1. Gather all ingredients and interested parties.
2. Referee disputes over who gets to put what ingredients in the bowl.
3. Take a deep breath and count to 10.
4. Ignore large piles of flour on the table, it all cleans up.
5. Ignore that extra scoop of sugar going into the bowl...no one eating these cookies is expecting to stay on their diet.
6. Let Noah crack the egg(s). Think..."the frosting will cover any shards of eggshell, won't it?"
7. Warn Lucy that the mixer will be turned on momentarily. Lucy should then proceed to hide in the bedroom with Daddy. Afterall, the mixer is "too loud!"8. Find the stool so Noah can reach the bowl.
9. Have a quicky safety lesson about eletric appliances.
10. Make a quick sign of the cross and tell N he can turn on the mixer.
11. Wait,
12. and wait.
13. Try not to sigh audibly as N decides he too would rather hide in the bedroom w/Daddy and L until the mixer is off.
14. Mix ingredients, don't forget to add time in for interruptions from children every time you stop the mixer, "are you done with the mixer yet? Okay, don't turn it on 'til I'm back in the bedroom"
15. Listen to pitter patter of feet running down the hall, wait for door to close. And resume mixing.
16. Chill the dough for an hourLet N put the saran-wrap over bowl (amazingly he will be better at this then you are)
17. During this hour you will be required to play a variety of games, most having to do with dinosaurs. Or you may be asked to read the same book again and again to Ms. L.
18. Try and slip in a shower, you'll feel better.
19. Dough is ready!
20. Agree that the farm animal cookie cutters are just as Halloween-ish as Ghosts and Pumkins.
21. Roll out dough.
22. See N dumping a pile of flour on the table. "the duck needs a pond to swim in" (remember why you didn't want to get the farm animal cookie cutters out)
23. Take a step back from the table, breath and remember baking cookies with kids is not really about the cookies, it's the 'process'. Count to ten and repeat if necessary.
24. After about 20-30 minutes of kids pounding cookie cutters into the dough, making footprints w/the animals, arguing over who gets which rolling pin you should have enough cookies on a sheet to put in the oven.
25. Realize you just don't have the energy to make more then two sheets worth, breath...
26. Have Daddy strip children of their flour covered clothing, and clean them up.
27. Stare at the mess and wonder if the pick-up fairy has a cousin who does kitchens.
28. Remove cookies from oven.
29. Let kids have a cookie each, no matter how close it is to a mealtime.
30. Put remaining dough in the fridge, and plan to finish cookies after kids go to bed.
31. Look at kids eating their cookies, listen to their joy in talking about the 'turkey' and 'cow' cookies.
32. Smile...breath
33. Clean up and if necessary take another shower.
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