So I got this recipe on allrecipes.com - I love that site! Anyhow every time I make cookies they turn out different. I think I may finally have the best recipe, in Kyle and my opinion, figured out. I am writing it to share it and also so I never lose this recipe!!!
First get your dry ingredients together in one bowl - 2 cups of all purpose bleached flour (I don't sift, don't own a sifter), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Mix it with a spoon, set aside.
In a big bowl that you plan to have all your dough in melt 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter. I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds, your goal is not to get it watery melty, it's basically to get it soft and able to mix well with the sugar to create a pastey type yummy substance. Kyle thinks I'm crazy b/c I think the butter and sugar mixed together is delicious! Okay so melted/softenedish butter, add 1/2 cup white sugar, and 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar. Mix together with a spoon until creamy and yummy. Then add 1 tablespoon of vanilla, 1 egg yolk (I do the yolk only first in case I accidentally mess up and have a second chance at doing it again, but it really isn't hard, it's just an extra precaution), and add 1 full egg. Use a mixer and beat this together - I put it on the 2nd speed and try not to mix too long, just until well blended and beaten. Then I pour in the dry ingredients and mix it with a spoon. Then I stir in the chocolate chips, if you want melty chocolate like us, use semi-sweet, if you don't want melty chocolate use milk chocolate.
Bake at 325 degrees, on parchment paper or on the pan itself - DO NOT BAKE COOKIES ON ALUMINUM FOIL! I did this foreeeever and it makes them cook weird - I'm cheap, parchment paper isn't, but I will never make cookies on aluminum foil again. Bake for 15 minutes (give or take depending on your oven and how you like your cookies). These are the bomb! And what we like to do is make some right away, after I make the dough, but just enough that we'll eat that evening or a few left over for the next day and then refrigerate the rest of the dough and make them through out the week so we can have fresh cookies. MMMM! Hope you enjoy!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Mushy Monday - Whirlwind of Memories
There are so many things I want to write about, simply because I know my memory will not be able to remember all these sweet moments I am having with my boys! What a blessing that is, too many sweet memories to keep track of them! (Clearly we have our rough times, my children, and I are most definitely far from perfect)
First things first, my little Tom Tom is turning into quite the toddler these days! I put Silas down for his first nap and decided it was time to give our dog Maggie a bath. I had Tommy stay in the bathroom with me while I gave her, her bath and then when it was time for me to dry her off I let him leave the bathroom to go play in the family room. After a couple of minutes I went to check on him and he was just playing with his toys like a good boy. Then a few minutes later when I was done I came out to find him coloring on the floor with his crayons and coloring pages that were on the kitchen table. In other words he had to move the chair, to reach onto the table, got down his toy, and went to town. And there was no crayon on the carpet, just on his coloring pages. I just looked at him shocked and said, “Tommy, did you want to color.” And in his precious little voice, that he only uses to say a couple of words he said, “Yeah.” Oh my word I should have taken a picture but didn’t think about it until much later. I didn’t know if that moment if I should discipline him or laugh…I laughed and I was proud of him. He knew what he wanted, he got it, and he was happy. I don’t want him to get into things he’s not supposed to, especially when I’m not around, which was the other funny part because I pretty much always have my eyes on him. But I also don’t want to over think these things, I want to enjoy him, his curiosity, and encourage him to be independent. It was a sweet “toddler” moment.
Baby Silas has had quite a big month. He is now officially 5 months old! Woo Woo! Big boy, almost half a year old! Where has the time gone?! Our little handsome guy is finally on a schedule – PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW (I sang that in my head as I wrote it)! He was much more difficult to get on a schedule then big brother Tommy. Silas would not eat at the same time every morning, he would eat really early in the morning like 4 or 5 and then wouldn’t want to eat for a really long time, seriously like 5 hours some times. I would try and try and he just wouldn’t eat. I’m going to list his schedule below so I can remember it. He has also started nursing longer than he used to, which I’m fine with, he was eating a total of 10 minutes but now it ranges from a total of 10-20. Silas has started eating rice cereal and oatmeal, he definitely prefers rice cereal – right now he eats just a little bit, probably about 1-2 tablespoons twice a day, with his lunch feeding and right before bed. He has figured out how to play with the alphabet ball! And he finally rolled over, from belly to back. He definitely isn’t super motivated to roll over but he’s done it a few times, I even got it on video. Have I mentioned yet that we think he might be teething! Aah! I hope not, we shall see. He goes to the doctor this week for a checkup; I can’t wait to see how much he has grown! I love that little monkey to pieces! Here’s baby Silas’ schedule at 5 months:
Typically wakes up between 6-7 and eats and goes right back to sleep (sometimes he skips this and sometimes he doesn’t, it’s a weird transition that seems to keep coming and going)
First official feeding is 9:00AM
Plays for two hours and naps at 11:00AM
Sleeps until 12:30PM
Eats at 12:30 or 1:00 PM + rice cereal
Naps 2:30PM
Sleeps until 4:00 or 4:30PM
Eats at 4:30 or 5:00PM
Naps 6:30-7:30PM
Eats at 8:30PM + rice cereal
Bedtime 9:00PM
*This is his typical schedule, sometimes things are off by ½ hour or so with the feedings and naps and his afternoon nap is the most finicky of them all but he seems to rest better having that little bit of rice cereal with lunch.
Learning his alphabet.
First things first, my little Tom Tom is turning into quite the toddler these days! I put Silas down for his first nap and decided it was time to give our dog Maggie a bath. I had Tommy stay in the bathroom with me while I gave her, her bath and then when it was time for me to dry her off I let him leave the bathroom to go play in the family room. After a couple of minutes I went to check on him and he was just playing with his toys like a good boy. Then a few minutes later when I was done I came out to find him coloring on the floor with his crayons and coloring pages that were on the kitchen table. In other words he had to move the chair, to reach onto the table, got down his toy, and went to town. And there was no crayon on the carpet, just on his coloring pages. I just looked at him shocked and said, “Tommy, did you want to color.” And in his precious little voice, that he only uses to say a couple of words he said, “Yeah.” Oh my word I should have taken a picture but didn’t think about it until much later. I didn’t know if that moment if I should discipline him or laugh…I laughed and I was proud of him. He knew what he wanted, he got it, and he was happy. I don’t want him to get into things he’s not supposed to, especially when I’m not around, which was the other funny part because I pretty much always have my eyes on him. But I also don’t want to over think these things, I want to enjoy him, his curiosity, and encourage him to be independent. It was a sweet “toddler” moment.
Such a goof ball!
He thought since Silas enjoyed the bouncy seat so much, he'd give it a try. He climbs in and out of it all the time now :)
Baby Silas has had quite a big month. He is now officially 5 months old! Woo Woo! Big boy, almost half a year old! Where has the time gone?! Our little handsome guy is finally on a schedule – PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW (I sang that in my head as I wrote it)! He was much more difficult to get on a schedule then big brother Tommy. Silas would not eat at the same time every morning, he would eat really early in the morning like 4 or 5 and then wouldn’t want to eat for a really long time, seriously like 5 hours some times. I would try and try and he just wouldn’t eat. I’m going to list his schedule below so I can remember it. He has also started nursing longer than he used to, which I’m fine with, he was eating a total of 10 minutes but now it ranges from a total of 10-20. Silas has started eating rice cereal and oatmeal, he definitely prefers rice cereal – right now he eats just a little bit, probably about 1-2 tablespoons twice a day, with his lunch feeding and right before bed. He has figured out how to play with the alphabet ball! And he finally rolled over, from belly to back. He definitely isn’t super motivated to roll over but he’s done it a few times, I even got it on video. Have I mentioned yet that we think he might be teething! Aah! I hope not, we shall see. He goes to the doctor this week for a checkup; I can’t wait to see how much he has grown! I love that little monkey to pieces! Here’s baby Silas’ schedule at 5 months:
Typically wakes up between 6-7 and eats and goes right back to sleep (sometimes he skips this and sometimes he doesn’t, it’s a weird transition that seems to keep coming and going)
First official feeding is 9:00AM
Plays for two hours and naps at 11:00AM
Sleeps until 12:30PM
Eats at 12:30 or 1:00 PM + rice cereal
Naps 2:30PM
Sleeps until 4:00 or 4:30PM
Eats at 4:30 or 5:00PM
Naps 6:30-7:30PM
Eats at 8:30PM + rice cereal
Bedtime 9:00PM
*This is his typical schedule, sometimes things are off by ½ hour or so with the feedings and naps and his afternoon nap is the most finicky of them all but he seems to rest better having that little bit of rice cereal with lunch.
Enjoying his first taste of rice cereal!
Just getting in a little exersauce! Haha - if you're my friend you'll laugh at that joke.
As these days fly by it’s really nice to be able and sit down and actually document the things going on in our lives, because a lot of nights I’m bouncing Silas, singing and praying with him before I lay him down and I think – man I feel like I didn’t spend a lot of time with you today (even though clearly we have spent the entire day together) but with so much going on between these two cuties I feel like my attention isn’t as focused as I would like it to be. But clearly there are a lot of sweet moments and things happening and I’m grateful to be able to see that and remember it here. I love my sweet boys! And please know that I have not forgotten about my wonderful husband. He is without a doubt a huge and important part of my life and I have a huge crush on him! Who wouldn’t?!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Mushy Monday - Time is FLYING by
So pretty much what you read every time you look at this blog, I can't keep up with blogging! AAAH! I think about it every week and almost every week there's at least one thing, if not more, that I want to write about and remember. But I have two kids, two wonderful, precious, cute kids that require a lot of my attention. I am very thankful for them and especially thankful that I get to stay at home with them and pay them a lot of attention.
Here are a few things I want to make sure I record for my memories sake on here, but I have to make it quick b/c Tommy apparently decided not to nap as long today and is crying at his door. He is sleeping in his race car bed now, which he has done awesome transitioning to, so he's waiting at his door for me to come get him. Keep on waiting buddy, mama's got to blog haha! Just kidding I'll make it quick.
1.) TOMMY - Tommy's imagination is coming to life, he's officially a 2 1/2 year old, and it's adorable! And I might add, a little creepy. He likes to wrestle by himself and sign more...to himself...or his imaginary friend?! Not sure, that's the kind of creepy part. Anyhow you have to sneak up to catch him in the act of this, otherwise he gets embarrassed and he stops. He's learning to keep himself entertained and this is the result of that. He throws himself around on the floor, rolls over, laughs, and then signs more in the air and does it all over again. It's hilarious! He's also getting into playing cars, rolling them back and forth to each other. He is starting to "read" books to himself, even signing to himself as he "reads" them. One book has a picture of a star on the outside, he pointed to it (while looking at it on his own) and signed star in the air. PRECIOUS! Tom is starting to like Silas more, still gets jealous and doesn't love for me to pay Silas individual attention or even shared attention when he's around and so we are starting to discipline with that b/c it's getting to where Tommy is trying to tell us what to do and when to stop paying Silas attention. We want to encourage him to be selfless and loving to his brother, and obviously to share and enjoy doing things with his brother. Oh my but one of the sweetest things, Silas was on his play mat the other night, crying, and I was making my way over to pick him up but Tommy beat me to it. He sat right by Silas' head, patted his chest, got in Silas' face to smile and say Hi, trying to calm him down! Melted my heart! Tommy is usually able to make Silas smile just by walking close to him but he was hungry so he cried, Tommy eventually gave up, but it was wonderful to see Tommy caring for his little brother. Tommy is growing leaps and bounds. He is such a big boy! He's learning to feed himself more and more, something that I struggle with b/c he can end up really messy aaah, not my forte! I cannot believe he is already 2 1/2, I love getting to know him more and more! Oh and he also got good news at the cardiologist, the mitral valve is leaking less. So as of this month, October 2012, it is not looking like he will need any further surgeries! I am thankful to the Lord and it makes me feel super happy and joyful and at the same time I try to take it in moderation b/c clearly things can change and sometimes communication gets foggy from one appointment to the next. However I do not want that to limit the Lord's glory and it is an answer to prayer! Praise the Lord!
2.) Baby Silas - words cannot express how much my heart grows for this child with each passing day! I love the stage he is in right now. Very interactive, very smiley, just so stinking sweet! He is blowing raspberries, still not rolling over but close (he has no desire to do so), has a super strong trunk and can prop sit (did you catch that Critter?! we think that term is funny) very well, he likes to make sounds with his mouth and to squeal and laugh. Silas is obsessed with Tommy! Typical little brother admiring the older brother, when Tommy walks towards him he starts laughing. I would say it's safe to say Tommy is Silas' favorite person, and trust me it goes beyond him just recognizing Tommy, b/c you can tell he favors Tom over Kyle and me. It is absolutely ADORABLE! I praise the Lord for this and hope it continues, I would love for them to be the best of friends. Silas is eating rice cereal, we started it shortly after he was 4 months old b/c he started waking up early again and taking super short naps. He seems to like it! Silas is a doll baby! He has wonderful chubby cheeks! I love my boys dearly.
Speaking of loving my boys they are both crying, awake from their naps, so I must bring this to an end. Here's a sweet picture of my precious little ones!
Here are a few things I want to make sure I record for my memories sake on here, but I have to make it quick b/c Tommy apparently decided not to nap as long today and is crying at his door. He is sleeping in his race car bed now, which he has done awesome transitioning to, so he's waiting at his door for me to come get him. Keep on waiting buddy, mama's got to blog haha! Just kidding I'll make it quick.
1.) TOMMY - Tommy's imagination is coming to life, he's officially a 2 1/2 year old, and it's adorable! And I might add, a little creepy. He likes to wrestle by himself and sign more...to himself...or his imaginary friend?! Not sure, that's the kind of creepy part. Anyhow you have to sneak up to catch him in the act of this, otherwise he gets embarrassed and he stops. He's learning to keep himself entertained and this is the result of that. He throws himself around on the floor, rolls over, laughs, and then signs more in the air and does it all over again. It's hilarious! He's also getting into playing cars, rolling them back and forth to each other. He is starting to "read" books to himself, even signing to himself as he "reads" them. One book has a picture of a star on the outside, he pointed to it (while looking at it on his own) and signed star in the air. PRECIOUS! Tom is starting to like Silas more, still gets jealous and doesn't love for me to pay Silas individual attention or even shared attention when he's around and so we are starting to discipline with that b/c it's getting to where Tommy is trying to tell us what to do and when to stop paying Silas attention. We want to encourage him to be selfless and loving to his brother, and obviously to share and enjoy doing things with his brother. Oh my but one of the sweetest things, Silas was on his play mat the other night, crying, and I was making my way over to pick him up but Tommy beat me to it. He sat right by Silas' head, patted his chest, got in Silas' face to smile and say Hi, trying to calm him down! Melted my heart! Tommy is usually able to make Silas smile just by walking close to him but he was hungry so he cried, Tommy eventually gave up, but it was wonderful to see Tommy caring for his little brother. Tommy is growing leaps and bounds. He is such a big boy! He's learning to feed himself more and more, something that I struggle with b/c he can end up really messy aaah, not my forte! I cannot believe he is already 2 1/2, I love getting to know him more and more! Oh and he also got good news at the cardiologist, the mitral valve is leaking less. So as of this month, October 2012, it is not looking like he will need any further surgeries! I am thankful to the Lord and it makes me feel super happy and joyful and at the same time I try to take it in moderation b/c clearly things can change and sometimes communication gets foggy from one appointment to the next. However I do not want that to limit the Lord's glory and it is an answer to prayer! Praise the Lord!
2.) Baby Silas - words cannot express how much my heart grows for this child with each passing day! I love the stage he is in right now. Very interactive, very smiley, just so stinking sweet! He is blowing raspberries, still not rolling over but close (he has no desire to do so), has a super strong trunk and can prop sit (did you catch that Critter?! we think that term is funny) very well, he likes to make sounds with his mouth and to squeal and laugh. Silas is obsessed with Tommy! Typical little brother admiring the older brother, when Tommy walks towards him he starts laughing. I would say it's safe to say Tommy is Silas' favorite person, and trust me it goes beyond him just recognizing Tommy, b/c you can tell he favors Tom over Kyle and me. It is absolutely ADORABLE! I praise the Lord for this and hope it continues, I would love for them to be the best of friends. Silas is eating rice cereal, we started it shortly after he was 4 months old b/c he started waking up early again and taking super short naps. He seems to like it! Silas is a doll baby! He has wonderful chubby cheeks! I love my boys dearly.
Speaking of loving my boys they are both crying, awake from their naps, so I must bring this to an end. Here's a sweet picture of my precious little ones!
P.S. Shout out to my sister wife Christina! haha Just kidding! Love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)