Tasty Thursday - Yummy Snowball Cookies

A.K.A. Southern Pecan Butterballs or Mexican Wedding Cookies or Russian Tea Cookies or Emo Marie's Nemesis...

Last Christmas, I tried and failed miserably to make a yummy batch of snowball cookies after sampling some at a holiday party.  I scoured the web and tried several different recipes, but never found one that worked out for me.  Most of them turned into a crumbly mess.

I decided to try again this year because I really do love the cookies, and I found this recipe on the Facebook page of a blogger that I follow.  It worked out beautifully, and the cookies were really yummy.  I think the secret is that it uses butter-flavored shortening and powdered sugar rather than the more traditional-type recipes I had previously tried.

The recipe is really simple, just mix all the ingredients together and then form into balls.  I used a cookie scoop to measure the dough and then shaped it into balls.  Bake and then roll into powdered sugar while warm.  Once they cool, roll in powdered sugar a second time for a more complete coating.

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Cookies

Truthful Tuesday - Mother Always Knows Best

Except that sometimes she doesn't because she doesn't have a clue what she is doing and just wants everyone else to think that she does.

I am sitting here typing, almost in tears, because I am in way over my head.

Homework for Little Man has been an huge issue for us this school year.  We spend 2-3 hours every night on homework that should take 15-20 minutes tops, and there are tears and screaming and pleading before it is all said and done.

It's not that Little Man struggles with the material, he just doesn't see the point in homework.  So for him, that is the end of the story.  In his mind, he has done his duty by sitting through school all day and should be free to pursue whatever he wants once he gets home.

And tonight...  Well tonight was probably the craziest experience we have had to date because he spent over 30 minutes arguing with both Deputy Doug and me that it was not him that wrote one of his spelling words incorrectly.  When he was the only one in the kitchen with a pencil in his hand.  He didn't know how it got there, but he was not the one who wrote it.

Really?

The first few minutes, I just stared at him incredulously with my jaw hanging open because, for the life of me, I could not fathom that we were even having this conversation.  I, somewhat calmly,  reiterated to him that he was the only one in the kitchen and therefore it could only be him who wrote the spelling word, but he was insistent that it was not him.

How do you handle something like that?  He was not budging an inch.  And he cried and he screamed while I tried to keep my calm and employ some of the techniques that the autism specialist has been working with us on, when inside I was screaming and crying as well.  He finally gave in and admitted that it was him that wrote the word after 45 minutes of conversation, losing most of his privileges, and him seeing that I was not going to budge an inch either.

How naive of me to think that with the new year upon us and two weeks off from school (plus the fact that Little Man came home in an extremely good mood) that things might be different.

How did my mom do it?  She always seemed so sure of herself and what she was doing.  I have to wonder if she ended up in her room at night, hiding in a corner and rocking herself while trying to figure out what the heck she was doing.  Because that's what I feel like doing sometimes.

I love Little Man to the moon and back, but sometimes I have to wonder if God gave this precious little imp to the wrong mother.  Because there has to be someone out there that would handle this a lot better than me, and that would be more wise and know how to help Little Man work through these things.

I have a couple of names and numbers of mothers who also are raising boys with Aspergers.  Friends who have seen me struggling have been kind enough to try and find me someone to talk to who has been there and done that already, so that I can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  I have been told  that one of the mothers has handled the situation by just embracing her son's quirkiness.  I have been hesitant to call because I am scared that they are going to tell me that my situation is nothing compared to others and I am just being a wimp.  Or that I am handling everything all wrong.  Or that I am a complete and utter failure as a mother.

But seeing as how I am pretty sure that I am going to need some kind of support to make it through this, maybe now is a good time to pick up the phone and call.  Maybe I am not the only mother who feels like she doesn't have a clue about how to raise another human being.  Maybe mother doesn't always know best and needs to admit as much.

Wordless Wednesday - Carol of the Bells

Make Something Monday - Sparkleballs

I recently discovered that the Christmas light ball that my aunt made me many years ago actually has a name!  Even better, it has a pretty awesome name.  They are called sparkleballs, and are pretty simple to make.  I was really bummed that mine finally wore out, but am excited now that I know how to make as many as I want.  The one my aunt made me lasted over ten years, so I am hoping that mine last as long.

I scoured the internet for instructions, and I found several different methods, including using a hot glue gun and a stapler.  However, I opted to use the method that looked closest to my aunt's, which can be found on YouTube here.

Don't forget to work outside to avoid the fumes!

Start with 50 nine-ounce plastic tumblers.  Heat up the soldering iron and melt holes in the bottom of all 50 cups.  On my first try, I made the holes too large.  Making them as close to the size of the light base as possible will make them more secure when you insert them later.

Not-so-great first attempt:

 Much better second attempt:

Next, make a circle of 12 of the cups, and temporarily secure them with clothespins.  Use the soldering iron to melt through the cups and hold them together.  I found it best to squeeze the bottoms of the cups together and melt my holes at the base.  I figured this out on my second try.  The first time, I tried melting them together on the sides and that did not work as well.

Once you have the first ring built, remove the clothespins and then start building the top rings.  Build the first half using this method, and then repeat to build the second half.

Now it is time to add the lights.  Working in a zigzag pattern, place one light in each hole.  I used LED lights, and almost all strands come in 60 count.  My first try, I made two holes in ten of the cups so that I would use up all the lights.  However, this made it difficult when it came time to put the two halves of the ball together because I did not have any extra length to work with.  So on my second attempt, I left the extra lights loose in the middle and gave myself a little extra breathing room when adhering the halves together.

A side note... The first ball used a set of mini twinkling lights that I had on hand.  Although the end product was fine, the mini lights are not quite long enough to stay securely in the holes, so I have a few empty cups.  The longer, regular size lights work better.

Once you have all the lights securely in the holes, put the two halves of the ball together.  I secured them with  the clothespins until I could melt them together.  And that's all there is to it.  It's really simple and the end result is really pretty.

Wordless Wednesday - Let's Get This Party Started!

Wordless Wednesday - It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Just waiting to be adorned with lights!