Domestic Adventures

I love you!

When Emmie was a year and a half old, anything she could hold in her hand became a little person and the game we call “hi” was invented. Dolls or socks or handfuls of mashed potatoes could say “hi” to each other all afternoon and Emmaline was content.
With Micah, anything he can hold becomes of car or a helicopter. “Heh-copper! Brrrrrrrmmmmm….” he says as his cracker or crayon zooms through the air.
“Beep, beep! Brrrrrmmmmm…..” he drove Emmaline’s Polly Pocket cat across the table.
“No!” shrieked Emmie, “He says, ‘meow’, Micah!”

Today I baked about eleven dozen cookies. If I had counted them up before the final clean-up I would have whipped together one more quick recipe just to say I baked a whole gross of cookies! Our neighbors should really love us since they will be the recipients of most of these.
Baking with children is an entirely different thing than baking by oneself. It is not at all relaxing, and so I determined to set some limits with my little would-be baker. Emmaline could join in decorating the cookies, but not cutting them out. She could help make chocolate chip cookies, but the peanut butter ones were made during her rest time. This gave her enough “baking with Mommy” time to satisfy her little four-year self, without driving me absolutely mad.
Since it was fun-in-the-kitchen day, we made english muffin pizzas for lunch - even Micah was pretty good at constructing his own lunch. I also gave Emmaline and Micah each an empty bowl, a wooden spoon, and several plastic cookie cutters. Fun for all, and it kept them busy while enjoyed a bit of baking without help!
Since I didn’t share a recipe in my Christmas tour, I’ll share one now. Forgotten cookies are one of my absolute Christmas favorites. Trent prefers chocolate chip cookies or maybe peanut butter if he’s feeling daring, but these are my Christmas must-have.

Forgotten Cookies

2 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup coconut - if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure oven is at that temperature before you put the cookies in the oven.
Beat egg whites until foamy (be sure that eggs are at room temperature before using). Gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff. Add salt and vanilla; and mix well. Add pecans and choice of other ingredients.
Drop cookies by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased foil-covered cookie sheet. (But I spray mine with Pam - they come off much easier and it doesn’t seem to matter.) Place cookies in the oven and immediately turn oven off. Leave cookies in closed oven overnight. Yield: 2 dozen cookies.

Thank you, BooMama, for hosting the Bloggy Christmas tour of home. I’m so glad to share my Christmas decorations with you all, especially since a series of colds and sniffles have prevented me from having very many people over in person.
I hope you enjoy the tour, and don’t forget to check out all the other wonderful tours at BooMama’s.

Welcome to my home…

I love my red door, and it’s especially nice at Christmas time.

Our tree has endured a lot at the hands of a very curious one year old and a very “helpful” four year old. I always enjoy trees that are themed and color coordinated, but I’m not willing to give up our eclectic collection of ornaments. I love putting them on the tree together and remembering how my neighbor gave me this one as a kid, and that one we got on vacation last year. Telling the stories of each ornament as we hang them on the tree is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

I found it difficult to get a good picture of this room, but my “new” dining room is my favorite Christmas room this year. A few months ago we switched the dining room and family rooms to give us space for lots of guests around the table. I love this arrangement.
I bought the stars after being inspired by a Pottery Barn catalogue. Their stars were mirrored and cost over a hundred dollars each! Mine (from Old Time Pottery) are black and cost $22 and $13. A string of Christmas lights nestled behind a pine and holly garland lights it up a bit.

I bought this Fisher Price Little People nativity set for the kids last year and it’s another one of my favorite Christmas things. It keeps them away from the glass nativity scene and Emmaline and I love to play out the Christmas story with these dolls.

Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed the tour and wish you a very merry Christmas!

Aren’t these little birdies adorable? I found them on book plates that are oh so cute, as well as these calling cards. I’m all for social etiquette, but I’m not sure I’m quite this sophisticated. “Don’t be the only mom on the playground without these vintage-inspired calling cards,” the description urges. Heaven forbid I not have my calling card ready when so-and-so’s mom asks for a playdate! I think I’d feel rather snooty handing over my cute little calling card. Well, maybe not - mine would probably have to be rescued from the depths of my purse and have something sticky wiped off it first. Not all that chic, really. And certainly not for $55 for a pack of 100!

Losing one’s sense of smell is surprisingly crippling. The aches and pains of my cold have gone away, but my nose is still so stuffy I can’t smell a thing.
Never before did I appreciate how my nose warned me to get a couple dozen wipes ready before opening that diaper. Nor did I think about how my nose protected my poor baby from walking around with stinky pants so long that his bottom turned all red and sore.
I completely forgot about my stuffy nose while cooking an omelette, until Trent ran into the kitchen shouting that something was scorching. Sure enough, something was.
I also never thought about how handy a sense of smell can be when some kind salesperson gifts your young daughter with a perfume sample. How was I to know that she had sprayed the entire vial on her brother?
Yes, I’m feeling much better, but I’m looking forward to smelling again… even diapers.

When a restaurant has the high chair already at the table along with a plate of crackers, orange slices, and cheerios to keep my little ones busy while I peruse the menu, I am impressed. Add to that a great menu with everything made on-sight daily at reasonable prices and I’m happy. I think I’m in love with Mimi’s Cafe. They even send first-time diners home with a box of free muffins. Really delicious muffins!
I also love that they assured me not to worry about the mess when the waiter saw me trying to clean up discarded orange peels from around Micah’s chair.
I know most restaurant patrons don’t come in toting two tired kiddos, but how the staff reacts to young children affects my opinion of a restaurant oh so much! It makes the difference between a relaxing meal and a tiring, self-conscious chore.
Check out the yummy recipes on their website too!

… illustrated and dictated by Emmaline.

Once there was a bird. He was wandering around the neighborhood.

He saw his mommy’s necklace in the grass and the bird flew down to get his mommy’s necklace.

He goed to his nest and gave his mommy the necklace, and the mommy birdy flew to her baby and got her necklace. And the necklace went right on her.

And the baby bird rode on her back.

Emmaline wanted to hear her Bible story out of the real Bible the other night. “Okay,” Trent agreed, “but my Bible doesn’t have any pictures so you’ll have to imagine what the story looks like.”
Emmaline seemed to be listening very well as Trent read the evening’s story. When he finished, he asked her a question about it, but she was just staring into space.
“Emmaline?” he prodded.
“Shh!” she waved away his question.
“Emmaline,” he said a little more sternly.
“Shh!” she said again.
“Emmaline, you don’t shush Daddy.”
“You have to be quiet. I’m imagining.”
Trent reached around Emmaline’s back to poke me in the side and mouthed, “You should blog this.”
I was too busy trying not to laugh to respond. In fact, I was too busy laughing, even though I shouldn’t have been.
“Okay,” Emmaline finally came back to earth, “I’m done imagining now.”

“Emmaline and Micah’s House Corner” That’s what Emmaline wanted written on the “door” of this little cottage. Trent cut two shuttered windows in the side so it makes a great little house. It also doubles as a slide when propped against the couch. Add some plastic balls for more fun, or flashlights for another twist. The box our double stroller came in is definitely one of our favorite toys. The funny thing is that we outgrew and don’t even have the stroller anymore, but we’re not about to part with the box!