I've never been a huge fan of valentines (maybe because I was usually the one without a date? hmmm) but it was fun this year because Ben is old enough to get excited about the cookies and candy. It was also a milestone for Matt and I because we celebrated our first valentines together ten years ago at Messina Hof...how time flies!
I hosted our Friday playgroup this past week and we did it up for the holiday. I wanted to make heart-shaped sugar cookies and decorate them but it turned out to be more of an undertaking than I'd realized. First, couldn't find any refrigerated cookie dough here so I had to make it myself from scratch. Then I realized I have no idea where my cookie cutters are because I haven't seen them in years (probably in storage somewhere) so I made a desperate search for heart-shaped cutters in a country that doesn't care much about Hallmark holidays. Thankfully a friend came through with one at the last minute so I didn't have to try my hand at freestyle hearts. My last big challenge was inviting Ben to do it with me. He was really excited about the process but help was not the word I'd use to describe his efforts.
His attention drifted after I'd used some flour and a minute later I realized he'd been spooning water into the flour canister. Damage done...I let him keep playing.
Next he dropped a sugar-coated lemon in there, too. At least the lemon was still very useful for the icing.
Ben was terrific at using the cookie cutter and we managed to get a few dozen hearts cooked and several colors of icing made. That was also a challenge because the confectioners sugar here is not powdered so the consistency was totally different. Baking familiar things in another country is such a challenge that I vow never to do it again but forget several months later and try something else.
I had to give Ben his own counter for decorating because our styles are quite different. He got the cracked cookies to ice and cover in sprinkles.
A few minutes later I noticed I'd been hearing lots of sprinkling but didn't see much on the cookies...turns out they're pretty tasty!
Meanwhile, Alex was busy throwing things down the stairs and I had to draw the line at the big car. Enough baking for the year at our house!
Playgroup was great fun with a dozen moms and lots of kids running around wired on sugar. I saw Ben with 4 different cookies! But it was hard to scold him because every time he got one for himself he also got one for Alex so he was at least being thoughtful in his gluttony. And he had been really patient to make so many cookies and wait until the next day to eat them.
We decorated valentines cards and had a little exchange. Since the kids are 4 and younger, I guess it was more work on the moms' parts but it was still fun.
The mornings here have been gorgeous lately. It's usually right around 70 when Alex and I get up (some days 5:30, better days around 6) and I enjoy some coffee while he has a snack out on the balcony. It's the quiet before the day really begins. I also love to wrap up my day with a glass of wine at sunset out there after the kids have gone to bed.
And then a few minutes later Ben is up and the circus resumes for another day!
Alex learned the word cookie very quickly after our baking afternoon and the boys invented a game with the word.
Every morning now, we wake up to a tiny person standing next to the bed staring at me. Alex is up with the birds, out of bed, and ready to see Mama, but I'm not quite so excited to be getting up. I've tried books, toys, games, and snacks in his room to distract him but he's out the door first thing. If he can't open the door he screams and ends up waking Ben, who gets up to open the door for him and doesn't go back to sleep. Any moms out there have advice on early risers and morning greeters? Please leave a comment. Or at least tell me he'll grow out of this eventually!
Love this post! Reminds me of living in Norway, where all of the baking stuff is very different. I feel so spoiled here in Singapore with all the American brands!
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the early risers- I have been up at 5:30 for 4 1/2 years now... both of mine are early risers and I don't see an end in sight... sigh...
Take care!
I love Ben's Buc-ee's shirt!!! Sorry, but I can't help you out with bright-eyed and bushy tailed early riser you have. Taylor was the one that got up the earliest, and that was 6:30am... guess I was lucky :o)
ReplyDeleteYou are such a brave and patient woman! You always seem to find an adventure in every activity you do :) I am going to have to take some lessons from you!
ReplyDeleteDrew started getting up before 6 when he finally realized he could get out of his toddler bed on his own. Once we were ready for him to move out of the toddler bed we bribed him with big boy bunk beds if he stayed in his room until the sun came up for 30 days. That seemed to work. He's had his big boy bed since October and there have only been a few relapses in rising before the sun. So we dealt with it until he was old enough to understand the benefits of bribery...only then were we able to break him of that habit!
ReplyDeleteI've also heard of a special clock you can set to turn from the moon & stars to the sun at the time of your choosing. When the sun shows on the clock, it means its time to get up. I can't remember the name of the website. Let me know if you think that would work & I'll dig around for the link. I think it was on a friend's blog once upon a time. Good luck!
I've seen the sun/moon clock at One Step Ahead (in their catalog). We have the clock that is "color-coded" - it shines yellow at night and is programmed to turn green when it is acceptable to get up for the day. My Ben is an early riser, and usually a little bit of a rule-bender, but he minds that clock better than me. Since they learn colors before numbers and symbols, this one worked for us earlier than other products might have. -Carrie
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