Making Music Together

Even before we were expecting our first baby, Curtis and I decided that we wanted music to be an integral part of our children's lives, as it has been in ours. So, while most families center their living rooms around a television or entertainment center, we decided to make a piano the center of ours. As it turns out, it is not just the center, but most of the living room because though it is a baby grand and small when compared to other grands, our living room is also relatively small, leaving little room for anything else. Despite its size, we love our 1929 Knabe piano (even though the first piano tuner we had come over wondered if it was made in Mexico and passed off as a refurbished Knabe and said it was so bad that he wouldn't even tune it before we had some extensive work done on it. We got someone else, and never called him again!).

Most nights after dinner has been cleaned up, when other families may sit down in front of the television, our family heads to the living room for some music making. Either Curtis or I play the piano and the boys play along on a rhythm instrument. Isaac bounces up and down on his knees and is quite the little maraca and jingle bell player. Recently, Noah's instrument of choice is the 'ma-ca-ca' (harmonica), when he isn't just running in circles, that is. Often, when I am playing the piano, I will glance over my shoulder to find Curtis, the percussionist, dexterously playing three or four rhythm instruments at once and keeping us all on beat. Our repertoire ranges from children's folk tunes to the Beatles to Jason Mraz to Johnny Cash. And I can belt out a dreadful version of Unchained Melody that makes Noah laugh and Curtis cringe (lovingly, of course).
A few weeks ago, all this boisterous music-making led to me wanting to learn to play the guitar. I already have about a million other balls in the air. Why not add one more? So now, armed with my Dad's guitar (which I still hold rather awkwardly), I practice my chords for a few minutes each night as well. Literally, just a few minutes. Because my goodness it really hurts my fingers to hold down those strings! Apparently it takes some time to toughen them up. We shall see...

Until then, I will play the piano or just sing along as we live out those dreams we had years ago of making our family a musical one.

Our Daily Bread

When Noah was about a year old, I began making all our bread for a variety of reasons, including the avoidance of high fructose corn syrup and preservatives in store bought bread. I began using the method in The Tassajara Bread Book. Because it was pretty much a day-long process, I would make two loaves and we would eat one fresh and stick one in the freezer for the next week. It worked out well enough, but let's face it, bread really tastes best on the first day. And while it was better than store bought bread, it never seem to get that perfect sandwich bread consistency, or taste how I remember fresh bread tasting when I was a little girl.

After Isaac was born, time was short, and we resorted to buying bread once again, though I felt a bit guilty every time I put a loaf in our shopping cart. Now that Isaac is able to play for a few minutes without constant supervision, I am once again delving back into the world of bread baking. Still in search of the perfect bread recipe, I decided to try a few new techniques. A couple weeks ago, I began a sourdough starter. I tried baking a loaf (actually, a boule, a freeform ball-shaped loaf) a few days ago using the baking stone and pizza peel Curtis got our family for Christmas. I didn't bake it long enough and it didn't taste any different than regular white bread, BUT the homemade butter we made to go along with it was yummy! It was our first time making butter, and a bit of an exercise in faith that the cream would actually turn into butter if we kept shaking (and shaking, and shaking) long enough, but it worked. It is funny how something as simple as shaking a couple cups of heavy cream in a glass jar with a pebble (we didn't have a marble) thrown in for agitation produces butter. And buttermilk, of course, which I poured off and used to make some fabulous buttermilk blueberry pancakes on Saturday morning.

So the sourdough recipe needs some tweaking. In the meantime, I tried the method in the book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day with a truly fantastic result . The basic premise of this book is that you can mix up a large batch of dough, store it in the refrigerator, and then lop off a chunk to bake a fresh little loaf whenever you want. I was a bit skeptical of the basic recipe, which contains only water, yeast, flour and salt, but followed it to the letter using our new baking stone. The result was amazing. Truly. With a crispy crust and a soft, chewy inside, it tastes just like Mom used to make. While I originally thought, "OK, who really needs to make bread everyday?" The answer is...us, apparently. Because it was so good we ate it in less than 24 hours. But that's just fine because I made another one today, and it really does require just a few minutes of work. The basic recipe uses white flour, but I am excited to try it with wheat as well. The authors also have a new book out called Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes A Day, which I may have to try if we are going to keep eating it up so fast. Until then, we are enjoying our daily bread and the wonderful smells wafting through our house.

We're Still Here

It has been almost a month since I have written here. Once again, the days are full, but with what I don't know exactly. Keeping one eye on Isaac while trying to get anything else done at the same time is a full time job. From the moment he wakes to the moment he goes to sleep at night, he goes, goes, goes. Just getting his diaper changed and dressing him could be a sport in an of itself. Was Noah like this? I don't think so. Neither does my family, who got to experience his enthusiasm for life firsthand during the holidays. The only thing more exhausting than a curious baby that gets into everything, is that same baby in a non-baby-proofed house. He has a great sense of humor, darting behind doors, swinging them shut behind him, and then sitting behind them so we can't open them, all while giggling and squealing. But he is also very generous with his snuggles and kisses, and I have been known to be blinded by drool when he is in a particularly affectionate mood.

We had a quiet, simple Christmas this year. Because I prefer to give handmade gifts, my gift list was kept short out of necessity. Somewhere in those hours between the boys' bedtime and mine, I finished just a few gifts this year: a scarf for Curtis (OK...I actually finished this one the day after Christmas)...

A green gnome for Grandma.

And a soft doll for Isaac to snuggle with at night. Upon returning home after a week away, it was lovely to settle back into our familiar rhythm. For the past week or so, the days have been filled with wonderful play as a few new toys were introduced to old favorites. The tree blocks have been a big hit.

The boys are playing with each other more often now, and Isaac misses Noah when he is napping (Noah naps more than Isaac!). So do I actually, because Noah keeps Isaac happy and busy. Can you guess what game they are playing here?

We have a quiet couple of weeks coming up, and I have been doing some experiments in the kitchen...more on that next time.

~Jen

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Finding Our Tree

We had our first cumulative snowfall of the season this weekend. Our Saturday morning plans were forgotten and we stayed snuggled indoors watching the snow fall. By mid-afternoon, the sun was peeking out and I headed to the stable where Winston and I had a beautiful, if a little chilly, ride around the snow covered pastures.

The next morning we celebrated third Noah's birthday with a few gifts and some carrot cake. Later that afternoon, we bundled up and went out in search of our Christmas tree. The warm glow cast upon the tops of the snow covered trees by the afternoon sun was really beautiful. We brought along a small sled to pull Isaac in and he was happy as long as we kept moving along. Of course, Noah also wanted to ride in it before long.
Alas, there was only room for one bundled boy in the tiny sled. And with neither of them able to move very well in their puffy snowsuits, Isaac soon toppled head first into the snow...
But came up smiling nonetheless. He got picked up by Curtis, who immediately set off again in search of the tree. They were truly on a mission. I ran along after them, pulling Noah in the sled, zipping between narrow rows of trees, and knocking snow off the low hanging branches onto Noah who was laughing the whole way. We finally found a beautiful tree, just in time too, for the the sun and the boys' patience (OK...probably all of our patience) were beginning to wane. Curtis did a fabulous job cutting down the tree while I warmed up Isaac's nose with kisses and Noah had a small meltdown because he fell down and couldn't get back up. We had a good laugh while dragging the tree back toward our car when Curtis asked Noah if he was doing alright, and Noah, who answers "Yes" to almost any question, said without hesitation, "NO!" We managed to get our tree back to the car and tied down tight (and by we, I mean Curtis. I stood in a barn with the boys warming up). On the way home, I think I saw a look of longing in Curtis' eyes as we passed the Christmas tree vendor in the church parking lot with all the trees pre-cut and lined up, snow-free and ready for purchase. Between the cold noses and toes, and some minor meltdowns, I was beginning to think my idea to cut our own tree had been a flop. But then, as we got home and piled out of the car, Noah said, "That was fun!" And that right there, made it all worth it.

Winter Book Basket

As I sit here on this first day of December, the first snow of the season is falling gently outside. Though we are all snuggly warm in our woolens, it is cold outside. We have begun decorating our house for the holidays, and have exchanged the autumn books in our book basket for winter ones. Over the next month we will be reading the Nativity Story and about all things snow and winter.
In our winter book basket:
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
Winter by Gerda Muller
The Mitten adapted by Jan Brett
First Snow in the Woods, Stranger in the Woods, and Winter Friends by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
Snow by Cynthia Rylant
The Story of the Snow Children by Sibylle von Olfers
The Magical Snowman by Catherine Walters

We have also been reading a few special books for Noah's upcoming birthday:
On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
The Twelve Gifts of Birth by Charlene Costanzo
Angel in the Waters by Regina DomanHappy winter reading!

Organizing the Play Space

A few months ago, I began to realize that despite our focus on keeping just a small number of toys available for the boys to play with at one time, there was beginning to be more than could be neatly organized on the one small shelf of our living room end table. We decided that a bookshelf would be the best way to organize their things in the small area between our kitchen and living room where we spend most of our time. We had a custom bookshelf made at a local store and then I finished it myself with some homemade jojoba oil and beeswax polish (instructions here). The polish worked great and I think I may like it better than the kind you can buy. The shelf turned out really lovely, and was just what we need to open up this area while allowing for organization and room to play. The top of the bookshelf is now home to our seasonal display and a basket of books that are currently in rotation. We keep several seasonal books and a few favorites in the basket at a time, rotating the favorites in every couple weeks. The rest are stored away in a closet 'library' awaiting their turn. We have a similar, smaller 'library' for toys that are not currently age appropriate for either of the boys. In the coming months, we will return Isaac's baby toys and teethers to the library and bring out the puzzles and shape sorter.

The top shelf has a basket of wooden animals, a basket of knitted animals, some large shells we found while on vacation on Sanibel, and a soft doll. The middle shelf contains some stacking toys, a basket of various sized soft balls, and a small laundry basket with colored silks. Basically, things that are safe to be pulled off without hurting a certain little creeping baby. On the bottom shelf are all things wheeled and Isaac's little basket of teethers and rattles. The small train and its track hang out in a basket alongside the shelf. These few toys, along with Noah's larger wooden train, the play kitchen and pushcart are plenty to keep the boys busily at play.

I am loving this newly organized play space. Keeping similar items in their own space or basket makes it easy for Noah to help clean-up and get everything back to its special place at the end of the day. Even Isaac knows where to go to find his little basket of toys. I also love how it has opened up this little corner of the living room and we can now walk through and into the kitchen without having to go around the other side of the couch. More importantly, the boys are loving it, and will hopefully spend many hours playing happily here while I work nearby.