One more reason to love cranberries

Have the cranberries ever caught your eye as you wondered through the produce isle? Have you wondered what one might so with fresh cranberries besides cranberry sauce at thanksgiving and garland at Christmas? Well my friends I took the leap and bought fresh cranberries, honestly having no idea what I was going to do with them once I got home. Through the miracle that is the internet I found that there are a lot of things you can make with fresh cranberries that do not involve a major holiday. I actually wanted my family to eat what I made so I decided on cookies. Now I understand many people do not like cranberries, to those people I say first come on give it a try and second you will after you try these cookies. I am not going to lie I love cranberries so I was pretty sure I would love anything made from cranberries, but these are amazing. They are a great combination of tart and sweet.

I did change a couple of things from the original recipe...nothing crazy but a few things.
First I used the food processor to chop the cranberries, I knew big chunks wouldn't fly at my house (that sounded way grosser than I intended).

Second I only dipped about 1/3 of the cookies into nuts, my family also not into nuts.

Third I decided I didn't love the look or the taste of the cookies dipped half in chocolate...the chocolate was over powering and detracted from the cookie (I never thought I would hear myself say that chocolate detracted from anything). So I piped chocolate over the cookies in small lines which I liked much better.

Oh and just for the record I used milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet.

Next time I make these I think I will add some orange zest and maybe try dark chocolate.

I know what you are thinking "But Terrie shouldn't you be getting ready for your trip to China and not spending all morning making cookies, photographing said cookies and then blogging about the cookies." To answer your puzzled looks ABSOLUTELY, I should be getting ready for China. But this was way more fun. And I might have gotten a new lens that I wanted to try out...maybe.

How you too can have your very own $100 enema

Start with one very uncomfortable and cranky two year old. Add a whole day of no eating, no drinking and no dirty diapers (that last part isn't as good as it sounds). Next take your concoction to the urgent care, here they will tell you to add a sprinkle of "it might be an appendicitis" and send you to Primary Children's Hospital where they will be able to tell you for sure and possibly do a little surgery for good measure. Once at hospital put sweet two year old boy through tests, IV's, catheters and Xrays. Rule out hernia with more than one exam. All the while having your heart break every time said two year old whimpers "thank you" to the very nurses and doctors who do invasive and uncomfortable tests/procedures on him. Only to find out in the end he is so "backed up" that it has blocked his bladder. Proceed with enema. Let enema do it's business (sorry couldn't help that one). Head home with a much happier two year old. So 2 co-pays later that is how you too can get your own $100 enema.

It was a very long night. As miserable as he was Van was quite the trooper. He cooperated with just about everything the doctors and nurses asked him to do. When he didn't like something he tried to reason with them. He really was amazing. In the end (no pun intended) this was the best possible outcome. I am so glad we are not at the hospital with a post-op toddler. While I hope $100 enemas do not become common place, I am glad things turned out the way they did. Thanks everyone for your concern and prayers. We are all a bit tired but overall we are doing fine. And for the most part Van is back to his normal two year old self.

The President's speech Part 2

I feel like I need to clarify a few things. I hope that my last post did not sound like I was myself, or encouraging my kids to follow blindly. Of course I think that we need to be informed before making a decision in any aspect of our lives politics included. I also believe that no matter what situation you are in, parents are responsible for educating their kids. They may choose to send their kids to public or private school or they may choose to home school, no matter which vehicle is chosen it is the parents responsibility to make sure what is being taught is in harmony with what they believe and what they feel comfortable with. I think that the parents who decided they did not want their children to watch the President's speech had every right to do so. I just wonder if they chose that for reasons other than political. My last post had less to do with politics and more to do with not letting preconceived notions interfere with an opportunity. I think this was an amazing opportunity for our children. To have the President take a specific interest in the youth of this country and address them directly is incredible in my opinion.

I think that the speech was great. He didn't talk down to our children nor did he talk over their heads. His message was clear. Take responsibility for your education not matter what your situation. I think this is a message that many kids need to hear. They can blame no one and nothing for their failure and deserve credit for their achievements. They are capable of so much if they put forth the effort that is required for success. One of the things I especially liked about the speech was the fact that he encouraged kids to make their own goal for the school year; however big or small and be accountable for that goal. I also loved his take on failure. Failure breeds successful people. Those who fail the most are trying the most and will eventually succeed. He encouraged them not to let failure define them. This is a lesson that I think we can all learn from. Even if he did use the tired and over used "Micheal Jordan didn't make the Jr. High basket ball team" example. The President counseled our kids to ask for help when they need it reminding them there is no shame in asking for help. Asking for help does not make you weak.

And now I will step down from my soap box.