Christmas Morning

So. May woke up first (of course! my rooster!) and then got her sisters up at about 6am. They knew they were allowed to open their stockings and Santa gifts before waking Mom and Dad. So, Chris and I lay in bed and listened to them yickity-yacking about their stockings and toys that Santa brought. It was the most fun! I just loved listening to them.

After they got us up, May played Santa and placed each person's gifts in a pile near that person. Then, we took turns as we went around and around the circle till all the gifts were opened.

Normally, I bake some cranberry-orange bread (like a pound cake with cranberries and orange juice and zest in it), but that did not get done this year. I skipped cards and a newsletter entirely, too. Neighbor gifts? Feh. Maybe I am falling apart at the seams?

But, we did have store-bought Danish and cinnamon coffee cake. And, coffee. Must have coffee.

The girls were far more interested in the chocolates and Goldfish crackers that Santa put in their stockings. LOL!

The paper and bows FLEW and soon the living room was properly adorned for its Christmas Morning Look. :-) (Plus, two more days for good measure. Well, I did pick up the paper, bows and boxes on Christmas.)

Just about everything was a hit and the photos tell you which gifts were favorites.

Merry Christmas, everyone!! (OK, so I know it was 3 days ago. Work with me here.)

New Scissors

I got a new pair of "Mom Only" scissors for Christmas. What made me laugh was that they were encased in plastic packaging and secured with a plastic rivet and you really needed a pair of scissors in order to open it. Hee! Things like this crack me up.

Christmas Eve

I need to build some better traditions around holiday food/meals. LOL! On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a pizza and watched The Nutcracker, It's a Wonderful Life, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the old animated one, not the furry Jim Carey one).

The girls each got to open one present. Jane selected a VIP Littlest Pet Shop penguin from May. May and Irene each chose the VERY VERY white tennies that I gave each girl, along with bottles of fabric paint to decorate them. (Separate blog entry to follow on that craft.)

They headed outside to scatter reindeer food on the ground. Then, back to the kitchen to leave milk and cookies for Santa. Somewhere in all this, Janie got the idea that something she had done would prevent Santa from visiting our house. She had a nice and reassuring chat with Daddy about how she was just perfect and had NOT done a thing to stop Santa's visit! He would be here! Promise!

Irene and Jane fell asleep fairly easily (much better than last year, when Irene was TERRIFIED of Santa being in our house!), but May got up REPEATEDLY. SOOOooooo much excitement in that sweet head of hers. She finally fell asleep about 11pm and I was able to go to bed and get out of Santa's way!

Yes, that is me in my reading glasses in the photo with May draped over my shoulders, as we admire Santa's snack. I'm 50 and no longer care who knows that I wear reading glasses (and would actually love some high-powered lamps that would attach to the sides of them, since I NEED LIGHT to be able to see anything these days. LOL!).

Marshmallow People and Monkeys

We love to do crafts together. Ones that are edible are even more fun! I am SOOOOOO committed to helping my daughters be creative individuals.