Talented

My children, all of them, have amazing artistic abilities. I know you all think they must get it from me, but I promise you that I can't draw to save my life. I can craft, and there's TOTALLY a big difference. And even then, I'm a sloppy and lazy crafter at best.

But, uh, have you seen my husband's work?

I really should be scanning more of their drawings for you because Anna is seriously good. But today, I'm sharing this hilariously imaginative picture that Miles drew. On the magna doodle. Always on the magna doodle. It pains me because it means we can't keep his drawings, though I do try to take pictures of my favorites.



I really gotta get that kid a pad of paper of his own.
He has also been sounding out words lately. I love this stage. Let me know if you can figure out what he has written.

Visitors

Abbie is turning 8 very soon. In the LDS faith, that marks a very special occasion. She's getting baptized. My in-laws came to town a couple of weeks early so they could enjoy some of the warmer weather we have, and to enjoy a cruise... they're visiting from Calgary. How do you spell cold?

Well, in typical Lucas fashion, he would have NOTHING to do with Grandma, but was inexplicably drawn to Grandpa. He really likes the men. What can I say?

And Grandpa was more than happy to give Lucas some of his attention. It was great. I mean, you can't deny that look, right?

Must TRY this bread.

I feel like I've been keeping something from you. And I'm a bad person because of it.

I have a great bread recipe that I love.
The reasons I love it:
It takes about an hour, start to finish.
It makes 4 loaves. Or 2 loaves, a pan of cinnamon rolls and some breadsticks for dinner.
It's extremely easy.
It's fluffy and delicious.


But it's no artisan bread. I hate that word.

I'm going to post it here and on the food blog because it deserves to be in both places, it's THAT good.

One Hour Bread

10.5 c bread flour or wheat flour (not All-Purpose Flour)
1/2 c sugar
1 heaping tbsp salt
3 rounded tbsp instant yeast
3 tbsp liquid lecithin
4 c hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients. Add lecithin and water. Mix for one minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry add more water. Dough should be slightly sticky. Mix for five minutes. Do not add flour to the dough after it has finished mixing. Spray counter and pans and hands well with Pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel or Saran wrap. Let rise 20-25 minutes. Bake on 350 for 25 minutes. Recipe makes four loaves of bread.

Notes:
*Lecithin can be purchased at Whole foods or other trendy healthy food store.
*Do not measure lecithin. Pour quarter sized dollops directly into the bowl. You'll thank me when you get some on your fingers.
*For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe but add one cup of applesauce as part of the hot tap water and an additional tbsp of lecithin. Mix for ten minutes.
*I make this in my Kitchen-Aid. I put all the water in the bottom, add the yeast on top. Then just add all the dry ingredients, THEN the lecithin on top of the flour, etc.

To make into cinnamon rolls:
Just roll 1/4th of your total unrisen dough into a rectangle on your greased up surface. Spread a nice thick layer of butter, then spread a lovely layer of brown sugar, then sprinkle with cinnamon liberally. Roll it up. Then use floss or whatever your preferred method is. Let rise 15-20 minutes. Bake 20 minutes or until tops are browned. Spread with your preferred icing. Mine involves a 1.5c (ISH... I don't measure) powdered sugar, 2 TBSP Butter, a tsp of vanilla and milk to my preferred consistency. YUM.



I have told people... these aren't the world's best cinnamon rolls. But they are really GOOD. No one ever complains when I make them.

This dough could easily be used for:
Pizza (just don't let it rise!)
Breadsticks
Foccaccia
Braided Loaf
Filled Loaf
Cinnamon swirl bread

I've made each of the above and they're all delicious.
Good luck!

It's a Love/Hate thing.

Miles.

I can admit that I have the hugest soft spot for that sweet little ornery four year old. He can send me into a fit of rage faster than any of the other kids. But will melt my angry heart quicker than you can say snuggle time.

It appears the feeling is mutual.

Yes, that's right... Miles gives Dad a checkmark.

Bowl.

We received a coupon in the mail for some deal on bowling for the whole family. And even though we're not great bowlers, we have a good time. Bumpers are always a good thing!


Abbie and Anna would approach the lane and almost LOB the ball. I just know if someone was tossing bowling balls on my hardwood floors, I would NOT be happy.


I foolishly didn't think that Lucas would be all that interested in bowling. Really. His favorite word is "ball". Duh.



So, Matt sacrificed a couple of his frames (although, lets be honest... not the best bowler) to Lucas.




And Miles, well... Miles is of the age where he wants to do it all himself. Hefting the 6 pound ball out there, and shoving down the lane... which takes about 2 minutes to reach the pins. But what he lacks in ability, he makes for in enthusiasm, right?


No pictures of me. But you can imagine the stares an 8.5 month pregnant woman might receive at a bowling alley. (Insert joke about smuggling a ball here.)

And for the record... I totally won.

36 Weeks and Counting.

Fancy-ing it Up!

Four years ago, when Miles brought all things boy into my life, my mom awesomely dyed some burp cloths for me. Reds, Blues, Greens, Oranges... Boy Colors. I was prepared for the onslaught of baby boy spitup. Except Miles almost never spitup. And my awesome burp pads went largely unused!

And then two years ago, when Lucas was born, these burp pads were at the ready. And Lucas did more drooling than spitting up. Isn't that how it goes?

Now I have no idea if this child will be a "gusher" or not, but I was feeling badly that all my best burp cloths were "BOY". So, I set about fixing that.

Aren't fat quarters the greatest?

The tree fabric is my absolute favorite.

Hi! and Thanks!

Welcome to everyone who might be filing in here via Ucreate or CraftersFileBox or any of the other awesome blogs who are featuring my Valentines from last year. Totally didn't expect all the link love. Fun times!

I promised the closet transformation.
You recall the before:

Let me add that this was after I'd removed ALL their toys, shoes, and sorted out everything that was non-fitting.
First things first: Remove those hideous wood-colored bi-fold doors! BUH-BYE!
We removed the wire shelving (which will probably go up in the garage), puttied, painted the closet and trim (just white), and installed these shelves.

Ta-Da! Everything fits. Now I'm comtemplating whether to put a curtain on it. Any thoughts?

Coming Soon: Transformation

We have a three bedroom house. And (soon-to-be) five children. It goes without saying that our children share rooms, right?

In our attempts to make everyone fit, it was decided that all of the girls' clothing needed to go into their closet. No room for dressers, really. And so began the great closet transformation of January 2010.

The project is almost done, it just requires a few more items. But this is just to whet your appetite.

We're going from this:


Adding some of this:

And this dresser FULL of clothes that has seen much better days:


Will it work? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.

Everyday...

Just a picture from our everyday life. And so, a haiku.

Blurry running kids,
Laundry waits to be folded,
A common chaos.

A Pleasant Surprise

If you're a mom, you know that when the kids get too quiet it can mean only one thing: TROUBLE. This is when you usually find that your children have escaped from the backyard carrying all the grapefruit from our tree that they can manage and are selling it door to door. TRUE STORY.

However, on this particular day I was met with a very pleasant surprise.

Phew!

Project #3

Newborn Longies & a Newborn Sweater


I'm severely giddy over them.

And a scale picture... Anna's American Girl Knockoff.


It might be time to put down the knitting needles for awhile and pick up my rotary cutter. But first... I have a tiny bit more yarn left... matching hat or matching booties?

Impending...

I will be honest with you. I'm not expecting good things from Lucas when this new baby arrives. He gets jealous when I hold other children. He screams hysterically when we attempt to leave him in nursery, which is why at 22 months old, we have yet to leave him the entire time. It's just not fair to those sweet ladies.

And last week, he tried to bite the fingers off a sweet four month old baby. It was unprovoked. I cried. I cried for that sweet boy and for how awful his mother must think I am. I cried for my new little girl and the impending doom Lucas is sure to bring upon her.

I love this kid. I'm just terrified of him.

Project #2

I'm definitely in a yarn phase. I'm loving all things knit and crochet. I'm a very beginning knitter, but decided to try something ambitious.

I joined the fabulous community of yarn artists at Ravelry.com where there is a plethora of expertise, information and FREE patterns.
Some other great learning to knit sites:
Knitty
Knitting Help
YouTube

There is a video or picture tutorial out there for every single thing you might have a question about. I love it! I could never have learn to knit before the INTERNET.

I am not a cloth diaperer. I wish I was. I will explain. I didn't own my own washer/dryer in my home until just before (about two weeks before) Miles was born. There's NO WAY I'm using a coin op to wash/dry cloth diapers. For a long time after Miles was born, we thought we were done having children.
Then we had Lucas. I really was sure that he was our last and figured, "why bother cloth diapering now? the costs won't be recouped in cloth diapering just one kid!"
And then we decided to have another. But really folks, last baby.
Part of the reason that I would have loved to cloth diaper is just for the cuteness factor. Admit it, disposables are UGLY! Cloth diapers have a much higher cute quotient.
So, when I was looking for a cute and simple knitting project, I decided on a wool soaker/diaper cover for my new little girl. After much head scratching, and under-the-breath swearing and literally tearing out 1/3rd of the project when I could have called it complete... and learning a bunch of new techniques, I call it finished.



And for scale:


Because it's TEENY. Just like babies.

Divide and Conquer

I have to admit, bathtime is one of my most dreaded activities. Especially with this ginormous belly. It used to be that everyone got baths on the same night, but I just can't handle that much "helping" at once.

So, the kids' bathtime is split up. The girls shower (which they still need help with getting all the soap OUT of their hair) one night and I laboriously slave over the tub with the boys on another night.



Miles generally hates all manner of bath/shower activities so it's a labor of patience. Call it a boy thing. Lucas, on the other hand, will come bookin' it at the mere sound of water running. His futile attempts at stripping his clothes from his person are laughable. He can't get naked fast enough. Perhaps his opinions will change once he realizes the purpose of baths, such as it did with Miles.