Martha

OK, I admit it. I have Martha Stewart tendencies. (The domestic kind, not the felony type.) If I didn't have all these kids, I fancy spending my days crafting, sewing, and baking. This is ironic because before I had children, I wasn't exactly queen of the quilting bee. I was too busy with my career and the desire to do fun single women sorts of activities with other fun single women. (And aren't those activities almost always about finding fun single men?)

I think getting married and moving into a house sealed the domestic deal for me. My husband lived in our home for 12 years before I came on the scene and, in my esteemed domestic opinion, the house needed A LOT of work. Bright pink, yellow, and blue Victorian furniture in the living room? Gone! Pink flowered wallpaper in the dining room? Gone. Striped blue wallpaper with matching blue carpet in a bedroom? Gone. Dingy bathrooms and floors? Cleaned to a sparkle. It wasn't that my husband is a slob or has a thing for tacky home decor. He just doesn't care nor can he really "see" dirt the way I can.

After a year of painting, purging, and polishing his house finally became our house and I've been able to use any subsequent free time to hone my limited craft and cooking skills. I've made a dress for Vivi, bibs for my nephew, superhero capes, and felt play food. I've learned how to make a delicious baklava and reupholster the seats of chairs. I've produced nothing fancy but the completion of a project has been intensely gratifying.

I think that is why, since the arrival of the Turtles, I've really missed my domestic pursuits. Sure, there's laundry and the daunting task of getting meals on the table but my dinners are pathetic and the laundry never gets done. It's hard to feel all Martha Stewart when you've got piles of stinky onesies at your feet.

Enter my friend Brynne and her recommendation of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, a delightful cookbook that allows you to bake bread with just five minutes of active work. I've checked it out of the library and have been a bread-baking fool since then. It's very easy (no kneading required) and at the end of most days, I can look at the loaf and think not only did my children and I survive another day, I also made some delicious bread!

My loaf rising on the counter this morning.