'Tis the Season



 Every fall, usually in September, the seasonal flavors start hitting the stores and coffee shops.  It seems like every year pumpkin spice foods and drink become more popular.  I don't know when this started but I know Starbucks has had pumpkin spice coffee drinks for a long time (and only for a limited time!) in the fall.  I like pumpkin flavor even though  do not frequent Starbucks or any coffee shop.  This year I bought a bag of pumpkin spice M&Ms and they were OK.  But they don't compare to my favorite seasonal flavoring!  It's candy cane/holiday mint season! 

 

I have already consumed the whole bag of mint M&Ms and there are only three candy canes left from the pack that I bought last week.  That candy cane tea is delicious too.  The only way it would be better is if it weren't decaf!  I don't know who wants decaf green tea.  It has a minima caffeine content in the first place.  Other things I look forward to having in the next few weeks include ice cream with mint flavor, baked goods, and possibly some ice hole peppermint schnapps!  Yeaaaah!  I keep forgetting that I can have that now if I want! 

 

I am excited for Thanksgiving.  We thought maybe we would stay around here but after two weeks of sitting around the house in sweatpants I am ready to get out of here.  Newborns travel well anyway and Ben really needs a change of scenery so we will be visiting family for Thanksgiving.  Tessa will be able to meet our grandmothers and I will be home to help lug all the Christmas decorations out of the attic of the old house one last time!  Although that process is generally a big pain I'm sure I will feel nostalgic about it anyway. 

 

I was excused from contributing anything to Thanksgiving but I have had the urge to bake something holiday related.  Don't ask me why.  It doesn't hit very often!  I settled on spritz cookies since they are really easy and we had all the ingredients in the house already.  Also, they only take a few minutes to bake and don't require any rolling or messy hands so I knew I could get the batch done fast.

 

The spritz dispenser is seeing the light of day!  It only happens a few times each year around Christmas and Thanksgiving! 

 

I love these bottles!  I hope McCormick never changes them.  They have been the same my whole life and probably forever.  When watching my mom bake as a child it was fun being able to squirt in the drops.  It was really fun when we were making a snack for school and I got to pick what color it would be.  They last forever!  I have had this box of food coloring for a long time.  I don't know why I first bought it but I will probably have them for several more years. 

 

I tried to let Ben get in on the fun since he likes to pull up a step stool and be a helper lately.  He really enjoys throwing laundry into the washing machine.  Usually his helping makes a big mess but I hate to take away his chance to learn.  He lost interest in this project in no time and proceeded to use his stool to mess around with the dirty dishes in the sink and to throw a full pack of milk storage freezer bags around the room while my back was turned for five seconds. 

 

He did like the cookies!  I may have let him sort of spoil his lunch by eating three of them...

 

Tessa was sleeping during the baking process.  She still is.  She had a pretty good night of sleeping last night which included a four hour stretch!  Then she was up for over an hour but went back to sleep for almost three more.  I feel so much better today than I have for awhile.  I hope she continues to regulate her sleep schedule to include longer stretches at night.