Workin' hard for the money

Ok, first thing's first. It wasn't that bad. Yes, I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning baking rolls, but I knew I had a good product, and I was so excited to share them with my friends.

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Here are a few photos from my Thanksgiving eve to early Thanksgiving morning bake. These are not attractive photos of me. Please keep in mind that it was after midnight (my bedtime is around 9:30) and I'm 7 months pregnant. Really. I'm only uploading these photos for my posterity, not because I'm a fashion model.

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I LOVE MY MIXER. If ever I were to endorse a kitchen appliance, it would be my Kitchenaid Professional 600 Series 6qt mixer. In pewter. I love it. This thing is a machine in every sense of the word. I don't care what all you Bosch owners think. I'll win at a mixing challenge any day.

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Kraig stayed up to help me. Things were a bit disorganized at first, but he got a great system down for organizing my ingredients for each batch. I couldn't have done what I did without him. Nor could I have done it without my mother keeping my children that night. Thanks, Mom and Kraig, for supporting me!

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Kraig loves this photo. His comment was, "That is one happy Jacqui." Well, I was.

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After the dough had risen the first time, I'd roll it out and roll 'em up.

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The biggest time eater was waiting for the dough and rolls to rise. But thankfully Kraig came up with a perfect solution for me--my very own proofing oven! It was really just an enclosed space heated to 90 degrees with our space heater, but man, that dough would have taken hours to rise in my 66 degree house. In this little baby the time was cut down to a third of what it would have been.

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Kraig took advantage of the proofing oven too. He was asleep in this photo. And don't worry, his feet are no where near the pans of rolls.

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Don't they look beautiful so fresh from the oven. It still makes my mouth water just looking at them. I thought for sure I'd never want to make another batch of rolls again after that night, but I had one more order to fill today and they still tasted just as delicious to me!

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Here's most of them bagged up and ready to deliver Thanksgiving morning.

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So, all totalled, I had orders for 35 dozen rolls. It was fun, actually. I think I'll do it again...

Time to make the donuts!

Sometimes I think I'm a little crazy. Ok, most of the time. Here's my latest hair-brained scheme:

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Saturday I got this crazy whim to make a few extra dollars this Christmas season, I'd sell my dinner rolls to my friends for Thanksgiving. Crazy, I know! I crunched the numbers (thank you, Excel spreadsheet) and found out how much each batch and dozen costs down to the penny.

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I knew I couldn't do it alone, and of course I'd want Kraig's culinary help anyway, so I ran the idea by him. He thought it sounded fun, the only problem was advertising and selling my rolls when Thanksgiving was 5 days away.

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Well, I shouldn't have worried. I posted an event on Facebook, invited a few people in my area to join, and 12 hours later I had orders for 30 dozen rolls! Needless to say, I'm a little taken aback by such a positive response. I expected a few close friends to take pity on my little attempt at being an entrepreneur, buy a dozen each, and I'd make $10.

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Thankfully a few of the orders are for Wednesday, but it looks like I'll be up extra early Thanksgiving morning making rolls :) I'm actually kind of excited.

So, here's my shameless plug: If any of my local blog readers need a dozen or two dinner rolls before Thanksgiving and know they just won't be satisfied with store bought Rhodes, send an order or two my way!

100 days to go

Phew. I can't believe I've made it this far in the pregnancy, but at the same time I feel this little boy will be here before I know it. Especially with 2 birthdays, Kraig's sous chef exam, Christmas, New Years, our 5th Anniversary, and Valentine's Day--the time is going to fly by.

So before the final 100 day count down starts, I wanted to share a few photos of this little guy. The first photo is a 3-D high resolution sonogram. He still doesn't have much fat on his body, but I think I see a little bit of Joshy in him.

It amazes me that this is going on inside my body and all I do is sit back and let it happen. What a miracle that this little boy will join our family just as perfect as he can be, bringing with him the scent of heaven and a spirit minutes from being with our Heavenly Father.

So, Sweet Son, your mama's so excited to meet you! Keep marinating a few more months and then I'll get to hold you in my arms.

A longer gestation time than my child

As we were putting our Christmas decorations away last January, Kraig mentioned that he thought it would be nice if our family had matching stockings. The previous 4 Christmases we've just used a mismatched few collected from various locations. I've always wanted to have matching stockings, but never thought Kraig would go for it. When he mentioned it, I didn't hesitate in going out to buy a pattern and the perfect fabric I had always envisioned for our stockings.

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I started the project in January. First I did the tree skirt. The fabric I bought was two different patterns with a low loft batting machine quilted in between the layers. I had to modify the pattern a bit to fit my "pre-made" fabric, but I was pleased with the results. I even learned to do mitered corners on the binding (there aren't a lot of mitered corners required in clothing construction--most of the sewing I've done to this point)

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Then I started on the matching stockings. The first Wednesday of every month our Relief Society gathers for our Workshop Wednesday to work on our unfinished projects. I started my stockings there, working once a month at the Workshop. After 10 months (11 months, if you count the time I spent on the tree skirt), I FINALLY finished the project. The other ladies applauded as I cut my last thread. Here are the finished products:

I hand stitched on the white binding, and used my sister's embroidery machine for the names. The hardest part was figuring out how to attach the stocking to the cuff since I had altered the pattern. But I'm SO pleased with the results and I finished them not a moment too soon.

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Oh, and don't worry. I made 4 additional small stockings that just need a name added for any additional children and/or daughters-in-law that will join our family.

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Check this unfinished "baby" off my list!

When I have grown a foot or two

What handsome little missionaries I have. I can't believe how much taller Andy is than Joshua. And they stood still long enough to show how much they truly love each other.

My sweet boys.