We have brought the Baby back to the homeland... I love it so much here, even when it's -40 and dark all the time. I wish I could stay here. Oh well...
The flight was great. Both planes were really empty, so we were able to bring the car seat on and let Clara sleep there, which was so nice! She's such a sweaty baby, we weren't looking forward to having her sleep on us for 5 hours. She slept most of the time, and even when she was awake, she hardly made a peep. Carrying the pack-n-play through the airport was a pain, but other than that our flights were pleasantly uneventful.
Since we've been home, we spend an evening with my family, which was the first time most of them had seen Clara. She, predictably, charmed them (although I think if she had screamed the whole time they still would have adored her). It was so fun to see how big Elyse and Liam are getting! I can't believe how much they look like Jensens. Liam is HUGE! I love his dark hair. I was making cookies, and I walked away from the batter for seriously 30 seconds and I turned around to see Liam up on a chair (which wasn't there before!) trying to steal my cookie dough! Sneaky little guy.
Anywho, I look forward to a relaxing few weeks of catching up with friends and family. And, seriously, enjoying the lovely Alaskan winter. Yay!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A day in the life...
In the last year, my daily life has changed DRAMATICALLY. I've gone from being a full-time student who could basically go and do anything I wanted at anytime, to, well, not so much. Here's a normal day for Mommy Manda (starting at midnight)
1am - Clara wakes me up to eat. Goes back to sleep immediately. I go back to sleep on the coach as a habit, because if she DOES wake back up in the next hour, it's too heartbreaking to get back out of bed.
3am- I wake up in a panic that Clara's died. I go check to make sure she's breathing. She is.
5am - Yay! Four hours again! Clara wakes up to eat, goes back to sleep immediately. I decide to try my luck in my own bed with Jordan... still hoping she sleeps for at least another 3 hours.
8:30am - Clara wakes up to eat (what a great baby giving her mom so much sleep), stays awake. I make myself breakfast, attempt to give Clara tummy-time. I look at the dishes, knowing that I should do them. Procrastinate.
8:35- Clara hates tummy-time. I give in and flip her on her back. I eat breakfast and check email/facebook.
9am - I go peak in on Jordan. Still sleeping. He was up late last night working.
9:15 - Clara starts to get fussy. I put her in her swaddler and get her into her bed.
9:30 - Clara fusses in bed. I comfort her/give her the binkie.
10am - Jordan wakes up, we exchange dream stories. Clara wakes up. I declare that 45 min is NOT a long enough nap, go in and try to get her to sleep longer.
10:15- Clara wakes up again. Hardly long enough. Put binkie back in mouth.
10:30 - Clara wakes up. I give in. She's up. I feed her a bit. I hand her off to Jordan so I can get a break.
10:45 - Still fussy. She really needs a longer nap. I get her ready... AGAIN (worrying that I"m a horrible mother), she goes directly to sleep. I check facebook.
11am - Clara still asleep, I read Babyproofing your Marriage. Glance at dishes again, knowing Clara will be asleep for only so long. Continue to procrastinate.
Noon - Clara wakes up happy. I declare I am the best parent ever. I bug Jordan while he works. We rock. Oh, look, she's smiling at Jordan! She LOVES her daddy! I play with Clara while watching an episode of Gilmore Girls. Still procrastinating dishes, and now it's noon and I still haven't showered/gotten dressed.
12:45 - Episode ends. I glance at the dishes again. I hate dishes.
1pm - Clara starts looking sleepy, back down for another nap (she really only stays awake for about an hour at a time most days).
1:15- Hungry again. I hunt around in my kitchen for food, hating myself for not cleaning. If I cleaned it, I'd feel like cooking.
1:30 - after looking around the kitchen, I realize we have no food to eat. I make a grocery list. Hop in the shower (finally) and get dressed in real clothes.
2pm - Clara's still asleep? AWESOME. I'm running to the grocery store. Tell Jordan to look after the baby.
3pm - return from grocery store with a TON of groceries. Clara's still asleep? We are the best parents ever. Put away groceries. Also, think "I should reorganize my cabinet." And "Those stupid dishes." Continue to procrastinate.
3:15- Realize I never ate. Try to make a healthy choice, but add a cookie to my salad.... Not too bad, right? Now what's for dinner? I also check facebook, briefly.
3:30 - Go check to make sure Clara's breathing. Still breathing. And sleeping. Watch a Stargate. What a stellar parent I am *sarcasm*
4pm - Clara still asleep. I realize the minute I begin the dishes, Clara will wake up, but I finally decide procrastinating any longer will make me the World's Worst Homemaker (partly because I hate cooking dinner in a messy kitchen). I start the dishes.
4:05- Clara wakes up. I feed her.
4:30- I give a Jordan a choice: Dishes or Clara (I'm a great wife, I know). He chooses Clara, I continue dishes.
5:00 - Yay! Dishes are finally done! Now, dinner...
5:45 - Fish tacos for dinner. I wonder if Jordan will like them. Clara is really fussy, I waited too long to put her down for a nap, and now she's overtired. I get her ready for a nap before we eat.
6:00 - Clara's finally down. We start dinner.
6:05 - I'm about to open my mouth to eat food, when I hear Clara cry. I go calm her down.
6:15 - Another bite poised to enter my mouth, when I hear a Clara cry. I debate with Jordan if we should just let her cry a bit, or go calm her again. Jordan puts her binkie back in, comes back and we eat.
6:30 - Clara's still upset. I go feed her a bit and she goes to sleep. Jordan and I watch a Stargate together. I check facebook. Yes, again.
7:15- Clara wakes up. That's ok, she can be awake. she had a HUGE nap earlier, and I want her to sleep tonight.
8pm - Get Clara ready for real bed. Like, until the morning. Get her in pjs, read a book, have a nice nightly feeding, and then into her pack-n-play she goes. She goes directly to sleep, I congradulate myself on some rockin' parenting I'm doing here. Jordan and I watch the lastest Office episode to celebrate our success.
8:45 - Clara cries. What? She's supposed to be asleep for the night. I go in and her eyes are WIDE awake, and she smiles at me. No! Stop being so cute! You're supposed to be asleep! The book says you should be sleep! I rock her for 3 minutes, put her back in bed, walk out.
8:50 - Clara starts crying. I let her cry for five minutes.
8:55 - I go in and calm her down. Put binkie back in, and leave.
8:58 - Clara cries. I let her cry for 10 minutes.
9:08 - I go in and calm her down. Put binkie back in, leave.
9:10 - Clara cries. I give up, put her in her swing in her dark bedroom. She goes directly to sleep. I'm such a lame mom resorting to the swing to get her to sleep...
9:15 - Jordan plays some football while think about cleaning the kitchen again. I swear someday I'll be on top of this whole homemaking thing... I decide to read a book instead.
10pm - Clara's well asleep, I go and stop her swing, but leave her in it. She stays asleep. Jordan's working on my computer, so I finally go and put those things away that will go bad/make us sick. Oh, yeah, I might have an addiction. Yet AGAIN I check facebook. I feel guilty that I haven't done tonight's dishes, but managed to check facebook...
10:30 - I'm tired. Going to bed. I go in the room and very, very, very carefully move Clara from her swing to her bed. I stand there a minute. She doesn't move. I dare not be happy. I walk out and slowly get ready for bed, bug Jordan about coming to bed. He's still working.
11pm - Clara's still asleep, I'm ready for bed, Jordan's brushing his teeth. I double check that she's breathing before I go lay in my bed. Good. Jordan and I talk for about 15 minutes about how cute she is. Then we debate on when to have another one (Amanda: "But we did such a great job the first time!" Jordan: "You're already crazy, can't we wait until you're normal again?")
Yeah, that's not how my life was a year ago. But guess what? All I can think about is how darn cute that baby is! Oh, and worrying about her next nap. And checking facebook.
1am - Clara wakes me up to eat. Goes back to sleep immediately. I go back to sleep on the coach as a habit, because if she DOES wake back up in the next hour, it's too heartbreaking to get back out of bed.
3am- I wake up in a panic that Clara's died. I go check to make sure she's breathing. She is.
5am - Yay! Four hours again! Clara wakes up to eat, goes back to sleep immediately. I decide to try my luck in my own bed with Jordan... still hoping she sleeps for at least another 3 hours.
8:30am - Clara wakes up to eat (what a great baby giving her mom so much sleep), stays awake. I make myself breakfast, attempt to give Clara tummy-time. I look at the dishes, knowing that I should do them. Procrastinate.
8:35- Clara hates tummy-time. I give in and flip her on her back. I eat breakfast and check email/facebook.
9am - I go peak in on Jordan. Still sleeping. He was up late last night working.
9:15 - Clara starts to get fussy. I put her in her swaddler and get her into her bed.
9:30 - Clara fusses in bed. I comfort her/give her the binkie.
10am - Jordan wakes up, we exchange dream stories. Clara wakes up. I declare that 45 min is NOT a long enough nap, go in and try to get her to sleep longer.
10:15- Clara wakes up again. Hardly long enough. Put binkie back in mouth.
10:30 - Clara wakes up. I give in. She's up. I feed her a bit. I hand her off to Jordan so I can get a break.
10:45 - Still fussy. She really needs a longer nap. I get her ready... AGAIN (worrying that I"m a horrible mother), she goes directly to sleep. I check facebook.
11am - Clara still asleep, I read Babyproofing your Marriage. Glance at dishes again, knowing Clara will be asleep for only so long. Continue to procrastinate.
Noon - Clara wakes up happy. I declare I am the best parent ever. I bug Jordan while he works. We rock. Oh, look, she's smiling at Jordan! She LOVES her daddy! I play with Clara while watching an episode of Gilmore Girls. Still procrastinating dishes, and now it's noon and I still haven't showered/gotten dressed.
12:45 - Episode ends. I glance at the dishes again. I hate dishes.
1pm - Clara starts looking sleepy, back down for another nap (she really only stays awake for about an hour at a time most days).
1:15- Hungry again. I hunt around in my kitchen for food, hating myself for not cleaning. If I cleaned it, I'd feel like cooking.
1:30 - after looking around the kitchen, I realize we have no food to eat. I make a grocery list. Hop in the shower (finally) and get dressed in real clothes.
2pm - Clara's still asleep? AWESOME. I'm running to the grocery store. Tell Jordan to look after the baby.
3pm - return from grocery store with a TON of groceries. Clara's still asleep? We are the best parents ever. Put away groceries. Also, think "I should reorganize my cabinet." And "Those stupid dishes." Continue to procrastinate.
3:15- Realize I never ate. Try to make a healthy choice, but add a cookie to my salad.... Not too bad, right? Now what's for dinner? I also check facebook, briefly.
3:30 - Go check to make sure Clara's breathing. Still breathing. And sleeping. Watch a Stargate. What a stellar parent I am *sarcasm*
4pm - Clara still asleep. I realize the minute I begin the dishes, Clara will wake up, but I finally decide procrastinating any longer will make me the World's Worst Homemaker (partly because I hate cooking dinner in a messy kitchen). I start the dishes.
4:05- Clara wakes up. I feed her.
4:30- I give a Jordan a choice: Dishes or Clara (I'm a great wife, I know). He chooses Clara, I continue dishes.
5:00 - Yay! Dishes are finally done! Now, dinner...
5:45 - Fish tacos for dinner. I wonder if Jordan will like them. Clara is really fussy, I waited too long to put her down for a nap, and now she's overtired. I get her ready for a nap before we eat.
6:00 - Clara's finally down. We start dinner.
6:05 - I'm about to open my mouth to eat food, when I hear Clara cry. I go calm her down.
6:15 - Another bite poised to enter my mouth, when I hear a Clara cry. I debate with Jordan if we should just let her cry a bit, or go calm her again. Jordan puts her binkie back in, comes back and we eat.
6:30 - Clara's still upset. I go feed her a bit and she goes to sleep. Jordan and I watch a Stargate together. I check facebook. Yes, again.
7:15- Clara wakes up. That's ok, she can be awake. she had a HUGE nap earlier, and I want her to sleep tonight.
8pm - Get Clara ready for real bed. Like, until the morning. Get her in pjs, read a book, have a nice nightly feeding, and then into her pack-n-play she goes. She goes directly to sleep, I congradulate myself on some rockin' parenting I'm doing here. Jordan and I watch the lastest Office episode to celebrate our success.
8:45 - Clara cries. What? She's supposed to be asleep for the night. I go in and her eyes are WIDE awake, and she smiles at me. No! Stop being so cute! You're supposed to be asleep! The book says you should be sleep! I rock her for 3 minutes, put her back in bed, walk out.
8:50 - Clara starts crying. I let her cry for five minutes.
8:55 - I go in and calm her down. Put binkie back in, and leave.
8:58 - Clara cries. I let her cry for 10 minutes.
9:08 - I go in and calm her down. Put binkie back in, leave.
9:10 - Clara cries. I give up, put her in her swing in her dark bedroom. She goes directly to sleep. I'm such a lame mom resorting to the swing to get her to sleep...
9:15 - Jordan plays some football while think about cleaning the kitchen again. I swear someday I'll be on top of this whole homemaking thing... I decide to read a book instead.
10pm - Clara's well asleep, I go and stop her swing, but leave her in it. She stays asleep. Jordan's working on my computer, so I finally go and put those things away that will go bad/make us sick. Oh, yeah, I might have an addiction. Yet AGAIN I check facebook. I feel guilty that I haven't done tonight's dishes, but managed to check facebook...
10:30 - I'm tired. Going to bed. I go in the room and very, very, very carefully move Clara from her swing to her bed. I stand there a minute. She doesn't move. I dare not be happy. I walk out and slowly get ready for bed, bug Jordan about coming to bed. He's still working.
11pm - Clara's still asleep, I'm ready for bed, Jordan's brushing his teeth. I double check that she's breathing before I go lay in my bed. Good. Jordan and I talk for about 15 minutes about how cute she is. Then we debate on when to have another one (Amanda: "But we did such a great job the first time!" Jordan: "You're already crazy, can't we wait until you're normal again?")
Yeah, that's not how my life was a year ago. But guess what? All I can think about is how darn cute that baby is! Oh, and worrying about her next nap. And checking facebook.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Growing like a weed
She's huge! My baby is getting so big. And so cute. At this point, all you have to do is look at her to get her to smile. She's very easily entertained. She doesn't laugh all the time, but her smiles are sweet and generous. My favorite thing to do is to just sit and look at her, and watch while she gives me gorgeous smiles and cute, impish looks.
She's also quite the talker. One time I was laying down with her, and I was telling what a cute baby she was, and every time I opened my mouth to start to say something, she would coo at me... before I could finish staying my first word! Already interrupting me, silly girl. I love her smiles, but I think my favorite is to hear her talking to me.
Jordan and I are finally cracking down on the sleep! I'm a bit of a softy, so I've been pretty generous with her sleep. Well, now she's a big ole 3 month old, and she's going to be sleeping right! The book that I use to help me is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, which I really enjoy. It talks a lot about how sleep is best for babies/children, and what they're developmentally ready for. The biggest point that the author talks about is that so often our babies get overtired, and when they're overtired they have a harder time getting to sleep. It's important to watch for the sleep signs BEFORE they get fussy, because that's when they'll fall asleep the easiest and stay asleep the longest.
Our big problem with Clara is that she wasn't going to bed for the night until 11 or midnight, and at her age they really should be getting down at 6 or 7pm. So we've started our campaign. Right now we're working on just 8pm, but in the next few weeks I'm aiming for 7pm, earlier if she starts looking tired. It's going alright... she's definately sleeping better in her own bed. At this point she's definately asleep by 10pm, wake up to eat at 2am and at 6am and is up for the day at 8am. Not too bad. She naps pretty well, so if we can get her bed time worked out, I think we'll be ok. I try not to get my hopes up, though, because then I just end up getting disappointed when things aren't as easy as I was hoping.
As long as she gets adequate sleep, Clara is a very sweet, happy baby. She's so easy! I know this phase won't last forever (soon I'm going to have to be chasing her around everywhere... *sigh*), but she's easily entertained and if you put her in one spot, she stays there. Oh yeah, have I mentioned that she's ridiculously cute?
She's also quite the talker. One time I was laying down with her, and I was telling what a cute baby she was, and every time I opened my mouth to start to say something, she would coo at me... before I could finish staying my first word! Already interrupting me, silly girl. I love her smiles, but I think my favorite is to hear her talking to me.
Jordan and I are finally cracking down on the sleep! I'm a bit of a softy, so I've been pretty generous with her sleep. Well, now she's a big ole 3 month old, and she's going to be sleeping right! The book that I use to help me is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, which I really enjoy. It talks a lot about how sleep is best for babies/children, and what they're developmentally ready for. The biggest point that the author talks about is that so often our babies get overtired, and when they're overtired they have a harder time getting to sleep. It's important to watch for the sleep signs BEFORE they get fussy, because that's when they'll fall asleep the easiest and stay asleep the longest.
Our big problem with Clara is that she wasn't going to bed for the night until 11 or midnight, and at her age they really should be getting down at 6 or 7pm. So we've started our campaign. Right now we're working on just 8pm, but in the next few weeks I'm aiming for 7pm, earlier if she starts looking tired. It's going alright... she's definately sleeping better in her own bed. At this point she's definately asleep by 10pm, wake up to eat at 2am and at 6am and is up for the day at 8am. Not too bad. She naps pretty well, so if we can get her bed time worked out, I think we'll be ok. I try not to get my hopes up, though, because then I just end up getting disappointed when things aren't as easy as I was hoping.
As long as she gets adequate sleep, Clara is a very sweet, happy baby. She's so easy! I know this phase won't last forever (soon I'm going to have to be chasing her around everywhere... *sigh*), but she's easily entertained and if you put her in one spot, she stays there. Oh yeah, have I mentioned that she's ridiculously cute?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
What a year... a busy busy year...
So, I saw someone else do this, and I thought it was great to think back. So, here goes the major events of the year by month!
January: Jordan and I started our last semester of school! Yay for imminent graduation!
February: Found out I was pregnant! I was telling Jordan the other day, "Oh, remember when Clara was just two pink lines?" He proceeded to tell me how she wasn't REALLY two pink lines, but I thought it was cute...
March: I'm quite sick, like, all the time. Jordan has a couple of interviews. Wishing the semester was over.
April: Jordan graduates from BYU!
May: Drove to Missouri for Family Reunion and had a blast!
June: I left Jordan and went to Alaska, missed him tons, so I came back.
July: Grandpa Hull passed away, so we spent time with LOTS of family in Roy that weekend. Drove to Connecticut when I was 30 weeks pregnant... quite the trip. Visited with Kelly and Braden and THOROUGHLY enjoyed ourselves. We still want to move the Hartford...
August: Drove back from Connecticut when I was even MORE pregnant, which was even harder than getting there.
September: Desperately wanted the baby to come out. I was horribly uncomfortable, sleeping between the couch and bed. Put on bed rest, and finally induced on the 27th... Clara came into the world (a girl! what a surprise!) on the 28th and we were so very happy! She was so cute and an absolute Joy!
October: We'll call this "the lost month." I vaguely remember feeding the baby... and feeding the baby more.. and when I wasn't feeding the baby I was sleeping.
November: Back to Missouri for Thanksgiving!
December: Tyler's all married, and we had our first Christmas by ourselves, and had a great time!
All in all, it was a beautiful, busy exhausting year, and it will remain in my heart one of the best years of my life. I have a perfect husband, a beautiful daughter, and a full, happy life.
January: Jordan and I started our last semester of school! Yay for imminent graduation!
February: Found out I was pregnant! I was telling Jordan the other day, "Oh, remember when Clara was just two pink lines?" He proceeded to tell me how she wasn't REALLY two pink lines, but I thought it was cute...
March: I'm quite sick, like, all the time. Jordan has a couple of interviews. Wishing the semester was over.
April: Jordan graduates from BYU!
May: Drove to Missouri for Family Reunion and had a blast!
June: I left Jordan and went to Alaska, missed him tons, so I came back.
July: Grandpa Hull passed away, so we spent time with LOTS of family in Roy that weekend. Drove to Connecticut when I was 30 weeks pregnant... quite the trip. Visited with Kelly and Braden and THOROUGHLY enjoyed ourselves. We still want to move the Hartford...
August: Drove back from Connecticut when I was even MORE pregnant, which was even harder than getting there.
September: Desperately wanted the baby to come out. I was horribly uncomfortable, sleeping between the couch and bed. Put on bed rest, and finally induced on the 27th... Clara came into the world (a girl! what a surprise!) on the 28th and we were so very happy! She was so cute and an absolute Joy!
October: We'll call this "the lost month." I vaguely remember feeding the baby... and feeding the baby more.. and when I wasn't feeding the baby I was sleeping.
November: Back to Missouri for Thanksgiving!
December: Tyler's all married, and we had our first Christmas by ourselves, and had a great time!
All in all, it was a beautiful, busy exhausting year, and it will remain in my heart one of the best years of my life. I have a perfect husband, a beautiful daughter, and a full, happy life.
Monday, December 27, 2010
laughing
My baby is hilarious! This is the first time I've heard her really, really laughing. Enjoy!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Busy Christmas Season!
So remember my last Christmas post where I was convinced I needed to do EVERYTHING Christmas-y? Yeah, we've been busy. We haven't done all of it, but we have done quite a bit, but managed to keep the majority of our sanity in the process. Here's our goings-on:
-We decorated cookies with Kaitlyn! We were supposed to decorate them with my aunt Renee and her kids, but they got sick. SAD! Anywho, I'd already made the cookie dough (thanks Aunt Jana! It was GREAT!) and we made a bunch of buttercream frosting with lots of colors and got to work! It was great fun watching Kaitlyn try to make a purple color, and coming up with a sad grey color, or Jordan writing me messages on the cookies. We listened to Christmas music and really enjoyed ourselves.
-Decorated gingerbread houses with the Forkners. And I finally realized you really CAN put sugar on a burner and it'll just melt... so weird to me. We bought too much candy, and were too ambitious trying to decorate a lot with two 2 month old babies, but it was fun!
-And then the craziness got started! Tyler got married, and Mandy and Casey with their 4 kids stayed at our apartment on Saturday night. Tyler was there as well. Monday everyone moved into Salt Lake to the hotel rooms, while Jordan and I had airport pick-up duties and went back and forth to Provo. The night before Tyler's wedding we crashed at the hotel with everyone, and then spent Wednesday at the temple and in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the reception. It was SO beautiful! I am so excited for Tyler and Audra (who made a beautiful bride)!
-Oh yeah, before the wedding we went and saw the lights at temple square. I was distracted with a crying baby most of the time, though, so I don't remember much.
Tonight, we're doing Christmas dinner with our friends, and I'm so excited. It really has been a fun holiday season. We've been able to do fun things, see family, spend time with friends, and listen to wonderful, Christmasy music. Merry Christmas everyone!
-We decorated cookies with Kaitlyn! We were supposed to decorate them with my aunt Renee and her kids, but they got sick. SAD! Anywho, I'd already made the cookie dough (thanks Aunt Jana! It was GREAT!) and we made a bunch of buttercream frosting with lots of colors and got to work! It was great fun watching Kaitlyn try to make a purple color, and coming up with a sad grey color, or Jordan writing me messages on the cookies. We listened to Christmas music and really enjoyed ourselves.
-Decorated gingerbread houses with the Forkners. And I finally realized you really CAN put sugar on a burner and it'll just melt... so weird to me. We bought too much candy, and were too ambitious trying to decorate a lot with two 2 month old babies, but it was fun!
-And then the craziness got started! Tyler got married, and Mandy and Casey with their 4 kids stayed at our apartment on Saturday night. Tyler was there as well. Monday everyone moved into Salt Lake to the hotel rooms, while Jordan and I had airport pick-up duties and went back and forth to Provo. The night before Tyler's wedding we crashed at the hotel with everyone, and then spent Wednesday at the temple and in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the reception. It was SO beautiful! I am so excited for Tyler and Audra (who made a beautiful bride)!
-Oh yeah, before the wedding we went and saw the lights at temple square. I was distracted with a crying baby most of the time, though, so I don't remember much.
Tonight, we're doing Christmas dinner with our friends, and I'm so excited. It really has been a fun holiday season. We've been able to do fun things, see family, spend time with friends, and listen to wonderful, Christmasy music. Merry Christmas everyone!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Caramel Recipe
Well, I love caramels. I like light caramels that have a more vanilla-y flavor. I like caramels that don't stick to your teeth, but that are really soft. Well, I'd never made caramels before, but I found this recipe and it worked out great! The first time I tried them I cooked them too long and they came out in one big long sheet of caramel hard candy. Tasted good, but we had to throw it away because we had no way to break it up into smaller candy pieces.
I tried it again, with alterations to the temperature with the elevation (apparently, for ever 500 feet above sea level, you're supposed to kick down the temperature 1 degree. That means here in Provo, everything is down a whole 9 degrees! Freaky!), and it turned out much better. I love the flavor and texture. So, without further ado, here's the recipe! Enjoy!
I tried it again, with alterations to the temperature with the elevation (apparently, for ever 500 feet above sea level, you're supposed to kick down the temperature 1 degree. That means here in Provo, everything is down a whole 9 degrees! Freaky!), and it turned out much better. I love the flavor and texture. So, without further ado, here's the recipe! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbs vanilla
- 2 cups light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups granulated sugar (I like to use baker's sugar, which is a lot finer and makes sure that it has a great texture, but you don't have to).
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter, cut into small cubes
Preparation:
1. Prepare a 9x9 pan for big caramels, or for more smaller ones use a 9X13 pan, lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium-large saucepan combine the corn syrup, water, and granulated sugar over medium-high heat. Stir the candy until the sugar dissolves, then use a wet pastry brush to wash down the sides of the pan to prevent sugar crystals from forming and making the candy grainy.
3. When the temperature of the corn syrup, water and sugar hit about 230, combine the cream, condensed milk, and vanilla in a small saucepan, and place the saucepan on a burner set to the lowest heat setting. You want the milk and cream to be warm, but do not allow it to boil. (I don't like it when a skin forms on top of this, so put off warming the milk and cream as long as possible. If I need it warmer faster because I misjudged the time, I just turn it to a higher heat and stir continuously. It needs to just be warm, so I dip a clean pinky in to make sure it's warmer than room temperature, that works pretty well. It certainly doesn't have to be scalding or anything).
4. Insert a candy thermometer and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and cook until the thermometer reads 250 degrees (for Utah, go to 245 - I know that's not 9 degrees under, but it's safe because it has worked for me! If you live in a different location, look up your elevation and adjust accordingly).
5. Add the softened butter chunks and the warm milk-cream mixture. The temperature should go down.
6. Continue to cook the caramel, stirring constantly so that the bottom does not scorch. Cook it until the thermometer reads 244 (in Utah, go to 235-236), and the caramel is a beautiful dark golden brown. (I like to check mine using the hard ball test: take some really, really cold water and drop a little bit of caramel in. Wait 10-15 seconds, and then feel it. It should hold it's form, but squish in your fingers under pressure. You can taste it, and it shouldn't be too stringy and shouldn't stick to your teeth. I found if I test it and it seems just under, go ahead and pour it in the pan because it will continue to go up a few degrees after pouring).
7. Remove the caramel from the heat and immediately pour it into the prepared pan. Do not scrape candy from the bottom of the saucepan. Allow the candy to sit overnight to set up and develop a smooth, silky texture. (I have to wait at least 24 hours, possibly because my caramels are a little softer).
8. When you are ready to cut the caramel, place a piece of waxed paper on the counter and lift the caramel from the pan using the foil as handles. Flip the top of the caramel onto the waxed paper and peel the foil layer from the bottom of the caramel.
9. Spray a large knife (or kitchen knife) with nonstick cooking spray. Firmly cut into the caramels, creating 1” squares. Wipe the blade and re-spray as necessary. I wrap them in clear plastic squares. There's fancy things you can do with wax paper too... I'm just lazy.
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