Achieving Her Goals

Erin's been playing on two soccer teams this spring and loving every minute of it. Kelsey has admitted that Erin has mad soccer skills, and that was never more apparent than this weekend.

Erin scored once and threatened several more times in her AYSO game yesterday, and this afternoon she narrowly missed a hat trick, scoring twice in 45 seconds of play in her Strikers game. She's a goal-oriented and driven player, and it's truly paid off.

For the past few months, with Strikers tryouts looming, Erin has focused on moving up a level for the fall season. She's been careful to make all the practices and attend free play. She's played her heart out every game. She has relentlessly worked on her footskills and passing. She's stayed focused on her end goal: moving up.

Tryouts were yesterday, and we heard that she did really well. The phone call came in this evening: she's been invited to play up with the U14s for the fall, essentially moving up 2 levels!

Congrats Erin - you've earned it!

Time Marches On

Today was my neice Ellen's high school graduation party. I made a quick trip back to Cedar Falls for the big party. Almost 18 years ago, Ellen made me an aunt. I can hardly believe she's old enough to graduate!

Ellen's grown into a smart, confident, creative young woman with a sense of style all her own. I'm so proud of her!

While I certainly didn't want to miss Ellen's graduation party, there was another reason I really had to make this flying trip back to Iowa: I needed to meet my newest neice, Lydia.

Pictures just do not do this sweet little angel justice. She is so precious! I had the pleasure of getting to know her while feeding her and holding her while she fell asleep in my arms. Next to the graduate, Lydia was the hit of the party, and it seemed there was no end to the number of times she was passed from relative to relative. Good thing I called dibbs on feeding her!

After about an hour with Lydia, I needed to say goodbye to my extended family and make the trip back across the Mighty Mississippi. On the way home, I thought about how quickly time flies. I can hardly believe that my neice is heading off to college this fall...that my little brother is now a dad...and that my own daughter is graduating from 8th grade next week.

There was a time when the kids were small that someone with teenagers told me, "Treasure these moments when they are small. The time just goes by so fast!"

And I remember thinking in my head, "YOU LIE! I live a lifetime in every day and an eternity every week! It just seems like this will never, ever end, and I'm going to be stuck here in this infant/toddler/preschool phase forever!"

Time seemed to have stood still in those early years of motherhood when I was knee deep in diapers, spit-up and toys every minute of the day. But as I look toward fall, where I'll have a high schooler, a middle schooler and an upper elementary schooler, I realize how true it is --the time really has flown by. My friend PR is fond of saying, "The days are long but the years are short." How very true.

I hurried home as fast as detours, construction and back-ups on 290 would allow so I could be there to greet Kelsey when she returned from her 8th grade graduation dance. Another rite of passage... another reminder of how quickly time marches on. As I looked at my gorgeous teenage daughter, I was amazed -- it seems like just a few weeks ago that she was as tiny as Lydia is now. And if I could give new moms one piece of advice, it's that time with your kids really does fly by, no matter how slow the moment feels.

The Totally Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Today was the unstructured day of the long weekend for the Shattuck 5 ring circus. Kelsey hung out with her friends, watching L. play baseball, and then heading to the pool for her first swim of the season. Drew worked the phones hard in order to coordinate a kick ball game at the school playground. Erin joined A.'s family for the afternoon, then the girls headed back to our house for the evening sleepover. And I enjoyed a quiet late afternoon in the kitchen trying out a new recipe.

I came across a recipe in Cook's Illustrated for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I was intrigued, especially as I read that they made more than 700 cookies trying to come up with the perfect blend of ingredients. I have a recipe for "The Practically Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie." This go-to recipe is pretty straightforward and fairly quick, and it yields decent results. I wouldn't say my cookies are to die for; I would put them more in the range of "good enough."

If you're not familiar with Cook's Illustrated, you should know that my dream job is to work in their test kitchens, but I am nowhere near qualified. I have found their recipes to be a bit time consuming, but absolutely worth the effort. When I take the time to follow the instructions exactly, I have never been disappointed. And so, with great anticipation, I tackled this new version of the chocolate chip cookie.

The method surprised me a bit. Conventional wisdom says to use butter that's room temperature if you want to produce cookies that don't spread all over the pan, but this recipe calls for almost all the butter to be melted and browned to a caramel color. Basically what you end up doing is coming close to making a toffee base, and all the stirring is done by hand with a whisk - no electric mixer. The process of making the dough for these cookies took more than twice as long as a regular batch, but I have just one thing to say: Best.Cookies.Ever.

These cookies were were crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle. They were gooey with chocolate, and the dough was not only sweet, it had a buttery, caramely-toffee depth to it that's absent in my other recipe. The only downside? A single batch of dough takes twice as long and only produces 14-16 cookies!

So, when I need to mass produce homemade cookies, I'll use my standard recipe. When I want to impress people, I'll make The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. Perfection never tasted so good!

Two of a Kind

In the last 2 days, I've been able to do 2 of my favorite things:

*Take a cooking class and learn a new skill
*Get to the spa for a pedicure

Mel's a gifted chef whose cooking creations look like works of art, and they taste even better. On top of all that, Mel's a great teacher, and I never miss an opportunity to learn from her. Last night was the annual cooking class that raises money for Irving's PTO. I learned how to wrap sushi, among other things. Here's a peek at the menu:

Maki Your Way (that's the sushi)

Seared Scallop with Cumin Tortilla Chip, Roasted Jalpeno Pesto, Tomato, Orange and Carmelized Onions

Shrimp Corn Dog with Taragon Mustard Sauce

Poached Chicken, Melon, Asparagus and Cheese

Oven Roasted Tomato, Israeli Couscous, Seared Wild Salmon with Lemon and Oregano Oil

Coffee and Doughnuts

I woke up this morning still thinking about the amazing food I learned to make last night!

And then, bright and early this morning, Kelsey, J. Renny & I went to Spa Constantine for pedicures. My feet are now soft as a baby's and my toes are polished to a bright red. It was a gorgeous day today - perfect sandal weather - perfect for showing off newly polished toes!

This evening we went to M&B's house for a cookout. As the evening progressed, the talk turned to Texas Hold 'Em, and it came out that I've never played the game. 6 of us gathered around the table, and Mr. K offered to coach me through my first few hands. At one point in the game, Baird and I were betting against each other, we were both bluffing, and we were both holding the same cards - we each had a 3 and a 10. Several hands later we realized we were, once again, both holding the same cards, but this time it was 5s and 7s!

With our 20th wedding anniversary just a few weeks away, it seemed poetic that not once, but twice in the same game our cards matched. What are the odds? It reminded me of an old Garth Brooks song, "We're two of a kind working on a full house."

My 15th Mother's Day

Somehow, anniversaries of any sort that are divisible by 5 or 10 seem to demand a little more reflection than other milestones. When I woke up this morning, I realized that today was the 15th anniversary of my first Mother's Day.

15 years ago I was pregnant with Kelsey. I had no idea at the time what a smart, loyal, funny, athletic, beautiful girl she would become. She's taller than I am now, and she challenges me every day in ways big and small. I wouldn't have it any other way. She is so special for so many reasons, not the least of which is that she's the one who made me a mom in the first place. I treasure our M*A*S*H time together, and I'm so glad she's my daughter.

Erin was 2 months old 12 years ago on Mother's Day. She was always my little helper, and I missed her terribly when she went off to 1st grade. I cannot believe how grown up she is. You know your daughter's turning out right when many of your friends remark, "Your daughter is so amazing! Can I just adopt her?" As sweet and helpful as Erin can be, she is a force to be reckoned with on the soccer field. I've seen her get smacked in the face with the ball and not even flinch as she then moves in to take a shot on goal. Being a middle child myself, there is a special bond between Erin and me. I love her dearly.

9 years ago on Mother's Day, I was marking the end of my 1st trimester with my 3rd child. I just knew this one was a boy! Drew is an intense, competitve, smart little boy with the biggest head for sports trivia I've ever seen. I always thought the girls and I had a lot of energy, but Drew has more than all 3 of us combined. And while Drew's got a wildly tough exterior, underneath it all is a big-hearted kid who already gives generously to those in need. I'd be lost without my Little Dude.

And to my wonderful hubby, thanks for getting up early this morning, buying me roses, and getting us to church on time. As always, you made the day extra special in ways both big and small. I couldn't do it without you...you're the best!

Mom Math

The spring sports activities are in full swing, which means I've been spending a lot of time driving the kids to practices and games.

3 kids x 2 sports each + (tons of rain) = one trashed minivan.

I didn't realize how bad my ride had been "Mommed" until I ventured past the driver's seat to the back bench seat to look for an umbrella. I couldn't believe the absolute mess that has been lurking just behind me while I make endless runs up and down Ridgeland Avenue! I decided that no matter how cold it was, the mess had to get cleaned up today. While the kids weren't thrilled, they did help with the clean up. Here's a partial listing of what we unearthed as we cleaned out the minivan:

1 sippy cup containing leftover smoothie from who knows when
2 Happy Meal toys
3 stray gloves
4 collapsible chairs for viewing games
5 misc. pieces of paper (driving directions, Sunday School handouts, old homework pages, etc.)
6 crushed Ritz Bitz
7 empty water bottles
8 sweatshirts/hoodies/long sleeve shirts (I wondered where all the warm clothes had gone!)

Here's another equasion:

(1 determined mom + 3 effective threats of grounding) x (3 reluctant helpers + 20 minutes of work) = clean minivan + happy mom

Who says math is hard?!