Craft Day

My very sweet husband saw that I was extremely overtired last night and banished me to the bedroom at 4pm. I slept until 7:30, ate a quick dinner, watching The Bachelor (totally agree with you Lianne . . . Jillian was too good for him), and then went back to bed and slept until 7:30 this morning. Needless to say, I woke up feeling much better today. Josh should win the best husband award because he made dinner, set up a blanket tent in the dining room, gave the girls 2 baths, got Syd ready for school, made breakfast, and made sure she made it to preschool on time (although wearing some pants that she normally would not get out the door in).

Our friend Emma came over this morning to hang out while her twin sister went to get her haircut, so with all my new-found energy, we decided to tackle a craft after Syd got home from school. The girls also helped me make a new Lasagna soup recipe (we'll see if we like it before we post it) & a loaf of bread in the bread machine. Yay for fun, productive days!

Our craft of the day was Birdseed Biscuits and they turned out great! This was a easy, fun craft (even for toddlers). The girls had a great time picking out their own cookie cutters and special ribbon, and all took turns mixing the ingredients.I love having the birds eat out of our birdfeeder, and these little bisquits will look cute hanging outside. We're hoping spring comes soon and our bird friends come out from hiding . . . we have missed them!

Birdseed Biscuits

3/4 C birdseed
1 TBL Flour
2 TBL water

Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Mix the mixture together in a bowl. Spray cookie cutters of choice with cooking spray (or use oil) and place on the cookie sheet. Pack the mixture into the cutter, inserting half a straw near the top to create a hol for hanging. Bake the biscuit (with the straw in it) for one hour until the biscuit is hard. Let it cool. Remove the straw, thread a ribbon through the hole, and hang it outside in a sheltered spot.

Note: I tripled the mixture and was able to make 6 bisquits

The bisquits before baking

My three little helpers (yes, Annie looks like an orphan - we let her hair go free today)

The finished product

Hanging outside

PLUS . . . A Few Valentine-y Pictures

Sydney's Valentines for her class party (homemade sugar cookies and scones for her teachers . . . yummy)!

Annie & I on a Starbucks date (she gets sad because she can't go to school yet and just needed a donut and hot chocolate to make herself feel better)!

Cookie Day

I made these cookies this morning and they made me so happy that I decided to share the recipe with you! One of the ladies in our community group is a great baker and introduced these to me during one of our trips to Sunriver. She makes a million different kinds of cookies and baked goods, but these have won my heart. Enjoy!!

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups or one 11oz bag white chocolate whips
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

Directions
preheat over to 350 degrees.
cream butter and sugars until fluffy
add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and beat well
blend in flour, baking soda, and salt
stir in white chips and craisins
drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets (I line with parchment paper)
bake for 10-12 minutes

*You can also make these with macadamia nuts.

Duck & Cover

After preschool today, we ran to Salem for a quick Costco/Target shopping trip. In a matter of about 30 minutes, I saw an old high school friend, my sixth grade teacher, AND a friend from church - all of whom I ducked my head and scooted my cart full of loud toddlers right on by before noticed. I know it sounds terrible and you are probably thinking what a lousy person I really am . . . and I did think about stopping to say hi, but the hermit in me won over and we went on our way. Besides, I was having a bad hair day, I ate too many of my sugar cookies last night and I'm sure it showed on my chubby cheeks, Sydney was in a chatterbox mood so a two minute catch up would have taken the afternoon, and Annie had boogers in her nose (can't keep up with 'em)! I mean really, I don't think it was a great day for a reunion.

I don't really know why I am blogging about this, except to let the world know my very bad habit of avoidance. It's not as though I don't like any of these poor people, in fact my sixth grade teacher is still one of my favorites today. I probably would have enjoyed stopping and chatting it up, showing off my cute girls in the process. I'm not really sure what stops me from coming out of my shell and making that first move, but it is something I have struggled with my whole life. It's irritating and embarrassing, especially when I live with the three biggest social butterflies of all times.

So that's my story of the day. I'm not really sure where to go from here. Maybe I should set a personal goal to stop avoiding. On the other hand, I have gotten quite skilled at the "duck & cover" mode. Seriously, it's like my best talent. I don't know . . . I'll have to think about it. I wonder if people would write more comments on my facebook if I was more outgoing????