By The first week home with two kids. Tommy is two. Ellie is one week. The math of parenting just doubled and the resources stayed the same. Sleep is a concept. Meals are suggestions. The house is organized chaos — Tommy running, Ellie crying, Megan nursing, me cooking with one hand and holding a baby with the other. This is the life we chose. This is the life I love.
Tommy is adjusting. He's fascinated by Ellie but confused by the attention she receives. He brings her toys she can't play with. He offers her food she can't eat. He says, "Baby sleep" when she naps and "Baby cry" when she cries and both observations are accurate and unhelpful. He is being the best big brother a two-year-old can be, which is sweet and chaotic and covered in cracker crumbs.
Linda is here. Every day. She holds Ellie and says, "She looks like Helen." She means Babcia. Every time Linda says this, something catches in my throat. Ellie looks like Babcia. I don't know if it's true — Ellie is one week old and looks like a very small, very red-haired person — but Linda sees it and I trust Linda's eyes because Linda knew Babcia better than anyone alive.
The freezer meals are deployed again. Pierogi at 2 AM. Soup at midnight. Golabki for dinner. The frozen army serves for the second time. Babcia's recipes, feeding a family of four at hours no cookbook was designed for.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
The freezer has been our lifeline this week — Babcia’s pierogi, the soup Linda brought over, the golabki I made before Ellie arrived — and somewhere in the back, behind all the meals I packed for survival, sat this Raspberry Swirl Frozen Dessert I made in a rare quiet hour at eight months along. I pulled it out at 2 AM on night three, standing in the kitchen with Ellie finally asleep on my shoulder, and ate it straight from the pan. It wasn’t pierogi, but it was cold and sweet and it was there, which is all you can ask of a freezer at 2 AM. If you’re stocking your own frozen arsenal — for a new baby, a hard week, or just a Tuesday — make this one first.
Raspberry Swirl Frozen Dessert
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes (includes freeze time) | Servings: 9
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full crackers)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the raspberry swirl. Combine raspberries, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5–7 minutes until berries break down and the mixture thickens slightly. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds, then set aside to cool completely.
- Prepare the crust. Mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press firmly into the bottom of a parchment-lined 8x8-inch baking pan. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.
- Make the cream filling. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream gently into the cream cheese mixture in two additions until fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
- Layer and swirl. Spread the cream filling evenly over the chilled crust. Drop spoonfuls of the cooled raspberry sauce across the top of the filling. Using a butter knife or skewer, drag through the raspberry dollops in long figure-eight strokes to create a swirl pattern. Do not over-swirl or the layers will muddy.
- Freeze until firm. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight. For cleanest slices, let the pan sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting.
- Slice and serve. Lift the dessert out of the pan using the parchment edges. Cut into 9 squares with a sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts. Serve immediately or return squares to the freezer on a parchment-lined tray. Store covered in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 25g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 180mg