Old Habits Have Their Way With Us

The snowmen have added a bit of sparkle to the post-holiday blahs.

So it's a new year, lots of feelings of fresh beginnings, particularly since we're moving from a large, two-story home to a sweet one-story house with lots of good memories. This is going to be interesting because I'm a fantastic procrastinator and we have about six weeks to move.

We were all a bit blue after this year's fun-filled holiday days as we put away the Christmas bins and pulled out the moving boxes. The kids had three birthday parties, four Christmas celebrations and a few new experiences within those 31 days of December.

And then January came with a bowl of bean soup to start the New Year with high hopes and a little luck.

Blah.

To pick us up, we're stealing an idea from a friend and fantastic babysitter-source: we turned January into Snowman-uary. (Hey, ABC is touting Juan-uary in honor of their "Bachelor" guy. OK, that does work a little better than ours.)

We bought a really cute and super sparkly silver tree for a dollar at Walgreens during their final, please-take-it-or-we'll-burn-it holiday leavings sale. We also scooped up some light-up snowmen ornaments and bells for a quarter each. We hope to add snowmen every year as we continue the tradition, and not procrastinate as much next year.

We put the tree up on its spindly stand and it lasted a whole 15 minutes before Mr. Man took it apart from stem to stern to see how it worked. Hubby came in and fixed it with a wood dowel from a dollar store kite, whose innards were somehow lying unnoticed in the corner of the TV room. I really need to get around to that cleaning list on www.justmommies.com.

Only took 15 minutes to dismantle into a heap of tinsel and silver.

Snowman-uary has so far included a trip to Mt. Charleston to make a snowman, fun facts (January 31 is backward day...shouldn't be hard!), and Martin Luther King, Jr. We still haven't gotten around to making snowmen using cotton balls and black felt, but there are still a few days left in the month, right? It's nice to keep some traditions going strong!

Can you spot the mitstake?

Jack regressed.

My little man, the first to stay dry through the night and the first to go to the big potty at a restaurant bathroom, is back to pull ups, and not successfully.

If he’s really concentrating at work or play, he forgets. Let’s just say we should probably invest in thick towels to get us through this phase.

I feel terrible. How to help my boy? But, earlier in the day, a friend posted a helpful Huffington Post piece that said: "I want to be a better mother. Not the best mother. Not even a mother who never curses. But I seek to understand the cycle of nurturing -- what we give ourselves, we also give our children."

I’m talking to him, again, using the firm voice recommended by the latest potty-training book I’m hoping will magically save us from pee floors, when my email pings. It’s a message from an editor who had earlier caught an error in my latest story to her. It was a small error, sure, but felt real big to me. I really like this editor. I was very embarrassed, and wondering if she would hire me again. 

I open the email while still admonishing little man about the perils of pee on the floor. I smile real big and clap my hands. Little man is confused. My editor is offering me another job. Jack wants to know why I have tears. I tell him I feel bad because I made a mistake.

He leans in for a big hug and says, “I make mistakes, too.”

A little lesson for mommy in a big way.

It’s a Thin Line Between Burn and Bake

We’re bakers, from way back. Not great bakers, but avid lovers of baked goods and that delicious aroma that fills the house during the holiday baking season. I prefer cooking to baking, which is too particular for my culinary style. But it’s hard to wrap a herb-crusted NY Strip loin to fit those flat-rate boxes.

But back to the baking. Our little ones have finally figured out where all those goodies we pack off to friends and family originate. Mommy’s kitchen.

We’ve had some close calls of little hands reaching for just-popped-from-the-oven confections. I have a perfect oval letter O on my right forearm, seared there by a sizzling pot handle that I had nudged too far east of a smart location so the twins couldn’t get any ideas about helping me pour the caramel.

Aside from being painful, it made for some fun dinner conversation. Scott asked if I’d finally reached the 5^th level of Oprah’s fight club and, in honor of that achievement, received my official mark from the great One. I wish.

Aside from his helpful humor, the big guy had a great idea. He put blue masking tape at the three entrances to our open kitchen. The twins thought it was a great idea, too. They would run, full tilt, right up to the blue line before coming to a screeching halt. Fun. Really fun, for them. Eventually they lost interest, but they didn’t forget to stop at the blue line and ask if they could enter.

We might have to buy more blue tape. 

Oh, and here's my go to, oh-jeez-we-forgot cookies, which really came in handy this year:

Refrigerated cookie dough

Toasted almonds

Chocolate chips (or kisses, broken candy bars, any left over Halloween candy can do in a pinch even)

Coconut (fresh, not toasted)

(All ingredients are to your taste. If you like a thick, chewy cookie, use lots of dough. Prefer a thin cookie? Use just what you have on hand or just one of the regular cookie tubes, etc. You can also put crushed candy canes on top, instead of coconut. I've tried almost everything with much success, except crumbled fruit cake. Blech.)

Smoosh that cookie dough in the bottom of an 8x8 or small square pan you have on hand. Moosh the almonds, either sliced or chopped, on top of the dough, sprinkle the chips on top and bake at 350 until just golden. Sprinkle the coconut on top and return to oven until coconut is just toasty. Cut into tiny squares and put in those festive mini cups. It's always a hit, holiday or anytime you need a baked good that shows a little love.

I melted the chocolate and spread it around for this larger pan to make for easier cutting in a hurry, but you don't have to spread the chocolate around after you pull it out of the oven and before you layer on the coconut. We like to experiment, which is why baking isn't our preferred culinary endeavor.

If Not For the Library, We Wouldn't Have Found the Phone

The purse that hides the best loot!

The twins have taken their penchant for pinching and squirreling away important items to a new level, one that has some benefits.

I should know better. They've removed cabinet locks to get to envelopes and stamps to create a collage with our collection of old and Forever stamps. It was beautiful, and a steal at exactly $2.42. They've moved on from hiding my wallet and, separately, all its contents, for more banal items such as borrowed books. At least that is only .25 cents a day in penalties rather than the $25 it costs to replace my license! I still can't find my Barnes & Noble member rewards card.

I have a basket next to the TV so we can easily keep track of all our library treasures, and not send mommy in a tizzy when it's the dreaded return day. It's so convenient! You just wade through the bits of crayons and broken toys to access the pretty little white-washed basket and voila! Your books and DVDs are neatly organized and ready to return to their rightful home far from the chaos of your house. But somehow the dear little ones have taken every item out of the pretty little basket 24 hours before story time at the library and I can't find one single DVD or preachy parenting book that I can't help but check out and is now creeping into the overdue category because some other mother needs to read this latest trendy parenting tome.

After hunting and gathering up every overdue item but one, and finding the cordless phone in the process (note, check Morgan's talking purse daily for expensive household items), we are only 10 minutes late for story time, and that will only bring a slightly disapproving glance from the rather uptight story lady.

Where is the strangest place you’ve found missing objects in your house that are invariably ferreted away and hidden by your stealthy little one?

A Glimpse of the World at Just Under 48"

Morgan is becoming quite the photographer. I started saving her photos because, well, they're kind of interesting! She is thoughtful with her subjects and doesn't snap haphazardly.

Isn't she though? Her fickle fancy went through a "Mouse and the Motorcycle" phase. I for one am glad we've moved on, albeit to "Strawberry Shortcake." Makes me want to bake cupcakes!

Post tornado or pre-clean up of the play room.

Mommy cooking.

This is Jack and Morgan enjoying candy, she says. It's "very pretty."

The butcher block where many a head has been bumped coming around the kitchen corner. Is this a warning shot, or is she paying homage to the goose egg on her forehead?

She is fascinated by this Halloween pair who sing "I've Got You Babe." Just don't turn it on if she's within a few feet of them!

It took us a while to figure this one out. It's a closeup of a tombstone from the 99 Cent store for the front yard.

Love the angle, love the composition, love the subject!

Her brudda, a favorite subject.

Baking Season is Open!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! When I can officially indulge my desire to try all sorts of new recipes. Haven't found the new official holiday cookie yet. Last year was caramel shortbreads. This year I'm feeling really adventurous. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Here's our first food foray into the holiday season, Halloween cupcakes! Got a great deal on these little knives I've been eyeing since last year. They are not terribly tasty, but not awful either. A bland, crisp little cookie. Made red cupcakes so tasters can really get the full experience. Next time I might try a deep red velvet cupcake with a touch of cinnamon to give it a little 'bite', or does that sound gross?

Did I Say It To The Dogs or The Twins?

The hubby found it funny that when he’s in another room, he can’t tell if I’m talking to the dogs or the twins. Here are a few highlights. Can you guess which messy being I’m attempting to corral?

1.) "You’ve had too much ham, go lay down."

2.) "Good boy!!! Belly rubs!"

3.) "Take it outside. Outside now!"

4.) "Get out of there, that’s yucky."

5.) "Get behind the gate and I’ll give you a treat."

Woof

Answers:

1.) Mommy to the dogs after a big ham was cooked and trimmed. Gassy puppies!

2.) Mommy to Jack giving up Tablet to go play outside with his sister.

3.) Mommy to Morgan walking in to the kitchen with a stick covered in ants. She was shaving the trees “jacket.”

4.) Mommy to the dogs rolling in the twins’ sheets after Daddy let them go to bed with BBQ potato chips.

5.) Mommy to the twins after almost making the same mistake Daddy did at a particularly difficult nap time.