Boy Cookies

I have a term for cookies that guys make.  I call them "boy cookies", because, well, they taste like a boy made them.  Not that that's necessarily a horrible thing, but they really do taste... different.  You know what I'm talking about.  They're a little to a lot drier.  A little to a lot denser.  They're a little to a lot just not as good.

I've been bugging Wayne to try his hand at boy cookies for some time now, you know, just for kicks.  I wanted to see what makes boy cookies boy cookies, if it's the same recipe used by everyone else.  (Wayne says it's so I can watch and laugh at him, which is also partially true).  Up until this point, Wayne just hasn't had the desire to help me figure out the nuances of the boy cookie (or to be laughed at mockingly by me), but one fateful day, I made a bet with Wayne, which he lost, and guess what?  It's boy cookie time!

So we manned our respective stations--Wayne behind the mixer, and me, perched at the kitchen counter, kicking my legs in eager anticipation for the show ahead of me.  I giggled when Wayne clumsily cracked the eggs and proceeded to SHAKE out the egg whites, as one shakes out the last bits of cereal from its box.  I literally guffawed when Wayne separated the egg yolk and then didn't know where to put it, and so set it gingerly back in its shell, tried to balance it on the counter, then resorted to a plate (a little prep bowl, perhaps?).  And then I snickered when Wayne proceeded to sprinkle in each ingredient, instead of just dumping it in to the mixing bowl... With the Olympics on in the background, I cheered on the US Men's 4x100m swimming relay... I watched Grevers explode to the front with his backstroke and then Japan creep into the lead after the breaststroke leg... looked over, and Wayne was sprinkling.... Phelps caught up!  Adrian stretches the lead!, still sprinkling... US wins gold!, sprinkling... post-race interview, Phelps earns his 18th career gold medal!, sprinkling.  And sprinkling... and sprinkling. 

But at the end of the night, Wayne was the one who had the last laugh, because his cookies were AMAZING!  They were crispy on the outside and chewy throughout, and they were humongous!  "Man cookies", Wayne calls them.  And I have to admit that these boy--er, man cookies were better than many girl cookies I've had.  So I happily eat my words, along with a mouthful of cookie goodness. 

Good job, Sweetheart!  So proud of you!

 

Wayne studies the recipe before proceeding.

 

Wayne's meticulously shaken-out egg white and creatively, if oddly, placed egg yolk.

 

still sprinkling...

 

Man Cookies!

 

And man, they're delicious!

Sleep Train...

... a ticket to a better night's sleep.

We started sleep training last night.  For us, we decided to use the cry-it-out (CIO) method, aka rip-my-heart-out.  Though highly controversial in the parenting world, CIO is effective, and after reading my many books and speaking with other moms who say CIO changed their lives, we chose to have Caedmon cry it out, as well.  It is what it sounds like--we let Caedmon cry it out when we put him down for naps and bed, in order to teach him how to fall asleep on his own, even if it means letting him cry for hours (though each family sets their own limit--ours is two hours for night sleep).  CIO gets a bad rap because it's hard, but hard doesn't mean wrong, and I'm eager to be teaching Caedmon this very important skill.

We knew Caedmon was ready for CIO when he started falling asleep more independently.  Though we were still rocking him a lot (so much so that my knees were starting to hurt), we would put him down increasingly more awake, and often he would let out one cry of protest, then turn his head to the left, suck his fingers, and fall asleep. We knew he could do it.

So we started last night, and actually, Caedmon is doing really well.  Last night, he cried for 24 minutes before falling asleep, and tonight, only 13.  For his naps, he took less than 10 minutes each time, and for one nap, he didn't cry at all!  I knew falling asleep wouldn't be Caedmon's struggle, though.  It would be falling BACK asleep after waking prematurely, and that has definitely proven to be true thus far.  This morning, he cried for nearly an hour, but just as I was about to get him, all was quiet and he was off in dreamland!  He's learning, our little chipmunk! 

Ask any mom who has done CIO, though, and she will tell you how heart-wrenching this is.  It takes all my will not to rush in there and "rescue" my baby, but I know that in doing so, I would be acting on my own emotions and robbing him of the chance to learn how to sleep.  I actually got choked up a little even BEFORE I put Caedmon down for bed last night, as I was giving him a small pep talk that was as much for me as it was for him.  But what strengthens my resolve is seeing Caedmon's fast progress and knowing that after this, my baby will own an important skill, and we'll all get better rest.  Caedmon still greets me with a big smile when I get him from his crib, so I also know he's doing just fine.

Just like mastering any new skill, though, there will naturally be some regression along with the progress, as we spiral towards the end goal.  These moments will be rough, so wish us the best this week as we continue to cry it out.  Hopefully, I'll have positive results to share soon!

[cue jingle]

Earlier this week, Caedmon fell asleep while playing on his playmat.  That's when we knew he was definitely ready to learn how to fall asleep independently.

Armed with video monitor, notebook, and graph, I am ready to log everything Caedmon.  It's not nutty; it helps me figure out what works best for him, his patterns, and track his progress!