Time for a Blog

I guess it's time for me to do another post, as I haven't done one for a while. It's late. One boy has been in bed since 6:30 because that was as long as I could stand him. He did not have a nap today. We stayed home because of the weather and he was wound for sound the entire day. I absolutely stood him as long as I could, I swear to you I did. The other is sitting on the couch watching Phineas and Ferb which we watch all day, if we're not watching Spongebob Squarepants. I prefer P&F. They're much more clever than Spongebob, who is slapstick at best. We're still up because I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow as well. I haven't tried but I fully suspect that I won't be able to get out tomorrow, what with the 4 inches of snow we've gotten in the last 24 hours. I think I'll fry some chicken tomorrow. I know that's kind of random but it's what I've been thinking about. I like fried chicken. I really do.

So, here's how we've spent our time since I last posted a blog.

The hubby has gone to work. No, not with CSX. We're still waiting for them to call and don't expect to hear from them any earlier than after the new year. With his unemployment benefits up in the air, he's decided that he needs to do something to make some money. You will notice that I do not disagree with him. Since we go to church with wonderful people, one of them hooked him up with a job. He's doing something, I don't know what, and he's making double what he brought home in UI. That's pretty much all I care about. I went to Walmart the other day and didn't have to worry about what I spent. I'm not extravagant by any means, but I've not had that luxury in a long time. It was fantastic. Hubby says it's not easy, going back to work. He's getting up earlier than me now. I really do feel bad for him. Really I do. That's been the biggest thing that has happened.

Otherwise, we've just done little things. I've decorated the house for Christmas. That takes at least a few days as we put up 3 trees as well as other decorations. If you would care to see what they look like, check out the pictures on facebook. 

And of course, I've gone to work. Every day.

This weekend was the first that my husband has worked in a long time. Friday evening, we had Chinese food. I believe I ate about 15 pot stickers. I love pot stickers. Saturday, the boys and I went to get haircuts. This is never a pleasant situation as the baby screams like he's being stabbed in the eye with a chopstick. (Big BK brought home 8 pairs of chopsticks to use for his work. I'm sure it's only a matter of time until someone gets stabbed with one.) This time, the screaming was more sporadic rather than consistent. This made it a bit better. After the haircut adventure, we went to walmart to do the shopping. I love shopping with the boys. (^Insert sarcasm here.)
Sunday, between church services, the boys and I made some Outrageous Chocolate Cookies. I plan on making all of the family gift boxes full of cookies and candy as Christmas presents and I wanted to try out this recipe. It's a good thing I did because I learned the hard way to make allowances for the convection oven. Ben helped me. Thursday evening we'd made cut-out sugar cookies. He'd loved it and they were quite good-we don't ice our sugar cookies, hubby likes 'em plain. He wasn't as thrilled with the others as they were drop and bake cookies and he didn't get to cut anything out.

I'm pretty sure the baby liked them though........at least in dough form. :) Cute huh? You've probably seen this on my facebook already but I had to put it on here too. I couldn't resist.

And here's another cute one that I have to put on here. Hubby isn't going to like it but after ten years of marriage, I'm use to him not liking me.

This weekend we also had some guests at our house. My sister dropped her boys off while she went to finish Christmas shopping. This is the first or second time in 1-2 years that she's had any significant time away from the 3 of them. I'm not sure what's kept her from losing her mind because I've spent one day with mine and thought someone was going to be killed during that time. Anyway, she dropped the 1 year old, 5 year old and 6 year old off about mid afternoon. Yes, that's right... I had at my home a 1 year old, a 2 year old, a 4 year old, a 5 year old, and a 6 year old. I don't think my downstairs Christmas tree will ever be the same. I was exhausted by the time they left just a few years-hours, I mean hours, later. The entire experience made me glad that it's physically impossible for me to have anymore children.

You'd think with a toddler and one barely not a toddler, that my house would be fairly baby proof, right? If you think that then you would be wrong. It's not baby proof. Apparently, it's nowhere near baby proof. And that, my dear readers, explains a whole lot about the kinds of things that happen around my house even with mildly diligent adult supervision.

This is my boys at the train station during our "vacation". Cutie-patooties, huh?

Here's the recipe for the cookies I made. Do not overcook them They still taste good and would be perfectly fine if you wanted to have some with a glass of milk but they will be dry otherwise. They're meant to be chewy. The flavor is fantastic.

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.