Red Velvet Cookies

My friend makes the most amazing red velvet cookies. They are so good that I find myself constantly craving them. I had a craving recently and tried to find a recipe that would live up to the standard set by my friend. I came across this recipe and, while it was really, really good, it wasn't the same. The consistency of her cookies are different. But don't take that as me saying you shouldn't make these because you absolutely must. These cookies are fudgy and chewy and didn't even last 24 hours in our house.

Red Velvet Cookies
Source: Recipe Girl
Yields 24 cookies

Cookies:
1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 small box of instant vanilla pudding mix (dry)
4 to 5 large egg whites (start with 4... see *tips below)
1/2 cup sour cream
Cream cheese frosting, see below

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix 4 egg whites and sour cream, then use a wooden spoon to mix it into the dry mixture. The mixture will be very thick. Add an additional egg white if it's impossible to stir. A thick batter is what you're looking for though.

Use a small cookie scoop or a spoon to drop a tablespoon of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake 12 to 13 minutes, until the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Use a hand mixer to combine the cream cheese with 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar. Spread the frosting on the cookies.

Not So New Additions

In addition to welcoming Elina into our family two months ago, we also welcomed two new pups: Gracie and Rosie. The girls are schnauzer poodle mixes and we adopted them at the end of January. I couldn't stand not having a dog in the house after Perla passed and instead of waiting to get a new dog until after Elina was born like Alex wanted, I went ahead and adopted two dogs a few weeks before Elina made her appearance. My husband truly loves me because he didn't even flinch when I showed up with two dogs a mere 24 hours after telling him about them. Things have been extra busy with them around but we have all adjusted well. Both girls, Gracie (4 years old) and Rosie (2 years old), are saints when it comes to Cati for all that they put up with. These dogs put up with being tugged, pulled, and ridden.

 

Gracie on the left and Rosie on the right

Gracie and Rosie are like sisters and they do everything together. I love seeing them sleep together because they cuddle with one another. Alex is officially outnumbered with all the females in our house.

Elina: Two Months

 

Dear Elina,

Happy two months baby girl. I can't believe you are already two months old. To say that time is zooming by is an understatement. The past two months have been such a blur; they've been long months but at the same time they have gone by quickly. This past month is when you started to look more like a baby and less like a newborn. It's remarkable how much like your sister you look and it's even more remarkable how different your temperament is from your sister's. There have been moments where I am struck by a sense of deja vu because of how much you remind me of your sister. The physical-ness of certain things transport me back two years, but you, dear sweet, calm Elina, bring me back to the current moment.

This past month I have thought aloud the following, "if you would have been my first child I would have still wanted three kids." You are such an easy baby and only cry when you are hungry. You are my VBAC baby and I started enjoying you at around four weeks. This is so different from Cati who was a c-section and cried so much I found myself crying with her. Cati's introduction to the world coincided with the disintegrating relationship with my own mother. With Cati it took me a solid three months to feel like I could actually be a good mother, six months to feel like I could like being a mother, and nine months to feel like I could love being a mother. Granted, I have experience on my side and two years of confidence-building child-rearing (Cati's growing and thriving!), but things with you have been so much easier. I feel as if I gracefully danced my way into being a mother-of-two instead of being thrown, head first, into it. You are a dream and before you I thought I was incapable of liking being a mother to a baby as small as you. This is the trauma of being a mother to a newborn Cati and the fear of a repeat.

The truth is I'm a different mother to you. Part of it is experience and part of it goes back to you being a different person. I keep thinking about all the things I am doing differently with you. I remember with Cati the bottle was a clutch for getting her to sleep and she would only fall asleep drinking her milk. With you, sleep and eating are two separate things. You drink your milk, stay quietly alert, and then fall asleep all by yourself after I swaddle and lay you down. I am also way more private when it comes to you and what information about you I share with others.

This past month has seen you settling into a schedule and toying around with your sleep. You're usually up at 7:30am and you eat around 8:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 5:30pm, and 7:30pm. You're in bed by 8:30pm and you go from sleeping through the night to waking up twice to eat. During the day you take short naps in the mornings with one long nap in the afternoons. You're up by 5:15pm at which point you get a bath before your bottle. You play with your sister (aka sit in Bumbo seat while Cati talks to and gives you kisses) before you take a short nap. This nap is just long enough for me to bathe Cati, read her some books, and rock her to sleep. After this nap you wake up for your final meal of the day and then you go to sleep almost without any fussing.

You've started talking this month and I'm curious to find out if you'll be as big of a talker as your sister. The best part about this month is that you started smiling. The best, bestest part of this month was seeing you smile at your sister when she was trying to play with you. I wanted to lock that moment away in my heart. To see how much Cati already adores you and the beginnings of your adoration for her...this is what motherhood is all about. The moments of frustration are worth it when I get to see my children falling in love with one another.

My newborn turned into a baby this month. I find myself living at two extremes: wanting to get drunk in all your babyness and live in this very moment forever and wanting time to speed up so I can hear the sounds of your voice forming words, giggles escaping your mouth, and feet running across our floors. I want to see you interacting with your sister, with us. I want to hear "mama" come from your lips and feel the pucker of kisses. But, I also want to keep you like this so I don't forget how perfectly your small body fits in my arms or that sweet smell only little bitty babies have.

Today you are two months old. You are 22 inches and 11 pounds, 7 ounces of baby to love. In the blink of an eye you were born and have been with us for two months. The longer you are with us the harder it becomes to remember what life was like before you. You've taken our breaths away and nestled yourself into our lives. You were the second, "easy" child because that's what you were meant to be. Your sister came first because she needed more. You two have needed me in such different ways and, in a way, I have needed each of you in different ways too. For as special as Cati is because she was first, you are equally special because you are second. Your sister started our family but you are what completes us.

Everyday I feel overwhelmed with love. I feel giddy and light-headed. I feel fulfilled and blessed. It's all because of you. Your presence has opened my eyes to the beauty of our family and the endless possibilities for unconditional love. I get to share you with an amazing man and a doting big sister. Life as a family of four can only get better. So thank you Elina. Thank you for being your own individual and unique self and for being the type of baby that makes bonding with easy.

Love always,
Mami

This Week in Mommyhood

Another week has gone by and I honestly feel like I'm stuck in a time warp. While everyday feels the same because of Elina and her schedule, everyday also feels different because of Cati and how rapidly her mind is developing. Most of the time I don't know what day it is and, far too often, the day is ending just as I find my groove. All I ever know for sure is that I love my girls immensely and I'm thankful for every second I get to spend with them.

Here are the fun developments from this week:

Language, Language, and More Language. I find myself laughing constantly with Cati and the things she says. Lately she's gotten into saying "umm" when she can't think of the answer to a question soon enough and "mmm-hmm" when she means to answer "yes" to a question. She's also been adding -ita to words so leche has become lechita and agua has become aguita. The most interesting one is the increased use of the word "necessita" ("need"). Things aren't a matter of want anymore, everything is need. My favorite has been "Cati necessita cupcake."  

 

Playtime. We've been going to the playground by the house everyday after school. Partly to get out of the house with both girls, but mostly so Cati can expend all the energy necessary to ensure an afternoon nap. One day this past week there were these two little girls playing next to me, they were each grabbing onto a pole and spinning around the pole as they sang a song. Cati saw this and joined them. She saw an opening and started spinning around the pole with the girls. This simultaneously warmed and broke my heart. I love that Cati is becoming more social and putting herself out there, but it scares me to think that while there will be moments of acceptance, there will also be instances of rejection. Not everyone will want to play with her and one day she will know how rejection feels. I wish I could protect her or be there every time rejection happens.

Name Game.  I used to always hate when my mom called me my sister's name. I never understood why she did it when we were different people. Having two kids, I get it. I am constantly calling Elina Cati. I'm just used to saying Cati's name all the time so it's taking some time to get used to saying another name all the time as well. I made an improvement and called Cati Elina. I stopped myself and giggled. Let the years of name confusion begin.

Cheeks. Elina's cheeks have been in development for weeks, but this week I really noticed their chunkiness. I don't think I have ever seen a child with chunkier cheeks. I love it!

Sleep Tease. I thought I hit the jackpot. Elina slept through the night last week. I didn't because I was constantly waking up to check on her, but she slept from 8:15pm to 7:00am. I was floored. She can do it! Now, if only she would do it every night. Then, I'd only be getting up multiple times a night to take out our dogs (more on that later!) who have forgotten they were potty trained.

Slinging It. My friend lent me her Baby K'tan sling and I adore it. If I would have had this sling with Cati, I would have worn her more. Elina gets put in the sling multiple times during the day and I prefer wearing her over carrying her around in the car seat. For the most part Elina loves the sling and she gets really, really cozy in it. The other day she moved herself around so much to get comfortable to sleep that her feet were sticking out of the sling. What I find really entertaining are the looks I get from people when I wear the sling. I had a woman ask me if a baby was in the sling and then she proceeded to touch the sling and move the fabric so as to see if there really was a baby. I am a human kangaroo.

Elina has her two-month appointment tomorrow. I'm curious to see how much she's grown and how her growth compares to Cati's. Have I told you yet how much I love my girls because I really do. Here's to getting lost in another week. 

Lessons for my Daughters

There is so much I want to pass on to my daughters; so much that I want to do to prepare them for life. The bottom line is that life is hard, even when things go the way you want. A month before Elina was born I wrote about some lessons I wanted to pass on to them and now, almost two months into having two girls, I have a few more lessons for them. As our relationships with one another change and grow I hope to be able to pass these lessons along through discussion. I am so looking forward to being able to talk to both of my girls like adults, to really explore their brains, how they see the world and how they see themselves in that world. Almost all of these "lessons" were inspired by discussions with my own sister as she embarks on her own remarkable journey. Maybe, if I do a good enough job, my daughters will learn from each other like I have learned from my sister.

 

Be confident and sure of your decisions. It is so easy to let others affect how you think and what you do, but that only happens if you are unsure of the decisions you are making. Before getting others involved, try your hardest to make decisions on your own. Think of all the pros and cons. Solidify your position and, once you do, the opinions of others won't affect you as much. Knowing how you feel and the reasons why you feel that way, is very empowering. Trust yourself. 

Perspective. My mantra as of late has been "If you can't change your situation, change your perspective." Truer words have never been said. If you feel like your life is on replay, try changing the way you view things. Look for the hidden positives, the subtle differences. No two situations are ever the same, remember that.

White Knight. This is the greatest thing I heard: "Sometimes you have to be your own white knight" (on the show Burn Notice of all places). As women, we are bombarded with the notions of prince charmings and men coming to our rescue. I hope to raise daughters that are smart enough to know that they are more than damsels in distress and that they are strong enough to take care of and save themselves. Life has fairy tale moments, but it is no fairy tale and sometimes you do have to be your own white knight.

My girls are shy of 26 months and two months. There is so much I have learned and so much I have yet to learn. One day, sooner than I think, it will be my girls teaching me lessons about life. I look forward to it with all my heart.

This Week in Mommyhood

Nothing too exciting happened with Elina this past week, but Cati has been the source of constant laughs and moments of awe. You really don't appreciate language until you are faced with a person learning how to talk. Cati is not only repeating everything we say, but she is also like a narrator. Everything we do is followed by a question from her so if I'm cleaning, Cati will ask "mami sta limpiando, cierto?" It's cute but I feel like I'm living in a movie or something.

Here are the other fun developments this week:

Budding Imagination. Cati's imagination is reaching new heights. This week she was all about putting diapers on her stuffed animals because they peed or pooped too much.

Miss Independent. So much of what we hear around here is "sola" ("alone") because Cati is at a stage where she wants to do everything by herself. She likes to walk down the stairs by herself and dress herself.

Hair Sharing. At some point this week I told Cati I wish I had her hair. Cati, with her awesome imagination, pretended to pull out a piece of hair and then handed it to me. She then gave Elina and her bunny hair too.

Oh My God! By far my favorite story this week is when Cati learned how to say "oh my God." It was during bathtime when her dirty feet left a trail in the tub. One day I said "oh my God" in an exaggerated tone and the next day she did. I love her little voice and how it sounds like "oh my gahh."

Like a Hispanic Woman. One of my biggest annoyances with having a baby is how all the Hispanic women in Miami assume the baby is crying because she's hungry. Cati became that woman when Elina was crying and she said, "Elina sta llorando. Necesita comida." How she made that connection is beyond me but it's impressive nonetheless.

Drooling. Elina started drooling this week. Now when she's awake there's always bubbly saliva oozing out of her mouth. Let the tooth watch begin!

Sleeping Saga. At 7 weeks Elina is already a better sleeper than Cati. She had been giving me a 5-hour stretch at night but on Saturday, Elina slept from 8pm-4am and then from 4:15am or so until 7:30am. Waking up once a night to eat is a blessing but sleeping that long of a stretch is a miracle. I hope this continues!

Easter. We did our Easter festivities on Saturday because Alex worked on Sunday. My mother-in-law told Cati about the Easter Bunny and eggs so Cati was looking forward to the egg hunt. The joy on Cati's face when she saw all the eggs was priceless. The girl was smiling, squealing, and dancing around in circles.

 

Cati is 2 years, 7 weeks old and Elina is 7 weeks old. I cannot wait to see how these girls interact with one another the older Elina gets.

Birthday Nutella Cupcakes

My birthday was on Thursday and to celebrate I made cupcakes. I wanted to try a new chocolaty recipe and went with this Nutella Cupcake recipe I had marked off a while back. I had high hopes for the recipe because I love Nutella. The cupcakes were good, but they weren't anything out of this world. The Nutella flavoring was there in the cupcakes and I also spread Nutella on the cupcakes for extra goodness, but I think I overbaked the cupcakes or something because the cupcakes were dense and more brownie-like than cupcake-like. Maybe next time I won't be lazy and I'll make the Nutella filling and buttercream like the original recipe did.

 

Nutella Cupcakes
Source: Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
Yields: ~2 dozen cupcakes

2 cups flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup nutella
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcakes liners.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is pale and thick. Add in the butter and beat until combined. Then, add in the nutella. Add the flour mixture and milk half at a time until well-blended.

Divide batter into the cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Chocolate Waffles

I made these waffles after Alex sent me the recipe with the implied message of "please make this for me." I made them and they were so good. Because of the chocolate chips I actually preferred the waffles without syrup, but you honestly can't go wrong with any topping. What I liked the most about this recipe is that there was no separating of eggs! I like waffles but I don't like having to separate the eggs.

Chocolate Waffles
Source: Better Home and Gardens

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil or butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.

2. In another medium bowl beat eggs lightly; stir in milk, oil, and vanilla. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy).

3. Add batter to a preheated, lightly greased waffle baker according to manufacturer's directions (use a regular or Belgian waffle baker). Close lid quickly; do not open until done. Bake according to manufacturer's directions. When done, use a fork to lift waffle off grid. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

I have been on such a chocolate fix lately. I don't know what it is but all I want to eat is chocolate. Chocolate cookies, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, chocolate anything really. I made this cake recently and it was perfect for satisfying my chocolate sweet tooth. The cake was chocolaty and fudgy. The best part is that it was extremely easy to put together.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Source: Shutterbean
Serves 10

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and put over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add half of the melted-butter mixture and whisk until completely blended (it will be very thick). Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking each to blend completely before adding the next. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before making the glaze.

This Week in Mommyhood

This has been a fun and exhausting week. Elina's been spending more time awake and Cati's napping has been touch and go. With both girls on somewhat of a schedule, the days have been melting into one another. My only reference for the day of the week comes from Alex and even then things are a little screwy. Regardless, I feel so good about motherhood right now and I can honestly say I'm enjoying both girls fully. Cati's at the best stage and Elina is starting to look and feel more like a baby than a newborn.

Here are the fun (and one not so fun) developments this week:

Baby Smiles. Elina started gifting us with beautiful gummy smiles. These aren't those smile while you're sleepy and gassy smiles, these are smile while mommy's making goofy faces smiles. I've gotten a smile out of her daily and, needless to say, I look forward to those smiles.

Baby Coos. Elina is starting to discover her voice. It's so weird to have another talking person in the house but I look forward to hearing how her language develops.

Verbs Galore. Cati has been putting sentences together for a few months now but what really has me impressed this past week is her use of verbs. In Spanish, she talks about eating, cleaning, painting, bathing, and God knows what else. The girl surprises me with the things she says and I am constantly wondering where she learned certain things.

Favorite Words. The two things that have really stood out for me this week are Cati learning what sneakers on and how she says "hermanita throw up" whenever Elina drools or spits up.

Sleep Like a Baby. I never understood the "sleep like a baby" saying because I don't think babies are great sleepers (great sleeper =sleeping through the night and loud noises). This week Elina has decided to sleep nice, long stretches at night. One night she even slept from 10pm-6:15am and it was glorious. Since that day she's been sleeping about a six hour stretch at night followed by a four hour stretch before getting up when everyone else does. Cati didn't start sleeping this good until well after six months so I'm enjoying it but also staying aware that things can change at any moment.

And the Not So Fun. I hadn't written about this because I was hoping that not writing about it would make it go away but it didn't. Cati had surgery this past week to put tubes in her ears. Since October she's had fluid in her ears and antibiotics haven't helped. I thought pulling her out of school would help, but the fluid in her ears persisted and a hearing test revealed that Cati had suffered some hearing loss. I don't know how reliable the hearing test was but two doctors and two hearing tests said the same thing: surgery was needed to prevent further damage. The surgery was quick and went well and now it's just a wait and see and hope things clear up and get better.

Here's to another week of surviving the world of mommyhood with a 6 week old and a 25.5 month old. It's tiring and exhausting, but God, do I love my girls.