Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Baking


Over the summer I decided I wanted to learn to make delicious bread. I have since learned to make English muffins, french bread, Baguettes, Pita bread, Italian bread, and various types of rolls. I have really loved making bread and have enjoyed eating hot bread smothered in butter even more! Goodness I sure love my Carbohydrates and saturated fats. 

Baking my own bread has been awesome for reasons other than making my butt size expand. The first being that I have control over the ingredients used. This has been great with Peanut since she has milk and soy allergies. It becomes frustrating when you read the label and find that soy is in almost EVERYTHING! Most store bought items like bread and crackers are out of the question because of soy. Another benefit of making my own bread is that it is a lot cheaper to make bread especially, specialty breads such as English Muffins and Pita Bread. Finally, it is helping me build a skill that can be used to help create memories with my children (hopefully positive ones to boot). I have so many memories of eating warm bread with my Grandma and helping her make cinnamon rolls for Halloween. Some of my most cherished memories are those of time spent in the kitchen cooking and baking together as a family.   

Lately Peanut has been wanting to help as I bake and cook. So I let her help while making bread by giving her some utensils and a big pile of flour to play with. I think the following pictures show how much she enjoys it!





      
I love watching her explore with something new! Goodness, I also love that Peanut is getting older so she can "help" more often. It also means we can do more sensory activities! I love sensory activities! Now I just need to find a way to make a cheep sensory table...

-Dooney

A Winter Hike

When I was younger I used to think winter was really ugly unless the ground was covered in freshly fallen snow. I am sure it wasn't helped by the constant inversions that plague Utah winters. The inversion hovers over the Wasatch front sucking any hope of blue sky's and fresh air with it. I vividly remember flying back to Utah in early January after spending three weeks in Hawaii and seeing the grey smoggy layer floating eerily below the airplane. It reminded me of horror movies when an unsuspecting victim walks in to the fog and then is ferociously attacked by some scary animal. Thankfully, we were only attacked by -10 degree weather that day (which was horrifying enough after the beautiful 75 degree weather in Hawaii). Here in Washington inversions are very uncommon and most people have no idea what an inversion even is. I can honestly say I have not missed them at all. It may be my favorite thing about the state thus far. I am however trying to get used to the humid cold. All I can say is BRRRRRR!!!! Humidity makes everything feel about 10 degrees colder in the winter and 10 degrees warmer in the summer.

On Monday we were able to venture out in the cold and go for a family hike because The Germs classes were cancelled for Martin Luther King day. It was fabulous! Between the humid heat of summer, medical school, and morning sickness not much hiking has happened around here. It was so nice to get out of the house and explore. Since there has only been one light snowfall here we sadly left the snowshoes at home. Here is to hoping we will get a big snowstorm soon.


Mandatory family picture to prove we did this -I refuse to use the "S" word to describe this picture


We decided to do a pretty simple hike since we haven't hiked in a while and Peanut needed to get used to being in a backpack again. The trail had a barren beauty about it. The grass was yellow, gigantic black boulders bulged out of the grass, snow was on the edge of the river, and the trail was lined by leafless bushes with crimson red branches. Something about it made me think of Lord of the Rings but I am nerdy like that.  


 I may have pretended that this was mount doom and we were hobbits
The view from the "top" (we turned back early)

Peanut was a great for most of the hike and loved looking around. She has become very talkative lately and jabbers all day long. She is only quiet when she is really focused on what she is doing (AKA Sneaking) or when looking at something new. When this happens she becomes very quiet and will only whisper. She was quiet for most of the hike and would whisper excitedly when she saw something she liked. For example, she was fascinated by the river we crossed and kept whispering excitedly while pointing at it! It wasn't until she got overly tired and her hands started to get cold  that she became grumpy. She insisted on holding her bottle which meant we had to pull her hands out of the "Gumby suit" she was wearing . This caused her hands to get cold and make her unhappy. Next time we will bring some socks to put over her hands for an extra layer so she can do things like hold her bottle with out sacrificing warmth.

Peanut getting locked and loaded for the hike
I cant put my arms down!
Giving kisses
Peanut not to impressed with the view
Getting ready to head back!


Even though the hike ended with The Germ running back to the car with Peanut, it was still a blast! Here is to hoping that I keep feeling good so I can enjoy a few more hikes before we become a family of FOUR!


 *** The "S" word is the Six letter one used to describe a poorly taken self portrait.


Thursday, January 16, 2014

Hello My Friend

Hello! Okay its been a little over FIVE months since I last posted on here. I could fill you full of a million excuses why I haven't but I will only give you two: 1- I am pregnant which means I was throwing up and laying in the fetal position for about three of the last five months. 2- The holidays rolled in once I started feeling good! Need I say more?  Between Thanksgiving, being in charge of the ward Christmas party, packing and traveling to Idaho and Utah to spend Christmas with family, and making the trek back to Washington, and prepping for the new semester there has been little time for anything else. As I am sure you are well aware of a lot can happen in five months so I have butt load of information, stories, and pictures to share with you. By the way "butt load" is my favorite unit of measurement.  I am excited to get back to sharing whats going on in the grand state of Washington with our family and friends.


In the meantime here are some cute pictures of Peanut to entertain you while I work on some posts.


Sienna licking the chocolate covered spatula! She has become a chocolate monters!

Giving kisses! Mwa!

Hanging out in her "race car" in nothing but a diaper on

Bed head

Right after her first hair cut - We tamed the mullet.

Cutest Crest Toothpaste model ever? I think so!

Is it just me or is it rude how much babies change in just a short amount of time? Once sienna started walking she has lost most of what little baby fat she had! The changes happen so gradually I didn't fully realize how much she had changed until I looked at the pictures I have taken. The good news is that with all these changes I get to see more of her funny little personality! Goodness how I love my Peanut!