Bridget's School Days Snickerdoodles


I don't have a lot of memories attached to snickerdoodles. I suppose that's why I wasn't planning on posting the recipe when I made them the other day (for that reason I don't have any process pictures). But, another twin mom friend if mine (she has 4 month old cuties), Bridget, asked about the recipe. She explained that in college "they had this bag lunch thing and we could choose a cookie and the snickerdoodles were the size of like... A ..oh crap I dunno. They were giant... and perfectly cooked." After that I realized a couple things:
1. How in the world could I deprive a new mommy (of twins nevertheless) a recipe for what she considers "the best cookie ever?!"
2. The point of posting recipes may not be that they are my memories associated with them, but bring back fond memories for others. Good lesson.
So, please enjoy! Sorry they aren't giant, Bridget!
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
    1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put parchment on cookie sheets (or leave, no need to grease)
In a medium bowl or stand mixer, cream together the shortening, butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir in the eggs one at a time. 
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended.
In a small bowl, stir together the 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the cinnamon.
Roll dough into balls using small ice cream scoop (or guesstimate about 1- 1 1/2 inch rounds), then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar. Place them onto the cookie sheet, two inches apart.
Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

A Vignette of Their Very First Spring Day


On our walk I noticed the beautiful, rejuvenating Spring flowers.

How in the world can two such distinctly, intensely different shades come from one single flower?

It seems so unnatural



So unique

One has got her mom's crooked smile and habit to scare easily
Her daddy's brown hair and sense of restlessness mixed with trepidation

Jumpy
Intelligent
Funny
Adventurous
Hot-tempered
Impulsive




One has got her mom's round-tipped button nose and sensitive, tender psyche
Her daddy's shrugging shoulders and sense of wonder in the details

Relaxed
Content
Thoughtful
Silly
Graceful
Loving



So unique


Joe's Cookies


Today, March 19th, is St. Joseph’s Day.

If you haven’t heard of it, I don’t blame you. It wasn’t until I met my husband, Joseph (the third), whose patron saint is St. Joseph, who went to a Catholic University called St. Joseph’s, and whom I met in Spain, a country that celebrates St. Joseph’s Day, did I discover this holiday existed!

Long story (very very) short, it is a day of feasting! In particular, Joe has traditionally had sweets. So, here is a tried and true recipe for yummy cookies. They are adapted from a good ol’ fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. But, I added walnuts. So, they’re now “Joe’s Cookies,” because like him, they’re sweet, but a little nuts.

Give ‘em a try. They’re really not half bad!

  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Put parchment on or grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together shortening, butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. (1)
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. (2)
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. I like to use a 1/4 measure to gradually scoop into the mixer. (3)
Finally, mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. (4)


Drop by rounded spoonfuls, using a small ice cream scoop, onto the prepared cookie sheets.


Bake for 9 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to brown. If there’s one thing I hate more than no cookie, it’s an overcooked cookie.
On our honeymoon in Mexico I picked up some delicious Mexican vanilla. I used the rest of it for this recipe. This is what the girls thought of that:
"Is it organic?"

"It's a travesty!"
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.



Enjoy!

My work day dialogue

I promised myself I would never use baby talk when I had children. I was under the assumption-- as perhaps others may be-- that speaking to babies as if they were adults resulted in a child rich in expansive vocabulary and overall linguistic prowess.
Well, not only have I spoken to the girls in baby talk since before they were even born, I find myself accidentally telling Joe things like, "Wuv you baby" or "TOM onn!" far too many times than I'd like to admit.
Fortunately for my daughters (not Joe so much), according to this article, Motherese-- aka baby talk, or child-directed speech-- creates a perfect environment for infants to learn the building blocks of language: Turn taking, pitch changes, loudness, vowel formation, imitation of body position (not sounds yet) and facial expressions.
While I briefly studied the phenomenon in language acquisition courses, I thought I would try to transcribe (as much as I could) the language on a normal “work day” for me. Also, the videos illustrate just what lengths we’ll use motherese/ fatherese, silly utterances, tonal changes, etc. to illicit freakin’ adorable responses by our kiddos!
Side note: spelling matches pronunciation, italics are songs I was singing at that moment (not kiddy music. I need some kind of break!), includes some Spanish (in motherese too)
AM
2:26- "Shhhh shhh shhh shhh shh. It's okay, I gotcha."
2:28- "Here ya go baby"
2:35- "Come here boo boo, chore turn"
2:42- "Duuu job boo boo"
4:39- “Shhh shhh shhh shhh shhhhhh”
4:41- “Oh! bless you bee bee”
5:23- “Here’s chu binky boo boo”
5:42- “Gggguhhhhhhhh (guttural, unintelligible sound) shhh shhh shhh shhh shhhhhh”
6:42- “Duuu morning boo boos!”
6:50- “Lesss do diapies!”
6:51- "Ready? Treeeeeeech!"
6:55- Duuuuuu morning, duuu morning, it’s gonna be a special day... duu morning, duuu morning to youuuuu
7:01- “Whoooo’s hunnry?”
7:04- “Awww is yous holding hands?”
7:20- “All done? Chu girls wanna plaaaay?”
7:23- “Okay boo boos say bubye to daaaaddy!”
7:25- “Baaabies, mommy has to eat too! Tan mommy eat? Thank you boo boos”
8:04- “Uh oh, Is you tiiiiired honey? Shhh shhh shhh shhh shhhhhhhh”
9:17- “How'd it go?! how was chur nappy baby?”
9:18- “Ready? Treeeeeeech!"
9:25- “Ru, ooooooooh don't grab mom's glasses!”
9:26- “Ooooh don't grab mom's earring... Oooooooouch”
9:57- “Oooookay ¿qué quieren leeeeeer?”
9:59- When I get offa this mountain you where I'm gonna go...
10- ¿Quieren jugar con los bloquitos primeeeero?
10:01- Up on cripple creek she sends me...
10:02- “Okay boo boos, vamos a empezar con uuuno... Unnnna luna. Quieres tocarlo?”
10:04- “Bueno, ¿listos? Aquí esta dos. Unnnno-- doooos! Dos remolinos. ¿Quieres tocarlo?”
10:05- “Tienes que compartir con su hermana boo boo!”
10:15- “Awww, is you playing hair salon? Ooooop, don't pull sissy's ha... Dammit!”
10:19- I saw her today at the reception, glass of wine in her hand...
10:20- “Your grandma would sing this sing to us when we wanted something we couldn't have ... Uh oh. Vera, is you hunnry? Shhh shhh shhh”
10:24- “There ya go boo boo”
10:24- You just might find, you just might find, you get what you neeeeeed!
10:26- “Ooooh mommy loves this song!”
10:26- Rescuuuue me, should I go down?! If I stay too long in trouble town...
10:30- “Is you done Ru? Okay boo boo.”
10:32- “Is you done now bee bee?”
10:36- “Ohhhh I loooove you! Don't you forget it!”
10:55- “Did you poopy AGAIN?! Hoooney.”
10:58- They're always having a good time down on the bayou looord...
10:59- “Ooooooh te veo mocos! Te veo moquitos!”
11:04- And still those voices are calling from faaaar away...
11:19- “Waas wrong bee bee? You tired? Tan mommy eat first? Pleeeease? No? Okay bee bee.”
11:27- “No boo boo you gotta have chur arms in the swaddle. Shhh shhh shhh shhh shhhhhh”
11:36- “Shhh shhh shhh shhh shhhhh”
11:48- "How did mommy get so lucky?"
PM
12:28- “It's okay, it's okay. Shh shhh shhh shhh shhhhhh”
12:53- “Shhh shhh shhh shhh shhhhh”
1:54- “Hey boo boos how was your nappy?”
1:55- “Ready? Treeeeeeech!"
2:04- if I was a flower growing wild and free all I'd want is to be your sweet honey bee...
2:06- “Okay ready, lesss practice, 1-2-3! Okay 1-2-3. Wooooo and she sticks the landing!”
2:18- “Dimeee tisses!!! Muahhhh muahhhh muahhhh"
2:24- “I'mmmmm Snoopy! I love you Veeera!”
2:24- “I'mmmmm Woodstock! I love you Ruuuuby!”
2:41: “Vera don't poke your sis... Damnit!”
3:04- "Ohhhhh has hecho un poopito?!"
3:25- "Ready?! Tisses! Div sissy tisses. Awwww"
3:49- "Ouuuuu don't pull mommy's hair"
3:50- "Ouuuuuch"
4:06- "Vee Vee girl! Dooo job!"
5- “Shh shhh shhh shhh shhhh”
5:06- Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper I love... Hmmm hmm hmmm hmmm
5:53- “How was your nappy babies?”
5:54- “Ready? Treeeeeeech!"
5:58- “I love you SOOO much, do you know that?! Squishy cheekys squishy cheekys!”
6:02- “Whoooo's hunnry?!”
6:11- “Is you done baby?”
6:12- “Awww you love your sis? Careful!!!”
6:22- “Ru quit pulling mommy's ha... Ouch!”
6:25- “Huuuu look who’s hooooome, say hi daaaaaddy!!!”



)

Throwback 6 Months

Six months ago we welcomed our beautiful, feisty, energetic, loving little girls Ruby and Vera. Here's a video and a few photos of that magical day! Happy first half birthday my love bugs! You fill your daddy and my heart with joy and pride every single day.







"Can I keep this gorgeous robe?!"


About to be a daddy!


And I thought I was tired then... 


Ready for fatherhood?!


Ruby's first bath

Sweet Ru, not so happy!


Vee's first bath


Vera, not enjoying this!


Bath finally over!

Ruby Joan & Vera Kathleen

Finally in mommy's arms after 37.5 weeks!

Vera and numb mommy in the recovery room

On the way to our hotel (errrr hospital) room


Blurry and beautiful Vee Vee


Sleepy Ru



Vee says "it's been a long day!"


Ru dreaming of the Eagles



20 Years Later

That song.
That corny song.
Volume on full blast.
The sound waves crashing against any functioning ear within reach.
Reverberating through his house as he wails it from his soul.
With every fiber of his being.
Whether you liked it or not.
This was Uncle Lee to me...
The man who considered cars toys- so much so that one day, while we rode along with him, he drove his sedan by a used car with a for sale sign and he drove away in a new convertible and with a couple new friends.
The man who would take a perfectly ripe, sweet, juicy wedge of Central Valley watermelon and taint it with a generous sprinkling of salt. For every single bite.
The man who got me to switch my neurotic habit from biting my nails to chewing my lip by explaining that, "with all that dirt under your nails you'll end up getting worms!" I still cringe.
The man who played that song. That damn song. Over. And over. And over again.


Life is a highway - I want to ride it all night long
If you’re going my way I want to drive it all night long
Life is a highway - I want to ride it all night long
If you’re going my way I want to drive it all night long



*****
On the morning of my sister and my tenth birthday we woke up to an unusual site. My aunt, with whom my siblings and I had taken up residence four months prior, was sitting at the foot of our shared bed grinning from ear to ear; obviously eager to gift upon us something special. Behind her, there they sat; two clunky, large wooden boxes with the characters of Beverly Hills 90210 gracing every side.
Something special indeed.
Aunt Sheila had always had a hope chest filled with relics that harkened back to another time in her life. I assumed that she was attempting to encourage us to do the same as she enthusiastically presented Michele and me with these beauties on that day- December 17, 1992.


It worked. Sort of
This past Sunday, I carefully rummaged through my jam-packed “90210 box," sure to find some haunting artifacts that I could share with Joe and perhaps pass down to my daughters someday. Alas, as it turns out, I have an affinity for holding onto mostly junk; misfigured “participation” trophies, a Shaquille O'Neal poster with the eyes cut out, costume jewelry that has long rusted and was surely purchased by me at a thrift store, the list goes on.
I took out the few items that held sentimental or entertainment value, closed up the box, and walked out of the girls’ room (where the box is stored) to go show Joe.
One such item was this diary I kept from 1994:


We had a good laugh and I returned to the room to place the items back into the box for what Im certain would be another several years.
It was then that I noticed it.
Beside the mammoth box plastered with images of twenty-somethings pretending to be teens was the tiny, golden angel pin that my grandmother had given us as a token of rememberance for my Uncle Lee. I had completely failed to notice this pin in my forage and now, there it lay, refusing to be ignored.



It was September of 1992 and we had been living with Aunt Sheila and Uncle Greg for maybe a month. She called us into the study, sat us down, and explained to us, through uncontrollable tears, that her brother, Uncle Lee, had been diagnosed with leukemia. I knew it was a type of cancer. I knew my strong uncle would get through it. I knew he would be fine.
On March 4, 1994 Uncle Greg picked us up from school early. We were all together in the Dodge Caravan preparing to drop Aunt Sheila off at the airport; she was taking another trip to go see Uncle Lee at the hospital at Stanford. 

It was too late.
“You guys, your uncle died two days ago."
This would become the first of three death announcements my aunt would have to make to us within 15 years. Three announcements that she uttered with strength and deep, deep pain. It had become so common that I feared anytime she asked us to gather in a room, mourning would soon follow.



Leonard Lee was born on October 9, 1967 to Leonard Lewis and Helen Pollard. From the moment of his conception he was considered a miracle child. Papa Lew, 39, and Grandma Helen, 37, had experienced infertility issues for several years. The adoptions of Sheila Marie in 1955 and Melody Kay in 1957 made the Pollards a pristine, happy family of four. The surprise pregnancy and birth of Lee several years later was cause for nothing but pure celebration.
Pure, miraculous, euphoric celebration.


I know only few things about my uncle’s early life. Since I was 11 when he passed, I’m convinced many aspects of who he was have gone through an afterlife makeover; they've been crystallized in the minds and hearts of those who loved him by immaculate, romanticized versions of who he really was.
Michele says "his smile was infectious."
Marco says he was "strong. In every sense of the word."
Marshall says he was "fun. I hung out with him as much as I possibly could."
I say he deserves to be romanticized.














Today I played the song for the girls. I sang it at the top of my lungs as they looked at me with crazy eyes. I listened carefully to what the lyrics said and could understand a little more why he belted this song out as often as he could.


Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore...


There's no load I can't hold
Roads are rough - this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors...



And then I played it again.




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