Our Holidays

As you could gather from my infrequent posts and short "Right Nows," we had a very busy winter break.  But while busy, it was also one of the most relaxing, satisfying, and enjoyable holidays I've had as an adult.  I'm not exactly sure how we managed that, though we did 1). shorten our to-do list and manage our expectations of what we could accomplish (which meant fewer outings/activities, some untidiness (or actual downright mess and dirt!), and only very modest wrapping of packages), 2). remind each other that our goal was to enjoy our family in the moment, nothing more or less, and 3). eliminated complicated holiday meals in favor of still-tasty but less labor-intensive Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, second Christmas, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day dinners (soup and dessert, beans and cornbread, anitpasti, leftovers, and take-out), none of which would have been possible without the support of our families.

That said, when we reviewed the holiday, several wonderful moments stood out, in no particular order:

• making gingerbread houses with Ma, Gong, and Goo
• swimming with Gommie and Pop
• the musical Christmas Eve at our (possibly) new church
• eating our favorite foods, including remoulade, gumbo, muffalettas, panettone bread pudding, mincemeat pie, orange biscuits, bacon, corned beef hash, sausage, monkey bread, ham, black-eyed peas, cornbread, all-afternoon stew, chicken with rice and gravy, Peking Duck, shumai, roast pork, mushroom quiche, gingerbread, fresh mozzarella, mortadella, ham, arancini, olives, artichoke salad, dill Mediterranean chickpeas, sushi, pizza, Swedish meatballs, lingonberry sauce, salmon, shrimp, chocolate truffle cake, curried chickpeas, crepes (sweet and savory fillings), pancakes, sourdough biscuits, waffles with speculaas, Teuscher's chocolates, Christmas cookies (this list alone would take a few lines!), gluwhein and glogg, punch, decaf grande Peppermint Mochas, holiday tea, hot chocolate, panettone, pandoro (panettone without the fruit), dolmades, gyro, kebbe, kefta, mujadara, hummus, falafel, pistachio baklava, rosewater cake, cheese enchiladas, beef tacos, chile relleno, refried beans, Mexican rice, chicken fingers, beer beans, curried lentils, pork and apples, and that's not all . . . . (links to available recipes soon) 
• making moving model cars at the Eli Whitney Museum with Gommie and Pop
• coloring Shrinky Dinks with Ma, Gong, and Goo
• Bud losing his first tooth!
• reading Moody Cow Meditates and liking the Angry Mind jar idea
• I sat for 5-10 minutes almost each day!!!
• making a list of family resolutions and fun ideas for 2012 (more on this later)
• playing baseball in the warm 50 degree days with Gommie and Pop
• watching Wizard of Oz with Gommie
• eating at Bloodroot with Gommie and Pop (mushroom stroganoff, spinach noodles with vermouth cream sauce, seitan carbonnades, fresh ricotta salad, endive with avocado and watercress, potato and celery seed soup, escarole and white bean soup, mushroom soup, oatmeal bread, cranberry kissl, brandied fruit, bourbon vanilla ice cream)
• singing Christmas carols (the kiddos prefer the "Phineas and Ferb" versions!)
• playing "Silent Night" on the keyboard Santa brought
• playing with Babysitter
• having pancakes for dinner
• begin reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• building Legos, doing arts and crafts, putting together models, reading new books, and so much more that I can't recall!

I was actually sorry to see it end this morning, though our first flurries were a consolation.