Tooth Fairy Visit

A couple of weeks ago, our son told us, yet again, that he had a loose tooth. So I asked him to show me and this time, he was actually right. He had a lose tooth. He was anxious about losing his first tooth. I told him to wiggle it with his tongue (no fingers in the mouth please) but he informed me he could not do that as his tongue “gets too tired’. What was I thinking when I suggested that?

This weekend, it was quite loose so he asked his father if it was ready to be “plucked” out. On Saturday, he bravely asked his father to tie dental floss around the tooth. Remember that old trick? Floss, tooth, door handle – tooth still in mouth. We took a different approach. I think the slamming of a door worried our little guy.

We gathered in our bedroom and watched. I took pictures and we all laughed. First of all, tying floss around a tiny tooth is a challenge; however, the Big Guy was persistent.


The one time he managed to get it tied, he gave the ends to the Little Big Guy to pull. Pull…and he decided not to. So the Big Guy untied it. I really did not think that he could untie it but he is good. Our Little Big Guy went to bed with a mouth full of teeth.

Sunday morning, while eating breakfast he came over to me and said his tooth bothered him. He could not eat. So I suggested he go get a washcloth and I would try one time to pluck it out. After all, it was quite lose. So with an open mouth, he approached me hesitantly. Carefully, I grasped his little white tooth and pulled up. Pluck. I heard it but did he? He shut his mouth and said “You can try later”. I opened the wash cloth and said, “You need to go rinse your mouth as I have your tooth”.

He grinned from ear to ear then ran to the bathroom hooting and hollering. After rinsing and spitting (why do little boys love to spit?) he was all smiles, all day long. And his attitude changed – that wasn’t so bad! It came right out – whaoooo!

When his father returned home, he told him he could pluck his tooth out, just as innocent as could be. His father was agreeable and started to head to the house when our son grinned and revealed his secret. Nice trick-thanks for telling him that sissy!

So November started off with a visit from the tooth fairy and questions about the tooth fairy. One “person” that is quite mysterious. So we answer the questions as best we can or we ask our children what they think. How does she know when a tooth is placed under a child’s pillow? (Answer: A bell rings).


There are some questions we, as parents, still cannot answer. But the delight in a childs’ eyes and the toothless grin - PRICELESS! I still find myself looking at his mouth quite often and smiling.

Dinner Rolls

Today we made dinner rolls. I had a recipe put aside that I have been wanting to make for a year at least. I put it aside and could not find it so I found another dinner roll recipe. I mixed it up, kneaded it and let it rise.




Wow - see what a nice warm oven does for the rising process! After our daughter punched it down, I divided the dough and cut each half into twelve parts. My associate bakers rolled those into balls and set them in the pans to cover and rise again.






Then before our venison dinner was done cooking, I put the rolls into the oven to bake. The smell had all of us standing in the kitchen, waiting. Waiting for the timer to go off, butter knife in hand.



We found another "keeper" recipe! Light and airy, oh yeah. We'll make these again for Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm thinking warm roll with jam on it for breakfast. It would be a nice compliment to a hot cup of tea!

Hooked

Yarn and crochet hooks – that is what our daughter has been handling lately. A few weeks ago, I taught both children how to crochet a chain. In a matter of minutes, they understood how to hold the hook, yarn and how one makes a chain.



Our son likes to sit and crochet chains (long chains) while watching television. His loops are getting tighter and tighter and he gets excited about that and calls to show me. He has now learned how to single crochet as well. Although he doesn't crochet often.



Our daughter needed to learn a stitch as she had projects in mind, so I taught her a simple stitch – the single stitch. Her first swatch attempt turned out to be a triangle, not a square because she dropped stitches. Her second attempt turned out really well and she crocheted around the perimeter and made two ties. She created a doll bib – solo! I was so happy when she showed me this. She told me it was a gift for her friend. Third project underway, a bib for one of her dolls and before I knew it, project finished. Fourth project, she is currently working on a doll scarf or blanket.

I came home the other night and found her sitting on the couch crocheting. She told me she is “hooked”. I like to see her use her mind and get creative. We’ll have to open up the yarn bag and let her pick and choose. However, I must admit, I am started to get worried. I have all these “in progress” projects. I just need to finish projects. At this rate, she’ll put me to shame or use all my yarn!

Kneading with Neighbors

I love to bake. I have baked with our children since they were old enough to sit up on the counter. Blogging is fun and it helps me share with loved ones, every day moments from our home. Recently I posted some pictures of our latest baking adventures – those delicious donuts and I received a request from a friend.

“Hey, we want to bake with you!”

I wasn’t about to say no. So we agreed on a recipe: Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls (visit King Arthur Flour) and we got together Saturday afternoon in my kitchen. I made one batch of the dough with my friends' daughter and then my daughter and I made the next batch. The dough had a wonderful pumpkin color and it was very easy to handle. The girls enjoyed kneading their dough. After rising and punching down (our son asked to punch our dough down) they got to roll it out, sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll it up. I cut and they placed the slices in the prepared pans. More time rising and then 25 minutes of bake time. Sweet smells drifted out of the oven ever so faintly. The three little chefs got to eat their roll after glaze was drizzled over the rolls. Thumbs up – this is a "keeper" recipe that I will add to my collection - and so very delicious and easy!

Not sure what we plan to bake next time but this was fun! The kids learned more baking techniques and they had some play time and my visit with a dear friend was ever so nice and long overdue.

I am sorry to say, I was so busy helping the little chefs that I forgot to take pictures during the baking session; however, I do have a picture of our pan of rolls. Can you smell them?





Oh yummy…

Love of My Life

Remember young love?

The kind of love that you “could not live without” and the guy that was going to love you…FOREVER. I've been there. From that experience, I learned about myself, others and what real love encompasses.

I have a wonderful husband to share my life with. We met later in life as a result of wrong “love” choices; however, the roads we traveled to get to where we are now, were worth the pain, years and emotional growth. When we met, we knew who we were as individuals and we knew what we wanted out of a relationship. We became best friends. Our love developed and grew over time. We admitted our love for each other. We showed each other the love we had for one another and we lived it. Real love. Mature love. We did not want to change each other and we understood each others’ needs. I felt connected to my Big Guy because we had the same outlook about life, what we wanted out of life and where, down life’s road, we wanted to be – together. We love our family. Our homestead. Our lifestyle. We have old-fashioned beliefs. We work hard. We love God. We cherish life and the time we have today. We love each other.

My Big Guy loves me. I love him. It’s that simple. Yes, I know how lucky I am! He is thoughtful, strong and loving, and he is always there. My rock. But we work at what we have. I am happy. We’re happy! I cannot imagine life without him.

Today, Dear Big Guy, we celebrate 10 short/long years together. They have flown by and we have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful that we were brought together and grew to know and love each other, as we continue to do so. It truly gets better each year with you and us. With all my heart, I truly love you and I look forward to the next ten years, 20 years…don’t forget our date to celebrate 50 years!

And only as Sammy can sing it…
I spent a lifetime waiting / Always hesitating until you / I was lost so deep
inside my shell / 'Til you came and saved me from myself / Now all I really
know is I need you

You are the love of my life / You are the reason I'm alive

Forever your love,
Hugs and Kisses

Donuts

We finally made donuts!

I found a recipe and Sunday afternoon, I mixed up the ingredients. I only made half a batch because I did not want to make a full batch and have the donuts not taste good. After letting them rise, my assistants cut the donuts.














Then we let them rise again.
We don’t own a deep-fryer so I
pulled out the heavy cast iron
skillet and a bottle of oil. Once the oil was hot enough, I fried the doughnut holes first then the donuts. I made a butter-confectionary sugar glaze to pour over the hot donuts. The guys kept coming out to sample the donuts.
I made them wait.

End results – the recipe is a "keeper" and we plan to make a full-batch next time.

Work or Play Time

When one is working hard, one appreciates help. My Big Guy was working hard last weekend, in the field, in the rain and miserable weather. He was staging the logs for sawing. I was asked to help “roll” the logs to an area. We are talking large logs. Huge. Heavy work! But I donned gloves and assisted. I helped when called and returned to the house to take care of my work there.

We communicate by radio since the logs lay in our side field. After a while, I thought I should check in. When the Big Guy failed to answer our calls, the kids and I decided to check on him. After all, he is working with a chain saw, the weather is bad, things can happen.

As we approach the worksite, here comes the Big Guy on a …4-wheeler. We don’t own a 4-wheeler and by now, the kids are excited, jumping and running around. Our good neighbor thought the Big Guy should use his 4-wheeler to help move the logs. Meanwhile, I am thinking, “he’ll be moving logs (a.k.a. playing on a big boy toy) all day now!

So, what does a father do?
2 excited kids + a boy toy = hop on…let’s go for a ride!



The little big guy was hooting during the ride around the field and upper pond. Our daughter, well, she smiled and sat on the back like she owned it! I had to run to the house to grab the camera and I clicked a picture or two before the 4-wheeler was returned.