Conversations With a 3 Year Old

...while making Persimmon Cookies together.

When I go to puree the persimmons...
Little Guy: Mom can I press the button?
Me: Yes
Little Guy: Mom can I press the button?
Me: Yes
Little Guy: Mom can I press the button?
Me: If you ask me again the answer will be no

While bringing the stool over so he can press the button...
Little Guy, in grunt like noises: ee aa ooh, ee aa ooh

While watching me cut the butter into thick slices to melt it...
Little Guy: It looks like a book, Mom.
Me: Aw, you're so sweet. Yes it does look like a book.

As I go to soften it in the microwave...
Little Guy: Can we read it Mom?
Me: Yes we can read it.
So we read about Mommy and Little Guy making cookies together. Then he points out which ones are sad stories, and I ask which ones are happy ones and he points to the same.

At a lull in the cooking "OkAY! What we get do?"

After baking and eating cookies...
Me: Little Guy, stop eating the plate!
Little Guy: 'kay.

The cookies are almost gone, by the way.

I Love to Cook!

It seems like the chances to are less and less these days. Hubby's work calls him to meetings at 4pm, sometimes an hour away, so that means he's back sometimes around 7pm or 8pm. My Mom loves to eat out so the nights I'm not sure if he'll be home she'll take us out to eat. With two little ones though, sometimes you just want to be home to eat. Tonight I am making dinner! As we speak, orange chicken is going in the oven, with Jasmine rice and teriyaki broccoli on the stove and I am looking forward to a peaceful meal around the dinner table with my family.

What are your Christmas plans?

We entertained the thought of going to Grandma's in Arizona, but that is a looong drive. 12 hours or so. It would be nice to fly but by the time we thought of it around Thanksgiving ticket prices are already sky high. I think we'll stay home. Not certain yet. Grandma wanted me to cook Christmas dinner and I was all over that.

But I would enjoy it just as much here. My Mom is funny about cooking in the kitchen, though, she doesn't like it. And when she does cook she likes to do simple and it takes her all day long which is not fun for me.

Hubby put it into perspective today when he said, "She'll (talking about me) cook the dinner, if you just stand back and ask her how you can help." That was exactly what I needed to hear to put the Christmas carols in my head. She started to say, "Okay, we'll do this, this, and this." And I said "Nope, if you want me to cook I will, but just stand back and ask how you can help."

Mmm, I'm thinking bone-in honey ham, a roast, sweet potato souffle, herbed green beans, cranberry relish from over at Elise's, and of course some buttery rolls. I may add or substitute some there, but that's the gist of it. And who knows about dessert - can I say chocolate? It may or may not happen, but that dessert from my Bon Appetit magazine is what I would love to make.

Conversations With a 3 Year Old

...while making Persimmon Cookies together.

When I go to puree the persimmons...
Little Guy: Mom can I press the button?
Me: Yes
Little Guy: Mom can I press the button?
Me: Yes
Little Guy: Mom can I press the button?
Me: If you ask me again the answer will be no

While bringing the stool over so he can press the button...
Little Guy, in grunt like noises: ee aa ooh, ee aa ooh

While watching me cut the butter into thick slices to melt it...
Little Guy: It looks like a book, Mom.
Me: Aw, you're so sweet. Yes it does look like a book.

As I go to soften it in the microwave...
Little Guy: Can we read it Mom?
Me: Yes we can read it.
So we read about Mommy and Little Guy making cookies together. Then he points out which ones are sad stories, and I ask which ones are happy ones and he points to the same.

At a lull in the cooking "OkAY! What we get do?"

After baking and eating cookies...
Me: Little Guy, stop eating the plate!
Little Guy: 'kay.

The cookies are almost gone, by the way.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

And the tree is up! Hubby put the lights on and Little Guy and Big Guy put the ornaments on along with their cousin. Then we decorated Big Guy's very own teeny tiny Christmas tree and that's sitting in another corner.

I Love to Cook!

It seems like the chances to are less and less these days. Hubby's work calls him to meetings at 4pm, sometimes an hour away, so that means he's back sometimes around 7pm or 8pm. My Mom loves to eat out so the nights I'm not sure if he'll be home she'll take us out to eat. With two little ones though, sometimes you just want to be home to eat. Tonight I am making dinner! As we speak, orange chicken is going in the oven, with Jasmine rice and teriyaki broccoli on the stove and I am looking forward to a peaceful meal around the dinner table with my family.

What are your Christmas plans?

We entertained the thought of going to Grandma's in Arizona, but that is a looong drive. 12 hours or so. It would be nice to fly but by the time we thought of it around Thanksgiving ticket prices are already sky high. I think we'll stay home. Not certain yet. Grandma wanted me to cook Christmas dinner and I was all over that.

But I would enjoy it just as much here. My Mom is funny about cooking in the kitchen, though, she doesn't like it. And when she does cook she likes to do simple and it takes her all day long which is not fun for me.

Hubby put it into perspective today when he said, "She'll (talking about me) cook the dinner, if you just stand back and ask her how you can help." That was exactly what I needed to hear to put the Christmas carols in my head. She started to say, "Okay, we'll do this, this, and this." And I said "Nope, if you want me to cook I will, but just stand back and ask how you can help."

Mmm, I'm thinking bone-in honey ham, a roast, sweet potato souffle, herbed green beans, cranberry relish from over at Elise's, and of course some buttery rolls. I may add or substitute some there, but that's the gist of it. And who knows about dessert - can I say chocolate? It may or may not happen, but that dessert from my Bon Appetit magazine is what I would love to make.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

And the tree is up! Hubby put the lights on and Little Guy and Big Guy put the ornaments on along with their cousin. Then we decorated Big Guy's very own teeny tiny Christmas tree and that's sitting in another corner.

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas

We went and got our Christmas tree today up at Patchen Christmas Tree Farm. The owner, Jim Beck, was there. We didn't go by to see the ghost town, but the tree farm itself was enchanting.

We got our tree, a beautiful, and perfect size for our place, Douglas Fir. We walked down the hill with it and every single person commented on how nice it was, where did we get, they want one like that, it was almost funny. There was a small crowd converging on the spot we found it when we left. The boys had a blast finding pinecones, smelling the trees, climbing the mountainside and finding our tree. And we got some adorable pictures.

We had an interesting discovery today, Hubby and I. When we go out and do things as a family most of the time we always end up in a tiff. We still have a great time but somehow Hubby and I are just fighting our way through it. I can't stand it. And today it happened again. But somehow instead of fighting about it and one of us (usually him) ending up apologizing over it and making up, we just ended up talking about it. At first in raised tones, but then it got to be quiet, which was nice, because that's when you can really talk things out.

I brought up the last 3 or 4 times this has happened and wondered out loud why it always seem to happen in family situations. He brought up about how I expected him to make decisions and he didn't know when. And I realized that was true and it was in these situations. I tend to be an indecisive person as it is, but I've been working on it and most of the time nowadays I am.

But when we as a family are in new situations, or with new people in a familar situation, or even with familar people in a new situation, it's enough for me to handle just being a family and dealing with getting used to the new situation that I do just expect him to handle the situation and make all the decisions, without really warning him that I do, because I'm too trying not to feel overwhelmed.

It is very easy for him to make decisions, as long as he knows that I need him to make decisions for us he's on it just like that. So we figured out the combination of him not knowing that I needed him to make decisions for us and me not being able to communicate that I need him to because I'm trying so hard not to get overwhelmed made for us ending up in an argument the whole time, instead of us just enjoying ourselves.

We both agreed that seemed like what was happening and that we would try to be aware of it next time. It was a relief to talk about it together and hopefully next time it will make for an enjoyable time the whole time and even between us.

The day ended with an evening at Hubby's Mom's house, digging through her attic and getting out all her Christmas supplies to find a tree skirt for our tree. She didn't find one so she cut through one of her Mom's 50 year old tablecloth's and sewed it into a tree skirt.

Now it's a gorgeous, white, vintage tree skirt with a fringe and pretty little poinsettia trees and candles skirting the outside. Fits so nicely in with my vintage distressed look in our home. Can't wait to get it up. But that will be tomorrow. For now it's breathing in the cold night air along with my sparkly snowflakes out on the deck.

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas

We went and got our Christmas tree today up at Patchen Christmas Tree Farm. The owner, Jim Beck, was there. We didn't go by to see the ghost town, but the tree farm itself was enchanting.

We got our tree, a beautiful, and perfect size for our place, Douglas Fir. We walked down the hill with it and every single person commented on how nice it was, where did we get, they want one like that, it was almost funny. There was a small crowd converging on the spot we found it when we left. The boys had a blast finding pinecones, smelling the trees, climbing the mountainside and finding our tree. And we got some adorable pictures.

We had an interesting discovery today, Hubby and I. When we go out and do things as a family most of the time we always end up in a tiff. We still have a great time but somehow Hubby and I are just fighting our way through it. I can't stand it. And today it happened again. But somehow instead of fighting about it and one of us (usually him) ending up apologizing over it and making up, we just ended up talking about it. At first in raised tones, but then it got to be quiet, which was nice, because that's when you can really talk things out.

I brought up the last 3 or 4 times this has happened and wondered out loud why it always seem to happen in family situations. He brought up about how I expected him to make decisions and he didn't know when. And I realized that was true and it was in these situations. I tend to be an indecisive person as it is, but I've been working on it and most of the time nowadays I am.

But when we as a family are in new situations, or with new people in a familar situation, or even with familar people in a new situation, it's enough for me to handle just being a family and dealing with getting used to the new situation that I do just expect him to handle the situation and make all the decisions, without really warning him that I do, because I'm too trying not to feel overwhelmed.

It is very easy for him to make decisions, as long as he knows that I need him to make decisions for us he's on it just like that. So we figured out the combination of him not knowing that I needed him to make decisions for us and me not being able to communicate that I need him to because I'm trying so hard not to get overwhelmed made for us ending up in an argument the whole time, instead of us just enjoying ourselves.

We both agreed that seemed like what was happening and that we would try to be aware of it next time. It was a relief to talk about it together and hopefully next time it will make for an enjoyable time the whole time and even between us.

The day ended with an evening at Hubby's Mom's house, digging through her attic and getting out all her Christmas supplies to find a tree skirt for our tree. She didn't find one so she cut through one of her Mom's 50 year old tablecloth's and sewed it into a tree skirt.

Now it's a gorgeous, white, vintage tree skirt with a fringe and pretty little poinsettia trees and candles skirting the outside. Fits so nicely in with my vintage distressed look in our home. Can't wait to get it up. But that will be tomorrow. For now it's breathing in the cold night air along with my sparkly snowflakes out on the deck.