Christmas Gift!

Santa Claus has been here: the cookies are down to a few crumbs and the milk is all gone; we believe that the carrots in the yard were eaten by the reindeer, but we haven't ventured out to check for sure.

Christmas came to us in the form of little pattering feet bursting into our room just before 7 a.m. And Gommie and Pop were here instantly, having been waiting outside for awhile because there were no lights on. Letting us sleep in (instead of calling around 6:30 to be let in before the kids woke up) was one of the best presents.

And there were lots. And lots. And lots. In fact, noting them here might just embarrass me with riches and put the lie to our attempts to be less materialistic. So, instead I'll give you the current scenario: Pop is on the couch reading a new history book (Transformation of America, I think), and Gommie was playing su-doku in her new calendar when she was finally coerced by Bud and Sis to play, again. They have Bud's Hot Wheels Dinosaur race track thingie spread out all over the living room floor, using it to create a play narrative involving the polar set Aunt Banana and Uncle Soccer gave Bud (which they instantly divvied up--Sis got the bears and the boat; Bud claimed the penguins and huskies) and the shark set Mama bought, plus the new dollhouse-like tree set where the Playmobil horses live and toys from the basement. This was preceded by Sis playing Playmobil Vet with her Pet Shop animals set and Bud building a complex marble run, while I leafed through my new cookbooks, including Farmer John's Cookbook (a CSA book!), A Love Affair with Southern Cooking, and The Roasted Vegetable Cookbook, Mama took time out to play with her DS, and Pop and Gommie had started their books and puzzles. Meanwhile, Hermione slept somewhere, having no doubt been up all night stalking the various presents, and Albus sniffed everything and also chased around his new feathered mice toys (in fact he just bounded up here with one in his mouth, prompting me to include the feline goings-on here too). We also spoke to Aunt Banana as well as Ma, checking in on their holidays (Aunt B had to work last night and so was going to nap before driving to Houston to be with Uncle Soccer, who is with his mom at my folks' house! They'll do Christmas later. We understand not to call them yet because they are still asleep!). Thanks for the fabulous presents, Aunt B and Uncle S; I think you'll note that most of the onces mentioned above were your great picks.

Whew! And it's only 10:30. But there's always a lot to do on Christmas. We had scrambled eggs, panettone, stollen, and rum cake for breakfast. And then started the rolls to rise for lunch. I had totally forgotten to actually make the jello, as opposed to just buying the boxes, and so did that. And I need to check my Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie recipe, which is my lunch, as opposed to the Smithfield ham Mama will be baking.

So, after this little blogging break, I'm heading back downstairs to watch the kids play and do some things in the kitchen.