Pushin' Cookies

One afternoon when my brother was maybe two or three years old, he was helping my mom make some sugar cookies.  You know the kind that have Crisco and sugar and vanilla and lemon and all kinds of good stuff; the kind that you press with the bottom of a cup dipped in sugar.  My grandparents called around that time, and when they asked Scott what he was doing, he responded, "Pushin' cookies!"  And now, it's hard for me to think of them any other way.

The other day, Cora and I decided to make some pushin' cookies.  She hasn't ever really shown much of an interest in cooking, but this kind of recipe was a good place to start.  She was my expert 'pusher.'

I should add that she chose her outfit.  Yes, my friends, we are in that phase of childhood.  Her go-to clothes are brown boot-cut stretch knit pants. We somehow ended up with three or four pairs of them among the hand-me-downs that were generously shared with us.  She likes to pair said pants with a brown ladybug shirt.  Due to the ladybug shirt being in the clothes hamper, she chose her Christmas tree shirt on this particular occasion.  Mmmmkay.  I guess this is just a case of it all coming full circle.  I had the worst fashion sense as a kid.  I'd like to think I've improved a bit...at least I hope I have.  So, there is probably hope for my little cookie pusher.  At least we know that her cookie sense is well developed.

Wordless Wednesday

It's a Tricycle Chariot

And, guess who gets to be the horse!

We've had this big wheel for probably two years now, but my little shortie's legs aren't quite long enough to push the pedals.  So, I came up with a creative solution involving some rope and a certain trusty steed.  

My other little shortie likes to get in on the action, too.  

We just have to remember to watch out for the divots!

But, I'm pretty sure big shortie didn't mind the wipe outs too much!

Better in Theory

After the fun we had with the Christmas stroller, John decided that the wagon Santa brought our girls could use some sprucing up.  If you remember, the lights on the stroller were something of a power drain - an expensive power drain, I might add.  So, John spent the good portion of several days rewiring a set of red Christmas lights - something about parallel and wiring and current and blah, blah, blah  (Clearly, I am a science goddess!) - so that they would not eat our grocery budget in 9 volt batteries.  Folks, it pays to be married to an electrical engineer!  And, after soldering his fingers and the wires, he meticulously attached the franken-lights to the girls' little red wagon.

Notice the giant battery pack attached at the back.  Even with rewiring them, they still required some heavy duty battery power. Who knew Christmas lights used so much power?!

We did have fun walking around the neighborhood and on the trail by the creek.  But, it was tricky to keep the stroller from brushing up against things.  One wrong move and the lights could be knocked off.  And, then the bulbs would burn out.  It's a lot more difficult to find replacements mid-February!  (Things to keep in mind come Christmas time...)  So, by March, the lights had to come off.  It was fun while it lasted.  And, I'm not naive enough to think that there's not something even more spectacular cooking in John's brain.  Stay tuned!

Carys' Many Faces

When Cora was younger, I did a couple of posts with pictures of her cute/strange/funny faces.  It's about time that Sissy gets a post of her own!

Can you tell that we just love this sweet little girl?