Homemade Pizza

This isn't the prettiest pizza out there, but I am working on that...



Jeremy and I love Papa John's pizza, but we don't love the expense. A blog that I love is called Biblical Womanhood. She doesn't normally post recipes, but this pizza crust recipe was under a family night theme. Since her blog is down right now, I can't link to it, but I will post the recipe below.



I made my first homemade pizza a couple of months ago, and it was half pepperoni and half ham and pineapple. I wasn't thrilled with the result. The crust was too soft for me. I decided that I wanted to get a pizza pan to see if that made a difference, and I bought one on sale at Kohl's. Our favorite kind of pizza is a chicken barbecue pizza with pineapple on it, so that was my next attempt at pizza with my new pan. This time when the crust wasn't crispy when it was time to take it out, I decided to leave it in longer- I cooked it 18-20 minutes. That was all it took; we will use this pizza crust recipe forever because it's that good.



Don't be scared of making homemade pizza. It only takes 30-35 minutes from the time you start the crust to the time the pizza comes out of the oven (unless you have a toddler wanting your attention). Enjoy! Maybe you will start a new tradition of pizza night in your house.

Pizza Crust:

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix.

Dump onto a floured surface .

Knead into a smooth dough (five minutes or so).

Roll out and press down onto a greased pizza pan.

Add toppings.

Bake at 450 degrees F. for around 12-15 minutes until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned.



By the way, you can make up a double or triple batch of the pizza crust dough and freeze the extras if you don't need it. This speeds up the preparation even more as all you have to do is pull out a bag of dough and a bag of chopped cooked chicken in the morning and then put the pizza together right before you're ready to eat. You can also freeze the pizzas already cooked - but I doubt it would ever stay uneaten long enough to make it to the freezer around here!

Come What May

Yesterday I read a blog post about a free online movie called Come What May. Since I had no time last night I thought I would watch it today, and then this morning I read another post about it on The Homespun Heart. The movie is called Come What May. Read School in 'R Home to learn more about the movie and then go here to watch it free online through Friday, Oct. 31. Since it's divided into 5 segments, you could catch a segment or two when the kids are napping and then come back to it later. At least that's what I will have to do. I probably have a few minutes before Vance wakes up for a bottle.

I will let you know what I think once I see it!

Tummy Time

Tummy time is becoming more pleasant around here. (No, we don't normally do it on the bed.) I have learned that before a bottle is not the best time for it because it makes Vance fussy. I have also learned that Vance may very well throw up regardless of when we do it, so I just have an extra burp cloth handy. Best of all, tummy time is highly recommended by his physical therapist!

I just love this little guy! He smiles so much, and you can't help but smile back even when you're down about something. I guess the Lord knew I needed a good smile to cheer me up sometimes.

Here is a 2 second clip of Vance rolling over. I caught him right as he was rolling over.

Parents ought to be concerned

If you're a parent, do you ever think about how legalizing same sex marriage would affect your family? The following video shows how the legalization of same sex marriage in Massachusetts affected one family. All families with kids in public schools will be affected if same sex marriage is legalized. This video was put out for California, but it is a national issue. The hearts and minds of our children are at stake! Our little ones are so impressionable...

Just because I'm 2 1/2 years old doesn't mean I can't learn some geography, Mommy!

I am learning that homeschooling doesn't have to wait until kindergarten. Samuel wants to show you what he's learned from me and other family members.

Physical therapy evaluation, a little rolling over, and a new doctor

Jeremy and I took Vance to the physical therapy evaluation on Friday. It went well. They have diagnosed him with moderate torticollis. We left with several exercises to do at home and basic instructions. Vance will have weekly therapy appointments for about 3 months, and then he we go less frequently. We are confident that he is going to do just fine in therapy. According to a friend of mine, they will watch his development carefully until he walks because torticollis can affect development.

Speaking of development, my mom said that Vance rolled over a couple of weeks ago when she was here, but I didn't see it. Well, Vance rolled over from his tummy to his back 4 times in a row on Friday. It was so exciting to watch! Jeremy's mom and Amanda were here to witness it. My baby is growing up! Wouldn't you know that I got my camera out to video the event and then he wouldn't roll over again? I got a cute video of him on his tummy though. He is enjoying tummy time more now (except for those times he ends up vomiting).

Next week Vance will see a pediatric gastroenterologist for the first time. Jeremy and I have noticed the reflux getting worse and feel like we need a specialist's help. I will let you know how that goes. We are praying this doctor will be able to help Vance more than a regular pediatrician can.

There is another new post below. Since I started it on Oct. 22, it posted it as Oct. 22. ???

Here is a photo of my boys. I just love them so much!!

Our Big Baby

Vance is a big baby. We had his 4 month check-up a week ago. Here are his stats:

Weight- 16 lb. 12 oz. (80th percentile)
Height- 26 inches long (90th percentile)
Big head (80th percentile).

When Samuel went to his 4 month check-up, he was 15 lbs. 3 oz. and 26 1/2 in. long. Let's just say that Vance is "thicker".

We love both of our guys! Maybe one day Vance will play football and scare his mommy to death... Samuel, on the other hand, already likes to play soccer. That doesn't scare me nearly as much as football does.

Here are 4 month pictures of both boys:

Samuel




















Vance