Remember December?

Welp, it's not Christmastime anymore.

I was somewhat sad to see the holiday go, but a bit relieved at the same time. It goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway) that December tends to be a tad busy. It's kind of funny how I always seem to assign myself an extra dose of duty this time of year. What? I ask. You need help making more than 300 cookies for the ward party on the 10th? I'll make 200! What? The Relief Society needs dozens of cookies for the prison? I'm sure I can find time to make 2 dozen of the chocolate chip variety, on top of the 200 sugar cookies I need for the same day! Cookies? Piece of cake! I thought.

While it's true I thoroughly enjoy producing cookies, they certainly do take up a fat chunk of my time. And this was just the first round. Later in the month I decided I needed to bake a big-butt batch of sugar cookies for family festivities, along with a modest number of gingerbread guys and gals, plus two recipes worth of chocolate-and-almond-covered butter toffee. I don't know if Christmas would even show its face if I failed to do some customary baking.

Somehow I didn't take pictures of anything other than the ward party star cookies. What the heck is the matter with me? Due to the quantity of these, I didn't make them very detailed. When I made my personal batch later, I used a variety of cutters and spent a little more time making each cookie cute. So just try to picture an array of mittens, ornaments, Santa hats and stockings- all decorated with a few degrees more care than the stars shown above.

Okay, so I did take a picture of these pre-cooked mini gingerbread men. Seeing all their tiny figures lined up made me giggle as I imagined the circus that would be my kitchen if they tried the stunt their great-g-g-g-great grandpappy pulled in that gingerbread man storybook.

Just envision the amount of run-running and can't-catching I'd be doing in that eventuality. =)



At the beginning of the month, Jane set up "Christmas Corner" in our living room.

She originally made it for her mini (stuffed animal-type) gingerbread kid to live in. She kept adding on to it and rearranging things as the month progressed.


Special instructions on the white board.


That's Mr. Fluffy Pants by the stop sign. A gatekeeper of sorts.



There's the gingerbread girl on the left, nestled in bed. =) Notice the cute mantle drawing Jane made and put in there. (This is one of our end tables, by the way. Far too tempting for a creative little girl with doll domiciles on her mind.)

In the thick of the Christmas season, Cora had a big day at school. She is a part of the Challenge program that meets once a week at a different elementary school. They work on projects and researching things, etc. They had an open house for family and friends on the afternoon of the 15th. Each student had picked a culture to focus on. They had to create a board game having to do with that culture, write a little report, and make an object out of clay to symbolize her work.

She chose China.



She had trivia questions on the cards. I thought she did a great job on it!

That same afternoon was her first orchestra concert! She plays the viola.




She's so into this song! I thought the program went nicely, and I hope Cora sticks with it a while. She's improved considerably since she started in September-- not as many screeching strings now. ;)
She seems to be quite musically inclined. She's still taking piano lessons, and is really getting good at it. I still can't get her to sing audibly (dangit!), but I'll be happy just to hear her make music of any kind.


Soon enough, Christmas was here. I finished all the shopping and about 2/3 of the wrapping by the 23rd. I don't think I've ever gotten done "early".

Christmas Eve was spent at Ryan's brother's house on the outskirts of Caldwell. Ryan's parents, siblings, nieces and nephews were there. We had Mexican food, assorted desserts, a gift exchange, and a devotional. Then it was time to get home so Santa could swing by. About halfway there, as the radio blasted The Chipmunks' "Christmas Song", our car decided to overheat. We pulled over as soon as possible. Steam spewed forth from the hood. We called Ryan's bro to see if anybody else was on their way past. Lucky for us, Ryan's dad and bro-in-law were. I won't go on about every detail, but we were so glad we had someone to rescue us! They were able to add the needed fluid to the proper receptacle and get it home without further incident. I guess we had a leak.

The kids opened their new pajamas when we got home, put them on, and I ushered them to bed. I should be fired as the photographer in my home-- I didn't take a picture of the new jammies, or ANY pictures on Christmas Day. Flip. I don't know how it happened. The day just slipped by and I didn't have the camera right there with me. Bad mommy.

While I finished wrapping presents, Ryan set up the train track around the tree. Ryan's dad got a Lionel train and track set for each of the 3 little grandsons. It's not exactly kid-friendly, but he wants the boys to carry on his love of locomotives, and didn't want to get them some hunk-o-junk setup. I think his plan is working.

Our tree after Santa came.


We all got up around 8, opened presents, played; fixed scrambled eggs, sausage links and toast, then got gussied up for church, which started at 1:00. We only had sacrament meeting, and it was nice. Mostly music and pre-assigned testimonies. One of the young women played a carol on the harp, which was pretty.
I had been asked all the way back in October to put together a women's musical number for the occasion. Eight of us sang "Mary's Lullaby", a Primary song. I think it turned out pretty okay, if not a little too loud. But it was nice, right?

After church, we gathered our cookie trays and went to my parents' house to see my side of the family. We grazed on deli style sandwiches, dips and chips, and assorted other treats. We loitered, exchanged gifts, and chatted. Then some of us played a game, Last Word, which was pretty entertaining. We were there a few hours, then stopped by Ryan's parents' house for a bit on our way home, where we opened a few more things.

It was a really good day. And we did all the driving around in our trusty '96 Toyota Tercel, since the Pacifica was having a time-out in our garage until we could get it in to see a mechanic.

Since I regrettably didn't take any treasured Christmas Morning photos, I went back a few days later and took pics of the cutest presents.

I got the girls these charming mugs.

Cora got the giraffe one, Jane got the zebra. What? You don't think they're anything special?

Then take a peek inside!

I found one at Cost Plus and the other at Pier 1. When I saw the first one, it instantly triggered a memory. Hey! I used to have a mug with a tiny animal in it! Unfortunately, the memory wasn't strong enough to supply my mind with the type of animal it was. I think my sister and I each had one with a different animal. All I remember is happily drinking milk from my mug. At first glance, it was just a pool of white liquid. But as the milk level decreased, the cute, little, ceramic critter gradually appeared. I'd forgotten all about my childhood mug until the moment I saw the first one of these. The sentimental nature of my discovery caused me to buy it, of course. And I was pumped when I happened upon the other one a short time later. I just hope they stay intact longer than mine apparently did! By the way, Cora and Jane were as thrilled about theirs as I was about mine. =)

Next, I wanted to get Jane some cute Barbie dresses. I am consistently unimpressed and/or disgusted by the options available in Barbie aisles everywhere. The quality and prices are laughable. So, I turned to Etsy. And I came across these...

Some crafty lady busies herself making scores of these darling dresses. I was so impressed. I absolutely love everything about them! Except that I couldn't find one in my size!

One evening, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was wandering around TJ Maxx, when I spotted something marvelous. A tri-fold, canvas, candy shop masterpiece! Perfect! It was only $60. A steal of a deal, considering the sugar-inspired work of art it is. I had to get it. I knew I would kick myself many painful times if I passed this beauty up. Everyone knows I'm a sucker for sugar.


It looks sweet as can be in Jane's ice cream cone themed bedroom.
I almost didn't even go over to that side of the store. Just think of the lifetime of delight I would have missed out on!



The painter did such a perfect job illustrating my dreams.


So cute!

I love the details-- down to the scalloped shelves and yummy-looking chocolate covered strawberries.


It stands up like this, but Jane likes it flat against the wall. I guess it's less likely to tip over that way...

A few days after Christmas, I took Jane and Oliver with me to Pocatello for a long-overdue visit. Ryan had to work, and Cora doesn't have anyone left in Poky she wanted to visit, so she stayed home to spend time with her cousin, Malory.

We met some pretty priceless friends while living there a few years back. We've stayed in touch and we love getting to see them whenever circumstances allow.

Melanie, my closest Poky pal, has a daughter who is Jane's BFF. It works out great for visiting purposes. When we are there, we spend the bulk of our time hanging out at their place.

Jessie and Janey



This is Mel with Oliver and me. I don't know why my face looks so slippery.


It looks like I got some Crystal Gravy on my cheeks and chin. And my bangs could use a trim.

We stayed Wednesday-Saturday morning, which didn't turn out to be long enough. Jane spent the night at Jessie's all three nights, but due to lack of space, Oliver and I stayed in a hotel one night, then at my fun friend Suzy's house in Idaho Falls the other two nights. Suz and I have known each other since high school, where we sang in a quartet together. I was excited to get to stay at her family's beautiful home, where she tried her best to fatten me up. But really, she's wonderfully hospitable. In case anyone needs a place to stay in Idaho Falls. ;)

And that's it for now. I have a few more December gems for another post, but I fear this one is already too long.
I hope everyone had a fanciful Christmas, as I did.