Cookies and Ornaments

Since the girls love to bake so much, I decided we'd host a small cookie-baking party for some of their friends. When I mentioned the idea to Cindy she volunteered to host an ornament-making station as well, which I thought sounded perfect. So I kinda got into it. Unable to find invitations I felt were appropriate, I made some. That found me in the scrapbooking aisle at Target, hemming and hawing over the right letters, paper and doodads like I was crafty or something. I really can't explain what motherhood has done to me.

Then I decided I should give each of the 8 kids their own apron as a party favor. Then I decided kids' chef's aprons were overpriced and I should make them. Then the drugs wore off and I decided I should talk Joy into making them; I provided the materials. They are, I must say, adorable. Here's Henry in his Dad's arms, sporting his, which Joy made handsome and dashing instead of somewhat frilly. Interestingly, I originally picked 2 patterns, the stripes, which I loved, and the circles you'll see on Kate. I learned that circles are evidently more feminine than stripes. I always go for the stripes(vertical, so slimming!), so I was surprised. Moving on -




Then I decided we should make eggnog (that job fell to Jeremiah). Then I took further leave of my senses and opted to make all the snacks. Then I learned that Kate's friend Meyonna would be celebrating a birthday the day of the party so I decided I should make her a special cake. I've gone to parties that are not about me on my birthday and it sucked. So, we made it a little bit about her. She was very gracious, I thought.

The dough for the gingerbread men was an unmitigated disaster. Totally un-rollable, much less something you could cut out with cookie cutters. The sugar cookies were just right, though, and baked up into a perfect canvas for young artists. I would display the end results here but they were mostly eaten. And then they ate cake. And they bounced off the walls for awhile.


The ornaments were a smashing success, and very popular. It's hard to tell from this photo, but they made fun shapes from dough consisting of applesauce, Cinnamon and glue. Don't eat that. Kate's pal Catherine was an ornament making machine. A machine I tell you. Sarah could not be bothered. Unlike moi, she's not terribly crafty. Maybe when she has her own kids...

So in summation, the party was fun, the eggnog was gleefully consumed and the ornaments are lovely. Oh, and I think Meyonna had a happy birthday. Let the holidays...begin!