Yes, I am that Hippie Mom. Sorry.

I like to bake.  Bread specifically.  I don't remember what started me on this journey, but its been darn tasty.  I don't mind baking cakes and sweets when the occasion calls for them, but there is something very viscerally satisfying about sawing through a crusty loaf fresh out of the oven, the steam still rising from the loaf, the yeasty aroma wafting in your face as you inhale.  And then taking that first bite.  The "OMG is it decent?  It smells good, it looks good, but does it TASTE good?" bite.   Crunchy crust, soft creamy crumb, almost melting the mouth, but a decent amount of chew on the back end.  The lovely tang from sourdough?  God I love that.

 I love taking a handful of humble ingredients and elevating them to something approaching art.  I love the tactile sensation of a good dough under your hands.  And the fact that you KNOW its a good dough, just because of how it feels.  I love taking that dough and making something unique and delicious out of it.  I love taking that dough and throwing whatever I have in the pantry freezer or garden and making something completely different.  I love knowing exactly what I'm feeding my kids.  Exactly what goes into this bread, and exactly what does NOT.  I love knowing that Boo knows how much work it is to make bread, and still wants to help.  I love that she will have this to look back on as time with her Momma.  I enjoy finding new recipes to try, and I enjoy making riffs on recipes that I've already done.  I rarely have any loafs that are inedible, and each one is a learning experience.  I love talking with B about what we like and don't like about the various iterations.  I enjoy the fact that we can be so candid about this - without egos or hurt feelings.  This is important for the girls too, to see that something can be talked about in both positive and not so positive terms, and its ok.  Its ok for the bread to be awesome, but its ok for the bread to be not so great, and we can learn from it either way.

Finding Time to Practice

I like to plan.  Those of you who know me well are rolling on the floor laughing your butts off at that sentence.  Saying I like to plan is like saying the Pope is Catholic, or the ocean is wet, or beaches are sandy.  I exsist, therefore I plan. 

I am beginning to think that this is why I struggle to practice - when I'm not actively taking lessons that is. And I'm highly unlikely to find random 100$ bills in the couch to pay for lessons.  Yes.  They're that expensive.  I practiced alot when I was in grad school.  Not 8 hours a day practice, like some of my classmates, but I logged a decent number of hours.  But after grad school, and a year of dissapointing auditions, I fell off the praciting bandwagon.  I had wagon tracks permantly tatooed on my back.  I would start up, vow to keep it up, and fall off again about two weeks in.  The only things that kept me practicing regularly were sints as a teacher, and the community orchestra I played for.  This is key.  I need goals.  A concert, a lesson, a recital.  Without goals, how can I plan?  And without a plan how can I exsist?  And, sadly, I'm only sorta kidding here. 

This summer, a friend and I vowed to get together and play.  We've done it once.  She's called me a couple times to reschedule, and we're gonna play again in a couple weeks.  My crazy life precludes anything sooner right now, and truthfully, I don't want her to know how bad I probably sound right now.  I will get back in shape.  I will not attend the first rehearsal of the season with dread because I know I have no endurance left.  I downloaded an app for my phone which is supposed to help me plan my practice.  If I can find time to run, I can find time to practice.  If I can find time to devour three books a week, I can find time to practice.  If I can find time to bake three loaves of bread in a day, I can find time to practice.  If B can find time to program (for FUN????) an hour EVERY.  DAY?  I can find time to practice a couple times a week.  In grad school I practiced four hours a day most days, and at LEAST an hour every single day.  The only way I could accomplish that now is if I could strap the kids to the couch, and, apparently that's frowned upon.   Just because I can't devote that kind of time to it right now is no reason to skive off completely.  Much can be accomplished in half an hour.  I need to remember that.  And Auntie L?  Don't kill me in a couple weeks, ok?  :D

As a Mom, even one without a car, there are days where I feel like I am running from the time I get up to the time I collapse in bed at night.  There are however, things that I've discovered along the way that help me out.  Things that make life a little bit easier.  Not all of these are material things, but mostly thats what I'm gonna talk about today.  Many of my friends are either Moms, Soon to Be Moms, or entering the phase of their lives where they are thinking about being moms.  I do NOT claim to have found the best of what's out there, but I would like to share a couple things that I dearly love.  And we'll see if I can figure out how to link pictures in a post eh?  Double challenge!  Write coherently AND post pics. 

First things first.  You got kids?  You got poop.  Or pee.  Or both.  and you need to deal with it.  These things make changing diapers less horrible for us.

This is Diaper pod.  Well, we call it Diaper Pod.  Seriously the best travel changing pad ever.  Comes with a wipes container, big enough for a toddler change, and has very useful well thought out features.  We take this thing everywhere we go.






Next up, another Munchkin Product.  And no, they don't pay me or give me anything, I just like their stuff.

This.  Is.  DIAPER DUCKIE! Diaper duck will take your nastiest diapers and render them unsmellable.  Even after a day in a hot car in the sun.  That unsmellable.  Yes.  We know this from experience.  Yes its gross.  So is having kids sometimes.  Get over it.  Diaper Duckie is also handy for those, "oops I didn't make it to the potty" wet or smelly clothes.  If its wet and smelly, put it in one of these bags.  If the kids are bored and fractious, let them play with the duck.   Its a multitasker! 





Ok, now that we've got the poop under control (yeah right), what about the input?  I have tried dozens (and I do mean dozens just ask my husband) of sippy and straw cups.  Again, Munchkin has the best.  They don't leak (unless the inner seal pops out) they are resistant to being chewed on, the parts are simple and they go in the dishwasher, though after awhile the design does wear off from dishwashering.

We have both the Dora and Spongebob ones, and the tops and seals are completely interchangeable, despite being bought literally years apart.  We've had the Spongebob ones for about two years, and they are still the most leak proof cups in the house.

I also really like The First Years Take and Toss cups.  Definately not as leak proof, but sometimes that's ok,




Now that drinks and butts are taken care of, lets talk for a minute about other things that make life with kids easier. 

Constantly packing snacks.  The days when I don't plan for snacking these girls, it's like I've been thrown to the wolves and ripped apart limb from limb.  It might just be my kids, they would graze all day if I let them, but I don't think so.  So, always having a supply of something on hand really helps me avoid meltdowns.  When I was nursing it was easy, whip out a boob and there ya go.  Instant snack.  With bottles it was a little more involved, what with the formula and the water and whatnot.  Still though, once my babies were done with the bottle or boob, I had a hard time remembering that they needed to eat more often.  I still forget sometimes.  Yes.  I suck.  I know.  I'm starving these kids.  Let me show you Maus' rolls.  Girl can Tank. UP.  But it's easier with the toddler snacks that are on the market now.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Puffy Noms we called them.  The sweet potato flavor was so good we'd eat just as much as the kids.  Great for little ones just starting on solids.  A note though, these are NOT mess free.  You will find puffy noms in the MOST disturbing places.  Trust me.  They stick to EVERYTHING.  But hey, good, portable, cheap, healthy, easy to eat snack. 

Along the same lines as the Puffy Noms above, these are in yogurt form.  The mixed berries were good, but the peach ones?  Yeah, it was often one for baby two for mom with those things.  Again, NOT mess free, have a wipe handy, but dang.  So. Good. 



So we've discussed snacks, drinks and butts.  Why am I not breaking out the big guns?  Car seats? Strollers? Slings?  Well, because i'm not God.  I don't have all the answers, and I'm not particularly happy with all the choices we've made in those areas.  For example, the best sling I used for Maus was the scarf that came free with my 8$ dress from the Gap.  I liked the Snugli we had, liked it a lot, and Boo went with me everywhere in that thing for nearly a year, but Maus never liked it.  She loved the scarf though.  I liked our first stroller with Boo, an Evenflo, but I carried groceries in it back and forth for six months and broke the wheels.  I like the stroller we have now for Maus, a Graco, but the sunshade is essentially useless.  Also this post is already long enough.  :D 

There are tons more things that make my life easier, like my iPhone and my husband.  Not in that order.  :D  Having a sense of humor helps.  Even if I lose it from time to time. 

Patience.  This one I need to work on.  I have been told by others that I'm patient, but man it's hard to see that, and  I do not feel patient at times.   Like when Boo comes downstairs nekkid for the THIRD TIME because she can't find her panties, wants to show us her ghost friend, can't find pirate skirt, et cetera et cetera. 

My crazy life

So - the last few weeks have been crazy ones. We went home to Iowa to baptize Maus and have a vacation. Lady took a turn for the worse during that and I had to come home and have her put to sleep. July is filled with reunions and parties and get togethers with friends and family. And I? I am trying not to go pear shaped. Well. More pear shaped. In every possible way. This next week I'll do a more detailed post. I'd like to find an iPhone app that doesn't suck - for blogging - but I'm not seeing anything that doesn't cost like ten bucks. And seriously ? At ten bucks the thing should damn well type my post, deliver my iced tea and change Maus' stinky diaper.