My Year in Status

Thank you Facebook!

Recipes

Ok, here are the recipes I talked about on Facebook. Sorry there aren't any pictures...our computer is mostly retarded.

Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 T softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 bag chocolate chips - I use milk chcolate

Directions:
Mix the peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar together with a mixer. Shape into one inch balls and let stand.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler - I use my soup pot with a smaller pot inside it - or you could melt it in the microwave. Dip the PB balls in the chocolate and put on wax paper. Put them in the fridge until the chocolate is hardened. They can store in a container for about three weeks...like they'd last that long.

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
This recipe is from Alton Brown on Good Eats

Ingredients:
* 1 batch Sugar Cookies, recipe follows
* 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
* 1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies


Directions:
Divide the dough in half and add chocolate and vanilla to 1 half and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk, peppermint extract, and crushed candy to other half of dough and incorporate with hands. Cover both with plastic and chill for approximately 5 minutes. Roll out doughs separately to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate and press together around the edges. Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath, roll dough into log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place cookies 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Sugar Cookie:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl

The Talk

I've had many Aren milestones in the past almost ten years. Some were typical - walking, talking, potty training - and some not so typical - first hospital stay, chemo, broken legs. Last night was a typical milestone that no one wants to deal with but needs to be done. Last night Aren had "the talk".

That's right. My son has been de-flowered. He now knows, uh...well, the ins and outs of life. Luckily Rick was the one that had to deal with it because of my amazing parenting skills. It went a little something like this...

"Aren, please take a shower tonight."

"Mom, I hate taking showers."

Keep in mind after a long day of being by myself and Rick working overtime, I have a less than short fuse. "AREN! Let me tell you something. YOU STINK! Ok? You're getting older, your body is changing and once a week showers don't cut it. You smell! Bathe yourself!" And then I slammed the door as I walked out of the room.

Rick was there to explain the nerd side of things and started telling him about glands and blah, blah, blah and then said, "You know Aren..." Yeah, it was the "you can ask me anything" to try and open the doors, which Aren did, but only a crack. He proceeded to tell Rick that he had seen something at school about (he actually asked permission to use the next phrase and whispered) sex education, and was wondering what it was.

Trying not to laugh Rick told Aren that he was going to tell him some things and "when you've heard enough, tell me to stop and I will." He then laid it all out on the table - who has what and why and where it goes. "Ok, that's enough," was all Aren said. Rick then followed up with the ever important, "This is not something we discuss with our friends. It's very sacred and you should only talk to me or mom if you have questions. Do you understand?"

The response? "Yeah. If sacred means gross, I get it."

Poor Aren. He asked if he could play Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the rest of the night. I didn't have the heart to say no. I guess he needed to get those images out of his mind and replace it with little Mario characters beating the snot out of each other with frying pans. Who can blame him.

Wanted

http://www.redstonedesign.com/Max-Hall-Hates-Me-Tshirt.php

Thankful

Thanks to Emilie Campbell Photography.

Therapy

This post has been copied from RICK who said it just as well as I could.

Clinical Psychologists sometimes have their patients use puppets to act out scenes. The idea is that people will be more likely to say what they actually feel, since it's not "them" actually speaking, it's the puppets. (I know this because I watched "What About Bob?" several years ago.) They also sometimes have children draw pictures, again because they are sometimes more willing or able to draw about a traumatic event than they are to talk about it. (I know this because I regularly watch Law & Order: SVU.)

My son recently drew a picture for and about his cousin. I can only assume (based on the details) that communicating with her is somehow psychologically damaging, and that he decided to just treat himself. Click on the pic for full resolution - and make sure you read the text bubbles.

I Gave It My Best

When I married Rick I knew two things.

1. I loved him.
2. He was a nerd.

Seriously, Rick is one the most intelligent people I know. I often ask him to define words, talk slower and explain in four year old terms what the hell he's talking about. I knew there was always the possibility he would pass this on to our children, but I held on to the fact that surely my social skills genes could whoop his nerd genes and hard.

I knew that I was failing with Aren when he had just turned five and we were spending Christmas at my mom's house. She has a cat named Pinto and this cat has...issues. You know boys that are short tend to be a little mean - trying to prove that they can be just as "big" as the big kids? Yeah, that was Pinto. She had three legs. You heard me. Three legs. She's an outside cat and one day she just disappeared and showed up about a week later dragging her hind leg. The vet gave my mom some options and the cheapest was chosen...amputation. Point being, this cat was crazy.

I was talking with Aren one afternoon and he was telling me about his latest run in with Pinto and he said, "That cat is rather feral." I just stared at him. "What?" "That cat is rather feral." Again, staring. "What the hell does that mean?" Aren sighed and looked at me and said, "Wild mom. It means wild." I knew I was an idiot, and Aren confirmed it that night.

I had a dream that there was still hope. Aren could be a cool kid and I could help him, but this afternoon, all hopes were dashed. Aren's friend came over to play for the afternoon and the first thing he said was, "Hey, come back to my room and listen to the coolest song ever!" I was intrigued and waited to see what would come from the speakers.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 4th Movement (Ode to Joy for all you idiots like me).

Maybe I'll turn my efforts to Tatiana. Then again, she refuses to call orange juice "orange juice" because it's not orange, it's yellow. Maybe it's too late for her, too.