21 months: Baking Bread!

From time to time I like to do things with you that I think you'd be doing at your former uber expensive but uber progressive and lovely preschool -- things like picking organic berries or milking dairy cows (yes, they really do both).

Sometimes I read the blog of your former school to find out what the kiddies there are up to and to look for ideas about things we can do together (sometimes I get scared that you won't be prepared for kindergarten because the hours and hours of tv you watch every week playgroups and storytimes we're going to are not stimulating your cute sweet mind enough)...here's what was posted on the blog the other day:

Studying Silkworms

The preschoolers were enthralled by a visit today from an entomologist named Faith, who specializes in the study of silkworms. During her visit, Faith introduced herself as a scientist who studies insects, put on her field vest and then pulled out her magnifying glass, her collecting box (as recognized by Ruby), a notebook where she records the weather and other pertinent information, as well as a field guide about caterpillars. Faith noted that silkworms are a kind of caterpillar that is no longer found in the wild. Sam mentioned that he had seen a wild, woolly bear caterpillar, which he took care of for about a half hour, and then released on a pumpkin. . .

[about 5 more paragraphs detailing visit removed]

. . .Faith kindly left the preschoolers two, living silkworms in a small container, with some mulberry mush, along with a basket full of cocoons, two silkworm-moth remains and an informative book about silkworms. Recently, one of the silkworms began spinning a cocoon inside a cardboard paper roll, and the children are watching it with great excitement. And then Faith returned to the preschool once again to generously give us a box of baby silkworms which will molt as they grow, so we’ll be able to observe another miraculous metamorphosis!

The children have been closely studying the silkworms and representing them in many languages – in drawing, paintings, clay and storytelling. We have collected many of these words and images in a binder in the classroom. Please take a look!

?!?!?!?!?!
I don't have any silkworms and I'm not even sure where we would get silkworms and the former vegetarian in me feels for these little creatures anyway so I decided we would do the next best thing...bake bread!

You love helping me when I cook and bake and I always encourage you to do so in hopes that you'll be cooking all of the family meals by the time you're 5 years old. We'll see how that pans out. So far you're pretty good at making white rice. Anyhoo, we made a very yummie white bread, recipe is below.



After we washed our hands, I propped you up in one of our dining chairs and we proofed the yeast together.



Mixing the oil and salt with the yeast



You really liked this part...you were very serious about the whole thing



I would like to be able to say that that's flour all over your jammies but it's really yogurt from breakfast (you like to "feed" yourself these days)



All the flour is mixed! Time to knead



I couldn't see you in those yogurt covered pjs anymore and it was past noon so we got dressed and then returned to the bread and started kneading! You were very good at kneading...you probably thought it was play-doh or something





All kneaded...time for it to rise



All of our dish towels were dirty (we'll have to talk to our laundry person (Daddy) about that) so we used one of your hospital blankets...we have a billion of these. Did I tell you how I ransacked your hospital room after you were born and took EVERYTHING like the little bowls and nose aspirators and petroleum jelly and even those post-birth undies things. Yea, I did because I figured that they would just throw them all out but I was still sneaky about it and then when we went to get discharged the nurse said oh, feel free to take anything that is in the bassinet and mwahaha little did she know that everything was in our duffel bag already. Anyhoo, I love free stuff...speaking of which...we're getting free donuts tomorrow!



Back to the bread making...after about an hour we checked on it again and it was huge so we punched it down and kneaded a bit more



Look at those little baby handprints all over the bread...love it!



Then I shaped the loaf and put it in the pan and let it rise a little bit more before popping it in the oven.



About 25 minutes later we had this little beauty



So scrumptious!



Daddy approves!



Here's Daddy eating a piece...yummie!

Amish White Bread
makes 2 - 9 inch loaves

INGREDIENTS

• 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.

21 months: Picture Post

Some random photos of you...

We need to start this soon

Wearing Daddy's 180s

At the JCC

Trying to play in the playground

Vroom vroom

Lela Carmen got you the cutest pajamas



You don't stay still though so I had a hard time getting a photo of them



The little bat lights up when you move



I don't think it's comfortable for Eduardo to sleep that way



Stealing mama's book

21 months: Moving right along...again.

Hey little man,

I know it's been a while, sorry.

So let's see, your Mother and I have been running a lot of late, training for a 5K. We get up very early every Saturday and thankfully your Lela Carmen and Papa Cesar watch you while we go for our group run. Then during the week we normally run in the gym on a treadmill.

I hope to go from this 5k to a half marathon held in Boston this May, shortly after your birthday. Speaking of which, is it just me or is it amazing that you are almost 2 years old! Time does fly I tell you.

In other news, we are on countdown to our next move, for me to go to law school, and right now it's looking like we'll be headed to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado at either the University of Colorado School of Law or the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Thinking about our upcoming move made me think about how much we've moved over the last few years!

I went from Boston/Brookline to Chapel Hill (NC) in August 2006, then to Northampton (MA) in January 2007, then to Windsor (CT) in January 2008 and lastly to West Hartford (CT) in July 2008. With this upcoming move this summer it will be five moves in three years for me, four for our little family. Hopefully this upcoming move will be the last for some time, at least three years and I would love for five years at a minimum. I hope you like the mountains little man.

It's crazy how much you've been speaking of late, you especially love to say "Yea" and are pretty cute saying it. You also love your mother and I reading books to you in bed with Eduardo, your big brother. And you love taking one hour baths! You've stretched out a bit and are getting much taller. Pretty soon you won't be my little man.

We gave up our battle to get you to sleep in your own room, and while I miss being alone with your mother at night, I have to admit it's nice cuddling you and kissing you throughout the night. Your little sweaty head is so cute to touch while you peacefully sleep.

Things right now in the world have been crazy. Poor President Obama hasn't had a minute to take a breath since he assumed office dealing with an economy that only seems to be getting worse every day and one can only hope that it doesn't get too much worse and that the hope that lead people to vote Obama into office will help this country come out stronger through all the difficult decisions our leaders are making day in and day out now.

Oh little man, another thing on the law school front. I think I've said this before but just in case I'll say it again. I hope you work real hard in high school in college to get scholarships and never have to question whether any career choices you make are for financial reasons, as I feel like I've faced for many years now. I've been fortunate to have good jobs that many people would kill to have, but have yet to have one that fills my inner soul in the way I hope becoming a lawyer will do for me one day.

I wonder if you'll like to run like me. You certainly love eating french fries, chicken and Sprite like me! Your hair is getting real long since your mother and I decided to let it grow after my last failed attempt at cutting it. Maybe for your birthday we'll get you a fresh trim.

Oh I'm going to Denver in three weeks to visit the both the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Colorado School of Law. Sadly though I'll be going alone, as the University of Denver Sturm College of Law is paying for me to fly there, stay a couple nights and fly back and since it's likely we'll all have to go back in a few months to look for apartments I'm going alone to see if I get that special feeling that tells me that either Boulder or Denver is the right place for our family to be in for the next three years.

The other night I helped this lady in this clothing store and couldn't help but wonder if you'd be a nice person to people in need when you grew up? I always like helping people and think the reason I do is both because I was raised well by my parents but also because I have compassion for those in need in this world. We must never forget that everyone benefits from people helping one another and that to help others is to help oneself reach a pureness of the soul that is cleansing.

Speaking of cleansing, I did hot yoga with your mother a couple weeks ago. It was a very long hour and half and while I enjoyed the experience it was something I likely won't be doing again any time soon. Your mother loved it and even did it again the following day! There's something about sweating so much with so many other people that doesn't quite hit the spot for me.

Oh and how can I forget that your Titi Lucy got engaged, and is leaving Brookline to move to Rhode Island to live with her lovie. With your Titi Krysten leaving home soon I wonder whether my mother will get sad at having less and less of her children around her?

Anyhow, sorry to jump around so much only you know how I get when I haven't written in some time. Hope to drop you a few lines in a week or less, si Dios quiere.

Love,

Pa

21 months: After your bath

20 months: Sleeping again

Aww...