Cheryl's Copy-Cat Sugar Cookies and Buttercream Frosting

Servings: 2 to 3 - Yields Approximately 36 Cookies

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter softened

3 to 4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

Directions

Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

First cream together your butter and sugar

Then add your egg and vanilla

Make sure that this is mixed well before adding dry ingredients

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add slowly to your wet ingredients as it mixes
The dough does not have to chill first
And should bake approximately 6 to 8 minutes - not until brown
THAT WILL OVERCOOK THEM
Cool on wire racks

The instructions I originally found recommended a cookies press, but I prefer the Wilton Sugar Cookie Shapes pans that you can buy at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.

Buttercream Frosting

Beat butter, vanilla, and 2 cups of confectioner's sugar together

Add milk and mix well

Continue adding powdered sugar until your reach the desired consistency.
The final step is to separate and add the food coloring of your choice.

A Letter To My Kids - The Maid Will Not Be Coming

My Dearest Children:

Your father and I are what is commonly known as the working class. While this means that we are slightly above poverty level and can still afford to do things like take you to see Disney's Frozen, it also means that we will not be hiring a maid, cook, butler, or any other form of domestic help anytime in the near future.

That being said, I would like to share a couple things that are on my mind from this weekend:

1. Please stop putting your clean folded laundry back in the basket. I'm not entirely certain which one of my lovely children decided that it would be better to pile the dirty laundry on top of the clean laundry, but as I went to start a new load this afternoon I discovered several pieces that I could swear I just washed a few days ago. Based on the fact that it was still neatly folded in the basket, I'm certain you assumed it would just be more convenient to have me wash it again then to actually put it away. Should there be another attempt to be clever when cleaning your room like that again, you will be responsible for washing your own clothes hence forth.

2. An entire bag of Doritos is not an option for lunch. On Saturday I made a large pan of Taco Bake. Since I already knew we had a lot of running to do today before the next polar vortex swoops down and possibly buries us alive (for the second time this month) I prepared a meal that would be easy for you to simply pop in the microwave so that you had something both warm and filling in your bellies. I can appreciate that seeing me walk in with several armloads of groceries fueled your appetites, but I do not believe that you were so starving at that exact moment that you couldn't wait 10 minutes for me to put it away so that you could get something to eat. Your attempt at trying to sneak away with an entire bag of Doritos was extremely brave, I will give you that. However, I will never be so distracted that I would allow you to eat a bag of chips for lunch instead of the food I spent 2 hours preparing. Nice try, but no dice.

3. You do not need half a roll of toilet paper to wipe your butts. I know that 5 people can demolish a roll of toilet paper in no time flat, this is why we buy it in bulk from Costco. I have a hard time believing though that you've peed enough to go through 2 rolls in a 12 hour span of time. There are two possible options here, either a) someone has a serious bladder infection and needs to see a doctor or b) someone just keeps rollin, rollin, rollin, when they use the potty. Since no one has complained about a burning sensation and based on the fact that I had to plunge it twice in one day... I'm thinking it's B. Please refrain from wiping your behinds with enough paper to make a quilt going forward. With the snowmageddon on the horizon, it would be a crying shame if you had to use your hands while we wait for the plows to come dig us back out again. We all know that could take a couple of days and mom will not be braving the snow drifts and black ice simply because someone decided they needed it to feel extra fluffy when they wipe.

In closing my dearest children, know that I love you all, I would not trade you for the world, and all complaints should be forwarded to dad...

Sincerely,

Mom

Domestic Training Desperately Needed

I'm pretty certain all of you ladies out there know exactly what this picture is. This "ideal" reared it's ugly head in our house tonight. I was completely unaware that frozen pizza is actually rocket science. Now, typically, we order pizza. I have an annoying allergy to basil that causes me to break out in a horrible case of of hives if one molecule touches my lips. I end up one red itchy bump for days and it's downright miserable. Knowing this, we tend to order mine special without sauce. In the interest of saving a little money though, we picked up a few frozen pizza's for those nights where I simply don't feel like cooking.

Tonight is one of those nights. I just wasn't feeling up to it, nor had I really remembered to defrost anything to make this morning before I left for work. I should also mention that Lena is at a friend's house for dinner. Now, back to the subject at hand. We were poking around the freezer and James decides he wants one. No problem. I grab it out and hand it over to him. Now normally, that would be what we call a hint. As in, feel free to make it yourself. If I wanted to make you dinner tonight, I would have pulled something out, correct? It evidently escaped his attention because he set the pizza on the counter and told me where to find the baking sheet to make his pizza.

Well evidently domestic skills can atrophy just like a leg or an arm. If you don't use it, you lose it. Apparently he has since lost skills like cooking upon moving in together. Now, keep in mind, this is a man who was on his own for 5 years prior to us cohabiting. He used to be perfectly capable of doing his own shopping, washing his own clothes, and even making his own food! We've been living together a year now and it's amazing how fast those skills fade away when you have someone who does this for you!

Um, how about not? I promptly handed him the pan and told him to put the garlic sauce in a bowl of hot water. Then I proceeded to make myself something else and left him to fend for himself. I think he got the hint now.