LeeLee bakes - Peppermint Milk Chocolate Cookies

So, Annie Louise and I are hosting an "Aunts and SheShe and Great-Granny" Christmas party on Sunday afternoon. I wanted to do something fun with just the girls, and I LOVE to have people over at my house during the holidays.

I mean, you spend all that time putting up decorations...why wouldn't you want someone to come over?!

Anyways, we're going to be doing some crafts - I've got ornaments, paint, artist's paper and stuff to make salt dough ornaments. Everyone always tells me they want stuff with AL's handprints on them, and YES, they are so cute, but it is so hard for me to do that stuff by myself. Now, everyone will have an opportunity to get what they want, and I won't have a breakdown! And neither will Annie Louise! SCORE!

I'm having all sorts of desserts for our get-together,

and I've been pinning lots of recipes and ideas on pinterest. I found this amazing recipe for Peppermint Milk Chocolate Cookies, and although they looked like they might take some time, I thought I would go for it! The dough has to sit the 'fridge for 24+ hours, so I went ahead and made it tonight. I cannot wait to bake these babies and taste their deliciousness on Sunday! You will have to come back later this weekend to see all the fruits of my labor, but for now, I will leave you with this wonderful Christmas-y recipe!

Peppermint Milk Chocolate Cookies -

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

7 ounces milk chocolate chips

7 ounces Andes Peppermint Crunch Chips (I couldn't find the chips, so I just used the square pieces, put them in a ziploc baggie and hit them with a mallet until they broke up into chips)

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium speed just until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then stir in the flour mixture followed by the chocolate and peppermint chips.

This is a picture of the dough all ready to be rolled out!

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably for 24 hours (do this part for real please).

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Slice the logs into disks ¾ inch thick and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the chips crumble out (and they will), simply push them back in, they reshape nicely.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz

I hope you will come back and visit our little blog again!

Merry Christmas!

LeeLee

15 months old!

Dear Annie Louise,

In a few short days, you will be 15 months old.

This is impossible. No way. I am in denial. Majorly.

It feels like just yesterday I was putting up the Christmas tree while you

slept quietly in your swing.

Not anymore!

You are my strong-willed, thrill-seeker, not-scared-of-anything baby girl.

You love to climb on things. Anything.

Your little rocking chair. The couch. Our storage cubes. Turner, our dog.

You love to climb.

Just yesterday, I turned my head for 2 seconds, and you were STANDING on top of the end table with a huge smile on your face like you had just climbed Mt. Everest.

Right now, you can do anything.

You love to eat and snack.

SheShe calls you a "car-riding snacker" as you love to have

some sort of snack while riding in the car.

And you scream if you don't have something.

You loooooooooove macaroni and cheese.

I seriously spend all of our grocery bill on shells and cheese, and when I bring the groceries in after a shopping trip, you find the shells and cheese box and bring it to me!

You make the cutest sound (almost like a seagull) when you want something.

And you sign "please" over and over. So polite and mannerly!

Your teachers at Wee School say you are their best eater.

That makes mama proud!

You are the youngest in your class at Wee School, but that doesn't stop you.

You are a busy, busy girl, and you LOVE going to school.

I know you are learning so much, and I can already tell you are going to be a smart gal.

When we ask you, "what does a cat say?", you say "meow."

When we ask you, "what does a dog say?", you say "woof, woof."

When we ask you, "what does ho ho say?", you say "ha ha ha."

When we ask you, "what's your name?", you say "nannie."

Who would have thought those 4 phrases would make me so proud?

I can't get enough of hearing you say these things, and I ask you ALL the time just to hear them!

Right now, you love to sing songs.

"Itsy bitsy spider" is your favorite.

You don't know the words, but if we start singing it, you immediately start doing the "motions."

Cutest thing I have ever seen.

You also love to sing "Jingle Bells" and you love any sort of Christmas decoration that plays music - especially the singing snowmen from Hallmark!

But more than anything else, you are the light of our lives.

Every day is so much fun with you, and I can't believe how much joy and

happiness to have brought to us!

You make each day so magical, and we love you so much for that!

Love you, doodlebug!

Mama

Christmas Cards through the years!

If you know me well, you know that I L-O-V-E Christmas cards! Having worked at a stationery store now for over 5 years, they have always been my favorite part of my job. Something about picking the perfect picture and then picking an even better card to go with it...oh, and don't even get me started on how you should word it!

LOVE them!

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and see all of our Christmas cards through the years...I keep one of each on the side of the 'fridge, and I just love to look at how much our lives (and my hair-dos!) have changed!

So....here we go!

2006 Christmas

B and I were to be married in a few short months, so we wanted to send out a few cards to our family and close friends...nothing special, something cute! And of course, we had to include our "fur babies"! I loved that we put "the soon to be" family!

2007 Christmas

We married in May 2007, and although it had been several months since we married, I was determined to use a wedding picture! We picked a card with a ribbon this year, too, and I remember telling B that we would NEVER do that again. Tying ribbons on 100+ Christmas cards is toooooo much! And we used our verse that we were using a lot that Christmas, "Every good and perfect gift is from above."

2008 Christmas

This was the year that the digital Christmas card came out. No actual picture prints to go on the card...just print the image digitally, and voila! We had a ROUGH year in 2008, and I was bound and determined to have a fun card, and put our new fur baby, Turner, on it! I think we accomplished our idea of fun!

2009 Christmas

This year, I went back to the picture print card - my mom complained that she didn't like the fact that you couldn't take the picture off and frame it. Plus, I had already picked the picture that I LOVED, but couldn't find exactly what I wanted in a digital card. So, we went with a different color scheme (blue) to match the picture and chose a non-traditional Christmas verse, "Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for He is our God"

(Psalm 95:5-6).

We were still hurting from a miscarriage earlier that year, so this verse was very comforting for us at that time.

2010 Christmas

Major drama this year. We had a newborn, and we were coming the heels of sending our birth announcements...what do you do?! Do something COMPLETELY different and girly and absolutely adorable! I saw this card and immediately called our photographer, Joy, to see if we could do a photo to match the card at Annie Louise's upcoming 3-month pictures. She, of course, was all for it, and ta-da, we had the absolute SWEEEEEEEEETEST Christmas card that year!

And yes, 'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus!

2011 Christmas

So, when you put a lot of thought and time into something year after year, people start to expect something amazing. I knew I had to BRING IT this year for our card. And I had NO idea what I was going to do. I toyed with the idea of doing a collage of pictures because we had so many great ones from Joy, but that was just too overwhelming. I decided to wait until after we had our family photo shoot at the end of October (because, hello, I start thinking about Christmas cards in like, July...doesn't everyone???)...we had a great session, and I couldn't make myself pick one picture. I enlisted the help of my very good friend, Susan at The Write Impression, to help me. Well, what we came up with was beyond perfect. I was obsessed with this picture, but didn't know if it would be too cheese-y to use it. I'm glad I went with my gut and just went for it, because it's my absolute favorite card. And for the first time, I didn't let ANYONE see it beforehand, not my mama, not my sister, NO ONE. It was a complete surprise, and my email and text message box blew up the day everyone got them.

What in the world am I going to do NEXT year?! Oh, Lord help us!

I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane! Have you ordered your own Christmas cards? Are you a neurotic about them as I am...PLEASE fill me in! Or better yet, show me your own cards!

I'm HERE!

Are you still reading? Are you tired of seeing the same post about my then-10-month old daughter, who is now almost 15 MONTHS OLD!?

Yikes, I'm a bad blogger.

I'm working on some posts...in my head - does that count?

Please come back! I promise I'll be better!

I'll even leave you my favorite picture from our Santa visit to make you come back for more....

Is it bad that my favorite picture is the one of Annie Louise SCREAMING?!?!???

10 months old!

(taking our month-to-month pictures is a lot harder these days...I had to use this one!)

Annie Louise -

We have officially entered the double digits! And there is NO turning back now! I can't believe how much you have changed this past month! We have entered a new stage...CRAWLING! You have officially taken off, and you are all over the place! I love watching you explore around the house, and you are getting into everything! Gone are the days when you would just sit and play in one place! We are loving this season in our life, and thanking God every day that we have a healthy, curious baby girl! Love you doodlebug!

No height or weight check-ups this month, but I think you have added some lbs - at least you feel like it!

Sleeping patterns:

Sleeping through the night, for the most part. You do wake yourself up a couple times during the night, but most of the time, you put yourself back to sleep. If you continue to cry, I will nurse you so you can go back to sleep.

Eating habits:

Still a growing, hungry girl! I nurse you 4-5 times a day...at the 3 main meals, before you go to bed and sometimes, I will nurse you in the late afternoon. You are eating more "table" food - you have recently discovered macaroni and cheese...and you devour it! You like to hold veggies and chew on them - really, you like to have anything that you can pick up and chew! Such a big girl!

Discoveries and accomplishments:

Lots of these this month....crawling, pulling up, squealing, giggling and many more! You love Gertie (our cat) - you love for me to call her (heeeeeeeeeere kitty kitty kitty!) and let her get in the bed with us! You love to give Turner your puffs from your highchair - or you like to throw them on the floor and watch him eat them. It's cute how you are such an animal lover. You are really waving now, too! Everywhere we go, you do this little "Miss America" wave - it's probably the cutest thing I have ever seen! We are still working on clapping...you'll be clapping before we know it!

Highlights:

Everything! I am LOVING every single second with you. I love your sweet smile when I go get you in the mornings. I love how you wave to us all the time. I love that you love to be outside - you love to go "ride" in your car or your wagon. You are a big helper - you love to watch mommy do laundry and clean up. You are just an absolute joy - every month, I don't think it can get any better, and you do something different, and it's so much fun! Can't wait to see what you're doing next month!

mama guilt.

I have had a really bad round with this thing called "mama guilt."

You see, B's job recently changed, and we kind of ran out of money. I've been working part-time since Annie Louise was born, and although I LOVE my job, we pretty much came to a point where we had to make the decision for LeeLee to go to work full-time.

A lot of factors play into this decision - B and I both work for small businesses, so we pay out of pocket for our health insurance. It's the worst insurance in the world, and we pay a lot of money for it. We have thousands of dollars in medical bills associated with my labor and delivery, as well as for Annie Louise's first 6 months of her life. Oh yeah, our insurance agent neglected to tell us that we had a SIX MONTH waiting period for newborns. Thankfully, health care reform made that waiting period nonexistent after December 31, 2010 - but Annie Louise was already nearly 4 months old.

Immunizations and well-baby check-ups are expensive, y'all.

Plus, babies cost of a lot of money.

Anyways, I interviewed for a new position in late April, early May. I went through 2 rounds of interviews and was offered the job. I will never forget getting in the car with my mom that day.

She said, "Well, did you get the job?!"

I immediately busted into sobs and tears. She thought I didn't get the job. I, in fact, did get the job. I was so upset because it was the final realization that I was indeed going to have to go back to work. Thinking about it makes me cry right now.

I know I need to do what's best for my family. And right now, that means I have to go back to work.

I have loved getting to spend lots and lots of time with my baby girl. And I'm so thankful for that. So many mamas have to go back to work after 6 weeks. I will have gotten to spend nearly 11 months with my doodlebug.

But why, oh why do I have all this mama guilt?

I feel like I'm failing my child. I feel absolutely worthless as a mama. I want to scream and yell at my poor hubby, and bless his heart, I have. He tells me that I am providing for Annie Louise in a different way now.

But y'all, no one can do it like mama can. Am I right?

I have heard all about this mama guilt - many mamas experience it. It's not just from going to work full-time. We feel guilty about every decision we make for our child. Did we breastfeed long enough? Did I start solids too soon? I'm just too tired to play right now. I just want a minute to myself. Now, I feel guilty about it. Why do we feel all of this pressure to be the absolute perfect mama? Where does it come from?

If someone could please give me the answer, I would so greatly appreciate it.

Am I excited about my new job?

Sure! It's an amazing new opportunity, I am going to learn so much new stuff. And I'm going to be working with a great group of people. The benefits are amazing, and I'm going to be making enough money that B and I will be able to actually pay all of our bills (plus some!) and save some money while we're at it!

That's what I have to keep reminding myself.

I got my very official email saying I had been approved to start August 1st.

August 1st.

It's like a ticking time-bomb.

What about our doodlebug? What will she be doing?

Annie Louise will have a week here at home with an amazing babysitter, absolutely love her. Then, the next week, she will start going to a 2-day-a-week "Wee School" at a local church. My mom will pick her up in the afternoons and keep her the other 2 days a weeks. I'm really blessed that my mom is so close and has a pretty flexible schedule so she can watch Annie Louise a lot for me. I'm working on finding someone for that one other day of the week - I think I have found someone, so once that is nailed down, I will finally be able to feel good about that situation!

I would really appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts that you can send my way. I totally know that the first week I start, I will be a blubbering mess. I'm totally leaning on God right now and hoping for only the peace and understanding that can come from Him. This is a season in my life, and I'm doing it all for my family.

Lots of prayers, y'all. Lots of prayers.

9 month photo session!

One of the best decisions I made after becoming a mama was to have Annie Louise's photos done every 3 months.

The second-best decision?

Letting the fabulous Joy Dement take said photos!

Yesterday, we had our 9 month session - we had to re-schedule a couple of times because of rain, but it was gorgeous yesterday! We went to a local park here in our town called, Cannonsburgh. They have lots of old barns, sheds and little houses around, so there were a lot of great backdrops. We usually come up with some sort of prop or something for our sessions, but I really couldn't think of anything this time. Plus, Annie Louise is SO stinkin' cute right now. She's crawling, pulling up, smiling big and making the cutest faces.

So, who needs props when you have the best subject in the world? I'm biased, you know...

Anyways, to say I'm thrilled with the sneak peek is an understatement.

Below, is one of the photos Joy posted on her blog. One word? ADORABLE.

Want to see more? Visit Joy's blog for the entire sneak peek!

Oh, and if you're looking for a great photographer, Joy is the BEST! Tell her Annie Louise sent you!