I have been allocating my meager EI income towards S's birthday party, so I have mostly been drinking coffee at home and continuing to work on my own perfect cookie. J came over the other day to give me some pointers, including spooning the flour into the measuring cup. Here was the end result, an almost perfect chocolate chip cookie, based on Tara O'Brady's recipe:

The chocolate chunks didn't melt chocolate, so I couldn't create that pool of chocolate effect. Not a bad bunch though, these didn't last the whole week.

Now that the party has come and gone, I realise that party planning made me feel very grumpy. Every little thing got on my nerves, no amount of coffee helped my mood, and it felt like we were stuck in a cycle of nap refusals and tantrums. My reality was that whatever mental capacity I had after taking care of my two under two was completely taken over by planning, especially the last week. We didn't have a cake until the last minute, when we created a donut cake. We turned our extremely minimal balloon decorations into an activity, where the kids could pick a balloon and blow it up themselves. 

By the end of it, I couldn't even focus on taking a proper photo. Sorry fam for ruining our family picture! 

Not sure what your reality of this last mercury retrograde was like, but mine was a whirlwind of planning and hormones and moods. The end result was a lot of fun, and I am glad I will never have to plan another 2 year old party for S again. 

Paragon Tea Room opened a second location along the busy Cambie corridor, and we dropped by on the way to visit B and her fam. They were serving up some strongly caffeinated matcha, and soft chewy cookies:

 

Continuing with my obsession to bake a cookie that spreads with beautiful cracks and the perfect level of chewy, I had to try one of their cookie options for research purposes. The different flavors included matcha white chocolate, chocolate chip, and earl grey cereal. I wanted to get the chocolate chip for inspiration but could not resist the fancy Earl grey option. The cookie's tea flavor was strong, texture of cookie was soft, and balanced out with some crispy cereal toppings.

Can I please take a two day break to live on a remote island to perfect my cookie baking skills, sleep in, and completely be by myself?

On a day like today, days are long, nap times are too short, and I need the years to fly by. S is sick and extra picky about food. While I was out and my parents took care of the kids, S took full advantage of her grandparents. She refused to eat her lunch, asked for fruits, and her grandparents gave in to her tantrums. That normally would be fine, but when I was discussing this and making other general childcare and nutrition related comments to my mom later on, my mom didn't take it too well and started arguing with me. 

It was exhausting.

At times like this, it's easier on my mental health for H and I to parent on our own without extra opinions from our community. More physically tiring, but I'm sure we'll manage, like we did in Victoria. Something has to change before I go completely nuts. 

This is what two months post partum looks like. 

Last week, we took both kids out to the mall to run some errands. We were at the mall for one hour, and during this time, we were able to complete two returns, browse for H's glasses, buy a new toothbrush holder, nurse baby P, and change S's diaper. It was a smashing success - P slept through the whole thing, S didn't throw any tantrums, and we even managed to pick up lunch on the way home. 

The mall trip feels like such a distant glowing memory, even though it was barely a week ago. So many diapers have been changed,  and we are exhausted every day. 

Today, we took both kids to Matchstick, then we visited IKEA, all before noon. While S took a nap, H went to trim some of our trees and bushes, while I took care of P, who is going through his first leap. We are really truly exhausted today.

Thankfully, H picked up some chocolate chip cookies from Flourist the other day so that I could stress eat after the kids fell asleep:

Flourist has two locations now, and they're both fabulous. They have their own flour mill at their bakery, and they grind their own super nutritious, clean flour. It does taste better. Their cookies are the chewy type that I crave, and they use big chunks of real chocolate (not the crappy sugary chocolate chips). 

Must keep more chocolate chip cookies at home for my mental health.

A modification of Sugar and Soul's Earl Grey Cookie recipe.

Use as much tea as required to obtain the level of tea flavour you prefer. This takes a bit of trial and error, but I’ve found that the amount in the photo below creates a good balance.

Grind the tea using a paper towel and a bottle of Grey Goose (or wine bottle).

Sift the icing sugar first before measuring it out to get rid of any clumps that might’ve built up.

Salt to taste.

Lazy way to cut the cookies – roll into a log and cut into thin 1/4 inch slices.

Bake until golden brown, which is about 20-25 minutes.

They do expand, so make sure to leave enough room or freeze the dough beforehand to prevent excessive growth.



The past few days have been stressful, and I was exhausted yesterday after sitting for 4.5 hours at the salon to get my hair done (I don’t like it and I will not post photos until I get it fixed… Which is supposed to happen next next week), and going for Dine Out at the Flying Beaver with P+V, V+J, and S+J.

Today, I finally cancelled my Bikram pass, which expires near the end of February, and I can start using my Chopra 20 class pass that I purchased through Groupon (click here for link to the Groupon). I’ve always enjoyed Chopra a bit more, because it’s not as hot and the moves are more challenging.

February is already looking to be better than January.

Today, Day 1.5 without H, I continue to watch Claire Marshall’s YouTube videos for inspiration on makeup, food, style, girlie stuffs. H found wifi at the Hong Kong and Tokyo airport, and has made contact, so I feel slightly less worried about him. His snack (Earl Grey cookies) at the airport…

I had one too:


16 days left.