wordless wednesday::down by the river

a sweltering memorial day morning spent in the valley down by the river skipping rocks and avoiding poison ivy.

more wordless wednesday here, here and here!

a success story about buns

we have been in the process of transitioning our food preparation and consumption into more of a traditional diet for the past year (i will have to save that for another post), and one of the things i'm learning is how to work with soaked grains for baking.

side note: i have learned that it's not enough to switch from refined carbohydrates and sugars.  if it's not prepared properly, consuming whole grains doesn't really do your body any good (don't ask about breakfast cereal).  even though whole grains have all the good for you nutrients, it also contains phytic acid (so do legumes, by the way) and other anti-nutrients.  if not neutralized, phytic acid actually blocks the absorption of those vital nutrients found in whole grains.  unprepared whole grains are also more difficult for your body to digest.  soaking will also break down the complex starches and difficult to digest protein (like gluten) so that your body can digest it better.  soaking is just one way to neutralize phytic acid in grains and make them more digestible.   you can also ferment (sourdough) or sprout but i haven't gotten that far yet.

ok, back to the success story.

i made homemade buns last week using a recipe i've used many times before.  except i decided to soak the flour first.  well...it was a major FAIL.  i was so sad to have to toss it all.

that was my first attempt at soaking flour for use in bread.

yesterday we had burgers on the grill and i decided to try again at making homemade buns using soaked flour.  this time i got smart and googled for a recipe to try since i'm still quite a novice when it comes to working with soaked flour.

of course i found one within minutes!  this recipe was simple to follow and prepare...very good for beginner soakers like me.  the down side is that it still calls for white flour and uses instant yeast (i'm not sure yet how using instant yeast affects the integrity of the soaked flour/nutritional value...must do more research on it), but it served its purpose until i'm ready to experiment with something more.

homemade soaked hamburger buns from heavenly homesteading  
yields 8 hamburger buns

soaking/the day before baking

ingredients:

1 cup water
1 Tbs. of water kefir, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (i used raw apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup or 4 Tbs. of coconut oil (mine was in liquid form since i made this on a hot day, but the site says you can cut the oil into the flour before adding the water and acidic medium.)
2 cups whole wheat flour

combine the 4 ingredients until all the flour is moistened in a ceramic or glass bowl.  cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and place in a warm place and let sit 12-24 hours.

baking day

ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup unbleached white flour (preferably organic)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. whole cane sugar (i used rapadura, but i'm sure honey would be good too)
3 tsp. SAF instant yeast (i didn't have any of that so i used the active dry yeast i had on hand)
your pre-soaked flour mixture

add the ingredients to the pre-soaked flour mixture and knead until all ingredients are incorporated and dough is smooth.  i ended up having to add a bit more than 1 cup of white flour since the dough was still quite sticky.  the dough should be smooth and elastic (tacky but not sticky) once you're done kneading.

lightly dust with flour a rectangular pizza/baking stone (if you don't have a pizza stone, i think a baking sheet covered with parchment paper should work too).  place dough on floured surface or counter top and divide into 8 equal pieces. i left the divided dough in the bowl, working with 1 half piece at a time, because i'm lazy and didn't want to clean up a flour covered counter.  roll each piece in a ball and flatten a bit.  place the pieces on the baking stone.  lightly dust top with flour and cover with a towel.  place in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 2 hours).

preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.  bake buns for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  once done, cool buns on rack.  you can brush a little melted butter on top of each bun.  slice horizontally and stick a burger in between 'em.

these buns turned out so well that i don't think i'll go back to my stand-by recipe until i've figured out how to adjust the ingredients for soaking.  they are quite soft, though more dense compared to grocery store hamburger buns.  they didn't turn out so crumbly like the buns i used to make, and they were still soft the next day (usually my homemade bread and hamburger buns get stale much faster since there's no preservatives or dough conditioners).  i am very happy with the results!

hello cleveland

my baby sister and her boyfriend were in town last week.

i haven't seen her in 3 years so i think it was about time for a reunion!

we had so much fun together.

the kiddos loved having the company and getting reacquainted with their auntie michelle and kofi.

this was her 3rd time to cleveland and kofi's very first visit.

we showed them around town.

even with the amount of places we visited we didn't get to see it all.

of course, in addition to the sights we can't forget about some of the food stops we made (noodlecat, the melt and the happy dog), and the sunny afternoons in our yard just hanging out.  it was sad to see them go (though i'm sure they were ready for a kiddie break), but perhaps there will be a cleveland visit round 2 in the near future.

wordless wednesday::3 is the magic number

our boy turned 3 on sunday.

we celebrated with one of his favorite dinners, a birthday cupcake, birthday ice cream (all per his request) and fun with some of his new birthday gifts (football, football shirt and "football" pants were a HUGE hit).

more wordless wednesday here, here and here.

12/4

little dude.  

i think that term fits perfectly with who you are, my son.  it's hard to believe that you are 3 years old today, but here we are.  

i have had so much fun watching your personality grow and develop over the past year.  you are your own little person, full of energy and passion for things you like (and don't like).  you are rough and tumble through and through, but still enjoy sweet, cuddly moments with your mom and dad.  i hope you don't ever lose that part, because i love it!

you have grown quite well into your role as big brother as you help your baby cash smile with toys, books, or sweet talk when he's upset.  or bringing him his milk when he fusses.  or feed him raisins when he's ready for a snack.  i'm fairly certain you will be an awesome big brother when this next little one comes in august.

i am realizing that you really aren't a baby anymore.  i have heard your speech explode tremendously this past year.  i enjoy watching and listening to you make up your own stories with blocks, cars and whatever else you manage to dig up around the house. you have mastered the potty.  you eat more than your big sister (sometimes me!).  you like to jump off things.  you can set the table, get your own water, and bring your food to the table.  the road to independence is clearly in front of you and you are taking it in strides.

but even though you are now a little boy, you will always be my sweet baby.  we pray that we can be parents that guide and prepare you well for what the Lord has planned for you, and that you will become a man that loves the Lord who will faithfully serve and honor him in whatever he calls you to do.

my heart overflows with love for you sweet boy.  happy birthday!

mom.

do something: weekend may 11-13

so glad friday is here.  i am looking forward to next week when my husband will be home with us all week AND my sister and her boyfriend will be here to visit!  i haven't seen her in 3 years (such is the problem with living almost on the opposite end of the country from my family).  we will definitely be doing some CLE fun...and by fun i usually mean hitting up the delicious local eats around town (and maybe a little sight-seeing too).

meanwhile, here's a taste of what we may be checking out this weekend...

05.11:

near west theatre, a local community theatre in town, will be showing ragtime this weekend.  the show actually opened last weekend and will run through next weekend.  i will be going tonight for our church's monthly ladies' night, and i cannot wait.  i love musicals, and from what i've read, near west theatre puts on a pretty good show.  adult tickets are $8 (so affordable!) and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

photo source.

last weekend i posted about cleveland public theatre's danceworks performances, which showcased inlet dance theatre.  tonight and tomorrow night, danceworks will be showcasing 2 local dance companies, morrisondance and travesty dance group.  i have not personally seen any of their works, but both pieces being presented this weekend sound intriguing.  tickets, which can be purchased online, run from $10-$25 and the show starts at 7:00 p.m.

it's the second friday of the month which means it's time for the tremont art walk.  get yourself down there and take advantage of the warm weather tonight while checking out some local art and enjoying the loveliness of the tremont neighborhood (one of my favorite cleveland neighborhoods).  art work will be displayed at various local businesses in the neighborhood.  it's free and runs from 6-10 p.m.  print out this map before you go and you will be well prepared for the art walk.  if you drive down, parking is a bit tricky so bus, bike or carpool with friends if you can.

05.12:

it will be a busy saturday for local shop, crafty goodness.  drop-in from 11 a.m - 1 p.m. you can take their mother's day workshop and make a glass tile pendant for your mama for $10.  then, from 5-7 p.m. they will be hosting a craft swap to help you get your craft stash under control.  there is no cost for this gathering, although a donation of a personal hygiene item (see the list on their facebook event page) for the peter jones project will be your admission ticket.

photo source.

the 3rd annual the hooley on kamm's corner will be going on from noon - 8 p.m. where they will close off a section of lorain avenue to allow for the many events going on during the festival.  in case you are not familiar with irish slang, "hooley" means party or celebration, and from the looks of the festival schedule it looks to be a very fun, neighborhood party (of course you don't have to live in the neighborhood to attend).

05.13:

call your mother.  tell her you love her and wish her a happy mother's day!

happy weekend!

wordless wednesday::bits.2

more bits and pieces from the past week (thanks to instagram)...

link up!  more wordless wednesday here, here and here.

do something: weekend may 4-6

wow it's been a while since i've done this list!  we, personally, have a very full weekend of stuff going on.  i'll share with you some of the things we'll be doing and some that we won't but are still cool anyway.

we are a family who enjoy intentional outings on the weekend.  it can be as simple as going to the library or something a bit more involved like heading out to an event.  it's fun.  and most times it's inexpensive (we plan it that way).  most of all, it gets us out of the house and into the community around us.

05.04:

the amazing, new york-based modern dance company alvin ailey american dance theatre will be here in cleveland this weekend!  you don't even know how excited i am.  the last time i had an opportunity to see them was back when i was in seattle.  and i missed them then.  i couldn't miss another chance to see them this time.  who knows when they'll be touring at my city of residence again?  i am looking forward to the show tonight.  my sweet husband has graciously given up his spot as date (i don't think he minded that much), so i will be going with a new/old friend (old as in we've been facebook friends for maybe a year, but new in that we've never hung out together in real life), valerie.  side note:  if you haven't had the chance to stop by her shop yet or check out her work, please do!  she makes some cool stuff.  tickets are still available for this event.  prices range from $10-$70. the show starts at 8 p.m.

photo source

more on the dance front is CPT's danceworks '12.  this weekend, danceworks features local modern company, inlet dance theatre.  i have yet to see this company live, but their work looks phenomenal.  tickets for the rest of the weekend is $25 each, which you can purchase online.  but you get free beer if you go tonight!

05.05:

cinco de mayo aside, get yourself to the screw factory artists' spring open studio.  we've gone to a few of these and we do make it a point not to try and miss one.  this is a free event running from noon - .  in addition to the many talented artists participating, there will be vendors there including coffee for a cause, fresh fork market (sign up for your summer CSA!), the sweet spot, rosy girl baked goods, fired up taco truck and the nosh box food truck.  a treat for the senses!

it's semi-finals for cleveland's burning river roller girls!  if you like roller derby then you don't want to miss out on this fun event at the wolstein center.  we have yet to go, but would like to plan on making a date night out of it some day.  and when all the kids can start tolerating later nights, then we'll definitely be making this a family affair.  tickets are $12 in advance or $17 at the door.  kids 12 and under are $6 each.  doors open at 5 p.m. with the first bout starting at 6 p.m.

photo source

05.06:

this is the last day for kamm's corner's indoor farmers' market!  stop by and stock up your pantry.  their outdoor market will begin sunday 10 june.  if you enjoy going to the farmers' market, the one in crocker park has already started.  for a more comprehensive list, check here.

if one bout wasn't enough on saturday, then you have another chance to see more derby on sunday.  check out the burning river all-star team as they go up against the long island roller rebels from new york at the pla-mor roller rink.  and...ticket prices are much more affordable running at $3 a pop (cash only).  doors open at 10 a.m. with the bout starting at 10:20 a.m.

happy weekend!

wordless wednesday::bits

bits and pieces of the past week.

more wordless wednesday here, here and here.

oh baby :: cash the early bird

a birth story.  

i had always planned on writing down my birth stories but never did.  why would i want to?  so i can share them with my children, and so i can remember them myself.  especially since each one was so different.

and can you believe that i'm writing cash's birth story as i'm pregnant.  again?1?  i wonder how this 4th baby's birth experience will be like, especially since all 3 have been unique in their own way...there is no routine in the childbirth process.  each one is special. 

*****

our peanut.

our 3rd born.

baby cash was due on march 10, 2011.  based on the arrival time of his older siblings, we guessed he'd be making his appearance a week before then.

with this pregnancy, i got to forgo the usual prenatal bloodwork that comes along during your 1st trimester of pregnancy.  that made me happy (did i mention my dislike for non-tattoo needles?) and our pocketbook happy.  plus, it didn't make any sense in doing those tests if nothing had changed in the 2 years since my last pregnancy. 

with my last pregnancy, i was diagnosed with GBS so we were going under the assumption that i will test positive for it again this time around.  after eating lots of yogurt and using raw garlic 2 weeks or so before the test, i tested negative. 

things were moving along, though at 35 weeks pregnant we didn't have everything fully prepared at home for receiving our new baby.  i was still teaching dance and planned to go all the way through february before taking any time off.  little did i know that i wasn't going to make it that far.

8 days before his arrival.

i had started my day on february 11, finishing up this post and went about my day with business as usual.  nothing really felt out of the ordinary.  i did manage to do a nice load of laundry full of newborn/baby clothes, which gave some sense of preparedness for the new arrival.

as evening approached, i don't recall anything out of the ordinary sticking out in my head except when we began the bedtime round-up for the kiddos.  you know those braxton hicks contractions you get during the late part of your pregnancy.  well, 7:00 p.m. rolls around and those braxton hicks no longer felt like braxton hicks.  i had to stop and actually breathe through a contraction.  how was that possible?  i was only 36 weeks pregnant.  aaron shooed me to bed and finished up with the kiddos bedtime activities.

after that little spell, i didn't have anymore contractions.  as my husband prepared to leave for a show that night, we decided it was best if i just stayed in bed for the rest of the evening.  surely with a little bed rest things will be back to normal.  after all, i have another month to go.

at 11:30 p.m. i finally decided to get some shut eye.

at 1:10 a.m. i woke up to a surprise.  water was everywhere and at first i had no idea what was happening.  as it turns out my water just broke.  this had never happened before with my other two so having my water break before labor began was a new experience for me.  at first i kind of ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, not knowing what to do first.  after getting over the shock of realizing that my water just broke (and i wasn't due for another month), i finally got things squared away.

the first thing i did was go on the internet to look up how long i was allowed to safely go after my water breaking before i had to go to the hospital since i hadn't started labor yet (you'd think that calling my midwife would be the first thing i do).

at around 1:30 a.m., i sent aaron a text telling him that my water just broke. no response.  i tried to call him a few times shortly after the text but no answer.  of course!  he was at a show. 

at this point, i was trying to think through what i should do next.  we didn't have a plan in place for this type of situation. i knew aaron was 30 minutes away and i had no clue what time he was coming back since i hadn't heard from him.  i wanted to touch base with him first before i called colleen just in case she told me to come in.  my biggest concern was the fact that i was at 36 weeks.  that's considered a premature birth.  i had done very little research on premature births since i didn't think i was at risk for that.

as 2:00 a.m. approached i heard aaron pull in the driveway.  relieved, i decided to start packing the hospital bag while i waited for him to come up to the room.  it was almost 2:30 by the time he made it upstairs...he sure was taking his sweet time!  i discovered that he hadn't checked his phone at all, and when he realized what had happened i think panic mode kind of set in for him (like i said, we weren't prepared for this type of situation).

i finally called colleen at 2:30 a.m.  i felt bad having to wake her up (with gibson i had her up at 3:30 a.m.), but as it turns out she was getting ready to go to the hospital for a delivery anyway.  i still hadn't started labor, and i hoped in my heart that i didn't have to come in.  i didn't want to be induced, because i knew the increased risks of all the other medical interventions that would come along with that.

i was SO relieved when colleen told me to go back to sleep!  i had 24 hours before i had to actually check-in to the hospital, so there was no need to do anything at this point except wait for labor to start on its own.  she suspected that since this wasn't my first rodeo, i would most likely start labor within the 24 hour period.  she told me to call her at noon if i hadn't started labor yet, so that we could discuss some natural ways to start the laboring process.  silly me for even thinking that she would want me in the hospital so soon!  i am so glad that we are on the same page.

after aaron and i finished up our packing and decompressing, we headed to our bed for some shut-eye.  it was 3:00 a.m. when my head touched the pillow.

4:00 a.m. and i was abruptly awoken to pains in my abdomen that were oh so familiar.  so much for rest.  here. we. go.

aaron was still fast asleep.  the contractions weren't painful (more wave-like if anything) and still about 10-15 minutes apart but they were enough of a presence to keep me from going back to sleep.  this went on for 2 hours...spaced out the same amount of time, but as if the "wave" was growing more intense with each hour that passed by.

by 6:00 a.m. the contractions had increased in frequency (5-6 minutes apart) and intensity.  i remember it still feeling like waves (but think more along the lines of tidal waves), except they weren't spaced very far apart anymore.  this time around, it felt as if the baby was moving lower and lower with each contraction.

i don't remember when i finally woke aaron up, i think it must have been when my contractions were 5 minutes apart.  corrie came to the rescue to watch the kiddos as we prepared for our journey to the hospital (and the oh so fun experience of laboring in the car...please note sarcasm).

7:30 a.m. and we were out the door, in our car and zipping along the freeway to the hospital.  i called colleen to let her know we were on our way there.  poor lady!  she was on her way home from the hospital after doing a delivery.  oops!  i guess i should have called her a little sooner.

once we arrived, i stopped paying attention to the time as much and tried to get "settled" into our room.  unfortunately, i was unable to use the birthing center because it was taken by someone else.  it wouldn't have mattered anyway since you have to be at least 37 weeks to use the space.  there was also no waterbirth experience for me (again) since i was technically delivering a premature baby.

the attending nurse did the usual check-in routine.  colleen was there shortly after we checked in, and so was her student, ashley (she was awesome too).  much like emma's experience, i had no pokes with a needle in my arm (or anywhere else for that matter), and the EFM didn't stick around my belly for too long.  it was nice not feeling "tied down."  being the funny man he is, aaron thought the baby's heartbeat sounded like the tune of bonanza.  ha.  he's good at keeping me distracted. 

ashley set up the aromatherapy in the room while colleen dimmed the lights and brought in her oils.  the sweet nurse brought in the iPod player and we attempted to select some nice background music to labor to.  after a short laugh, we decided to nix the rave/aerobic-like musical option on there and settled on good ol' frank sinatra.

side note that i have to add in: the attending nurse during this labor was SO awesome.  i wish i had remembered her name.  she has 10 kids and 4 out of those ten were birthed naturally at home.  she totally understood our birth philosophy, and was so supportive and low-key about everything.  she really stood out to me compared to the other nurses that have attended my birth (not saying that the other nurses were horrible or anything).  how amazing is it that i had her with me for my labor and delivery?  i am hoping that with this baby she will be the one attending my birth.

okay, back to pushing the baby out.  things were going smoothly.  my beloved birth ball was brought in for me to labor on for a while until i was ready to push.  we laughed, joked and chatted between contractions while frankie crooned in the background.  the nurse checked the baby's heart rate with a good old fashioned stethoscope, and i can honestly say that i can't recall anything unpleasant about the experience.  i really felt like all parties present honored our birth plan to a T.  i didn't have to re-iterate anything which enabled me to focus my full attention and energy to meeting our sweet boy for the first time.

it was a bit after 10:00 a.m. and i was feeling ready to push.  i had my cervix checked, but i was only 6 cm dilated.  usually, you have to wait until the cervix is 10 cm dilated before you start pushing the baby out, since that is when the opening will be at the widest point (this had been the case for my past 2 deliveries).  but the desire to push was happening already.  colleen, being the super midwife she is, said to go ahead and start pushing if my body was telling me to push.  so i did.  we later found out from our sweet nurse that there has been evidence that it did no harm to the cervix if a woman pushed based on when her body tells her to push rather than wait until the 10 cm indicator, especially if the cervix is very stretchy.  interesting. i wonder if she had any personal experience with that since she did birth 10 kids.

i felt like i was at the pushing stage forever (later our nurse said it was really only about 15 minutes or so) and thinking that this was the longest pushing stage i've had to endure.  pushing is probably the most physically and mentally demanding part of the childbirth process, at least for me.  on the one hand, i was excited to meet our sweet babe, but on the other hand i was frustrated that my body wasn't doing what it was supposed to do to get to that point (this last part is an untrue assumption of course, because your body is doing what it needs to do...sometimes it just takes more time).  i could feel my endurance wavering.  i wanted to stop.  take a coffee break.  take a nap.  resume later.  my body was tired.  my brain was tired. but there was no stopping the process now.  we. were. so. close.

at 10:29 a.m. our baby boy finally made his appearance.  he was born with his left arm over his face, much like his ultrasound picture. no wonder it was taking forever to push him out.  they immediately placed him on my chest, skin to skin and it was glorious.  beautiful baby smell.  beautiful baby skin.  amazing.

they suctioned him and cleaned him up while he was still resting peacefully on me.  nothing else was done for what seemed like an eternity.  they waited until the cord stopped pulsing before it was clamped and cut (i had read up on this, but had forgotten to put it in the birth plan...glad colleen read my mind).  he wasn't even weighed until an hour after birth...after mom and baby had their time together.

8 lbs. for a preemie was quite a surprise for everyone.  can you imagine what he would have weighed if he was full-term?  probably bigger than gibson!  our nurse (the same one from the beginning) said that he did seem premature by the amount of vernix he still had on his skin.  but aside from that, there were no other complications that came attached to birthing a premature babe (praise God!).  

oh how sweet it was to be able to hold our little cash in my arms.  and even sweeter that we got to meet him earlier than expected.

***** 

with each birth, it seems that i know more and more what my body is capable of.  and with each birth, i feel as if God has a handle on the whole situation (which of course he does) and that all i need to do is give it over to him and trust my instincts.  the ease with being able to do that has been easier with each childbirth experience, and it's sometimes indescribable when i realize how he has used those times to mold and shape me and to strengthen my faith in him.

tis so sweet to trust in jesus. and to take him at his word.  and to rest upon his promise and to know thus says the lord.

*****

More baby stories:

Emma's birth story.

Gibson's birth story.

More birth-related babble:

why i choose natural birth

reflecting on the not so ordinary