New Recipes

I read a blog (can't remember which one, of course) that suggested homemakers try a new recipe everyday. That is totally unrealistic, so perhaps I misread. It's unrealistic because of the amount of ingrediants needed for new recipes, and everyone should have their go-to meal plans. Mine is pasta. Of various varieties.

Roasted Garlic and Eggplant Soup
Found on allrecipes.com

Brownies
From Issue 4 April 2015 of All You (that family/mom/homemaker/busy wife magazine, found only at WalMart- or by subscription)
Ingrediants: for the Buttermilk Brownies
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter - I used margarine
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped- I used semisweet Kroger chocolate chips
3/4 cup (or 12 tbsp.!) packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup (or 12 tbsp) cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Ingrediants: for Oreo Cheesecake Swirl
6 Oreo cookies
4 oz room temperature cream cheese
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1) preheat oven to 350• F. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with foil, draping foil over edges. (I used a foil pan).
2) In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Let cool.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, vanilla and salt until smooth and pale, about 30 seconds. Stir in cooled chocolate mixture and buttermilk. Stir in flour until just combined, then pour batter into baking pan.
4) Bake until a toothpick inserted into brownies comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool completely. Lift brownies out of pan, remove foil and cut into 12 pieces. Wrap brownies in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To add the Oreo Cheesecake Swirl:
Stir in 3/4 cup quarted Oreos (about 6 cookies) with flour. (I smooshed my Oreos.) In a small bowl, stir 4 oz. room-temperature cream cheese, 2 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt until smooth. Scrape into a small ziplock bag. Snip off 1 corner of bag scissors, then squeeze cream cheese mixture in a swirled pattern over the batter in pan. Add cooking time- 55-60 minutes.
My cooking time was about 70 minutes.

Productivity

I have made a decision that I need to be focused on the kids when they are awake. No more looking at my phone, no more half-assly being a part of their activities. So what if the house doesn't look great? It doesn't look that great all that often anyway.
Being really involved in their activities will make me feel like a good productive mom.

I asked The Boy if he wanted to cook or craft, and he chose cook. So he sat on the counter and helped me stir the brownie mix. It was Ghirradrli Double Chocolate. He got to lick the bowl.
This morning I asked if he wanted to craft or go outside. After some minor scrambling, we went outside and hung out and I blew bubbles. It was invigorating to just relax and be with them and not worry about the finished product. The boys love bubbles!

Memorial Day

At my church service yesterday, the sermon was about memories and remembering and taking time for family. And remembering the fallen soldiers, and making sure they didn't die in vain, or without those to remember them.

I am terrified of forgetting. I make lists for shopping trips and vacations. I try to journal after events and photograph during them. Many things I would love to forget, but those experiences and thoughts have been burned into my brain. However, I find myself seemingly to forget important things, things about my kids. I find myself having trouble filling out The Baby's baby book. Documentation of my life is a near-obsession with me, but I do feel like I live in the moment as well. I hope I do.

Let us live in the moment and take an opportunity to remember our soldiers. Not the reasons of the war, or what is must mean to make a decision to fight in them...but let us take a moment to remember the soldier (or Marine or Seal or whatever) as a person, to remember their hopes and thoughts and ideas. Let us remember, so we may not suffer that pain of forgetting.

Cosley Shutterfly

I'm having a hell of a time ordering my freebie prints from Shutterfly. I get a lot of photos printed, and a lot of photo projects made. Most of my gifts are 'free' (just pay shipping). I think it's worth it. Except when it is fucking difficult.

We went to Cosley Zoo today! With my dad and stepmom. The kids got in free, my dad got senior pricing, and The Hubs and I were $5. Totally worth it. It's a bit of a drive, but we saw birds (owls, some kinda heron, cardinals, and others). There were ducks (and an awkward duck-sex situation), sheep, cows, bulls, llamas, and a few reptiles. The Boy really liked a spider on a fence.
I was so pleased to finally make time for my dad and the kids. My dad lives far enough away that it takes serious planning to see him, but not far enough to be impossible.
We also went out to eat, which was surprisingly lovely.

Our routine was totally thrown off today and it made me realize that we are more scheduled and more reliant on our routine than I thought. I'm proud of that. Structure can be good.

Toy Story

We let the boy watch part of Toy Story sometimes. In the evening, before bed. I like to snuggle with him and watch it too. Sometimes it makes me cry!

I had to take my father-in-law to a doctor's appointment today, and I got my beloved step dad to watch the kids. I could only schedule the appointment during Naptime, so it was a blessing my stepdad could come by. He knows how to care for young children, and I totally trust him, but as I was leaving I started to see all the nuances of the stuff my kids do. The Boy's language is good enough so that I almost always understand him, but I'm the only one. And there are all the little additions to our routines that only Mama can do, like extra snuggles.

On Facebook, on saw (and read) two articles about kids that I think are noteworthy. One was a horrific article on child killers - kids who murder other kids- and the part that disturbed me most was the one about two 10-year-olds who abducted a 2 (!!) year old, tortured and beat him, then tied him to train tracks. My boy is 2 1/2, and to imagine him in that situation is terrifying. I cannot understand such cruelty. My only reprieve is to know that had the boys been supervised it probably would not have happened. What had the older kids seen or done to make them think their actions were ok?
The other article was about parents treating their kids on Facebook. It was pretty funny because I still feel young enough to identify with the kids, but as a parent, I hope I can have that kind of humor and wit regarding my kid's social media antics. Although it is likely I won't understand the newest social media they might use. What the hell is Twitter?

The Baby needed extra hugs today, because it appears he does not like my uncle-in-law. Go figure.

Vattman Park

We stayed at the house until about 3:30, when we piled in the super-hot car to go to a park in Wilmette. It was a really well planned park; I could see The Boy pretty much everywhere he went. He climbed a wall-ladder and tried the monkey bars for the first time!
The Baby ate puffs and climbed on me and used the stroller to hold onto while he stood. I love his progress!
I met up with my friend and her baby and realized there was too much going on for us to have a actual conversation. Which was a bummer, because I really like talking to her.

While I was giving The Baby his first bottle of the day, we locked eyes, and I felt that 'in love with my kids' feeling. It was really intense, but I welcomed it because it solidified my life choices and it kept me in the moment and I was able to stare back at him. I hope he felt similar intensity. You know, in a baby way.

The E.R

My boy fell down the stairs and he fell with sickeningly thumps. There was a noise uttered by my father-in-law and The Boy that made me feel that this was an emergency.
We went to the ER and two women in waiting room were really nice and helped reign in the chaos. Thank God for those people and their small blessings.
As per usual ER trips, we were in there for almost five hours. The Boy had a concussion and busted his perfect button nose.
The frazzled-ness of going to the ER takes a while to wear off.
All three of my boys are sleeping. Guess I should be too.