christmas day musings

every Christmas Day, i cover a few hours at the hotel so that other employees have a chance to spend part of the day with their families. it's a nice little routine for me... i get to do the crack-of-dawn present-opening with jack, enjoy some breakfast casserole and coffee, stop by my sister's to see the cousins...

and then, it's usually time for me to take a break from the chaos of the day. (this year, it was time for me to take a break from the 6 1/2 year old looking up his nose with the new eyeclops.)

the thing about hotel on Christmas Day is that none of the guests are actually here. they are at their family and friends' homes, enjoying present-opening and breakfast casseroles of their own. these four hours will be blessedly quiet, and i've come prepared to spend the entire time blogging!!

let's start off with some Christmas presents that we made to share with our family. first up, some *house sparkle.* i found this "recipe" at amy rue last year, and i filed it away in the recesses of my mind. it is, very simply, baking soda and essential oils - a totally natural, yummy smelling cleanser or laundry additive. you might think giving multi-purpose cleanser is an odd idea for Christmas. maybe it is, but could you resist the cute packaging?? thanks to this past year of blogging, i now have an arsenal of ribbon, canning jars (*multi-purpose jars*), graphic design ideas, and inspiration!!



on sunday, we took the cousins to portrait innovations. holy moly, what an operation! in the span of 10 minutes, we had 71 shots to choose from. we walked away with about 36 sheets of photos in 30 minutes - can you say Christmas presents galore for grandparents and far-away relatives?!? you also get a disk of all of the shots. so how could i resist whipping up some ornaments for my sisters (also known as the moms of the cousins.) once again, the blogosphere offered up an amazing idea, this time via jill.

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who was the mom who was baking up cookies at 10 pm last night for Santa? that would be me... a slight oversight on my part yielded NO carrots and only leftovers from the cookie exchange to lay out for the jolly old elf. thanks to all of you baking bloggers out there who inspire me to have a pantry full of staples!


you can see that Santa and his team of reindeer were pretty hungry by the time they got to our house!


when i finally had a chance to sit down and relax in the glow of the Christmas tree, what a joy it was to look over the *other* tree in the room. so many new faces and families and stories represented here. hope you are all having a most wonderful Christmas Day!!

deck the halls

one of my late night projects this year was to take this

and turn it into this


it might be my favorite decor this year! i keep meaning to photo-journal my Christmas decorations. this is only our second year in this house, so we're still tweaking what we like and what we don't like. if i DO end up taking some good photos, i'm tempted to go over here and add it to the holiday house tour. what a cool idea! i'll never have time to go through all of those links, but i'll bet there's some great inspration to be found!

somebody stop me!

at the risk of sounding cocky, i think we might be winning the gingerbread war!

or, i should say, jack is winning, and i am his unwitting accomplice. today is "cookie exchange day" at school (apparently, our Montessori is really sticking it to us on the sugar front this year!) and jack would not be sold on the easy, schmeasy turtles this year. ("but no one will pick those, mom!" peer pressure, first grade style.)

it was to be gingerbread men, and they were to be homemade.

thank goodness matty handled the rolling out and the cutting out of the men. i have mentioned my aversion to royal icing before. don't get me STARTED on the feeling of flour on my hands. or all over the kitchen, for that matter.

i simply had to leave the room while this was going on...




thank goodness i had saved the hermetically sealed bag of icing from the gingerbread house project. all i had to do was dot all the men, and jack applied the embellishments. he got tired (read: bored) after the first tray. it was then that we stumbled upon the sugar-dunking method. and a great time was had by all!



thank you to natasha for the cookie cutter - he was quickly washed and re-dressed with his festive ribbon as the cookies were baking!

we made applesauce for jack's teachers gifts (all you experienced canners out there, please overlook the air bubbles. this was our first attempt!) i am sending a very simple message to the Montessori this year: no more added sugar!!

random acts of kindness

i was the recipient of a random act of kindness the other night, and it felt wonderful!!

i was checking a guest into the hotel, and it turns out he is from Sweden. so i promptly used the three Swedish words in my vocabulary: gud yul, yultomten and (of course) lutfisk. (if you can imagine, i believe i used all of these in one extremely long, ridiculous sentence!). i explained how we're trying to make jack aware of his Swedish heritage.

at any rate, he seemed so surprised and happy to hear those few Swedish words. (he also chided my for not liking lutfisk, but, oh well.) he reached into his bag and pulled out two Swedish chocolate bars, one for me and one for jack's stocking! the whole exchange took 5 minutes, but is really left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. i can't wait for jack to see that tomte really came to visit this year!

we are the champions!

ok, this is NOT the gingerbread house that jack and i built. this, THIS, is what he brought home from school on friday. for the past four years of montessorri, we have suffered through gingerbread house day. every year, they ask each child to bring in a box of graham crackers and THREE bags of candy. i have not once, in four years, sent him with ANY of these supplies, and yet... each year i am left dealing with the disposal of something like THIS!!

on sunday, however, jack and i set out to conquer the real gingerbread house. and conquer it, we did!!


i have to say, i was THRILLED to see the pre-mixed, totally self-enclosed bag of royal icing. no icing oozing out of the pastry bag in the wrong direction?!? it bode very, very well for this year's gingerbread experience.


here we are, triumphant!


jack said, "we made it without arguing." oh, yes, jack, we did. and it made the experience oh so much sweeter! (i was particularly happy when he called my sister to tell her that we wouldn't need to borrow the glue gun, after all.) (but don't think i wasn't prepared to fire it up!!)

and the winner is...

last night, in an effort to soak in some holiday cheer (can you blame me??? it's 80 degrees out, and i just don't feel like putting up my tree!!!), we piled into the car and set out to see the neighborhood light displays.

we decided to try to tally up the different characters that were represented on the various lawns about town. we had a column for santas, snowmen, nativities, and *inflatables.*

after 45 minutes of touring the town, the final tally was:

nativities 7
snowmen 25
santas 25
inflatables...30!

it was awful, people!! entire yards taken over by hugely disproportionate Christmas characters!!

this one might have been the scariest. this photo seems pretty benign, but i'm here to tell you that rudolph here is well over 12 feet tall!!

i'd hate to see the abominable snowman...

bits and pieces

it seems that the season is bound to slip by me too quickly this year. i just need to remember to breath deeply and enjoy as many moments as possible. here are a few...

teaching jack to play dreidel - turned out to be one of the best family evenings we've had for a long time. who knew you could have so much fun betting chocolate coins for 45 minutes?!?

matty, the self-proclaimed *bull in the china shop* (for two years in culinary school, the chefs were always telling him he needed to "get more in touch with his feminine side!), surprised me with

awesome ambient lighting above our kitchen cabinets (apparently he has gotten more in touch with his feminine side...)

ribbony goodness from kristi, which got put to use immediately!!

do you see that, hiding behind the bread, *taunting me*?!?! oh, yes, jack want to take on the gingerbread house again. please, please go here to read my true feelings about this project. and then maybe send up a few prayers for me this weekend!!

bored? no, board games

one of our advent activities is to play board games. i love board games. matty? not so much. i've been waiting patiently for jack to be able to play games that are a little more stimulating than, say, chutes and ladders. (don't get me wrong, i love the chutes and ladders, but the fun factor, for me, is definitely limited by the going up, up of the ladders and the incessant sliding down of the chutes.)

last year, santa brought several board games: "monopoly, jr.", "charades for kids," "operation" and "mouse trap." today, the stack of games jack lined up also included "harry potter and the mystery at hogwarts," and "the 'how the grinch stole Christmas' game."

since matty works on sundays, it can be a very long day for jack & i. (not to mention that it was my first day, hotel-free, in 12 days!! there were so many distractions to keep me from the games: laundry, correspondence, dishes, Christmas decorating... but we snuggled into 2 rounds of "harry potter" and a round of the "grinch." i had a moment of sitting on the sofa and thinking, "i am soooo glad we are sitting here doing this, and nothing else. these pockets of time are so important for our children."

after i stopped talking to myself, though, there were errands to be done and dinner to be made. but, by then, matty was home. now, there is one board game that matty will get into, and we are so lucky that jack is old enough to have taken an interest in it.


(this might be my favorite image of the season, so far.)




so, as i put up a few more decorations, and enjoyed a warm bowl of soup, my boys practiced the age-old intricacies of chess.

matty: check
jack: check-MATE
and a handshake between gentlemen.

happy holidays, indeed...

Christmas meme

i've seen this meme all over (most recently on jill's blog), and now i will shamelessly use it to fill up some space on my own blog! (i swear, i have ideas to blog about, but i simply cannot find the time, energy, spark, etc. needed to write. (this is a *huge* difference from last year, when i managed to post every. single. day. of december.)

so here goes, Christmas, lelly style:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
wrapping paper, must be coordinated with ribbons and fun stuff, too! one year, this actually developed into a friendly contest between my sisters and i - who could be the most creative? i love to lock myself away and wrap and wrap and wrap.

2. Real tree or artificial?
i've always had a real tree, but i'm definitely hearing the case for artificial this year. especially since the trees here on the coast were all shipped here from somewhere else. and with the drought this year, the north carolina trees aren't looking so great. and they never smell like the trees i remember from my childhood. also, kelly a. had me on the *pre-lit* incentive...




3. When do you put up the tree?
usually within the first two weeks of december - i'll be lucky to make that deadline this year. maybe next saturday?!?

4. When do you take the tree down?
before New Year's Day. i used to keep it up through Epiphany, but it's become more important to me to get everything put up before we get back into the swing of "real life."

5. Hot chocolate or apple cider?
cider - i love to smell it simmering on the stovetop. my dad is a big fan of wassail, and i love the spices that he uses.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
my first *brand new* bike - it was bright blue, and i vividly remember sitting on it in the living room by the Christmas tree. undoubtedly it was too cold and/or too wet to try it out on Christmas Day, so i sat on it and watched T.V.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
i have about 13 of them. i try to add a new one to my collection each year.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
me, believe it or not. i'm just not that into *stuff* anymore. i much, much prefer gifts given with meaning and purpose, and i think that might intimidate some people who tend to buy gifts for me.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
jack, for sure. as long as it has something to do with an action figure!




10. Worst Christmas gift ever received?
a telephone in the shape of a Jeff Gordon car!@#$! yeah, that was DEFINITELY the worst.

11. Mail or email Christmas card?
mail!

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Christmas Vacation or Holiday Inn (i know - totally different genres.)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
december 23rd! sad, i know, but i am an up-to-the-deadline girl.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
i don't think so, but i won't swear to it

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
cheese fondue, a Christmas Eve tradition. and crunchy cheetos with red wine after midnight services. and that is a very special tradition.

16. Clear lights or colored?
i've been using colored the past few years, but having a yearning for white this year. i am very particular about using larger bulbs outside and *fairy* light bulbs inside. size DOES matter!




17. Favorite Christmas song?
toss up between Silent Night and O Holy Night, also O Nata Lux and The Nativity Carol (the chorister in me is coming out!)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
we definitely stay home, and i am lucky that almost all of my family is close by.




19. Can you name Santa's reindeer?
but, of course!

20. Angel or star on top of the tree?
I just bought a very cool mirrored snowflake that we are going to be using.

how about you? have you answered this meme yet?? go for it - it's a fun way to spend a few moments!

24 december - Christmas Eve

i woke up this morning and puzzled and puzzled and drank coffee, and relaxed. mat and i took turns running out for a few last minute items. and jack pretty much entertained himself while having an early viewing of a DVD that matty bought him for christmas.

we gathered ourselves together and went to church. it was a beautiful service, and thanks to all of the "families" it was loud enough that we didn't get too sensitive about jack energy aura. the minister, whom we just met at my parent's house few weeks ago, gave a sermon that really spoke to both matty and i.

they finished the service with one of my favorite traditions: the singing of Silent Night to candlelight. i remember doing this at St. Francis in Potomac, and of course, it reminded me of the candlelight service at Holy Trinity in Greenport. i am so glad we went to church, because i've really been feeling an emptiness there.

jack had a quick bath, and fell asleep quick as a wink. so did matty! i had the whole evening to wrap presents and listen to the Messiah. while savoring a few glasses of wine, i listened to Christmas Music presentations on public television. until i realized that it was after 2 am!!

i never saw santa, though!

23 december - Little Christmas Eve

we had a lovely open house, with just the right amount of people stopping in. matty saved us by doing ALL of the food prep. it's amazing that he enjoys cooking again. he's still a mess in the kitchen, but i definitely notice that he's making more of an effort to clean up behind himself.

i tackled the rest of the house, with jack in tow. he really wanted to "help." it was just so aggravating, because i was in my uber focused mode, and i felt like everything he was doing was a) creating more work to be done, and b) not fitting in with "the look" i was going for. UGH! why am i cursed with the stress of needing things to be JUST SO. i mean, so what if the piece of ribbon he taped on the pantry door looked awkward and chintzy?!? sometimes, i just need to get over myself!!

but, back to the party. we had plenty of food, featuring the baked ham with root beer glaze, and swedish meatballs on our julbord. we puzzled, and played board games, and all in all, it was a perfect evening.

22 december - play board games

note for next year: advent activities should possibly only be scheduled for the first three weeks of december, after which time, lethargy will consume the family, and all activities will be suspended...

we're winding down, and the past few nights, we've all been content to get in our PJs and watch TV. i did run around wilmington all afternoon, to pick up some things. crazy, rainy, last-minute-shopping weather.

we had every intention of polishing up the house this evening, but per usual, we will have the mad dash to our open house tomorrow afternoon. and it will all be O.K.

21 december - Solstice

ahhh, Solstice. even the name is soothing. we had our annual celebration with our great friends. it is the perfect way to take a deep breath before addressing the last minute Christmas frenzy.

we started our celebration three years ago, and it has quickly become an evening i look forward to with a lot of anticipation. the boys can play together, or work on decorating an (all-natural) gingerbread house, while we snack on pre-prepared food (rotisserie chicken, anyone?), dim the lights, and sit around the fire talking. good, old-fashioned, cerebral, spiritual conversations. it's amazing to me how i don't feel like i get much of that these days.

then we go around the circle, and we each light a candle and talk about whatever we want to talk about. it usually ends up being something we're thankful for, although i know i also mention some sort of resolution for the upcoming year. we ramble about druids, and seasons, and yule logs and misteltoe, and we are able to bare our souls in way that many people don't get to do anymore.

the celebration has come to mean so much to each of us over the years. this year, we almost scrapped it, as our friends were dealing with the death of a dear pet. and i think a part of me was even ready to put it off (i've been so tired lately). but i am SO thankful we got together. now i am refreshed, and ready for some Christmas magic!

20 december - make Solstice stars

OK, so no stars, and still no cookies!! have i tried (AGAIN!) to cram too many things into advent???

jack is fighting a cold, and i am just feeling t.i.r.e.d.

looking forward to our annual solstice celebration, even minus the stars!

19 december - bake a batch of Christmas cookies

too. tired.

will persevere tomorrow.

18 december - have an indoor picnic

we all were thrilled with tonight's activity. we were home together, there were no social obligations, no big food prep, etc.


(i don't even want to know how much meat matty put on the big sandwich.)


we moved aside the coffee table and just camped out. this is definitely an activity we should carry on from month to month. it's a nice break in a hectic schedule.

self-portrait, jack, 12/18/2006

17 december - make a gingerbread house

jack and i had our annual gingerbread adventure while matty worked. jack was seriously tired from his sleep over, and i was seriously regretting agreeing to do another gingerbread house. i have royal icing issues.

we were smart enough to put the pieces together so they would stay standing while we decorated. at least we learn from our bad experiences (2004, 2005...) but the icing. the icing. i can't stand the smell of it, the feel of it, the way no matter how much i twist the icing bag, some of it oozes out the back end. i can't stand the way it turns to cement immediately when you drip some on the table, yet when you try to glue a gumdrop on the side of the house, it persists on dripping, dripping, DRIPPING!

the amount of cursing i do under my breath during these gingerbread adventures is going to cost me in future therapy for jack, i can just tell. i need to just give it up!

16 december - special treat

the activity today stressed me out!!

originally, we were going to go to the holiday flotilla over on the big lake. however, i had a call a few weeks ago to set aside the date for a get-together at the home of a family we know. the get-together was to be followed by jack sleeping over for their son's birthday.

well, the thing is, we have a very awkward relationship with this family. neither mat nor i feel like we've really "clicked" with them, despite many efforts. many. efforts. they recently moved several hours away, but are keeping their home on the island as a weekend retreat, for now.

so, there was this loose invitation, and i didn't dare tell jack that there was a sleepover involved, in case it fell through. we just kept thinking they would call when they got into town to give us specifics about the evening. we wandered sort of aimlessly through the day, knowing we were expected to make an appearance at their house. we were all pretty tired, and even spent part of the afternoon watching a DVD. that is unheard of for us!! squandering away a saturday!

(it felt pretty darn good...)

we have no current phone number for them, since their cell phones have changed, so we literally had to go to their house to see if there was a party!! i had all sorts of schemes in my head of how we would turn around in their cul-de-sac if no other cars were there!!

turns out there were a few families there, and they ended up having 7 kids sleep over, and jack enjoyed himself, and matty and i endured the endless small talk. we have nothing in common with them!! even though it seems like we would: we have children who are close in age, we have similar education levels, we have similar tastes in music, in decor. we just don't.

all in all, it just felt like a wasted day and night. in my opinion, if you are still struggling with small talk with a couple you've known for almost two years, you need to just go your separate ways, and not try to force a friendship. it just seems so much more complicated when the children are all friends.

maybe this is why i feel like i have so few friends? does anybody else struggle with this?

15 december - campout around the Christmas tree

ah, the sleepover that never was... after spending the evening at my parent's third annual holiday oyster roast, jack was heard to say as i was tucking him into his bed, "it wouldn't have worked to sleep in the living room anyway." we were all exhausted, and thankful to be sleeping in our comfy beds.

as much as i love to look up at the christmas tree lights, i love being comfortable when i sleep just a little bit more!

14 december - have hot chocolate with all the fixins

wow, hot chocolate (as opposed to hot cocoa) is reaallly rich. i don't think any one of us took more than a few sips!! it was fun whisking the chopped up chocolate into the milk. and we even had a little science lesson, trying to explain why the whipped cream that we put in the bottom of the mug floats to the top when we add the hot chocolate.


anyway, after hot chocolate, it was off to printing labels for Christmas cards and making treats for the cookie exchange at school today. thanks to the world of blogging, i found this great idea that was perfect for child-with-short-attention-span participation. bagged 'em up and tied 'em with a bit of ribbon, and jack fell asleep watching the bonus material on 'The Santa Claus' of wolfgang puck making cookies and hot chocolate.

oh, it makes my teeth hurt...