About Me

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I am a 29-ish yr old married mother of 8. My family is my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. My darling husband is my very best friend and together we are raising 8 of the best kids in the world! They are Rose(12) Sarah(12) Ammon(10) Malachi(8) Gabriel(7) Hannah(5) Maggie(4) and Abbie(3) We currently own 2 dogs, 1 bird, 5 chinchillas, 1,000,000 rabbits, 1 cat, 4.5 horses, and one ferret. We just purchased a home that is definately a "fixer-upper", with land and room for the kids to roam. Our goal is to run a mostly self sustaining farm and live in peace as we grow as a strong family unit. We have seen our fair share of hardships, but we are thankful for the many blessings the Lord gives us on a regular basis!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Bread Baking DRAMA!!!!

Okay, I (and lately my children too) have desperately been trying to make bread. I've gone through phases of wanting to make bread for the past ten or eleven years. I'll try for several weeks, get frustrated, and then give up. Then along comes that desire to make bread again. I don't know why.

I think it's probably the fact that there has never really been a domestic chore that I have not been able to try and turn out reasonably good results. Sewing hasn't really been an issue. Scrap booking, got it. House cleaning, eh, could be better, but not horrid. Gardening, getting there. Cooking, still learning and improving. Bread making, absolute failure...EVERY TIME! While none of those other things have ever been taught to me. I take pride in the fact that I am capable of reading a book and coming out with reasonable results.

When I was growing up, my Mom was more focused on bare survival, as are most single moms. Teaching me to make bread was most likely NOT on her list of things to do. I think that she still a little shocked that I turned out as domestic as I did. In a recent conversation I found out that my grandmother wasn't much of a cook either...Could this be genetic? ;)

Here's the thing, while I was growing up I saw MANY LDS moms make bread. It's what they do, right? While I certainly don't grade my mothering on my ability to make bread. I do have this picture in my brain of sitting in the dining room while Sister Filmore (I think she had like nine kids) kneaded her dough...or Sis Montgomry (had at least 5 that I remember) letting me have my own loaf to make a smiley face in... Or Sis Chapin (had about 13 or something like that) with that REALLY sweet honey wheat bread, mmmmmm, I can still smell it! Thinking back, I remember actually PLANNING to bake bread with my daughters. I wanted my girls to have the memories of kneading and baking and smelling home made bread...and it just isn't happening.

Here I am... failing every stinkin' loaf. I've had friends come over and help (thanks Steph, Sister Leigh, and Amy), I've read on line, I've asked questions. I just don't know what else to do.
Is this just one of those things that I have to except the fact that I can not do...much like singing or dancing for others? Am I doomed to a breadless existence? What if something happens and I need to be able to make bread for my family's survival? Oh the frustration...

(sigh...)

2 comments:

Cali and Travis said...

We invested $100 in a breadmaker that we used for a couple of months and haven't touched in a couple of years. Want me to send it your way? The loaves are smaller, but I think it still qualifies. He, He, He. I'm not laughing at you, but it makes me feel slightly better to know that there is one domestic item that you struggle with. (Speaking of course as the least domestic person on the planet. Need proof? Dinner tonight? Taco Bell.)

Stephanie said...

Don't worry, if you ever HAVE to make bread for your family's survival, they'll still grow healthy and strong on rock like bread that doesn't taste right:) Just kidding. Sorry it's still not going well. I'm sure you'll get it the way you want soon.