Warnie

He's such a happy baby. 

And he loves his feet.

Daddy?

"Daddy?" Martin said as we flipped through a catalog. 

Challah and Calvinball

Hello, amazingly, delicious bread!! Why have I never made you before? 

I will post the recipe soon. It is really just bread with extra eggs and butter in the dough. I threw it in the KitchenAid, let it rise for 2 hours, punched it down, let it rise 1 hour, rolled it out and braided it, let it rise 30 minutes, and baked it. ATK says it makes the best French toast, but who would let it get old enough for French toast? It is too good. 

Martin decided to play a game with the baby. They wore special hats, hit the stuffed lion with a feather duster, and carried a basketball around. My sister said it looked like Calvinball. Ha ha. 

English Muffins

Have you made English muffins yet? They are so easy and delicious!! I was feeling like one for breakfast this morning. So, I threw a batch together and had them warm for lunch. They are pretty incredible. I make mine all whole wheat, but you can use white flour or a mixture. Plus, they cook in a pan on the stove. 

Our favorite ways to eat them:

Toasted with butter (and honey or jam)

Mini pizzas (slice in half, top with tomato sauce, cheese, and other toppings - broil for a few minutes)

As sandwich bread

As hamburger rolls

Enjoy! 

Boys

Warren is moving much sooner than Martin. He rolled all over the floor last night before bed. His head hits the ground with a "thunk" each time he flips over. It doesn't deter him though. Over he flips again with a huge grin on his face. He also is trying to crawl. I am not ready for that yet. 

Martin will be happy once Warren can play with him... Until he takes his toys. Ha ha. 

Great For You!

Really WalMart? Vegetable oil is great for you? Should I drink a glass with my breakfast each morning? 

Also, has anyone else read the ingredients in vegetable oil? All it includes is soybean oil. So, why isn't it called soybean oil? I am so confused. 

In lieu of a measuring cup

I needed to make 4 pans of brownies for a church fundraiser and both my liquid measuring cups were in the dishwasher, which was running.  What to do? What to do? Then I remembered that there are measuring lines imprinted right on the sides on Mason jars. 

Ps. The brownies seemed to turn out normal using this method. 

Some Articles I Want to Read

I started this one, it looks great. 

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/moms-need-theology-too

This one also looks useful. 

http://thewardrobedoor.com/2014/11/parenting-sanctification-reputation-mind.html

And this one caught my eye because I haven't been able to fall back asleep easily if either Warren or Martin wake up in the middle of the night. 

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-sovereign-hand-of-sleeplessness

I want to download this music for the boys. 

http://songsforsaplings.com/music/songs-for-saplings-abc/#content

Teaching your children to worship sounds extremely needed.  I am currently reading so many parenting books right now. I need help raising kids. It is such a responsibility. 

http://www.pcacep.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TeachingYourChildrenToWorship3.pdf

I really liked this article and want to read it again. I want my children it value working hard. 

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/our-childrens-first-glimpse-of-the-value-of-work

And I want to watch this video. Read those sample questions. I need to watch this video. Am I spending more time on what my kids eat than what they take in around them each day? 

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/parenting-eternity-not-just-5-pm

One last one on hospitality. I want to be more like this. 

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/open-roof-hospitality

Oatmeal

Jared eats oatmeal every morning. He likes to take it with him and eat it later. We have found the cheapest and most convient way is to prepackage a bunch of containers at one time and leave them on the counter. That way he just grabs one, fills it with hot water, and takes it with him each morning. 

This has saved us money and it cuts out all those weird chemicals in oatmeal packages (and apple pieces dyed red to look like strawberries...). 

Jared likes raisins and pecans. 

I like raisins, pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar. :) 

In the summer we add fresh fruit in the morning with the hot water. 

Cupcakes

I am baking cupcakes. The Wilton cupcake boxes say they hold 48, but that is if you want them to be squashed into oval shapes. I opted to only put 40 in each box. I am so glad I bought an extra box in case of problems. 

The total:

48 chocolate peanut butter

50 boston cream

48 vanilla buttercream

A Comparison

At four months:

Martin was 17lb. 10oz. 

Warren was 14lb. 8oz. 

They are practically the same length.

Today the cashier at the grocery store told me Martin looked just like me. That is the first time I have been told that. 

Also, I was able to open the windows today. The house smells so fresh and clean.  Maybe I will actually clean it tomorrow. :) 

Mail

I came home to find my mail like this yesterday:

This looks more suspicious to me then a box sitting on the steps. The box is from Westminster Theological Seminary's bookstore. It contains a few more copies of When Helping Hurts. It was my favorite book that I read last year. I plan to lend them out or give them away. My second favorite book was The Romantic Rationalist. As you can see from the books I have read this year, I love CS Lewis. 

P.S. In 2013, my favorite book was Alone Together. My second favorite was Til We Have Faces by Lewis. 

Corn Tortillas

Honestly, you don't need a recipe for corn tortillas. It is simply water (I use boiling or hot water) and corn masa (flour). 

I use these in my chicken enchiladas and for baked chips. 

Here is how I make them. I mix the water and masa with a spoon while it is super hot and then with my hands once it cools down. It should be the consistency of play dough. It is actually fun to play with. :)

I roll them into 1-2" balls. They have to be covered with a damp cloth, during the winter or they will dry out. I place each one on the press with a piece of plastic under and over it. I use two plastic circles cut from grocery store bags (you can also use wax paper, but I saw my Mexican coworkers doing this and I thought, what a great use for grocery bags). 

Flatten with the press. Peel the top layer off carefully. Pick the other piece of plastic up and flip it over in your hand. Carefully, peel back the second piece of plastic. Place plastic back on press. Flip the tortilla, from your hand, into a hot pan. 

Cook 1-2 minutes for the first side. Flip. Cook another 30 seconds. Keep warm in a clean kitchen towel. 

More Snow

We had even more snow today. Either Jared or I have had something every night this week!! I don't know how people with kids in activities have any time. Our kids don't do anything yet and we are super busy. 

All of my sisters stopped by at some point this week and visited with us. That was especially nice. We love the Aunts.  :) 

I made a new corn bread recipe from ATK tonight. It was amazing. I will post the recipe later. I also made a new banana bread recipe and bean burrito recipe from them. 

Just so I have a picture, I am throwing in a comment about cloth diapers and Martin helping in the kitchen. I just love my bum genius diapers. They were worth every penny. I have tried several other brands and none of them compare. 

And as you can see, Martin had learned to climb on chairs. He loves to measure and stir when I cook. It is a bit messy, but it keeps him busy while I am cooking. 

Sisters

1. My uncle helped to build EuroDisney and brought us these shirts for Christmas one year. He and my grandfather were mechanical engineers, which I did not know until after I chose my major. 

2. Look at ALL my hair!! Wow. Since I am currently in the after-pregnancy-hair-loss period, I am envying my old hair. :)