"C" is for cookie, that's good enough for me!

Cookie, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C!  (Cookie Monster, Sesame Street U.S.A.)

 Before I put those chocolate chips in, I always make on tray with just sprinkles, for Camille.  Why someone wouldn't want chocolate chips in a chocolate chip cookie is beyond me, but hey, when you're the baby of the family, with sixteen kids, well, you have your little dislikes.  

I like making cookies.  It's relaxing.  If you've ever baked cookies with 8 or ten or 12, or 16 kids underfoot, then you can imagine how peaceful it is to do it all alone in the kitchen.  I find myself telling the dogs (THE DOGS!), watch out, I'm opening the oven door, careful, this tray is hot...

I'm not saying it was awful to bake when I was knee-high in small children, but it had it's challenges.  If a nursing baby is hungry, you stop to feed that baby.  There may be diaper changes, children who need to be wiped, helped with hand washing, perhaps someone thinks it's a good time to dump the box of cereal, or even a few of them get together and dump ALL of the boxes of cereal.  Phones ring, fights break out, maybe someone even gets sick at school, meaning all kids at home have to be presentable enough to go bye bye in the van, and get out and go to nurses' office, to sign out sick child.  Once a few of the boys were little and playing house with their sisters, and someone at school needed picking up, those boys were in sundresses.  These days I'd get a nod of approval, ha, but of course I had to change them before bringing them into the school.  

Anyway.  I like baking cookies.  I made a big pasta salad yesterday too, with olives, red onion, cucumber, green pepper, and little tomatoes.  Our cookout was nice, I grilled hot dogs and coneys for everyone, Sonja and Charlotte Claire and Camille helped me set the food out, and clean it up.  

I did get tired though, ugh.  Elise, three years old, asked, "Gramma, why are you walking so slow?"  I'm old, Elise.  I'm not really that old, but sometimes I feel like it, after a busy day...

The girls don't have school today, so we're going on an adventure...if you call Target an adventure ha.  It's nice to go out and about with them, they tend to talk more freely in the car, for some reason.  I could sit here all day, I have a good book (Tana French), and it's a chilly rainy day, and I have coffee....but they're itching to do something...and Sonja is at her friends' house, so it's down to me....