Snow and a snake cake...

Guess who got a snake cake for his birthday! I loved making this one because it was such an easy birthday cake. You just make a bundt cake, cut it in half, turn to the shape of a snake, and frost. Bada bing, bada boom. I make a chocolate chip cake with cream cheese frosting. You can make snake diamonds with M&Ms, eyes with Jr. Mints, and a tongue with a cut up fruit rollup.

We also got the gift of snow this Saturday morning! My parents weren't able to make it up, but Mimi and Pop Pop arrived before the snow did. We sat in front of the fire and played with presents, ate crockpot chicken tortilla soup, and watched the snow fall. And now they've left to go back to Norfolk, the house is quiet and filled with snow reflected light, the laundry is spinning, the baby is napping, and David and Seth have gone to have an adventure in the neighborhood. Ahhh.....

Happy Birthday, big boy!

Seth David is 3 today. Plumbers are digging up the ground outside our house, I had to take brunch for MOPs this morning, chaos, chaos, chaos. We dragged in around noon, and I tried to get everyone fed and settled, checking phone messages, spinning, juggling... But at 12:59 p.m., we were sitting on the couch, and I was reading my newly minted 3-year-old a book. I noticed the time on the clock on the microwave. Did you know that God gave me a miracle 3 years ago at exactly this minute, little man? Did you know I was kissing your tiny face back then at just this time like I'm kissing it now? Clouded vision, tender fingertips on still soft skin... Thank you for making me a mommy...

Things to be thankful for...

- Sunshine streaming through my windows after days of gloom and rain...

- A punishment free morning...

- Giggling boy spinning round and round in circles and then throwing himself down, grinning, to do it all over again...

- A baby sitting on his own for just a few seconds...

- A boy bringing me a pillow, and then sitting to watch as his mildly sick mama "naps" for a minute or two.

- Soft, blonde, fine baby hair....

- A monkey plate...

- The last piece of Papa John's for breakfast...

- A good book to re-read to remind me that I'm not alone in this mama journey...

- Christ as my bridegroom, and settling into a marriage relationship with him that isn't always exciting, but is always sustaining...

- Letting go of worry about the broken water pipe and the puddle forming in the buckling sidewalk. That's what savings are for...

- A chance to lay down while both boys nap...

- Laundry spinning away...

Gingerbread and more...

This post is brought to you by the letter Z (for the dead to the world nap I just got) and my bouncing baby boy (he's literally flinging himself wildly around the doorway next to me in his bouncer, babbling, and drooling on his linkadoos).

I have bits and pieces of time to read during the day. I picked up Great With Child again. It's not like I haven't read that book about a hundred times already, but I'm reading it when I'm in a exhausted baby haze each time, so I don't retain anything. Anyway, the book is a chronicle of her pregnancy and first year with her third child. Most of it could be considered decidedly less than peppy. At the end, she mentions that there is very little written by women when they're in the throes of new babydom becaused they're just too tired to write. A light bulb went off for me. That can explain at least part of my dropping off of blogging lately, and I'll use it as an excuse for my less than peppyness as well...

But Evan is almost 8 months now, and he's becoming a happier, better adjusted baby. I'm really enjoying his 8-month-old babbling and smiling and bouncing and grabbing and feeling, and I'm grateful for some of the tired resentfulness to be fading into the background. He's napping longer at least one nap a day now, so I have a few minutes hands free even after the naps I usually take to make it through. =) We're settling into a routine that feels like a well worn sneaker (and mine are very well worn).

And Seth came back from Nana and Papa's an easier toddler. We had a great morning reading books and playing pretend. Winnie the Pooh had to read all the books with us. (This is Seth's first foray into playing with stuffed animals.) Pooh also had to eat lunch in Seth's booster, and he ran back and forth from the table to me to get pretend food. Apparently Pooh likes apples and Goldfish.

We also made gingerbread together today. I used to make it from a box mix, but I found a wonderful recipe on Allrecipes that blows the box out of the water. I LOVE smelling it baking. Seth helped me with all the dumping of the ingredients into the bowl. "Mama, I need to dump it!" (Side note: I have decided that I'm practically incapable of putting an entire stick of butter into almost anything. I substitute applesauce for half if that's what it calls for.) After it was done, we both had a sampling. Mmmmm. I think he enjoys eating something that he's made. I know about that feeling; I like it, too.

I'm analyzing this a bit, and I think I've become a bit more of a foodie lately because its a frugal pleasure. =) Food tastes so much better when its made mostly from scratch, and its cheaper to do it that way if you're not buying exotic ingredients. We can eat healthy and deliciously, I get to try a new hobby that doesn't cost more than my regular grocery budget, etc., etc.

But Seth is waking up, so I'd better be moving on. Mom and Dad are back again this evening. David and Dad are getting the rest of the leaves up this weekend and cutting some tree limbs.

And I'm working the Spirtual Encouragement/MOPS promotional booth for a couple of hours at Kids Exchange tomorrow. I'm thinking of making a posterboard sign and walking through the line to give out cards for MOPs. What should I put on there? Maybe "Hey Moms! Want a couple of hours to yourself to eat breakfast and hang out with other local moms while your children play in another room far, far away? I thought so! Go to www.sjklsjfldj.com" What do you think? =)

Happy weekend, y'all!

What I've learned about homemade pizza crust...

We enjoy homemade pizza around here about once a week. It's been a long time and lots of frustration, but I think I've finally learned the secret to a good homemade pizza crust. I've tried so many different things, but here's a thing or two I've learned.

I have a breadmaker (a Zojirushi with two paddles that I love), and I would get frustrated trying to plan enough ahead to do a 1 hour and 50 minute dough cycle with 20-30 minutes of rising time in there. And then, after I'd do all that, it would be too puffy, too doughy, not crispy enough, etc. Grrrr. This frustrated me enough that I just quit making my own crust for awhile.

No more. I learned that I could do it on the quick cycle (45 minutes) with no extra rising time, and it would taste soooo much better. Why was I following the bread machine recipe directions again? =)

Also, I was making enough pizza dough for two pizzas. Most of the recipes out there call for enough dough to make two medium sized, hand tossed thickness crust pizzas. Well, frozen pizza dough doesn't rise well, and we didn't need to make that much extra pizza. So I cut the recipe in half. Another problem solved...

Frustrated about how my crust wouldn't bake before my cheese would burn, I tried pre-baking it before adding cheese. Dumb idea. Never worked that great. The trick is to bake the pizza- crust, sauce, toppings, cheese and all, at high heat from the beginning. Preheat your baking pan of choice at 450 for about 20 minutes or so, add the pizza, and then bake for 10-15 minutes. Better, much better.

Don't use an Air Bake cookie sheet or pizza pan. You'll get bready, non crusty pizza. It's better to use a regular old cookie sheet or a pizza stone. I've heard you can get an unglazed tile to use if you don't have a pizza stone. I had a pizza stone languishing in my parents' attic, so Mom brought it here for me to try. It makes a pizza crust that tastes much more like restaurant pizza than anything I'd gotten from my other attempts. I think I'm sold. And since we have room for it in this kitchen...

Also, if you're not good at stuff like this, don't try to press out your pizza crust with your hands. Just use a rolling pin coated with a little flour and roll it nice and thin. It's much more uniform this way.

The experts use something called a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the hot baking stone in the oven. Well, I don't have one of those, and I'm not so sure that I'm down with using corn meal under the pizza to make it slide better. I've had it burn before. So I put my dough on parchment paper, rolled it out, topped it, and then slid it onto a cookie sheet. Then I used that to transfer the pizza, parchment paper and all, to the hot pizza stone. Baked like a dream!

Here's my homemade pizza sauce recipe. Don't oversauce your pizza. It makes it soggy. Ask me how I know. =)

And I highly recommend a breadmaker for dough of all kinds. It doesn't have to be all fancy. You can get one at a thrift store or on Craigslist. It just needs to have a dough cycle. You won't be baking anything in it, most likely. I never do 'cause the loaves turn out dry and misshapen. =) But my breadmaker turns out wonderful bread and homemade roll dough. It's been the best birthday present I've probably gotten since I've been married.

So there you have it, you Three Who Are Still Reading. This is the collected wisdom of many years of pizza baking mistakes. Enjoy!

Missing my big boy...

It's 11:33 p.m., and I miss my big boy.

See, I had this great plan. We went to my parent's house on Sunday because we were going to a birthday party for a local friend there. And I realized that Mom would be coming back here to babysit for me on Wednesday night so I can go to a huge consignment sale here. Soo... I hatched a plan to send the whiny toddler boy to his grandparents for a little R&R. For me.

Who knew he would turn a corner and get so cute right before this planned trip? Who knew he'd want us to sing with him all the way to my parents' house? Who knew I'd like that better than listening to any radio station?

So now he is with Nana and Papa, and I'm here with David and Evan. It's been a mucho busy day, full of helping out a couple of friends in crisis. But I've realized that its felt a little weird in this house, and I'm taking the time in the middle of the night to figure out why.

All day, he hasn't been here. I'm walking around my house, and there's a nagging feeling that something important is missing. The play room is quiet. There's no one sitting in the booster seat. I haven't taken the big box of Goldfish down from the top of the fridge in hours. And nobody ate "Chex in a bowl" this morning for breakfast.

The hardest thing is walking by his open bedroom door. I told David how weird it was to walk by it at night and see that empty crib. He said, "Do what I do when you leave for a few days with the boys. I just close all the bedroom doors. Then I can pretend that they're just in there sleeping." For whatever reason, those words hit me pretty hard in the gut. Maybe because there are undoubtedly parents in this world who do that every night whose children won't sleep in their tiny beds again?

So, Seth David, I miss you, big boy. It takes having you away sometimes, I guess, to make me more thankful all over again that God gave you to us. I'm really glad that you seemed to be having such a great time with Nana when I called this morning. But I'm going to wish that I could get you up and see you grin and jump up and down in your bed tomorrow morning. Evan is a great playmate for me, but he can't tell me all about how Noah and Tad from the Letter Factory slept with him last night.

I know that its good for Evan to have a little one on one time with me and Daddy. It's just a little taste for him of what you got for those years before he came. And Nana and Papa love having you around, and you get to ride the big tractor until you are giddy with joy. But... I'm not going to be so quick to let you go without me next time... Please come home soon. There'll be big hugs and kisses and tickles waiting for you when you get here.

Love,
Mama

Thoughts...

First, I'd like to show you the cutest, cuddliest baby boy in the world enjoying being the middle of a grandparent sandwich. You can all "oooh" and "ahhh" now.

Said baby is currently consenting to take a late afternoon nap, and I felt like blogging, so I am. I feel all guilty about my blog. It's been neglected in favor of Facebook lately, and I know it. Pictures just load sooo much faster there, I gotta say. And the feedback is pretty immediate, too. But... I can't unload all my stuff there in that teeny, tiny space, and this is my own personal digital scrapbook, so there ya go. Blog, I haven't abandoned thee entirely.

No shock, this past 7 months has been a big adjustment for me. First, I thought that all the extra time and energy had gone bye-bye because I had a tiny baby. I was willing to wait it out. Waiting, waiting... nope, it's because I have a SECOND CHILD! I'm starting to realize that that time and space I had to think and breathe and enjoy leisurely evenings with my husband is... gone. And I've gotta say that there have been many days lately that I resent that. Yup, formerly infertile me who is living the dream is sometimes mad as Hades that she's finally having to learn to make real, tough sacrifices of her time and energy for others...all day long. Somebody cue the world's smallest violin, I know.

Some of this is coming from the fact that Seth has been pushing boundaries big time all day long for a couple of weeks now. He's in the "look at you in the eye, smile, and flagrantly refuse to obey" stage. The one where he's actually choosing disciplinary action because he's interested in learning what happens when you disobey. That stage. I hate that stage. It's new to me, and I'm hoping it goes away soon. And I'm starting to also realize that as he grows, he wants far more of David's time and attention in the evenings, so I barely get to talk to him before Seth goes to bed. And then Evan goes to bed, and then we have an hour before we're ready to go upstairs to bed. Where did all the time go? I know I'm whining now...

I'm tired. And I'm feeling not tough enough for this job. I thought all this difficulty meant a temp job, and it looks like its going to be full time for several more years, and I'm getting a little panicky. I didn't know this was what I signed up for. Most of the time, I have it together, but there are days lately when I just want to cry because I feel like this is beyond me and my puny little capabilities.

Sometimes I'm shocked that I'm doing as well as I am most of the time. (Because, y'all, lying there in the morning and realizing that you're having trouble figuring out when you'll be able to do the dishes is depressing). I attribute the fact that I handle most of it well most of the time to God working some powerful changes in me. I am learning to roll with the punches because I have to. I'm learning to do things and handle things that I couldn't imagine myself handling even a year ago. Stuff doesn't bother me that would've had me in tears when Seth was a baby. It's amazing.

Sometimes I look at myself and wonder who that strong person is. I certainly don't feel strong, but I seem to act it somewhat regularly. God is transforming me, and it's painful, but I'm kind of in awe of it. I'm learning, and I'm growing, and I'm even sometimes helping others and not counting the cost for doing it as much. What's up with that? Maybe you have to have it all feeling like its on the edge of falling apart before you finally throw up your hands, give up control, and just say, "Whatever... bring your kid over here for a couple of hours. What's another one..."

I don't know. I'll make it through. Maybe this is just the midwinter blahs. But I'd better run. No. 2 just woke up. =)

Cute baby pic of the month...

Ah, sweet Evan Vance. At 7 months, he is a happy little bundle of energy. When I say he's a bouncing baby boy, I mean it literally. He loves to bounce himself up and down on the laps of anyone that will let him, squealing and babbling the whole time. At 13 lb., 4 oz. at his 6 month checkup, he fell right on off the growth charts. We produce "less than 5th percentile" babies in this house. And you gotta love the sweet potato tan. At this point, he stubbornly refuses all attempts at feeding him green vegetables.

Other loves include: the doorway bouncer (which he uses with gusto), grabbing and batting at anything within reach (we've had two full bowls of baby food oatmeal hit the floor this way), straining sideways and then launching himself out of the Bumbo, shaking rattles vigorously, and babbling excitedly at anyone that will make eye contact with him.

He also adores: his mother, his two middle fingers, long walks on the beach or anywhere else, squash, baths, tight hugs with both arms around the neck of whoever is holding him, sloppy kisses, and hitting his brother in the head.

Dislikes include: being put down, being alone at any time, not having something to put in his mouth, his brother taking away his toys, and being denied Mommy's lovely food receptacles for longer than 4 hours at a time at night.

He is my constant companion and best baby bud these days, and if I go longer than a few hours without a snuggle, I miss it. I love you, my little friend.

Ranting to Nabisco...

Ola, folkses... we're back after a good, but tiring, visit to David's parents in Norfolk. I'm looking forward to everybody sleeping in their own beds tonight. =)

I got in and saw this lovely rant on my feed reader. Ah, it made me smile. How many of us have a product like this?

For me, one among many is L'effleur by Coty, the cheap, but luscious scent of my high school days. Where art thou, O perfume of my youth? Snatched off the shelves by unloving, coldhearted, corporate titans, that's where.

I think we could all write a post or two like this to relieve our feelings on some days. It's a tiny thing, but hey, we all have these small pleasures in life, right? =) Enjoy...

Happy New Year!

There are many lovely things I'd like to see in the next year...

Primary among them is that I would learn to love more selflessly and look more like Christ to my family, friends, and a watching world...

I'm guessing y'all know that that's a long term goal... =)

Then there's so much else to look forward to... a baby's first steps and words, summer splashing in front of my parents' river cabin, a visit to my brother's first house, 3rd and 1st birthday celebrations, date nights, a 9th anniversary!, snuggles, hugs, kisses, whispers, shouts, new recipes to try, new yard sale finds to thrill over, firelight, spring flowers, playgrounds and trails to explore, dinners with friends. We are thankful, and God is so gracious.

This quote encapsulates a quiet wish or two that I have for our family in the next year. Hat tip to Meredith at Like Merchant Ships...

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony.

--William Henry Channing