He's my boyfriend

My little 3 year old, Brooklyn is just fabulous at making me laugh! Sadly, her brother doesn't always find her funny. Her latest joke is that she goes around calling her brother her boyfriend...

Brookie: "Rylee your my boyfriend"

Rylee: "No I am not!"

Brookie: "Yes you are. Rylee is my boyfriend"

Rylee: "Mom, Brooklyn keeps saying I am her boyfriend"

Me: Starting to laugh uncontrollably.

Rylee: "Mom, its not funny! I am not her boyfriend!!"

I am not really sure where she came up with this, but I have to admit it keeps me laughing. I love my kids!

Great loaves

This week I got together with my mother and made some amazing bread!!

The first loaf we did was another recipe from King Arthur Flour. It was their English Muffin Toasting Bread.

*Image from www.kingarthurflour.com

This loaf had a nice crust on top and a soft inside. Can't wait to toast it up and spread some strawberry jam on it!

The second loaf we made was a sweet coconut bread. This was alot of fun to make and very yummy to eat! This recipe came from www.thekneadforbread.com.

My mouth is just watering talking about this amazing bread! Toasting it up with a little bit of butter and I am in heaven. You definitely have to try this one!!

Bread Basics

One of my newest obsessions in the kitchen is bread making. YUMMY! Tonight I made a simple classic white sandwich bread. The recipe is from King Arthur Flour and is also a recipe I found on another blog (www.breadexperience.com). It's a great bread recipe to start with and build on.
The following is the 12-step process to delicious bread.

Step 1.
Gathering Your Supplies

Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and laid out prior to starting. This is not only to keep you organized, but will also increase your chances of having a successful loaf of bread. I love using the little Pyrex glass ramekins. They work great!

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons, to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1 heaping tablespoon honey (I prefer clover honey)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour**
1/3 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk granules

*Use the lesser amount in summer or humid climates; the greater amount in winter or drier climates.

**You may or may not need all of this four and you also might need more water to achieve desired consistency.

Step 2
Combining Ingredients

For this step I choose to use my Kitchen Aid mixer and the dough hook.
Combine all the ingredients as listed above.
**Tip: When you add the flour add small amounts at a time. If the dough gets too dry add a little bit more lukewarm water.
Once ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, place dough on the counter, sprinkle with flour, and knead the dough.

The dough should be bouncy and elastic in your hands. It should not be stiff.

Step 3
Primary Fermentation

This step is the key to having a great loaf!

Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl. I used cooking spray to grease my bowl. Next cover bowl with plastic wrap or a towel.

If possible place the bowl in a warm area and allow the dough to ferment for 60-90 minutes.
**Tip: I pre-heat my oven to 100 degrees F. Then I turn off the oven and place my bowl inside with the oven door cracked.

After 60-90 minutes, the dough should be puffy and almost doubled in size.

Step 4
Punching Down

During this step we will remove the bread from the bowl and place it on the counter. This step is also called degassing.


Steps 5 and 6
Dividing and Rounding

Dividing the dough into individual pieces is the next stage, followed by rounding (a preliminary shaping) and benching (a rest period).

Since we're only making one loaf, we do not need to divide our loaf and we also do not need to round the dough either since we are making it into a loaf.

Step 7
Benching

During this step the bread is typically left alone to allow the gluten to relax and make the bread easier to work with. The dough is already easy to work with, so we do not need to do this step with this bread. Flatten the dough out into a rectangle that's about 10-9 inches by 6 inches.

Step 8
Shaping and Panning the Loaves

Simply roll the dough up jelly roll style. Starting from the short side of the dough, roll up the length of the dough into a log shape one section at a time. Lightly press the seam close and roll the loaf back and forth to smooth it out. Place loaf into a bread pan seam-side down. The ends of the loaf should touch both ends so that the loaf will rise evenly.

Step 9
Proofing the Loaf

Cover the loaf and let it rest for 60-90 minutes.

Again, I placed mine back into the oven to speed up the proofing.

The dough should crown 1"-1.5" over the rim of the pan.

Step 10
Baking

Now it's time to bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees place the pan in the oven to bake. Bake the bread for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes tent the loaf with aluminum foil and place bake into the oven. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes till its golden brown on the outside. The internal temperature should be between 195°F to 200°F.

Step 11
Cooling the Bread

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

It's important to use as cooling rack so that the bottom of the loaf does not get soggy.

Step 12
Storing and Eating Bread

After the bread completely cools, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature. You can freeze the loaf or keep it in a cool, dark place.

And the rain came down, down, down...

Growing up I often would relate crying to the rain. I am not sure if it's because of the obvious similar characteristics rain and tears posses, or because of the metaphoric relationship I created in my mind. Tears and rain, both are cleansing agents. Think about it, the strongest and most powerful eroder that exist is water and that's what comprises most of our tears and the rain.

To me tears are our internal cleansing agents while the rain is our external source. Tears erode away all the bad, dark, and heavy thoughts/feelings/emotions we have weighing us down. Have you ever noticed how much lighter your chest is, or how much easier it is to breath (of course that is after you blow you're nose) one you have really had a great cry? Have you ever noticed the salty residue left on your cheek from a tear? A tear that cleansed your soul?

The rain acts like a cleaner in many ways. It can wash away mud that once covered a sidewalk or car. It can help clear away the last bit of snow so that the spring flowers can burst through the ground. The rain, through temperature changes, can wash one season into the next. Yes, it does make mud and mud does create a big mess. But perhaps rather than thinking of it as a muddy mess, we should think of it as a way to cleanse the ground, rid it of any impurities.


Life throws us an abundance of stressors in all shapes and forms, and when we feel as though we are about to burst with internal overload, it's time to cry. It's time to release those things that are holding us back from being our pure, true selves. There's a true reason why God linked our emotions to our tears. So cry, cry in joy, pain, or sorrow. Just cry. Release the emotions you didn't even know existed.

What have your tears helped you cleanse away in your life? Or what do you need to cleanse away in your life?
If crying doesn't help you cleanse your soul what works for you?

How old are you?

Last year when Rylee was in Pre-k I would frequently volunteer to help in his class. This was something that not only excited him, but also excited me. I loved being able to take an active role in my son's learning/growing experiences. Rylee's teachers always seemed so overjoyed with my willingness to volunteer. I just assumed this was something that all parents did, I later found out that this was not the case. Don't get me wrong, all the parents in his class were VERY helpful in other ways. With their help we were able to easily raise enough money to buy a brand new desktop computer for their classroom and some families even helped coordinate some of the field trips to their businesses.Rylee's class had a strong monetary backing.

I guess that is one of the benefits of belonging to an affluent preschool program. Ask and you shall receive- as long as you're not asking for time. I find this somewhat humerus, especially since most of the moms were stay at home moms. Then again who am I to judge.

Anyway- this year I haven't really been able to spend much time in Rylee's classroom with the start of my new career and the birth of his sister Sydnee. Today, I had the day off and Reggie agreed to keep the baby while I went and spent sometime in Rylee's kindergarten class. --I must remind you that I was fairly young when I had Rylee. Most of the parents in his class are MUCH older than Reggie and I.-- While I was there, there was a little boy named Sean who continually asked me how old I was. Laughingly, I kept saying "older then you".

What started with one soon spread to two, three, four, etc. kids asking me my age. With multiple failed attempts, they turned to Rylee to see if he could tell them the answer they all were longing to hear. To their dismay, Rylee was no further help. When asked how old I was he simple said, "I don't know, I forget"!I couldn't help myself, I had to laugh.

It never ceases to amaze me how naive kids can be to the obvious things around them. I love my son and realize that sooner or later he will realize how young his parents really are in respect to the other parents in his classroom.

What are some of the things you have noticed that your kids are oblivious to? What do you wish your kids were oblivious to?