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Cheescake Catastrophe!

It seems like every night this week I've been getting to bed after midnight.  I really hate that but all these things keep crowding in either convincing me that it's worth staying up late or just distracting me so I don't know how late it is.  I was so excited and convinced that TONIGHT I would be in bed by 10.  And yet, here I sit at 11:23pm writing this.  Why?  I'll tell you.

I decided to make a cheesecake.  I've never made a cheesecake before, but today, I went to the store and bought the ingredients.  I knew that I would have to wait until the boys were in bed before I attempted such a task.  Even the simplest recipes usually have to be saved for nap time or bedtime.  So at 8pm I put Baby One to bed and started this exciting endeavor.

Now, for the first hour and a half that I was working on said endeavor I was also putting Baby One back in his bed every 2-5 minutes or so.  This probably contributed to some of the following Cheesecake Catastrophes.

Catastrophe #1:  I had only 1 cup of Graham cracker crumbs when I needed 1 1/4 cup.  Fix #1: I proceeded to substitute the final fifth of the crumbs with Golden Grahams cereal.


Catastrophe #2: Realized that I had misread the measuring bowl and had actually crushed 1 1/4 LITERS of graham crackers and Golden Grahams cereal.  Fix #2: I put the remaining crumbs in a Freezer bag and put them back in the graham cracker box to use later (for all the cheesecakes I make).

Catastrophe #3: In trying to melt the chocolate (Oh yes, there is chocolate in this cheesecake) I burnt the chocolate.  I've never seen burnt chocolate before.  I realized that I didn't know how to work my microwave (which is relatively new).  Fix #3: I read the instructions (Oh yes, I did!) and tried melting the other half of the chocolate bar all the while thanking GOD that the bar had TWICE the chocolate I actually needed, thus giving me a second chance.

Catastrophe #4: I realized that I had no idea how to wrap a springform pan in foil to avoid the water bath leaking in. Fix #4: I looked it up online.  Found no very useful suggestions and did the best I could.  We'll see how it goes.  Who knew there was such a thing as a "Leakproof" Springform pan?

Catastrophe #5: Lumps!  Horror of horrors there were LUMPS in my batter!  I'm hoping the taste is enough to make that forgiveable! Fix #5: Not much of a fix for this one at this point.  I didn't put a couple of larger lumps in though.

Catastrophe #6: I put the springform pan with the cheesecake in it in the roasting pan (The only thing I could find that was big enough to put the springform pan in) and went to pour hot water in the roasting pan.  I definitely spilled water on top of my cheesecake.  The aluminum foil is certainly not going to take care of that one.  Fix # 6: Lots and lots and LOTS of paper towels.  I stuck just the corners in until I stopped getting water on them and started getting batter.  I think it's going to work out all right.

Catastrophe #7: I put the cheesecake in at 11:15 and it's going to take 1 hour and 10 minutes to cook, then, an hour to cool and THEN I can put it in the refrigerator to chill.  This means that I am for sure going to be up past midnight AGAIN.  Fix #7: Somebody help me!  Why do I keep staying up past midnight when I know the babies are going to have me up no later than 7 (and probably more like 6)?



So why am I making a cheesecake?  A dear friend of mine is having a birthday soon and I was hoping to surprise her with a cheesecake on Sunday when there will be a gathering at her place.  Even with all the catastrophes and one more late night, she is totally, completely worth it.

I'm just hoping for no Catastrophe 8.

The FLYbaby Diaries

I've started a new blog!  I promised I'd tell you about it!  Hop on over to The FLYbaby Diaries to learn more about it!

Basically, I "met" a beautiful woman who calls herself FLYlady a long time ago.  You can "meet" her too at www.flylady.net.  She gave me some useful tools for conquering my clutter and keeping my space tidy and I've done it halfheartedly for some time.  Now, I'm committed.  It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to get done.  This diary will follow my progress in this specific endeavor and hopefully encourage others in the process.

Enjoy!

I can't seem to get this updated!

I know, I know.  It's been forever.  Problem is, it's been one thing after another keeping me from posting.  Our computer was giving us fits for a while.  It likes to just turn itself off at random.  It really is quite a dinosaur and I guess I can't blame the poor thing for being tired and ready to join the great network in the sky.  It still does that some, but not as much (for now).  Oh how I wish we could afford a new one, but it will be a while yet before that happens.  Here's hoping this one holds out until we get another one!

Then, Hubby and I share said pitiful computer.  He uses it for job searching and projects that he's being paid for (and to play on) and I often feel like I can't commandeer it for my own purposes.

AND, lately when I've tried to pull up Blogger it won't pull up correctly so that I can actually post something.

Then there are babies and life and all the other things that keep me busy and unable to get on.

Anyway - I do not intend for this to be a pity party!  I just want to explain why it sometimes takes a while for me to update.  Now to let you in on what's been going on:

Baby Two's first birthday was on Monday.  We had his party on Sunday.  I will update with pictures soon if I can.  I try to save my pics for a Wordless Wednesday.

I'm still trying to get reading done in pursuit of becoming a doula.  I finally sat down with my doula and talked to her to get her advice/encouragement/etc.  It was a great meeting and I feel like I have a direction to go in now.  She's incredible!

We're currently having trouble with Baby One's Jack-in-the-box syndrome.  We put him to bed at night and he just keeps popping up.  Sometimes it happens several times in a minute.  Usually I try to be stone cold and put him back to bed as many times as it takes, but somewhere around 15 times I usually loose my cool, spat his leg and say, "You must stay in your bed now."  Sometimes, believe it or not, that works.  It always works for at least 10 minutes and then we have to repeat the process.  Next week I have an idea how I'm going to handle it.  I'll let you know how it goes.

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Wordless Wednesday

 A sleeping Baby Two...

And Baby One after finding a mud puddle that Mama didn't know about.

Wordless Wednesday - The camera phone is broken edition

Yes, you read that right.  The super-awesome camera phone is broken. It is being replaced but I am without it for a few days and all the pictures I wanted to post are still on it.  So today's (nearly) Wordless Wednesday is a blast from the past!

Circa December 2009:Well supervised in a box of packing peanuts.

 

Circa May 2009: First time feeding himself something other than cereal or crackers.

Circa June 2008: Baby One with jaundice being sat in the window.