The Parent Manual
So you’ve had the baby; you bring them home and set the car seat on the floor then look at your husband and say “Now what?”. That’s what my husband, Shawn, and I did. Then you unknowingly start fumbling around in your pockets looking for that manual. They had to have given you a manual on how to raise this thing right? There is absolutely NO way the doctors and nurses would just let you leave with a brand new baby without a clue on what to do with it…
But they do.
Every single day new parents are sent home with their newborns and have no idea what to do next. Yes, there was Lamaze class you might have taken but that was basically to learn how to breathe and nurse the baby. What about when the baby cries for no reason? Or won’t latch on to you and only wants a bottle? Or when they get a little older and asks why those two men are kissing. Or why do people die? Or why am I the only child, why don’t we have another baby like my friends at school? Where is the pamphlet that prepares you for all of that? I’m sorry to inform you but there’s no such thing as a pamphlet to answer all the parenting questions you’ll have. We get 9 months to prepare for a lifetime of raising a child.
Often times I wish I had that imaginary manual. I ask myself all the time: “Am I doing this right?”, “ Did I yell too much today?”, “Am I letting them get away with more then they should?”. I felt like this for a long time until one night while putting my son Aiden to bed he said something that made me realize I’m doing just fine.
He has a giant stuffed pink orca that he won at SeaWorld about 4 years ago. He loves it and sleeps with it every night. Now he’s realizing the orca is pink, not an ideal color for boys according to him. He went on and on about how stupid it was to not have a variety of colors, why only pink. Then all those bad mom feelings went away when he said all on his own “But that’s OK I am just grateful that I won something.” I was so proud! Just when I thought I was raising a spoiled kid he goes and says something like that.
I know there’s no such thing as the perfect mom. But there are moms that are the best at a specific thing. The mom who gives the best hugs, the mom who sings the sweetest lullaby, the mom who’s the most crafty, and my favorite the mom who makes the best brownies. That’s where this recipe comes in. If you make these for your children you will forever be the mom who is known for making the best brownies. And I’m OK with that! I bring snacks as often as I can to the school playground on Friday’s mostly to welcome the weekend for Aiden and his friends. I have heard one of his friends say on occasion “Aiden you are so lucky, your mom makes the BEST brownies.” Enjoy baking these up! ❤
Fudgy Brownies Recipe
4 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Cocoa
2 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, melted
2 Sticks Butter, melted
1/2 Cup Flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk eggs, add both sugars and mix, add cocoa, vanilla, melted chocolate chips, butter, and flour, mix until all combined.
Pour batter into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
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