Ever the supermom wannabe, I of course volunteered to help out with the Family Fun Day at my daughter’s school, even though we couldn’t attend said Family Fun Day due to a family event up in Jersey. The day was garden-themed. My tasks were to turn pieces of cardboard into signs and to come up with a make-your-own-birdfeeder idea.

First, look at my awesome signs. I’m pretty proud of these, which is why I’m posting a photo here even though it has no place in this blog post.

Second, we made Cheerios birdfeeders. I thought about some alternatives first. I wanted to make birdseed ornaments, but every how-to I could find involved baking, which wasn’t going to happen with a line of kids on the school grounds. I thought about painting toilet paper rolls with honey and rolling them in birdseed, but imagine the mess 150 kids with honey could create. Not to mention some kids have sesame seed allergies. So a google search later and I decided on Cheerios birdfeeders. How did I miss that this existed? They are everywhere on google. Easy peasy, inexpensive supplies, limited mess, fitting for both the younger kids and older, and easy to tote around afterwards.

To make Cheerios birdfeeders…

you will need:*

Cheerios

pipe cleaners (younger kids)

floral wire (older kids)

instructions printable

*The Cheerios came from Costco. I also got these pipe cleaners and floral wire. I printed up these instructions. And I made a display be wrapping a Styrofoam block in green tissue paper and popping in a stick I got from the backyard. I also precut a bunch of pieces of yarn in case they wanted to add a bow to tie to their tree.  To make the spiral Cheerios, you can use a big marker for the mold or make a paper tube from cardstock.

how to make Cheerios birdfeeders:

older kids: To make a heart, thread Cheerios on a piece of floral wire, leaving about three inches on each end. Twist the wire ends together to form a circle. Make sure to twist the wire right at the end of the Cheerios so the Cheerios aren’t loose on the wire. Twist a loop with the wire ends. Bend the Cheerios on the wire into a heart shape. Thread yarn through the loop to hang to a tree. To make a spiral, thread a Cheerio on a piece of floral wire and wrap the end of the wire around to secure the Cheerio. Thread more Cheerios to fill the wire, leaving a couple inches at the top. Twist the wire at the top to secure the cheerios and make a loop. Bend the cheerio wire around the paper tube to make a spiral. Thread yarn through the loop to hang to a tree.

Or, bend the wire into any shape you like.

younger kids: Make a loop at one end of the pipe cleaner, and twist to secure. Thread the pipe cleaner with cheerios. Loop and twist the other end to secure. Thread a piece of yarn through the loop and hang from a tree.

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So I have a kindergartener. She goes to a public charter school here in Washington, DC. I’ll spare you all the charter school talk, since I’ve waxed on about it before. (To read more about the charter school system in Washington DC, click HERE and HERE.) These pencil cookies are for all the superfantabulous teachers and staff at her school, Inspired Teaching.

If you don’t have a kindergartener yourself, or if you don’t know any, I’ll tell you a little bit about what it means to be in kindergarten. It means you talk all the time. You talk all the time because you know everything. Often, having this expansive knowledge means you must correct the grown-ups around you an awful lot. You also think the world revolves around you, so you must be heard the second a thought enters your brain, no matter what is occurring around you. If the grown up you are interrupting asks you to be patient, you explain, loudly, that you can’t because the thought actually WILL leave your brain if you don’t get it out right then. As a kindergartener, you can do much more for yourself, and you know the general rules of life, but sometimes these rules are hard to follow and your toddler past still sneaks up on you in the form of whines, tantrums and arguments. In fact, arguments are relatively common for a kindergartener, be it with other kindergarteners or with siblings, friends or any grown-up. And as a kindergartener, your logic is outstanding, if only to you, so this gives you much ammunition for arguing. As a kindergartener, you also must move frequently throughout the day. This can mean jumping, running, somersaults, dancing or any similar physical activity. Often, this must be done on busy city sidewalks or during quiet time, but safety and appropriateness cause very little inner conflict for the kindergartener.

Imagine spending seven hours a day with 20 kindergarteners.

This is why we have a week of teacher appreciation. Because teachers are spending thirty-five some hours a week with our children. And they are stunningly patient and deft at handling their little (I mean big) egos. And all while teaching them stuff.

Teachers are awesome.

They deserve more than a few pencil cookies, but this is what I cooked up for the staff at my daughter’s school this week.

to make pencil cookie favors…

you will need:*

cookie dough

royal icing

pencil or crayon cookie cutter

food coloring

disposable decorating bags

couplers

decorating tips, sizes 3, 4 and 5

rubber bands

*Find the decorating bags, couplers and tips at the craft store. For food coloring, I suggest Americolor Soft Gel Pastes (Egg Yellow, Chocolate Brown, Super Black and Electric Pink used here), found in specialty stores or online. For tips on finding cookie cutters, click HERE. This is the cutter I used.

step one: bake your cookies. Prepare cookie dough, chill, roll out, cut out the pencils, bake according to the recipe and let cool completely.

step two: prepare your icing. Prepare royal icing according to the recipe. Divide and tint your colors, yellow, pink, gray, black, and tan. You’ll need the most of yellow. Prepare decorating bags with couplers and tips, fill with each color and close tightly with rubber bands.

step three: decorate your cookies. For general cookie decorating instructions, click HERE.Use a 3 tip to pipe the black point. Then use a 3 tip to pipe the tan part of the pencil. Pipe and fill the eraser with a 4 tip. Pipe lines of gray with a size 4 tip. And pipe lines back and forth in yellow using a size 4 or 5 tip. Let the cookies dry overnight before packaging.

To package the cookies…

You will need:*

cellophane favor bags

ribbon

this label printable

these circle labels or white, letter-size photo paper or cardstock

Print this printable onto the circle labels or just print onto paper and cut out tags. Place the cookies in a cello bag, close with ribbon and either stick the label on the bag or use a hole punch to attach the tag to the ribbon.

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Did I ever tell you about the time I wanted to write children’s books? Probably. I still want to write children’s books. When I find the time to read, I always read children’s. My favoritest books in the universe are Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Currently, I’m re-reading Harry Potter’s run. (I’m up to Book 5. Again.) It may come as no surprise to you that I’m also a total nerd. I never, ever, ever, ever got a “C” in any class from Kindergarten through college at Georgetown, throughout my two Masters degrees. OK, that’s not true. I got a “C” in gym class in 7th grade because I forgot my clothes one day and had points deducted. You can believe I went up to that teacher and argued for a “B.” (I lost.) Picture me now shaking my fist at that stain on my record.

I love book-learning. I earned a Master of Liberal Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, just to keep learning. I studied English Literature in a summer program at Oxford. And then I went and got another Masters from American University here in Washington, DC. I earned an MFA in Literature/Creative Writing back in ’03 (Holy moly, has it been ten years?). If I had any talent for teaching, I’d have earned a phD, too. But alas, I’ve no talent for teaching.

But I do love writing. I’m insecure about my talent in that area, but gosh, if I could stay in school and write forever, I would. I found a community of thinkers at American University, smart people who have ridiculously meaningful insights about words on a page and life in general and who are pretty darn funny because of said smarts.  I found a community of writers, a community that talked submissions and manuscripts. Protagonists and drama. The twists and turns a voice can take. Memoir and poetry and all kinds of new things. I studied the sublime in Alice in Wonderland, I translated Baudelaier’s Les Fleurs du Mal, and I wrote a middle-grade novel about building a rainbow. I sat and soaked in knowledge from Richard McCann, Kermit Moyer, and Andrew Holleran.  I’m still in cahoots with Sandra, Paulette, Natalie, Monica, Jen and Eve and so many more from this great time in my life.

Which is all a lot of talking to get to the point of this post. Sniffle, sniffle, I was pretty honored–given the aforementioned great time in my life at American University–to have my cookies featured in the current issue of American Magazine as part of their “My Favorites” series.

Read the full issue of American Magazine HERE.

(I’m on page 47.)

Thank you, American University!

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Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

Nope, this is not another dangers-of-facebook post. This is a why-I-love-facebook post. I, like many, visit facebook a lot. It’s one of my go-to spots to hit all day. Email, other email, other email, facebook. Linger too long, back to email. Maybe Pinterest. I do, very much, understand why many are wary about the dangers of social media consuming us, of our computers swallowing us whole, leaving only our feet sticking out of the screen. I know we risk spending our lives in virtual relationships and forgetting the grass and trees and sky and books and people. But there is something else facebook gives us that I think is, if not wonderful, at minimum, fascinating.

Facebook lets us constantly, daily, sometimes hourly, write our lives. Facebook forces us to investigate, interpret and present ourselves to others. Concisely and efficiently. We become introspective. What do we post? We must evaluate our lives to determine what is worthy of a post. If we even do that much thinking before the fingers fly over the keyboard. Is it reality? No, probably not. We are the masters of our story. We represent ourselves how we see fit. We may try to display the flaws in our lives. Find humor in them. Seek sympathy for them. Or hide the flaws and paint a more perfect picture. We may display gilded versions of our successes, our cute children, our clever crafts. No matter. We are at a moment in history when we can create ourselves in a few sentences every day. Maybe several times a day. We are all writers, and we are all writing memoir.

I, for one, love it. Not just to write my own story, but to read those of others. I love having glimpses into so many of the lives I’ve encountered in my forty years. Elementary school friends, past high school pals, college friends all over the world, co-workers, acquaintances, extended family, my husband’s family… I see pictures of kids and vacations and marathons. I read quips, anecdotes, gripes and dramas. I startle at ultraconservative rants, snicker at funny-kid quotes and snort at stories of bad customer service. I know that a long-ago friend didn’t wear matching socks today. Another lost her dear grandmother. I’m frustrated right there with you when you miss the Little House marathon or when your kid is home sick and you had SO much to do today. I feel connected to so many from my past, I learn things from those I might have never had a relationship with otherwise, like they are also struggling with fertility or they have picky eaters, too. And that is enough for me.

Whether or not these relationships would be the same without the computer between us doesn’t matter. Whether or not they are fancied up versions, whether or not it’s selective information full of gaps, I don’t care. It’s enough for me to get these pieces, because it’s just enough for me to get a sense of who they are in life. What they choose to post, no matter how flippant or casual or serious or emotionally wrenching, true or masking truth, gives me something about them.

How do you choose what to share? What do you post? I admit I’m persnickety about it. I think about what to post, and I choose carefully. I complain about my lack of sleep, I demonstrate angst veiled with attempts at humor. I post cute stuff my kids do, but I usually deprecate them so as to not be one of those posters who post cute stuff their kids do. I share what I think are insights into the world but probably aren’t anything new.

I went through a few of my posts from the past few months. Not those from my Decorated Cookie facebook page, but my personal page. I thought I’d share and give you some possible interpretations as to what lies beneath.

My thought of the day, which I thought was smart. On the bonus of having babies at age 40: Yes, it means you won’t be done and free til your 60s or 70s. But I’d rather have been free in my 20s and 30s when I had the energy to enjoy it. Dancing salsa, concerts at clubs, shooting pool, late night diners. I’m totally fine spending my twilight years going on old people group trips and drinking wine while sitting somewhere quietly. Interpretation: I’m a little anxious about being 40 with a baby.

Does anybody else take the bag of wine out of the box and squeeze it to get every drop out? No? Oh, me neither. Interpretation: I like wine. I need it to cope. This is charming, not a problem. Right?

The good thing about being up at 1, 3, 4 and 5 is that you get work done. Just learned a whole new level of photoshop. Interpretation: I’m tired. Feel sorry for me.

Aw, Maeve is so SO considerate. This morning she came into my bedroom where I slept peacefully, put my glasses on my face, pulled off my covers and shouted “Get up! Get up! Get up!” because she was worried I was “cold.” SO considerate. Interpretation: I’m tired. Feel sorry for me.

The human species is so lame. Can’t horses walk right after they are born? Two months in and she can’t even sit without falling over. (Picture of Violet face down on couch.) Interpretation: I’m taking a casual approach to parenting. Also, look at my cute baby.

Yep. Expensive bean bag chair santa got maeve for Christmas worth every penny, sigh. (picture of cats sitting on bean bag chair) Interpretation: Look at my cute cats.

What it’s like to drive home with a 5 year old in the car: “I know what communicating means. Communicating! That’s an ‘ing’ word! So communicating is talking to each other. Bears communicate. Birds communicate. When they have stuff to tell each other. Did you know mountain lions communicate with each other? Mountain lions communicate with each other. So did you wish for snow? On that star, you wish for things. I don’t tell my wishes or they won’t come true. Tomorrow is that animal, what is it? A beaver. Yeah, a beaver. I think.” “Groundhog?” “Yeah, groundhog, if a groundhog sees his shadow we have 6 days of winter, if not it’s an early spring. Do you want him to see his shadow? We voted at school, and I voted for early spring, and guess who won? Early spring, and Anna voted for, I forget what she voted for, and look at that tree. Did you see that tree? I just ate the tail off of my goldfish cracker, you know what it looks like now? Hmmm, a hot air balloon. Which hand is it in. Left or right? Which is left again? We have to collect ten things again. The 100th day of school is in ten days. I might collect coins. When are Mom Mom and Pap Pap getting here? I think they will be there when we get home. Violet’s eyes are open…. ” Interpretation: I’m not being cryptic here. My daughter talks incessantly. It gets annoying.

I think Maeve’s self esteem is developing juuuuuust fine. Today I saw her reaction in the mirror as she noticed a pimple/scratch/something on her cheek. She looked like she was disappointed at first, and I mentally rushed to have the necessary response ready about how not to buy into the arbitrary pressure girls face to appear perfect and… her expression changed all on its own. “It’s a beauty mark! It means I have a lot of beauty. I hope it stays forever.” Phew. Girl crisis averted. Wish I had some of what she has. Interpretation: My kid is awesome.

Listening to Greg in the other room teaching Maeve about 911 and pretending to be a 911 operator… I think he missed his calling. Interpretation: Please note what a good father my husband is. Also, he’s a good 911 operator.

Quick update! To-be-named baby arrived early on friday. Exciting to watch a team of many panic and debate a plan of action for surgery. All is well tho i’m still in much discomfort (so not answering calls, emails or visitors). But the docs gave my voice a lot of weight which was smart all around. Will respond more when I’m well!! Thank you all!! Interpretation: I’m in the hospital. I just had surgery. The baby came early, which could have been very dangerous for me, but I’m alive.

What kind of facebook poster are you?  Do you put thought into your posts? Do you paint pictures or try and display even the worst sides of things? Or, do you avoid facebook altogether?

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Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

So yeah, these look a lot more healthy than most–um, all–of what you find here. And sure, these trail mix oat bites (that’s the best title I could think of) have rolled oats, coconut flour, wheat germ, and dried fruits and nuts and make a great fill-you-up-and-give-you-energy snack, but they also have a bit of sugar, maple syrup and butter. So please don’t desert me. There’s a little bit of me left in there. And if they weren’t so crumbly I’d have put them on a stick.

I’ve been really into homemade granola bars lately. I find being home all day I put my hand in the snack drawer a lot. Yes, we have a snack drawer. You see, when we bought our 1930s house, it came equipped with the original 1930s, totally not functioning, kitchen. And so we had to do a quick renovation so as to stop washing dishes in a bucket. I casually pointed out to our semi-custom cabinet dude how cool it was that the original kitchen had a bread drawer. My grandmother had one of those. You know, those drawers you pull out that have the metal lid? So semi-custom cabinet dude gave us a big drawer. He called it the “bread drawer.” He was so proud. He was so proud I did not point out that this big drawer had no similarities to an actual bread drawer. I use it for snacks.  And  I eat a LOT of snacks, so I’ve been seeking something more substantial than Goldfish. I mean, at least something that has vitamins. Plus, I’m not really a raw veggie snacker. (Seriously? How do people find that fulfilling?) So granola bars it is.

For these, I started out with THIS RECIPE for granola bars from SMITTEN KITCHEN. I made them in bar form and yum. They were good. So I added some more of some stuff, added less of some other stuff, and substituted different things to come up with a bite-size version of the bar.

how to make trail mix oat bites

adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s granola bars

(visit Smitten Kitchen for tips on more substitutions and whatnot)

1 2/3 cup quick rolled oats

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped trail mix (I used a cranberry nut mix)

2/3 cups nut butter (I used almond)

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together well. I used my hands to mix when the spatula could do no more. Take a bit and form a clump with your hands. Don’t try and roll a ball, these are too crumbly. Just use your fingers to make an imperfect sphere 1 1/2 inches in diameter. If necessary, add a bit more of a wet ingredient (butter, syrup, water or nut butter). Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake 20 minutes or until they begin to brown. Let cool totally before eating.  Makes about 36 bites.

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Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!