One Small Change, January: Baking Bread

I signed up for the One Small Change challenge over at Hip Mountain Mama to help me with my New Year's resolutions. Here is an excerpt from the site:
"We want to challenge each of you to make 1 change each month leading up to Earth Day (April 22, 2010). It can be small or it can be huge, but all we ask is that you decide on something you will do to make a positive green impact and follow through with it. If everyone makes 4 changes between January and April, this can have a huge effect."
The resolutions that have been on my mind the past weeks are all "green" and will hopefully help me express myself creatively, have a peaceful effect in my home, and improve my family's overall health. I also liked that the challenge involved focusing on one resolution per month, so as not to be overwhelming. Head on over and check it out--it's never too late to sign up!

My resolution for January is to bake bread on a weekly basis. My Aunt Nancy taught me how to make her fabulous high-altitude whole-wheat bread many years ago, and although I've made it many times, it's never been on a very consistent basis. I would really like for that to change. It's not a very difficult task; it just takes a little time. Plus, it's very therapeutic punching my fist into the dough when I knead it! :)

Of course, Matthew loves helping his mama bake. Right now I measure, and he pours. The teacher in me is looking forward to lessons on fractions and conversions in the future! Seriously, studies have shown that children entering grade-school today have less knowledge about fractions than previous generations due to the lack of hands-on learning in the home...Anyway, it's a quality activity for Matt and I to do together when Ben is taking his morning nap. Plus, the house smells wonderful as the dough rises and bakes!




It's a good thing this bread is just for our family, considering that Matthew licked it! I guess it serves me right for getting preoccupied behind the camera. Matt is such a boy; it cracks me up: he calls my kitchen utensils "Mama's tools," and when Pat gets any of them out of the drawer, Matt says, "no, Papa Bear, those Mama's tools!" When we were making the bread he pulled a cork screw out of Mama's tool drawer, told me it was a jackhammer, and began using it on the dough! Ah, life with little boys (and big boys!)...

(Matthew really does call his father "Papa Bear." I can't remember how it started, but it's so cute!)