Chalkin'

The kids were playing, so I thought, in Bubba's blue car tonight.  The unseasonable weather meant that I had the doors open, listening to their imaginative chatter in the garage.  I suddenly noticed that the voices were fainter and went out to investigate.  Best $2.50 spent this weekend. :)

They called it their "Chalk Party" and wanted help spelling party.  We sounded it out, and they wrote all the letters they heard.  Here's Ben's:

They brainstormed and drew all the people they'd need to invite.  Sammy, Mrs. Buist, Jeff, Riley, and every cat and dog they could think of made the cut.

  

We had all the ingredients for a great party drawn in the road-- balloons, music, friends, dancing dogs, and dirty hands to rub all over our clothes.

Best Friends

Update: The Hansel and Gretel Effect

Shortly after we returned home from making our family gingerbread house I became concerned.  The kids kept asking when we would be eating it.  I can understand why they though that, but we assured them more times than I can count that it was just for decoration.  NOT for eating.  As these pictures demonstrate, the message didn't stick!

Exhibit A: Missing candy corn.

Exhibit B & C: Licked gumdrops and peanut butter cups.  

It's no longer a beautiful, though kid made, centerpiece, that's for sure!

GG's Cookies

Last year we were treated to GG's Giant Ginger Cookies at Christmastime.  It was a wonderful treat each day to pull out a big cookie from the tin in Florida.  This year, we're missing the pool and GG's cookies.  At Panera the other day Mia was shocked when her gingerbread man tasted like GG's cookies.  I decided it was time to pull out the recipe card and give them a try myself.  A huge molasses fan myself, I'm glad we did! 

I think the kids were worried and a bit skeptical as we whipped the sugar into the shortening.  They sure weren't looking like GG's cookies yet!

I was lucky to have such great taste testers.  They were even willing to try the sugar to make sure it was still good.  Phew!

Finally, when the dough was starting to look a little more like GG's, the actually believed we were making the same cookies.  Ben lost interest at about this point, so I now only had one taste tester to rely on.  Poor Mia. :)

They DID taste like GG's!  We did need to call GG quickly to double check that we were following the baking directions correctly, which we were.  My helper was an excellent sugar sprinkler and beater licker.  I was lucky she stuck around.

Yum.

Christmas Card Mayhem

Honestly, I almost didn't send out photo cards this year.  But as cards from friends started to pour in, I realized that I loved the cards as a way to keep in touch and a way to show the passing of time.  Even though it meant I was waiting until the last minute again, I decided to go ahead and try to get it all together. :)

As the kids get bigger, it gets harder, not easier, to get a good picture.  Theresa's blog is hosting a crazy holiday picture linky party, so I'll now be showing photos that would have only seen the recycle bin otherwise.  I'm glad though, because they made me laugh as I considered them more than just the photos on the cutting room floor.

The photo card winner this year was very impromptu.  I still wasn't sure that I was even going to order cards at this point.  The kids were getting ready to go see Sammy for her family's Christmas party.  Of course, this prompted the kids to want to pull out the clothes Nana made them for holiday gatherings.  Mia was sitting in the sunshine on the dining room floor when Sunny came up and sat perfectly next to her.  I grabbed my camera and started snapping...

 And then I realized I should call Ben over.  By that time, Mia had decided it was too bright and the dog needed sunglasses.  (She was right about the brightness!)

And then the dog ran away.  It was REALLY bright.

I finally realized it would be better if I pulled the shade on then dining room window.  However, all three were pretty much done having their pictures taken.

I guess the lesson is that you should always have the camera near-by.  You never know when the opportunity you didn't know you were waiting for will present itself!