Happy Holidays, friends and fellow bakers! I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you're in my life.
Today, I want to talk about all the fun things coming up in the New Year: a book signing! More cooking classes! Even more small-batch recipes for you and yours!
I finally consented to a book signing (now that I lost all the baby weight, hah!). I'll be at Left Bank Books on Tuesday, February 9th at 7pm. We're partnering with local bakeries to have sweet samples from both books--hooray! Bring one or both books, and I'll sign them. I'll also make awkward small talk with you, too! And Hubs is bringing the baby. If you just want to come and kiss Camille, that's totally fine.
I'm going to keep teaching cooking classes as long as you guys keep filling them up! For the first time ever, one of my cooking classes didn't totally sell out---there are still a few spots left in Monday night's class (December 21st!). I know life is cray with holiday prep, but take a load off, and let's get sticky together. (We're making marshmallows). Call Kitchen Conservatory to sign up. I can't wait to meet you!
I thought I would share a little sneak peek into my daily life. A lot of people have been asking me how I'm getting work done with a baby. The big secret is: I have no freaking idea. Some days are a joy, some days are a total mess. But at the end of the day, I have a healthy, happy babe, so I can't complain too much. She takes two long naps a day, and I get a lot of work done during that time. I'm also taking full advantage of the fact that she's still in the phase where she's content to watch me work. I set her up a little play area, and then cook or photograph. She's happy for about 30 minutes or so, which is plenty of time for me. I also work after she goes to bed. Oh, and the weekends. I'm clocking in way more than 40 hours a week, but it's broken up by bursts of baby playtime and giggles, so it feels fun and rewarding.
A day in the life:
5-6AM Sometime in this hour, Camille let's out a single cry. We used to rush in and put her paci back in her mouth. Not anymore. Mama lost her sanity after 3 weeks of playing paci-pong, so now, we ignore it and go right back to sleep. My husband gets up and starts getting ready for work, and the creaking sound of the 87-year old hardwood floors in this house seem to lull her back to sleep.
7:15AM Camille lets out another single yelp, but this time, I rush down the hall to see her. Her little angel face looks up at me and gives me a big toothless grin. It's basically the best thing in the entire world, and my heart is already a puddle on the floor before the sun is up. I bring her back to bed with me and I nurse her. Yep, still breastfeeding. At 8 months. When do I get my medal?
7:45AM After a quick diaper change, I put her in the play area. She happily plays while I make myself a big cup of hot hot hot tea. I also do some promotional work on Facebook for my site. Then, I wash my face, put in my contacts, and brush my teeth. I feel really strongly about getting dressed and looking presentable, even though I work from home. It sets the mood for a productive day.
8:15AM I make breakfast for Camille and myself. Camille has oatmeal with fruit puree. Sometimes I drizzle in a little full-fat yogurt. She also gets a sippy cup of the milk I pumped before going to bed the previous night. It's usually only 2 ounces, but she happily gulps it down. I'm not very hungry in the mornings, but I force myself to eat a bowl of oatmeal or granola with her. I really want to teach Camille that eating is a social thing, and so we do it together at the table. I try not to make her the sole focus during meal times.
Here's a quick snap-shot of what she's eating this week: celeriac, purple carrots, dark cherries, butternut squash, broccoli, spinach + pineapple, apple + cranberry, and chicken. I'll mix these purees with oatmeal, 5-grain mix, or other pureed grains (barley, semolina, red lentils, and split peas).
9:15AM After a little play time after breakfast, it's nap time for Camille. I read her a book, and put her to sleep. Since she's becoming one of those kids that can't sleep without a paci, I've been making her take her morning nap without a paci. This means that she's not very happy when I put her in the crib. She cries for 4-8 minutes. It's not a terrible cry. It's mainly just a few grunts and on-and-off half cries. While I never thought I'd be a fan of 'cry it out,' it works for us only because it never lasts long. I feel like if my kid is only unhappy for 8 minutes a day, then I'm doing pretty damn good. Once I put her in the crib, I walk away and try not to think about it.
9:30AM Work time for me! I usually jump in the kitchen and cook something. I do have a bit of a schedule that I stick to throughout the week: Mondays I plan and prep for the week (if I didn't already on Sunday). Tuesdays are for cooking and recipe testing. Wednesdays are for photography. Thursdays are for photo editing. Fridays are for post writing. My husband loves to say that 'schedules set you free, not tie you down.' He's absolutely right. Whenever I veer from this schedule, I go into full-blown panic attack mode. I start working 'round the clock and hating life. I'm just coming out of 2 weeks of not being on the schedule, and I'm a wreck. I'm back on it and feeling much better.
11:00AM Camille wakes up and I nurse her. She's actually kinda losing interest in nursing, and it's hard to get her to focus long enough to eat. I get her dressed for the day, and play with her.
12:00 Camille and I eat lunch. Usually soup or leftovers for me, and vegetable purees for her. I usually mix some kind of grain into her vegetable puree. I bought this 'pea, lentil, and barley' mix at Whole Foods that I cook and puree. I also love using Semolina flour to make her baby polenta. She is such a good eater! The only thing she has really turned her nose up at is celeriac. And I kinda don't blame her. She still eats it, but very slowly and she clearly doesn't love it. I only have a few cubes of it left, and I've been mixing it with other things to hide it. After lunch, she usually watches me work. Depending on the day of the week, I'll sit her right next to me, give her something to play with, and get some work done.
1-2PM Don't tell Moms on Call, but I hardly put Camille down for a nap at the same time each afternoon. I wait for her sleepy signs (fussiness when changing her diaper, eye rubbing, and stillness) to tell me that she's ready for a nap. I read her a book, and then put her down with her paci. With a paci, she hardly cries more than 20 seconds before passing out. The latest time she goes down is 2:00. Then, I get to work!
3:30PM Camille is usually up between 3:30 and 4. If not, I wake her by 4. I nurse her when she wakes. Then, we usually run errands. I try to get her out of the house at least once a day. She loves people. She's going to be the next Oprah, I tell ya. She flirts with strangers and lights up when people smile at her. Everyone is constantly telling me 'she's so happy and smiley.' It's so true. I love her.
5PM I feed Camille dinner. I definitely don't like that she eats by herself, but 5:00 is just too dang early for us to eat dinner. Pre-baby, we ate dinner around 8pm. I love to eat late, and then go to bed with a belly full of carbs. For dinner, Camille eats more vegetable puree plus a grain. I also give her little bites of fruit for dessert to help her learn to chew. I've been using a spoon to scoop out bites of pear and banana, and she loves it. I thought she would love kiwi, since it's a similar texture, and so I bought 4 pounds of kiwi at Costco. She does not like kiwi. Of course.
6:00PM Dad is usually about to get home from work, and I'm trying to pull together dinner. She's very clingy this time of day, and I've been really bad about dinner lately. I'm getting back on the meal planning train, I swear!
7:15PM Bath and bedtime for Camille. When she was 8 weeks old, we discovered that giving her a bottle before bed is the easiest and fastest way to get her to sleep. While I do have to deal with some crying before naps, I have never dealt with crying or any type of fussiness before bed. It's probably because she's not getting enough sleep during the day; I'm not sure. But this kid never fights bedtime. I give her a bottle, sing her 3 versus of Amazing Grace, rock her a bit, and put her down wide awake. She turns to look at the blue lights on her noise machine, and then passes out. Easy peasy.
8-10PM I work, work, work. I do social media stuff, reply to emails, and hang out with my husband. He's tops.
That said, you and I need a little break. It's not you, it's me. It's all me. You see, it's baby's first Christmas, and I'd like to spend every waking moment with her during this magical time of year. So, I'm going to disappear for a little while, but I will be back in the new year. I will be back BIG TIME. I already have big plans for the new year with you. We're probably going to jump right into Valentine's Day dinners and desserts for two, because um, it's kinda my bag. My big bag. My overstuffed, gigantic, sloppy bag with gum wrappers lining the bottom. It's all me.
So, go on! Peruse the archives, make yourself some S'mores Dip (dang, it's cold outside!), whip up two mugs of eggnog (no punch bowl needed!), and please make these big ass chewy, salted caramel chocolate chip cookies.
I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season. Get some rest. Lord knows we all need more rest.
Love and cupcakes,
Christina
Nosizwe says
Christina, your photos are just the most lovely, happy photos!! I feel really positive and happy after looking at them! You have a beautiful family, and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a superb New Year. All the best, with a big kiss for your beautiful Camille, xx
Jessica@stuckonsweet says
You go girl! Love hearing about your day and how you get it all done while still making Camille the priority. I am struggling a little with Baby Raya to find a schedule but at 4 1/2 months there really isn't a schedule quite yet, maybe another month or so! But as you mentioned, when you have a happy healthy baby, there's not too much you can complain about. Thanks for sharing this insight and Happy Holidays to your sweet sweet family! :)
bobbi dougherty says
Merry Christmas to you and yours! Enjoy her first (and many more) Christmas! See you in 2016!
Katelyn says
I just want to say you are amazing. You're working two full-time jobs and still managing to to stay afloat -- that is such hard work. Don't feel bad about giving yourself a break!!!
Wendy says
Merry Christmas, enjoy your time with Camille, I am giving your book and a 6" glass pie pan, 6" cake pan and small spring form pan to our friends for Christmas this year after they were very interested when I was talking about your website and desserts for two when we had our yearly birthday dinner get together (the female friend and I are born 2 days apart)
Jessica @ Golden Brown and Delicious says
You deserve the time off. ALSO. The fact that you're doing an STL signing makes my heart sing. I just put it on my calendar.
Happy holidays!!
Annalise @ Completely Delicious says
I love how much you brag about Camille. You're such a proud loving mama, and it shows! :) She reminds me of John at this age - so happy and smiley and content, and winning over everybody. It's the best huh? Merry Christmas!!
Anastasia Kristina says
hi, love you, keep it up. two things really fast:
we still make the s'mores dip on the reg. it's amazing.
second, weird baby related question: (not sure why i'm asking since I don't think kid(s) will be a thing for us for another few years) anyway - how did you decide/think up baby puree mixes? did you read somewhere about it or are you just freestyling? I love looking at the flavor combos and all of that, was just curious about how you got there!
also, i'll get you a medal for 8 months of breast feeding. you're a champ!
<3
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Enjoy your time with the babe this season! You are a rockstar momma and I hope you are doing so well my friend! xo
Kit says
Stop right there! No more babies for you girlie! It is obvious to me that you've already had your dream child in sweet, adorable Camille, and I promise you, there will not be another. My first one was like that too, little angle cakes! She had me walking round thinking I was the best mom ever for 4 whole years years!
Then I had three more. Each more difficult than the one before! Looking back. I am too stubborn for my own good. The whole time was spent walking around in total confusion, trying to figure out if God would erase my perfect parenting instincts to put me in my place.
Camille is a picture of contentment and love! And you are a lovely family I am sure that has everything to do you, Christina! You seem to soaking up every delicious moment, even the exhaustive, and no doubt sometimes, frustrating ones.
And I never had a baby without gaining between 50 & 60 pounds! (Not recommending btw! That was 30-42 yrs ago!) My gluttony for sweets completely overtook me with pregnancy. Getting that weight off took a full year plus, but I certainly did. It would never have happened with your job!
I have watched your success grow and grow, your writing and photographs bloom and even bigger things, the books! You only make them LOOK easy. And you have earned every single success that has come your way! Here is wishing you a Happy first Christmas with your precious little girl, and all the best that can possibly happen in the coming year!