Oh, motherhood

THIS post was SOOOO helpful for me today!  I definitely needed to be reminded that it is fine if Everett doesn't sleep through the night yet (and likes to sometimes wake up every two hours..STILL and likes to breastfeed A LOT.... ).

I keep going back and forth as to wether I want to do some form of controlled crying but then I always decide he's not ready.  I am not against controlled crying and I still don't know what we'll do down the road, but right now, Everett is 5 months old and he is doing his thing.  I am home with him for a reason.  I made the right decision to not go back to work and we are going to be just fine.  We've made a lot of sacrifices for me to be able to take time off from teaching, I am happy about it.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in what Everett SHOULD be doing...especially when it comes to sleep.  He is doing great with all his other milestones...he's rolled over, but he doesn't do it on command...because he doesn't need to prove to me that he can do it...he just does it when he feels like doing it...

Last night he slept for a four hour chunk, ate, and then slept for a three hour chunk, decided to get up at 6 and wanted to be back in bed by 7:30....ALL totally new things he's never done...he didn't even sleep with us last night...Like the post so wonderfully explains, I have a human baby, not a robot baby and I prefer it.  I prefer my need to read his cues and just enjoy the ride.  Sometimes he wants to sleep peacefully with us...sometimes he kicks and flails around when sleeping with us and so he needs to sleep in his own space next to us...I have no where to be and no one to answer to so I am going to enjoy this time away from the working world and just be a momma.

I love being Everett's mom, but I think lately I have started to get so bogged down with others questioning his habits and then my own stupid hangups of comparing him with what the good people on the web think he should be doing.  Lesson learned...I think I have just reached my limit of seeking out what everybody else says about what Everett should be doing and eating and how long he should be sleeping and I am just going to pay attention to what Everett has to say on the matter.  I will look up information and ask others another time...right now I need to just relax and enjoy this little human that I have the privilege to get to know and care for.

Genuine

The introduction to a new book I started reading today includes an excellent quote I feel I need to post.

"There is something in  every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have.  And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls."  --Howard Thurman

I am thinking about this today and what it may mean for me.

Making and Canning Strawberry Jam

**Here’s what I’ve learned through the years about canning jam (still learning)...you can always google it to help you prepare (I visited many sites over the years to help me prepare).  It is a little overwhelming at first, but it becomes second nature and is very manageable, especially if you have multiple people helping out.  The first year, I definitely felt like it was a little much--the past two years have been a lot smoother so don’t give up!  :)

Canning Needs:

Water Bath Canner

Canning tools kit (his tools like a funnel, headspace measurer, tongs to transport hot jars to and from water bath, magnetic stick to pick up lids so you do not touch--touching can cause bacteria to be inside the jar)

Half pint jam/jelly jars

Lids and rings for the jars (you can reuse the rings, but lids must be brand new and not reused--this is what seals the jars.  Most jars also come with labels for when you are finished.

Hot, clean rag to wipe the rim of the jar once it is fill.  You want to wipe around the rim several times after you fill the jar with jam and before placing the lid on the top--this helps it seal. 

Fresh strawberries that are in season--waiting too long after you have picked them will not make for good jam.

NOTE: To can, all jars must be sterilized in hot water--preferably run through the dishwasher and then just keep in the dishwasher until you are going to fill them and then process them in the water bath.  You do not want to fill jars that are not hot/warm.  Same with the lids.  We usually have a small pot of hot water on very low with the lids soaking in them so they stay sterilized and hot for when you are ready to use them.  The rings do not need to be sterilized--they just keep the lid on and make the jar look nice.  The tools above are a lifesaver, so I highly recommend buying them.  Walmart is your best bet for all of the supplies.  They usually have a canning section.  When in doubt, be overly concerned with cleanliness so that you don’t get bacteria in your jam.

Here’s the recipe:

--2 Quarts strawberries--crush 1 layer at a time (if you have a food processor, just pulse several times depending on how chunky you want the jam--very simple!)

--7 cups of sugar

*NOTE--we started weighing the strawberries and sugar and have figured that it takes equal parts strawberries and sugar if you want to go that route.  Weighing has been much easier for us.  If you want to use the recipe by weight, it takes 3 lb. 4 oz of strawberries and 3 lb. 4 oz. of sugar.

--1 package of powdered pectin (we have tried the liquid pectin and DID NOT like the results)

--1/4 cup of lemon juice

1. Combine strawberries, powdered pectin, and lemon juice in a large stock pot.  DO NOT ADD SUGAR YET :)  We use a deep, stock pot because when you do add the sugar, the mixture can really rise fast and you risk it spilling over the sides.
2. Bring the mixture to a good boil, stirring occasionally.  Then, add sugar, stirring until dissolved.  Return to a rolling boil.  
3. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat.  Skim the foam off of the top.  
5. Ladle the hot jam into hot jars (the funnel really comes in handy here), leaving a 1/4 inch headspace (measure using the tool in your kit).
6. Wipe the rim of the jar several times with a clean, hot rag.
7. Use the magnetic stick to grab a lid from your pot of hot water and place lid on top.  Adjust ring around the jar.
8. Use your tongs from the kit to transport the jars to the boiling water canner (make sure the water is boiling before you start timing).  Process jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.  We can usually fit around 7 of the half pint jars in the canner at a time.  Make sure the jars do not touch each other and are on the rack that comes with the canner so they do not sit on the bottom in the canner and make sure there is plenty of water above the jars (as you continue, you may need to add more water to the water bath so that this is possible).  You want the boiling water to be able to circulate all around the jars. 
9. When the 10 minutes are up, use the tongs to carefully lift jars out of water and unto a steady, flat surface.  We put down a bath towel for the jars to sit on.  After a little bit of time, you should hear the jars start to “PING.”  This means the jars have sealed.  You may not hear the ping for all of the jars.  A way to test if the jars sealed is to push down on the center of the lid.  If it doesn’t pop up, you know it sealed properly.  If it does make a pop sound, you can still use the jam, but it must be refrigerated and used sooner.  Jars that are sealed can be stored on a shelf and then refrigerated after opening. 
10. TIP--collect the extra bit of syrup from each batch in a bowl to use later over the top of ice cream or to blend with ice cream and milk for a to-die-for strawberry shake.  This won’t be canned, so you just have to refrigerate it and need to use it within a week.

RECIPE YIELDS ABOUT 8 HALF PINT JARS (for us, slightly more for some reason).  We also like to fill the cute, little jars to give as gifts.

I'm back?

   I might be back...we'll see.  I don't post on here too often.  With pinterest, punchfork, and etsy currently satisfying my need to collect things I like in a visual way (thus, the subtitle of this blog, my cabinet of curiosities) and working on a shutterfly maternity memory book, it has been difficult to want to blog.  I love reading blogs.  I have many saved in my google reader, but it is sometimes confusing for me to know if I feel like writing something that potentially anyone can see.
   The reason I am here is that now that school is out and I am 8 months pregnant with our first child, I have been busy preparing for our little one to arrive.  I have especially been preparing in terms of food!  I have tried many new recipes, which is something I LIVE to do, but have also been cooking and baking a lot of my go-to's so that I can freeze and store for after our baby arrives.  I know it will be too easy to want to just order in food, which I'm sure we'll do occasionally, but with me breastfeeding, this is not ideal.
   I am so blessed to have the summer off before our baby gets here to dive into all things related to nesting.  I am enjoying every minute of it--even last week with the major temperature swells!  Today is wonderful!  The air conditioner actually makes it cool in our apartment and I can go to the bathroom or kitchen without sweating!  I was starting to get a little cranky, something new for me while being pregnant.  Before the heatwave I have loved everything about being pregnant.  Hopefully this 80ish degree weather will continue and I can continue to enjoy my last month of pregnancy!  I will either way, but it sure would be nice to be cool during it!
   Well, that is a little of what I've been up to.  I am posting a new post that is a HOW TO for making and canning strawberry jam.  This is something that my husband and I have done for several years now with his mom and dad.  We pick, cook, and can all in the same day.  With four people, though, it is not too bad and well worth the effort!  I just used some of our jam with the biscuits I had this morning for breakfast.  Delicious!  We always make a lot of extras for gifts as well.  Friends and family members have started to know that June soon means a fresh jar of jam.  I like that a lot.  Anyway, I have tried to be as detailed as possible to include all the little things to remember when canning, which I learned over the years through various websites and books on the subject.  The jam recipe is from Ball's Blue Book of Canning.  Sorry I do not have the exact link for the book, it is my mother-in-law's. I hope you enjoy and let me know if you use the recipe and how it turns out for you.

Finally using up some sweet potatoes

Today I am trying my hand at a sweet potato pie using some combination of these recipes:

here, Here, and HERE....we'll see :) I've never even eaten sweet potato pie, but I am sure I will like it. I am making the puree using the crockpot method I found from THIS website. So glad I won't be wasting these little beauties.