Tiny Techies

It started when Brady was 2. I joined the rest of the world and traded in my old flip phone for an iPhone. I didn't care for it at the time, but once I figured out how to navigate it I downloaded Angry Birds. The second Brady saw Angry Birds he was entranced. The child wanted my phone ALL the time. I let him carry it around thinking it was cute. No one could have a phone out around him without him completely taking it over. He watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on repeat every time I had to take him grocery shopping. We literally could not leave the house without that phone. Somehow, it survived 2 years in his grips without breaking.
When he was 3, I received a Kindle Fire for Mothers' Day. I hid it from him for a week or so because I knew what would happen. Sure enough he found it and I have not read a book on it to this day. This went on, and my father received a tablet for work. Brady wanted to go see Grandma and Pa Pa every weekend just so he could play games on that tablet. One low point was when Brady downloaded a $19.99 bowling game on my credit card. I knew I had to be more careful about parental controls. He had also figured out how to watch videos on YouTube. I then blocked the internet.
I purchased him an InnoTab tablet just for kids. I was so excited when I first saw the commercial! Finally, a tablet for kids! My son isn't the only one! He took one look at it on Christmas morning and decided it was for babies. It didn't have "hi-fly" (wi-fi) and you couldn't play any game you wanted. The touch screen wasn't advanced enough for him. So the thing sits in a drawer in his room while he continues to use anything else he can get his little hands on. Don't get me wrong- he still did normal little boy things. He played sports and did art and liked to help cook. But he had a serious technology addiction.
When Cecilia was born, he was getting bored of the games on the iPhone and Kindle. He had played pretty much every free game for kids, and some paid ones that he HAD to have. He saw a commercial on Nick Jr. for online games and activities. The commercial said "have a parent log on to nickjr.com and check out games from your favorite shows." The next thing I know, Brady was playing a Bubble Guppies game on the computer. How he figured out how to operate my laptop (and the fact that he had carried it around) was sort of unsettling. I knew my son was smart, but he had just turned 4 years old. I never even saw a computer until I was in middle school.
I remembered I had an old Nintendo DS from when I was younger. I was desperate to keep him busy since I was busy with the new baby. I also wanted my phone, computer, and Kindle back. So I charged up the Nintendo and popped Super Mario Brothers in. It was love at first sight. He had the whole game practically beaten in a week. We went on a vacation in the mountains when James returned from Afghanistan. The cabin we stayed at had a Wii. I begged James not to let him see it. We waited until the last night in the cabin to show it to him. If he had seen it earlier, we wouldn't have done any of the activities I had planned. It was amazing. He figured it out immediately. He kept beating James in boxing and bowling. I thought his dad was letting him win, but he wasn't. Brady was even able to beat the computer within a few minutes. He didn't want to leave the Wii and I told him the only Wii was at that cabin in the mountains.
Against my wishes and better judgement, my mother and James decided he needed a Wii for Christmas. On Christmas morning, Brady acted like I would if I saw a new car in the driveway. Unfortunately, my misgivings about him getting the Wii all proved true. He didn't want to stop playing. Ever. It caused many tears and arguments and even some threats to take it away. Finally, 3 weeks after Christmas, the "new" has started to wear off and there are a couple of days where he hasn't played at all.
About 2 weeks ago, my 13 month old Cecilia started saying "Moni." I thought it was some cute new nickname for me. But she was getting frustrated that I didn't understand. She became increasingly angry and would scream and thrash when we got in the car. It happened every time we dropped Brady off at school. I finally saw what she was grabbing for. The Nintendo DS. She was saying "Mario." My sweet little baby girl's third word was "Mario." I gave her the game and she immediately relaxed and began pushing the buttons. She had already loved playing with my iPhone, and her tiny fingers knew to scroll through the pictures, and type letters under 'Notes."

The same thing is beginning again. I know now is the time to set the rules. But I have to ask myself, is it really that bad? I wish I knew more about technology. It is embarrassing when my 4 year old gets annoyed when I can't figure something out on the Wii or my phone and says "Mom, just give it to me. I'll just do it." I don't know where they get it from. James doesn't play video games, or even use the computer unless it is work related. And I am completely clueless when it comes to all things technology related. I won't even say how long it took me to figure out this blog thing. So, again, is it wrong that they learn at an early age? Is it best to allow it but set more limits? Will it help them in the future? Maybe I struggle with this because I was growing up just as the internet was becoming a household phenomenon. It has changed so much in the past 20 years. How much more advanced will it be in another 20 years? Will it hold my children back if I don't let them continue to learn? I just don't know at this point. Maybe I'll ask Google.

This and That

This week I continued experimenting with my KitchenAid stand mixer. It has to be the best Christmas gift I have ever received. I use the thing almost every day. Sampling all these delicious breads and baked goods, however, had me questioning myself. As good as they taste, all these delectable carbs can't be good for the waistline. My husband asks "What's the problem? Don't you enjoy baking? Don't you like the homemade goodness of fresh baked breads?" Of course I do. But I'm not my husband. I don't run 5 miles a day and do pull-ups for fun! So I decided it was time to start giving away my tasty creations. Immediately, I knew what to do: send them in for the Marines! It's win-win. I can keep baking and they can eat it. I can have my cake and (not) eat it too.
First, I made bagels. We love bagels around here, and I thought I'd try the famous Peter Reinhart's recipe for the perfect bagel. They were a lot more work than I thought. The results, however, were divine!

These babies were too tough for my mixer to knead. James had to do the kneading since my carpal tunnel couldn't handle it. I decided on cinnamon raisin (my favorite) and sesame seed (his favorite.) Here, they are ready to do a slow overnight rise in the fridge. 

The next morning, they were ready to boil. Who knew bagels were boiled? Not me! After being boiled they were baked on high heat for about 8 minutes. 

Here they are cooling. Once again, I am by no means a professional, but these bagels rivaled any bagel I've ever had from Dunkin Donuts! 

Later that night, we decided on homemade pizza for dinner. We had lots of cheese and random toppings left over from Christmas and New Year's snacks and wanted to use them up. The pizza dough was pretty straightforward; the recipe came from the KitchenAid users manual. Below is the finished product: 

I prefer a thin crust pizza, but this was good nonetheless! 

I wanted to try a couple of other recipes and decided to send those in for the Marines. First I made a yummy cinnamon swirl bread. 

I think I should have rolled the loaves a little tighter, but hopefully the mistakes were mild imperfections only I would notice. 

I wanted to make bagels again, but didn't have the stamina to knead that crazy dough, so I went with English Muffins instead. They were pretty fun to make, and had a relatively short rise time. 

Once again I learned something new. English muffins are grilled prior to baking! I used my nifty new griddler to grill them all at once. The dough balls magically flatten out and start to look like English muffins! After grilling, they are baked to finish cooking the centers. 

I made plain and cranberry-orange. 

I put the goodies into bags, and loaded up a basket for James to share with his fellow Marines:

The basket was a hit! There were no leftovers :) 

All in all, it was a successful baking week. I took a break and only made blueberry muffins this weekend. I had some fresh organic blueberries from Backyard Produce that I needed to use up and whipped up a small batch of muffins today. Luckily, Cecilia and Brady enjoyed them. I feel much better feeding them homemade wheat muffins, as opposed to the unhealthy (yet delicious!) Entenmann's muffins. 

Next week I will probably make a couple of loaves for practice and take them to my moms work. I think the most important thing with any craft is to keep practicing. 

In other news: 

Walter is still here! He's a keeper. He loves it here and is fitting in just fine. 

We had a little cabin fever today and escaped to Chick-fil-a. Brady and Sis had a blast. Then we went to Books-a-Million and Pet Smart to get some new toys for the pups. 

Tomorrow morning, James heads off to Alaska. He isn't excited about leaving 70 degrees for 0 degrees, and I'm not excited about him already leaving again. On the bright side, at least he will still be in the US! At least I have my KitchenAid to keep me company :) 

Bread Baking: My First Week

I never spent much time in the kitchen until I got married in 2006. At that point, I could not even fry an egg. Over the next few years I improved and learned a few basic kitchen skills. When I had my first baby, I vowed to prepare healthier foods for the good of my family. I began preparing dishes containing more fresh herbs and veggies, different grains, and more lean fish. I didn't do much baking with the exception of cookies and brownies. 

Over the past year, my son Brady expressed an interest in helping out in the kitchen and he really started to enjoy baking. We made such a mess and my little hand mixer couldn't stand up to our baking frenzies. When fall rolled around I decided I would ask Santa Claus for a KitchenAid stand mixer. I had to remind Santa of this several times, but low and behold there was a giant box under the Christmas tree with my name on it. I took my new mixer out of the box the very next day and read the entire instruction manual. There was a section on breads and the process of bread baking really seemed interesting. I have made plenty of banana breads and other quick breads but I decided I wanted to make real bread, like the artisan bread you buy for $4.99 at Harris Teeter. So I stocked up on some supplies and started with a basic wheat loaf: 

Whole wheat loaf: Perfect for sandwiches or toast. 

Next, I decided to try my hand at some pretzels, because they looked so fun to make. They aren't picture perfect, I'll need some more practice with shaping.

I made jalapeno-cheddar, salted, and cinnamon sugar. Yum!

I wanted to try a buttery, garlicky, rustic bread next. I found this one on Pinterest. This was so good we ate one loaf the first night! 

Rosemary garlic bread. No kneading required on this one! 

My most recent project was ciabatta. I love salty breads with chewy crust and a nice crumb (those big holes on the inside of the bread.) It took a lot of mixing and proofing (rising time) but I think it came out wonderfully for my first try. 

The loaves on a couche, ready for proofing.

The final product, with a view of a couple of large hole structures.

I know my breads are far from perfect, but I have never gotten so much enjoyment out of baking. The science of the flour, yeast, salt and water coming together to form bread is nothing short of amazing. Kneading and shaping the dough into loaves is so relaxing, and watching the dough rise and double in size over the span of the day gives me a sense of accomplishment. Knowing I can make fresh bread for my family, for very little money, makes me happy. Also, I know what goes into the dough and it is not artificial flavors, ingredients, or preservatives.  

I'm not sure if this is a passing interest, or will turn into a lifetime love of bread baking, but I am having a blast learning and experimenting. Don't be afraid of trying, I promise your family will be happy you did!