Five Minute Fix

Ok, I had a little more than 5 minutes, but between nursing the baby, entertaining the toddler, and doing laundry, the actual mixing time amounted to little more than that.  It's a cool, gray, Autumn morning here in NC and I was craving pumpkin muffins.  I scanned my Pinterest recipes and found that the easiest one would take more coordination than I had this morning, so I opted for a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe instead.  It's one that I have been tweaking over the last few years in my efforts to make recipes that the whole family can enjoy (including my 12 year old who has Celiac Disease).  Here goes:

The Good-For-You (and almost anyone) Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups "flour" (I use gluten-free oats that I grind into flour in my coffee grinder.  You can use white flour, wheat flour, pretty much whatever flour you like.)

1 cup "nut butter" (again, my favorite is peanut butter, but any nut butter will do...just if you use natural you will have to add 1/4 c of oil or applesauce)

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon (if you are using applesauce for your natural nut butter, just use cinnamon applesauce)

1/4 cup ground flaxseed (again, I do this in my coffee grinder)

1 cup dark chocolate chips (or vanilla, or regular chocolate, or whatever your fancy)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 to 1/2 cup natural cane sugar (depending on how sweet you like your cookies)

3/4 cup whole oats

1/4 cup chopped nuts

Mix all of the above together either by hand or a mixer.  If I have time, I carefully beat the nut butter and sugar until creamy then add the eggs.  On hectic days, it all goes in the mixer pretty much at once.  Once blended, you can add even more mix-ins:

Mix-Ins:  raisins, dried cherries, dried apples, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, listen to your taste buds and be creative!

Mix-Ins do make for heavier cookies, so bake times may vary.   Bake for 10-14 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Parchment paper goes a long way towards keeping your cookies moist and evenly cooked.  Enjoy!

An open letter to my older children.

Wow, I have really neglected you blog!  It's not because I have had nothing to say, but I have been living life.  Being present every day does kind of conflict with staring at a computer screen, but I do want to revive you, dear friend.

I couldn't sleep tonight.  There has been a lot of tension in the house.  My normally docile children have become ravenous creatures of "what is right" and I feel at a loss as to what to do.  I crave harmony.  Of course, as a Mom to five kids, that is often an ideal that we have to do without, but I feel that not to try is not an option.  

****Side note:  I figured that, at a quarter-to-midnight, I was safe to write, but baby Torrin just woke up and needed to nurse****

At any rate, I am better and writing what I want to say than actually speaking it, so I figured that I would write a letter to those soon-to-be-tweenage kids of mine (although Triston is soon to be a teenager...yikes!).  This is the result.  Enjoy!

Dear Triston, Barrett, and Sage:

We have been through a lot together.  From my "first time mom" jitters with a newborn and all those sleepless nights, to potty training and terrible twos, raising a daughter after two sons, and finally starting all over again with two new babies these past few years.  As you all in "the first batch" have gotten older, some things have gotten easier, while some things just have not.  I have tried my best to raise you to be individuals, to nurture your interests, and support you when you struggle.  You are all so talented and so smart!  I am proud of you all, not only for your intellect and abilities, but also for your innate compassion and concern for those around you.  

But kids, I am saddened by how much FIGHTING is going on lately.  Fighting between you and your siblings and fighting between all of you and me.  I know that you are all approaching the "tween and teen years"--Dear Sage, although you're only nine, you challenge me better than I challenged my mom at thirteen!  I know that we have a long road ahead of us.  That road must be built on love and forged with trust.  I want to walk down our future road together united in the purpose of building strong family ties and lasting bonds.

That said, I know that things as they are aren't working.  I end up yelling.  A lot.  And loudly.  I say things that I shouldn't say and I know that you say things that you regret as well.  I think that maybe if we can all remember that this is our first go-round, we can forgive and learn and move on.  You all know that I love lists, and charts, and organizing things.  How many Chore Charts have we gone through?!  Well, here is one more list made with love.  I hope that you like it.

10 Things to Remember when dealing with your Mom

1.  This IS my first rodeo.  I may have taught children your age and baby-sat children your age, but I've never been so whole-heartedly invested in another child the way that I am with you.  

2.  I want things to go well for you.  I am not trying to make your life difficult, but sometimes the "path of least resistance" is the path not worth taking.

3.  I do know best.  I have been your age.  I have lived thirty-something years on this earth and in that time, have learned a thing or two.  Bennefit from my knowledge.

4.  I understand.  I was a kid, a tween, a teen.  I hated my teachers and my parents and felt like nobody understood what I was going through.  I felt alone.  I constantly thought the end of the world was just around the corner because of rumors and lies, or a friendship that ended, or something that I had said.  And while i didn't have to deal with "social media" and how nothing ever leaves the internet, I think we have forgotten that people rarely forget as well.  Just do your best and be kind.  That's all I ask.

5.  I want to be friends with you all when we are adults, but right now I have to be your parent.  That means that I will have to say no and do things that you think are unfair.  Know that it all comes from a place of love.

6.  I assign you chores to build character.  I want you to have a strong work ethic and a sense of responsibility.  I am not asking you to chip in around the house because 'I am lazy'.  I am asking you to do so because I don't want you to be.

7.  I constantly struggle between treating you like you should be treated for a child your age and treating you like the sweet-smelling, smiling, bundle-of-a-baby that I will always see you as in my heart.  Sometimes I am overprotective.  It is what it is.

8.  It is my job to prepare you for the world.  That means, as much as I want to hold you close and protect you forever, I know that eventually you will have to take those first steps outside the nest and make it on your own.  I want you to be ready for that day, but I also want to rail against it's arrival with every last fiber of my being.  Be patient with me.  

9.  I want you to question my rules.  I know that I am not always right.  I know that I make mistakes.  I don't think you should blindly follow anything, but at the same time, there are always other things to consider.  While I may not always be right, I might be right, right now.  Sometimes that has to be enough.

10.  I may try to be fair, but life isn't always fair.  Take your time with me and practice learning that at home.  It saves a lot of time and heartache in the real world.  Even though things may not always work out the way you want, and good doesn't always triumph over evil, you will always have your Mom in your corner.  Some days, that's all that matters.