Wild Monkeys and Chunky Chippers

White Chocolate Chunky Chippers

Good morning, good morning, good morning!  The sun is shining bright!  It is no longer morning, but good evening, and the sun will be going down soon.  I started this blog before I went to work, but today was a very busy day and so I couldn’t finish working on it until now.  This week is Lake Invasion for our church youth.  The kids are so excited.  I remember what it was like to go to camp.  I was always too giddy to sleep the night before…I like that word, ‘giddy.’ You might be saying to yourself right now, “wow, Ronda is acting quite giddy.” And you would be correct, I am!  Kael slept well last night {Hallelujah!}, therefore so did I.  He didn’t wake up until 6am this morning.  This is the power of prayer straight up.  We didn’t use the weighted blanket, I forgot to give him the melatonin, we didn’t even put jammies on him last night (Sam put him to bed in his clothes, oops).  Thank you all so much for keeping us in your prayers for sweet sleep.

I decided to take the little boys grocery shopping with me after work yesterday.  Most of you who are mothers know that taking a toddler to the grocery can be a challenge.  Now imagine taking two monkeys with you to the grocery store and you will begin to understand what I go through.  The boys both wanted to be held or they both wanted to run free (in different directions).  I found that the best way to get most of my shopping done was to have one in the cart and one on my shoulders.  They each took turns giving mommy a new hairdo.  I got some looks of pity, some smiles, some laughs, and some people avoided making eye contact all together.  I will tell you if someone would have said to me, “Would you like me to help you push your cart?” It would have meant the world to me.  So next time you are at the grocery store if you happen to see a mother getting her hair ripped out of her head, whose one handedly trying to get the item off the shelf all while keeping the little monkey on her neck from grabbing everything within reach, offer to help her, you will bless her tremendously!  And you might make a new friend.  Or better yet, call a mother that you know and tell her that sometime if she needs to go grocery shopping you will go with her to help!

I sent my care package to Mom earlier this week, the one with the ‘Peanut Butter and Chocolate’, and ‘Lemonlicious’ biscotti I blogged about on Monday.  She called me last night when she got the box and said it was the best biscotti she had ever had and that she was already enjoying her second piece!  I was so happy my cheeks hurt from smiling.  I had another one of these moments yesterday, the kind where my cheeks hurt from smiling, when my dad sent me a picture of a good example of proper lighting technique.  I was expecting someone else’s photo, but it was one of my pictures!  J I was a happy lady.

Ok, so these cookies are scrum-diddly-umptious.  They are so yummy they are going on my: “Do not bake unless you are giving them away immediately” list, so that I am not tempted again like I was today.  It was a hard day.  I gobbled up several of these tasty morsels before I had to tell myself ‘no more!’  So I hope you give these cookies a try.  They are quick and easy and best right out of the oven. 

 

White Chocolate Chunky Chippers

2 ¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar (packed)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

1 ½ cups chopped nutty mixture (I used a mixture with peanuts, dried apricots, almonds, dried cranberries, walnuts, raisins, and filberts).

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside

In a large bowl beat the butter with white and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy.  Reduce mixing speed to low and add vanilla and eggs (one egg at a time).

Gradually blend your dry ingredients with your creamed ingredients and then with a spoon mix the white chocolate chips and nuts in by hand.  Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets (there should be about 3 dozen cookies).  I put the sheets in my oven two at a time. 

I had to put my other two sheets on top of my cabinets to keep Kael, AKA: Grabby Grabberson from getting into them.  Bake for about 9 minutes and take a peek at them.  You want them to be golden brown, but not overcooked.  You can substitute Milk or Dark Chocolate Chips if you want, and you can leave the nuts out and just make them chocolate chippers, instead of chocolate chunkers.  Have fun with it!

Pray with me this weekend for our youth, that they will get more deeply rooted in God, and that this time away from home and school will refresh them.  Pray for safe travels and an injury free weekend.

This last picture is for Sam.  M & M's are his favorite candy and if he reads my blog today he will know where he can find them. :-)

xoxo

Ronda