Homemade

I had my first ever attempt at making-bread-by-hand today! (In other words, without a bread machine).

And I am so pleased with how the loaves turned out that I just had to post pictures of them and of the delectable sandwich I made for myself for lunch. Avocado, tomato and lettuce seasoned with a dash of sea salt.

It was incredibly good and I think I'm hooked. I hope to make a couple loaves every 2 or 3 days,
thus eliminating the need for store-bought.

Do you make your own bread? I was surprised at how simple it turned out to be!

The Way it Is.

I have been wanting to write out something along these lines for quite some time now and just never seemed to be able to put the words together in my head until I came across this quote at the bottom of Prairie Chick's blog, the Prairie Prologue, and when I read it I thought, "that is pretty much exactly what I want to say!" So instead of racking my brain trying to come up with my own thing I am just going to copy... with proper quoting, of course! So here it is:

"Well, first I must just say – because the thought of another Mama out there feeling somehow inadequate just about breaks my heart – that I most certainly do not ‘do it all’. Sometimes the nature of blogs – and particularly the way that I keep mine focused for the most part on the joy - can create a bit of a false illusion. So I hope no one ever forgets that what you might see on a blog is just one paragraph of someone’s day, or what they’ve chosen to focus on from their day."

Amanda Soule from SouleMama

As an example, here is just one short half hour or so from my Friday last week. Not to say that the rest of the day was bad... it was just a regular day. I helped clean my sister's house in the morning, did some babysitting in the afternoon, threw in a bit of schoolwork for Jayden, etc., etc. You know how it goes! : )

Now, the following pictures (by themselves) may seem like I am the type of mom who bakes with my children all the time and lavishes them with yummy goodies fresh from the oven on a daily basis. The reason why I took these pictures for my blog was to remind myself in the future that I did occasionally do this kind of thing. Seriously, it's such a big deal for me to make dough and roll it out that I wanted to capture the moment in case it never happens again. Of course it will, one just can never say when. ; )

Here's how it really went:

Jayden asks me to roll out the dough for some tea biscuits I have decided to make because I am craving something sweet and I can't find anything in the house that falls into that category, not even chocolate chips! ; )

Now, I haven't baked in ages because I am finding it to be a lot easier to buy the 50% off baked goods at the grocery store when I can get there early enough in the mornings. I would love to be like "the mom who bakes bread, etc. everyday", for my kid's sake, 'cause I think it makes for some good memories, but I'm just not. I don't really like the mess and I didn't even really want Jayden to help me, but I did, and I'm happy about that.

Here is the dough sprinkled with cinnamon and coconut. If I had taken a wider shot of this picture you would have seen three pairs of little hands trying to grab a taste. Even wider? Three children. Two up on stools leaning over the counter and one ON the counter! Gasp! I know! Not very sanitary, eh? But I'm sure your kids have done it too! ; )

And here they are fresh from the oven! "Rich Tea Biscuits" from Company's Coming Cookbook, "Muffins and more". You can imagine what I was hearing while taking this picture. "Mom, can I have some? Mom, mom! Can I try some, mom?!" and so on... "Yes, but hold on! Just let me get a picture! It's not everyday that I bake, you know."

You think they're tired of me and my camera yet? I wonder what sort of memory that will make for them. I can just hear them in the future saying, "Mom was always taking pictures of the oddest things!" Hmmm...

So there you have it. My life isn't all roses but it's beautiful in it's own way and I especially wouldn't give up having messy, loud (but joyful) children for the world!

Day 3 Blessings

Thankful for:

1. their great imagination that kept all three boys busy on the dirt pile for hours this morning so that I could get the dirt swept and washed from my floors and the dirt washed from the pile of laundry.

~Busy little worker man. ~

~ I love how Allan talks when he's busy doing "man" things...real low... just like his daddy.~

2. This yummy recipe for homemade granola that I found here.

I did these jars up this morning and it was so easy. You should try the recipe! I love the sweet/salty taste of it. So delicious over yogurt or ice cream... believe me I tried it both ways already! Really! :) Yogurt for snack and ice cream for lunch. Just so you know, I don't normally eat like this but I couldn't resist just this once. ;)

(Let me now what you think if you do try it, OK?)

3. The chance to scrapbook (and visit) all afternoon with my dear friend while the children played quietly.

Haven't done a day like this in a while ...it's been so refreshing.

Pumpkin Spice

Thanking Him for the many blessings every day;

1. Kind Facilitator who came today to help me with my homeschool plans. Confirming that what I was already doing was wonderful and gently suggesting a few more ideas.

::: and :::

2. The spicy scent of 3 dozen pumpkin cookies baked this afternoon, from our homegrown pumpkins, cooling on my countertop.
Mmmm, mmmm, GOOD!