Reed was getting changed after his nap today, and then he comes running out of the bathroom yelling, “HEY, MAMA! LOOK! I’S PRETTY!”
All posts by Molly
The Perfect Brownies
I bake these brownies whenever I am baking for someone I know LOVES chocolate or I want to bake, but don’t have the time to do cookies or cupcakes. I’ve baked these twice in the last month and both times, they’ve been a big hit. They’re delicious. However, I take absolutely no credit for this recipe. It is from How to Cook Like Your Grandmother, a great cooking website. You can find the original here; I prefer the thicker version, which he shared in the comments and I’ll share below…
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Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
The assembly is about as easy as you can get. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs and melted butter and mix. Do this by hand, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet, and stop. You don’t need to beat it, and in fact want to avoid producing gluten from the flour. (Kneading flour produces gluten, the springy protein that makes bread chewy.)
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the tallest part comes out clean. Keep in mind you’ve got chips in there. If you hit one with the toothpick it will have melted chocolate on it. You might need to poke a couple of spots to make sure you aren’t hitting a chip.
What you need to know is to use the best quality cocoa and chocolate chips you can find. With only 6 ingredients, this is really important. I love Ghiradelli’s, which I buy at Super Target. I also add a large handful of walnuts if I have them. Also, when you bake brownies, you don’t want to have a totally clean toothpick when you check to see if they are done. I think they’re best when there is a bit of brownie stuck to it, but it’s not totally gooey. Enjoy!
Reunited
Whew, we had a fun weekend! Our favorite Arizonans were in town. The McCoys, of course! We first met them in Ukraine and we had a nice lunch with them. I’ve always felt like we connected well with them. Both Kelly and Tori have been always very encouraging for us,when we’ve had some struggles. And, of course, Alina, Ilya and Lena are all buddies from the same baby house. We were so excited when we found out that they were coming into town, and we all just had a blast. Of course, the McCoy family also includes their 3 older boys. These three are just fantastic. They are such sweet boys, and wonderful with our kids. Carson especially had Lena’s heart and I think he might understand her Lena language better than I do!
I just love these three together. I’d say that Lena might have been more into Alina’s brothers than Alina herself, but they did all play together. Reed and Alina really seem to enjoy playing together. He was shy at first and then quickly warmed up and was yelling her name across the playground.
I also love being able to build a relationship with other adoptive families, especially in the case of kids who were together in the orphanage. We have so much to talk about. It’s also so cool to see a girl who I prayed for and so desperately wanted to find a family doing so well in her family. It’s hard to believe how far the three of them have come in the last several months.
McCoys, thanks for visiting and come back soon! We miss you already!
Reed Ilya-isms
Playing “crocodile” with Papa:”No, don’t get her! She’s my sister! SHE’S MY SISTER!” (I think that’s the first time he’s ever called her that without being prompted.)
Out for a walk, talking about the sun: “I’m gonna climb, work really fast, open it up and put a geocache inside. I think the dogs cry if they go to the sun. Do you cry if you go to the sun, mama?”
Six Months Home
We’ve been home for six months today… woo hoo! Life has changed so much. It’s hard to see the progress all the time, but they’ve grown so much.
First night in their new home.
First whole day home… Christmas!
Seriously, I can’t believe we survived the last 6 months. At certain times, at least.
Taken a month ago, enjoying their first ice cream cones.
So far today, we’ve had a really good day. Actually, it’s been laughably ridiculous with crazy drivers and the stroller nearly rolling down the side of the levee. But, for the three of us, it’s been a good day.
Aaron had a talk with Reed (which Reed himself has decided he wants to be called with no pressure from us) and Lena, yesterday about the different kinds of people– family (describing the four of us), relatives, friends and strangers. He talked about how they need to check with us before interacting with strangers, etc. I always roll my eyes a bit. These conversations are usually about something I’ve told Aaron we struggled with during the day. And he’ll talk to them or just one of them, depending on what it was, and I see no improvement the next day. So I’m a bit jaded. Well, my mom paid a cleaning lady to come to our house today (thanks, mom!). We hadn’t met her before. Reed turns to me after seeing her and says “Mommy, can I say hi?” I am so impressed! He remembered and came up with the words to ask me! He also is usually painfully shy and just stares at new people, so this was great progress from both angles.
I watched some Christine Moers videos last night… such a good refresher course on parenting. My favorite and the one I tried out with my kids today, was this:
I tried it today… it works. I was shocked, but whispering to my kids made them focus on me even more. Eye contact and all. We were in the parking lot at the grocery store and I was trying to get Lena in her car seat. Reed was being a space cadet and starting to walk behind the car. In my usual stern, moderate voice, “Reed, I need you to listen to me. Reed, I need you to listen to me.” And then I tried the whisper, “Reed I need you to listen to me (turns towards me and looks at me) and stay close to the car. ” “Okay.” I’m sold.
a moose in moscow 