Great Granddad's Oatmeal Cookies

I called grandma awhile ago for this recipe and the first time I tried to reinvent this childhood favorite, I was not happy with the results. I got out the recipe again tonight and made another attempt with a few modifications - tonight they are perfect.

Cookies

2 cups white sugar

5 cups oatmeal

2 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

cream butter and sugar, add milk and then all remaining ingredients. drop onto parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. bake 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Brown Butter Icing

1/2 cup butter

3 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

water

heat the butter in saucepan over med heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally. remove from heat, stir in sugar and vanilla. stir in enough water to achieve desired consistency to drizzle.

drizzle or spread icing on warm cookies.

Dear Soother - a letter of termination

Dear Soother,

It is with great regret that we must inform you of your termination as of November 16, 2009.

You have been an asset to our 'team' and most importantly to our son Max. You have been there for us in the hard times of sleep training, and a true friend in moments of panic, over-tiredness, boredom, and hunger. Unfortunately your role has become redundant and you are becoming no more than a crutch. More often than not, you are hiding in the cracks of the crib, or tossed on the floor attracting dust bunnies and god knows what else. With germ fighting being high on our new list of priorities, having to scramble to disinfect and immediately reinsert into an anxious little mouth is becoming a real drag, and has taken a toll on our team. We ask that you leave our premises quietly, without commotion and would appreciate it if you did not linger while saying your last goodbyes to our dear son.

We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and if you would like a letter of reference, we would be more than happy to oblige.

Yours Sincerely,

CLB

10 Honest Thoughts

Good old Kat was chosen by Ivy as an Honest Scrap award winner, well done dear friend! As an Honest Scrap award winner, Katrina must share 10 honest thoughts on her blog and then pass the award along to 7 other bloggers who then have to do the same. One of the 7, is moi. Oh Katrina, you are so good at forcing me to look inward, express myself and share it with the world. It was she that introduced me to this whole blogging phenomenon, inspiring me to find joy in the day to day and sharing it with friends and family. It took me awhile to get used to the idea of having snippets from the life of CLB posted for anyone to see but it has been such a wonderful creative outlet for me and a great way to document a really exciting time in our lives.

OK...perhaps I am stalling...I did a great amount of inner reflection over the last few days and I think I have come up with my 10...

1. I do enjoy saying a swear word of two, but I am trying to say them more sparingly these days, wouldn't it be sad if S--- was Max's first word!

2. It takes me forever to write an email and even longer to muster up a blog posting. I go over and over and over each sentence obsessively checking spelling, grammar etc. I am mortified if I see an error after the email has been sent or the blog has been posted.

3. I will not eat meat on the bone. Nor will I eat skin, innards, fat, slimy or crunchy bits of animal either.

4. I often burst into a fit of giggles in the most inappropriate places or they will become so out of control that I will have to leave the room to regain composure. Sooo awkward.

5. Not a fan of french kissing - eww squishy!

6. I like change.

7. I have an irritating need to correct people if they pronounce something incorrectly. Sorry! I just think, gosh if I kept saying a word wrong over and over, I would really want somebody to tell me.

8. Scary movies make me uncomfortable - you will never see me standing in line at Blockbuster with a copy of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, ever.

9. I have a heck of a time falling asleep after watching an evening's worth of HGTV shows. I get inspired and then can't help thinking about our house, what to work on next, what color to paint this and where to get that...

10. I am a homebody and can't think of anything better than snuggling up indoors with my two boys.

Nine

Max is now 9 months old, holy cannoli. We have been enjoying the last couple of days with my dad, who flew in for a long weekend baby fix. The timing was just right as the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is on right now so I think he felt right at home in the big city!

Max and Grandpa

...sporting his best 'cow lick' hair do

Gag-er-iffic

It seems that someone is developing a charming gag reflex for anything that does not resemble sweet orange vegetables or fruit. This evening I began with zucchini, that did not go well. Then lentils mixed with potato and carrots, nope. Option #3 a jar of Heinz chicken dinner, I tasted it and I gagged! #4 was a mix of flavored cereal with a touch of applesauce, down the hatch...and right back up again...drama.

The menu options were running out, but fortunately I had one lonely jar of apples and apricots in the pantry which was polished off in mere minutes.

While I am glad that tonight our little one has gone to bed with a full belly...what the heck am I going to feed him tomorrow?!

knock knock

who's there?

orange

orange who?

orange we glad Max likes sweet potatoes, squash and carrots!

Oh my god we need to restock the veggie drawer!

Max has a preference for the orange veggies, can't you tell? Just look at that little nose!!