Fa La La La La

We are busy little Christmas bees around here.  Sometime over the last week, the Christmas tree lost its top strand of lights...at first a few lights went out and then by mid-week, the whole top strand was gone.  Justin was content to let it be but it bummed me out every time I would look at the tree.  So yesterday we took everything off the top half of the tree, pulled off the old lights, put on new lights, got covered in tree sap and then put everything back on.  In the process, we discovered that the tree was not very sturdy in the stand.  Justin tried to tightened it up but it kept leaning like crazy...enter fishing line tied to the curtain hook and curio drawer knob.  Voila - a perfectly straight, fully lit Christmas tree!

We have an official name for Mr. Elf.  The kids really, really want to call him Buddy.  So Buddy is his nickname.  I've named him Felix Navidad because I think that is much more clever than Buddy.  So I call him Felix, they call him Buddy.  This Elf thing is a lot of work!  I woke up to 5 post-it notes worth of questions the first night he was with us, and 3 the next night. "Can I bring you someplace on Christmas Day?  Just this one time?  Pleas pleas pleas" "How do you get down when I can't reech you?" Felix/Buddy didn't  answer the 2nd round very promptly so she added "Y did you not write back on my notes??"

I bet Felix/Buddy at no clue he was getting into such a high maintenance situation when he came a-knockin'.

We had some additional name suggestions from an "anonymous" source:

Snitch, Quisling, Willard - Famous Movie Rat, Ben ( Sequel to Willard), Elfis, Finkus (Fink on Us), Squealer,  Weasel.  I do think Squealer is kinda festive.

We also made some Christmas cookies yesterday.  The kids iced and decorated some for Santa and I made some very yummy chocolate crinkle cookies...while we watched Elf (as you can see from the TV!).

We wish that we could be with ALL the family at Christmas - but we'll be thinking about you all - near and far - and wishing you a blessed and magical Merry Christmas!

First Day of Christmas Break

Saturday was the first day of Christmas break and it was a good one.  The kids woke up to some snow on the ground.  Not a ton, but enough to bundle up and spend a few hours outside.  It was great snowball making snow.

Ella and Silas used me for a target - 

luckily I was safely behind the glass door.

 

Ella showing me her littlest snowball. 

We put it in the freezer.

 

Later in the afternoon, we baked and decorated cookies.  I cheated and bought the GFS cookies - they are really yummy.  Nice, thick cookies that aren't too sweet.  I also cheated and bought the icing - 6 pounds of icing.  I still have 5.89 pounds left so let me know if you need some!

Silas had a very difficult time NOT eating the cookies and sprinkles while decorating.

After I moved the decorated cookies, I let him lick the wax paper with all the sprinkles and crumbs.  He was in Heaven with all that SUGAR!

 

They did a great job and had fun. Messy, but fun!