Just writing about toffee makes me want to run out and buy some more toffee.

Living with Claire these days is such a mix of up and down. She's so bright and she gets it and she draws stunning conclusions from only threads of information but then she has a moment where she is so utterly and completey THREE that I understand how eBay ads for children sometimes happen. (I'm not saying it's okay, I'm just saying I UNDERSTAND how a person might get there.)

Just this morning she threw a royal fit about wanting a certain cup to drink from. (We are trying to enforce a one cup per day rule around here, because I'm tired of filling the top rack of the dishwasher up with the eight ot ten cups she requires in a single afternoon.) Other times she says, "I love you so much, Mommy," or, "You're my best friend. No, wait, Charlotte is my best friend!" and then I wonder what on earth I did right or accidentally to give me such a kind little person to spend my days with.

***

A few weeks shy of the 33rd (!) birthday I have discovered the royal delight of a Heath Bar. For many, many years I thought I didn't like toffee, because it's a close cousin to caramel and that's never been a favorite of mine. (Too sticky.) But then I bought a Heath Bar for my cookie party, to crush up as a topping and HOLY WOW THAT SHIT IS GOOOOOOD.

I have since become a candy bar check-out stand addict. It's a little embarrassing.

***

We've had some nice days out here in the greater Dallas-Ft Worth area. We are still waiting on winter to show up and we've instead had a very long and stretched out fall season. The temperature waffles between freezing and 70, most days are sunny and the sky is such a stunning cerulean it seems impossibly real and I keep stepping outside just to check that the windows aren't tinting it artificially. The air is crisp and it's perfect for bike rides and playgrounds and scooters and kicking a ball in the back yard. If day after day of that doesn't make you look up and whisper thank you to whatever entity you give credit to for days and a life like this, nothing will. 2012 is starting off quite nicely around here.

Comments

[Lorraine]

Three words:
Heath Bar Blizzard!!!
My favorite dessert at Dairy Queen, you must try if you just found out you like toffee ;)

[Erin]

Oh, I was on a toffee kick for several months in 2011. Pretty sure that's where some of this extra 20lbs came from. Try the Hershey Skor bar. I think it's way better than the Heath.

[K]

I second the Skor recommendation. It's thinner, but just as tasty.

Also, my mom used to make angel food cake and then--as the "frosting" on top and around--crush up multiple Heath Bars, mix them into a tub of Cool Whip and spread THAT on the angel food cake. If you like any of those things, you will want to die of the tasty goodness.

[Jennie]

This winter (so far! still room to get shitty!) has been so glorious compared to the last two and this past summer. It's like Texas KNEW I was thinking what states were going to be my next home.

[HereWeGoAJen]

Oh my goodness, Heath Bars are so good. One of my favorites, since childhood. Someone gave Matt some kind of toffee/chocolate/graham cracker cookie thing for Christmas and no one has been able to provide me with the recipe yet. I REQUIRE the recipe.

[Mel]

Never much liked toffee but haven't tried in years. Maybe sometime in the future when I can eat milk again... though I will say that since I discovered I can eat dark chocolate, I'm obsessed with taking a bite of dark choc followed by a sip of good red wine. Not sure why it took me getting here to figure out how awesome that really is. Nice random tangent, you're welcome!

I read somewhere recently (I don't think it was your blog, but it could have been--I'm exhausted)that "2 is 3 with intent." And yes, I like that interpretation. I see this everyday and it is simultaneously awesome and exhausting. Motherhood is hard. (DUH)

[Jesabes]

I'm not a big fan of caramel, either. I thought I was the only one! Also, now k has me dying to have heath-bar angel food cake. That stuff is GOOD, even though I don't normally like angel food cake.

[Holly]

I forgot about Skor bars! Must buy one! Stat!

[Hillary]

Our solution to the bazillion cup problem was water bottles. Each kid gets a bottle for the day and that's it, except for at meals. It also limits the milk/juice consumption, which was good for my chunky monkeys. (Not that might kids are on a diet, but oh lord I'm just going to stop typing now ...)

[Karen]

I adore toffee. Trader Joe's has this English toffee, coated in dark chocolate and then crusted with pistachios. It is TO DIE FOR. I can't be trusted with it. The toffee is thicker than a Heath Bar, so more toffee=win.

You can also make toffee, at home, did you know that? It's embarassingly easy. I remember melting margarine and sugar together, cooking it for exactly seven minutes, then pouring it into a buttered pan, covering it with chocolate chips. let it set and then break it up and devour it.

Okay, I know how i'll be spending naptime today.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

That last paragraph made me give a little happy sigh, and take a closer look out MY windows. It's winter, and it's my favorite season, and snow is sifting down, spinning this soft cocoon of white all around me, and oh I am grateful for that!

I would like to add my voice to the others recommending Skor. It and Heath are both delicious in their own ways, but surprisingly different from one another!

[Maggie]

I ALSO dislike caramel and WANT TO MARRY toffee. Obvs I recommend the easy toffee bars (graham cracker bottom, cooked butter/brown sugar middle, melted chocolate chips on top. DIVINE.)

[Jen]

OMG TOFFEE. My favorite. Dan got me a bag of these for Christmas. http://ghirardelli.com/products/chocbars_intense_toffee.aspx YOU MUST GET THEM. AMAZING.

Age Three is basically insanity. It gets better and the psychotic breaks spread out a little bit after they turn four ;) LOL And I think I need to institute that one cup rule because GOOD LORD am I drowning in sippy cup parts over here.