Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER! (Perfect with Christmas M&Ms!)

     These turned out so great! I'm thrilled. I usually can't stand making cookies because they don't turn out how I like them. I don't like them to be super crunchy or hard. I like a little bit of crispiness around the edge and perfect gooey chewiness on the inside. I decided to wing it with the recipe. Thankfully I wrote it down as I went. Do note that it is doubled. Use half the amounts of ingredients listed or you'll have A LOT of cookies. They are so tasty and so unhealthy!

2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups brown sugar (packed)
4 eggs 
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups shortening
3/4 cup butter (soft)
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3-4 cups chocolate chips

*don't forget this recipe above is doubled so you only need half of this for a regular batch*

     A few things: 1) The butter needs to be soft. Not hard. Not melted. It just needs to get to room temperature.  2) I didn't use a mixer for these. I used a spatula then my hands. 3) This dough really needs to sit in the fridge or freeze for at least a few hours but overnight is even better. 4) If you need to preheat, go for it. I don't because our current oven doesn't like it.

      In one bowl, add the sugars and butter and cream them together. Add the shortening, oil, and eggs and stir with a spatula until it's all blended together. In another bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. (The BEST way to do this is with your hands!) Finally, add in the chocolate chips.

    This dough is slightly crumbly but it should press together really well and hold it's shape. Put it all on some parchment and let it set in the fridge for at least a few hours. Roll the dough into small balls, press gently for a flatter cookie or leave it round for a puffier cookie. Use a non stick pan or butter it up. Cooking spray is fine too but butter works better, in my humble opinion. (Add M&Ms!!) Bake in the oven at ~325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. They are done when just the edges are golden. The center will still be pretty mushy. Let them sit for 10 minutes or so on the pan. If you try to move them too soon they'll just break or fall through the edges of a cooling rack.

     Oh yeah, and I let my sweet girls help "make cookies" (put the candy on top) and they are really great at it! They have perfect proportioning skills at just 2 and 3 years old.

Young Kids Aren't As Selfish As People Like to Think

      This Christmas season has been different for me. I have such a natural joy in my soul. Honestly. I’m not trying to be a cheeseball. It’s like my perspective of the whole holiday has broadened. My thoughts aren’t so narrow and selfish as they used to be. Though, I have a long way to go still.

     I’m attributing these changes in me to my children. Having three people become the priority in your life over yourself in every way is a challenge but it has the potential to create beautiful change. I hope that’s what it does for me, anyway. Even being married is a learned prioritization of another over yourself. You have to make yourself do it. It's not like that for me with my kids. I wear myself ragged trying to do and be everything for them. Something about having children, at least for me, is absolutely humbling (in the most vividly real meaning of the word) and I doubt I'm the only one to feel that way. I can visualize all of the potential on the paths at their small feet.

     At the same time, I see the inborn ills of humanity in my children. I see greed and vanity and selfishness during this holiday season. As their mother, I realize my whole life purpose now is to guide these small loves of mine to compassion, love, and selflessness. I can’t show these things without learning them myself and all of this is, by far, the hardest thing I’ve ever needed to do.

     I see my sweet, spirited Bitty Bug gazing at all the stuff in the catalogs and in the store. “I want . . . I want . . . I want. . .”. I don’t think there is anything wrong with simply wanting things. At just three years old, she is still so innocent and unaware. She just sees these dazzling ads, beautiful dolls, and fun toys and she just inherently has the urge to possess it all. I think there is a problem though when you become unfoundedly entitled, envious, or obsessed with getting more and more. This is fueled early and easily in our society. We are surrounded with consumerism and greed. We let it take us over. I want an alternative experience for my kids but I want balance too. I don’t want to cut out gift giving or go straight to homemade-only presents (honestly, that would be much more work on my part, right now!) I just want to start curbing these gut reactions in my Bitty Bug.

    So, we decided to have our little daughters (Bitty Bug, 3.5 and Sweet Pea, 2) pick out gifts for each other and their new baby pumpkin. I was thrilled with them. We explained to them on that shopping trip that we were “thinking about brother and sister” today and not ourselves. I took Bitty Bug with me and the hubster took Sweet Pea. I just kind of walked around the store and asked what she thought her sister would want or need. “What do you think her favorite color is?” and “Which one of this or this would she like better?” I wanted her to be focused on thinking of someone else. That’s a very big thing for a 3 year old to do! VERY big! She pointed out some things she wanted. She told me about all her dinosaurs (again). She initially wanted to get one thing for her sister but it was way over the little budget I gave her (5 dollars). Then, as we went down one more aisle, I noticed a little dress up purse and pointed it out to her. “What do you think of this?” and she gasped and exclaimed “Look! It’s pink! [Sweet Pea] has that one. It’s pink for her. I have a purple sparkle purse. I put all my crayons in it. [Sweet Pea] wants that one. Yeah.” I was delighted. Same thing for Pumpkin. She saw a wooden, rainbow stacking toy and decided “He will like those colors! He can play with me!”. I know I beamed with pride. It might seem like such a silly thing but she showed so much thought and she was so happy to pick those things out herself. Sweet Pea had picked out things for her sister and brother that I would’ve picked out myself. A little yellow car for Bitty Bug and a tiny stuffed monkey for Pumpkin. Bitty Bug LOVES hot wheels and she also likes the color yellow (second only to pink and purple and sparkles). I don’t know if my 2 year old is really that intuitive or if it’s a perfect coincidence. On Christmas day, I’ll have them give those gifts to each other instead of just putting them under the tree. We’ll definitely do the same thing next year.

     Although, I may be doing shopping the day before Christmas to keep things a surprise between them because Bitty Bug has told Sweet Pea about her pink, sparkly purse only 15 times now. Somehow it all goes right over Sweet Pea's head or she simply doesn’t hear it. Then again, when my sister and I bought each other Christmas presents we almost always ended up giving up hints and guessing what we got each other before Christmas morning!

Finally getting the hang of Christmas baking

     I love baking. I had to learn to enjoy cooking but I have always enjoyed baking. Cake, cookies, brownies. Yesss. I wrote my own recipe for brownies when I was a teenager. That's how much I love brownies.

     We probably spent more time in the kitchen making stuff at Christmastime than the rest of the year combined when I was growing up. Shaped sugar cookies, breads, buckeye balls, chocolate dipped pretzels, chocolate chip m&m cookies. Yes, yes please! Now that I'm all grown up and have my own kitchen and my own stuff I continue to make many of the same things we made when I was a kid. My kiddos seem to enjoy it just as much as I did! Even at their sweet little ages I try to let them help and learn as much as they can so they can have fun making things for their own families some day.

     It never fails though that even with all I was taught over the years I am continuously learning things in the kitchen. The little tricks and tweaks that made my mother's and grandmother's foods taste like heaven on a plate. But gracious, half the time, I feel like a moron for not realizing some things sooner.

       Like, you know, when you make a bread (like pumpkin, banana nut, or zucchini) you should mix the dry ingredients separately from the wet, mix those together, then add in your mushy fruit or nuts. It all blends better that way and you're much less likely to get a blub of flour somewhere. OR, if you let the pumpkin bread get nearly done and the top center is still mushy there is a solution! You can turn the temperature down and press some foil around the edges of the bread pan just over the loaf and like magic, after a few minutes, it will firm up.

      As I discovered yesterday, homemade biscotti is actually NOT that hard to make at all! (Making it uniform and pretty may be another story.) It just takes some time and some hands-in-the-dough-squishing. About an hour and a half in the oven. You can have whatever type you want and it's way cheaper than buying it in a can from the store. I used this simple recipe and added in some chocolate chips. I have more than will fit in my favorite cookie jar.

 

     Isn't it the cutest cookie jar ever? I've had this thing for 8 years now. My sweet husband chose this for me. I remember telling him Frosty the Snowman was my favorite because we almost never got snow in Alabama. He gave it to me just before he went back home (3 hours away) after we saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe together. It was the first Christmas present he's ever given to me! That feels like it was a million years ago now.

     Another thing, I've learned that in place of a double boiler (because it is necessary for the safety and prosperity of chocolate) you can just put a bit of water in a skillet. Then, put the chocolate you intend to melt in a regular saucepan and place that inside the skillet full of water. Yay for no burnt chocolate! Yay for no wasted space in my small cabinets!

     Now I can make pretties like these lovely red velvet cake balls with "Christmas sparkles" (quoting my three year old) without wanting to smash things.

Last Minute Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Nerd!

Check these ideas out! There's even some great deals! They are sure to bring a smile to your favoritest ever nerd. Just be sure you choose the right obsession fandom. No two nerds are alike!

(I take no responsibility for your choices based on this page. Know your nerd before buying for your nerd.)

World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2 - the Black Friday prices on these two popular games are officially good through January 1, 2014!

This adorable robot tea-infuser. Want. (Also, there's a monkey.)

Credit: Amazon and Kikkerland

ThinkGeek has 25% off plus free shipping on orders in the US! The geeks (and nerds and fan freaks and dorks alike) will smile!!! (ends Dec 16). Great stuff is always on clearance sale too!

Just trust me. This.

Or this pretty with these pretties.

Credit: Amazon and The Noble Collection

Star Trek Catan. Because ruling the world needed to be cooler. (It's a board game, dear.)

Captain America literally saving things. Or . . . Domo.

Lego City Advent Calendar: this one or this one

Even better! Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar: 2012 or 2013 (Looks like 2013 is out stock almost everywhere. Sad day. Check your local Walmart or Target though!)

Cute or creepy!?

Basically, any of these.

Stuff for their wall: inspire, tell time, lighten things up, and prettify.

Credit: Zazzle and Bin Gifts

Some friends for that tea-infuser.

For your very own superman.

For the not-quite-smarty-pants. (Get it? Get it? I'm so funny.)

A fancy subscriptions to feed their favorite hobby: Gamefly

 And the best stocking stuffer ever (besides cash and diamonds, obviously).

It's that time of year . . . road trips!

     Hours-long car rides, road trips, and cross-country flights! Hooray! Ha. There's a good chance you may be driving a little ways for a holiday gathering very soon. I know we are and even though it's not our first trip I always have something new to figure out. There's always something I almost forget. There's plenty of things that I do forget.

Maybe you've visited this blog before and know I've posted about this before!

One way or another here are some of my tips for road trips:

Road Trips Ain't For Babies: The Basics - Part 1

Road Trips Ain't For Babies: The Basics - Part 2

If you don't want to read through all that here are my top quick tips and recommendations for making things go a little bit smoother:

• Clean out your car beforehand. A quick clutter-pick-up or a deep cleaning. It feels better to be in a nice clean vehicle on a long drive.
• Triple check your car seat installation!!!
• Make a packing list. Double check it as you pack. As you put things in the car, mark it off. Go over it one more time right before locking up and leaving.
• Keep a fresh copy of your list to make it easier to re-pack when you head home!
• Use disposable diapers for any liquid spills. They rarely leave even the slightest damp spot if you get to it quickly. Cheap cloth diapers work great too.
• Always have a spare towel or some old rags in the car. 
• However many diapers, pull ups or changes of clothes you might need bring at least double. I personally keep a few diapers or pull ups and/or one change of clothes for each kid in the diaper bag and another bunch of diapers, pulls ups, and clothes in a fabric bin. Don't forget socks. 
• Bring a change of clothes FOR YOU. If you don't want to fill up the front of the car just put an easy outfit in the top of your suitcase, duffel bag, or an extra bag with some spare room.
• Every day things like toiletries, sunglasses, or your cell phone may slip your mind. Add them to your list or keep extras in the car.
• Create a "misc bin" for those things you'll need for accidents or that might be easy to forget.*
• Try to enjoy the ride or flight. Sing, read, talk, be quiet, play games. It will be over soon.

• If you are short on space one (or more) of these back seat organizers are relatively cheap and sturdy. They are out of the way but they can hold a lot of little things like phone chargers, tissues, snacks, emergency flashlight or umbrella, bandaids and neosporin, hand sanitizer or baby wipes, card games, notepad and pens, sippy cups or bottles, small toys, a list of phone numbers, or maybe spare change.

• The girls each have their own suitcases,  backpacks (err "pack pack", as they say), and tote bags. This makes it easy to pack for them and to distinguish their things. It has also made it simpler to save space in the diaper bag (or one day again my normal people purse) for necessities.

• I love these fabric bins for car-trip toys, a snack box, and for those spare changes of clothes and extra diapers and my "misc bin". They are flexible yet sturdy. They fold up flat when they are empty too!

• This thing right here (the fisher price rock n play sleeper) is going to be my savior on space this trip. (And right this moment it's on sale!) It's lighter and smaller than the pack n play (but still sturdy). It folds flat so it will fit easily in the trunk of a sedan or anywhere in a van. I don't have to bring TWO pack n plays and it's much easier to move from room to room wherever you're going as well. We will still have a traditional pack n play for Sweet Pea. Bitty Bug now sleeps on this comfy little cot. This also folds up small but kind of like a camping chair though a good bit smaller.

• *Here's what we put in our "misc bin" or in a safe place for just-in-case along with a tool box: 

• paper towels (either a full roll or 10+ sheets)
• toilet paper (the tiny roll in the camping aisle)
• travel-size baby wipes
• a trash bag
• several plastic bags (like target or walmart)
• a few ziplocs
• multi-tool
• fix-a-flat
• tape (packing tape or duck tape)
• flashlight
• jumper cables
• ice scraper
• umbrella
• a piece of cardboard and/or a towel (for getting out of mud or ice)

•   And a final but very important note, don't forget that there is a good chance any after-market products for your kid's car seats, whether it's a cover, a toy, or another accessory, will likely void the warranty! Safety-wise it seems there are only anecdotes but most car seat manuals specify that any extra add-ons that aren't specifically manufactured or sold by the manufacturer of the seat may not only pose a safety risk but will deem your car seat non-replaceable in the event of any accident or recall. Check the manual! If it's not still attached to the seat itself you can probably find it online easily.

Merry Thanksgiving

     That's what you say when you become one of those people. Yup. MERRY THANKSGIVING! We put our tree up all ready this year. We had replaced our scantily clad 6.5 foot artificial tree with a glorious, less-shiny-stemmed 7.5 foot beauty. I even managed to have our living room furniture oriented in such a way that it could sit in front of the window for all the world to see!!

      So yes, according to my hubby we are officially "those people". I like it though. I had the urge to decorate the day after Halloween so I'm calling it even, anyway. We'll go off for our Thanksgiving festivities and after a long half-day drive back home on the last day of November we'll be able to wake up on the first glorious day of December with Christmas spewing from every corner of our home and nothing left to do but make giant mugs of hot chocolate and enjoy it!

     Besides, if I didn't do it now we'd have to wait a whole week into December to decorate because we'll be gone the end of November and finals week is the first week of December! Waiting that long is simply not an option, people.

Bonus #1: it totally balances out all the hoopla of Black Friday overtaking Thanksgiving. I think decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving just adds to it and balances out the crazy greedy shopping with a whole other kind of crazy.

Bonus #2: Rearranging all the ornaments is totally keeping my normally rambunctious Bitty Bug and Sweet Pea occupied for quite a while. I got some dishes done this morning!