If you’re patient and can wade through the following photos, then you’ll be rewarded with my Aunt Ruthie’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. She recorded it for me on an old grocery list and the title read exactly as it’s listed above. I’ve made the cookies so many times in the last few weeks that I could do without them for some time (and that’s saying something because I love me some cookies).

Prior to becoming a mother I romanticized the notion of cooking with my small child. What I didn’t foresee was the reality of kid fingers double-dipping in the dough, a little mouth eating straight from the mixing bowl when Mommy’s back was turned, and copious amounts of flour dusting the kitchen floor. Note to future mothers: cooking with your child also takes a lot more time than cooking by yourself! However, when Liv and I do cook together, I’m always rewarded by two things. One, the chance for a decent photo opp. And two, the opportunity for me to get better, with clear boundaries and more patience, at instructing and oftentimes disciplining my child. Apparently human beings aren’t born with the knowledge that they should never double dip! Imagine that.

After lots of baking with Liv by my side, I learned that she likes flour. Here’s my little helper with her very own pile:

And here’s my little helper patting it into just the right shape for…

licking off the counter.

Now, doesn’t that look yummy? I mean really, who WOULD’NT want to eat straight flour?

Ah, my goofy girl. And just so you know, I’m sparing you the photos with Liv’s tongue stuck out. She’s into that kind of thing these days, the tongue-sticking out thing. Will that phase be ending anytime soon?

You’ve been patient. So without further ado, I give you my Aunt Ruthie’s cookie recipe.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 C brown sugar
• 2 C white sugar
• 1.5 C Crisco
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t salt
• 3 t baking powder
• 4 t vanilla
• 4 C flour

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix ingredients.
3. Stir in 1 package chocolate chips.

Notes

• For the best chocolate chocolate chips, add one large package of instant chocolate pudding mix.
• This recipe makes a lot of dough! You can roll the extra dough into foil and freeze until you need it.
• One more thing. If you’re using large eggs, add another half cup of flour to the dough.
• Want to know how long to bake the cookies? I had to guess on this one. It’s approximately 10 minutes, mas o menos.
• Aunt Ruthie, I hope you don’t mind me sharing your recipe with the world…

When one leaves a dirty training toilet on one’s back porch, then one should not be surprised when it gets used.

In the broad daylight.

By a particular four year old.

Who then said, “I just teasing, Mom.”

Clearly, someone needs to put that potty away.

God made kid faces irresistible so parents couldn’t stay mad for, oh, say tantrums in Walmart, too long.

I love my summer kid. Wet from the sprinkler, shiny face turned upwards to me, echoes of “you’re the best mom!” from dinner the other night playing in my head. I know every parent thinks their kid is the best… But Livia, you rock. I love you, sweets.

Speaking of quiet time (see comments from yesterday’s post). After quiet time a few days ago, I walked into Liv’s room and discovered her in this exact position. Ninety degree + humidity weather is no time for tight-wearing, but Livia had discovered the basket full of socks on her dresser—and used the bear pillow pictured to reach said basket—and tight-wearing she was. I think I initially said something like, “Oh. Nice outfit!” and then she pointed to the black tights on her head and told me that they didn’t fit. I wanted to point out that the white tights didn’t fit either (the crotch was at her knees when she stood up) and that her solution for the black tights was perfect, but I was so delighted by her getup that I grabbed my camera and called Jeremy in instead.

I love the way little kids dress. LOVE it. As a parent, it’s fun to step out of the way and let your kid get creative.

This is my favorite shot from the Sunken Gardens. I love the contrast of Liv’s modern flip flop against the ancient looking stone bench. Her little foot in this photo, complete with patriotic toenails by Mrs. Wittmann, will always remind me of the summer when she was four.

While we wait and pray for an addition to our family, Liv takes full advantage of playing big sister to her cousin and baby neighbor. We loved having Madeleine around all last week. It was fun to see the girls play together and encourage one another; they also squabbled like siblings if one accidentally, or purposefully, touched another. Simon, or Bugaboo as Liv calls him, has become a big baby now. His days in the NICU seem almost like a dream that never really occurred.

Today around 2:30pm I asked Jeremy if he could remember what we were doing four years ago, almost to the minute. He paused for a second, then yelled, “OH YEAH!” and took a flying leap to tickle-wrestle his favorite four year old on the couch.

Four years ago we walked into a split-level home in Kansas and became parents. We took in our arms a tiny baby girl, who felt quite foreign to us in that moment, and became forever attached to the family who birthed her and cherished her for the previous seven weeks. That afternoon we drove away feeling more rich, more blessed, and to be honest, more terrified than ever.

Happy Livia Day to Miss Livia Raine! We love you and are proud of you, our sweet girl.

Liv’s VBS photo

It occurred to me recently that I haven’t been doing much to teach Liv in an academic sense. She attended preschool last year—incredibly helpful and instructional—but I wanted to do more organized activities with her this summer. The true challenge, at least in my head, was whether I would make a worthy instructor. This, my friends, is a ridiculous challenge because my child performs for no man. She has read precisely one word (she sight read “book” back in January) and only recites the alphabet on random occasions. In fact, if you ask her what comes after E-F-G-H-I, she’ll say with a laugh, “joe” or “blueberry,” just to be funny. We discovered she could count to 20 last week while going for a walk on the University campus. Who knew?! She counts!

Enter thematic units. The idea was to create a week’s worth of activities around a central theme and incorporate math, reading, science, etc. The one week we’ve accomplished so far is Strawberry Week. It might be the only one we do the entire summer, but I hope I persevere and carry out a few more units before all is said and done. Liv and I spent time making a Strawberry Pretzel Salad the first day, then followed it up by a craft project the next. We thumbed through a book all about berries during the 2 hour+ of tornado warnings on evening, and then painted old t-shirts with strawberries the day after. The highlight of the week was a trip to Roca Berry Farm where we picked a large flat full of delightful and delicious berries—and Livia sampled half the number she picked. Only in this present day of germ phobia would one hear a child say (while pointing at mine), “Mom, LOOK! She’s eating the strawberries and they haven’t been washed!” Poor kid. He was probably the only child that day who wasn’t munching in the fields!

I suppose Strawberry Week still lives on. I finally made strawberry ice cream tonight, my first homemade batch of the summer, and it was all the more sweet because Liv and I made a fun memory together two weeks ago.