'til the numbers end...

Here is Brower dressed like an Egyptian during school. Each classroom had to represent a different country and us parents had to make dishes from that country for everyone to try. In this picture Brower is holding Ira's hand as they get ready for the parade.

Matt has been out of town on my birthday for about five years running. It's not a big deal to me, but he has a tough time with it. I teach kickboxing on Thursday mornings. Today in class the lady from the front desk came in with this pretty arrangement of flowers and said they were from Matt for my birthday. He wanted to make it a spectacle in front of everyone so that I would feel special. After the gym I met some friends at the Ninja Steakhouse where they cook the food in front of you. The children were entertained! It was a yummy lunch and I was happy to get to do something out of the ordinary. After that I came home, put Ira and Selah down for a nap and tried to take one myself. After all, it is my birthday! Besides, I told a friend I'd teach her kickboxing class tonight. So I'm going to need some extra energy. So, the day has been nice for me. Only one thing has bugged me all day....Selah has acquired this hideous screech. She just belts out a high pitched

Eliza just had a shower and is nice and fresh. The boys, on the other hand, still smell like dirt after having climbed trees all afternoon. Dinner that night was cheese quesadillas with black beans, corn, sour cream, and salsa. Tasty, very easy, and a crowd favorite!

Now that Selah is 11 months old I am feeling so good! I have been asked to post on my blog "how I do it after having had six children." First, I am very blessed with parent's who passed on some genes that have been immensely helpful. Second, I am always moving. There is never a dull moment. Even when there aren't any children around there are things waiting for me. There's laundry...ALWAYS LAUNDRY! And everything else around the house that needs to be tended to on a daily basis. It helps that my "outlet" is going to the gym. Working out helps me to relax. It also gives me an hour alone just to concentrate on me. That's about my only hour in the day for that! I do have a nasty sweet tooth, but for the most part, I love healthy, real food. My favorite things are homemade. I will go days without eating the cookies in my pantry because they were bought from the grocery store. I will wait to eat the real thing when I have time to bake it myself.

Okay, so I totally killed the yeast. I threw it in when the mix was scalding hot. I didn't realize what I had done until the bread didn't rise. I cooked it anyway and the kids loved the dense snack after school. I am a big cinnimon roll, orange roll, dinner roll baker, but I've never tried a loaf of bread. My mom makes the best bread ever. I remember coming home from school to the smell of home made bread. I wanted that in my home too. I also needed to get up on my food storage. So, instead of spending a lot of money on a trip to the beach this summer, we decided to buy some food for storage and a wheat grinder. Matt tried to talk me into getting a manual one. He said he'd grind as much as I needed, however often I needed. Yeah, right!!! I saw the future of that not turning out in my favor. So I got a great cookbook and put it to the test. Bread is so much easier and fast than rolls! I can't wait to try different recipes!

I think I figured it out! I am so excited that I got it right this time! I want to start baking my own bread weekly so that the children can bring something healthier to school in their lunches. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. I finally bought a wheat grinder, 300 pounds of red wheat, and some bread tins. Now that's REALLY from scratch!