Cookies!

Well, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. V-Day, (or Singleness Awareness Day, or SAD, for short) isn't exactly my favorite holiday. I'm pretty sure I've written about that before. But last year, I felt inspired to make heart-shaped cookies in honor of the day, and they were SUPER-GOOD. And wouldn't you know that I can't remember what recipe I used? Typical.

But I'm going to try again, mostly because I really want a good sugar cookie. When I say "good sugar cookie", what I mean is that it's soft, maybe just a tad crunchy around the edges, with a little lemon or almond taste, and topped with some sweet-but-not-too-sweet icing. I'm a little picky. That's why I was so pleasently surprised when my last attempt turned out so well.

So, if you have a cookie and/or icing recipe that you think meets the aforementioned requirements, would you pass it on? Thanks. I'll eat a cookie in your honor.

Babies out the Wazoo

I haven't written in almost a month. This is because not much of any interest is happening in my life at present. However, much has been happening in the lives of the people around me, so I decided to share about that.

I've been surrounded by babiness the past week, which has been lovely. Babies are awesome. Especially squishy ones. But recently I've been finding a deep appreciation for non-squishy babies, as well (nod toward Mr. Liam Black).

Liam is celebrating his one week birthday as I type this. He came late, but wisely chose to be born in time to watch the Packers beat the Steelers in the superbowl. The first time I saw Liam, his mom warned me that he wasn't very squishy, but after meeting him, I decided to rescend the squishy babies are cutest rule. Cause Liam's pretty darn cute. Here, see for yourself:

Last night I babysat for some friends' infant, Mateo. Mateo would be the newly-arrived little brother of Aiden and Ethan, of melodramatic overnight babysitting fame. I was pretty darn excited about this date with Mateo, cause he's cute and squishy and about 2 months old, so he doesn't do much more than eat, poop, and sleep. Once a kid isn't interested in letting me hold him or her, I'm much less interested in babysitting. But a whole night of snuggling up with a cutie-patootie baby, all to myself, without having to fight off the other people wanted to hold him? Yes, please.

Just in case you're not totally convinced about Mateo's cute-ness, here he is, being cute:

Mateo and I had a good night. He slept. I read a book and cuddled him. Then he woke up and wanted a tour of the apartment, so I showed him around. A good time was had by all.

And then, in case I hadn't had enough babiness, a third friend had a baby on Wednesday night. This little one, Lydia, decided to come early, so I don't have any pictures of her yet. But her parents report that she is very cute and I'm patiently awaiting the day when I get to hold her and agree. Yep, another keeper.

Whew! Like I said. Lotsa babiness around here.

But I'm happy to report that it's not in the water. :)

Middle School Wisdom

Friday in class, one of my students asked me how many children I want to have. I told her four. She said, "Really? Fours kids will be very expensive. You will need much money."

I agreed with her.

She thought for a minute and then said, "You should get married. Then your wife ["husband," I interjected] -right, husband- can provide the money for the children."

My very helpful student presented this information as the new and unique idea that it was...in her mind. I told her it was a good plan. I'd get right on it.

Man am I going to miss those kids! :)

Yogurt, Milk and Rice

Today on my way to the grocery store I stopped and talked to a woman who was sitting on the overpass with her 6 month old son, and a sign around her neck. She was hoping for handouts.

I don't usually give people money, and actually I walk past her the first time. But I notice the sign as I pass, and that makes me pause. I go back, and ask the lady what she needs. She immediately puts her hand out and says, "Dios te pagas", which means "God will repay you". I can tell from looking at her eyes that she is blind.

I tell her that I'm not going to give her money, but that I'm going to the grocery store about a block away, and ask if she would like me to get something for her.

I'm not gonna lie; this was a test of sorts. Young mother. Baby. If she asks for some kind of junk food, I'm done.

I lean in close; the traffic passing below our little drama is loud.

"Maybe a yogurt," she says.

That's it. I just offered to get her whatever she wanted from the grocery store, and she asked for one thing. A yogurt. Ok, I tell her, what else?

"What else?" she repeats. "Some milk," she says. Her son reaches his chubby little hands toward me. I want nothing more in this moment than to get this baby some milk.

I suggested maybe some rice.

Yes. Thank you so much.

I tell her I'll be back and head for the store. As I go lots of thoughts flood my mind. Foremost is this:

What must it be like?

Not just to be blind.

Not just to be blind and have a baby.

Not just to be blind and have a baby, but not to have anyone to take care of you.

What must it be like to depend on strangers to provide milk and rice for your family? To know that you can't feed your child without help.

My heart felt heavy.

For this woman.

For the fact that she is just one of millions around the world.

That I so often take my blessings for granted.

That I had never stopped before.