Tids 'n Bits

A few notes from the past few days...

I made the best, easiest, PRETTIEST (hence the 3 photos following of it in all it's glory) homemade bread.

I've been searching for a fantastic homemade sandwich bread for FOREVER (or at least 4 years). It's been easy to find great recipes for eat-me-for-dinner-right-away-because-i-smell-so-good-and-delicious-but-don't-even-think-about-saving-me-for-the-morning-because-i'll-be-as-hard-as-pilgrims-rock bread. After Ian gave me my bread machine it was that much easier to make bread and I even found a recipe that worked well and didn't stale IMMEDIATELY.

Though I still craved the process of making bread. The smells in the kictchen as the yeast activates and the need to linger around the house for a whole morning to ensure its perfect execution. Well folks, I found the recipe and it's amazing and beautiful and tasted ridiculous. AND we're on the third day of it sitting out on the bread board, face down, soft and supple and just waiting to be sliced and devoured. (granted there's only a heel left)

Amish White Bread (from allrecipes.com)

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Pretty right? and EASY, well for bread making at least. I used the dough hook on my kitchenaid to finish out the kneading and it worked so well. Plus I love that there's only 6 ingredients. The only thing I'll change next time is to tone down the sugar...it is a tidge on the sweet

**********************************

The other day Ainsley woke up from her nap as usual, on the cusp of TOTAL crank. I asked the usual "what would you like for snack?" and she answered by sulking into the kitchen, arms crossed like a p'od teenager to inspect the pantry. Moments later she RAN out, BEAMING SCREAMING "OATMEAL! Oh mama! Ainsley May wanna BIG bowl of oatmeal for snack. Yummy yumm yummy!" smiles smiles smiles. Oh goodness, the simple little things in life. That child LOVES oatmeal. She was freaking out ecstatic.

**********************************

Louise's new word is "uh oh!" I hesitate to say she's really "talking" because while she says about 5 "words" they're more like, ah, I recognize that as this word, than the real deal. In in almost toddler conniving testing the boundaries way she'll knock something over, throw her sippy cup with vigor or smack my face and look boldly into my eyes while distinctly saying "uh oh!" with the hugest grin imaginable. I secretly kind of love it.

*******************************

I'm getting better at this whole multitasking/housewife/mama/handyman thing. While we LOVE our house and are so lucky to have found one in Oak Park in as good of shape as we did, there is ALWAYS something that could be done. Most recently a small chunk of plaster on our sunporch ceiling was cracking and precariously close to separating and falling off completely. I was totally wigged out waiting for it to plummet and in the middle of afternoon playtime with BOTH girls lively and underfoot I moved to do something about it. I mixed up some patch, got out my drywall joint tape and fixed that crack, then proceeded to fix the gnarly patch above the staircase heading upstairs. It felt great to do it myself and Ainsley and Louise were captivated. Ainsley was my little helper, holding my bin of patch carefully and watching me intently. For Louise it was like the best show ever. It's always good to know that I can get something done that needs to be done while the girls are awake, and maybe they're learning something at the end of the day which is not at all a bad thing.

*****************************

I am LOVING the end of summer gardens. Lush and full and ripe. Except, my tomatoes are STILL green and the weeds are out of control and we already have leaved falling on half of our yard. My mind is already spinning to take advantage of end of year plant sales. Is it ok to plant perennials this late? What about bulbs? I am going for a very local low maintenance wild flower approach for next year. Any tips are helpful!

**************************

Louise's first birthday is tomorrow. I truly can't fathom that she's going to be 1. I'll reflect more on that with all of the cute photos and tales from this next weekend. But the house is decorated, presents are wrapped, and her pink lady cake is cooling in the kitchen begging for it's cream cheese frosting tomorrow. We have a party planned and birthday outings to tend to. I can hardly wait to celebrate the first year of my little dumpling's life.