Pull-Apart Pizza Bread

I'm not on Pinterest; I have enough things to waste my time with these days!  But I do enjoy seeing some of the things that others "pin" via Facebook.  A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a recipe for Pull-Apart Pizza Bread.  Here's my trial version, and it was on the menu for this week!  Turned out pretty well, though next time I'll add more dough.

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh pizza dough (I'd recommend 1.5 after making this!)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 package sliced pepperoni
diced tomato
other "toppings" as desired
1/4 cup of your favorite dipping oil

1. Start with some fresh pizza dough--in this case, I pulled some ready made dough out of the freezer: whole wheat from the store.  (Ideally, I'd make my own in my wonderful bread machine and get to smell the dough as it works, but...eh.  You can't do everything.)  Tear it into pieces, and toss some or all into some oil mixed with Parmesan cheese, garlic, and a bit of basil and oregano. (You can mix whatever you'd like with the oil.)
2. Layer the dough pieces in a bread pan and "top" with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni or sausage, veggies (if desired), and repeat as desired.  End with a layer of dough pieces.
3. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!  We sure did!

Mini-Me

I caught Sierra trying to use my breast pump today.

Here are a few other recent moments:

"I hep baby doll pay pano."

"I clippin' baby's nails."

"I hep Mommy cuk."

"I feedin' Ehmo."

"Baby drinkin' mihk."

(I didn't manage to get a pic of her "nursing" her baby.)

What else does she see?!

Crying may last for the night...

...but I sure hope not!

10 pm. I’m sitting on the sofa in the living room listening to my son cry. He’s woken up, it’s not time for him to eat, and he needs to go back to sleep. Mike just gave him some more medicine (cutting teeth is the worst!) and offered him a pacifier (which he refused). Now he’s on his own. 

 I wish I could help him out. I wish I could comfort him and make it all better. And I could. But that wouldn't be what he needs. He needs to get himself to sleep. If I go help him, he’ll be up again tomorrow night at the same time. If I don’t, chances are, he’ll sleep through it next time around. 

 As I sit here, I’m struck by the fact that this is only one of many times that I’ll have to stand on the sidelines, content to watch or listen to my children struggle to figure something out on their own. They’ll have to navigate the world of jobs, friendships, relationships, finances, and even parenting. And long before any of that, they’ll have to figure out how to eat with silverware, get dressed on their own, pick up their toys, and express disappointment without throwing things on the floor. 

 I wish I could spare them the pain and frustration of learning these things on their own. But pain and frustration are a part of life. I want them to live. I want them to live long, full lives with healthy , wonderful experiences and people. I want them to reap the benefits of the same pain and frustration I sometimes wish I could spare them. 

So I’ll stay here, listening to Jordan gradually quiet himself. I’ll stay here because I believe in his ability to figure this out himself. And by staying here, I’m letting him know that I believe in him. 

 At least that’s what I’ll tell myself tonight.

Here's hoping!

I'm gonna try to resurrect this thing.  I feel like I've read that so many times on so many blogs.  And here it is on mine!

It's been a while.  Life happens.  I got out of the habit of writing.  I stopped thinking of events and happenings as blog posts and simply let them be.

We had another baby.  We've adjusted (for the most part) to life with two young kids.  Sierra loves her brother.  Jordan's fascinated with his sister.  Magnet spends a bit more time in his crate.  Mom and Dad sleep less.  Rio seems rather unchanged.

And six months later, I'm finally getting back into some of the things that make me feel like I'm more than a childcare provider.  I'm couponing again and shopping [more] wisely.  I'm cooking and baking for my family and I'm loving it!  I'm not really cleaning yet, but we've gotta have something to strive for, right?

And I'm gonna make an attempt to keep writing.

Here's hoping!