I guess my last post wasn’t whiny enough. September is not starting off in our favor.
On Thursday night, we had a successful trip to Champaign, Illinois, about 3 hours away. While Shea didn’t knock out in the car as expected, she was a fun little traveler and was completely wired with excitement over visiting grandma and grandpa. It was a successful trip, even though I had not a thing packed when I walked in the door from work and had 2 hours to get dinner on the table and 3 people packed up and ready to go. SUPER HERO POWERS.
On Friday I worked remotely and squeezed in a run. In the early evening we sampled beers at a brewery and then went on a little date through the University of Illinois campus. We walked the sidewalk where we first met – aww! Campus has changed SO much and walking past my old apartment building about had me in tears. I am one of those people that loved every second of college and Mr. Prevention and I are always joking about how we want to be professional students and never leave.
When we got a text that night from my in-laws saying Piper had a fever and had gotten sick I was obviously concerned. From that point, things took a major turn for the worse. While I thought we had dodged hand-foot-mouth disease, I was very wrong.
On Saturday, we took Shea to the football game while my mother-in-law stayed home with the sick babe. Shea LOVED the game, the weather could not have been better, and the game was actually entertaining (we were hoping for/expecting a blowout, but we’ll take the “W”). So fun.
Saturday night, Piper more or less screamed for 8 straight hours. My in-laws paced the house with her and tried everything to get her to relax and sleep – she slept a total of 2 hours. She was MISERABLE. I had gone to sleep with Shea to try and get some sleep before I would be tapped in to take a shift with the baby, but my in-laws did it all.
We decided to take Piper to the walk-in clinic on Sunday morning and to no surprise, she was diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth and an ear infection was ruled out. Being that it’s a virus, it has to run its course and there’s not a thing we can do. After the appointment, she fell asleep on my father-in-laws chest and then again in the car once we got her strapped in. We went back to the house, packed everything up in about 15 minutes, and got on the road, hoping Piper would sleep…which she did, for about 20 minutes. The remaining 3 hours of the drive she spent crying. It was bad.
Piper seems to be over the worst of it, but she’s far from 100%. We secured Mee-Mee to be with Piper this week and we spent Labor Day mowing the lawn and doing some home improvement projects. Of course there was also getting ready for the week – lunches, laundry, and COOKIES!
I had every intention of making “practice cupcakes” for a lunch carry-in at work tomorrow so that Piper’s birthday cupcakes this weekend would be PERFECT…but I didn’t have it in me. I settled on an oldie but goodie – The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies from Pinch of Yum. They’re a staple.
I’ve made these cookies numerous times and always to share. I couldn’t and wouldn’t trust myself and these cookies together – they’re irresistibly good! But, they are quick and easy to whip together when time is short and babies are sick. And in true lazy fashion, these pictures are taken with my iPhone!
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) salted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, gently packed
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Microwave the butter for about 30 seconds to soften.
- Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy, scraping down the sides, as needed. Add the vanilla and the egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated – 10-15 seconds or so.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until until well-combined (do not over-mix). Add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter.
- Roll the dough into 12 large balls and place on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look pale, puffy, snd just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
- Let them cool on the pan for 25-30 minutes before removing.
Weekly Menu: September 4th – 7th
- Monday: chicken, steak, pepper, and onion kebabs on the grill
- Tuesday: Shredded Chicken Empanadas and plantains
- Wednesday: Tortellini with turkey sausage and salad
- Thursday: Balsamic Peach Chicken Skillet with buttermilk mashed potatoes
Be well,
Okay, this is interesting. Ive never considered using wax paper.
I always judge my cookies based on how close they taste to tollhouse which is my favorite.
but yours look really good.
love