What's Cookin?

Today was a good day. Not sure exactly what time Benjamin woke up today because he actually stayed in his room and played for awhile. I heard him stirring around 6:15 a.m. and was up outta bed with him around 6:30 a.m. Samuel on the other hand slept until 8 a.m.! My kinda man.

Benjamin's neighbor friend, Abby, came over to play this morning. She was only over for about an hour or so while her mom was at the dentist. It was perfect timing, Samuel went down for a nap right after she arrived. So, I said to the kids, "Who wants to make cookies?" And I had two very happy children screaming "I do! I do!" So, that started the great cookie baking disaster! No, not really, just a few mishaps. They were excellent helpers and totally enjoyed the entire process. All was good until I forgot to put the bowl with the flour and other stuff into the mix before we actually scooped the first batch of cookies out and stuck them in the oven. I couldn't imagine why they looked so funny until I saw the bowl of flour sitting on the counter which I specifically placed out of the way so it didn't get knocked over...never thought I'd completely forget about it! So, it was a quick fix while the kids got distracted playing with something else. And the rest of the cookies turned out okay! Phew. They would not have been too pleased with me (especially since it was the last of my eggs and I couldn't have whipped up another batch!) However, this did create quite a mess to clean up. The first batch kinda caramelized and I thought I ruined a good cookie sheet but with some serious elbow grease all turned out better than expected.

Samuel's nap time didn't overlap with Benjamin's so much today so he got lots of Mommy's undivided attention today which was nice. He's at such a fun and animated age right now. I love it! He loves to smile and scoot around. I think I could always have a 6 month old in my house. (As long as it was one that slept through the night!) It's hard not to smile when you get such a great reaction back. They are both feeling much better and of course, healthy boys makes for a happy Mom!

So, after nap time today we went to the Leesburg Corner Outlets (which is in the next town over). I didn't have much on my list to accomplish which is always a plus with the kids in tow. I managed to get done what I had to and Benjamin played on the playground there so we were all happy.

After dinner tonight Samuel went right down and Benjamin and I enjoyed some one on one time before we read books and I tucked him in.

I heard from Don via e-mail today! I was really happy to hear from him because he had indicated that I may not hear from him for a few days and I really had no idea how long "a few days" would last. So, this is a lil of what he had to say:

"I am emailing you from COB Speicher. I am very busy in meetings with the staff here discussing their hospital and how it works and how it could be improved.

I love you and the boys and miss you both tremendously."

I was just ecstatic to hear from him. But I'm sure he is staying plenty busy. Not sure if this means that we won't get our Saturday phone call or not? hmm. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Yesterday marked 1 month since Don deployed. (Of course, he left home about a month before that and spent time at Ft. Lewis.) Time continues to roll by pretty fast and it's hard to believe September is almost here. So, 1 month down...about 14 to go!

On a side note, I just wanted to thank all of you who continue to stop by our blog and read about all the nonsense going on in our lives. I love to hear from those of you that have been checking in on us, so please let me know that you're visiting our blog (if you haven't). We are so truly blessed with all the wonderful friends and family members we have. All the support, prayers, e-mails and words of encouragement are so very appreciated.

Trying out a new (new to me anyways) feature with a slideshow of photos I took of Samuel today...