I am spent, at least from a mothering point of view. Today, the first day of spring, I awoke to the sound of the radio announcing that school was cancelled due to the impending freezing rain due our way. Yay!! Spring!! Grrrr...
Anyway, we made sugar cookies to go with the teapot full of hot chocolate my son decided to make, so that he and his little sister could have some "on tap" at their ready. That is also when the non-baker in me reared her ugly head. I relized, after more carefully reading the recipe, that sugar cookie dough needs to be chilled for at least two hours!! Umm yeah...I knew that!! Sooo, instead of having a real tea party, my daughter and her friend had a "pretend tea party" in her room, which actually was a lot less messy than the real thing! A pleasant side effect to my stupidity...!
I did come through on the craft activity, though. Who better to check for classy craft ideas than Martha herself? Indeed, after a bit of looking through her archives I found what turned out to be the sweetest/easiest craft:
After putting my head under my pillow and wailing (I'm kidding, of course...), I somehow summoned up a little bit of Martha's (of the Stewart variety) energy. After fixing my family a big, hearty breakfast (hoping it would make them forgo the need for lunch......it did not...), I decided to be a good, creative mother and let my daughter have a friend over to make some Easter crafts. This is where it gets weird: I even decided to bake with my daughter and youngest son. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't bake all that often, and certainly not on the same day as a "crafty day"!! Like I said, Martha's soul invaded my body somehow while I was asleep!
Anyway, we made sugar cookies to go with the teapot full of hot chocolate my son decided to make, so that he and his little sister could have some "on tap" at their ready. That is also when the non-baker in me reared her ugly head. I relized, after more carefully reading the recipe, that sugar cookie dough needs to be chilled for at least two hours!! Umm yeah...I knew that!! Sooo, instead of having a real tea party, my daughter and her friend had a "pretend tea party" in her room, which actually was a lot less messy than the real thing! A pleasant side effect to my stupidity...! I did come through on the craft activity, though. Who better to check for classy craft ideas than Martha herself? Indeed, after a bit of looking through her archives I found what turned out to be the sweetest/easiest craft: They then made some "art" using some scrapbooking papers I have and some cheap frames that made them feel very important! Isn't she (oops, I mean it!) adorable??!!
After finally getting all the cookies baked (and burning the last batch...unfortunately, I don't mind burnt cookies), making supper and cleaning up with less than adequate help, I felt Martha slip from my body and the old me return. My daughter, figuring she was on a roll, thought I might like to "colour Easter pictures" with her. Stifling the urge to scream and break free from the day's domesticity, I simply looked at her and said (in a calm voice): "Martha has left the building!" She looked at me with complete puzzlement on her face. However, she had the good sense to simply shrug her shoulders and say,"Mummy, you're soooo silly!!"
**After my daughter's less than stellar tea party, I discovered that Risa, over at the Partea Planner, is encouraging other bloggers to host their own tea parties. I am not sure what that entails, and I am pretty sure my tea party is not what a party planner extraordinaire like herself had in mind, but I added her link and encourage you to all head on over and check out what a real tea party looks like. Be sure to go through her archives, as this is one talented lady. The parties she plans are out of this world!!
