Weekly Recap and Top Posts

So I admit I wasn't going to do my weekly recap/lessons learned post today. But then I visited Esther at The Mommy Diaries and she had a link to my blog so I decided I should do it. The truth is I'm still trying to recover from the craziness of the last week. Starting tomorrow I'm going through a self-mandated sugar detox. Man oh man have I been ingesting the sugary goodies this week (and packing on the pounds). It's a little late but here it is: this week's lessons and top posts.

• Placing a stick of butter on the cooktop while the oven is going is a great way to soften the butter. Or, if you leave it unattended too long, melt the butter. Fortunately, the pools of butter weren't too big by the time I remembered it.
• I'm too old to make gobs of Christmas candy. I don't have the patience anymore. At the ripe old age of 30, I'm hanging up my candy making gloves and leaning towards cookies next year.
  
• Furthermore, I love chocolate dipped pretzels (and I have the rear to prove it) yet I hate the melting/dipping process.
  
• Threatening to call Santa to cancel Christmas isn't the best behavior modification plan. Because what are you going to do when your 3 year old continues to misbehave? Ok, so you make a fake call to Santa. Then the aforementioned 3 year old insists he doesn't want presents. What's your next move, Mom? Three. is. fun.
• Threatening to tell hot Dr. C about Big One's bad behavior? Another bad move. Because now, Big One is scared to even speak to Dr. C. He tells me he still likes Dr. C. He just wants to be shy around him.
• Threats behavior modification techniques really need to be well thought out.
• One of the great things about Christmas is watching your kids relish the magic of the holiday.

• Watching chubby baby hands pluck away at a toy piano hand selected by her big brother is one of the most beautiful sights.

• It's right up there with sleeping children.

• No matter how much they drive me crazy (it's been a LONG weekend), I know I am so blessed to have my family!
  

Well, I tried! And now a few of my favorite posts from the week.

• I Suppose I Could Have Stayed Home and Baked Cookies @ The Gift: Every mom struggles with the work vs staying home issue. This is a great post by Anastasia about how her opinion changed.
  
• Men Are All Alike @ Martini Mom: I know I've included a lot of this blog in my favorite posts but she is hilarious! She's one of those writers who can turn any situation into something funny. Being a teacher, she has plenty of funny stories from her kids and this is another one that I think you will enjoy. She also has a story about falling on the ice which I can totally relate to. Last winter while I was pregnant with Little One, I slipped on a patch of ice and went down like a sack of potatoes. I'm not the most graceful of folks. Add ice to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. Let's be honest. I fall on the ice at least once a winter. At least this year I don't have to leave the house when it's icy!
• New Year's Eve Noise Makers @ Lucky Me: If you need a craft activity to keep the kids out of your hair entertained, this is a good one. I'm planning to do this with Big One.
• Emma's New Purse @ The Mommy Diaries: Esther's daughter received an adorable new purse and cell phone. You must see these pictures. She is a fashionista in the making! I suppose I like it so much because I can picture Little One being the same way in a few months. My personal favorite is the last picture of Emma.
  
• last week @ matt, liz, and madeline: I've mentioned Matt's blog before. I'll warn you again: go armed with Kleenex. This particular post made me both laugh and cry. The tears for the heartbreak of this family. The laughter for Matt's ingenuity in his last minute tree decoration.

Disclaimer: There are no guarantees that any of the above content will be interesting, enlightening, grammatically correct, or spell checked. There will most certainly be typos, rambling that causes boredom, and a nonsensical train of thought. But I thank you for reading to the end anyway!