Labels: DDM, Nenny with Twins, The Destroyer

Well, the time has come for us to head up to Northern Ontario for our annual summer getaway. Thrilled, the Wee Ladies are running around aimlessly, putting in time as they knock over plants, make forts, and surprise birthday parties for their stuffed animals. As cute as this is, it makes packing and organizing harder and more last minute.

I will be offline for a while. But the great news is that Nenny With Twins will be on the site periodically working her magic. Love her. Thanks to her. I will be checking emails occasionally when I am not hanging out with the bears and loons.
I am already a hairy beast in the nether regions and can't wait to see how beastly I will be after 10 days of not brushing my hair or shaving. There will be bathing suits but only with a pair of boxer shorts over top.

I should be packing. Haven't started and am hoping to leave in a couple hours. This is when my multi-tasking abilities are truly tested.

There will be no July Who's DDM until my return mid-month. Sorry about that. But I am sure to have some good material when I get home.

Keep coming back to see what Nenny With Twins is up to.

Insert air horn now.... (HONK!)


Have to keep the bears away.

All's I'm sayin's all.

Labels: Announcements, Nenny with Twins

The birthday went well. And as Nenny with Twins says, the day after is the worst day of the year. The attention is over and done with and now you have to wait a whole 365 days until the next birthday. Well, the day is over and I am going to try to enjoy being 34. For me, the longest day of the year was a good one. Aunt Nancy drove up with my aunt, her daughter, and my grandmother, Nana. They stayed for a while and we had a great visit.

Labels: DDM, Family, Nenny with Twins, Reflection

Hi again! It's Nenny With Twins. DDM is on assignment.

I wanted to share a quick story with you and first of all I want to say to any women out there who are not yet moms - pay attention! Once you get pregnant you won't be able to anymore. It starts when you're pregnant. You're feeling tired and dragging and your mind starts to fail you. You forget things. You make plans and then forget to show up. You can't think of the right word when you need it. You can't even have a conversation with someone because your mouth and brain can't connect anymore. It's hormones, they tell you. Pregnancy brain. Well guess what? IT DOESN'T GO AWAY.

That's right. Moms, I'm saying it, and you can take away my membership in the Secret Moms Club for saying it, but it's true! I am way stupider than I was 3 years ago. Pregnancy brain turned into mommy brain, which has persisted and shows no signs of letting up. So there, ladies. Prepare to trade in your mental acuity for kids, because that's the deal.

Example: About two months ago or so, I was in a rush, as I almost always am. I had to get Mr. NWT's shirts to the dry cleaners, hurry home and meet the babysitter and get dinner on so I could go to an appointment. I parked in what I thought was a legal parking spot, only to be told by a helpful passerby that I had not read the sign correctly and that I was risking getting a ticket. I was flustered, being a good citizen and not wanting to get in trouble for parking illegally, but I was also late and by this point I had both of my irritated toddlers in the stroller with all hats, boots and mitts on and accounted for. I thanked the nice lady for the advice and decided to take my chances, leaving the car where it was.

I did not get a ticket, which I was delighted about.

The next day I took the kids to their weekly sing-a-long class and met up with some of the other moms for a walk before we went. So off we go, attempting to have some sort of conversation while weaving in and out of garbage cans, pedestrians and giant snowbanks, when all of a sudden our convoy stops to admire a lovely double stroller sitting on someone's lawn. I was shocked to see such a nice stroller sitting under about 2 inches of snow because I have the same stroller, which we keep in the car for all of our outings, and I would never leave it unattended, much less out in such bad weather. Only I did leave it unattended. There it was, right where I had left it the day before after I dropped off the dry cleaning. A woman came out of her house and told me that she watched me drive away without it and assumed I didn't want it anymore. The moms with me knew better. Mommy brain strikes again.

What upset me most about this episode was not that I had almost lost a very expensive and useful piece of equipment, but how easily it had happened. I had no recollection of putting the kids in the car, much less of driving away without my stroller. When the kids were babies I forgot to buckle up their car seats. Three times. Is it really that much of a stretch to imagine myself leaving the house without putting pants on? At what point do I become a hazard to myself and everyone around me?

Maybe it's just exhaustion. Maybe I'm burnt out and I need a vacation somewhere warm and sunny. Maybe I have seen the peak of my mental capacity and need to do Sudoku puzzles to keep my brain sharp enough to remember to put the milk in the fridge. Who knows. All I do know is that from now on I am buckling my stroller to my wrist whenever I take it out.

Labels: Nenny with Twins

It's the delinquent Nenny With Twins here, covering for DDM while she's out of town. I was supposed to blog yesterday so all of you who kept refreshing your page waiting to see something new can blame me. I had the double whammy of internet disruption and a very stubborn little girl who refuses to sleep working against me. DDM, I am sorry.

I'll just tell you a bit about my very stubborn little girl, who at this very moment is in her crib, laughing heartily - at what? who can say? - instead of napping. She has never fully recovered from changing the clocks an hour forward and has decided that instead of peacefully drifting off to sleep like she has done for most of her 21 months, she will use her alotted sleeping time for raucous toddler party time. I haven't heard anything like this. She is upstairs chatting and laughing with her stuffed animals and her brother, who is passed out in the crib next to her. There is no crying and no whining but an awful lot of singing and banging (don't want to know what the banging is).

Compounding our little sleep strike is that she has bitten through her soothers, which she uses to go to sleep. I noticed that she was refusing to take them and I finally examined them and was horrified that she had chewed her way through the silicone. I offered her an intact soother that she doesn't use anymore to which she said "NYYYYYOOOOOOOOO!!!" as if I had handed her one of her own soiled diapers to suck on. It's terrifying to discover that your tried and true devices no longer work, and yet after two years you'd think that I would learn to roll with it by now. So we have no soothers, and Little Miss Stubborn is going cold turkey. Funny thing is, she seems to be happy enough. It's Mommy who is having withdrawal.

She is not even two. I am not ready to give up her nap! What will I do? I have two precious hours in the afternoon to have a cup of tea and catch up on my current events (okay, celebrity gossip). It's what keeps me sane, or close enough to sane to function. I can't even entertain the thought of no more naps. I might take up soothers to counteract the stress..

I don't know. I guess she will either settle into her naps again eventually or I will have to admit defeat and install a tiny mirror ball on her ceiling and let her enjoy her afternoon party. Until then, I will sit and listen to her sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider over and over and pray for sleep.

Labels: Nenny with Twins

It has been a long, cold winter and it sometimes makes the days painful when you can't get the kids outside for any period of time. EvieG has become stir crazy on days she is home and it is really cold. So she has taken to our closet in our bedroom and made it into her fortress.

Labels: EvieG, Guilt, Nenny with Twins, Spark Plug, The Destroyer

Doing anything that includes hauling the Wee Ladies around is always a chore. There's buckling, unbuckling, keeping together, keeping hands off merchandise, and it all takes forever. It is Hubby's birthday today and we had a list a mile long to get done in order to surprise him at work. Throw a missing Doggy into the mix and we have automatic panic and chaos.

I got the Wee Ladies winter-dressed. I loaded them into the van. We proceeded to make a stop to get him new ski gloves. I only said, "Stay with Mom," a few hundred times as they ran around in and out of the Burton gear. The only mark we left were some fingerprints on the change room mirror. I threw them back into the van and headed for some caffeine relief. Oh, and some Timbits. I know. I caved.

We continued to the balloon shop where we had a balloon bouquet made for Hubby. Upon our arrival The Destroyer leaned over and pressed the button to open the door on her side of the van. I quickly pressed it again from the other side of the van and pulled her out. We went into get the balloons and during our short, but chaotic stay, EvieG learned not to try and blow up balloons we hadn't ordered. So a balloon covered with 5 year old cooties was purchased using money from her money bank. The Destroyer tried to play with balloon sculptures that were waiting to be picked up. Wouldn't that have been fun if she had popped one of those?

I placed the order and returned them all to the van so I could pay up and easily carry out the balloons without my entourage.

We made one other stop before heading home for a snack.

When we arrived home, I was unloading the Wee Ladies and noticed something potentially disastrous. The Destroyer's stuffed Doggy, which is her version of a security blanket was not in the van. I know she had taken it with her. I know I remember seeing her cuddling it. Where did it go? I searched the van high and low. Under the seats in the Timbit box. No Doggy.

This was bad. So bad because I have no back up in case it should get lost. EvieG has Lovesy, one of those Ty Pluffies that she can't live without. She sticks her finger through the tag and sucks her thumb as she is falling asleep.
I bought 3 extras on eBay to keep just in case we lost them. And she has lost it once, so we are on number 2.

Spark Plug has a chenille blanket she got from a good friend of mine when she was a baby. It comes from Toy R Us and she lives for this thing. She calls it her Kiki (pronounced kee kee). I made a special trip to Toys R Us to buy back up. I have 2 others. She sleeps with 2 and there is one still in the package. So if she ever loses the original, she has another already worked in. I have it all figured out.

But leave it to The Destroyer to have a dog with long legs and arms and a big, blue bow that she can't sleep without. There is no duplicate for this thing. And Doggy was confirmed to be officially lost. Crap.

So I hurried them to finish their snacks and then piled them all into the van. Again. We drove like mad back to the balloon store. As I was pulling into my original parking spot, EvieG and I both spotted Doggy. Along with her hat. EvieG shouted, "Look! There's Doggy in the snow bank! And her hat! It didn't get stolen!"

You can imagine the feeling of relief that came over me.

I was seriously panicked over this. I didn't want The Destroyer to lose her true love. That would be a horrible loss for us all. Not only would she be devastated, but we would have to suffer her wrath. The screaming and stomping and crying would have been hard to deal with and no doubt would have led to more Timbits.

I had already had a Plan B ready to execute if Doggy wasn't in the dirty brown, salt saturated snow. I was going to run to every store within a one block radius and ask store employees if anyone had been kind enough to bring a stuffed dog into their place of business. The whole town would for sure know me by then end of this caper. Thank goodness it didn't get to that.

I gave Doggy back to The Destroyer. She squealed with excitement and gave her a tight hug. I felt like a true hero. And then she looked at me and held Doggy out towards me and said, "Yuck, foot!"

You're kidding me. I just swooped in to save the day like a grand super human with x-ray vision and the thanks I get is a complaint that Doggy's feet are wet and dirty?

I turned around with my knuckles clenched around the steering wheel and stared out in front of me. I put it in reverse and drove away in silence. No appreciation. And there will be worse eventually. I will have sat in front of the computer or on hold trying to get tickets to the coolest concert ever and I will end up with amazing seats, to which they will say, "You couldn't get us any closer?" And then I will say, "Well, if that isn't good enough for you, I will go with Auntie Lisa, Auntie Missy, and Nenny with Twins. Oh, and I will be sure to tell you all about our VIP access after we get home."

Carrying on to Hubby's office with balloons, cupcakes, and a gift, I rallied the Wee Ladies together as we headed into his building. A lovely lady on the street helped me keep them all together. We went in to surprise Hubby. We were on-the-edge-of-our-seats-excited only to be told that he was not there.

What?What?What?

I told him this morning that he needed to be at the office over lunch and that I would bring his suit jacket to him!

I even called his boss two days ago to get permission to bring my entourage to the office!

He forgot and ended up having a meeting out of the office.

We waited for a while and one of his colleagues graciously helped keep the Wee Ladies contained in one area. She gave them paper, markers, and even helped EvieG blow her nose. Amazing.

We waited and waited some more. We left the gifts and went home.

After all that work and drama, it ends like this?

Yes, it ends just like that. In complete and utter disappointment.

It is now time to make and eat cake.

Happy birthday, Hubby! We love you even though you pulled a guy move and only listened to part of what I said! I know 'something came up' and you had a meeting and that's okay! We will forgive you! Over some double chocolate cake.

Don't forget EvieG wants a cupcake!

All's I'm sayin's all.

PS Have a fun weekend! Thanks for reading!

Labels: Battle, Chores, DDM, Drama, EvieG, Hubby, Nenny with Twins, Spark Plug, The Destroyer

As I complete my jobs as CEO of damage control I realize that our house and the Wee Ladies have a serious case of the blimey grimies. Everywhere I turn there are stickies, gloppies, and greasies. Oh, the squalor.

The kitchen table and chairs are disgusting. The chairs stick together and to the floor. The backs of the chairs have little hand prints of honey. The yogurt is dried on and under the table, like a wad of gum. Somehow the grimies get on the legs of the chairs too.

The fridge handle, the drawers, and all doorknobs have been covered by banana hands. The light switches in all rooms, the jacuzzi tub dial included, feel like they have been wiped down in pudding.

Cheerios and dried Corn Flakes make trails through the dining area and kitchen. I find Cheerios under the pillows and stuck in the couch. Today I found a chunk of chocolate chip cookie under the computer desk and bits of Red River cereal behind the toilet.

I blamed the dirty toilet seat on Hubby, but he was having none of it. He is adamant that the seat is not because of him, but rather a recently potty-trained Spark Plug.

The blimey grimies are annoying, yet amazing. It astonishes me how much grime there is in one house. The Wee Ladies take it everywhere. They carry it on themselves too. I have often referred to taking them out in public with breakfast face. I have admittedly wiped them off with my thumb and saliva. Gross, I know, but a good way to get rid of the grimies.

They sometimes walk around all afternoon with yogurt face, or as Nenny with Twins says, banana face. At first the banana is hardly noticeable, but after a while of being exposed to the dust filled air, the banana browns. If you go out in public, you for sure have to resort to the thumb-lick and wipe.

There are times when we haven't had to go out anywhere and I have made the call to put them to bed without a bath, leaving clumped yogurt chunks in their hair. I promise myself to deal with it tomorrow.

So I admit I am partially responsible for the blimey grimy that exists in my house. Sure. But now that I am CEO of damage control, I always get rid of it, even if it takes a week to get to.

Hubby contributes to the grimy in his own way, exempt from the toilet. When he thinks the Wee Ladies need a good moisturizing he puts them in a bath of baby oil. This is his way of being efficient. And for the next 2 days, or until they have another bath free of baby oil, they wander around with grease-head. Slicked hair, like the kid in class who never bathed.

The mother-of-the-year award certainly gets placed around my neck as I take the Wee Ladies out in public with breakfast face, hands covered in dried banana, and slicked hair that no one knows is baby oil. A vision of attentive parenting.

All's I'm sayin's all.

Labels: Battle, DDM, Hubby, Nenny with Twins

Nenny with Twins and I have the same dream. And we continue to work to excel and make it a reality. We try not to give up. We try to persevere, we try to practice. Because we truly believe that practice will make close to perfect. At least practice will get us from an F to a B. We hereby declare and publicly vow to do our best- to properly and successfully fold a fitted sheet. After that declaration, I take it all back. It will never happen.

We cannot for the life of us fold a fitted sheet. We have been working on it for years. Even when I was a kid, I remember my mom and even my Nana showing me how to do it. My mom laid the sheet on the ground, folded the corners in a way that made the sheet a nice square and then proceeded to fold it into a flat, wonderful, straight 4 sided quadrilateral.

And can I do this? Nope.

Exhibit A: The poor excuse for folded fitted sheets

Look at these pathetic bundles of fabric, all wrinkled and well, pathetic.

No matter how hard I try, or how many times I convince myself that 'this will be time I finally get it right', it never happens. And so I continue to hear the words of my mom and Nana, plus the words of my great-grandmother tsk-ing in my ear from the heavens beyond, "Now, you can do better than that. Take your time. Don't get frustrated. Maybe you should get out the iron for once."

Instead, I ignore them and roll the sheet into a ball and throw it into the back of the closet, making sure that I put a flat sheet on top to flatten the fitted sheet. And then I shut the door. Loudly.

I currently sit at an F in the folding of fitted sheets. I truly suck at it. And even though I want to get it right, I just don't think I am capable of achieving a higher grade.

I don't have the time or patience to lay it all out on the floor and fold it. Because we all know what would happen. The Wee Ladies would come along and start rolling and running across it. They would pretend it was their picnic blanket, or the sheet for their Princess Tea Party. They would bring all of their stuffed animals and dolls in and sit them around the perimeter with cups of water in front of them. And then the water would spill and there would be cookie crumbs all over the place. Which means the fitted sheet would have to be washed again. And then I would have to try and fold it all over again.

Not in this lifetime.

The fitted sheets that are behind the door in the linen closet, stay in a huge ball behind the door of the linen closet.

And my elders can shake their heads and fingers at me all they want. At least I can fold the towels and pillow cases. In rectangles or in rolls! Man, I'm good. And I didn't even have to haul out the iron!

All's I'm sayin's all.

Labels: Battle, Chores, Nenny with Twins

Hey everyone,

It's Nenny with Twins again. DDM is trapped in a roll of bubble paper underneath a pile of old cookbooks and asked me to look after the blog again today, so I'm going to re-post a classic DDM rant that is so dear to my heart. Hope you enjoy!

NWT

Friday, June 20, 2008

Totally Tardy

During life before kids I was on time for everything. And obsessively on time. I couldn't stand being late for anything and got a little bent out of shape when people were late meeting me anywhere. Now that we have the three Wee Ladies, it is not uncommon for me to be totally tardy.

I consider myself to be a relatively organized individual. I keep the kids in line and keep the house in good order. Most days. But it seems that whenever I have an appointment, or an agenda of any kind that requires me to be a certain place at a certain time, I can pretty much guarantee I will be running a few minutes late.

This irritates me and I get so mad at myself. The problem with this irritation is that it can sometimes result in a 'lead foot' as they say. That's right. I can speed. I am happy to report that I have yet to get a speeding ticket. I have been close. Very close. Let's just say that it helps a) to live in a small town and b) to know some of the local police officers personally.

Just as I am about to step out the door, something always comes up. Either a kid has to be changed, someone falls, the phone rings, or I forget something and have to go back in. When I forget something it, the scenario looks like this:

1. Lock door, head to The Guzzler.

2. Get into The Guzzler and realize I forgot my purse. Go back in.

3. Grab purse and lock door again.

4. Get into Guzzler and realize I forgot dry cleaning.

5. Grab cleaning and go to the bathroom one more time. Lock door.

6. Get into Guzzler and realize I forgot reusable grocery bags (I do my part for the environment) and cell phone. Go back in. Open garage door.

7. Get bags and phone and get back into Guzzler. Close garage door, turn up CBC Radio 1, and drive away.

I am not exaggerating. This is very typical for me when I try to go anywhere. And I am usually tardy.

When I need to go anywhere alone and am depending on a babysitter, I rely on them to get to the house on time. But when they are running late themselves, it puts me even further behind and then I am really late to get to where I need to be. I have had to call my destination on more than one occasion to tell them I am running late. When this happens, I can feel my blood pressure increase and I start to sweat. When the sitter shows up, I have to go over the schedule and what the Wee Ladies need while I am gone. Then I run out the door and put it in high gear.

I am not sure how to tackle my tardiness issue. I guess all I can do is try to have everything ready for when I have to go. I try, but it seems there is always something else to do, or remember.

As long as I have done a head count of the Wee Ladies and can keep track of their whereabouts, then I can say 'Job well done, Mom,' and give myself a pat on that back. Everything else will fall into place. I will get where I need to be. Eventually. Even if I am a few minutes late. As long as I arrive alive and everyone is intact. That's what matters.

All's I'm sayin's all.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading!

Labels: Guest Post, Nenny with Twins

A Mommy Moment

Hi all. Nenny with Twins at the wheel again while DDM and the family negotiate moving day. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share one of my recent experiences while DDM is away.

Do you remember the first moment that you felt like a parent? Perhaps it was when your child grasped your finger for the first time, or gave you tiny smile or a sweet little belly laugh. Whatever it was, we all have these moments where we experience the overwhelming and undeniable reality of parenthood. I had one of these last week.

My husband and I were giving our 18 month old twins a bath, which is always a cute experience. Our daughter likes to help wash her brother’s hair and they both get a kick out of splashing around with their toys. My husband and I just sit and enjoy the show. On the night in question, bathtime was coming to and end, so Mr. NWT and I began our negotiations regarding which kid we’d take (we do the man-on-man defense in our house). As usual, I got the girl, who squirms, fusses and rebels against everything that happens between getting out of the bath and into bed. Whatever. I can take her. I passed our son over to my husband (we have a tiny bathroom so there’s not much room to spare) who was waiting with a towel and a hug. I turned back to grab our daughter when I noticed something odd in the tub. And when I say odd, I mean foul.

There was a wave of poop emanating from my daughter’s bum. A wave. This wasn’t a tidy little turd neatly floating along; it was a mass of fecal debris fighting its way to the farthest edges of the tub. What do I do?

My first reaction was to throw something at my husband, who was laughing with relief because he already had his kid out and cleaned up. That would have to wait until later. In these situations, every second counts. Next, I thought of salvaging the bath toys before they came in contact with the poop but there was no point in that since I’d still want to scrub them with bleach. My third reaction was more urgent, as I noticed that my daughter had abandoned her toy whale for what looked to be a miraculously unscathed blueberry that was bobbing along in the horrible cloud of crap. She seemed delighted to see it again and had I not snatched it out of her hand it would have gone right back where it came from. I had to get her out before things got really ugly.

I rinsed her and dried her off as best as I could and rushed her out of the bathroom, or as it was now known: the biohazard zone. My husband got them both dressed for bed and read them stories while I returned to the scene of the crime with a pair of rubber gloves and bucket of Javex to clean out the tub.

As I got the last of it out, I had to laugh. I was having a Mommy moment. This was it, just like the first time I got barfed on and didn’t care. Sure, I remember her first smile and her first word and those were really special moments, but there are few things as real as cleaning up someone’s poop. I was in it now. Elbow deep. And as gross as the whole ordeal was, the look on her face was so sweet (I imagine she probably felt a lot better afterwards) that I didn’t even care. Good thing, too, because there's no WAY Mr. NWT would be doing this.

DDM should be returning tomorrow, depending on how her move went. I hope she’s not too upset at me for dragging down the tone in here. I guess I just felt like sharing.

Happy New Year!

NWT

Labels: Guest Post, Nenny with Twins

What a way to end 2008! DDM goes national!

I have some fun news to share. I was interviewed by a journalist a few months ago who was writing an article on safety products and the way they are marketed to parents, and whether some of the alarms, tracking and surveillance software devices cross the line as far as privacy is concerned.

It is an interesting article. Take a read. You can click here to check it out. It was published at canada.com, the National Post, and the Vancouver Sun. DDM has gone national!

I was contacted by the journalist who was interested in hearing my thoughts on these products. I gladly obliged. In a nutshell, I told her that I feel some of the products have a place in some families; a family with a special needs child(ren), or if custody is an issue, but that it should not replace common sense. Parents should not rely on these products to parent for them, or to replace communication between family members. Kids eventually need to be able to show some sense of responsibility and independence and it is the family unit and family dynamics that will direct the child. I also told her that these products do not have a place in our family at this stage in our life.

These safety product companies use fear and anxiety as a tool to market to parents, no doubt. And it is not uncommon for parents to feel they have to have the best of many products to keep their children safe and well taken care of. Click here for one of the sites. And here for another, so you can see for yourself what is available out there and how it is marketed.

The question is whether or not parents cross the line by buying into these products when they aren't really necessary. Do parents cross the line in terms of their children's privacy? Is this marketing and accessibility perpetuating the so-called 'helicopter parenting', whereby parents hover over their child's every move and decision, allowing them to become increasingly dependent and needy?

This topic definitely makes for good discussion. If you read the article, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has read and supported the blog this year. I am thrilled to have found something I love to do and also to have the opportunity to bring people together in some capacity. Thank you to all of you. I appreciate all of your continued support and hope you will return in 2009.

I will be taking tomorrow off as it is New Year's Day. I will also be offline Friday and Monday as we will have no access to the Internet. Perhaps Nenny with Twins can come to the rescue again. I will have to check with her first.

I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year. May 2009 be good to you.

We are now in the throes of packing for our move. We are taking off in 4 days. I can't believe the time is here already.

I will be back soon! See you in 2009!

All's I'm sayin's all.

Labels: Announcements, Nenny with Twins

I find it hard not to get carried away with holiday baking. Since my teenage years, I have been in charge of providing the family with a plethora of holiday goodies. Squares and cookies ranging in flavours have found homes in the many Tupperware containers and tummies in our family.

For the past few years I have hosted a cookie exchange party. A few moms would come over with a few dozen of one treat and then we would exchange them and end up with a wide variety of holiday goodies. We only had to make one thing and end up with several different sweet treats. I didn't do it this year because of our move and because we wouldn't be able to get through it all. So I am back to selecting a few different recipes for this year.

A good girlfriend of mine lent me her Mrs. Fields Cookbook from 1992. It has one hundred cookie recipes in it. I have had it in safe-keeping in our cupboard since last Christmas when we made Christmas sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. She needs it again for this year's batch and has asked for it back. Sure, no problem. I have decided I need to get myself a copy of this book because there are some recipes in there that we must have for the holiday baking.

I decided to go through my recipe file and select this year's festive goodie line-up. I sat with EvieG and we went through one at a time. She got bored after about the third recipe and left me to finish this task alone. No hard feelings. It took me about a half hour to decide what to make. There are so many good recipes to pick from!

I chose a selected assortment. Ten bucks says I will continue to find any excuse to use the old classic Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip recipe that Nenny With Twins e-mailed me.

I have decided on the following goodies for this year's festivities:

1. Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies
2. Gingerbread Cookies
3. Classic Shortbread
4. Cranberry-White Chocolate Shortbread
5. Chocolate Cookies (using cake mix)
6. Peanut Butter Balls (with Rice Krispies)
7. Peanut Butter Cup Tarts (you stick a PB cup in the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie dough and bake it)
8. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for Uncle Jeff

And here is what I am debating with myself- do I make Confetti Squares? The peanut butter squares with the multi-coloured marshmallows? You know the ones that were served at every bake sale, church bazaar, and holiday party or dinner?

I should have just hosted the cookie exchange party. As I look at my list, I am realizing that I may have too much stuff. It would have been easier to make one thing and then exchange with everyone else. Maybe I just need to do a short-list and ax a few of these things, like one of the shortbread recipes.

And one of the peanut butter recipes.

The kids don't even eat peanut butter.

I think that they have to experience the Confetti Squares at least once. That taste never dies.

I just hope they don't have some sort of reaction. Maybe I should do a scratch test on them first. On their forearms.

I wouldn't want to them to have ill-feelings towards the Confetti Square experience.

All's I'm sayin's all.

PS DDM's Try Ons is up and running! Head on over to check it out! More reviews are coming, so stay tuned...thanks to Brian for setting it all up!

Labels: DDM, Family, Fun, Nenny with Twins, Responsibility

This coming weekend we Canadians are celebrating Thanksgiving. Yesterday Nenny with Twins went to her parent's house for weekend. Apparently she entered into what would be something similar to, Thanksgiving with the Griswold's, starring Chevy Chase.

Labels: DDM, Family, Fun, Nenny with Twins