Next time, more wine & flour

I made a batch of gingerbread cookies for Galen's Christmas party. He, along with Shanna were happy with the outcome. So for Shanna's workplace hallway munchy fest I made another batch. This time the dough was much more sticky and clingy to work with. When cooked, the cookies spread out as wide as the Mississippi River. The man-shape had turned into something more akin to the profile of a celery root. The dough wasn't frozen prior to cutting. And I measured instead of weighing the flour. I thought the vagueness of humidity, water content of the flour, temperature of the cooked dough had all made an impact. But they tasted OK - oh yes, we sample around here. That's a chef's prerogative.

The house elected that I make yet another batch of gingerbread cookies for Santa (my choice of peanut butter was overridden). First I measured out all the flavorings; ginger, clove, cinnamon, and molasses. Then I started the flour and brown sugar - and immediately realized why the second batch spread out as wide as the Mississippi River. The scoop I keep in the flour jar is 1/2 cup - and I used three of these in the second batch. The three-cup recipe was baked with 1 1/2 cups of flour.

No, I wasn't drinking when I made the second batch, or at least not as much as when I made the first batch. Lesson learned.

Checkups

The kids were poked and prodded last week. Plus Liam got one of those confounded make-him-cry vaccinations. And to the data:

Liam 28 lbs 32 in
Galen 35 lbs 41 in

Yep, they be healthy weeds.

Kitty Licker?

I left the room for just a few minutes, and what did I learn upon my return? That Liam can change channels.

Indooritis

The winter isolation has begun. Well, not a total isolation. We still get out for groceries, transporting Galen to and from school, and Liam's Little Gym time. It's the kids-and-dogs yard time that has been diminished. With the temps below 20 I become a little more indoor orientated. I can't let Galen wonder around outside unsupervised. The dogs make short work of the yard requirements, and Liam won't keep on the gloves.

And in the immortal words of the Grinch, it's the "noise, noise noise noise!" Galen clanging symbols (pot lids) and singing, Liam pounding toys on the floor, and the dogs barking as they wrestle. Any of these alone might cause tinnitus (which I already have). When they all get going, the cacophony is enough to make me wish for the Bose noise-canceling headphones, wrap up in my coat, and escape to our icebox of a garage.

To be fair, there are times when the kids are napping, the dogs are resting, and the house is quiet. Both occasions are joyous and I wouldn't trade them for anything, I just wish the remote would switch it back and forth as desired.