up to a sitting position.

This month, we decided you were getting too big for your bassinet and finally moved you to a big-girl crib.  You didn't like it the first couple of nights, but have adjusted really well.  You even slept for 8 hours straight on one night, which we're hoping will repeat itself in the near future!

You are also smiling and laughing more and more.  You love when mama makes popping noises with her mouth, and will give a big smile when we pop out during Peekaboo.  You laugh at things randomly, but once you're laughing, if we imitate you, you think it's hilarious!

This month, you had your first babysitting experience with your aunt and uncle.  You were so well-behaved, and we're hoping it motivates them to give you a cousin!  ;)

Kiyomi, we fall more and more in love with you everyday.  Even when you're sleeping, we stare at the monitor and are amazed at how blessed we are.  We love you so much!

Love,

Your mama and your papa