take a break

yesterday afternoon we baked pumpkin cranberry cookies with e. and penelope. this was the first time ella has baked cookies, so it was kind of a big deal although i think the girls had more fun mixing them up and dropping them onto the cookie sheet than they did eating them. they're kind of a grown-up cookie. very tasty, though, i think.

on our way there we passed by a lake that we have to drive by when we go to ballet, momby's, e.'s, etc. i said "there's the lake, ella." and she said "wenham lake. daddy called it that."

i asked her what penelope's daddy's name is and she said "matt," which surprised me because she's met him 3 times in her life and hasn't heard his name in awhile.

one of elenora's new phrases lately is "want mommy/daddy to NOT do that anymore?" which is a bit bossy. so we've been trying to help her say something else to express her thoughts. j.'s idea the other day was to have her tell him "take a break, daddy" when he was absent-mindedly singing a song over and over. yesterday i was outside walking with her and she asked if we could read "jingle bells" when we got home, so i started singing jingle bells and she got this glint in her eye and said "take a break, mommy."

she's doing a lot of "if this, then this" type of thinking. we passed by a house that had corn stalks lying next to the porch and she said "those used to be standing up here. now they are lying on the ground." and last night during her tub she pointed to the drain and said "the other one didn't look very good, so mommy got a new one." (which is correct... we had a tub drain that got rusty fairly quickly after i'd put it in, so i just bought an OXO one that looks much better.)

we've figured out (at least temporarily) how to get elenora to go on the potty again. we give her a miniature oreo cookie if she goes on the potty. it's worked twice.

i really need to read the book on potty training that i just got in the mail...but i'm so involved in Howards End that i haven't taken the time.

today ella and i are going to momby's to cook all afternoon. it's my favorite part of thanksgiving. we're going to try out the Dog Team Tavern sticky bun recipe. after elenora goes to bed, momby and i will keep on cooking so that there's not too much to worry over tomorrow. j. and i will be able to sleep in and have mimosas in the morning (hurray for traditions!) which is really significant to me since that tradition kind of got way-layed for awhile when elenora was little. it's so nice to have kind of a normal life now.

actually, things are really good. j. and i are doing great. i'm so lucky to have such a good friendship with my husband. and i'm glad that he and i have the same goals and desires in life. elenora is amazing and brings us so much joy. i'm really lucky.

and thankful.

here's the cookie recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved or finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended. Cut the cranberries in half and stir into mixture along with the orange zest and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.