Good Night

I've spent the better part of the last few hours barking orders, trying to formulate an edible meal and keeping children and dog from simultaneously bringing the house down to its studs.

I'm exhausted.

Kate exhibited her usual deep-seated streak of independence (where'd she get that?!), and Jack, just today, learned how much he loves the art of sass. Steve is working late tonight, so I feel like a small square of plastic wrap that's being stretch across a giant casserole.

But bedtime, as any parent knows, is a mixed bag of blessing and blessed irritation. It's the last chance to squeeze in a cuddle but you're so exhausted you just want the bedtime fairy to whisk them into their beds and zap their eyes shut. But as I looked at them tonight I started to see their little faces as teenagers and adults. I saw the end of the era of them as my warm wiggly little cuddlers.

So despite my drooping eyelids and need to get that next chore done, we stole a few minutes off the bedtime clock tonight to curl up with each other and shorten the distance that school, work and chores seem to drive between us. In my current fit of mom-love and nostalgia, I even read that dreaded Thomas the Tank book that feels like, if it were a movie, it would be twice as long as Benjamin Button (and without the bonus that is Brad Pitt).

As we huddled in our quiet little wrinkle in time, Kate reached over with her delicately long fingers and rubbed by neck while Jack made his Spiderman action figure do a table pose (his big sister taught him some yoga, obviously) before it leaped in a loud explosion onto the floor.

And for one more night, they were the age that I love them to be; still so filled with sweetness in the bedtime hour that it makes my face hurt.

So good night and sleep tight, my little darlings, for tomorrow, you'll be a little older.

I've Got Mail: Cookies!

I just added a new word today to my treat vocabulary: mondel bread. And I won't soon forget it, either, thanks to a shipment from LuLu's Sweets.

Fourth-generation "Mondel Bread Maven" LuLu (Lauren Harris) of Los Angeles is building quite a tasty business from her Grandma Gussie's and Great-Grandma Frankel's traditional recipes.

Just in case mondel bread is new to you, too, it's a twice-baked bread treat from Eastern Europe. It's less crumbly and crunchy than a biscotti (although they're similar in shape and density), and LuLu's seem to melt in your mouth. Harris uses the original recipe, which calls for almonds and cinnamon, and she has expanded her online business to include a total of 12 enticing flavors, including chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip and pistachio with dried cherries.

Harris also recently expanded her line to include cookies, which she beautifully packages in reusable (and airtight) jars.

I am occasionally skeptical of cookies and sweets that you order online, but these goodies are worth it (prices start at about $18 for the mondel bread). You can also package your mondel with a bag of organic coffee. And Los Angeles residents can even pair their treats with a half-gallon glass bottle of organic milk.

Yum.

Mend a Heart!

Now that all we have left of Valentine's Day are empty chocolate boxes and slightly fuller hips (me, anyway), here's a way to do something good for the heart.

In honor of National Mend a Broken Heart Month, you can help children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. When a child is in need, the My Stuff Bags Foundation swoops in with a special bag filled with both necessary items (such as toothbrushes and other toiletries) and  goodies (like stuffed animals and games) to help brighten an otherwise tragic moment in a child's young life.

My Stuff Bags is a Southern California-based charity that helps children all over the U.S. who have endured unspeakable harms. Visit the site to donate $10, which creates one bag. It'll not only mend a heart but make yours grow just a bit.

Casting Call!

OK, I'm going to come right out and say it: Watching Supernanny (Fridays on ABC) is one of my guilty pleasures. Sure, Supernanny Jo Frost has her critics, but her no-nonsense, take-back-control-of-your-household approach often rings a good reminder bell for me.

That's why I'm intrigued by the new spinoff that won't come with an umbrella or mini-Cooper but a different look and feel: Super-Manny. Finally! We aren't just delegating the role of childcare and repairing disruptive households to the females of our species. Led by developmental psychologist Mike Ruggles, the show first premiered last year and stands ready to bring Ruggles' approach and unique ideas to struggling parents. All they need now are more willing participants.

If you think your family might be interested in being on the show, you can check out the open casting call from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Downtown Disney District. If you can't make that event, you can get in touch with Millan Sur of Ricochette Television at msur@ricochettetelevision.com or call 323-904-4680, ext. 1100.

Happiness Is a Warm Puppy

My recipe for a great Valentine's Day? Hug your dog, let your little boy run around without a shirt, eat a cookie, watch a sappy movie (Keanu Reeves, here I come), learn a new fact about Abe Lincoln, make out with your sweetie and, if it's not raining, sit on a pile of flower petals (it's camelia season, you know) and relish the fact that it's flower petals and not six inches of snow.