Merry Christmas 2011

Just something quick to jot down the silly antics of the day, the memories that I want to be sure will not be lost.    Happy 1st Christmas, baby girl, Q!  Mommy loves you!

After rushing downstairs, for probably the umpteen millionth time, though I told the kids not to go downstairs without us the night before, I decided to take a picture of the kids' reaction to the tree.  This photo is hilarious to me! I said, say cheese, and boom, I'm missing a kid...the klutziest kid on the face of the earth. 

 But, up she pops, happy as a clam!  Gotta love C!

 And here she is with her bounty.  Favorite toy?  It has to be the Jasmine Barbie.  I had no clue that it would be because really, I didn't even know that she knew who Jasmine was.  Toy she took to bed?  The lalaloopsy doll (not pictured) that my mom bought for her, Lalaloopsy little, Pita Mirage.  Cute memory: When C was unwrapping her gifts at my parents, she got to her last gift, a big box. "What do you think it is?" we asked.  "Its music," she exclaimed.  Too stinking funny because it was the piano she had asked for.  Clever little monkey, that one is!

 Here's L's take which includes DS games, Pokeman guys and lightsabers to play with P.  Favorite toy: lightsaber  Went to bed with: Lalaloopsy little Matey Anchors that my mom bought him.  He's never had a doll or anything like that before, so he was thrilled to get one so that he could play with the girls. Though, I'm pretty certain that he would have taken his castle to bed with him (that my Aunt S bought him), if he could have.  Classic memory: P made fried toast just like his dad made when he was a kid, with ketchup on it and when L was carrying it into the living room, it landed ketchup side down. "F*ck!"  Yep, my little angel used a 4 letter word.  Merry Christmas!

 When I asked J what her favorite toy was, she exclaimed, "my lalaloopsy."  That's the coveted silly hair doll, but its Sugar Crumb, not the Jewel Sparkle that I had wanted to get her.  She loved her...until she realized that she wasn't wearing a dress.  From that moment on, she attempted to trade dolls with C, or at least get her swap outfits with her.  I've never seen a kid try to swap out toys on Christmas before.  There was no way I was going to let her trade C because I got her the Rosy Bumps and Bruises doll, a nurse.  It just really fits her, and especially since she will probably have surgery this year, there was no way I was going to let her trade.
Favorite toy: Disney Princess Fairy 6 pack. She played with them the whole morning.  Went to bed with: Lalaloopsy little Scribbles Splash, even though she was disappointed that she didn't have a dress, either.  We have promised that she can buy some clothes for her dolls tomorrow.

 Had to share this picture of J in the first outfit she opened, from her godmother, my girlfriend Kristen. She was so thrilled to have a sparkly dress and leggings.

And here is C, in her new outfit that my sister got her.  Thought I'd share the photo since no one will probably ever see her in this again.  Let's face it.  Unless they are super comfy pants with a boyish t-shirt, she is just not interested!

Did I mention that L got a lot of DS games? We recently found out that he has to wear glasses and a patch over his good eye (left) for 4 hours a day because his right eye is very lazy and the vision is over 5 times worse than in his left.  During his vision test, he was unable to make out the big letter E on the top of the chart.  The even larger letter W was blurry to him.  To get his right eye functioning again, and hopefully better, the optometrist has prescribed playing his DS while he wears his patch.  This kid is thrilled!  Its definitely made the prospect of wearing glasses more palatable.

This is my favorite gift.  Friday night, I realized that I had shorted C 1 gift, so I had to go grab her something from the store on Christmas Eve with a fever of 101.6.  Oh yea, it was a fantastic shopping experience.  I went out for puzzles and maybe some lace up cards, but happened upon this reader. There are no buttons to press, instead, the machine simply reads the books to the kids.  It recognizes when they turn the page.  Awesome!  Both girls loved it!  Score! Even better is that I paid $13.99 when it was marked $27.99.  Double score!

 Let me not forget to share the joy of Santa, for L decided it would be nice to leave him a $.  Not sure why, and I don't think he's entirely sure why either.  My guess?  There was a dollar bill in plain sight, so he thought, "why not throw it on there.  I might get an extra gift if I do!"  Strangest thing was though, that in the morning, L asked P and I if we wrote the note from Santa.  He's never questioned us on his existence, but still asked about the note.  Strange, strange.

A picture of my favorite little baby girl, Q.  It was so great to see her enjoy her toys, talking and laughing with them.  She'll be 6 months on Tuesday.  I love this age!

My Grown-Up Christmas List

I'm making Christmas cookies for a cookie swap tomorrow...Cleone's Nutmeg Cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 1/3 cups margarine
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the milk and lemon juice in a small bowl; set aside a few minutes to sour. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Beat the margarine and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat the first egg into the margarine mixture until completely blended, then beat in the vanilla with the second egg. Mix into the flour, then stir in soured milk mixture until just incorporated. Wrap cookie dough in plastic, then freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. Roll dough out on a heavily floured surface, then cut with cookie cutters. Alternatively, the cookies can be rolled into balls, then pressed down with a fork. Arrange cookies onto prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes

How did I decide on these?  Well, the recipe makes 5 dozen, and I need 6-7 dozen.  I figure I can stretch it into an extra dozen or so.  And...all the ingredients are in my refrigerator and pantry.  Talk about a last minute idea.  I'm hoping I won't be up too much longer past midnight.  

As I was mixing my dough, Christmas songs were dancing in my head, including my brand new favorite song, Amy Grant's "Grown up Christmas List."  I just love that song, and it got me thinking about what my grown up Christmas list would be.  Well, I have multiple lists, and here they are:

THE IMPOSSIBLE LIST

1. For my brother, Dennis to be with us again, in body and spirit

2. World peace

3. The end to hunger and disease

DREAMS FOR MY FAMILY

1. For my husband~his dream house, dream car, and the promotion he deserves

2. My mom~peace

3. My dad~good health

4. My brother, D~a drug-free and fulfilled life

5. My brother, A~a wife that will love and cherish him

6. My brother, G~a healthy baby boy

7. My sister~a healthy baby, preferably a girl ;-)

8. My kids~outdoor play equipment for our yard

My Selfish List

1. KitchenAid stand mixer

2. Cuisinart Ice Cream/Yogurt maker~large

3. New kitchen

4. Wall removed from between my living room and toy room

5. New bathrooms

6. New house

7. New carport

8. The remains of my old carport removed

9. New wardrobe once I drop this excess 25 pounds

10. A vacation, just P and me

11. A really good carpet cleaner

And, my final Christmas wish is simply for the health and happiness of my friends and family.  I hope that we all may find it in our hearts to remember that this is truly the season of giving, not receiving, and that the best thing to give is our love and support.

Merry Christmas to all of you!