Bread From Grain to Crumb

search engine optimization

Here is the promised post about breadmaking from grain to crumb. Mostly pictures. Hope you like.

Grain, Vita-Mixer assembled, ready for grinding. I am using Prairie Gold White Wheat berries.

This is two cups of grain.
And this is what it looks like while grinding. It actually does end up with more flour than two cups. It's about 2.5 cups of flour. But the mixer piles it up on the sides. Nice thing about grinding in the mixer, no dust. The only dust is the flour I spill.
The finished product. Very fine, light and fluffy whole wheat flour.
This is the first mix. I mix up part of the flour, all of the yeast and water, sometimes all of the sugar and let it 'proof'. The bread turns out nicer, in my opinion.
This is what the first 'proofing' looks like when its done. I could let it go till it reaches the top and for some loaves I do, but really it just needs about 30 mins to make the loaf good.
Here is the dough with all the ingredients all mixed up, kneaded and ready for the second rise. See how the sides of the bowl are clean? That's when you know the dough is good to go.
After the second rise. Isn't it lovely?
All my 'shtuff' needed for forming loaves.
I dump the dough out onto a floured work surface (hubby is supposed to be making me a wood kneading board. I can't wait, then I'll be able to knead at the countertop.) pat it out into an even oval and divide it into two equal pieces.
Then I take the rolling pin and roll it even and flat. This helps to get out any air pockets and evens out the surface of the dough. This is important, for if you don't do this you could end up with holes in the body of the loaf. Ask me how I know this. After it's rolled up, pinch the seam shut and the ends. Fold the ends in and over the seam at the bottom. Place the loaf in a greased loaf pan seam side down.
I then place plastic wrap over the top of the pans (I stopped using tea towels long ago, it allows a skin to form on the top, which prohibits rising) and let it rise on top of my range with the range hood light on. That works wonderfully. Even in the winter!
Here are the two loves, lovely risen, in the oven ready to bake.


Tada! End product. Now that wasn't hard was it?

Few things about this particular recipe. It's 100% whole wheat and no oil (so very little fat).

Do you want the recipe?

No-Poo Challenge Day 5 and 6

search engine optimization

We have guests so that's why the double up update on the no-poo.

Saturday I did the washing routine and let it air dry again. I used jojoba oil on the ends and it was beautiful!! It is soft and full of body, bouncy, shiny and just wonderful. I was so feeling good with it that I decided to not use shampoo and conditioner for Sunday. It looked great. I rinsed my hair this afternoon and it could use some jojoba oil on the ends, but all in all it's great. I'm sold. It's no longer a challenge. It's a commitment now. I've put my shampoo and conditioner away, hubby will use it and the baking soda and ACV have become a staple in my bathroom cabinet. That's it. I've just become crunchier, but not just to become crunchier per say, but rather this works better!! YAY! And it's cheaper! Just up my alley.

Let me know if you take the challenge. I encourage you to.

Oh and I did find a honey rinse, but haven't used it yet. Basically, if I'm following this well, put a tsp in a large cup, fill with warm water and pour it over your hair. I can't remember if you rinse it out or not. I'll have to look that up too. But that sounds pretty easy. I'll have to let you know about that when I use it.

Check out an up and coming post about bread making from raw grain to loaf. I can't wait!! I truly look forward to making bread now. I like shriek in happiness to have to make another loaf. Hope you enjoy!

Your Suggestions Please...

search engine optimization

Rhys slept 9 hours last night. Ah, this mama is loving sleep! But I think we are in need of a new mattress. Hubby has been saying something for some time, I just chalked my sleepiness up to getting up 3 times a night. But since having had two nights of more sleep and still waking up feeling like I've been drug under a truck, I'm thinking he's right. So what mattress do you have and do you like it? Or what do you recommend? I welcome your suggestions.

No-Poo Challenge Day 4

search engine optimization

Day four was much better. I did my baking soda and ACV routine in the AM. My hair had bounce, shine and was wavy. It was soft and just nice. My hubby complimented me on it, so that is a step in the right direction. I put just a bit of jojoba oil on the ends and that did not make it stringy. No more baby oil. Just soft. It didn't even get frizzy. I'm about 75% sold on this. I did work out this morning but only rinsed and massaged my scalp. It's air drying right now. So far so good....

Praise God for Sleep!

search engine optimization

I would like to announce that Rhys slept from 6:30ish till 3am at which point I nursed him, he went right back down and slept till just about 7am. He was getting up about three times a night there for a while. I'm feeling good.

I just hope I don't have to eat those words!

Thank you God!

No-Poo Challenge Day 3

search engine optimization

Ick. Not all of it, but some of it, ICK. The roots were fine and my hair was still 'ok', but the ends were stringy. I don't think the baby oil was working. Nix that. So I washed my hair again today. This is what I do when I wash. I have a huge cup that I put about .5 tbls baking soda in the bottom. I fill that with water and, if my ends need washing (like today) I dip them in for a few seconds and then pour the rest over my head. I massage my scalp and rinse. I basically do the same thing with the ACV. Now this morning I skipped any oils just to see how it would do and I'll let it air dry. It feels ok so far. I'll let you know at the end of the day. If it gets too frizzy I'll use jojoba oil on it. I've heard of a honey rinse, but I can't find any information on it. I might have to improvise.

One thing about this, I don't loose near as much hair as what I did before. There used to be a nice size wad in the shower drain, but now just a few strands. And I massage my hair as much as I did when I used shampoo, but I think it's easier on my hair. I dunno. It's nice to not to have to get as much of that junk out of my drain. Why is it, when it's on my head it's nice, but in the drain it's ew?

I'll report tonight on day 4.

No-Poo Challenge Day 2

search engine optimization

I worked out like usual this morning and was sweaty. I was so tempted to at least do a little baking soda, but then what would that do to my experiment? So I just rinsed my hair in warm water, massaging the scalp. I then did a nice cool water rinse. I put some lavender eo on the ends and let it air dry. So far so good. It still has a nice bounce and is shiny. It's a little staticky, but I did have a hat on today. Otherwise it's doing ok. Not greasy or anything like that.

I'll 'wash' tomorrow.

Update over.

Heralding The Season

search engine optimization

It's officially spring in our house.


I put the flannel sheets away.


Isn't warm weather nice?

Maybe It's Maybelline...

search engine optimization

I believe the photos speak for themselves...






I rarely wear makeup anymore, but she's got the basic idea down. However, I believe it will be a while before we let her out with makeup on. She's got some practicing to do.

No-Poo Challenge

search engine optimization

Ok, I am eating my words. I know I know. I said last week I wasn't going to. But I'm half curious, so I'm trying it for a week. I need my hair to look decent for church on sunday mornings, so if it doesn't I will use my shampoo. But so far it looks nice. I just used baking soda this morning and baby oil on the ends. Then later on I used lavender eo to help it out. I love that smell. I also rinsed it in cold water. My scalp feels calm. That's the only way I know how to describe it. It was bouncy and wavy. Very nice. I'm going to try not washing tomorrow, even after exercising. I will rinse and massage my scalp, though. Just to see what it does. I'd hate to use baking soda everyday, but I do exercise everyday and I sweat! So this is an experiment. I'll keep you posted how it goes. If it goes well, then I guess Nadia and Andrew can use my shampoo and conditioner. One things for sure our grocery budget will be much better!

I'm A Woman....

search engine optimization

I can't make up my mind. I tried no-pooing tonight. I worked out this afternoon and needed to wash my hair, but I knew I'd be working out tomorrow morning. I don't like washing my hair so close together, seems a bit abusive. So I thought, well using baking soda and then ACV once won't do any damage. So I tried it. So far, so good. I used some Burts Bees baby oil for the ends and I used too much I think, but my roots feel good. We'll see what they look like tomorrow. Perhaps I will use this regimen just every once in a while, when I need a different cleansing. My hair does feel bouncier. Which is nice.

I didn't use much ACV and I still smell like a salad. Which makes me want one. Ummm, salad.

Old Bread

search engine optimization

What to do with it? Whatever you do, don't throw it out!! There are so many things you can do with old bread. It amazed me that I actually paid good money for things like bread cubes for stuffing, croutons, bread crumbs (I really kick myself for that one!) and the like. Do you know how easy it is to make these things? And I actually threw out bread heels and stale bread. Gee, someone smack me. Anyway.



We had Reubens last night for supper and therefore I had made Rye bread for the sandwiches. (I even made the swirly Rye bread, can you see the swirls?) I've been on a bread making streak of late and there is bread coming out our ears! I had planned on making Reuben soup in my vita mixer later this week or early next and the recipe calls for Rye croutons. I thought "I can make that." And so I did. This took all of 5 minutes prep. I cut the bread into large cubes, threw them on baking stone, drizzled it with olive oil and Nadia helped me to stir them around so that each cube got coated. Then I dusted them with seasoned salt. I could've used garlic salt or something like that and I will next time. But, hey, whatever you like. Then I toasted them in a low oven for almost 2 hours till they were just how I wanted them. I actually could've put them in there for longer, but they were nice and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, very nice. I had a loaf of Italian garlic bread from spaghetti night earlier this week that no one was eating so I'm making that into croutons as well. Nadia loves to snack on croutons and the garlic bread already had the right seasonings on it, so it was even easier!

Save bread heels and stale bread in a resealable bag in the freezer. The freezer will dry out the bread even further and you can do many things with this bread. They will last forever in there and you can pull out just what you need. You can toss a few slices in your blender and make bread crumbs. Add some Italian seasoning and salt and you have Italian bread crumbs. You can also use these frozen slices for stuffing. If you have a toddler sit on the floor with a large bowl and tear bread together. Nadia loves it. She eats some too. That's ok. You can also make a great bread pudding that goes together quickly. I'll share my favorite recipe for that.

Applesauce Bread Pudding
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Arrange in bottom of greased 9inch square pan:
4 slices of dry bread broken up
Combine:
2 C Applesauce
.5c raisins
.25 c brown sugar
.5 t. cinnamon
Spread over bread. Top with:
4 additional slices dry bread broken up
Beat together:
2 eggs
2 c. milk
.5 c brown sugar
.5 t vanilla
.25 t salt
dash nutmeg
Pour over bread. Top with:
.5c applesauce
sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar
Bake 55-60 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

This will be very full in the pan, but will not bake over. It will rise considerably during baking but then settle down when cool.

If you can think of anything else to use old bread for (besides french toast) let me know!

Spend A Little....

search engine optimization

Save A LOT! Check out this website for this deal on a bunch of money saving budgeting type e-books. $17 for 17 books. I'm not sure how long this goes on for, but I'm hoping for at least a little while. Check it out!

Sunday Routine

search engine optimization

I've developed a Sunday routine around here that I thought I'd share. We are a pastoral family and so Sunday's are quite, well, um, weird from all the other days. There is no 'sabbathing' in the mornings. We try for the afternoons, but well, it's never a whole day. Anyway. I cook all our meals in this house and usually we have ample leftovers. I make Sunday our leftover day. Since I make pancakes Thursday we usually have leftovers from that and Nadia will eat that for breakfast or her favorite of late, Cinnamon-Sugar Toast. Andrew's too keyed up for breakfast so he skips. I eat my favorite of late Oatmeal and Raisins. Lunch is leftovers, as is Supper. And, to continue the ease of cleanup as much as possible, we use paper products. I know some environmentalists are having a fit right now, but we already have them, people give them to us and we have some from our wedding. Yeah, we need to get rid of them. Once I get that pile down to a reasonable stash, I'll go back to the usual stuff. But hey, it cuts down on work and water usage. That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?

No-poo? Not right now.

search engine optimization

I've decided to go a little bit more 'natural' these days. Kim has decided to go 'no-poo'. I just don't think I'm ready for that step yet. However, after I am done with this current bottles of shampoo and conditioner I am going to try out the quart size bottle of castille soap. I'm going to add a little eo of lavender and some water to make it a little easier to use, but we'll try that. I have some jojoba oil to use on my ends if they get a little frizzy. And if I ever need to, I'll use ACV like I've done in the past.

I also love to take baths and usually use a bubble bath. But I can't ever justify the cost of them and we don't have the room, so tonight I just sprinkled some baking soda in there. It was so nice! Felt like calgone. So we'll try that for a while.

As far as cleansing face and body, I'll just use the castille soap there too. I'll let ya know how it all works for me. We'll see. I'll give it a month.

Help Bloggy Friends!!

search engine optimization

I need all y'alls help. In my most recent weight loss endeavor I had to buy a smaller bra. Now I have these oddly sized barely used nursing bras that cost an arm and a leg. Anyone know where I can sell them? They are in beautiful condition and I'd like to get something back. I realize there is ebay and maybe that's my best bet. What do you think?

It's a 34H by the way. Yeah, I know. What an odd size. I appreciate your help!

I Did It!

search engine optimization

I lost all my pre-preg weight!! YAY!! Actually I'm below my pre-preg weight. YAY!! Now onto the last 20lbs of life weight, to my ideal weight. Pics to follow later.

Dance!!

200 Sit Ups Success!!

search engine optimization

Well I did it! I completed the 200 Sit Ups Challenge with success!! YAY for me! I can't say that my abs are better, I'm sure they are. I'm just excited I was able to do it. I'll post a weightloss update here soon, complete with pics.

Just had to post that.

This Is The Lord's Doing...

search engine optimization

And it is beautiful in our eyes....


A somewhat of a miracle occured this past week. I haven't blogged about it because I'm still digesting it. A close family member, with whom I've had a strained relationship with for the past years, and I were talking on the phone. Without devulging all the information our relationship was restored, or redeemed. However you want to say it, it was put right. And it feels so good. I am thanking the Lord for His interest in our family relationships. He doesn't just put the relationship between us and God right, but also the other relationships in our lives. It's good.

The Lord has restored the joy of my salvation. Not that I was in a wrong place with the Lord but He renewed my understanding of the freedom that we have in Him. It's a beautiful thing. Have you ever gotten a gift that you really really wanted? Do you remember that feeling? Like 'ah, now I've got it. It's mine, it's really mine! And I wanted it so badly." Well that's the way I felt after services today. Just a joy at the salvation we have in the Lord. I have it, it's mine and I am rejoicing! I've been 'saved' since I was 7 years old and it is constantly being renewed. How wonderful that our salvation, our relationship is like a diamond. So many facets to it. It never gets boring. And most of the time I've noticed it's the Lord who brings us to new levels of understanding. I guess that's the Holy Spirit.

I praise the Lord for His salvation and His healing.

There Is Sunshine.....

search engine optimization

There is an old hymn with the lines "There is sunshine in my soul today, more glorious and bright, Than glows in any earthly sky, For Jesus is my light. O there’s sunshine, heavenly sunshine, When the peaceful, happy moments roll
When Jesus shows His smiling face There is sunshine in my soul." I think of this song often when I am happy or when the sun is just shining for all it's worth. Today was one of those days. It was glorious, beautiful, warm and free. And we walked in it. Sure we were still bundled up, but I don't care. We were outside and walking in the sun. Thank you Jesus! I plan on that tomorrow too.

I seem to be on the mend, although I'm still feeling an odd sensation in my sinuses. I can't remember, but I ended up going to the dr and found out I have an sinus infection. I got a script for an antibiotic and if I had had my druthers about me I would've held on to it and just hit this with all the garlic in the house. It's a natural antibiotic you know. And it won't allow the yeastie beasties to grow, if you know what I mean. But I did start the meds so I'll finish them. I am, however, using the garlic in conjunction, because the pharmacist was concerned that the script I got won't work for this infection. But my options are limited, I am nursing, on an anti-depressant and I'm allergic to penicillin. Great. So this is what I get.

The house is getting back in order. I made a wonderful spaghetti torte this evening for supper. Sometime back I got a vegetarian cookbook, because we eat more vegetarian than not and I needed more options. I found myself going to the 'meatless' sections of cookbooks anyway, so I thought, why not? This torte was wonderful. Full of protien and next time I'll use whole grain spaghetti.

I finally, for the first time in three weeks, mopped my kitchen floor. It looks great. I am so glad to finally have that done. And another thing, all day today I was smelling this wonderful perfume. It kept following me around, like I'd catch a wiff of it and think 'hmm, that smells great, I wonder where that's coming from?' But it was in each room. Then I figured it out, 'oh, it's me. OH! It's my shampoo and conditioner!' This was the first time in three weeks that I was actually able to smell it. That's how long my smeller's been out of commission. I hope it had a nice vacation.

The kids seem to be fine. Rhys is either making up for the lack of appetite from the past weeks or is going through a growth spurt because he wants to eat more often. Needless to say I've been hungrier and drinking more mama's tea. But he's also trying to drop that last nap. Dropping naps can be dicey. They want to sleep but it's too late for them to go down for a nap, but when they stay up they get cranky. Eh, it's just for a time and it's a transition. It'll get better. Poor Rhys just about nodded off as we were walking.

Goodness, am I hungry! Gotta go. I'm raiding the fridge.

By the way, I dropped another pound. Woohoo! At this rate, what with Rhys eating like he is, I'll loose the rest of it by the end of the year. I surely hope so!

44 Random Things

search engine optimization

Kim did this on her blog and I like this sort of thing too....

1. Do you like blue cheese? Bleck. No.

2. What is your favorite holiday? Easter. It signals the beginning of true Spring. Resurrection!

3. Do you own a gun? No

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Cherry

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? After having two babies, no.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Used to like them, but then I found out the calorie content.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Tea or water.

9. Can you do push ups? Pathetically, no.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? My engagement ring.

11. Favorite hobby? Sewing

12. Do you have A.D.D.? Nope!

13. What’s your favorite shoe? My slippers.

14. What’s your middle name? Elizabeth.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?

1. Wonder how long Rhys will sleep
2. I wonder what's in the mail today.
3. What is the number of that seamstress lady again?

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, tea, and water.

17. Current worry? That I won't loose all this weight.

18. Current hate right now? My butt, my thighs, my jiggly stomach, need I go on...

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Playing a board game with friends.

21. Where would you like to go? Ireland.

22. Name three people who will complete this? Meh. Do it if you want to :)

23. Do you own slippers? Yes! I'm wearing them right now.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? White

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never have, but would like to.

26. Can you whistle? Yes.

27. Favorite colors? Red, red and um, Red.

28. Would you be a pirate? Ew no. Can you say venereal disease?

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower, it's next to Rhys' room and I usually shower when he's sleeping.

30. Favorite girl’s name? Rose

31. Favorite boy’s name? Well I really like Rhys.

32. What’s in your pocket right now? Lint

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Rhys

34. Best bed sheets as a child? Ones that didn't have those little balls all over them.

35. Worst injury you’ve ever had as a child? I got my finger stuck in the tailgate of a truck. Yep, it actually got closed on my finger. I could see the bone. My grandmother put Mercurochrome on it and I never went to the hospital.

37. Who is the friend you’ve had the longest? Sara

38. Who is your loudest friend? Sara if you really get her going

39. How many dogs do you have? None

40. Does someone have a crush on you? Yes, he better! I'm married to him!

41. What is your favorite book? The Bible really gets it for me.

42. What is your favorite candy? Wherthers original

43. Favorite Sports Team? Hahaha!

44. Favorite Movie? Princess Bride

My Ultra Fave Pizza Dough Recipe

search engine optimization

Here are a few of my favorite bread recipes:

Whole Wheat and Honey Pizza Dough
This pizza dough is the best I've made yet. It's low fat, low cal, and my hubby and daughter love it. It doubles, triples and quadruples well. I will sometimes make a large batch and freeze the rest so that the next time I make pizza I just have to take it out and let it defrost on the counter and in a few hours it's ready to go.

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 C. warm water
2 C. whole wheat flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1 tsp salt
1 tbls honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes
3. In a large bowl combine half of the flour, all wheat germ and salt. Make a well in the middle and add honey and yeast mixture. Stir well to combine. Gradually add the remaining flour till it forms a nice ball that cleans the sides of the bowl. It should be smooth, slightly sticky. Cover and set in a warm place to rest for a few minutes. The longer you let this rise the easier it is to spread out on the pan later on.
4. Roll dough on a floured pizza pan and poke a few holes in it with a fork. You can also sprinkle cornmeal on the pan instead of the flour for a truly pizzeria feel.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, top with your best yummy toppings and bake until desired crispiness.

My Vita-Mixer

search engine optimization

Ok. I have a new toy. I didn't think I'd be this excited about an appliance, but I am!! I just ate the best, I mean THE BEST pizza I've ever eaten. And it's all because of fresh flour. Oh yum. I wish I could pass a piece of this pizza through the blog to you, for you to taste. It is so good!! This thing is so nice!! And it was whole wheat, no less. People, I can't wait to make bread! And the aroma, oh the aroma! And that was before I mixed, kneaded and baked it. Just the ground berries alone is wonderfully scented. I'm hooked. It'll be hard to use up that old whole wheat flour now. Darn. Should'a waited. Oh well. This is gonna hurt my diet. I want more pizza!!

And the clean up was so nice. Just water, a drop of dish detergent, pop it on and away it goes. It's clean! My kitchen is actually mostly redd up. I cannot stress how nice this machine is. Nadia has eaten 3 pieces of pizza. Normally we have to beg, plead and cajole her to eat. She wolfed down this food. YAY!!

I'm sold.

Potpourri Of Updates

search engine optimization

As you well know, we've all been sick. Seems like we've been dealing with one sort of illness or another for almost three weeks. It seems to be coming to an end, hopefully, I pray! The kids are ending their rounds of antibiotics, which is good. Rhys has a red bottom and I can't get Nadia to eat yogurt. I can actually breathe without opening my mouth and we are getting better sleep at night. I'm almost scared to go to church on sunday, for fear of what is circulating around there now. But I need my social fix. Church is a good place to be.

My house is slowly getting back in order. The entire house has been vacuumed. Laundry is washed and mostly put away (I have one more load to put away.) I got my ironing done, yay, I think I had two weeks worth of Andrew's dress shirts to do. I'm back to making real meals again. I had been doing things like leftovers, eggs and pancakes, and toasted cheese sandwiches and canned soup. Ew. It's all good and worked for us, but I was ready for some meals with body to them. Sometimes ya just need to crunch.

In the midst of all of this we had Andrew's grandmothers funeral to go to. The situation was sad, but I love seeing his extended family. And after learning more about Mom-Mom at the funeral, now I know why. It was good to see everyone. This is my little 'butterfly'. One of the cousins brought the wings to the dinner afterward and let Nadia wear them.



My grandmother is doing well, considering. She is in a wheelchair, motoring about. She celebrated her 93 birthday, which is really good. We taped a birthday greeting from all of us. It was funny. Nadia couldn't understand why grandma wasn't talking back. Hah. Funny girl. I also made up a collage poster of a bunch of pictures of the kids and us. I am told she loved both. I'm glad.For some time now I've been wanting a grain mill. But they aren't cheap, and well, until recently we didn't have the means. But the Lord blessed and Andrew said yes. Through the process of researching it I found that for what I wanted to do it would be better to have a Vita-Mix. Now my mom has one that she got when I was like 6 and it's still working, albeit it's wearing out. But this thing will pulverize just about anything. I haven't tried the grain yet, but the test smoothie I made for desert for lunch was just wonderful. I'm excited to try the hot soups they have in the recipe book. And yes, I cannot wait to try the fresh flour. I might do it for the pizza I have planned for tonight. I still have a bunch of whole wheat flour to use up, though and I have to order some berries. That order won't come in till the end of March. That's ok, it should give me time to use up most of that wheat.

Most of the time when I make bread, I use 50/50 wheat and white. But I noticed I was bloating a lot when I ate that bread. I finally made a 100% whole wheat batch and I can eat that and not get bloated. In fact my stomach is smaller! I'm very excited about that. This is the recipe I used. It's very easy. The only downside is, it only makes one loaf at a time. But that's probably good, because I've noticed 100% whole wheat bread goes bad fast. I made a Smashed Potato Soup last night and boiled the potatoes in a lot of water. I'm going to try using potato boil water in my breads. I've heard it helps with the texture and rising. We'll see.


Speaking of weightloss, I've lost another pound and a half inch off my stomach and hips. YAY!! Not much more to go now. Well, that's not true. I have like 5 inches to go on my stomach, which seems like a long ways away. But I'll get there. I've been doing the 200 sit ups challenge and just did the mid-way exhaustion test. I got to 150. Only needed to get above 60, so I'm doing good. YAY!! I'm scared, though, because I know I'm going to do the push-up challenge next and I know I can't do push-ups well. Oh well. I guess this is how to get better at it.



Rhys has been making up for his lost appetite from last week. It seems all he wants to do is eat!! Which makes me happy. I got a bit concerned last week when he would only eat a bit. But now, he just eats and eats and eats! Good, you keep eating boy.

Thank you for your prayers while we were sick. I hope you enjoyed the semi-randomly inserted pics. Have a healthy weekend and pray for spring!

Happy Valentines Day

search engine optimization

I nearly forgot today was valentines day. I forgot a card. I forgot a nice fancy meal. I forgot a gift. That's not totally true. He got most of those things over the past two weeks here and there. But ya know, valentines day is a celebration of love, is it not? And is love buying someone off? Or is love about the commitment and sacrifices that one makes on behalf of someone else? Unfortunately one of my 'love languages' is gifts, but I've seen gifts on a whole different level these past two weeks.

My husband loved me this past two weeks by:

• taking care of my sick bucket
• bringing the baby to me to nurse in bed and putting him back to bed
• listening to me whine
• sitting beside me while I lost my cookies
• calling the blues on call nurse about taking my meds on a sick stomach
• helping me clean up in the kitchen
• being content with leftovers
• overlooking the house
• holding Rhys when I needed a break
• covering me up when I'd passed out on the couch
• keeping Nadia quiet while I was passed out on the couch
• getting the baby first after he'd woke up
• changing more diapers than he needs to
• coming with me to the dr's
  

I know it may seem small or kooky, but these things mean more to me than a card, or a box of chocolates (honestly if Andrew got me a box of chocolates I'd be a little disappointed. Like he hadn't heard me trying to loose weight for the past 4 months.) These things truly show his love to me. I am grateful again for the love and commitment of my husband. He is my Valentines Day gift. I love you honey.

To The Dr and Home Again....

search engine optimization

Rhys' cough was just getting worse, sorta barky, but not quite. We were worried. So we made an appt for him and since we were going in we made one for Nadia. Boy am I glad we did. Rhys has an ear infection, which explains why he would scream when I tried to lay him on his one side to nurse. Nadia, on the other hand, has a double ear infection and her lungs are making sounds to the tune of snap-crackle-pop. Not good. Not yet pneumonia, but we need to monitor her for it. Rhys' lungs are fine. Thank God. So we trekked off to Wally-world for the infamous pink stuff for the kids and some choice nose meds for me. Since I'm nursing there isn't much else I can do. I don't know what's wrong with me, it's not acting like a typical cold. I've got pretty good body aches and am just wiped out. My appetite is nil. I'm making myself eat. I mean, me, making myself eat. No I'm not pregnant. I already checked.
I put together a nice medicinal chicken soup. Potatoes, barley, garlic, onions, all of which are supposed to help with recuperation. We'll see. At the very least Nadia loves the broth and will eat it.
I shudder to tell you how nasty my house looks. After the stomach flu last week in myself and Nadia, traveling out of state and spending a day and a half in a influenza riddled state and then colds this week, my house has suffered. Hey something has to get put aside. I have only enough energy for few things. I figure they need to be necessities. I'll get to the house eventually. When everyone is better. Baby care, toddler care, hubby care, clean clothes, clean dishes, nourishing food and at least a workable kitchen are my priorities. That's enough. After all that I just ain't got much left. I think leftovers are in order for tomorrow and sunday. Hey, we have enough. And what's wrong with pancakes and eggs for supper? If they are whole wheat, what's the harm in that?

Pray for us.

Sick

search engine optimization

Andrew, Nadia, Rhys and I are all sick. Yuk. As if last weeks bathroom escapades weren't enough, now we've all got some sort of nasty cold. Yuk. It's more annoying in Andrew, Nadia and myself. But Rhys, well I'm worried about him. He's got this cough. I feel so bad for my little guy. Would you mind saying a prayer for all of us? I'm starting to feel achey. I'm not sure if mine is a cold or the flu. New Jersey is running rampant with the flu, did you know that? Great. Pray for us. Pray for Rhys. I'm sure he's fine, but you know this mothers heart.

Randomness

search engine optimization

It's just after 7pm Sunday night. Andrew is at church doing the sunday evening bible study and the kids are in bed. I have that "I've-been-up-way-too-much" look going on and there is stuff that needs to be put away. But it's quiet. We just got back from Andrew's Grandmother's funeral in South Jersey this afternoon. Last week was a riot, what with me being sick, then Nadia and then she decided to get a cold while we were gone. And it's a doozy. It didn't help we were sleeping in a cold drafty made-over attic. I had Rhys wrapped in three blankets, one was a fleece blanket. I should've pulled him into bed with us, but I was afraid he wouldn't sleep. And Nadia was up and down all night, who can sleep with a cough and a stuffed up nose? Poor kid. But we are home and everyone was down by 6. I know it's early, but neither had naps, except for Rhys in arms. Nadia still takes a good 3 hour nap every day. She's beat. She's also sporting 'the look'. She was so tired, she was falling all over the place. It was a very full weekend. But I got to see Andrew's family, I love those people. They are so accepting and loving. That is a testament to his grandmother. It was her witness. She exuded Christ's love to her family and they in turn lavish it on others. I never feel like an outsider. It's nice.

But we are home now. I am working on a new 'something-or-other' for the church. I can't say yet, just because it's not common knowledge yet. But it will be, soon. I'm excited to get more involved. Thank you Lord!

I am sort of sad this evening. I was checking up on Facebook and discovered a ton of my friends who have had babies and I didn't know or who are going to be having babies. On one hand I'm glad we are done, but on the other hand I want to just sort of weep about it. This PPD is so nasty, I just can't do it again. I know I'm done. But there is always adoption. But tell me, I'm worried I wouldn't love the child like I love my own. I mean I had bonding issues with Nadia, would I with an adopted child? And what about the money thing? My heart sort of aches a little. I guess giving up the thing you are supposed to be able to do hurts a little.

I ate so much fruit this weekend. We stayed with Andrew's Uncle and Aunt. Relatives sent them an Incredible Edible fruit arrangement. It was soooo good. And it helped to off-set some of the meat we were eating this weekend. We don't eat much meat, not that we are opposed to it, we just don't eat it. We discovered we are what people would call 'flexitarians'. Meaning, we eat meat, but not often. Mostly vegetarian, but occasionally meat and even at that it's fish or chicken. Hardly ever red meat or pork.

Rhys did great this weekend. Except the last hour of driving. He had enough. He's my sweet little guy.

And I finally understood the saying 'daily bread' about the word. It is so necessary, so needed, you 'consume' it everyday. I was reading it in the car. It was so much a balm to my soul. The Word. The Blessed Word of God. Thank You Father for blessing us with your precious Words of Life. Thank You!

Maybe It Wasn't The Cheerios...

search engine optimization

Between the two kiddies I was up a significant portion of the night. One was normal, the other was not. Poor kid. She seems on the mend now. I have her perched on the couch with some saltines. She's been able to keep down the ice chips for a few hours now. We are supposed to leave tomorrow for the funeral, we'll see. If she does ok today I think we'll go. Andrew has stayed well throughout all of it, so far. I pray he does. He's somewhat worse than the kids when he's sick. I would think he would've been next, having dealt with all my 'junk'. And since he's the one I kiss. Pray for us. I mean it's not earth shattering, but I hate to see my daughter so sick.

On a very good note, my size 12 jeans fit now! Goodbye 14's!

The Benefits....

search engine optimization

...of food poisoning. I think this is the first time I've ever gotten it. I was feeling fine. Had a bowl of Multigrain Cheerios last night and about an hour later was shaking so bad it was hard to talk. But my body was gracious to me and got rid of the offending food in one fell swoop. After that I started to feel better. That's the bad part.

On to the benefits. I am now 4.5lbs closer to my goal weight and I am kidless. Rhys had a dr's appt this morning and Andrew took both so I could get some sleep. I am eating a BRAT breakfast. I am so hungry and thirsty! Rhys is hungrier, so I don't know if it's because my production is down or if he decided that now would be a great time to go through a growth spurt. Great. Oh well. So I am going to eat my banana and go back to bed. I'm beat.