When it grows quiet

Most days between the hours of 1pm and 3:30pm a (necessary) quiet settles on our household, as the little lady and man enjoy an afternoon siesta.  Every now and then, Jeff and I rest our own weary heads on the couch and enjoy what we affectionately refer to as family nap.  It is glorious.

Then there are days between the hours of 1pm and 3:30pm that a subtle and muted tinkering can be heard through the quiet.  It is barely noticeable, but a trained mother's ear can detect it.

And, it is on those days that the little lady's biggest and most spectacular plans are executed.

Me - "Um...Charlotte, you were supposed to be taking a nap."

Little lady - "But, I'm Charlotte...the working girl."

Working girl, indeed.

The little lady quite pleased with her work requested the presence of her father. 

Enter father.

Little lady - "Daddy, look what I did."

Daddy - [with a look of utter disbelief] "Wow!  I'm not even mad; that's impressive."

Man, I love those two.


Lesson learned - If you are alerted to nap time tinkering and do not get off the couch to peek, prepare yourself for a spectacular display of chaos...I mean creativity.  

Shaker Heights Family Fall Fest

This post is a week late.  With temperatures back in the 70s, sunny days, a bout with croup and a hefty sinus infection our household has either been living it up, basking in fall's glory or laying low in the apartment.  Last Sunday we enjoyed one of the perks of living in a charming family friendly community, and attended Family Fall Fest held on the grounds of the Shaker Heights Family Center, home to Carol Nursery School.  Unfortunately, the weather was brisk, overcast and rainy and the majority of the Fest's activities were held indoors.  Before peeling off several layers of unnecessary fall clothing, we took advantage of the pony rides.  Once inside we enjoyed pumpkin painting, gigantic blow-up slides, face painting and the family toy room, where the little man occupied himself with the train table and digger trucks.  All in all, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon; however, Jeff and I agreed if we had to do it all over again we would NOT have skipped naps to attend.  Live and learn, right?


Humorous highlights of the afternoon included the little man's heart-wrenching meltdowns after his (2) pony rides came to an end, (the first time it happened the ticket lady offered us a refund assuming his tears were out of fear for the ponies, not for love of the ride), the little lady's awkward face painting of a pink butterfly (I was seriously worried she was going to comment on its ugliness when asked, "Do you like it?"  She is now frank like that), and the fact that we spent most of our time at the fall fest playing in the family toy room, a resource room that is available to us five days a week and has absolutely nothing to do with fall. 

I'm just happy the four of us were together, we snapped a few priceless pics and got four perfect pumpkins out of the afternoon.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - channeling Carmen Miranda



Let us play Betty Crocker

This week I'm a tad consumed with finding sweet and satisfying cookie recipes. If it's not bread, it's baked goods - I have a problem!

 It's nice to see I may have gotten a small fragment of the baker's gene my mother has, after years of watching her bake and refusing to participate.  Mind you, I had no problem consuming her home baked marvels - oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter candy, pumpkin bread, cakes, warm banana bread cooling on wire racks, the smells of my childhood.  Perhaps it was my independence (aka stubbornness, a gene that has never needed encouraging, always present, rearing its sometimes ugly head) that kept me from her kitchen, yearning for a kitchen of its own.  What I do know is that I think of her now with each cup of sugar measured, each egg that is cracked, bowl licked, and teaspoon of vanilla poured.  As my own little ones clamor about in search of foot stools, so that they can assist, I think of her.  Her kitchen was busy, the hub and heart of our home.  I remember it well, for I was always nearby my head in a book, or running through it planning my next big idea or project.  But, I was watching, waiting, smelling, and biding my time until the moment I could savor another of her homemade treats.

I wonder how my little ones will remember me years from now.

(ah yes...the other repositioned lamp)

Three cookie recipes tweaked and tested by yours truly, and sampled by four Larson palates. 

The Favorite

Grandma's (not mine, but hers) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (I increased to 1 full teaspoon after the husband commented on yesterday's baked cookie [see third recipe], asking "Remember the cookies you used to make with salt?"  to which I replied, "Kind doctor, these have salt in them.")

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla (Big fan of Penzy's Vanilla Extract)

1/2 cup nuts, chopped

1/2 cup coconut (Do not omit this fluffy white ingredient.)

1 cup chocolate chips (I used half milk and half semi-sweet just for kicks.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

 In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and the sugars until light.  Add the egg and vanilla, the beat to combine.  Add the dry ingredients in halves, then fold in the nuts, coconut and chocolate chips.  Scoop onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake 12-15 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack a mere moment before consuming, but do treat yourself to a warm cookie, or two. 

The Healthy (?) Choice

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened (I use unsalted butter, but perhaps I ought to be using salted butter with the husband's sodium chloride sensitivity.)

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Penzy's if you got it)

1/4 teaspoon salt (bumped that up to 1 full teaspoon)

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup raisins (or chocolate chips if your children have consumed all the raisins in your kitchen)

1/2 cup, chopped walnuts (optional, but if chopped super fine add a lovely texture to the cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.  In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together.  Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture.  Stir in the oats, raisins/ chocolate chips, and walnuts if using them.  (I also think Craisins and white chocolate chips would be a welcomed alternative.)

You can either chill the dough for a few minutes, or scoop the mixture unto parchment lined trays two inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges.  Allow to cool before transferring to a wire rack. 

The Good, but does not live up to the name (in my opinion), Choice

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt (Apparently, not enough.)

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well.  Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

Combine flour, soda, and salt; add to butter mixture, mixing well.  Stir in chocolate morsels.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes. Cool slightly.

*****

Lessons learned from baking:

- Our family enjoys salty desserts.

- Shortening adds a velvety consistency to the batter, resulting in a flavorful melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

- Baking cookies perfectly fills a two-hour window while your oldest child is at school.

- I cannot resist a warm cookie, or two...or three. Oy.

- We will need to make more friends in Cleveland if I am to continue this delightful hobby.

- My mother is one of the best bakers I know, and I miss the warm and inviting smells of her kitchen.

"High-Heeled Shoes"

I like to wear my Mommie's shoes.

I mean the pairs she doesn't use.

 [Which would be ALL.]

I pick the ones with highest heels,

You can't imagine how it feels

To walk around, go out the door,

Clump-clumping all across the floor.

- Kate Cox Goddard



Repositioned

Up until last week, this fabulous garage sale find, has held its rightful position as bedside table lamp. 

However, last week I found that our apartment needed a little rearranging, and thus little tweaks were made.  I have no business purchasing new items for our modest home, as we are on a limited budget AND we will be moving (again) in a mere nine months. So, every now and then I attempt to create my very own HGTV moment.  I am not so sure Vern Yip would marvel over my styling, but then again I'm not so sure I'd be interested in his opinion.  But, that's besides the point.  The real motivation behind the repositioning stemmed from the fact that in the bedroom this lamp (and its identical twin) were serving no real purpose.  Aesthetically, they anchored our bed frame, providing symmetry.  However, in a master bedroom that is shared by an almost two-year-old with a 7:00pm bed time, the lights were never being used.  (Oh, the days of reading beneath down comforters, eyelids growing heavy with each turn of the page...how I long for the day when we reclaim our marital master bedroom as our very own.)  They were pretty in the bedroom, adding a bit o' color to an otherwise monochromatic room (we packed lightly for Cleveland), but in the kitchen and living room they serve a greater purpose. 

This subtle repositioning got me thinking.  Each day that I am blessed to live, am I willing to be used fully for my intended purpose?  Am I more interested in looking the part of Christ-follower, wife, mother, daughter, friend, than actively pursuing those roles, embracing them and living them out?  I am a firm believer in the idea that "there is a place for everything and everything has its place." Just ask my husband who when unloading the dishwasher leaves out the occasional kitchen gadget, random dish or lid on the counter recognizing that it does in fact have a place in our kitchen, but is unaware of where I have deemed its rightful place.  (Thankfully, I have a husband who is willing to oblige my fanatical organizing obsessions.)  Yet, in the pursuit of such organized and compartmentalized lives are we really missing the mark?  Do we trust the creativity of our Creator and His design for our lives?

 I think of my mustard colored garage sale gems.  While I still prefer the lamps in our bedroom, I cannot deny their useful presence in our home since repositioning them.  Thus I am left questioning,  Am I obediently seeking the Lord's will for my life, being open to His repositioning? 

I pray that I do not let my desire for the aesthetically beautiful, the neat and tidy get in the way of a useful, productive, full-functioning life. 

Um...

Do you ever step back, survey your life, and let out a hearty chuckle? 

I do, often.

all photos taken by Charlotte M. Larson


All that is messy,
stained,
 curious,
stubborn,
crooked,
 sloppy,
charming,
hysterical,
overworked,
lovely,
restless,
crazed,
hilarious,
and naked
(you heard me...have you seen my kids?)
is mine.


I fear I take it for granted more often that I would like to admit.  But today amidst the humor, fits, fatigue, and nakedness I want to savor, appreciate and accept that THIS is my life.  No more.  No less. 
 Beautiful in its imperfection. 
All that I have a gift from above.