Mistakes. They happen. Nobody really likes them. They can be discouraging. But, they can also be a very good thing. If we can admit them and learn from them and use them for change, the kind of change that encourages improvement.
I try not to expect my children to be perfect, because nobody really is perfect. Instead, I would rather them be capable of learning from their mistakes. Who really likes to be reminded of their mistakes? Most people don't want to be told of or reminded of their mistakes. Funny mistakes are a whole different story. But, I'm talking about the mistakes we don't think are funny.
This morning was a frustrating school morning, that almost seemed overwhelmed with mistakes. It wasn't really, but it just felt like it. My 8-year-old doesn't like being told she made mistakes in her work, or that she needs to correct them and sometimes, such as with spelling, to write it correctly 5 times. This morning was such a morning. So, I talked to her about admitting the mistakes, learning from them and trying to do better the next time. She wasn't the only one who had mistakes to correct today. But, I think that the conversation (which was in more depth than I wrote here) that I had with her today, reached her heart.
I also had conversations with most of the children about how doing well in their schoolwork affects their adult lives. Talked about doing your best, in a good time frame, how it relates to paying bills as an adult. How learning to be responsible as a child helps you to be responsible as an adult. How schoolwork really does have an importance. You get the idea. My oldest has already had conversations like this with me before.
That, in a nutshell, is how my morning went. I don't know about you, but sometimes I'd like to sit down with a bit of chocolate after a morning like that. So, I thought about making some cookies. But, I have a pile of schoolwork to go through and I need to get some stuff ready for tomorrow. Hmmm....oldest asked to make these cookies two weeks ago for a friend and made a big mistake....fortunately the mistake didn't affect the taste, but it was one of those funny mistakes that I caught in the making...literally. After I caught it, she fixed it, but it wasn't until after the cookies were made, that I realized the same mistake was made in another part of the recipe. Like I said, it didn't affect the taste, but it did affect how many cookies the recipe yielded. SCORE! She needs to learn from her mistake!!!!! So, she is now in the kitchen, learning from her mistake and I get cookies from it!!!!
Mistakes. They happen. Nobody really likes them. They can be
discouraging. But, they can also be a very good thing. If we can admit
them and learn from them and use them for change, the kind of change
that encourages improvement.
And that, my friends, is how I'm choosing to see today as a time of teaching my children about learning from mistakes and getting my chocolate fix at the same time! My oldest's future family will thank me. And she might too.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
My Downton Abbey Obsession and My Desire for British Yummies
Wow, time flies when you are busy. It has been too long since my last post. Sorry about that. We were so busy enjoying time with friends and family, that I almost feel like our door was a bit of a revolving door. I did a lot of baking during the month. I also did a lot of knitting for Christmas gifts. So between knitting and baking for Christmas, lots of visiting over the holidays, and celebrating some birthdays (posts on those cupcakes to come), it was a very busy time for us.
We took a little break from schooling too. Oldest and I discovered Downton Abbey. Have you seen Downton Abbey yet? Or at least heard about its popularity? If you haven't heard about it yet, where have you been? We spent our down time catching up in the series, so that we could start the third season when it aired. Admittedly, it was hard to not go on to the next episode after we finished one. We managed to watch two episodes a day. We had to be responsible too. We finished the second season, literally two hours before the third season started! We were so happy with the way we spaced it out, so we weren't chomping at the bit for the next episode. I have a friend who caught the "fever" along with us and waits for PBS to post the episode online to watch it. I'm serious! She doesn't have a TV, so she waits in anticipation for them to post it! It is that good of a series!
Now that oldest and I are engrossed in the series, I've started wanting British yummies! Especially since another friend, that I had turned on to the series, told me that her newspaper had Downton Abbey recipes. Boy, I was a tad bit jealous! I had to make something soon! I've made scones before and love them. I've also made shortbread before and love that. But, recently, I started remembering the Welsh cookies we made back when we did our unit study on the UK. Yep, had to have some of them, because they were that good. [I printed out the recipe that we used and have tried to get the link set up from here, but for some reason, the link gets rerouted to an error screen. I've tried for about three days now and it isn't fixed yet, so I am just going to post the recipe here and if it gets fixed, I'll add the link to the original.] They are called a cookie, but I'd consider them to be more like a tea cake or biscuit.
Welsh Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1pinch salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup dried currants
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration.
Directions:
1. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and the 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Cut in butter or margarine and shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Toss in currants. (If you don't have currants, raisins work just fine. Currants are just smaller, so easier to manage when cutting the cookies.)
2. Beat egg and milk with a fork in a 1-cup measure; add to flour mixture; mix gently with fork, just until blended. Dough should be consistency of pastry dough.
3. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness with floured rolling pin on lightly floured pastry cloth or board. Cut with 3 inch floured cookie cutter.
4. Heat greased griddle or large heavy skillet over moderate heat until a few drops of water jump when dropped on surface. Cook cakes, a few at a time, 3 minutes, or until golden brown on second side. (Here is where you need to pay attention to them. The time depends on your griddle. Some keep heat better than others and you need to know your griddle to avoid burning the cookies. Watch the cookies closely. Cutting all of them out before cooking will also help to not burn them.) Remove to wire rack. Sprinkle with sugar. Let cool completely, then wrap in plastic bags to store. Can also be frozen. (Honestly, they haven't lasted long enough to be frozen here)
I used a new griddle that my in-laws gave me for Christmas, so I was still getting used to how it heats and keeps heat. These cookies are really good and they aren't too sweet. Perfect for consumption with tea or coffee or hot chocolate or maybe even warm milk and an episode of Downton Abbey.
I have some more Downton Abbey inspirations I'm toying with, some I've done before and some I found on Pinterest or the internet. I'll post them as I try them.
We took a little break from schooling too. Oldest and I discovered Downton Abbey. Have you seen Downton Abbey yet? Or at least heard about its popularity? If you haven't heard about it yet, where have you been? We spent our down time catching up in the series, so that we could start the third season when it aired. Admittedly, it was hard to not go on to the next episode after we finished one. We managed to watch two episodes a day. We had to be responsible too. We finished the second season, literally two hours before the third season started! We were so happy with the way we spaced it out, so we weren't chomping at the bit for the next episode. I have a friend who caught the "fever" along with us and waits for PBS to post the episode online to watch it. I'm serious! She doesn't have a TV, so she waits in anticipation for them to post it! It is that good of a series!
Now that oldest and I are engrossed in the series, I've started wanting British yummies! Especially since another friend, that I had turned on to the series, told me that her newspaper had Downton Abbey recipes. Boy, I was a tad bit jealous! I had to make something soon! I've made scones before and love them. I've also made shortbread before and love that. But, recently, I started remembering the Welsh cookies we made back when we did our unit study on the UK. Yep, had to have some of them, because they were that good. [I printed out the recipe that we used and have tried to get the link set up from here, but for some reason, the link gets rerouted to an error screen. I've tried for about three days now and it isn't fixed yet, so I am just going to post the recipe here and if it gets fixed, I'll add the link to the original.] They are called a cookie, but I'd consider them to be more like a tea cake or biscuit.
Welsh Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1pinch salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup dried currants
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration.
Directions:
1. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and the 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Cut in butter or margarine and shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Toss in currants. (If you don't have currants, raisins work just fine. Currants are just smaller, so easier to manage when cutting the cookies.)
2. Beat egg and milk with a fork in a 1-cup measure; add to flour mixture; mix gently with fork, just until blended. Dough should be consistency of pastry dough.
3. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness with floured rolling pin on lightly floured pastry cloth or board. Cut with 3 inch floured cookie cutter.
4. Heat greased griddle or large heavy skillet over moderate heat until a few drops of water jump when dropped on surface. Cook cakes, a few at a time, 3 minutes, or until golden brown on second side. (Here is where you need to pay attention to them. The time depends on your griddle. Some keep heat better than others and you need to know your griddle to avoid burning the cookies. Watch the cookies closely. Cutting all of them out before cooking will also help to not burn them.) Remove to wire rack. Sprinkle with sugar. Let cool completely, then wrap in plastic bags to store. Can also be frozen. (Honestly, they haven't lasted long enough to be frozen here)
I used a new griddle that my in-laws gave me for Christmas, so I was still getting used to how it heats and keeps heat. These cookies are really good and they aren't too sweet. Perfect for consumption with tea or coffee or hot chocolate or maybe even warm milk and an episode of Downton Abbey.
I have some more Downton Abbey inspirations I'm toying with, some I've done before and some I found on Pinterest or the internet. I'll post them as I try them.
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