Thursday, May 17, 2012

Exchanging cookies and a new stroller

I think we have a new tradition with Grandma Sue. Maybe tradition is the wrong word. I'll tell the story, and you can decide what to call it.

My mom makes cookies from cake mix, and they are fantastic. She got the idea and recipe from my Memere, my dad's mom. I'll include the basic recipe below. It's pretty awesome because the possibilities for different kinds of cookies are endless. You pick out a cake mix that sounds yummy, and then you get creative. The best part is that these cookies are ridiculously easy to make.

So my mom made a batch a while ago and brought them over in a little silver tin box. I don't even remember what kind she made the first time. In fact, I can't even remember "the first time" anymore. We ate and enjoyed them. Then we decided to make a batch for her to refill her tin when we returned it. I do remember what we made. We attempted chocolate chip cookies from a yellow cake mix. They turned out okay, but not like grandma's.

Our first success was with Funfetti cake mix. We didn't add anything to the mix. We boxed up what we had left after taste-testing and delivered them to Grandma at work. Then she returned the tin with another batch.

This week, we made chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. Yum! It has officially turned into an event. When we receive the tin, we try to come up with a new yummy kind of cookie to make for Grandma Sue and Pepere.

So here's why we like making these cookies. First, the recipe:

1 box of cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup of oil
whatever else you what to mix in

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes

The process of mixing the dough is a little hard, so after Jack cracks the eggs and pours in the oil, I do the stirring. I also make the dough into balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Jack gets to do the really fun part: smashing the balls into a circle with the palm of his hand. He loves it. Well, that and taste-testing.

Jack and I have a great time doing this together, and it keeps us busy for a good 45 minutes from start to finish (finish being taste-testing. Have I mentioned the taste-testing part?)

Here's a pic of the chocolate peanut butter chip cookies from this week.

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So I also mentioned a stroller in the title of today's blog. Jack is technically big enough to walk everywhere, but that doesn't mean he likes it. And when we go places with the Chicco stroller, he would prefer to stand on the front or sit on the front and ride instead of walk. This isn't very safe, and it also makes pushing the stroller pretty tough for me. So I've been researching double strollers.

I found a sit and stand type stroller that I really liked a few weeks ago and started seriously pursuing it. I took the boys to try it out at the store. I kept an eye on Craigslist and tried to buy it there only to be told they were already sold... every time. I crunched the numbers to figure out a way to pay for it.

Today, we bought our new Joovy Caboose Ultralight stroller. With a 20 percent off coupon and a gift card I found lying around our office, I was able to fit it into our budget. Yeah! The boys both really seem to like it. And I really like how easy it is to push with both of them in their spots. Hooray! We took it for a test run around the neighborhood this afternoon. Tomorrow we will take it on its first adventure. We are going to Randall Oaks Petting Zoo with the Moms group. I'm excited!

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Jack was telling me he didn't want to smile because his hand hurt
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Finally, I have a few pictures from today. Pepere came over to play with us, and we took him to the cool park with the gigantic sand area. Everyone had a good time as you can see.

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