I am considering a bread making machine.
I usually make 100% whole wheat (or any non-white flour) bread so I am trying to figure out which machine works best for that. Is it the machine or the recipe that makes the most difference?
So far I've looked at Breadman or Sunbeam machines. My budget is under $100.
Thanks for any and all advice!
23.2.10
22.2.10
Double Standard
I would like to rant for a moment about how unfair it is that two parents of the exact same kid get treated totally different. Yes, I realize that I deserve this considering I did the same thing to my own parents, but it still irritates me!
Mr A is always suggesting tricks that make his life so much easier when he is watching the baby but they never work for me! It's not that he's smug about it, it's just that I don't understand why our child responds to the XY chromosome carrier, but not the lady who carried and delivered him!
Case in point: nap/sleep time. Ikaika is a willful sleeper and typically screams for at least 5 minutes when he is put down. The other day, Mr A told me about this great idea of his where he lays down on the futon next to the playpen until the baby falls asleep. According to my husband, this has led to many a peaceful slumbers with minimal trauma and a few catnaps for the adult.
Well, I tried it this morning and...NOT HAPPENING! I think my presence just made the baby more pissed. It was a screaming and crying and trying to climb out of the playpen disaster. After 10 minutes I said, "forget this!", walked out of the room and just left him to settle himself like normal. No one was getting any sleep as long as I was in that room - especially not me!
Why isn't parenting strategy interchangeable?!
Mr A is always suggesting tricks that make his life so much easier when he is watching the baby but they never work for me! It's not that he's smug about it, it's just that I don't understand why our child responds to the XY chromosome carrier, but not the lady who carried and delivered him!
Case in point: nap/sleep time. Ikaika is a willful sleeper and typically screams for at least 5 minutes when he is put down. The other day, Mr A told me about this great idea of his where he lays down on the futon next to the playpen until the baby falls asleep. According to my husband, this has led to many a peaceful slumbers with minimal trauma and a few catnaps for the adult.
Well, I tried it this morning and...NOT HAPPENING! I think my presence just made the baby more pissed. It was a screaming and crying and trying to climb out of the playpen disaster. After 10 minutes I said, "forget this!", walked out of the room and just left him to settle himself like normal. No one was getting any sleep as long as I was in that room - especially not me!
Why isn't parenting strategy interchangeable?!
19.2.10
Things to Munch On
Yesterday I found a box of organic winter squash that's been burning a hole in my freezer for almost 2 months. I tried this recipe for Squashed Macaroni from Mothering Magazine's website and it was a hit!
For those who don't know, Mr A will only eat cheese on the rare occasion and we never have it in the house (I still haven't figured out the exact reason, something about it's structural similarity to wax...) So this dish turned out to be great alternative to macaroni and cheese. The creamy consistency and yellow hue were so similar to Kraft that several people at the basketball game asked the baby if he was enjoying his mac n cheese! I thought the taste was somewhat similar and the crunch of the walnuts was very satisfying. It's also a great way to sneak in another serving of veggies. I will be making this again.
Now something for your brain to munch on. Amy, over at Super Healthy Kids, posted a report from her friend's dentist showing what drinks rot teeth the fastest. So shocking. It sure made me think twice about giving the baby Gatorade!
For those who don't know, Mr A will only eat cheese on the rare occasion and we never have it in the house (I still haven't figured out the exact reason, something about it's structural similarity to wax...) So this dish turned out to be great alternative to macaroni and cheese. The creamy consistency and yellow hue were so similar to Kraft that several people at the basketball game asked the baby if he was enjoying his mac n cheese! I thought the taste was somewhat similar and the crunch of the walnuts was very satisfying. It's also a great way to sneak in another serving of veggies. I will be making this again.
Now something for your brain to munch on. Amy, over at Super Healthy Kids, posted a report from her friend's dentist showing what drinks rot teeth the fastest. So shocking. It sure made me think twice about giving the baby Gatorade!
18.2.10
Fleece Pants for Cold Feet
Oma got me some cozy UH fleece a month ago and I've been eager to use it. One thing about the Stranskys, we love us some collegiate gear!
Ikaika has tons of pajamas. Almost too many (IMO). The issue has been that his feet are freezing in the mornings. All the footed jams are one piece jumpsuits, which are a nightmare when it comes to using the potty. Because of this, I prefer to use long sleeve, two piece PJs but it's almost impossible to find them with feet.
I started this project by using an existing pair of pants for the pattern. I turned them inside out and stuffed one leg inside the other then traced them onto my fleece, taking into account seam allowances and elastic squishing.
Because my son wears a massive cloth diaper at night, I added a panel in the back to provide extra room in the tush.
I basically assembled them like regular pants except I added a "shoe" to the bottom. I think the trick here is two-fold: 1) make sure to cut out an arch on the front of the pant legs before you attach the top of the shoe - that way there is room for the volume of the foot and 2) I attached elastic to the back of the leg at about ankle length in order to help keep the foot somewhat snug. This seemed to improve both the fit and mobility.
I might try to use puffy paint on the bottom of the feet to make them somewhat less slippy. Even though he will theoretically only be using these to sleep, there's always the possibility of splitting one's face open on the hardwood floor.
The bummer about pants like these is that there isn't the same growth forgiveness there is with other clothes. You can't roll them up if he's too short, and once he's too long, there's no way to modify them. Looking at them on his body, I think I made them too short (ie. the length is exactly right at the moment) so I hope he - and I - enjoy these while they fit!
Ikaika has tons of pajamas. Almost too many (IMO). The issue has been that his feet are freezing in the mornings. All the footed jams are one piece jumpsuits, which are a nightmare when it comes to using the potty. Because of this, I prefer to use long sleeve, two piece PJs but it's almost impossible to find them with feet.
I started this project by using an existing pair of pants for the pattern. I turned them inside out and stuffed one leg inside the other then traced them onto my fleece, taking into account seam allowances and elastic squishing.Because my son wears a massive cloth diaper at night, I added a panel in the back to provide extra room in the tush.
I basically assembled them like regular pants except I added a "shoe" to the bottom. I think the trick here is two-fold: 1) make sure to cut out an arch on the front of the pant legs before you attach the top of the shoe - that way there is room for the volume of the foot and 2) I attached elastic to the back of the leg at about ankle length in order to help keep the foot somewhat snug. This seemed to improve both the fit and mobility.
I might try to use puffy paint on the bottom of the feet to make them somewhat less slippy. Even though he will theoretically only be using these to sleep, there's always the possibility of splitting one's face open on the hardwood floor.The bummer about pants like these is that there isn't the same growth forgiveness there is with other clothes. You can't roll them up if he's too short, and once he's too long, there's no way to modify them. Looking at them on his body, I think I made them too short (ie. the length is exactly right at the moment) so I hope he - and I - enjoy these while they fit!
17.2.10
UW lacrosse T-shirt Reconstruction
If you followed Terms of Indifference when I was living in Thailand, you may remember my Wisconsin lacrosse shirt, a gift courtesy my sister. I had to retire it because the cotton started to crust over with the salt from my sweat. But, considering I had worn it at least every other day, I was sure it had lived a good life.
For the past 2 years, even though I never wore it, I kept rescuing my UW LaX T-shirt from the "give away" pile. Lately, I've been drooling over Vegbee's raglan sleeve shirts and this seemed like the perfect project for my most treasured garment.
I used another old shirt from Cambodia for the sleeves (you can vaguely see the pattern on the shoulder) and scraps from a Philly's shirt (circa last year's World Series) for the back. The pattern was 100% eyeballed. I consider this to be acceptable for (my) children's clothes since fit isn't exactly of dire consequence. I also used Vegbees tute for transplanting a polo shirt collar onto a regualar t-shirt. I've never done this before but I like the results!
Clearly, this is closer to a size 3/4 shirt. Ikaika doesn't fit into it now, but he will sooner or later and my Wisconsin Lacrosse shirt will live on!
For the past 2 years, even though I never wore it, I kept rescuing my UW LaX T-shirt from the "give away" pile. Lately, I've been drooling over Vegbee's raglan sleeve shirts and this seemed like the perfect project for my most treasured garment.
I used another old shirt from Cambodia for the sleeves (you can vaguely see the pattern on the shoulder) and scraps from a Philly's shirt (circa last year's World Series) for the back. The pattern was 100% eyeballed. I consider this to be acceptable for (my) children's clothes since fit isn't exactly of dire consequence. I also used Vegbees tute for transplanting a polo shirt collar onto a regualar t-shirt. I've never done this before but I like the results!
Clearly, this is closer to a size 3/4 shirt. Ikaika doesn't fit into it now, but he will sooner or later and my Wisconsin Lacrosse shirt will live on!
16.2.10
AQUA MAN
He's just about 16 months now. At the last check up he was 32.5" and 25.5 lbs. He sprouted 3 new teeth this last month so that's 11 total. He's still into swimming, animals, reading books, and throwing balls. Sleeping continues to be a challenge, eating continues to be a piece of cake.
14.2.10
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