Twas the Night Before Christmas...

This year on Christmas Eve, we put away the boxes, and most importantly, the craziness of moving!
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We made cookies for Santa - two kids to a batch. Yes, that's a cake mix box on the table - don't knock 'em till you've tried 'em! They are delicious! To me, any recipe with more than 4 ingredients creates too much stress. These were perfect! An egg for each child - add some oil - stir. Seriously - no fuss. My kind of baking. Besides, we still had loads of fun in the process! I am still trying to forgive Aunt Kelley though - ever since she made "real" chocolate chip cookies with the kids, they tease me and nag me to do it again. Thanks, Kells.

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Anyway... after baking Cake Mix Cookies,

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Chip surprised the kids by telling them to bundle up - I think playing in the snow with dad is their favorite winter activity. Thank goodness, cause their memories of mom in the winter will have to be of me with a camera in my hands - through the closed window! I always get away with saying no when I tell them I will make hot chocolate and cup-o-noodle soup! My little trick...

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(just for fun - that's Taylor's school right behind our fence! When she's running a little behind, she hops on over, and she's at school!)

Opening jammies after a traditional ham dinner has become a fun tradition for us - posing with them and taking their picture has become a fun tradition for dad. :)
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Of course the sprinkling of the reindeer food is a must!

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One Christmas Eve, about 9-ish years ago, Taylor decided to ask Santa a question and put it by his cookies. She figured this was a good way to get an answer straight from Santa himself! I believe her burning question was, "How many elves are there?" Santa's answer was "more than the stars in the sky!" She was dumbfounded. This started the tradition of asking Santa questions and putting them by the cookie plate. We have a priceless collection from over the years! I'm sure it is getting tougher and tougher to answer the questions as they get more creative every year! Next year we'll have to limit the questions to one per child - that poor Santa!

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We always end the night by reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" - page by page. This was the first year we could all read well enough to make it actually flow! It was kind of monumental for Chip and me - it was a moment that made us realize how time truly does fly.

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Christmas Day post next... then finally done with 2008!