White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Oat cookies

Being a mom is an emotional roller coaster.

A few weeks ago I felt like I had a clingy baby and couldn't do anything without having to hold him in the process.  Many days he would only sleep if I was holding him.  He was waking up on average 2-3 times a night.  I was often frustrated about this.

Then one day he decided to grow up.

Just like that.  He turned 4 months old and became an adult baby who doesn't need his mama as much anymore : (  He rolls over, sucks his thumb, puts himself to sleep, won't sleep if I'm holding him, and is basically a professional baby now.  Now this frustrates me too, but at least he still needs me to feed and change him!

Haha...sometimes you just can't win!

I am proud of my little guy, and every time another developmental light bulb goes off in his head it makes me so happy.  The days go by quickly and I am really making a conscience effort to not get frustrated when the house needs to be cleaned, or my to-do list is getting neglected.  To me, the most important thing is to really savor these precious moments with our little guy, and to take as many opportunities as possible to play with him, to watch him, to cuddle him and to love him.  I know that in a blink of an eye he will be graduating college, and I just want to enjoy this special time with him.  Mama and Charlie one-on-one time...my heart is full : )

When super baby is napping I'm usually in the kitchen making something.

When I'm in the kitchen I'm usually making cookies.

When I make cookies they are usually fattening but delicious.

Totally.worth.it.

I was in the mood for a non typical cookie and decided to try a new recipe out.  I found this one on all recipes, but altered it a bit to my liking and to my pantry.

White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Oat cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

In mixing bowl cream together butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  Scrape bowl and beat again.

In separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Then add the oats, cranberries, white chocolate chips, and walnuts.  Stir to combine.

Add dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined.  Scrape bowl and beat again.

Using a small ice cream scoop or TBS. drop onto parchment lined baking pan pretty close together.  freeze for 1-2 hours.  remove from freezer and space out more on pan.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.  DO NOT OVER BAKE unless you want a dry crispy cookie.  If you don't plan on eating all of these cookies at once you can scoop the batter onto parchment and freeze, once hardened place in ziploc bags and bake directly from the freezer as needed.

Husband Pancakes

I remember when my hubby and I were just friends and there was some issue that we totally saw eye to eye on.  It kind of took me by surprise and I remember looking at him differently after that.  One of the reasons that we started dating was that we found that we saw eye to eye on lots of other things as well.  Up until meeting him there was no one that I had ever been so in sync with before...it was such a nice feeling when we both realized this...like we were two puzzle pieces that had finally been matched together.  All was right in the world. : )

The husband and I still agree on a lot of things, most importantly the big things.

One thing we do not agree on however, is the thickness of our Sunday morning pancakes...

He likes thick pancakes, I like thin ones.  This is his go to recipe and he loves making these pancakes.  He found the recipe somewhere online and always wants to make them.  They come together quickly and really are delicious...that is for thicker pancakes : )

 Husband Pancakes

1 1/2 cups of milk or milk alternative such as almond milk
4 TBS vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 TBS sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 TBS melted butter
2 tsp vanilla

Combine the milk and vinegar together in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
In smaller bowl whisk the milk/vinegar, egg and melted butter together.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients together in a bowl until just mixed, a few lumps is okay, don't over mix.
Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes.
Grease pan or griddle, pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan or griddle.  Cook until bubbles appear on top of the pancakes then flip to brown on the other side.  Serve with REAL maple syrup : )