Survival

Yes, survival. After we put Steve to bed tonight, Matt and I both really felt lucky to have survived this day. I'm sure other parents have been there, and thus, don't feel sorry for us. That's okay. You don't have to feel sorry for us. I just didn't know that this little 26 pound monster angel could make me feel like this. One thing after another...Either I wasn't doing something right, it wasn't happening fast enough (those darn fish sticks and needing to be cooked), or Steve just didn't know how to make me understand him. It was one of those days when I wished one of our relatives lived right down the street and I could bundle Steve up and drop him off for a few hours of solitude. After he finally gave in to some nap time, which was split because he was STARVING (which he wouldn't have been if he had just been patient enough to wait 5 minutes for the fish sticks to cook, but instead he had two bites of applesauce, spit it out, and tried to escape his chair), things were a little better. Phew...

Somewhere amidst all of this, I found time to do some baking. Instead of gifts for Steve's teachers at daycare, I made them fudge. This works better because, lately, there have been a lot of new teachers in the room who I don't know really well. Plus, there are about 6 teachers who rotate in and out of his room. I'm not sure I'm up for gift-buying for that many different personalities. I also signed up to bring some treats tomorrow for Treat Week at school (this will be day 4). I made Heath Toffee Bars, which is a recipe that's been in my binder since we got married, like the Monkey Bread, but I've never made. Man, were we missing out! They are delish! I'll include the recipe at the end. The last round of baking was to whip up another batch of Nutty Muddy Trail Mix. No two batches are ever the same, so it will be interesting to see what this one is like. The last batch was really good. 

I think our Christmas shopping is done, but you never know. We'll see how the week pans out!

I forgot to mention that we received Steve's school pictures the other day. There were several poses, but these were the best. We are also sending our apologies to everyone but Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, Nana, and Papa. Why do these things have to cost so much??? Feel free to snag them off our Picasa site whenever Matt puts them there!

Heath Toffee Bars

1 3/4 c. unsifted flour

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

1 (14 oz.) can condensed milk

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 bags of Heath toffee bits (1 pound total; I used the milk chocolate kind with the orange on the bag)

1 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, brown sugar, and butter.

Spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Bake for 15 min.

Combine milk, vanilla, and egg. 

Pour over the baked crust.

Sprinkle Heath bits and chopped nuts evenly over all.

Bake for 20 min.