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now you are three

Yesterday, we celebrated your special day with pizza, noise makers and delicious cake.

You used to be frightened so easily, but you are becoming braver each day.

You love to sit on the toilet every morning and watch papa shave.

You love to make your brother laugh and teach him various animal sounds.

You remember Proverbs 20:11 and say, "I am known by good deeds".

The past four times you came home from preschool, you claimed to be a ballerina.

You have the biggest feet I've ever seen on a kid your age.

You should be napping right now, but you just snuck out of your room and turned on the TV.  Sneaky boy.

the end of a not-so-terrible year

Today, I had the rare treat os spending time with each of my children separately.  This morning, Deacon was in preschool and Owen and I ran around town together.  He slept in my arms while I made a quick trip to the grocery store to buy snacks for Deacon's preschool class.  Everyone who saw me said "Wow, you have your hands full, don't you?".  Being a mother of two toddlers, I hear that phrase all the time, but this time, I didn't even mind having my hands full.  I hardly ever get to hold Owen while he's sleeping anymore because he's such an active child.

Then this afternoon when Owen was napping, (still is) Deacon and I tried to take a nap together in my bed.  I usually have him nap in my bed these days because he tends to keep Owen from taking nice quality naps.  Today, Deacon didn't really sleep, he just poked me while I tried to sleep.  So eventually, I felt rested enough and we got up and I did some straightening up while he played with his preschool activities.  He can be really sweet when he knows that he's not fighting for attention.

I always get a bit emotional when a birthday approaches, Deacon turns three tomorrow.  With each new year comes a new revealing of who this little child really is.  However, with each new year, he loses more and more babyfat and that gleam in his eye when he's experiencing something for the first time.  Leaving me with chubby cheeks, long stocky legs and a whole lot of questions that he already knows the answer to.

New dress and tiny ice cream cones

Well, here are the promised new dress photos.  I'm all ready for Andy to take me out dancing.  Although that would require a babysitter, extra cash and actual dancing moves.  None of which I actually have right now.

I found it at a thrift store that is run by the Rock Hill Junior Welfare League.  Great little shop.  I got Deacon a pair of WHITE (what was I thinking?) church pants and a pair of pink converse high tops for my dear friend's daughter, Olivia.  

I found this black lacy shrug at a consignment store this morning, which also compliments the dress nicely, don't you think?  I went back and forth on this purchase.  It was a whole $7, but I just didn't know if it would be useful enough.  Now I think I'm glad I bought it.

At that same store, I found a lovely shelf for the house.  Very vintage looking, but I have no idea if it is.  I'll have Andy hang it up and I'll show you that once we find the perfect place for it.  I'm glad to have found so many nice shops here in Rock Hill, but really, with the two little ones, it is not an easy task to just hop into a small store and try on clothes.  

Finally, while I'm showing pictures, I thought I'd share this one of the boys.  They are eating tiny little ice cream cones.  Perfect for tiny little hands.

whole wheat bread

Bread had been my therapy.  When things are crazy, the living room needs to be cleaned, I haven't showered in ages, I'm so comforted when I see the homemade bread on the counter.  It's a small thing I do to pretend that I am a superior homemaker.  And the gentle rocking that you do as you knead the bread for 6-10 minutes is so addicting you don't want to stop.  Like a baby, I'm so comforted by the sway.

I've been baking and refining this bread recipie for about two years now.  I now am at the point where I don't need to look at my recipe card and I barely need to measure.  This bread is perfectly hearty, soft and sweet.  This bread can be used with every meal.  Breakfast: Bread slathered with Peanut butter.  Lunch: Grilled Tuna fish sandwich Dinner: Soup and salad with bread on the side.  And a snack: Toast with coffee.  However, you shouldn't necessarily eat all those the same day unless you're an avid exerciser or fast growing toddler (don't give the toddler coffee either).

I started using this recipe, but over the years have changed it slightly.  Here's the updated recipe.  From start to finish, it takes 3 hours, but each step is small so you don't feel like you've been slaving away in the kitchen.

It makes 3 loaves.  That means one for now, one for the freezer and another to give away to a neighbor or friend (or you can keep that one in the freezer too).

First Step: 

Mix the following:

-3 cups warm water (115 degrees)

-2 packages yeast - try to make sure your yeast is fresh.  

-1/4 cup honey - you're best off if you can get a nice big mason jar of fresh local honey.  It is far better tasting than the grocery store stuff and can even be good for allergies.  Costs about the same, really.

-4 cups white bread flour - all purpose will work in a pinch.  

-1 cup Whole Wheat Flour 

-1 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten - you can make the bread without the gluten, but I find it just makes it a bit more fluffy and fool-proof.  It can be found by the flour at the grocery store.

Cover that loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.  It will get big and bubbly.

Second Step:

mix in small bowl: 

-3 Tbsp. melted butter

-1 Tbsp salt

-1/4-1/3 cup honey

Mix these well and add to big bubbly bread dough.  

Add in 2 1/2 cups more Whole Wheat Flour with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands.  Knead in another 1 to 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.  The bread should be nice and smooth and elastic.  If you don't have much experience kneading bread, watch this video.

Let rise in a greased bowl for about an hour.  It should be double in size.  It may need more time in the winter and less in the summer.  Then put into 3 greased loaf pans and let rise for another hour*.  Loaves should be about an inch above the top of the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from loaf pans, coat tops and sides with butter to keep the sides and top moist and let cool.  If you are freezing, cover with saran wrap and aluminum foil as soon as it is cool and place in the freezer.

*sometimes I like to make cinnamon raisin swirl bread with this recipe.  Or even whole wheat rolls tied into knots.  Once you have the basics down, be creative.  It's your bread.  Enjoy it.  Share it.

Check in tomorrow so I can show off my new vintage dress that I found today at the used clothing store.  It is being held hostage until I return with cash.  Who carries cash anymore?

February 26th. Songwriter collaboration.

One year hiatus

Amazing how time flies.  One day you are holding your newborn with aspirations to be a wonderful blogger, songwriter, crafter, mother etc. and another you're sitting in your living room (after 2 moves) while the 1 year old and 3 year old are napping thinking, maybe I should resurrect that old thing.  

I've flippantly wasted away my afternoon reading online articles, researching 10K running training schedules (which I will start training for next week), and watching tutorials on how to smock children's clothing.  I've decided to pursue the 10K and scrap the smocking idea.  I've finally ended up back here at ellielaveer.com in one last effort to avoid the lunch dishes waiting to be cleaned in the kitchen.

I think I'm over my "coolest blogger ever" complex and am just hoping to share stories, links, recipes and pictures with those I love.  

I hope to take you on a voyage with us as we fix up our 1950's brick ranch on the cheap and maybe even share before and after pictures as I try to get each room into a bit more order.  I'll share new songs that I'm working on and ideas.  I hope to even show you some of the finds that Andy and I grab at thrift, consignment and antique stores.  And of course, not to be forgotten are the sweet pictures and stories of the 2 most beautiful boys in the world, Deacon and Owen who are growing up all too fast.

maybe it will come to me

I signed on here so that I could post about something that Andy and I were talking about this morning. I can't remember what it is though. I thought that maybe if I signed on and started typing it would come to me. But I've got nothing.

So I guess I'll share with you some of the Joys I've been having lately in the kitchen and beyond.

Yesterday I was busy making large amounts of food for my Meal Swap group. We make lots of food at once and then swap with eachother. I made Sloppy Joes and Pizza Pasta. I was stirring up the 3 pounds of cooked beef when our vegan friend came over to do some repairs for us. I was flattered when he said it smelled good.  He was probably smelling the yummy spices in my pizza sauce.

This morning the family enjoyed the pancakes with fresh pineapple and coolwhip.  Quite the treat indeed.  I like to use a master pancake mix that I found in my More with Less cookbook:

• 3 c. ww flour
• 3 c. white flour
• 6T. baking powder
• 6T. sugar
• 2 c. powdered milk
• 1 c. wheat germ (optional)

Then when you make the pancakes, you use 1 1/2 cups of the master pancake mix with 1 c. water, 1 egg and 1 T. oil.  Yummy yummy yummy.

YAY!!! I just remembered what I wanted to say.  I knew it would come to me.  I was so tickled this morning when I realized that Deacon has asked to call my mother every day since my grandma (her mother) died.  This morning before we had gotten him out of his crib, I could hear him in his room talking about her.  He said "Judy, love talking grandma Judy".  It's so neat how the Lord has used him to bring her joy during her grief of losing both of her parents this past week.  Oh what wonderful therapy little ones can be.

Yesterday, I recieved one more call

Yes, it's true.  Yesterday, my mother called me to tell me that her mother, my Nanny, had passed away.  Now all of my grandparents are with the Lord.  My nanny died only weeks after her twin sister and only days after her husband.  I'm sure that she is so glad to be reunited with them.

Nanny, here are some of my fondest memories of you:

-Your gifts were always never-ending and original.  You liked to shop at garage sales and send me the collection of eclectic treasures that you would find.  They were so fun.

-The 5 dollar bills that you sent to me in my birthday cards were the most crisp and valued pieces of paper I ever owned.  5 dollars was a fortune to me.

-You were so crafty and loved to make things for us.  I still have the doll quilt that you made for me so long ago.  It is well loved.

-Some people say that I look like you, and I think that is really special.

As I think about all of these grandparents (3) that have passed on to glory within the past month, I was comforted by the words of this song.  We will miss them all dearly, but are so glad that they are no longer suffering in their old bodies.

trying to catch my breath

Our family has been SO busy the last few days. Here's a few highlights of the things we've done over the past few days.

SATURDAY

Played music at a park for an event called "Pickin' and Piggin'". There was music provided by local musicians and BBQ vendors from all around the state. After I was done playing music, I tried so many different kinds of barbecue. I never knew that it could be so good until I moved here. I'm a big fan of the vinegar-based BBQ. I'm embarrassed to say that before I moved here, I thought Barbecue was synonymous with cooking hamburgers and hot-dogs on the grill. Boy, was I ever wrong

SUNDAY

I got a double-dose of my husband's preaching. He preached in the morning at a church about 45 minutes south of here and then in the evening at our home church, First Presbyterian. I thought he did a great job. If you're interested, you can hear the sermon on our church's website: http://firstprescolumbia.org/Media/Audio/Audio_Evenings.asp

MONDAY

I tried to catch my breath yesterday, but that didn't really happen. The boys were quite a handful. They were probably so exhausted from the big day on Sunday. Church is a big event for such little people. In the evening, we all went to the SC Musicians and Songwriters Guild. It was great, we got to hear about different events that are happening in the area that I can possibly become a part of. Also, there was an open floor where musicians could share their songs with us. I would have liked to play, but Owen was sleeping so soundly in my arms and I didn't want to disrupt that. Deacon enjoyed the music too. Andy didn't get to hear much of what was being said because he was too busy drawing cars and trucks for Deacon.

TUESDAY

This morning, I woke up and got both kids into the car by 8:00. We went to the food Co-op that I am a part of. I am the nursery worker, so I watched the kids while the other ladies sorted and bagged the food. I really regretted that I didn't get up a bit earlier to make a cup of coffee. I needed it! I was watching 11 children and 8 of them were little boys between the ages of 1 and 3! Needless to say: it was a madhouse! We got home and I've been trying to fit all of my fruit and veggies into the fridge. We are so excited to have such yummy food available to us at such a reasonable price.

I'm hoping that things slow down for us soon. I can't believe how big the difference is from 1 to 2 children when you have a full schedule.

I'm off to enjoy some yummy pineapple. I'll have to save some for tomorrow's breakfast though. One of my new favorite things is pancakes with fresh pineapple and cool whip on top. Andy always makes fun of me because Cool-whip is such an artificial food with no real substance. But I just love the stuff. It's so girly and light. There is nothing like it. Besides, I am terrible at whipping cream. I can never get it right.

Another one of those awful calls.

I just got the news that my Grandfather who was about to turn 92 went to be with the Lord. He was one of those people that you thought would live forever because they were in such great health. Unfortunately, after a car accident over the weekend, he had some spinal injuries which led to his death. My Grandmother is also in hospice because of a stroke, and she is not expected to live much longer. Our family anticipates a joint funeral for them; would have wanted this.

Their love for each other was unmistakable. My grandfather took such amazing care for my grandmother for so many years. Even after a long, healthy, full life, death is hard to witness.

This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma with Deacon at his 90th birthday party in May of 2006.

Grandpa, Here are some of my favorite memories of you:

-I loved it when you chattered your dentures. I didn't know they were dentures, and I tried to do it with my teeth, but I couldn't ever get it right.

-You could fix anything. Your house is filled with so many things you've fixed over the years. I loved to count the clocks that you've bought from garage sales (broken) and fixed. It was especially fun at 12:00 noon.

-I thought it was the coolest thing in the world that you had a drinking fountain in your house.

-I really enjoyed the metal puzzles that you would make. I would spend hours at your house trying to get them apart and back together again.

A couple of months ago, my grandfather mailed me one of his clocks. Nanny (what I call my grandma) wanted him to send a clock to each of his grandchildren. My clock is a simple desk clock. It is set to western time because they live in Arizona. I still haven't fixed the time on it and I don't really want to. Every time I look at that clock, I think of my grandparents and it makes me smile.