Soft Pretzels with Creamy PepperJack Dip

When I was 12 years old my grandparents took me and 3 of my cousins on a US History tour in the Washington DC area. While on that trip we visited the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, the first commercial pretzel bakery in the US. I practiced twisting pretzels, I ate pretzels, both soft and hard, and I came home determined to make my own soft pretzels. I tried, and they were good, but not great. Perhaps my expectations for a homemade product were too high. 

A few years ago my little sister made some homemade pretzels that were AMAZING but she couldn't remember which recipe she used.

It renewed my desire to make delicious soft pretzels. After a few less than awesome attempts, I combined what I liked from 4 different recipes and these were the result. 

Try them and see what you think.

2 c. Warm Milk 

1 1/2 Tbsp. Yeast

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Combine in mixing bowl, let sit until bubbly, about 10 min.

Add

2 tsp. Salt

4 1/2 c. Flour

Knead for about 5 min until dough pulls away from the bowl and is soft and elastic.

While the dough is kneading 

Combine

2 c. Water

2 Tbsp. Baking Soda

Bring to a boil in a large saucepan

Turn off heat, and let cool.

Place dough in a greased bowl and let raise until double in size, approx. one hour.

Divide Dough into 8 pieces, roll each piece into a rope, then shape into a pretzel.

Once shaped, dip each pretzel into baking soda mixture, then lay on parchment lined cookie sheet and let raise another 10-15 min.

Beat 1 egg.

Brush each pretzel with beaten egg.

Bake at 500' approx 10 min.

Remove from oven, brush with butter, sprinkle with kosher salt, and serve with Creamy PepperJack Dip.


Pepper-Jack Dip

1 c. Pepper Jack Cheese

1 block Cream Cheese cut into cubes

1/3 c. Milk

Mix together in an oven safe bowl/dish, bake on cookie sheet @ 500* for 20 min.
Stir after removing from oven, it will be slightly lumpy, but oh so creamy and good. (I'm sure it would also taste good made in the microwave if that's easier for you.)

They're also great for playing peek-a-boo, in case you're into that sort of thing.

Shards of Glass

I don't remember why he was throwing a tantrum, I can't keep track of all the things my children get frustrated about, but suddenly a glass was flying through the air at my head. I stepped out of the way. It shattered on the floor. I took both my kids to another room where they couldn't be hurt by the broken glass and then I began to clean up the mess.

As I picked up each shard of glass placing it into a bag I thought about our interaction. I wish I could clean up the broken pieces of my children as easily as I cleaned up those shards of glass. This world is a hard and confusing place to these little people. There are so many things they don't understand; so many rules, restrictions, changes and frustrations. There are things they can't do, can't have, can't touch, and just when they're most frustrated the people around them become frustrated too.

So as that glass came hurtling through the air I may have yelped in surprise (after all, I quite like my head, it is very functional) but I didn't yell, berate, or belittle. I simply said "Uh-oh" and showed him the mess he had made, then moved him to safety. He's one-and-a-half, he won't remember that I didn't yell, scream and call him names, but hopefully my reaction was one step toward teaching him not to react in anger and frustration, one less broken piece of his sweet spirit to mend.

I often look back at my reactions and wish I could have a do-over. I lose patience. I say things I regret. I miss opportunities to praise and encourage. I dole out consequences that are too harsh for the situation. Each of these interactions is a break, a crack, a shard. Those shards can't simply be swept up.

I believe in persistent parenting.

Persistent is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as:
 "continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult..."

Parenting is difficult, but it's worth it. It's worth continuing to try and do better, it's worth starting over when we make mistakes. It's worth being persistent, and starting over no matter how many times we make mistakes.
It's worth saying "Sorry", giving a hug, saying "I shouldn't have ______", "You were wrong, but I was wrong too, let's both do better next time".
Because even though I constantly fall short of my own expectations I know what my goal is, and I will be persistent; I will stop, regroup, apologize, think through how I wish I'd reacted, and try to do better next time.
After all, repentance and forgiveness apply to Motherhood every bit as much as they apply to every other aspect of my life.
What better way could there be to teach our children how to right their wrongs, than by showing them ourselves?

October 2015 LDS General Conference

Braver, Stronger, Smarter

We all are, each of us. We are children of God. And because of that he strengthens us in our trials, he grants us courage to serve beyond our capacity, and he strengthens our faith at our asking. He fills our hearts with love and peace, our minds with calm and clarity, and our brains with knowledge beyond our own to guide us in our decisions. 

He's given us his Spirit to prompt us and teach us as we share his truth and his love with those around us, and as we listen to the Holy Ghost and share the things we are prompted to say the Holy Ghost can testify to the listener.
He loves us, and because of that he comforts, strengthens, and inspires.






You can find more about my beliefs by clicking the link below:

For the Love of Reading: Tips and Great Books for Young Listeners

I love to read.
For me reading is a source of calm, it's a wonderful escape from the pressures and stress of daily life, it's a way to travel to places I could never afford and times I cannot reach, through other characters I discover more about myself.
We know that for children, reading helps with concentration, vocabulary building, and speech development.

I credit my love of reading to my mother, who read to me every day until long after I could read to myself. Who provided plenty of books in our home, and who took us on trips to the library. To both my parents, who read. Children learn by example. To my grandmothers, who read to their children, who cherished beautiful books in their home and read to me. To my great-grandmother, who gave me books, many of the books I read to my children were gifts from her.

So when I ended up with a child who did not like to have me read to him it broke my heart. For what seemed like an eternity he would prefer to look through his books and make up stories than have me read to him. We would get 2 pages into a book and he would take it from me, or wander away. I was sad that I was missing out on that connection with him, but also frustrated because I know how reading is important it is for development.

For anyone also struggling to encourage a love of reading in your children, here are my tips and our story:

1. Be Persistent
2. Read even when they don't listen
3. Try different books until you find one that connects with your child
4. Make reading a reward
5. Work reading into your daily routine
6. Rotate books and add new ones so you don't burn out

I spoke with my mom numerous times (she's a kindergarten teacher) during this struggle and she kept telling me to be patient, to keep trying, to read out loud even if he seemed not to listen, and that it was great that he was making up stories and how wonderful that creativity was, it did little to console me. I strive to be the best mom I can be, and he was thwarting my efforts :)

Then, one visit my mom introduced him to Otis, and everything changed.

He LOVED Otis.

But sitting and listening were still difficult. Then, I began reading to him after we went through the whole bedtime routine, suddenly he loved reading. It felt like he was getting to stay up later, breaking the rules ;) and so he loved it. After a while it became part of the routine and now he can't sleep without having a story.

We keep his favorites right by his bed so it's easy to choose, and when I get really tired of reading a particular book I return it to the bookshelf and replace it with another one :)

Here are some of my now four-year-old's favorite books, in case other moms are going through the same thing, or for those who are simply looking for a list of books Boys will like. Not all of these are "BOY" books, in fact I'm sure that many girls would love Otis and the other books also, quite a few of our favorites are favorites from my childhood.
They are all well written, enjoyable reads, most are published by Scholastic so if your school does a book fair you could find some of them there, I have also linked to each book on Amazon.




Otis
The Friendly Little Tractor trying to find his place on the farm.





Otis and the Puppy
Facing fear to be a good friend.





Otis and the Scarecrow
Being Brave







Otis and the Tornado
Being Brave in order to be a good friend to someone who doesn't like you.

An Otis Christmas





Mighty Dads
Big Construction Vehicles teaching their little ones to work, the last line of the book is "I Love My Dad"



The Classics:



Where the Wild Things Are
Imagination, and Behavior.




The Foot Book
A rhyming way to learn left from right.

Goodnight Moon
The classic goodnight story.




Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
A fun way to learn the Alphabet.





Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Problem Solving, and an Old Fashioned Excavator.



Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Because EVERYONE has bad days, even in Australia.
A great book for talking about the things that upset us, and choosing a good attitude.





The Story of Ferdinand
It's ok to be different.





The Saggy Baggy Elephant
It's ok to be different.




Corduroy
Being loved the way you are





If You Give a Moose a Muffin
Sequence.





If You Give a Mouse a Cookie





Drummer Hoff
Sequence, Repetition, and Crazy Cool Illustrations




Dandelion
Being true to yourself. This one makes me think of my sister, it was her favorite for years.



What are your favorite story books? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

And if you're looking for more, for you or your children, visit Amazon's list of 100 Children's Books to Read in a Lifetime (Column 2, Row 2). Many of my favorite Chapter Books are included on that list.