Boys in the Kitchen

I can tell I'm a more relaxed mom these days because I actually enjoy cooking with my children.  When the older ones were young, having them in the kitchen meant messes and more work for me.  Now there are still messes, but how can I say no when cooking with Mommy brings them such joy and the food will taste just as it would had they not helped.

Here's a recap of some recent kitchen adventures and the instructions for making one of our favorite lunches, Toast Pizza!

Toast Pizza is something I just stumbled upon in a moment of hunger and pizza craving.  Start with a loaf of French bread and slice into 1/2 inch thick pieces.

Toast pieces first to keep pizzas from becoming soggy.

Now add kids to the process!  Bread slices are placed on baking pans.  With a good bit of assistance, Sully can get spoonfuls of pizza sauce onto the bread.  

Rylan joins in when it's time to add toppings.  Yes I wash their hands before helping but there is a bit of snacking while adding toppings.  The pizzas might not be as germ-free as if I had made them by myself, but they will soon be going into the oven which will kill all germs.  Plus we're just cooking for our own family!

Toast pizzas are topped to the desire of all family members eating lunch.  Next place the baking pans into a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Warm, gooey and crispy!  I wish you could smell them.

When making cupcakes recently, Sully could hardly believe I let him help with the mixer.

He was a pro at lining the cupcake pan.

Last Friday we celebrated St.Patrick's Day with green muffins and green eggs.  Sadly, I had forgotten about buying ham so we didn't have any to eat with the green eggs.   For a 3-year-old, Rylan is a master egg cracker.  I taught him by saying, "Give it a good smack on the side of the bowl, put your thumbs in the crack, and open it like a book."  He comes running if he hears there are eggs to be cracked!

So much fun to stir drops of green food coloring into beaten eggs.

Not the most visually appealing food to the adult eye, but a whimsical meal for children and really yummy just the same. 

Who knows what Rylan and Sully will want to be when they grow up.  If one of them decide on becoming a chef, I'm thinking that will include fringe benefits for their Mommy who gave her boys their first cooking lessons in the kitchen. Bring on the samples! 

A Name 200 Years in the Making

While I was pregnant with Ezra, Matthew and I decided if the baby was a boy we would give him the middle name Hastings.  This was my Dad's middle name.  Richard Hastings Allen.  On January 11, 2017, we met Ezra Hastings Brooks.

During my pregnancy I had written in dry erase marker on my bathroom mirror a reminder to call Grandma Allen, Dad's last living parent, or Aunt Gail, his older sister.  I wanted to ask if they knew why Hastings was picked as his middle name.  The day arrived to deliver my newest little baby and I had not taken the time to make a phone call about this name. We had not picked out a girl's name so as I gathered my things for the hospital, I picked up a 3-ring binder which held Philip's genealogy back to the 1600's.  My Grandpa Allen had spent many years on his hobby of genealogy.

Laying in my hospital bed not feeling the contractions too strongly thanks to an epidural, Matthew and I decided on a baby girl's name, Lindy Grace.  Tucked inside the front pocket of that 3-ring binder was a smaller booklet tracing Matthew's family tree.  His great-grandmother's name was Melinda.  Her family called her Lindy.  I felt a great sense of relief knowing that if I gave birth to a baby girl in the next few hours, she would have a name.  I put the binder away for now.  Later that evening, we met our fourth son and no longer had need for name books.

The following day, a quiet moment came while resting in our hospital room.  Matthew lay on the window seat / bed watching TV, Ezra slept peacefully in his plexiglass bassinet, and I picked up that 3-ring binder again this time wondering if there were any family members named Ezra in our history. Matthew had asked a month or so before if I liked the name Ezra.  It was a Biblical name.  We had decided all of our children would have a Biblical name and a family name.  Since Hastings covered the family part, we were searching for a Biblical counterpart.  In all 400 plus years of my heritage, there was not one Ezra!  Pretty amazing because there were a lot of other Biblical names such as Jeremiah's and Obediah's, etc.

I reached the last page in the binder and found a manila mailing envelope in the back pocket.  Pulling it out, I read my name and childhood address.  My Grandpa Allen had mailed my brother Mike and I these papers in 1992.  I was in 11th grade but not really interested in genealogy.  Opening it, I found a typed letter from my grandpa describing the following contents.  He included my lineage from three American Revolutionary War soldiers.  The pages flowed one to the next on this old computer paper attached at the top and bottom of each page.  Flipping one page near the end, a yellow post it note caught my eye.

Even 10 years after my grandpa's death, the Lord allowed him to tell me himself the answer to my question.  My dad had been given the maiden name of my great-great-great grandmother Mary Hastings Haywood as his middle name.  Such a heritage for my new baby Ezra.  Suddenly giving him this name meant so much more.

I've told my brother that we probably wouldn't have picked Hastings as Ezra's middle name if Dad was still living.  Saying my baby's name is bittersweet.  However since we won't see Dad this side of Heaven, saying Ezra's name keeps him always with us.

One day, provided Ezra comes to know Jesus as his personal savior, he will get to meet his Papa. Maybe we'll all meet Mary Hastings Haywood too!

I love and miss you, Dad!