Man vs. Entertainment Center

I decided a long time ago that Cooper was a special breed of child who gets thrills from trying to cheat death. I can say this with all love and honesty because many people have confirmed it... pastors (well, maybe it was only one pastor, but a very good one)... other mothers... you get the picture. He can't manage to go a day without ramming his head into a wall, or trying to break his way through a gate or couch or dog to get to whatever it is that has caught his momentary attention. This morning, he was sweetly and quietly playing with a cup in the living room. He likes the handle and he loves to bang things, so the combination of easy-grip and cool noises that come from whacking different things was fantastic. Until Man vs. Entertainment Center broke out. Cooper put up a valiant fight and even won a battle or two, but in the end, he lost the war.

The pictures don't really do it justice, but that's mostly because I was afraid someone might fear for my child's life and call the authorities. I even entertained notions of not going to church as this happened less than an hour before the opening choruses. However, Todd assured me that I shouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed because I could simply tell everyone he was in a brawler and got into a fight (you should see the other guy!). The thought now occurs to me that while a fight sounds slightly more exotic and noteworthy, I as a mother should be no prouder (or more embarrassed I suppose) of a brawl with some random person than I would be of my son trying to best the entertainment center's hinges. Pick whichever story you like better while the bruises and abrasions last, but after that, I will deny any recollection of this incident. Seriously.

These Boots

I made some decaf coffee this morning and just wanted to drink it in peace. The WHOLE cup. Cooper was still asleep, so there was hope, but apparently Em missed the memo that Mommy needed some quiet time in which to wake up. However much peace and quiet I was hoping for went out the window when Em came out of the bathroom in these boots Daddy just bought for her (which she put on all by herself)...

And her pajama top. NOTHING ELSE! It was all I could to not spit my luke-warm coffee across the room!

Boxes of Brownies

Many will argue the superiority of homemade baked goods versus the perfection that comes from years and years of trials and tests only large companies can provide (boxed baked goods). This post isn't about either. Some things I think are ONLY to be done by hand and others, well, lets just say that certain companies have my hats off to them, because their products are AMAZING. (Come on now, have you ever made your own fingernail file? Trust me, it just can't compare to the store-bought, $.99 things you can get just about anywhere.)

But I'm digressing. One of my issues being here in South Africa has been the learning curve of making my own stuff. I even tried my hand at making my own tomato soup, from scratch with tomatoes grown in our garden. First, I loath tomatoes. We only grew them for things like spaghetti sauce. Second, I'm a texture person, both in eating food and handling food. All that added up to a lot of grossed-out, near gagging from me and not enough tomato soup to make any of it "worth it" in my humble opinion. Other things, however, I've absolutely loved making from scratch. The one thing that has totally eluded me, to much frustration and anger, has been the brownie.

I'm a brownie/cookie kinda girl. I love me some good desserts and if it has a warm yumminess with a good dash of chewing to it, you can count me in! All the brownies I made though weren't chewy... they weren't chocolately... and well, they weren't. I must have tried 20 different recipes, but when you're dealing with a baker (not a cook, but sweet stuff is my area) who does texture (can't substitute the super fineness of brown sugar for unrefined light brown stuff, feels grainy on the tongue, trust me, I know) these things matter. It even got to the point that I asked Todd to bring me back a box or two when he went to the States. Each article in his suit cases were painstakingly weighed for priority, need, want, and well you get the picture. That means that brownies from a box were ranking pretty high on the list. That is, of course, until I found the best brownie recipe in the WORLD (it's actually a cookie recipe, but don't tell). For my birthday I was given a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, which I was saving for the right time. While Todd was gone, I found my "right time" and made them. Then, I noticed the texture and the small variation for 'pan cookies' on the recipe. I made them and I must say, I will never again waste space and weight on useless boxes of brownie mix because there is NO NEED TO! (Can I get a big "whahoo!!!" please?)

For the record, these were pulled out of the oven less than 4 hours before this shot. Four. And they had to cool. And it was just Todd and me eating them. Just. (I added some peppermint extract because I absolutely LOVE chocolate and peppermint together. Didn't use enough though, so had to break into my stash of peppermint candy canes from Grams... maybe I'll be lucky enough to stumble into some of those wonderful Christmas white-chocolate-peppermint-chips next year... hum... here's to hoping!)

Suggestions???

In my heart of hearts I know I'm just stuck for a while, but I thought I'd ask anyways on the off chance someone can help me out. So here it goes...

Em is at that age where she's wanting to skip her naps (and occasionally does if there's too much going on) but still needs to take them. Cooper is just starting to have a predictable pattern for his naps. Now that the reflux and everything else has cleared up, it seems like in the last two months or so he takes a good morning nap and another good afternoon nap. Here's the problem. Cooper generally sleeps from 9-10:30 or 11. By the time he gets changed, and fed, it's lunch time for Em (who doesn't like food not being on time and gets rather cranky if she's not fed), and she sleeps from just after her lunch around 12 until about 2. That's right around the time when Cooper is getting sleepy again, and he goes down for his second nap at 2.

For the last few months, I've just packed them both in the car when stores open at 9 and have just done my thing grocery shopping and such. However, the trend is that on days where there's no crib/bed napping and we're making stops at various places, neither kid sleeps well and I get a massive headache by bedtime from them whining (the whining is MY fault, not theirs, but it still grinds the nerves a bit).

So my question is this: I know others have been where I'm at. How do you get things done (emails, grocery shopping, laundry, etc) when there is ZERO DOWNTIME? Todd and I are talking about starting Em at a school, but with the school holidays because of the World Cup and my parents coming, that won't be until the end of August at the earliest. Soooooo, any ideas (or commiseration, because we all know frustrated moms feel better knowing they're not the ONLY ones in the universe with that particular problem!)???

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Afternoon Snack

Today was one of those rare and glorious fall days where it's beautiful. The weather is perfect for playing and just hanging out... so we did! Coop was eating a teething biscuit of sorts in my (vain) attempt to keep him from eating the grass. Oh well, extra fiber, right?

Lani kept trying to "help" Cooper keep clean, which was frustrating because in her helpfulness, she also ate the biscuits I gave Cooper!
But, alas, he was THRILLED to get a new one and voiced his elation rather fiercely.

When Em came up and started talking to him, in a language they understand but I certainly do not, he suddenly looked like he didn't have the slightest clue what the answer was. After a minute or two, she came and asked me for a biscuit. Guess she'd asked for a bite but he didn't have any left.

Even nasty drool/slobber is cute on this little man!

Spices Anyone?

When people move internationally, usually the last thing to be thought of are those pesky little bottles of spices that have slowly, but surly, been accumulated over the years. When we arrived here, the family that lived in our flat before us left us their spices. I thought they were so thoughtful and generous. Then, another family left and I helped clean up the left-overs. Again, more spices. Then, when we moved flats, I found (you guessed it!) more spices in an obscure corner of the kitchen. Problem is, I still haven't finished moving everything from the old place to the new (not sure old gum wrappers and the junk drawer classify as actual items which need to be moved, but Todd thinks so). I went down today and found my cupboard with large amounts of things like nutmeg and paprika AND a large bag of more spices from the house we helped clean. Here's the thing though, I have all these spices that I don't really know what to do with (what do you do with paprika besides to make deviled eggs look pretty?).

Told you there were a lot of them...

Please note the number of bottles that still have the plastic wrapping on them...

And don't be fooled into thinking that was all of them. This is my main spice cabinet, with NONE of the others in it. Those were just the duplicates... and triplicates... and more for some. Anyone need any coriander? Or better yet, could you tell me what to use it for???

The Last Stand

We went camping a few weeks ago and realized that Coop is desperate to stand. I think, deep down, he knows standing will open all sorts of door in his attempt to keep up with his sister. While camping, he starting pulling himself up on the blow-up mattress. Since, he's been doing really well using people's hands and other things that his small hands can grasp firmly, but most of our overstuffed furniture still alludes him. But, we wanted to share with Daddy our afternoon workout. Hope you enjoy it as well!