Beer Baby and Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Good news, folks! Samuel's fever is gone, and, as far as we can tell, he's not suffering from any ear infections, he hasn't contracted 24-hour leprosy, etc. The fever lingered all week, and then Saturday morning Samuel was better. Doc said it was most likely a "fever virus." Yeah, never heard of that. It figures that Samuel would contract a virus with no symptoms other than fever. Ahhh, kids.

We're still packing, still moving boxes. Sammy's really been a good sport about it all:

Though we all know he tolerates the packing, the boxes, and the clutter for one reason: outside playtime. Here he is wistfully looking out the front door, hoping someone SOMEONE will take him outside:

Sammy's also learned a few new words/phrases, with the highlights being "car keys," "beer baby," and "Obama." He likes to ask for car keys ("Kah Kees?"), his passive aggressive way of demanding steering wheel time. He's also drawn to our case of Shiner beer. Every time he shows an interest in it, I reply, "No, no beer for baby." I thought we were getting somewhere with this, until we went to the grocery store a week ago and passed through the beer/wine aisle to get to the dairy section. Samuel saw the Shiner and proceeded to yell "Beer baby! Beer baby!" And, yes, there were people around. So I said things like, "Good job...no beer...for baby" and "Never give beer to babies, that's right." Ever since then, he thinks saying the word "beer" is the funniest thing ever. ("Be-ah? Be-ah?") I love that we drink a case of Shiner every two months, yet it's my son's new favorite word. I guess it could be worse. It's just that if he's going to yell something, I'd prefer he shout about spinach or Jesus, things that actually reflect well on my mothering skills. Just sayin'.

Oh, and his new word for his bongo drums? Obama.

Finally, here's a link to a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies that will knock your socks off. Really. These cookies are perfect. Note: I add a handful of wheat bran to the flour/baking soda/salt bowl. Can't taste it at all and BONUS you can tell people (and yourself) that they're "healthy."

I love that that's a packed box behind the cookie jar. I was going to move it but then realized there was no free space in my kitchen. I guess I could have placed it on top of the case of Shiner. Samuel would have been happy.