Hallie attacks Micah

Here's the latest interaction (caught on video) between Hallie and Micah... enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TpdLjK6iUM

A nearby haven...

On one of our recent 50 degree plus days :) (this is me smiling from ear to ear) :) we ventured out to find some "nature." We were delighted to find this little gem of a park less then 10 minutes away with several miles of trails. There wasn't much to look at in the winter but it was still refreshing and will be a great place to go if we are here for the rest of the seasons!

We braved the cobblestone streets of Old Town...

(can you imagine a horse and wagon over this stuff! It was bumpy enough in the tahoe!)

And searched and searched until we came across a park with a playground (let me tell ya- there were SEVERAL without!) It was a blissful afternoon... 50 degree weather, a fence, a fenced in dog run only 25 feet away with countless dogs, and only 2 other kids there! We all had a great time. (see east coast comments below!)

I know I go on and on about how different this place is, but here I go again...

1. COUNTLESS dogs, coming and going the entire 45 minutes we were there. 3 other children, if you include the 7 week infant that accompanied her mom and brother. COUNTLESS dogs.

2. I am used to strange and personal questions while in public, people are drawn to babies and children, and when there are 2 it's almost like the mystery man in the circus tent... everyone wants to see it. But one question I'm pretty sure I was never asked while in public on the west coast was... "Are they yours?" YES they are mine! It took me a few times to figure out why people were asking if they were mine, but I finally realized, many of the kids we meet out in public were with their nannies.

I'll say it again... this place is different! (not in a bad way, just different) People live a completely different lifestyle here then what we are used to. I'm sure this won't be the last East Coast/West Coast observations and I'd love to hear what anyone else knows/thinks about it!

And they call it a comeback...

I was thinking about sending Shelly and Madison our Baby Einstein videos because the kiddos hadn't been showing much interest in them, but I decided to wait until we were done with the move and flight. In desperation to finish dinner one night, I threw one of the movies in to occupy the kiddos who were either desperately fighting for my attention or fighting with each other... really it's all a blur, but I can almost guaruntee it was one of the above! The end result was great! Giggling (real or fake? we'll never know!) and pure excitement. So sorry auntie Shelly and Madison the Baby Einstein videos made a comeback in our house. You'll have to wait just a little longer!

She's not so little anymore :(

Here is our first attempt at pigtails, they actually lasted until naptime which with Hallie is a pretty big accomplishment! She suddenly looks like a big girl and no longer looks like a baby, which brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. But then I look at how cute she is with the little pigtails and it makes it ok!

And if those weren't enough... look at this cute little face! So precious!

Whole Wheat Goodness

I mentioned in a previous post that we had started making our own bread, well my good friend Meagan spent the afternoon with us and asked for the recipe so I'll share it with all!

This is my MIL's recipe, so I don't claim to be an expert by any means- I've made the bread a total of 3 times now and miraculously it has turned out each time! She makes rolls using this recipe for all of the major holiday's and on that lucky occasion (for us!) when she gets ambitious!

Here are the exact directions she sent me...

You can adjust the size down. This recipe makes 5-6 loaves of bread OR 2 large cookie sheets of rolls.

7 cups warm water

2/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup honey or sugar

add:

2 T dough enhancer (if you have some, you can make them without, its about $10 for a can at health food store)

1/2 cup gluten flour (also at the health food store. I don't use it when I use the dough enhancer)

1 1/2 T salt

3 T yeast

• Add flour (up to about 12 cups) I use 8 cups of whole wheat flour and the rest white (2/3 wheat 1/3 white)
• Add - and as it starts to get pretty thick - add it more slowly
• When the dough starts leaving the sides of the mixing bowl and stops sticking to the bowl - that is enough!! (the dough will still be sticky to touch at this point - but as the gluten develops, it will not stick so much)

Knead. (my mixer has an auto knead and stops when it is the right consistency) If you don't have that- to test and see if the dough is ready - pull a small piece and see if it s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s a ways before breaking. The more it stretches, the better texture the bread will have.

Let it rise at least 15 minutes (up to 30) punching it down as it rises

Put the dough into GREASED bread pans, if you are making rolls - pull off a chunk about the size of a tangerine. Roll it in your hand, flatten it out- Dip one side in melted butter, fold in half, and place on cookie sheet. (they should be touching the other rolls)

Let them rise again till almost double in size

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes???

TO CHECK for doneness: Choose a roll near the center of the pan - pry it open and see if it looks done (not doughy) Also, the tops should be browning by now.

Baking bread is tricky - but I have included the little tricks in this recipe- Don't be discouraged if it doesn't turn out perfect the first time. I've been making them for years and finally learned some of the tricks for success. Even with those tricks - sometimes they turn out better than others.

And here are my notes on the recipe :)

• I half it cause my good 'ol kitchenaid can't handle 12 cups of flour!
• We get 2 large loafs of bread
• I use all whole wheat flour and usually end up needing around 7 cups of flour before it stops sticking, sometimes a little more.
• I don't have auto knead, so I do the pull and test for the right consistency. So far they've all turned out ok :)
• I usually bake it for 30 minutes or longer, but like I said those are large loafs (we only have 2 loaf pans, you could probably get 3 smaller loafs out of the half recipe) and we use ceramic pans which increases cooking time. (normally I would have 2nd handed it or bargained shopped for bread pans, but I was in a crunch and ceramic were the cheapest type at $6.50, followed by glass at $7.50, and metal at $10.50!!! wowzers!)
• I make 2 batches at a time and freeze all but 1 loaf. This bread goes bad faster then store bought bread, so it needs to be frozen if you are not going to use it within a couple days. (fridge might work too for storing the open loaf, but we eat ours fast enough that the counter is fine) Freezing it also helps with slicing, makes for thinner slices and it doesn't fall apart when slicing!

Enjoy- it really is great bread- we are lovin' it!

(and on a side note, it can take your body a couple days to get adjusted to whole wheat bread... i.e. it may clean you out!)

Naptime sequel

The naptime woes continue, so I thought I'd share them with you! Click on the following link to hear the drama surrounding naptime. (make sure your volume is on high to hear it all!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gryAFcjBgrA

And here are some more recent random photos for your viewing while you are listening to the naptime excitement, unless you feel like watching a door knob for 2 minutes! :)

Hallie and her bubble mustache

Micah's new favorite relaxation pose... hands behind head sometimes 1, sometimes 2,

Sometimes with belly showing, sometimes holding the remote, all the time cute!

Mommy playing...Daddy playing...Our little bunny...Our little ducky...Our little doggies... (water is a wonderful thing when your trying to get something done!)

Micah going for a ride...Hallie loves shoes...

FREEDOM!!!!