Inch by Inch

 Let me tell you a secret: I don't really like to work in the garden.  It really is a chore for me.  To drag myself outside for some "hard" labor on a hot day...meh.  Nearly every time I make it out there, though, I am blessed with a small breeze, the smell of tomato plants (is this a thing, or just me?), and sweet moments with my boyos.  Of course, these are mixed in with all of the dirt and bugs, and bugs, and "don't step on the plants!" and haggling to get proper tool back (I'll let you have the rake!")...but it's worth it.

There is something calming about the simplicity of gardening.  You "kill the weeds" and "pet the tomatoes", as Leo puts it.  Even when you get behind, and the weeds are a jungle, and it's a good thing tomatoes are red, so that you can even find them, it is still that simple.  Dirt, seeds, sun, water.

 Life in general is *way* way more complicated than a garden.  Life is stressful and busy and needy.  Gardening doesn't change much.  Yes, there are punches to roll with, like when you get too much rain, or not enough, or the bugs eat your veggies, or the groundhog won't go away...but, gardening is steady.

It's nice to have something steady in this crazy-mixed-up world, and if we're lucky, you may just get a hug from a plant. 

Spring? I Hope Eternally.

You guys. It was 47 degrees Fahrenheit outside today (I specify so that all my international readers will understand. ha.).

This happened:

Almost two years old. I kid you not.

Just look at that face. Joy, my friends, sheer happy-sunshine-outdoor-playtime-muddied-jacket-joy. The air is damp, the ground is soggy, and one of the ducks has started laying again. I'm going to go right out and say it: Spring is on the way. 

I know that you know this. Spring has a way of arriving pretty much every year, but somewhere along the dark-and-dreary-frozen-bleak of February, we forget. We become a winter people, slogging along with the determined steps of folk who are just trying to get through one more day. 

And then we enter into March. Oh, March, you sly vixen, you. The snow will yet fly on us, the ice will yet cause our spring-longing hearts to fear, but March brings us the promise of gleeful days, unbound by hats-and-gloves-and-boots for every trek. 

I think it is no coincidence that Lent often falls in this in-between time of the seasons. Though we are led out into the desert liturgically, we have the promise of the Resurrection to sustain us.  Though we join ourselves to Christ's sufferings, we know what joy awaits us. Our winter shall not last forever; we are a Spring  people, a Resurrection people, and we shall yet sing again!

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"I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:13-14

How to Make a Toy Library and STOP Picking up After Your Kids

This is the first in a new series I'm starting called 

The point of the series is to highlight neat tricks that make a parent's life easier, especially with toddlers. Here's my first confession: I can't make this stuff up. Most of my best parent hacks (like this one!) are learned, especially from my dear friend Ellie, but from lots of other lovely people as well. I'm not a proponent of the "it takes a village to raise a child" mantra (no, it takes a pair of solid, disciplined, and holy parents!), but it just might take a village to teach a mother. So...without further ado (too late!) Here's our first Hijack:

Note the Harold-style crayon markings on the dresser...

Now, we've all been there before (every. stinking. day). The kids have a conference early in the day on the ways to annoy you the most, and they decide that this is the core of their plan:

In our house, I've employed a few strategies before to try and tame the beast that is Toys Everywhere with a few strategies:
1. Have fewer toys

2. Keep them all in one location

3. Organize them by type

I pare down the toys and clothes pretty regularly around here, and I moved the toys all up to the boys' room (mostly) so that there wasn't always such a big mess in the main living areas.  I also have multiple plastic bins organized by type of toy (trains, Legos, cars, dinosaurs). Having less stuff is calming, I think and these strategies as a whole have eased things a bit, but what usually ends up happening is that ALL the toys are out of their special bins, on the floor of the bedroom, in time for a last-ditch cleaning effort right before bed.

Voila. 

The idea of the Toy Library is that you keep ALL of the toys in one area/closet, organized by item, and your kids check an item out, just like they would a book at the library! (Only difference being that there are no overdue fines piling up!). Each child is then responsible for cleaning up the toy/toy bin that he picks.

So yesterday, I endeavored to make my own Toy Library, and start reaping the benefits.

The ideal Toy Library is a closet or area that you can designate and set aside for this sole purpose, and one that your kids can't get into (for obvious reasons!). I chose to re-purpose a narrow hall closet next to the boys' room. A friend of mine has her's in a separate part of her basement area (their playroom is down there too). You could also just use a special bookcase or something somewhere, but it has to be a spot you can fit everything and keep the kids from getting into.

official Toy Library to-be

Step Two was actually to clean out the closet...I didn't take a before picture in time, so you are being spared the delight that it someone else's boring and messy closet in full bloom, but here's proof that I didn't already have a clean closet (so that you don't think I'm an Overachiever or something!):

old vacuum cleaner, never-worn clothes and a curious little boyo

After a lot of dust, some looking through old pictures (and sharing them to Facebook, of course!), and moving the clothing to a different (desperately in need of tidying) closet...we had this:

It's a Cupboard Under the Stairs ala Harry Potter, so I scoured my house for some type of shelf thing,
and came up with this crate that Steven got last week.
It's supposed to be for apples...but it's 16F out right now...I think I can hijack it for now!

So, prepped and ready, I started gathering toys and bins, mostly from the boys room (entrance to the left of the closet there), but also from downstairs and up in the TV room etc. The boys had toy stations all over the house! I thought about leaving their wooden train tracks in the bin in the TV room, but decided that I would rather not have to pick those up all the time too.

Here's what it looked like along the way. 

I was especially pleased that some of the trucks would hang on the pre-existing hooks!

And here's the finished product!

The top shelf has two (diaper) boxes of books (I left Where the Wild Things Are on the bedside table, because that's all the boys want to read at bedtime recently (kindred spirits and all that!). There is also a bin on the top shelf that is "baby" kind of toys that the boys will dump out, but we can keep separate for a while yet. The big red tote is their costumes (from Nana!), and the other bins are blocks, Legos, dinos, cars, trains etc.

So, how's it working?

I'm loving the amount of organization, and the fact that ALL the toys aren't out at once. I need to get a little hook and eye lock for the closet door, but for now the boys have been *pretty* good about not getting into the Toy Library without me. I also need to emphasize a time-minimum kind of rule, because they want to trade toys too quickly for my sanity. I think I'll have a timer for maybe 20 minutes or so that they can't trade in between picks. Overall: Five Gold Stars.

Bonus: I changed out Leo's bed into this neat toddler bed we bought a while back. He's been sleeping on a big futon (see above), so it's nice to have a little spot that's more for him. For the mattress I re-purposed a memory-foam mattress topper that we got from family by folding it into thirds. 

The juxtapositions in this room are wonderful, aren't they?
Also, only a picture of this corner,
b/c the rest of the room is a mess from my rearranging.
 #keepingitreal

So, there you have it, folks! Get hijacking!

Too Much Like Work

I text'ed my sister the other day to tell her that I had a new job description:

{Crisis management for psychologically (and mentally...and emotionally...) volatile individuals who have basic hygiene and nourishment needs and social skills deficiencies.}

Thinking about it later, though, I wasn't sure if I was describing them or me...
Much like this meme from our favorite time-waster:

Those boyos are just crazy...or they drive me crazy...or something...! 

[Disclaimer: I'm not on any drugs.]

Anyways...some days you hit the highs:

You may think this is a  pretty low standard...

And some days not:

He needs more cookies b/c there is still milk left in his cup...
(...and I totally submitted this pic to this blog here...)

...but hey, I'm building my resumé...

Completely Pathetic

There are those days when you haven't gotten enough sleep, and your children haven't gotten enough sleep, and you have already gone *way* way over your imaginary quota of how much TV they will watch, and it's not even 11:30 am yet.  

Those days when you realize that your kids really have needed *constant* redirection, but you really just don't want to have to be nice any dang more times.

Thoughts run through your head like, "Can't you please just have one rational thought, you 3-year-old, you?!" Who am I kidding?  You start saying things like that to your children.

Le great big sigh.  Poor you.

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I got some pretty simple, yet really sound advice from a mom-friend of mine the other day. She says that sometimes she tries to see her kids in the same light as God sees us.  Our children are pretty pathetic sometimes.  They can't negotiate going to the bathroom without serious fanfare and intervention, let alone the intricate delicacies of getting a younger brother to let go of their hair or to give back a treasured (aka ALL of them) toy.  Pathetic. 

Yet, take a step back, and we're just as feeble.  We can't cope with disasters, we can't relate properly with people, we fall apart when we fail--we are pitiful little creatures, aren't we?

This outlook has helped me immensely, though.  Even in the heat of the 78th "let-go-of-your-brother's-hair" moment, I can remember that I myself am so very small, and need so much direction too.  I need constant reminding, and poking, and prodding to stay on the right track, to choose the good, and to draw closer to holiness.

Putting it this way helps me to have a little more patience, to move with a little more grace, with the meager everyday efforts of my small ones.  I myself need such mercy, as He's reminding me all the time.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor.12:9)

Note to my Nosy Kids Upon Reading My Stuff

{Forget the NSA Listening in on the Phone:
What if the Kids find my Texts?!}

Dear Nosy Kids,

You found my old Facebook, or my old text-ing history, or this blog, or some old Gmail chat session that I thought disappeared into the Internet netherworld 27 years ago: congratulations!

You now know just *how* frustrated I was when you whined at me *all* day, or how hurt I really was when you said that awful thing, or just *how* judge-y I was of that one friend's news.  It's true.  I am a real live person with thoughts and feelings that I've shared with a few people, that may be surprising to you.

You see, back a long time ago, people didn't have text-ing and Facebook, or any kind of *instant* messaging...except of course actually talking to someone, face-to-face, or over the phone (which wasn't recorded either!).  Folks wrote letters, and that can make a very interesting and wonderful record of a life, but what one writes in a letter is very, very different from what one will say directly to a close friend.  And what one says to a close friend directly didn't see the light of day, much less the eyes of prying children.

All this being said, I know that times have changed, and we adjust. I hope that you don't think less of me from whatever it is you find, but I'm not going to censor myself (too much!) in my private conversations just to save face after I'm gone.

I do want you to know a few things though.

1. I love you very, very, very much. You are my best thing, my happy thoughts, my joys and my hopes. I pray for all the best in you.  I have tried to bring you up correctly and to give you the tools to succeed. May you know that you are loved, and seek always to love.

2. I hope whatever you read of me and my past reflects something good on me (of course!), but if it does not, I hope that it teaches you something about life, about relationships, or just makes you laugh.  Motherhood has been (so far!) the hardest-best-easiest-worst job I've ever had. Life in general has been difficult and wonderful. May whatever I've said reflect all this to you.

3. Wash your face and your clothes, brush your teeth, and make your bed.  Pray every day; seek the Lord and trust Him.  Love your family with all you've got. 

...and if I'm still around, but I'm old and don't remember much: don't leave me alone, read funny things to me, and bring me old pictures to look at.  All will be well.   I love you all so much.

All my love, 

Mom

Does Jesus Have a Superman Shirt?

Theology from a Three Year-Old

I really wonder sometimes how parents *actually* pass along their religious beliefs. I mean, I guess eventually Leo and Daniel will get old enough to understand some things, and I honestly pray that they grow up to be happy-holy-healthy-and-handsome all of the time, but the logistics of getting there? I dunno. Right now, I'm pretty sure Leo thinks this is what Jesus looks like:

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Except, he may have a sword like St. Paul.  Jury's still out on that part.

Leo had all kinds of questions yesterday about Jesus.  He was holding a small crucifix that I have from my grandmother's house, and asking about if Jesus had died, and who had done that to him.  This got Leo thinking about other Jesus statues he'd seen, particularly this one we saw at Franciscan the other day, when I dragged the boyos down for the Kelly Roggansack Memorial 5K race:

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Let's just say, this one's a fountain, and for a boy who's potty training...one gets certain ideas.

Then he wanted to know where Jesus lives...

Mom: "In Heaven"

Leo: "With Fr. Batt?"

Mom: "Umm...well, we see Fr. Batt at church, and Jesus is there too..."

Leo: "Does Jesus have a Superman shirt?"

That is probably the central question of doctrine for three year-olds everywhere. I am simply not equipped to answer that one. I suggested calling Grampa. ...and good thing too, because here's what came next...

Leo: "Does Jesus have a sword"
Mom: "Hmm...? Well, I guess sometimes He could have a sword"

Turns out Leo was remembering all the statues at church; there's Jesus, there's Mary, there's the guy with the sword...

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Oh....Saint Paul. Yes, he's got a sword. This lead to watching YouTube videos of Saint Paul's conversion...(yea, there's video of it--who knew?).

Let's just hope my catechesis stays this stellar (ahem.) as the boyos get older. ;)

Joy

{7QT} Pope Francis, Cookie Monster & the 20th Maine

So, I did this cop-out/double-dip linky thing last week ...

but this week I'll just grace you w/ the usual mixy-mixer of stuff...and join Jen for Quick Takes

1. Papal art contest. 
As in, art that people have submitted of Pope Francis. You can vote here for my personal favorite, #28, by Jared Klodt:

Thanks to Simcha Fisher for sending us there :)

And remember that Pope Francis has called us to a day of prayer and fasting for Syria.

2. 'Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?' book & favorite Leo quote
This book is one of my favorites. It combines lovely oil-painting artwork with references to the Psalms as answers to a child's questions about God. You can buy it here. While reading this tonight, Leo said to me, "...and God looked at me and said, 'There's my Leo!'". 

3. This quote

Found this again on my FB page...at least it's good for something!

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends; He may throw me among strangers. He may make my spirits sink, hide the future from me - still He knows what He is about.

--Blessed John Henry Newman

4. Free at Last!

"one, two, free!"

Can't hardly believe it, time flies, and all that jazzy-jazz. We had lots of fun yesterday. We went to the park to go on the slides and swings, and I actually enjoyed the 28 minutes I lasted until it was time for DQ mini-blizzards. We also had a nice little family dinner/party.  There was a cake too...but Max the dog ate the leftovers...oh well...

5. My new life philosophy. 
Well...those of you who know me, you know that this has always been my life's philosophy ;)

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6. I love getting mail!We got a care-pack from Aunt Margaret today.  She sent a bday prezzie for Leo (a "snow jacket"):

Leo dislikes the papparazzi

And a T-shirt for me! It's a 133rd Engineering Battalion shirt, so that I can show support for my favorite brother-in-law, the best Lieutenant there is.

The 133rd is a direct descendant (I'm getting my military lineage wording wrong, I know, please don't cringe too much, you history buffs!) of the famous 20th Maine. And if you didn't know that the 20th Maine was famous, you need to go watch Gettysburg again:

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Wow, all of that from a box in the mail. See--it is great stuff! :)

7. Davy & Georgie

Leo has taken to calling Daniel "Georgie Russell". Georgie, of course, is Davy Crockett's best pal. (And if you didn't know that, you need to go watch 'Davy Crockett' again...)The red hat is the "Georgie Russell hat", although the knitted tractor cap that Heather and Laura made for Leo is sometimes a substitute. Anyways, here they are, in all their glory.

I'm hoping and praying that these two grow up to be best pals forever and ever amen. 

That's all from me, now head back over to Jen's for more of the real stuff from the actual bloggers! :)

{Leo says...}

“be happy” {when asked what he was going to do w/ the pine cone (“corn”) he was putting in his pocket for later}

“is he getting drinks in there?”  {when observing Daniel nursing}

“...but MO-OHM!!” [WAY too soon, buddy...]

“she said, “I love you” me, but I didn’t say, “I love you” her!” {upon ‘hanging up’ on FaceTime with Aunt Margaret too quickly}

“did’din’t” {how he says didn’t}

“I don’t want to hear that noise anymore!” {upon Daniel shriek/crying}
{Daniel keeps crying}
“Stop that noise, Daniel!!”

“I wanna push these letters” {typing on the iPad}

“let’s change it to the gas station” {adjusting the radio while playing in the van}

“when is my  birthday” 

Mom counts out, says, “in *10* days”

15 seconds later...”It’s my birthday now!”

“look, my fingers are saying no” when Mom asked him to pick something up, holding his fingers as though they are cramped

“well, at least you don’t have to do that anymore” after Mom cleaned cat puke off the driveway...

I'm no St. Monica...

There are those days. Those blah-awful days. The days when there isn't enough chocolate to bring it back around. Sometimes they are the actual awful days: days of tragedy and evil, or hurt and anguish. I am just talking about the days when you'd rather whine than do anything, and chocolate and 10 silent minutes to eat it is all you want.

Because, for seriously, chocolate would make everything better:

Grandpa Joe has it right.
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We woke up this morning with a nasty-sore throat-sneezy-itchy nose-thing that just stuck around and got worse through the day. This, combined with not enough sleep (which I'm going to blame on Leo's new parlor trick of climbing into bed with us at o'dawn-thirty instead of late-night marathons of Fringe episodes...!) made me in ya know...a really great mood.

And so I consoled myself with reading endless blog posts whilst the boys confetti-ed the floor with their cereals. *yay*

And then a big rain storm came...and my fancy satellite internets stopped. We're talking #firstworldproblems like no other.

So then Leo came up and asked me to turn on the radio (Pandora) so that they could dance. Bless you child. Pandora was broken (dumb internets!), but we *actually* have a regular radio. With a dial. So I turned it on, and scrolled around the FM world until Leo said, "That one!", to Katie Perry. Wonderful. Go for it. 

I don't have pictures of the dancing for you, b/c if I had tried to take pictures, they would have stopped dancing. But Leo's dancing is a melange of jumping side-to-side mixed with spinning in circles with an added somersault thrown in for good measure here and there. Daniel just copies Leo, except that his spins are done on tip-toe (HIL-arious) and his somersaults are just him bending down to put his head on the floor and then popping back up to grin and take the applause. Also, his dancing was interspersed with shoving rice cake and leftover cereal into his mouth, making the floor look *even better* than before. (WHY?! WHY would someone pick SOLID DARK GREEN carpeting?!)

The next song was Pink's new one, 'True Love', wherein she uses the *bad* word "stupid". Leo pointed it out (thanks, Pink), but at least he said "we don't say that word". Win for Mom, I guess.  Pink was followed my LMFAO (obvisouly Mix 94.1 knew it was pre-schooler's hour), and then they'd had enough dancing and wanted to "draw" on paper.

Naptime was a complete joke wherein I dozed for 15 minutes while Leo fidgeted with pillows, animals and books until Daniel squawked enough to rouse me from my stupor to get him. Le sigh.

I had to laugh at myself at this point (which is always a good thing),when I remembered that today is the feast day of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine. St. Monica prayed and prayed for her profligate son to turn from the errors of his ways (heresy, wine, women and song...you get the picture) and he did. Hence...Saint Augustine. I'm no St. Monica, ladies and gents...but I would like to become more like her someday...

So, I guess the moral of the story is:

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The day finished off with Leo watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Daniel clinging to my leg as I vacuumed up the rice cakes and cereals (party hard, boyos...). 

St. Monica, patron saint of married women and mothers, pray for us!

...and all you lovelies out there...send me your chocolate! ;)

{7QT} Wait...these are always Random Edition

Joining Jen as always...head back there for the real stuff ;)

1. I mentioned before that Marie was coming.
Well, she did, and it was lovely!  We had great times catching up on our reflective converstations and corralling the boyos into some semblance of normal (ha!). Daniel chose this week to be extra...off his game. Teething? Growth spurt? Both? Yes. All that aside, we'll be missing "fwiend Mawie" now...and our applications to the Royal Geographic Society for the Switching of the States Placement in the Continent has grown again (Ohio-Maine-Washington-NH-Indiana...party over here!). 

2. One of the fun things we did was to go see "Star Trek: Into Darkness" with Steven.
Steve's parents watched the boyos (I *actually* got Daniel to take a third nap to prep for a late night! Wow! I get a prize for that, right?) It was so much fun! Plus there is a dollar theater here...so we all got to go for $3. Yup. True dat. (Any takers on visiting Ohio now?!). Also there was this guy:

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A'int nobody hating on a movie with Sherlock. Nope.

3. After sitting on this post for a while, I finally published it today. Reflections started from hearing Mackelmore's 'Same Love'. I hope it's received well; I AM talking about getting along! : )

4. Did you see this?!
Our dear Sr. Agnes Therese Davis (the artist formerly known as Emily), made her First Profession of Vows on Tuesday with the Franciscan Sisters TOR. She's been a novice and postulant there for...three (?) years now, and this is a pretty big deal. 

Also, she is just emits joy, doesn't she? And if you didn't see this from me earlier, check it out as well. This is a song that Sr. Agnes Therese composed. Simply lovely.

5. #35K4SMA
So, I've been trying to get back into running regularly. It is HARD to be disciplined! I went for a week...and then petered out. BUT, I saw this post today from Kelly over @ This A'int the Lyceum. She is a funny and cheery mom of five kids, TWO of whom have Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which is basically NOT a walk in the park. Anyhow, she's committing to 7 5K runs to add up to 35K For SMA. It's a fund-raiser-awareness campaign...should I hop on the wagon? :D

6. We went to visit some dear friends last night, and had a blast. We got to see the lambikins that our ram (Mean Black Sheep himself) fathered earlier this year. SO CUTE! Daniel called them "baby". And Leo played outside w/ the boys. In the rain. Basically little guy heaven.

two little ramikins

don't let the face fool you. he had a blast.

7. For those of you who know Davy Crockett personally, and remember (how could we forget?!) that Leo wore this hat constantly (to church. to bed. all. the time.) for about 3 months this past winter/spring, will be happy to know that there is a new sheriff in town. 

Introducing...Daniel Boone!

On a whim(sey?)...

What I Wore Monday to go on Errands
with Two Cranky Boyos

I've been a fan of the "What I Wore Sunday" link-up from Fine Linen and Purple, although I don't follow that blog, some blogs I follow do the link up...ya know. It's a link-up wherein you show an actual picture of yourself in the outfit you wore to church, to talk about going to church, and what you wore. Pretty straightforward, right? WAY way out of my league.

Let me explain. I've always wanted join the church/fashion-ista post, but I haven't yet figured out how to get a picture of me in my Sunday best (which, incidentally, is another link-up from one of the blogs I love, Camp Patton, and would be more appropriate for me, because in this link-up you discuss the Mass-time behavior of your wee little lads and lassies.). But anyways, how do they do it? Do those ladies have some kind of camera-timer? A very patient husband with a camera? The ability to take a full-length self-shot of an outfit?

All this has changed as of today. I have discovered the secret. His name is Leo. 

The genius behind this shot:

Actual selfie of the camera pro and little bro

has become my professional photographer. 

Step aside, actual fashion bloggers, here I am:

Note my post-shower, pre-hair-doing (who am I kidding?) self,
instructing  the camera-guy away

I'd love to add little arrows to parts of the pictures, to highlight things for you, but I am not savvy like that. I have no idea how to make my blog template do that. Oh well.

I do know that I am supposed to give you details of my outfit though:
Leggings: gifted to me from lovely friends
Dressy/top/beachy cover: Hand-me-Down brand cuteness

And here is what my hair looked like for 12 seconds,
until I had to put it up b/c it was too. dang. hot.
AND I heard the front door opening...
which means that Leo and Daniel were now OUTSIDE.
No more fashion-ing for this Momma!

On to the activity for the day: too many errands gonna spoil the moods...Prequel/prep: Hours of getting the house tidied a little bit, feeding chickens, quelling toddler bashes and pretending I had time to be a fashion-goddess (see above). Followed by wrestling the back seat *out* of the van and the pressure washer *in* so that we could return it to Dave. Le sigh. Le great big sigh.

First up - turn in paperwork to office so I get paid.
Behavior: A+ Leo fell asleep and Daniel looked out the window calmly, papers went into dropbox :0)

Second up - Arrive at Dave's house to drop off pressure washer and nick 5-gallon buckets to carry water to the menagerie back home.
Behavior: B+ Leo and Daniel woke up (Daniel fell asleep somewhere in there) and we got to see Dave's mom (who was awesome, and gave the boys popsicles--b/c oh yeah, it was 90 degrees outside.).

Next: Off to the auction-pick-up-location to get the tile-cutting machine that Steve bought from Randy. After some turning around, and a phone call to say, those buildings are *not* red!, We got the stuff and headed out again. Behavior: A-; had to get them in and out of the van again...find the right book for each to hold etc. etc. etc. Bonus: Mom found the sun-glasses for Leo.

Next next: Grocery store. Let's just say that one hour before bedtime is a pretty awful time of day to have kids at a grocery store. Lesson learned. Behavior: D--.

Last last: return one little pillow to the store and drag the kiddos one last time in/out of the van. I am a Monster Mom, I know. Behavior: slipping, slipping, slipping...

Overall: There is a delicate balance to be achieved amongst number of errands, amount of lost nap-time, lateness of day, and pain threshold of the Momma. Let's just say there is room for improvement here!

And now I can retire from fashion blogs forever.  Should I go back to the food ones?  ;)

An apple a day keeps the doctor away...

...but cookies taste much better.

Yesterday morning the boyos and I set out down to the end of the front yard to pick raspberries. This activity is largely made up of:
1. Keeping Daniel out of the road
2. Keeping Daniel from throwing fistfuls of picked berries into the ground, having snatched them for the pot
3. Letting Leo eat all the berries he can pick

It's no surprise, therefore, that the fruit of our efforts was a mere few cupfuls of the ruby gems.

So, in an effort to be like one of those much more classy and more often updated etc. etc. blogs....here's what we did.

Fresh Raspberry Cookies with some Oatmeal

1. Put this guy down for a nap. One small man vying for the cookie dough is enough.

He's just as mischieveous as he looks, folks.

2. Looked online and found a cute blog with this recipe. Buuhhhht, didn't have the white chocolate chips, or the patience to use frozen berries. Also found this recipe from Emeril. But seriously...I don't have white chocolate chips, you think I have actual lemons and raspberry liquor? Uhhmmm...nope.

3. Ended up using my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, but w/o the chippies, and w/ (cold, not frozen) raspberries. Plus some oatmeal. Because there wasn't enough oatmeal just to go that route.

This is flour in a bowl, so that you know I actually did these things.
...and this is an actual post about food. Something like that.

The dough. It was too moist from the berry juice, so I added oatmeal,
but we didn't have enough oatmeal.
Mostly I need to go grocery shopping, huh? :)

NO PAPARAZZI IN THE KITCHEN!
"No picture!"

5. Here's what they look like. Consistency of muffins, really, but the boy-os still called them cookies...so I win, right? I was positive that Steve would call them "healthy", which is what he says when I make cookies like this that don't really taste like cookies, but all he asked was, "what's in these?", which is what he says when I make something that tastes weird. Le sigh.

"What's in these?"

  Too young to know that I made them fake cookies...

The chocolate chip cookie recipe I use is actually really good though! You can try that if you actually want to bake something!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies*

*very slightly adapted from a recipe I found online in another cute blog
Disclaimer: "Best" is obviously what I consider to be best: chewy, moist, yummy, yummy cookies

What goes in:

3/4 c. butter, softened (not melted)

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla plus extra to moisten as needed

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. dark chocolate chips (good ones, like Ghiradelli's)

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350

Cream butter and sugars together until "fluffy" (whatever that means...!)

Add egg and vanilla (I just pour some out of the bottle...)

Mix the flour, soda, salt in a different bowl, then add to your sugar-butter-egg-vanilla combo and mix.

Add more vanilla if the dough is too crumbly (I literally slosh it in there...but I live on the edge, ya know?)

Stir in your good dark chocolate chips. (Ok, you can use lameo milk chocolate chips...these are just way way better).

Put blobs on your cookie sheet (they end up the exact size you put down, so form accordingly)

Bake for 8-10 minutes ONLY, barely baked looking, just golden-brown on the edges. Do not bake longer. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES.

Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, than remove to wire rack if you feel fancy/can wait that long to try one.


I think I'll retire from food posts forever now...