It has been a crazy week at our house! We got rid of the toddler bed (no more babies or toddlers…which has been difficult for me to process) and moved the kiddos furniture around. We took our Christmas Pictures (Oye…need I say more? Haha!). I started the Calendars of the kiddos that we give to the grandparents on Christmas (I laughed, I cried, and then I stopped). I even managed to tackle the mountain of laundry that evolved in our bedroom over the past few days (what mom doesn’t want to spend her free time doing laundry…yes, this is sarcasm). And while all of these things can stir up emotion (both good and bad) within a mom they cumulatively could not compare to the anguish I experienced on the kitchen floor while hunched over crumbled up Oreos Wednesday evening.
It all started Sunday evening when I asked our daughter what type of treat she would like to take into school for her birthday. Her birthday was Thursday so I figured I would bop into Kroger’s and purchase cookies or candy for her to pass out to her classmates. Nope! That would be too easy. She requested a fancy cookie on a stick. And right as I was getting ready to say ‘no’ my mind went to last year’s birthday party. It never happened. We said she could take friends to the movies and we never followed through. So before the word ‘no’ could be uttered I was strangled by mommy guilt. And that was that! I was going to be making something fancy on a stick for her to pass out to her friends come hell or high water. I was not going to disappoint my little girl (again)!
To start off I did what any smart momma would do I called for reinforcements. I called my friend Stacy and explained my predicament. And like always she had the perfect solution. Thus the Chocolate covered Oreo button cookie on a stick (that’s a mouthful…in more way than one hahaha!) was born. I stopped at Kroger’s before picking up the older kiddos from school and grabbed the necessary ingredients:
- Package of Double Stuffed Oreos (I grabbed 2 just in case and thank goodness I did)
- 2 Bars of Bakers Chocolate (Vanilla)
- 1 package of Mini Chocolate chips (to make them look like buttons)
- 1 package lollipop sticks
Then that evening I opened Pandora’s Box…I mean I twisted, or attempted to, twist open Oreos. I confidently opened the first package of double stuffed Oreos. I grabbed an Oreo and began to twist. It broke. I figured I must have exerted too much pressure so I grabbed a second. Crack! And then I delicately went for the third. It crumbled to pieces! The fourth through fifteenth resulted in more of the same. By the sixteenth Oreo I lost it! Why did the Oreos hate me? Why wouldn’t they cooperate? I was being kind, gentle, delicate…what was I doing wrong! Then the frustration came over me. I launched the seventeenth cracked Oreo across the kitchen near the trash. Then came the waterworks. The tears ran down my face as I dramatically fell against the counter then slid down the cabinets, plopped myself on the floor in despair and threw myself a little pity party. And what’s a party without food? Lucky for me I just so happened to have plenty of freshly broken Oreos to help ease the pain. Haha! As I sat there eating my tear stained, now somewhat soggy, crumbled up Oreos I realized I wasn’t upset about the Oreos (though that really was infuriating!) I was sad because our baby, who is 3, just moved into her big girl bed. That meant no more cribs or toddler beds and I treasured those days. I was hurt because I would gladly give up sleep, change diapers, nurse babies, etc. if I was given the opportunity to do it all over again. But why should I be given a second chance I totally forgot my daughters birthday gathering last year and I was well on my way to failing her this year too! I was one hot emotional mess with Oreo mud on my face. Haha!
After my little therapeutic Oreo meltdown I felt rejuvenated. I was ready to start again. And start again I did. And guess what? That second bag of Oreos gave me no grief. Each and every cookie twisted apart perfectly. Perhaps it was pure coincidence? Perhaps one package was closer to its expiration date? Or maybe God just knew that this mom needed to do some soul searching over some crumbled up cookies? Who knows?
What I do know is that I went on to rock the heck out of those Chocolate covered Oreo Button Cookies on a stick!!
And that’s the way the cookie crumbles…..
I think the lesson I learned from this whole Oreos charade was that I need to slow down and process things a little better. Not numb my emotion with the next event or task. I also learned (thanks to my mom) that if you pop Oreos in the over (or microwave if you have one) for a few minutes (seconds if using a microwave) they twist apart soooo easily. And yes, I am proud to say that I can now laugh at myself for not doing so. Haha!
Have you ever experience an ‘Oreo’ like meltdown? Or an unusual moment when you were suddenly flooded with emotion? Do you ever find yourself moving through life too quickly? How do you set aside time to process your thoughts, emotions, and the happenings in your life?
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 