My Black Friday Crush

Black Friday is one of my favorite holidays. I'm really not sure why, because I rarely end up with any stellar deals. Oh sure. Last year I bought a copy of The Blind Side for $3.99 at 5:30 a.m. Was it worth it? You tell me. I saved at least $6, and all I had to do was get my uber pregnant arse to Target by 5 a.m. (I couldn't even have coffee, and the movie wasn't even on Blu Ray.)

So. Now that we've established I'm crazy (if we hadn't already done so in previous posts), allow me to defend my BF neurosis with a tiny bit of practicality. I do like being in the mall on the busiest shopping day of the year, when very few people are there, and in recent years I have accomplished quite a bit of Christmas shopping. Arguably, I would be able to find equal or better deals online in my pj's, but then I would feel like I would be missing the party (and there's a little more crazy for you). I've somehow turned it into a social experience in my head which makes no sense, because people tend to be a little bit cranky on Black Friday.

There's something else. Every year the KitchenAid Stand [alone] Mixer goes on sale (in various sizes, but my heart belongs to the 5 qt. model in Empire Red). It's the only time of year that I've found it discounted this much. It seems to be a yearly semi-big ticket item. Every year it reappears. Every year I long to bring it home with me along with all of my the other Christmas gifts and make it a part of my home and life forever. I envision beautiful recipes falling into place, while I drink wine and stare at my beautiful appliance. And every year I just let it go like the Boys of Summer. 

I love it, and I will always love it. I enjoy my one week infatuation, then move on. I tell myself, "I don't have a place to put it. Maybe I'll save up and get one next year (serious LMAO here for thinking I have that kind of discipline). I just can't justify the expense this time of year." The truth is I know it will be there for me to fall in love with all over again next year. I take it for granted, ultimately reject it, and it just keeps coming back for more. Sad. It could use a good lesson in how to play hard to get.

This year I will do the same, only I'm slightly less infatuated with it, distracted by things like my upcoming tropical vacation and toys for the monkey. Maybe someday I'll write a Christmas tragedy about our love that was never meant to be, because--after all--I don't have a place to put it. I can't justify the expense. And frankly, I think we all know I'd use it once, maybe twice a year. But for now, isn't it beautiful? *Sigh*

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Making Baby's Food

My son is beginning to transition over to table foods, but he's still eating mostly pureed foods and taking a bottle with each meal (just like his Mommy!). I make about 95% of what he eats. I feel better knowing exactly what's in it and how it was prepared, and I've used to sources to help me accomplish this seemingly monumental task (that really isn't monumental, but when I tell people they always give me that, "Wow! You're Super Woman!" look. I let them think that because correcting people is--after all--not very well mannered, is it?).

Notice a lack of baby here, which explains why the food
is still neatly in the dish and not all over the camera lens.

The first is The Baby & Toddler Cookbook: Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start, by Karen Ansel, MS, RD, and Charity Ferreira. This book helped me establish a foundation for cooking for the monkey. It focuses mostly on the basics and boosted my confidence in my ability to prepare healthy meals.

The second source I use is Top 100 Baby Purees, by Annabel Karmel. It's filled with a wide variety of simple purees, and has been a good source for inspiring my creativity. (The poor kid can only eat so many pureed carrots before wanting to throw them in my face. At least this is how I imagine it, since I would readily throw them in someone's face, if I had to eat them every day.)

Yes, of course I always serve my infant from a plastic
Hobby Lobby tray, on formal china, by our bay window,
with a silver spoon and a vase of fresh basil sprigs! Don't you?

The process does require some planning, and here are a few steps that have helped me streamline the process a bit:

1. I block out time to steam and puree like foods (example: apples, pears, plums) back to back. For me it's just easier to keep everything organized and simple. (It also cuts down on the cleaning, because I convince myself that a good healthy rinse of everything between batches is sufficient. I'm pleased to report that to date no babies have been harmed in the production and/or ingestion of said food.) Since some foods are best prepared in the oven, I will also have something baking while I'm steaming other things.

2. I buy large quantities of fresh fruits and veggies, make several batches of each at one time, and freeze them, according to the directions in my first recommended source. Even though I live a life of luxury (snort!) staying at home with my son, I have one million and one other things to do besides cook for him all day (like play, blog, my nails, etc.). I like to spend a total of four hours in the kitchen in order to conquer the task for up to a month. It just makes me happy.

3. I keep plenty of ice trays available. This is only in theory. Truthfully, I always run out of ice trays, and my whole happy homemaker process comes to a screeching halt. But I'm advising you to have plenty of ice trays on hand, so you can keep the well-oiled baby food making machine well-oiled. Do as I say not as I do.

The process is easy, if a bit time consuming, but it's worth it to me most days. In addition to the advantages mentioned above, we have also realized a monetary savings of 40-50% (that's more than a few trips to Starbucks for Mommy!).

What are some ways you've found to cut the ginormous labor and financial costs of your little bundles of joy?