Hey everyone, we are in the midst of moving!  I’m living with stacked boxes and looking for missing items (already packed) and a whole attic full of stuff I’m not sure what to do with.  Thankfully our church garage sale is this week and I donated a whole trunk full of stuff to them.  I love getting rid of baggage.  It’s so freeing, until I look at my overstuffed attic.  It’s called life in transition.  It’s both fun and exciting and kind of depressing. Exciting for obvious reasons of moving and new houses and neighbors and asking the question, where will I grocery shop now? And will they have my favorite yogurt?  You know, the important questions of life.

But we also have a long way to go whenever I peek into the attic and look at the two gazillion boxes that are up there.  That is why I have assigned it to Sam.  I am in denial of all those boxes.  They make me want to weep.  Or shake my fists in futility.  Or watch a reality TV show.

I think I’ll go have some ice cream in the meantime.

So where have I been?  With the birth of our son, I have to admit I’m having trouble keeping up with most things in life–laundry, housework, blogging, life in general.   But no matter, I have a wonderful little baby to hold in the meantime.   So in an effort to keep life simpler, I’m taking a brief hiatus from this blog.  You can still find me over at my other blog Adoption in Black and White.  I hope to be back soon!

“You mean a teddy bear party?”  I asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

And that’s how her teddy bear tea party arrived. We couldn’t find a card with anything remotely related to teddy bears or tea parties.  If you’re not interested in Hannah Montana or Dora the Explorer, then good luck. The only birthday party themes are commercial. Because of that, we staged our own picture and then made it into a card. This was the front of the card.

First there was bear bingo with teddy grahams as the bingo pieces.  My daughter played her own version, with her own homemade cards.

Then there was dress-up time with the stuffed animals and tea set.  We did get a little crazy.  And my daughter donned multiple costumes throughout the night.  Whatever the birthday girl wants, right?  All in all, it was  a fun party and I’m proud of my little girl picking a theme that was so girly and fun.

Adoption in Black and White

With the impending arrival of our 2nd baby, that is pretty much the only thing consuming my thoughts these days.  It is hard to focus on anything else and I keep going back to my to-do list of all the things I want to get done before baby arrives.  And I know that once the baby comes, I will be slow to get back into the routines of daily life. I am cleaning and cooking and washing with abandon, hoping that it will tide me over while I adjust to a new little one in our midst.  I keep reminding myself that life does return to normal, eventually.

But I am staring sleepless nights and long days in the face.  And you know what?  I’m excited about them.  Excited in that childlike way that does not know what the future holds or how tired I’ll be in a week. But I’m continually reminded by others, and myself, how special and fleeting those first days are with your baby. There will be a celebration of life and we hope to be part of that celebration.

I hope to be back to writing again soon…about the celebrations of life, about the fullness and excitement of simple things.

Our impromptu “flag-making” party.  A request from the little one.

Finally, starting on the Halloween costume.  We are trying to do a homemade version of Princess Lolly from Candyland.  So that this..…can be the model for my little girl’s costume.  Crown done.

Now on to the dress.

Otherwise we’re enjoying the beauty of Fall and all the exciting things that come with it.  Hopefully we’ll soon have a baby to announce with our impending adoption.  Less than two weeks to go until the baby arrival and the date the costume needs to be done.  Which will get here first?  We’re wondering that same thing.

I have really been enjoying teaching my daughter preschool at home. I don’t know whether to call ourselves a homeschooling family yet, but I am enjoying all the educational materials we are perusing these days. And who knew preschool could be so fascinating? Maybe it’s my education background or my own exploration of an area that I have never taught, but it’s a thrilling adventure and we are learning so much.

Preschool Art by Mary Ann Kohl: I can’t say this book looked overly impressive initially, but upon first (and second and third try) of different art activities, I have been excited with the results. The painted dough (where we made a simple watery flour dough and then colored it with food coloring) had a fascinating effect on paper. The sand painting was a great outdoor art experience with an interesting kinesthetic result. The projects are very easy to follow and perfect for my daughter’s age.

Learning at Home by Ann Ward: This book is designed as a curriculum for a kindergarten (or an advanced Pre-K curriculum) using only the library as your resource! The author who is both an educator and homeschooling mom put a lot of detail and thought into her lesson plans. If I homeschool for kindergarten I will be adding this book to my library.

Homeschooling: The Early Years by Linda Dobson: Designed to give an overview of the homeschooling process and be a resource for parents beginning to explore it, this book is packed full of great resources for reading, writing and math but is probably most useful for the parent just starting out on the homeschooling journey.

A Beka Curriculum for Preschool: I started using their preschool materials last year including the alphabet workbook and number workbook. The materials are colorful and high quality and my daughter really enjoys using them. My only complaint is the price. I have a teacher friend who uses the A Beka curriculum at her preschool and really likes them too.

If you’re looking for a fun homeschooling blog, I really enjoy Pioneer Woman’s homeschooling section. It provides some good laughs in the midst of personal homeschooling insight.

And then there is always our excellent library system which will compile books about any subject for a homeschooling family. Awesome, huh? I think I’m having about as much fun as my daughter most days. It’s amazing to see how much she wants to learn too. I’m so glad I don’t have to miss out on that.

As the arrival of our newest baby draws near, I have been cooking, sauteing boiling, and baking. I’m trying to store up about three weeks worth of food. So that, for a few weeks at least, I can have a break from cooking and am just able to focus on baby.  It’s not that I mind cooking…I’m actually quite fond of it, but  in my dumbed down state of not sleeping and barely functioning after baby comes, I’d like to keep life as simple as possible.

So my life has been a frenzy of cooking including:

• setting off the smoke alarm
• walking around permanently smelling of roast chicken
• pasta boiling over, not once, but twice
• tomato soup in the blender splattering across the counter
• piles of dirty pots and pans
• my husband’s disappointment that the dish he smells is NOT what we’re having for supper–because it’s all going in the freezer.

I haven’t always been a fan of freezer cooking.  Some casseroles just turn out too dry or lose their freshness.  And let’s face it, who wants to eat casseroles for three weeks straight?  So I’m avoiding casseroles and going for delicious freezer meals that still taste good once you cook them–chief among them: soups, chicken dishes, pizza, and pasta.  I’ve discovered along the way my favorite freezer meals that warm up fabulously.  There are also a few new ones on the list as well.   It feels good to stock up on the winter pantry, knowing that we will reap the benefits later.

Creamy Corn Soup This soup warms up as good as the original.  If you use fresh sweet corn, you will enjoy the taste of summer long into the winter.

Stuffed Chicken We love these flavorful chicken cutlets filled with feta cheese, roasted peppers and olives.

Bean and Rice Burritos This tex-mex meal is a delicious and healthy dish.  No need to stop at your local burrito joint when these are in the freezer.

Vegetable Chowder Another fabulous soup that warms up well on a cold chilly day.

I’ve had a lot of success freezing soups.  Make a double batch of your favorite soup recipe and freeze half.  It’s really no extra work and you get another night off from cooking.  Hint: Avoid freezing cream/milk based soup as the cream tends to separate.  It’s not that you can’t freeze them (I freeze my milk after all), it’s just the appearance is not as appealing.

For even more ideas, check out all these freezer meal ideas.  Enjoy!

Young children are particular.  They change their minds.  One day they like fettucine; the next day they won’t touch it.  They are happy, then pleading; they dawdle, then run away from you when it is time to go.  They say amen after the itsy bitsy spider, not realizing amen is saved for prayers.  Perhaps the word amen is not only for the reverent times when our heads our bowed and eyes are closed, but it is for all of life.   Amen to the joyous times. Amen to the showers.  Amen to life.

The tomatoes are ripening and the vines are weighed low with the fruit.  The first one off the vine is a small green one, compliments of my daughter.  She picked it herself.  I’m trying to teach her that it is only the red ones we pick–the rest we leave hanging to ripen in the sun.  They are not ready–not yet–but she is.  She runs in the patio door, her hands full of tomatoes, exuberant in her find.  She hands me an orange one first.  We have made progress.  At least it is not green, or smashed, or half-eaten.  I cut them up and give her a taste.  More? she asks.   That night she eats all of them off her plate.  Amen for homegrown tomatoes.

Afterward, daddy chases her around the room and she comes barreling toward me, falling into my arms for safety.  There is no hesitation when she falls, it is full body forward with no fear.  There is something about that motion that is full of faith.  Not the kind of faith that reconsiders, or hems and haws, or doubts for a moment, but is the fully trusting, never wavering, falling in mid-air kind of faith.  It is the kind I’d like to have, and not just on my good days either, but even on the days when the news is bleak and the worry is bubbling up in me like a chemistry experiment gone awry. I want to fall, not hoping that someone will catch me, but instead, never doubting there was any other option but to be caught.

Amen for falling without fear.  Amen for the faith of a child.

*This blog originally appeared in August 2007.

We love making pizza in our family. Not only is it delicious, but most other people like it too, so it’s great for company or delivering it to new moms, sick people or even freezing it for later (Sans toppings. More about that later.)

I used to make pizza very sporadically. I wasn’t very good at working with dough or getting the timing right when cooking it which made me feel like a pizza-making dummy. Frustrated that I couldn’t make a pizza like my mom (who is a pizza expert in my book), I started making pizza every Friday night a few years ago. Then when I felt like I had mastered it somewhat (no burned, undercooked, or totally terrible pizzas), I started inviting guests over to share our pizza night every few weeks. It’s now my standby for guests, so I never have to guess what to have when company comes or figure out a special menu. Pizza is great for everyone, unless your dieting and who’d want to do that when they’re invited out to eat?

HOW TO MAKE IT:

Starting after lunch, I put all my ingredients for the dough in the bread maker. It takes an hour and forty minutes on my machine to knead the dough. I call this the lazy man’s way to make pizza. My husband thinks it’s brilliant. I’ll take his word for it.

As soon as the dough is done, I take it out immediately. In the past when I’ve left it in the bread maker long past the beep, it gets sticky. Sometimes it gets sticky anyway which may have to do with the heat and humidity outside. I’m not sure. All I know is dough is finicky, kind of like kids. If this is the case I just knead more flour into the dough and divide it into four balls, which will later become four pizzas.

Then using some flour on my counter top, I roll the dough out into a circle. This is probably the hardest part and takes a lot of practice. If the dough starts to stick at any point in time, I add more flour. If the dough gets too thin and starts to break, I either re-roll it or add a patch of dough where the hole is to repair it. If the dough is totally falling apart, I just start over. Sometimes that’s the best thing to do. Resist the urge to throw the dough against the wall, which is what you’ll feel like doing.

If you’re using a pizza stone (which I highly recommend), put corn meal over the surface to keep it from sticking. If you’re using plain old pizza pans, use shortening over the surface of the pan. It’s a waste to do all that work if your pizza is going to stick to the pan.

It’s fun to let your kids make a “baby pizza” too. This is my daughter’s version above. Just give them some dough to smash and let them make it into a small round. Have them add the toppings they like even if they do what my daughter did: put all the toppings on and then add the sauce, right on top of everything. It’s their own creation and they’ll be proud of it.

Sometimes I like to throw and twirl my dough in the air like a real pizza maker. But I do not recommend this. Problem number one: You’ll drop it. Problem number two: You’ll break the dough with your hands. Problem three: You’ll have to start over. I have experience with this. DON’T DO IT–EVEN WHEN YOU’RE FEELING ORNERY.

THE TOPPINGS: DON’T SKIMP ON THE CHEESE

Once I get the pizza rolled I move it to the pan and add all the necessary ingredients. I do make my own sauce, but store bought is fine too. It just depends on what you like.

One thing I’ve learned about cheese is essential. Put a full two cups on every pizza. I used to skimp on the cheese and then couldn’t figure out what was wrong with my pizza. Then one day I went to a local pizza joint that makes the best deep dish pizza. I saw someone in the back grating this enormous pile of mozzerella cheese. It was like a cheese mountain–it was so huge. And it suddenly occurred to me that I had been a cheese-whimp. I didn’t want to use a whole 2 cup bag of cheese on one pizza, but I decided to try it. The result was scrumptious, cheesy and wonderful. Forget about calories, fat content and your high cholesterol and just pour the whole bag on it. I’m guessing that all of the major pizza joints put on lots of cheese which makes the pizza extra good. Just think of how much calcium you’ll be getting! My advice: Don’t skimp on the cheese department. It does make a difference.

As far as the rest of the toppings go, it’s really up to you. If you get the dough, sauce and cheese right, you can’t really go wrong on the rest of it. Unless you like anchovies. There is something really wrong about anchovies on pizza.

Then bake for 16-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven, until the cheese starts to brown and the crust turns golden. (Check on it often!) You’ll get the hang of finding out the perfect time in your own oven. Then enjoy some hot delicious pizza compliments of your own hard work. Then give yourself a pat on the back. Or a good massage. Or a bubble bath. Because after all that, you’ll need it.

(P.S. I like to freeze my pizza dough for quicker prep on busier Fridays. I don’t think it’s quite as good as fresh and it doesn’t rise as much, but it’s still a quick alternative. Don’t add toppings until you’re read to bake. Adding toppings before freezing only make the pizza mushier in my opinion and harder to determine when the pizza is done. Use a stone to get a crispier crust too.)

You know what’s best of all? Pizza is easy to share with others and makes a perfect night with company. Just don’t forget to wipe the cheese off your chin when company comes over.

We have been doing wonderful, beautiful things heading into this glorious fall–eating lots of fresh produce thanks to our CSA program and our own garden, as well as biking, making our outdoor space a little nicer, and just enjoying the beauty that the end of summer brings. What an incredible place our God has created and yet we miss the beauty in the hurry of our days.

Summer, I’m sad to see you go. I love how things slow down. Lazy summer days don’t make me feel guilty the way lazy winter days do. I think it’s because summer is so short and the beauty so fleeting, I feel like summer deserves to be a bit slower and the days are meant to be enjoyed.  Laying on the hammock on a perfect summer day should never be frowned upon as idleness.  It should be encouraged!

But now that the fall schedule is upon us, I’m enjoying getting back into routine. It’s motivating for me and I’m looking forward to Fall’s joys: a new bible study, Fall festivals, back to the homeschooling-preschool, and the sheer wonder that Fall brings. Fall, I’m glad you’re here.  Now if I can only stay sane enough to stop and enjoy the season.  The campfires and s’mores, the fall colors, the apples and cider and pumpkins and pie, of course.   There has to be pie.

P.S. I’ve had a lot of people asking me about our weekly pizza night and what our secret is to great pizza. (Here is a bit about the recipe.)  I plan on sharing a little more about the family pizza night tradition that we’ve included in our own life as a way to create community, make friends, and share a special night of food with others.  Coming soon…