cookie fest 2K11

this weekend the boy & i busied ourselves in the kitchen. we measured. we mixed. we chopped (oh, ok, i chopped). we blended. we baked. we sampled the fruits of our labor....someone may or may not have sampled enough to induce spiderman-like crawling up the walls.....i won't say who that someone is.

i decided to keep it pretty simple this year. only 2 kinds of cookies. one (dairy free) batch of oatmeal raisin for the boy. and one- very large- batch of (dairy FULL) oatmeal chocolate chip for friends, neighbors & family.

side note: it is very difficult to make "unsafe" food in our home...i don't even typically keep these ingredients in the house...but i refuse to profane this recipe with our non-dairy, albeit pretty delicious, alternatives. that being said, all of the "real" stuff had to be prepared post-little-boy-bedtime. and the cleanup was a nightmare. everything, and i mean everything, had to be sterilized. not a crumb could be left behind, because i assure you, had there been, my little cookie fiend would have discovered it.

meet my assistant...

he decided to hop on the "rocketship" & burn off a few of the calories. maybe mommy should take a cue...

we also made some orange pomanders (clove-studded oranges). if you've never done this, you should. they smell awesome & are really easy to make- even for the wee ones. oh, and i didn't take any pics of these, but you can google it if you have no idea what i'm talking about, mkay?

saturday night found us driving around scouting out kiss-miss lights. 'twas lovely. and the best part? hearing the teeny tiny voice in the backseat saying, oooh! i see canee canes! i see stahs (stars)! oooh! i see canta claus! i see fwosty snowman! pretty sure i'm smitten with this christmas angel.

this week i'll be wrapping up all of the gifts, doing a little bit of last minute baking, working through wednesday (a big shout out to hcde....holla!), celebrating christmas with the in-laws on Thursday evening, then driving to St. Pete on Friday to spend a long weekend with my fam. whew....i'm already exhausted thinking about it. next year: christmas at OUR house.....come one, come all, but we will NOT be traveling!!

and on that note, i'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes...

With pomp, power & glory the world beckons vainly,

in chase of such vanities why should I roam?

While peace & content bless my little thatched cottage,

and warm my own hearth with the treasures of home.

-Beatrix Potter