Do you remember learning to tie a shoe in kindergarten? My husband does. He says in his class they used to pass around a giant shoe that was attached to a board and they would all take turns practicing their shoe tying skills.
I distinctly remember the moment I first tied my own tennis shoes. It was the summer after kindergarten and we were getting things packed up to go to the beach for the weekend. I wanted to bring my tennis shoes along as an extra pair and and of course, I wanted to be like the cool big kids. At that time in fashion history, that meant I needed to tie the laces together so I could sling them over my shoulder. Even though I had never done this all by myself, I was determined to do so and I sat myself down to work at the top of the stairs. (I don't know why it had to be that spot, but that's what my deeply ingrained memory tells me.) And wouldn't you know it but...whoosh, whoosh...I had them tied. I knew at that moment that I had just tied them for the first time, so I proudly ran off to show my parents.
Recently our little miss has been practicing this skill with her daddy. She's done it a couple of times now and just needs to acquire a pair of her own lace up shoes to continue practicing on. I'm curious if the memory of her first shoe tying success will be as deeply ingrained in her mind as mine was. Only time will tell. But if it is, I think it'll be a great memory--one she made with her daddy.
Today on my to do list was "wash our sheets" and in my mental to do was "take pictures and practice before my last photography class this week". So while the sheets were being laundered, the crisp white background of the mattress pad enticed me to lay the baby on it and grab the camera. So I snapped and practiced different things and enjoyed my model. He's so adorably willing.
Time to change it up...
And there's the teeth that poked through over the weekend.
Later, it was time for playing outside for the little man and inside for the little babe, so since the camera was still handy, I snapped more. Don't worry the little man is just fine, just not in the mood to pose onto of the snow pile for me.
Now that's sayin' something, huh? The BEST homemade brownies I've ever made. That's what Shawn told me these were. You see lately I've been on a quest to find a really good homemade brownie. Actually I've been on several cooking related quests lately, but for now, just the brownie quest. This quest really hinges on what kind of a brownie person you are. You have to decide between: chewy or cake-like, nuts or no nuts, frosting or no frosting. For me, I'm definitely in the chewy, no nuts camp, and I favor the no frosting versions. So over the past few months I've been experimenting with different brownie recipes in search of one that meets all these standards and tastes fantastic. I suppose my quest could be over now that I've made these and received such a positive response from my family. But come on people, we're taking brownies here. What could continuing the quest hurt? After all, who knows if I might find another really good brownie recipe. And one can never have too many good brownie recipes.
Here is the recipe:
The Best Homemade Brownies I've Ever Made
aka: Double Chocolate Brownie Bars
1. Heat oven to 350*F. Grease a 9x13x2 inch baking pan.
2. Place butter and 1 cup chocolate chips in a medium or large saucepan. Melt over medium heat stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Stir with spoon until smooth. Stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered.
Adapted from: Hershey's Classic Recipes cookbook
If you make these sometime, I hope you enjoy them as much as we did and will again! :)
