Quest for the Best

I love love love cookies.  More than any normal person should.  I remember going to friends' houses and they would have cookies and they would ask if I would like one.  In my head I would be thinking, "ONE?  Do most people only eat one cookie at a time?"  A nice half dozen always sounds like a good number to me.

I am always on the hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe and I've always thought it would be fun to have a bake off.  It was actually on my bucket list for last year, but never accomplished.  This year I had to check it off.  On May 15th, which happens to be National Chocolate Chip day, I hosted a little bake-off of my own with 12 very bakery-minded friends (this is my sneaky way of getting free chocolate chip cookies).  I had so much fun shopping for prizes and my sister made really cute printables for me (if you ever want to host your own -- let me know!).

Everyone brought their best recipe and I placed them on the judging table.  Then we all went around with our little knives and glasses and milk and went to town.  Can I just tell you that even a small portion of 12 different chocolate chip cookies is still a lot of cookie.  Especially when you had to go back to taste test again to decide between a few cookies.  It was hard work, but somebody had to do it.

 I didn't end up taking too many pictures because for the most part my house looked like this:

And that doesn't even begin to cover all the little mini judges running around (although they seemed to not care which cookie it was, as long as it was a cookie).

We had two categories: traditional chocolate chip cookies and non-traditional (you know, the ones with oatmeal/nuts/cocoa powder. . .).  Ironically in the end the winners for both categories happened to be recipes I already used as my "best."

 Rickie, our GRAND PRIZE winner, whose cookie recipe is loved by pretty much everyone in our group.  Although, I did come up with a few more recipes that I really liked.  Can you have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes?

I was so sick when it was over, but somehow this did not stop me from snacking on all the cookies people left at my house for the rest of the day.

I made up a little quiz for the party, but I never got around to giving it because we were all so busy chatting, so here it is.  See how much you know (answers in the comment section).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE QUIZ

1. 2 states have chocolate chip cookies as their official state cookie.  Name one.

2. Where did the Toll House name come from?

The chef who invented the cookie.

The inn where the cookie was created.

The company that first published the recipe.

3. Which hotel gives out approximately 29,000 chocolate chip cookies each day?

4. What company bought the original chocolate chip cookie recipe?

5. What was the first chocolate chip cookie called?

It's always been called the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chocolate Crunch Cookie
Butter Drop Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

6. T OR F
One day the inventor had to substitute semi-sweet chocolate for baker's chocolate in a cookie recipe. She chopped the chocolate in bits, but when she took the cookies from the oven, the semi-sweet chocolate had not melted into the dough as the baker's chocolate had.

7. Within 20 calories, how many calories are in a classic Nestle Tollhouse recipe chocolate chip cookie?
8. The inventor of the chocolate chip cookie received:

	$10
	$100
	Nothing
	Free Nestle chocolate for life

9. Which store is featured in an urban legend about a $250 chocolate chip cookie

10. On a list of The top 10 selling commercial cookies in the U.S. -- what number is the Nabisco Chips Ahoy Chocolate chip cookie?

Dear Mom and Dad,

And Aunt Beaney -- I updated my blog today.  A lot.  However, the OCD part of me had to put them back close to the actual dates where they occurred.  So you'll have to jump back a little bit.  April has 4 new ones and May has 2.  Love you!

Mother's Day -- the fun stuff

Despite the few blips on Mother's Day, we did have some fun to celebrations.  On Thursday I got to go to Sadie's school performance and lunch.  Sadie was a very vocal singer and she had lots of sweet treats for me.

On Saturday the Actvity Day leaders hosted a breakfast for all of us and then we took a trip to the Gilbert Temple, which is under construction.  Each of the girls had made their mom a corsage out of cupcake liners.  The Construction Missionaries at the temple sight were so sweet and each girl got to take home a piece of a wall that was made for the temple, but unfortunately came broken.

We have been so blessed to live so close to the temple and to watch the progress.  I can hardly wait to take the kids to the Open House, but there's still over a year to go.  Just last week we were able to see the Angel Moroni be placed on the top.  I watched from the air conditioning of my girlfriend's house (it's already in the 100s here), but snapped a quick picture on my way home.  It gave me goose bumps to see all of the people who were down there.  It felt so neat to be unified in a love of the Gospel as we recognize what an exciting event this is.  It made me think of the early Saints as they labored with their own hands to build each wall.  How much joy they must have felt!

I love driving by the Temple and hearing Luke say, "It's Lukey's temple!" Or Sadie begging me to roll the window down as we drive by.  I hope to see many of the kids and youth we know in the halls of this Temple.

And my Mother's Day cards from church had cute surveys about me in them.

According to ELLIE:
My mom is 31 years old.
My mom weighs 92 pounds.
My mom's favorite color is pink.
My mom's favorite food is chocolate cake.
My mom always says, "I love you" and "Clean up."
My mom cooks the best cookies.
My mom's job is to love us.
My mom laugh when we make jokes.
If my mom had time, she would take a nap.
My mom and I like to read books.
My mom really loves my family.
I love my mom because of all the great things she does.

According to NATE:
My mom is 32 years old.
My mom weighs 80 pounds.
My mom's favorite color is pink.
My mom's favorite food is meatball soup.
My mom always says, "I love you."
My mom cooks the best food, cookies.
My mom's job is to be mom.
My mom laugh when I tell jokes.
If my mom had time, she would kiss Daddy and me.
My mom and I like to make cookies.
My mom really loves kids.
I love my mom because she is nice.

According to SADIE:
My mom is 22 years old.
My mom weighs 18 pounds.
My mom's favorite color is pink.
My mom's favorite food is egg sandwiches.
My mom always says, "I love you."
My mom cooks the best chicken and rice.
My mom's job is to take care of me.
My mom laugh when I tell a joke.
If my mom had time, she would love to play barbies with me.
My mom and I like to do laundry together.
My mom really loves when I clean up my room.
I love my mom because she loves me.

Keeping It Real

For the most part, I live a pretty wonderful, happy life.  I hesitate to write about Mother's Day 2012 because I don't want anyone to think that I am complaining or that I have unrealistic expectations.  In fact, I think I'm pretty "real" about the whole thing.  I love all the homemade cards and handmade gifts.  And today I got all of those fun things.  I had lots of special school events leading up to the big day and I loved every single moment. Nothing tragic happened, it was just a bad day.  I don't want anyone to think I'm holding some grudge or wondering the purpose of my life, but in an effort to remember that life sometimes has some stinky moments, I'll lay it all out for you.

My first Mother's Day was pretty rotten.  Dustin had moved down to Arizona to start his internship and I was still in Utah teaching school and taking care of our 3 week old Ellie who wasn't even due for another 2 weeks.  My mom was out there helping me pack up the house and taking care of Ellie while I worked during the day.  She also lovingly changed every single diaper -- even in the middle of the night.  Along with being early, Ellie had some nursing complications and I was pumping and trying to teach her how to latch, which was only an option when I was actually home -- so the end of the day and the middle of the night.  I would spend half an hour trying to get her to eat, then supplement with a bottle, put her to sleep, and then pump for the next bottle.  I think I was up for an hour and a half every time she woke up.  The next day, I'd wake up, head off to teach 24 4th graders only to come home to do it all again.  I was so tired and stressed.  It was the end of the year, I was moving, I had no idea what I was doing, I didn't have a husband and I couldn't even feed my baby.

That Mother's Day wasn't any different than any other day other than having the title "Mother's Day."   How can two little words carry so many expectations??  Everyday was stressful.  Why would I expect that day to be different.  Somehow Mother's Day found my mother and me sobbing in the Tony Roma's parking lot as we went to pick up dinner for ourselves because we were so tired and depressed to make ourselves a meal.

So really, comparatively, today was fantastic.  I have 4 beautiful children and they love me very much.  But they are children.  They were actually so excited last night that they couldn't sleep.  At 6 am they woke up and insisted I stay in bed.  I should mention that Dustin is out of town, so this all kid directed which makes it even more wonderful. They unrolled a beautiful banner for me and had lots of little bags full necklaces they had picked out for me.  They made me breakfast in bed (oatmeal, toast and jam, bacon and water with a strawberry).  Ellie got the kids dressed for Church. I got poetry and a decorate mug and homemade cards.  It was the best Mother's Day ever!  Unfortunately, 2 hours of awesome-ness is about the cap for 4 kids.

We got to church and the bickering would not stop.  Nate and Luke were fighting.  I told Nate to go sit by Ellie.  He accidentally stepped on her toe on the way over.  She freaked out.  He yelled that she was rude.  I told him to go sit down and he started throwing a hissy fit.  I had to literally drag him out of the chapel (on my sprained ankle) with Luke on my hip screeching.  We went in a class room where both boys yelled at me and suddenly Sadie appeared, "Ellie pinched me."  Somehow I ended up with 4 kids in a room for the sacrament with Luke shrieking, "I want to go back in," for the full 10 minutes.  I am just sitting their sobbing as everyone in the Ward walks past to see what on earth is going on.

We finally get back in and I promise to myself that I will get through this.  I am used to Sundays by myself.  I am used to taking a kid out to the foyer.  Then the speaker gets up and starts complementing all the mothers on their well behaved children.  He knows that they learned this because of their wonderful mothers.  And then I start wondering -- am I a  horrible mother because I can't even get ONE of my kids to sit still on Mother's Day?  And then everyone, very thoughtfully comes up and starts and asking me, "You're ALL ALONE on MOTHER'S DAY?"  Suddenly something that wasn't a big deal is very depressing.  I take half an hour to cry and freshen up in the bathroom and I am good.  Church is wonderful and uplifting and I know the afternoon will only get better.

I pile all the kids in the car, drive to the Stake Center to drop off our camp check, make lunch, put Luke down for a nap and tell the kids that I am going to take a quick nap.  All I ask is that they 1) not fight and 2) Ellie and Sadie clean up their rooms.  I go to lay down.  There is shrieking.  I go out and ask them to please be quiet.  Back to my room.  Fighting.  This time I call from my phone.  More bickering.  I won't detail the next 4 hours, but it does not involve me getting a nap.  No rooms get cleaned.  The dishwasher does not get emptied and no one can get along despite all my pleading.  In fact, every time I come out, it is worse.  Salsa everywhere.  Chips smashed onto the floor.  Now I convinced that I have somehow raised the world's naughtiest children.  I am a horrible mother.

My girlfriend invited me over for dinner.  I couldn't wait to go.  I told the kids to hurry and clean so we could go.  They did not clean one single thing.  I cried.  I seriously was BEGGING them to help me out.  I called and said we wouldn't be coming.  This in turn causes my children to start sobbing.  Nate says he will hug me until I'm happy.  Then he prays that Mom will be happy again.  Sadie says she is the worst kid in the world.  Ellie begs me to just go and she'll stay home and watch the kids.  I feel worse for making THEM feel bad.  I don't know if I have cried this much in years.

The good news is -- we recovered.  We cleaned and cried together, just like my mom and I sat in the car and sobbed ten years ago.  We ate cheesecake and chocolate cake (two amazing girlfriends ran by and shared their desserts with me) for dinner.  I love my children.  They love me.  A bad afternoon is not the end of the world.  It happens.  It just because it was on Mother's Day that it all seemed so awful.  Why do we attach such expectations to a random day?  And then even worse you go on Facebook and instead of being happy for everyone, you just feel worse for yourself.  So there you go -- Mother's Day 2012.  We all have bad days.

A Camping We Will Go

Every year I swear it is the last year I am going to throw my kids a birthday party -- but how can you not when it's the big 1-0??

Ellie is actually the only member of our family who has not been camping (ie slept in a tent).  When we started coming up with a theme for her birthday party I had some really fun suggestions, but Ellie had her heart set on a camping party.  Thankfully my sister and Pinterest helped me with some ideas because I was stuck on what to do.

 Ellie's one desire was to have a tent set up in the backyard so they could go hang out in there.  It was their official make over hut.  For dinner she wanted to roast hot dogs and eat hamburgers.

I was under the impression that hot dogs, which I thought were the universal kid food, are no longer acceptable because no kids I know ever eat them when they come over for a BBQ.  But for some reason if you get to cook the hot dogs over a fire pit, they are the most delicious creation on the planet.  Luckily I didn't have much planned for the party because cooking dinner took an hour and half in itself.  They were seriously happy just to sit around and chat.

After dinner we had a s'more bar and went to play hide and go see in the dark at the park.  They probably would have played that for hours too, had I not had to rush everyone back to eat cake and open presents with 30 minutes to spare.

 

I was probably most proud of Ellie's birthday cake.  That is not my specialty and usually my cakes turn out pretty ugly.  My sister found this on the internet and Ellie HAD to have it.  It was really fun to make the flames (they're just smashed up hard candies melted in the oven and the I broke the sheets into pieces of fame).

It was such a low-key fun night and I'm so glad we got to celebrate Ellie!!!

Double Digits

Embarrassingly enough, Ellie turned 10 almost a month ago and I'm just getting around to writing about it.  Thank heavens for post dating!

She started the day off with pancakes and bacon, Dustin took Chipotle up for lunch and I picked her up from school in this beauty of a car:
 We got Dairy Queen for an afternoon snack and then went out to Chili's for dinner.
Yes, birthdays around here involve consuming massive quantities of calories. I was distraught that Ellie did not want a cake for her birthday dessert.  I offered to make anythings she wanted.  Nope.  Then at Chili's we told she could order anything from the dessert menu.  In the end she only wanted frozen yogurt.  Which worked out OK, because they have a new sea salt caramel that I can't get enough of.  Ellie always gets cake batter yogurt with cookie dough chunks.

Her big birthday gift was a beach cruiser.  It's so cute I want to steal it for myself.
 She also got a gift card to Justice (her newest favorite store) from my parents and a brand new BYU shirt from Aunt Kristine.  Basically all of her favorites all rolled into one.


Ellie is a great first child.  She has eased me into each new stage of parenting with relatively little trouble.  There are definitely moments, but for the most part Ellie is a happy, easy to please child.  She is rarely bored and usually willing to help me out with whatever I ask.  We are so lucky to have Ellie!!

Ellie at TEN!

Favorite Color: Gold

Favorite Number: 101

Favorite Drink: Root Beer (float)

Favorite Food: Dessert

Favorite Game: Mafia

Favorite Animal: Koala

Favorite TV Show: Anything on Disney Channel

I feel sad when: somebody dies

I feel mad when: I make a wrong decision

I like it when my friends: laugh

I like it when I: get a good grade on a test

I wish I could: Have a Genie

Who is your best friend? Lindsay and Chloe

Why? Because they are *good* friends and I've know them for a long time

What makes you laugh? Luke

What is your favorite movie? Monte Carlo

What are you most afraid of? Height

What is your favorite song? Anything by Adele

What is your favorite activity? Art

What do you want to be when you grow up? A lot of things.  A teacher, an artist, an illustrator, a fashion designer, a hair dresser, an architect.

What three things are you are good at? Drawing, hair and helping out

What is the best thing about being ten? Double digits

What makes you special? Everything 

Father's and Sons

Dustin took Luke on his first ever Fathers and Sons Camping Trip.  I think he was a little nervous, but Luke did great and laid in the dirt the entire time playing with his dinosaurs.  The only other detail I got was that he stood by Dustin as he served breakfast and stole 10 or 12 pieces of bacon to eat.

The girls and I had a fun night out with my girl friends Karen and Jill and their daughters.  We went out to dinner and then stayed up chatting so late even Sadie fell asleep on my lap.  Cleaned the church, got donuts for breakfast, went to see a movie and before we knew it the boys were back in town.

Luke returned wearing the exact same clothes that he left in.  Apparently Dustin didn't want get more than one pair of clothes dirty.

Barbara Park!

The big project of 4th grade is their Famous Arizonan report.  It takes a few months and at the end the kids memorize a short summary and put on a wax museum.  Ellie was Barbara Park.  What?  You don't know who Barbara Park is?  And why is Ellie in pajamas and eating M&Ms?  It's your lucky day because I've included Ellie's presentation for you!    When you grow up, would you want a job where you can stay at home and work in your pajamas? Well, that’s what Barbara Park does! She is a children’s literature author who lives and writes in Phoenix, Arizona. Most well known for her Junie B. Jones series, her humorous fiction entertains children around the world. Barbara Tidswell was born on April 21, 1947 in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. When her parents decided to give her the middle name “Lynne,” they didn’t realize how much she would dislike her initials: B.L.T., like the sandwich. Her mother, the secretary at the High School library, made all of her clothes and embroidered her initials onto each one. Barbara said she felt like a walking sandwich board. Park’s father was a banker and also owned a local home remodeling store. As a young child, she played hide and go seek with her older brother Brooke, usually hiding in the hamper. Every summer, her family spent two weeks at Long Beach and in the winter she would skate on the frozen lake at the end of her street. Although she never considered herself a bookworm, in elementary school she enjoyed reading Nancy Drew novels and especially loved Archie comics. Years later, while attending Rancocas Valley Regional High School, where she was voted “Wittiest” in her class, Barbara developed a love of books after reading Catcher in the Rye. After graduating from High School in 1965, Barbara Park spent her first two years of college studying Politics and Education at nearby Rider University and finally graduated from the University of Alabama. Before graduating, she was sent to student teach Geography at a small Junior High, but after a loud and disastrous attempt at a Geography Bee, Barbara realized that teaching was not for her. Shortly after graduation, Barbara married Richard Park, who she met during her Senior Year. Richard joined the United States Air Force, while Barbara split her time between their two families until he was more settled.  She gave birth to their first son, Steven, in Alabama before joining Richard in Arizona. They also lived in California and Missouri, where her second son, David, was born. In 1974, her husband retired from the Air Force and the Park family moved back to Arizona for good. With both of her sons in Elementary School Barbara felt she needed an occupation other than wife and mother. She listed “Writer” as her profession on her driver’s license and started submitting to newspapers and magazines. When her son, David, recommended the book Tales of a Fourth Nothing, Park knew that she too wanted to write books that were both funny and realistic for young readers. Although Barbara Park has received over 40 awards for her books, three publishers rejected her first book, Operation Dump the Chump, before Alfred A Knopf Inc. agreed to publish it. Her two sons inspired the main characters and plot about two bothers who come up with interesting and funny ways to drive each other crazy. In 1991, she had published ten books when Random House asked her to contribute to a series of books aimed at first to third grader readers. The loud and opinionated 5 year-old Junie B. Jones was created and with 29 books, it is her most well known series. Additionally, Barbara has written fourteen middle years books about topics such as divorce, feeling insecure about appearances, and not fitting in at school.  Her favorite book that she has written, Mick Harte Was Here, deals with the death of a sibling, and was written after she saw a tragic bike accident in her neighborhood. Today, Barbara keeps a paper and pencil by her bed just in case she gets a good idea in the middle of the night and every morning she gets to work writing in her pajamas.  When it’s time to relax she enjoys watching television with her husband, eating frozen M&Ms, practicing yoga and hiking in the Arizona desert. Barbara Park’s ideal childhood turned into an ideal life. She is surrounded by a loving family and loves her work. This celebrated author has written 43 children’s books from her home in Arizona. Despite not liking to write as child, she now has won over 40 awards for her books. Additionally, 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of her most loved character: Junie B. Jones. What will this famous Arizonan write next?