ten more days till christmas and some chocolate chip cookies

this morning when i woke up, the first thing i heard was eleanor shouting, "mommy! ten more days til christmas! just ten more days, mommy!" ... i put on my big, fluffy white robe as i always do and sleepily kissed the top of her head and said something like, "oh no, it's one hundred more days" and then she giggled, said "noooooo" and ran away. 

daddy rushed her off to school and the boys and i enjoyed a lazy day at home. i wrapped gifts on the butchers block while the boys soaked in the sink. wolfgang told rufus all about thomas the train and i swear rufus looked at him so attentively as if he knew exactly what big brother was talking about ... during those moments of watching them together, i honestly think that was the most thankful i had ever felt. it's as if in that time, everything in my life was in exactly the right place, ya know? like i was actually living my dream. 

when eleanor got home from school, we decided to bake chocolate chip cookies. we knew daddy wouldn't be home until after bedtime, so we figured we'd spoil our dinner by stuffing ourselves with some sugary goodness ... these cookies do not take long because i have been making them for many years now. they are my go to dessert if i need to whip something up quickly ... i have made them so many times i even have the recipe memorized ...

 i love baking with my kiddos. they are so good at finding magic in the simplest tasks ...

anyway, here is how to make our chocolate chip cookies: 

makes about three dozen

1. mix 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 sticks butter (room temp) and 1 teaspoon vanilla. set aside.
2. sift together 2 1/4 cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda.
3. combine wet and dry. blend well. 
4. stir in one bag semi sweet chocolate chips. we always throw in some chopped walnuts, too but you don't have to. 
5. drop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. bake at 375 degrees on the lowest rack for about 11 minutes.