Gettin' Busy With Bernice

Bernice, Kaden, and I have been having a ball the last couple of days.

Today, we mixed up some pumpkin and Nutella cheesecake muffins.

I love Nutella.  Adore it.

I fell for it hard when I spent a semester living at the BYU London center.  Breakfast and dinner were provided with our tuition, but we were on our own for lunch.  This left a couple of options for the poor and cheap:  leftovers (but you had to be quick and home to score those) or peanut butter sandwiches (which could easily be deposited in a brown bag for enjoyment at any museum or park of your choice, later in the day).  PB&J got old.  Until I started putting peanut butter on one half and Nutella on the other.  And I promptly gained at least ten pounds, despite walking a bazillion miles every day.

Anyway, today, Bernice worked her magic beating eggs, flour, pumpkin puree, cinnamon and nutmeg, and Kaden worked his by saying, "No, Mommy!  No, Mommy!  I do it!" anytime I tried to add any ingredient without his assistance.

I may have let him lick the Nutella cheesecake beater to give me time to stuff the muffin tins with batter, because I thought it'd be more sanitary than letting him rub his toddler fingers all up in someone's future snack.

I wish I had a picture of his face after that endeavor.  His face was covered with Nutella goodness from his nose, to his chin, with a few choice deposits even reaching his neck.  Some decorated his pajama top (that he was still wearing at noon).  Then I had to chase him around the house to retrieve the beater before he touched anything with his hazelnut-spreaded face, hands, and clothing.  It was pretty awesome.  And I'm not being sarcastic; it really was.

I love being a mom.

Also, there's a giant pallet of pre-finished hardwood sitting on my driveway.  Can we say DEMO TIME, anyone???