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Feed Daniel, burp Daniel, change Daniel, bath Daniel, get Daniel to sleep.

Wash dishes, say goodnight to James, get ready for bed, oops I forgot to eat dinner, oh well it's too late to eat, crash in bed, ignore baby cry until 4:30am.

Feed baby, dress baby, get dressed go to work, say goodbye to James, oops forgot to bring lunch, oh well I'm not hungry anyway.

Pick Daniel up from Daycare.

Leave him in his carseat while he naps, listen to him scream when he wakes up. Feed him, change him, burp him, bath him. Lay him down to scream in bed.




....something tells me this plot would never make it a full season as a TV show.

Focaccia

Focaccia Bread
Ingredients:
4-4 1/2 c flour
1/2 c warm water (105-115 deg)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 c warm water (105-115 deg)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary or basil
1 Tbs olive oil
coarse salt

1.For the sponge, in a bowl combine 1/2 c of flour, 1/2 c warm water, and the yeast. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand overnight [or about 4-8 hours if you didn't plan that far ahead] at room temperature to ferment. [I have also waited two days to use the sponge, the bread was just as yummy.]
2. Gradually stir 1 c warm water, rosemary and salt. Add just enough flour to make a dough that pulls away from the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (about 8-10 min total). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl [be sure to get all the sides for ease in removing the dough later], turn the dough once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour). [Don't put the bowl directly on top of the oven. I began cooking the dough in the bowl doing this once.]
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured baking sheet. Place a large bowl over the dough to cover it and let it rest for 30 min. Meanwhile preheat oven and a bread stone to 475 deg.
4. Shape the dough on the baking sheet into a circle about 11 inches in diameter by pulling and pressing with fingertips. (Don't stretch dough to roughly or it will deflate; you want to keep air bubble intact.) Make 1/2 inch indentations every 2 inches in dough. Brush dough with olive oil; sprinkle with coarse salt. Carefully slide focaccia from floured baking sheet to preheated bread stone. (If you do not have a bread stone leave the bread on the baking sheet it was formed on.) [Do not use a pizza pan: the bottom will not form a hard crust.]
5. Bake for 15-20 min or until golden brown, checking every 8 minutes and popping any large bubble with a knife. [I have yet to encounter any large bubbles.] Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm. [This bread is not nearly as good cold: eat it warm with seasoned drizzling oil or oil and balsamic vinegar.]

Looking Into the Future

Sometimes I am eager to go to work for a break from the stress and frustration of raising a 5 month old who is sick and teething and screaming and crying and thrashing and walloping my aching jaw with his head. Days like this I wonder if my children would be better off if I left them for a few hours each day. Fewer opportunities for me to hurt them that way. (Not that I will hurt them, I'm just saying there are lots of opportunities to lose control when you are with kids 24/7.)

There are many many days when I am desperate to stay home simply because I am exhausted from lack of sleep. And then... there are those sweet moments when my heart yearns to be home with Daniel all the time so I would not have to miss out on all the smiles and giggles and new discoveries.

So is being a stay-at-home-mom in my future?

I love my job but I love my family more. I know that we are happiest when we live our lives according to Heavenly Father's plan (which is outlined very well in the Proclamation to the World.) If I do continue working it will be because that is what is best for our family.

I have three options: Stay at work full time. Stay at home full time. And Voluntary Reduction in Work Schedule (VRWS). I can work and earn money for the family (and enjoy my job in the process) but also have the flexibility to take time off whenever I need or want to. Here's how it works: is an option I have as a State employee to give up a percentage of my pay for the same % in time off. The min reduction is 5%, the max is 30%. 5% = 13 extra days, 30% = 78 extra days. 78 extra days off a year! That's approx 4 months! I am seriously considering VRWS once James starts working because it is the next best thing to being a stay at home mom.

Time to revive the old forgotton blog.

I considered creating a new blog but I didn't want to abandon my old one again now that I remembered it existed. So much has changed over the years since I last used this blog. I remember feeling like I wanted to stay in Brasil forever. Now I am so happy that was not an option for me. I sometimes think about what life would be like without James and Daniel. I can picture the awesome adventures I could have had...

...and then I get lonely and my heart aches for the life and love I would have missed out on.

thanksgiving feasts

my frist thanks giving feast was with the missionaries from church. The missionariy couple invited me and the american elders over for pizza and guarana. Noooot exactly the traditional americn feast but the company was perfect. Five americans laughing and joking, it was so nice to laugh like that. It's so hard to understand a foreign sense of humor.

The pictures of the sun set just dont do the real thing justice, but of course i try.



My second thanksgiving feast was with the boss in the office where the missionaries work and where I volunteer.


Turkey at Humberto's

And best of all of course was churrasco at the Rovati's.