Upon Further Investigaion ...

So, I made bread again this afternoon. I made 3 loaves. When I was wrapping and putting them away, I noticed the 1st one (the one we had started to use) didn't have the little lines on the bottom. "That's strange" I thought to myself, and kept going.
The other two loaves DID have them on it. Hmmm.

Then it dawned on me.

The 1st loaf was put right onto the cutting board, and used. The other two were left on the cooling rack. The lines are from the cooling rack, not the pans! I SO think I should invent & market bread pans that have a slightly ridged bottom to give you a slicing guide.
I could make millions!

Of course, who would buy them, when you can pretty much get the same result by just putting them on a cooling rack.

Butterfly's

Every spring we get caterpillars and enjoy watching them grow into butterfly's. This year, Jacob and Jane were really enthralled with the whole process. The great thing about the caterpillars, is that they grow so fast you can really see a change every day.

Then they make their chrysalis
(a cocoon is for a moth - we learned that at the Bronx Zoo butterfly garden.)

We take the paper out that they've attached to, and pin it inside the net, ready for them to hatch out.

Emily helped with this step - but thought it was gross.

They hatched out over a few days. We watched & waited.

Once all 5 have become butterfly's, we release them. They have such a short life span, I like them to be able to enjoy it out in the beautiful world.

Rebekah took them out of the net, one by one.

The first one flew up to Rebekah's hand.

Jane's turn.

It was on the cool side in the garden, which I think made them a little slower to fly away. We all got to hold them for much longer than we usually do. It was so great for the kids to watch them.

One flew on Rick's sleeve.

Jacob was so careful, and gentle. He was really interested in them.
Such a great experience for him.

Emily didn't want to hold one this year (she's in a "bugs are gross" phase.) So she just watched.

Bye Bye butterfly's!

Two-Wheeler

Emily has had training wheels on a small 16" bike for 4 years. Every time we would mention taking off the training wheels or getting a bigger bike, she would protest loudly, and say she would never ride again if we did. She was happy to have that little bike and those training wheels forever.

My goal for her this spring was to learn to ride a real bike. We bought her a beautiful brand new (expensive) 24" bike several weeks ago. She NEVER wanted to try it. I'd say things like "If it's nice on Saturday we can take your new bike to the duck pond and learn to ride." She'd reply "I really hope it rains."

Emily is athletic. To see her swim is a thing of beauty and brings me pure joy. She loves soccer, and does well. She picked up skiing very quickly, and had lots of fun this winter - but for some reason the thought of falling off a bike terrified her. So we fixed Rebekah's old 20" for her to learn on, hoping the slightly too small size would make it easier. Rick came home early and we decided it was time to get going!

She was not very happy about it!!

This is why Rick teaches our kids to ride a bike - he is SO much better at it than I would be. He started off by having her get a feel for the bike, and tipping it to the side many times and having her put her foot down to catch herself - showing her what to do if she started to fall, and alleviating some of her fear of falling and getting hurt. He showed her the hand brakes, and explained how they work.

The he held onto her while she started to ride.

After a while, he went down to one hand.

When she was feeling balanced and confidant, he gave her a shove ...

and off she went!

Then they rode together for about an hour, for turning practice and to increase her confidence level.

One of her friends from the neighborhood joined them.

She can ride!

She's pleased with herself. She learned to do it in about 2 hours. Way to go Emily and Rick.

Bread

I have been wanting to make my own bread for a few years now. Our old oven was so crummy, and the door didn't even close - so I decided to wait until we renovated the kitchen. Two days after finishing the kitchen, I found out I was pregnant with Jane. After 9 months of being incapacitated I thought about it again - but just never seemed to get around to it with two little one's and the demands of the older girls ...

For most of the past year it has just been that it seemed so intimidating. I've made many kinds of rolls for years - but bread, that's a whole new ball game. Well, when Mum was here I finally got around to buying a wheat grinder & a Bosch. I cleared an afternoon a while ago, and got started.

It was so easy! Not to mention fun. I ground a can of wheat a few days before (wheat we bought in 2002 - that in itself brought me joy.) Really, if I'd had any hope that it would even come close to turning out, I would have photographed the whole process, but I didn't - just the end result. It wasn't the prettiest, but I felt so "Little Red Hen" eating the bread I made from wheat I'd ground. So darn proud of myself!

The whole family loves it, and I haven't bought bread in a few weeks. I am making it once a week, and hoping to keep improving. Even Emily (the one who stopped eating bread once I started buying only 100% whole grain), says she only likes my whole wheat bread - and eats lots of it.

Rick was laughing at my pathetic attempts to cut it - the kids pretty much got a huge wedge every time! Then I noticed these great little lines from the pan on the bottom (I'm sure it's deliberate.)

If I cut the loaf on its side, I get perfectly straight cuts every time and they are just the right thickness for sandwiches, toast, etc. I know - all the bread makers are probably going "duh" right now - but like I said, I'm new to this.

I'm so pleased to be feeding them bread I know is 100% whole grain, and totally free of high fructose corn syrup, or preservatives. It just makes me so happy!

Jane's birthday

Jane was so super-cute about her birthday, I thought I'd post more pictures. I've actually never known a two-year old to have such an understanding of what a birthday is. She was really excited about it, and called it "my happy." Maybe she gets it from me, because I love birthdays!

Here she is in her "birthday girl" shirt. What a cute little 2 year old! When we went to the bakery to pick up her cake, they saw the cupcakes and begged for one. I bought one to share, and thought the 3 of us would have a little trial run, pre-birthday at lunch .... when my back was turned, Jacob carried it to the table. Well, the table was the goal. We cut the side off it and sang & ate it anyway!

We kept Jacob far away from the real cake.

Jane sure thought it was yummy!

Then onto the presents -

She totally knew how to unwrap.

Emy gave her a new birthday outfit for her Bitty Baby. (They both love their Bitty Babies.)

Lots of new play food from us, Grandparents and bek (who wasn't home & gave it to her the next day.) Jane loves to pretend cook.Jacob gave her a small Diego doll, and a "rescue pack" - which Jane calls "rescue pack-pack."

They both love Diego - but Jane REALLY loves Diego.

Our friend, Anne, has a really orange one of these backpacks - but they must not make them anymore, because we couldn't find one. We're hoping that the salmon color of this one will be close enough for Jane to think it is authentic. Jacob has a navy blue one, they can use them this fall when they go to pre-school.

A special present from Mom -

A super cape, like Jacobs. When she opened it and saw the orange she exclaimed "Diego flying!"

A test flight.

They wear them every day. Jane having her own should cut down on the fighting (I hope.)

The lightning bolt is what I had originally planned for Jacob's - with a J over it (like Grover's, on Sesame Street), but it wasn't a wide enough letter to look good - so I went with the shield. Jane's plain lightning bolt looks good, and since her letter is also J, the capes should be interchangeable. In theory. In reality, they will probably never share.

We do lots of flying around here.

She also got her own scooter - she can actually ride this great little one. Now when everyone else is out riding bikes, she won't feel left out.

Jacob also appreciates the scooter (darn it!)

So, she got all her hearts desires and why not - she's the baby of the family after all!