If you recall, a few days ago I turned my nerd on and explained why time passes faster as we age. Because of that unfortunate phenomenon, I’ve come to an important resolution.

This past week has been my family’s annual beach week. We go to the Eastern Shore with all of the family and enjoy time in the sun, sand, and amusement parks. While I was riding on the merry-go-round at Funland earlier, I realized that there’s only one thing I can do to stop time from moving so fast. Ready?

Stop. Rushing. Everything.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always thinking forward to the next thing. Next week, next month, next year. I’m a big planner and list-maker, which means that things stay nice and organized. The downside? It’s hard to remember to live in the present when all you can think about is the future.

Listening to my friends and wiser elders, I’ve grown to realize that time standing still is actually a good thing. For instance, my kids are still young and cute and cuddly. From what I’ve observed as a high school teacher, children grow away from parents. It’s natural and appropriate. So why on earth can’t I just stop and enjoy the time I have with my little chubby-cheeked crew? It’s high time things slowed down a bit. Especially since as of today, I’m a lot closer to 40 than 30. Ick. My dad tells me that it’s no big deal, but it’s all about perspective.

Last night, Kenny and I were walking on the beach and talking about our upcoming 10-year wedding anniversary. As of this August, I will have known Kenny for half of my life, which is mind-boggling in itself. But in the past ten years, we’ve done an awful lot. Had our children, solidified our careers, grown together. It’s been quite a ride. The next ten years are really startling, though. That will produce teenagers and complexities that I don’t even want to think about.

So, are we all agreed? Time will now stand still. Who’s with me?

Summer is almost over, so I’m fighting the gradual ebb by making a totally summery treat. To be honest, I wanted to make these pudding pops of the peanut butter and chocolate variety. But then I thought about my poor son, the one who hates all things chocolate. He really loves vanilla, though. And sprinkles. So these funfetti pudding pops seemed like the right thing to do.

After all, I always want to be the mom who makes the food that everyone loves. It doesn’t always work out that way, but the glory is in the effort. My own mom tried to make me Reese’s peanut butter bars from a mix for my birthday. They tasted good, but looked a little…special. She kept blaming the mix. I think it’s human error. But either way, I loved that she baked for me, and that she picked out my favorite kind of dessert.

Life is about cherishing the moments as they happen, not waiting for something better to come along. I’m not sure how to achieve that delicate balance between anticipating the future with hope and not rushing the present, but I’m going to give it a shot this year. Wish me luck!

Every now and then, they’d serve the best slice and bake cookies in the universe. No, I’m not exaggerating, so leave me alone. They were really the best. And I’ve hunted them down for years without any luck. It’s so sad!

They were rich chocolate cookies, huge ones, with an amazing peanut butter center that reminded me of a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Can you wonder at all why these were my idea of perfection? Years later, I learned that this kind of cookie is called a Magic Middle. And while they are magical, they can take a while to make with both the cookie dough and the peanut butter center dough. So I made up a shortcut, a cheat, a whatever. And they taste even better than the labor-intensive ones!

Yep, I used cake mix and actual Reese’s cups. I don’t care. I’m brilliant. It saves a ton of time, there’s no butter involved, and I get to have a giant Reese’s in the middle of my cookie. Plus, I added peanut butter chips for extra fun. I have not been able to stop eating these! They’ve been lunch for two days. Don’t even try to tell me I’m not a healthy person!

In fact, these are so good that I will probably not be able to make them again because it’s just too dangerous. I took myself on a date to the movies the other day and actually hid these in my purse for snacking. That’s so not me. But it was glorious! All I needed to complete the perfect moment was a Coke Slurpee.

I promise you that I never lie about the recipes that I’m really enthusiastic about. This is one of them! If you love peanut butter and chocolate, you must make this. You will never regret it! Just make sure you have a ton of people who want to share around you, or…yep. You’ll eat them all!

As usual, this is a super-quick recipe. I have some serious sun worshiping to do this time of year! With sunscreen, no worries. But there’s always time for cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 box devil’s food cake mix
• 1 box (3.4 oz.) chocolate pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
• 12 regular-sized Reese’s peanut butter cups

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients and mix thoroughly until a smooth cookie dough forms. Add the peanut butter chips and mix again.

For each cookie, make a flat disc of dough. Put the unwrapped peanut butter cup in the middle and then cover with another flat disc of dough. Pinch the sides together so the entire peanut butter cup is covered in cookie dough.

Place the cookies two inches apart on the baking sheets. Press additional peanut butter chips into the tops of the cookies to make them prettier.

Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Let me backtrack. When I became a mom, I decided I would bake for my children. They would take freshly made cookies for granted, know the exact texture and thickness of a perfect brownie, and crave my homemade creations with nostalgia when they grew up and left home.

I didn’t realize that small children don’t really like anything decadent. You have to keep it simple. Like, a plain cookie. A sugar one. With nothing else. Sigh. It doesn’t really appeal to my creativity, I’ll tell you that!

But I finally hit upon a cookie that both they and I love! Thank the powers above, because I was in the mood to be cute and girly today, not boring.

Can’t you tell? Look at these cookies. They’re precious! Pink and white and irresistible. I should know. I’ve been hiding them from my kids all day. But I can only hold out so long. I think they’re staging a rebellion. My son just walked by with a particularly dangerous look on his face. You know, a smile that you just know isn’t just a smile? And it’s scary?

So yeah, I’d better talk about these cookies quickly before they disappear before my eyes!

These are cake mix cookies, made with pink velvet cake mix and vanilla pudding. They come together super quick. And they’re so soft and thick!

As you know by now, the best road to thick cookies is usually refrigerating the dough. That’s not as necessary here, though, because there’s no butter in this cookie dough. That’s right! It’s vegetable oil. So you don’t have to spend time waiting for the dough to chill, although it’s also not forbidden if you feel like it anyway!

When you make the cookies, save a few white chocolate chips to dot the tops with. It makes them so pretty!

And then you have a lovely snack, appealing to adults and children alike. Someday, your kids will be away in college, just wishing they had a batch of these. Or maybe not. Either way, you’re going to love them!

Ingredients:

• pink velvet cake mix (Duncan Hines)
• 3.4 oz. box of vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the white chocolate chips. Mix well. Once the dough is consistently pink and smooth, add the white chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roll the cookie dough into tall mounds about 2 tablespoons in size. Place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Press any white chocolate chips that fall into the bowl onto the tops of the cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes exactly. Let the cookies cool and then remove from the cookie sheets. Store in an airtight container.