Bread recipe

My new favorite bread recipe is Fabulous Homemade Bread. I got the recipe following a link from Deb Miller's blog. I love what a big batch it makes. Though I do need to buy 2 more loaf pans to accommodate the 6 loaves it makes. In my first batch, I made 4 HUGE loaves. The second batch, I made 4 regular loaves, 4 mini loaves and a pan of rolls. I love the crust. I hope any of you bakers will give it a try.

Ty goes to the dentist...finally!

After at least 3-4 attempts (since he was two years old) at taking Tyler to a regular dentist, we finally scheduled an appointment with a pediatric dentist. (He had refused to open his mouth at all the other appointments). We really talked the appointment up and tried to prepare him for today. At his request, I came along.

The staff was wonderful with him and obviously know children and how to help them relax. The only snag was that we didn't get X-rays since he gagged every time she put the film in his mouth. But, considering where we are coming from, I am very pleased!

He had been rubbing his eyes and yawning throughout the exam, but I figured it was because he was watching cartoons or because he was nervous. To celebrate, we took him out to lunch as a reward for doing so well. I got him his free ice cream cone, which was one of his treats from the dentist's office. He didn't want to eat anything, and hardly drank either. This is not normal, as it was after 2 pm and he hadn't eaten lunch yet.

We came home and he wanted to nap. Hmmm, I think it's been about 2 1/2 years since his last nap. What a fluke, I thought. Until he woke up with a fever. Duh, mommy!

Here is the feverish boy.

I made soup and he still didn't want to eat or drink anything. When he finally got hungry, he wanted crab and lobster (neither of which he's ever had before). Apparently Red Lobster commercials even appeal to four year-olds. He settled for my tilapia, then salmon, and now ice cream, all of which he has gobbled up. Not exactly what would sound good to me if I were sick. But, he's happy.

Weekend Work

The excitement at our house lately has involved...being excited for family and friends and their expected additions. Since I'm not sure who/which I can speak freely about, I will leave it at that.

Though it's not so exciting at our house, one project I've started is painting. After painting a couple of doors, I thought painting the trim white would look better than the honey oak finish we have. Now I think the whole house would look nice with white trim. Needless to say, that's a little bit overwhelming to think about. I had already painted the chair rail in the kitchen, when I found out I needed to prime it first so it won't peel back off. So, after a week of scraping it back off, I was finally ready to prime and paint it on Saturday. I also did some yard work that day and because of it, I was pretty tired out. Tyler didn't get as much attention as I'd like (to make up for my yelling at him not to touch the wet paint all day long). Poor boy.

On Sunday Ted and Sue came down for a visit. For lunch, they took us out to eat at Olive Garden. Yum! Wayne and I took the opportunity of an available van to pick up a storm door (which I'm probably a little too excited about having). I'll add that to my to do list for Wayne... At this moment, it's still sitting in its box in the garage. Then we came back and enjoyed playing dominoes. It was a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. We cuddled up in the evening amidst 70 mile an hour winds and ultimately about 5 1/2 inches of rain to watch a movie (and Wayne kept an eye on the weather since the sirens kept going - we never did have to hide out in the storage room, thank goodness). A good old Kansas spring storm! Since then, it's been cold and kind of dreary. Reminds me a little of home. :) But, it is nice to have a little bit of spring weather instead of the usual jump from 40 degree to 80+ degree weather seemingly overnight. Now, if only I could convince the bunnies it's time to find someone else's flowers to munch on this year...

Sawyer snapping (sideways)

I have such trouble with videos - and I can't figure out how to make them rotate. I've learned not to turn the camera. But, alas, Wayne took this video and didn't realize that. I still wanted to post it because I think Sawyer looked so cute trying to snap along with the Birthday Monster.

videos from yesterday

I tried to get Tyler to tell his best joke. Of course, he thought holding his foot up in front of his face was even funnier.

He was also playing pirate yesterday.

Of course, repeating his pirate phrases are not as entertaining as when he says them spontaneously.

Last night at Home Depot after being warned to start behaving, he spouted off with an "Aye aye, captain!" Which he has said more than once. But it still makes me struggle to hold back a grin.

Fun with Melissa

We have enjoyed having another couple of days with Melissa before she had to leave for home. In fact, as I write this, she is probably boarding the plane to Phoenix. :( Tyler and I just took her to the airport and started to feel sad that she was leaving. Luckily, we remembered that the Yoder reunion is coming up over July 4, so we can see each other again before too long. Since I've moved to Kansas, and Melissa used to live in Lancaster and now Phoenix, we haven't spent more than an evening together here and there in quite a few years. That's sad, considering how much time we spent together growing up. So, we enjoyed time hanging out and catching up.

Melissa had quite a way with Tyler. When we picked her up from the airport, he would hardly look at her. But, of course, within a few minutes, she had him laughing and chattering away.

When it came to dyeing eggs, they were a good team.

Of course, she had him laughing.

Yes, it was a cold, rainy day. Yes, I was showered and ready for the day. Yes, I put my favorite pajamas back on.

Tyler is proudly displaying his name spelled out (by Melissa) on the eggs.

After all that hard work, we made some chocolate chip cookies.

Bye bye Melissa. We can't wait to see you soon!

Sawyer eating a banana

If you'd like, click here to see the photos on Flickr.

Good Friday

We were very happy to have my cousins Melissa and Matt, Monica, Brennan (4) and Sawyer (1)stay with us this weekend. They were in town for one of their Beachy cousin's weddings.

Good Friday, we were able to spend the whole day together and we really enjoyed it. In the morning, we made bunny faces. The Tyler and Brennan (who is only a few months older than Tyler) both chose the same colors, of course.

Melissa, showing off her bunny. LOVE the eyes. :)

A little Easter egg hunt.


Melissa brought each of the boys an Easter bucket. Tyler was intrigued by the scorpion sucker. He's still a little tentative about opening it. Can't blame him, really. :)

Brennan showing another treat from his Easter bucket.

In the evening, we enjoyed a gathering and delicious meal at our aunt Delilah's house. Although we live close enough to one another, we don't see each other very often. It was nice to catch up.

Matt's family came home late from the wedding on Saturday and left early, before we were up. Tyler was distraught on Sunday morning that he didn't get to say goodbye to Brennan. After crying and begging to say goodbye (and no, calling just wouldn't do), he looked at our little feelings chart and said, "Mommy, I feel hopeful. I feel hopeful that I'll get to see Brennan again some day."

toilet

Last weekend Wayne set out to install a new toilet... Actually, he set out to replace the tank and ended up buying a new toilet. I was going to wait to post pictures until he was done...but since we're at a standstill, I will post these now.

Tyler wrote his name on the toilet box "so that you and Daddy will remember that I'm the one who decorated it."

Wayne, with his sledgehammer. (He used it to remove the old toilet). Gotta love home renovations. :)

Playing with more boxes.


Being a "robot."

little update

Where has the week gone? I feel like I've had blogging block (yes, that's a made up term) for quite awhile. And nothing has really changed today. My brief update:

We've had a busy weekend with projects around the house. Things we are unfamiliar with. Things like removing and re-doing caulk and installing a new toilet (oh, that's Wayne, and it's still a work in progress). And then the mundane things like laundry, organizing, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. When Wayne's done with the toilet, I'll post some pictures of that. And when it's warm outside again, I'll plant some flowers and paint and all those good things. Until then, I think I'll make some popcorn and curl up. Ahhhh.