Easy Oreo Truffles

So here's a recipe I'd like to share that's great for the holidays and easy to make!

You need:
 1 package OREO cookies
 1 8-oz Cream Cheese
 16 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, melted
 Wax Paper
 Cookie Sheet

How to make 'em:

1. Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs (easiest with a Ziploc bag and a rolling pin) and set aside for use later as a topping on the truffles
2. Crush the remaining cookies - should be about 36 - into fine crumbs and place into a medium bowl.
3. Mix the 36-cookie crumbs with the cream cheese until well blended
4. Roll the mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter
5. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate, and place on a wax-paper covered cookie sheet, and sprinkle with the cookie crumbs you set aside (You can also use spinkles or anything else you like instead as a decoration, to make them more festive!)
6. Refridgerate for 1 hour, until they are firm.
7. Serve and Enjoy!!

This recipe can be found at: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-OREO-Truffles/Detail.aspx

My Newest Project

So, for those who don't know, outside of my family I have one true passion - reading. If given the chance, I would gladly spend an entire day in my bed with a good book and a cup of coffee. I've read more books than I can keep track of, but very few have actually made me cry. In fact, I think there may only be three that have. In no particular order...

So even though each one is an incredible book, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas is the one that affected me the most, and when I recently picked it up again, I decided to use it as a basis for a new project, which I kind of hope will turn out to be one that a.) I actually finish, and b.) one that will be meaningful for more than just me.

I work at a level two trauma center, which means we get some pretty bad cases. We're also the regional burn center, and get burn patients from all over the country. I've seen some things that have made me mad, made me cry, and have changed my outlook on life. One thing I've learned is that nothing is ever certain, and each day is a gift that should be celebrated and cherished. Tomorrow is never a guarantee. So, taking that and the basis for Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, I've decided to start a journal for my daughter. There are so many things that I know I would want to tell her, if God forbid I didn't get to watch her grow. And I can't wait to find out that I will/will not get that chance. So morbid as it may be, I'm going to keep a journal for her. I want her to know who her mother is, how I met her father, what makes me who I am. I want to make sure I give her advice about starting elementary school, surviving middle school, making the most of high school, going to college, getting married, having children, and all of the other experiences that I've had that she can learn from. I don't plan on going anywhere, so I'm going to keep this and treat it like it will just be a neat keepsake for her, to someday look inside and find out who her mom was. I don't think most kids know that their parents are "real people" and it's important to me that my girl knows that. And if our relationship is like many other mother/daughter relationships, I know there will come a time when we can't be in the same room together. I'm not looking forward to it, but I know it will probably happen. So it's important for me to know that I'll be able to tell her I love her and cherish her, even when she won't listen. And maybe someday, if she wants to, she can share it with her brother, or any other siblings she may someday have.

Like I said, if nothing else, it will hopefully be a neat keepsake for her someday. But, one day when I'm not around anymore, maybe it will be something she can treasure; a book of advice and insight on life from the woman that gave her life...

...I hope she likes it.

Oh, Little Man

I think at this point it would be safe to say that Mr. Jacob Wesley Mason has had a busy month so far. And not all of this has been good, although praise God my son is no worse for the wear today, or at least as of the last time I saw him this morning!!

To start, my little man decided it was time to grow up on me. We bought Jacob a potty chair a few weeks ago, since he decided to start telling us that he went in his diaper. Ben and I took that as a clue that maybe, just maybe, we were approaching the time to start the dreaded potty training. Let's not even mention the fact that Mommy and Daddy have never done this before and have no clue what we are doing. So we sat the chair in the bathroom. Jake, curious child that he is, follows me into the bathroom, and points to the potty. So what the heck, lets give it a whirl. I took his diaper off, sat him down, and turned the water on for inspiration. About thirty seconds later, little man's eyes go huge, and he stood up, and there it was, big as life.....pee-pee!! I'm a twenty-six year old grown woman, and there I was, clapping and screaming and laughing with my boy over urine. Only a parent can truly understand the excitement of urine in a potty chair, and the added joy of seeing the same task accomplished not one, not two, but THREE times in one day!! Way to go, little man!!!!

Fast forward a few days, and we move on to Jacob's next first...stitches. I'm working in the ortho clinic, bored out of my mind because of the lack of patients, when my cell phone starts vibrating, which it never does. I answer, and the first thing I hear is my mother saying, "Now I want you to listen to me, and not get upset. He's fine, but..." Immediately I began packing my stuff up, knowing that no matter what was said, I wouldn't like it and would be on my way out the door in a matter of minutes. Turns out my little man, being the adventurous dare devil he's become over the past few weeks, did a header over the side of our bed and landed on his forehead on our concrete and tile floor. Not a good thing. Ben took him to Franklin Square, and I met them there. By the time I got there, Jake was acting like himself, despite the bloody cut on his forehead. At first it didn't look bad, but when it was cleaned, it was clear that it was much deeper than I thought at first. Actually, it needed about three stitched to close. After an endless 4 hour hospital trip, during which my heart broke as I held my crying, pitiful-looking little man down while a doctor sewed his forehead shut, my son was the proud owner of what I fear may be the first of many stitches he'll have throughout his childhood. Call it a mother's instinct, but I don't think we've seen the end of the emergency room!

Which brings us back to another first...Jacob finally got a toddler bed. Or should I say Big Boy Bed, complete with spiffy Yo-Gabba-Gabba sheets. Despite the fact that he's only 19 months old, after our trip to the ER I couldn't get the image of him going over the side of the crib out of my head. Not worth the risk. So now we're working on sleeping in the Big Boy Bed. The past two nights have been successful, if you can discount rolling out of said Big Boy Bed in your sleep and waking up screaming. Otherwise, we're getting along marvolously!

Just seems like we're only half way through November, and already it's been a very eventful month, during which my son is trying to show that he is either a.) growing up on me; or b.) trying to drive me to drink from worry over him.

Oh, Little Man....