Today I taught myself how to make tortillas. And they are so good, I can eat them like bread. Hmmm, looks like I'm going to have to work on more self control. But they are so easy to make. It looks like there is one more thing that we can scratch off our grocery list. I usually keep the ingredients in my pantry anyways. Also, I can make them with regular flour or whole wheat flour. Seriously the recipe only calls for two cups of flour, 1/4 cup of shortening, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of baking powder, and 3/4 of a cup of hot water. The recipe supposedly makes eight tortillas but I have gotten about eleven, however, I probably should have made the tortillas bigger. Meh, I'm learning.

For Christmas I received a belgian waffle maker. I know, I know, how 1950's of me to say that I absolutely adore it as another kitchen gadget. As soon as I go to Anderson's Amish Market tomorrow and get some more vanilla extract I can resume making waffles all the time. Who knew making homemade waffles was so easy, and that you could freeze them. Its just like having Eggos in the freezer. Only the homemade waffles are bigger and much better for you. I haven't done any official research, I know shame on me, but it would seem like the fewer uneccisary things (additives, artificial coloring, etc) added to food the better it is for you.

Anyways, you would imagine with all of the experimental cooking that I have been doing I have had quite a few pans with thick layer of black, crispy food stuck to the bottow of them. Well you would have imagined correctly. But there is a solution. I don't have neither the time nor the patience for presoaking, and sometimes the layer of burnt whatever is just to thick to scrub off with a regular sponge. So I'm just going to rave about a product from my mom's, maybe my grandmother's generation. Drum role please, the S.O.S pad. I haven't seen them in anyone's kitchen in a really long time. So either they are a really well kept secret because every woman hides them and never tells anyone of their magical cleaning powers, or no one uses them. No matter, I thing they are marvelous. They only last for one or two loads of dishes, I guess it depends how long someone can go without knocking it into the sink while forgeting to pick it up to ensure that it doesn't constantly get wet.

Anyhow, I am enjoying my days at home with my beautiful babies. Michael still screams like someone is killing him. But he is so lovey. I think somewhere along the line he has picked up trying to say "hello love". Its crazy, no one we know says that but he likes to, especially to his baby sister. He still doesn't understand that he has to be gentle with her, but we are working on it. If anyone has any ideas on how to break his rough behavior let me know. Meghan is adorable. She is so big, and definitely has her daddy's hatchet looking feet. She is already fitting into 6-9 month sleepers, only her arms, legs, and feet fill them out though. Its really funny. I hope to start potty training Michael soon. Maybe I can start as soon as he can completely follow verbal instructions. We are practicing with a wooden alphabet puzzle by Melissa and Doug. I try to get him to match specific letters on demand, I think hes getting the hang of it. By the way, the puzzle is perfect. The pieces fit perfectly in Michael's hand, and instead of cartoon pictures, the letters are composed of more antique encyclopedia looking pictures that can be matched to their coordinating places on the puzzle's base. I love it.