Introducing Maxwell Preston

Boy has it been a while since I updated this blog. I have been a little busy as you can see.

Okay, on to the big news. Maxwell Preston was born November 14, 2008. He was 8lbs 12oz, 20in. long. It was a pretty rough birth, but we made it through.

He is by far the sweetest, most laid back baby I have ever seen. He only cries if he is hungry or needs a diaper change. I adore this little boy. The girls are absolutely in love with him too. Claire is constantly kissing his head and wanting to hold him. Madeline is a little more stand offish, but I think it is because she thinks she might break him. :) She loves to help go get diapers and such.

Anyway, my little man is calling, so I must go!

I will update soon. (I hope.)

My Sweet Angels

I have to brag on my two sweet girls. I was cleaning the dishes the other day, and I noticed that the girls had left the table a mess after eating. I asked them to just clean up their places at the table and nothing more. Well, I look around after finishing the dishes, and they are sweeping the entire kitchen floor as a team. Never once did I ask them to sweep the kitchen, but they did it anyway. After they finished sweeping they started scrubbing the table. Claire cleaned all of the knobs on the cabinets. Madeline cleaned all the counter tops. Well, Claire got tired of doing it and dropped out after a while. I told Madeline that was enough you don't have to do this, and her reply was, "I want to help you Momma. And I want to take care of my house. I'm proud of my house." She then proceeded to scrub the floors on her hands and knees while I'm begging her to go and play. She said, "No, I want to be your maid today." Too sweet and cute. I promise you she cleaned for an hour and a half. This will probably never happen again which is why I am documenting it now. They are both just so sweet and try their hardest to take care of their poor old momma.

Dead Dough Showpiece

Today for our final practical exam we had to make a dead dough showpiece about spring. Dead dough is just dough that is not edible. I had envisioned a giant cross covered in dogwood behind what you see here, but time did not permit. Instead I have a basket to hold bread you can eat, what you see in the basket is lavosh and grissini. I also place a goblet, grapes and faux flatbread and challah. I am thinking of finishing out my original idea here at the house. If I do I will post a final picture, but for now enjoy what I halfway have done.

The Actual Bread Class

This is from our bread baking class. It was three weeks long and ended today. This is just a sample of what we did. The first is of soft rolls braided and tied. The second is of challah. The third is of foccacia topped with garlic, mushrooms, asiago, artichoke hearts, and peppers. It was yummy!

Intro to breads

Before moving to the next class, which is nothing but bread, we were able to play with some formulas for certain breads. The first is just of some plain white bread and the second is of rye. I have learned from this class that I should stay clear of rye seeing that I am allergic to it, but it tastes so darn good. :(

Fruit Tarts

The first picture is of some pear frangipane tarts. They are mini tarts filled with almond cream and topped with poached pears, dusted with cinnamon and sugar and then baked.

The second picture is of a fruit tart. These little beauties were made with a crust from pate sucree, and filled with vanilla pastry cream and finally topped with an assortment of fresh fruit. They were delicious.

More Cookie Pictures