Come on! Come on! Can we open 'em now? Huh? Huh? Can we?

  When I was young (Here I go again, waxing nostalgic. You can tell me to shut up if you want. Right in the comments. Go ahead! I know you want to!) we had a lot of holiday traditions. Things like the advent calendar, candy house, cookie-baking, tree decorating, moving the wise men closer to the manger each night, etc. Lots of good memories and fun times!

But one of the funniest traditions to think back on is Christmas morning. You know how in the movies and in books and such the kids get up on Christmas morning and run downstairs and tear into their presents - wrapping paper and bows flying, boxes and tissue wrap willy-nilly, presents being extracted from boxes with wild abandon and shouts of glee?

Yeah, well, not so much. It was much more controlled and sedate when I was young. In fact, it was exactly the opposite of the way it happens in the movies. I'm not saying it was bad, just, um, different. It went like this:

• We would get up (I don't recall at what time, but I'm sure it was rather early. After all, we were excited! Santa had come!). 
• We would gaze in admiration at the tree and the pile of presents beneath it (a household with six kids always had a lot of presents beneath it). 
• We would sigh, knowing we couldn't touch anything until the moment was right. We had to wait until the parents were up. (Of course - this is a requirement in my own house today - I want to witness.)

( Come on! Come on! Can we open 'em now? Huh? Huh? Can we?)

And once they were up, well, we had to wait until breakfast was made - something extravagant usually like pancakes or waffles, coffee and cookies, eggs, a regular 5 course meal.

( Come on! Come on! Can we open 'em now? Huh? Huh? Can we?)

Then we had to wait some more until, well, I don't know, until we couldn't wait a minute more.

( Come on! Come on! Can we open 'em now? Huh? Huh? Can we?)

Then, Dad would meander slowly out to the living room and take his place near the tree. He would take his time and drag it out.

After much delay, he would begin to pass out gifts to the family who was anxiously bouncing on the couch in anticipation. Come on! Come on! Can we open 'em now? Huh? Huh? Can we?

Then, slowly. Oh so slowly. He would pass out the gifts. One at a time. Each was to be savored like a fine wine or a bit of chocolate. We would all watch as each gift was opened, anxiously awaiting our own gifts.

(Is that one for me? Is it mine? Huh? Huh? Is it?)

But it did make the whole experience last longer. And despite how funny, silly and torturous it sounds while recounting it, I wouldn't change it a bit. We all got the full experience of every gift, each bow and wrapper, and the expressions on the faces of those opening them. It may have been a bit over the top, a little much, but hey, I made it through, right? And I can tell my kids all about it and exaggerate to my hearts content because I can. 
 
Quack!

Saved By Santa

Twas the night before Christmas
And as I reached for the cat,
Lightning shot from my fingers
It knocked off my hat.

Static electricity -
Zinging from my fingers.
Prickling and sparking
Like a hive full of stingers.

And since she's a cat
wouldn't you expect,
That she would claw and hiss
until my arm was a wreck?

But no - with a glance over her shoulder,
With barely a twitch,
She regarded me as little more
Than a worm in a ditch

I breathed a sigh of relief
At the lack of spitting and claws.
I think she knows he is watching -
Good Ol' Santa Claus

 Quack!

To the Moon Pac Man!

  The boys love Pac Man. Santa even brought them some plush Pac Man and Ghost toys. Here they are in their very own 'vehicles' Pac Man is ready to rocket to the moon and Blinky is ready for a trip across the ocean.

Quack!

Christmas Cookie Season!!

It's Christmas cookie season! One of my favorite seasons! I have a legitimate excuse to bake. I've compiled a list of the cookies I'm planning including several traditional favorites and some new ones to try. I'm sure I won't have time to bake all of these this year. At least not and stay sane. But I'll pick a few favorites and will make plenty to share.

I'll even post pictures and recipes as I begin to get into the baking. Here are some of the things I'm planning on baking:
Butter cookie cutouts - These are a staple. Delicious plain, sprinkled, frosted and thumb-printed. You can't go wrong with these!

Chocolate pepper balls - These delicious little beauties are my favorites. The Hubinator hates them with a passion. The kids aren't too fond of them either. They are the 'bad habit cookies' because the recipe includes whiskey, coffee and lots of spices. The only thing missing (as the Hubby likes to point out) is the cigarette butts. Maybe I'll try that this year. And the thing is, looking over the recipe these are something I would never have made in a million years if I didn't know how good they were. They are chocolate cookies but the recipe includes a lot of spices including black pepper and cinnamon. It just sounds like a weird combination. Then toss in some whiskey and some melted shortning and you end up with a gluey, lumpy dough. It really looks
disgusting. Then when they are done cooking, they are rolled in a chocolate frosting that includes some whiskey and some coffee. The whole combination sounds disgusting to me. But for whatever reason these are toe-curlingly delicious! [Your mileage may vary]

Spritz - These are a favorite of Sweet Pea and Hubby. they always come out nice and tender and tasty.

Some other possiblities include peanut butter buckeyes and pizzelles (both favorites of the Hub), nutmeg logs, chocolate pinwheels, fudge, shortbread and something mint that I haven't quite decided on yet. So many possibilities so little time!

What are your favorites?




Quack!

Lights on the Lake (Somebody's Been Watching Too Much TV)

Each year we go to Lights on the Lake to check out the awesome holiday light displays. It's two miles of holiday lights along the shores of Onondaga Lake. We drive through along the trail and take in the sights along both sides of the road - twinkling lights, moving displays, Santa, elves, reindeer and just about everything else.

According the website it has:

• Towering Holiday Displays
• Larger-than-Life Land of Oz
• Twinkling Fantasy Forest
• Colorful Section Arches
• Delightful Victorian Village
• Fairytale Magic Grand Finale
• Memorable Animated Scenes

It really is a nice thing to do each year around the holidays. We thoroughly enjoy it. Here are some snippets of the conversations that ensued during this year's trip:

Dad: And here's Victory Village, celebrating warfare through the ages.
Mom: That's Victorian Village.

Dad: And over there are the snipers.
Mom: It's just flashing lights in the trees. It's pretty.

Dad: Look at that cow. They highlighted the chuck roast and flank steak.
Mom: It's just his spots.

(While Entering the Land of Oz)
Dad: And there's Dorothy and her little cat.
Mom: Meow
Doodlebug: Kitty
(surprisingly no one corrected us)

Dad: Wow look at the princess. She sure is fat!
Mom: Daddy!
Dad: Oh wait. There she is again. It's just her butt that's really big.
Mom: Sigh! (It was a hoop skirt)

And there was a slight disconnect between the front seats and the back. The sound waves were not traveling well:
Mom: Oh look. A sign for Petland. That's where we got Frosty.
Sweet Pea: What land?
Mom: Petland
Sweet Pea: What land?
Mom: PET land!
Sweet Pea: Oh. That's where we got Frosty!
Mom: Yes it is.

Oh the fun!


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Fiber Optic-ness - So How Did That Work Out?

Now that Christmas is over, it's time to de-decorate. Time to take down all those decorations that took so long to put up. Once everything is down it all looks so bare. (We may need to think about jazzing things up a bit - Sharpie art anyone?)

Remember those awesome little fiber optic trees I spoke about just over a month ago? Well, of course those must come down too. Sweet Pea's tree is still beautifully decorated - ornaments just so, garland artfully draped, bird (ornament) nestled in the center on some branches, fiber optic branches nice and fiber-optic-y. Like new, only prettier.

And then there's Snicker's and Doodlebug's tree. It is no longer plugged in or even near an outlet. All the ornaments except maybe one or two are in a pile underneath, rolling behind the dresser and under the bed. The garland is skewed and dragging on one side. And the branches, oh the branches! The poor poor crooked, crushed and bent branches! Pointing every which way in a flat, squished, ouch-this-hurts kind of way. Poor tree. I think it can be puffed back out into shape for next year - or maybe we'll wait a few years 'til they actually care that it's there.

So, back into the boxes until next year. Good bye trees. We'll miss you, but we'll see you before you know it!

Quack!

Best Christmas Song Ever

I absolutely love The Calling's version of Carol of the Bells. It's one of the best Christmas songs ever. Have a listen.

And while you're at it. Have a very merry Christmas too!


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Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Santa Claus visited this weekend. I took Sweet Pea, Snickers and Doodlebug to visit my mother and Santa stopped by for a quick visit with a gift for each of my kids and a lot of Ho Ho Ho'ing, hugs, kisses (Hershey Kisses) and some Christmas singing. It was awesome.

Despite the fact that I, my mother, father and Sweet Pea knew who was under the disguise, it was still magical. The disguise is so good that we all wonder if it really is a disguise or maybe some sort of magical transformation. I've been married to the man for over fourteen years, but when he shows up, Ho Ho Ho'ing and stamping his big black boots, hefting his bag of gifts and making a regular Christmas ruckus he is not at all identifiable. Maybe it's the thick white beard and mustache, the soft red and white fur suit and hat, the Santa glasses and big black boots, or maybe it's the sparkling Christmas magic circling him like a tiny fleet of winter fairies, or the reindeer bells jingling faintly somewhere in the distance, or the smell of freshly baked gingerbread wafting in from some unknown source. Maybe it's the large eyes, full of wonder that gaze up at him, and then shyly look away, with a glance at the big red bag. Maybe it's the smile and anticipation as Doodlebug climbs up on his knee, shyly telling him what he'd like for Christmas. Whatever it is, in that moment, he is 100% Santa Claus through and through. We all believe.

It brings to mind Virginia: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"  I absolutely love this editorial response from 1897! Of course there is a Santa Claus!

May the magic always remain.

Quack!

Christmas Baking

I was going to blog about my Christmas baking in much greater detail, but with the baking, shopping, wrapping and everything else that is going on I just didn't have the time. So instead I'll just post the pictures of some of the favorites.

Nutmeg logs

Italian chocolate pepper balls

These are a personal favorite that the majority of the household will not touch. Everytime I make these it smells and tastes like Christmas to me. I never would have thought mixing chocolate, cinnamon, allspice, melted shortening, sugar, flour, whiskey and coffee would even be edible, let alone tasty, but I think these are the most delicious little morsels ever! My husband thinks maybe they would be improved with the addition of some cigarette butts - to go with the coffee and whiskey. (I guess you had to be there.)

Butter Cookies

The butter cookies are always a favorite. Fun to cut out, fun to frost and decorate and best of all, fun to eat!

An Assortment

I decided to forgo the fudge, buckeyes and other candies this year because the stress of everything was killing me. I'd rather enjoy the holidays than get all stressed out over some fudge! I can make fudge anytime, but Christmas memories are only made at Christmas.

Quack!

To Boldly Go Where No Tree Has Gone Before

At our house we have an 'Outer Space Tree' (Can you hear the echo when you say that? OUTER, outer outer SPACE space space TREE tree tree). The Hallmark Keepsake Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments were taking over so they were moved to their own tree, complete with sparkling white stars (lights) and planets (sparkly christmas balls).

For your viewing pleasure:

This tree is really out of this world! (Ugh! I know, but I had to say it!)

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Christmas - A Photo Journey

The Christmas Village

A Favorite Ornament

The Snowman Family

Our Tree

Christmas Ball

Another Favorite Ornament

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The Secret to Keeping Christmas Lights Alive . . .

. . . is lots of spare strings of lights. No really. I've proven it. This year not a single strand of colored lights refused to work. It used to be that every year at least two, if not more, strings of lights would die, usually after they were strung on the tree, but occasionally before. And yes, I've tried changing the little fuses in the plug and looking for broken or loose lights, but it never fixed the problem. Until I discovered the cure.

This year not a single strand refused to work.

For the last two years, everytime there is a sale on Christmas lights (after the holidays are over or at the start of the season) I have picked up several strands of lights. However, I never really kept track of how many strings I had. Well, I counted.

I have, not kidding, 19 strings of colored lights! Holy too-many-lights Batman! But it worked! I didn't need even one of those NINETEEN BOXES!

However, I also have a second tree that I put up every year that is my husbands 'outer space' tree. It holds all the Hallmark Keepsake Star Trek and Star Wars ornaments, as well as 'planet' ornaments and stars and, of course, the white lights which look like stars. Two strings of white lights would not light this year. And how many backup strings of white lights do I have? NOT ONE! So of course, without the cure, the lights will die.

My task tomorrow is to go out and buy a lot of white lights. Too many white lights. Enought to ensure that I won't need them. That is the cure!

Quack!

Fiber Optic-ness

OK. First blog post. No introductions, just gonna dive right in . . .

It's the Christmas season again. Already the kids are excited and can't wait to get the decorations up! Part of that is because I bought two small fiber optic Christmas trees this year. I actually bought them about a month ago when the Christmas stuff first came out in the stores. Sweet Pea talked me into perusing the Christmas aisles (not a difficult task) and then talked me into the purchase. Sweet Pea will have one in her room, and Snickers and Doodlebug will have one in their room. Now, for the past month, these uber-cool, fiber optic, multi-colored beauties have been in their boxes. Yes, IN A BOX! IN THE BASEMENT! For over a month! Mom! What is wrong with you?!

The first challenge of course if to find room for these. They are under 3 feet tall, and not real wide, but the bedrooms are crammed full of furniture, books, toys, you-name-it. Just about every square inch of space (except for the center of the floor) is claimed by something else. But we managed to find room for them somehow. Pushed this over, squeezed this in, stuffed this in the closet and voila!

Quick and easy assembly. A quick lecture about how they were NOT toys, and should be treated carefully and they were ready to be turned on. Drum roll please!

Click!

Ooooh! Aaaah! The beauty! The changing colors! The fiber optic-ness! Mesmerizing! Hypnotizing!

Now they need ornaments. And a star for the top. Oh, and don't forget garland!

Quack!