When In Doubt, Make Cookies

So, I was pretty sad yesterday. I told my girls that our friend J.B. had died and they got pretty sad, too.

And then, Jane (7) had one of those ideas that will one day make her famous. (Apparently, the kid was born knowing the exact right response to sadness.) She said, "Mama, you know what we should do?"

"No, what?"

"We should make Christmas cookies."

So we did.


Naturally, the whole cookie-making process brought me face-to-face with yet another of my OCD manifestations. Because, see, it turns out that over the years? I have amassed quite the cookie cutter collection.

Ahem. (Ana's shirt says, "No Pictures, Please.")

(With me as her mother--as if. Silly girl.)

Now, 26 of those cookie cutters are the alphabet so you can't really count THOSE.

Although, what I was thinking I'd spell out in COOKIES, I have no idea. I mean, by the time you've spelled out "Too Many Sweets Will Make You Sick" you've pretty much made everyone sick, right? A simple A or J would surely have been enough.

But, (shocker) I digress. Anyway, I have a ton of cookie cutters but my girls are only just now able to really have the fun of making cookies. Up until now, I've mostly used them to cut their peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches into shapes.

Dudes, the things I do to get my kids to eat.

Here is a very popular combo: the squirrel and the acorn bigger than his ENTIRE BODY:
House and key (Key is LIFE SIZE because apparently, I have a little problem with scale):
The entire ocean food chain: (As always, you can click to enlarge the photo and then you will see that the whale is smaller than the trout.) (Why yes, that IS a trout. What?)

I think this is supposed to be a cloud but I used it as an amoeba:

Here's the state of Indiana. Which, um, I've never called home. (One of my very best friends is from Indiana and she gave that to me.)

It is interesting to note that I do NOT have a state of Texas cookie cutter, although I DO have THIS:
And of course, I have some livestock. (Note issue with SCALE again.) (Because everything is bigger in Texas! Except COWS!)

I also went through this very perplexing FRUIT phase.
And for some reason, I thought I needed every single fruit ever eaten in both large AND small.
Grapes. Although, if you look at it from another direction, it looks just like a tree being blown in the wind. I mean, doesn't it? Isn't that what you thought, too?

That last one made me laugh out loud because, dudes, how are you supposed to tell what that thing IS?
For the record, I think it is a Mango. But it might be a Rock.

There was also a bit of redundancy. Like I have the moon in profile several times. See? But then, I also have THIS:

Let's face it, all we really needed was the one that made these:

J.B, we will miss you.

Comments

Ann in NJ said…
If it's any consolation, I think I might have more cookie cutters than you do. And my mom certainly does - she has astronaut and dinosaur and moose, among many others.

I like the fruit ones - I bet the mango is supposed to be a slice of watermelon.
DK said…
Oh, Jane.

If she'll have me, I'm totally hiring her some day to work in my pipe dream residential treatment center for traumatized women. She will be our grief counselor.

I thought the "mango" was an orange segment.
Anonymous said…
Well I have one in the shape of a boot!!! Came all the way from Texas, y'all.

And I think that the mango one, is really a bar of soap.
Katie said…
Mystery shape is an egg for Easter cookies...I'm sure of it!
Sorry you are sad!
Looks like you girls made the best of a crummy time.

((Hugs))
hokgardner said…
I have never been brave enough to try cookie-cutter cookies. The whole rolling out of dough freaks me out. Instead, I'm the master of cookie press cookies. It's our annual tradition now.
Anonymous said…
Oh Barb - this just made my day! I have an impressive cookie cutter collection too! AND they are mainly used to cut sandwhich shapes for my 6 year old daughter. She of course needs a different one each day!!!
MadMad said…
OK, that IS quite a collection. And funny. I'm so sorry about your friend, though.
Mokihana said…
I'm from Hawai'i. I vote for mango. Heh heh.

Great post. I think I have 3 cookie cutters to my name!
You must be a fine baker, Barb. Every 'cut' cookie I ever made fell apart at its weak points once baked.
Anonymous said…
Some kind of serendipitous timing going on here. . . . must confess I haven't peeked at the blog for a while (busy, busy, you know --- sending you an email too) and I just happen to pop on and see the Indiana cookie cutter picture and have one of those "oh! that's me!" moments! And hey, *I* have a Texas-shaped cookie cutter!!!
Bryan Wilde said…
Losing someone is never easy. This is such a feel-good post that I can't help but think would never have been written were you not grieving. Making Christmas cookies with your daughter in October never would have happened either. When I'm in doubt my kids and I make Blondies and then we eat the whole pan in one day. I must be in serious doubt lately because we've been making them, no kidding, just about every other day. Love those cookie cutters. I've got to share this post with my wife. You've also added and shared humor which will get you through just about anything. Hang in there.