our Christmas day

consisted of pj's, leftovers, and a few quiet, thankful moments.

We started off the day with a peach French toast bake and big mug of hot cocoa.

It was quite delicious.

Like a breakfast cobbler.

My homemade peppermint marshmallows are way yummier in a hot cup of cocoa than by themselves.

They get ooey gooey yummmmm...

We watched/helped Callan open his Christmas presents from his grandparents.
He, actually, had it figured out to rip the paper off - it was quite exciting to watch.  :)

He's getting so big!

Look at him go :)

My boys.  Lovethemtopieces.

We had a restful day, just the three of us.

A very merry day, indeed.

a peek at our Christmas Eve

A family picture.

Or three.

A simple Christmas Eve table.

A full oven.

A pepperminty dessert.

Moments shared with new friends.

Blessed.

Merry Christmas

from my little family to yours!

salt dough disaster

Earlier, we attempted to make hand-print salt dough ornaments.

Here's a look at how that went...

"Ok, bud.  Just lay your hand flat...I'll help you."

"No, keep it flat."

"Really?  C'mon dude.  This only has to take 10 seconds...just work with me."

"Here.  Hold this cookie cutter for me.  Yay!  We're happy now!  Let's try again..."

"Ok, you hold onto that cookie cutter...I'm just going to help you press your hand into the dough..."

"There we go!  See?!  It's not so bad!  Good job, buddy!"

"Hmm..."

"I think we can make them a little better, now that we kinda know what we need to do. Let's start over."

"Good job, bud! No, no, no..don't grab the dough!"

"Well, that was way better!

{sarcasm, totally, intended}

"Ok, last time.  Then we'll call it quits and accept defeat.  Oh!  Good job!  No, no!  Stop grabbing!"

"Well, I think that's the best we're gonna get...works for me!"

And then I put it in the oven and ruined it.  

Fabulous.

We won't follow those salt dough instructions again...

Maybe we'll try it again.

Maybe we won't.

Or maybe we'll just try it again next year...

Have you had any luck getting prints of your little ones?

Any suggestions, at all?

Maybe a dough recipe that works really well?

**********

Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve?!

December flew by this year.

Here's what tonight holds for us:

Chinese food by the fire

Elf

hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows

&

finishing up all that I need to have done by tomorrow

We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.  Christmas Eve is our Christmas.  For my family, it always has been (it's a Norwegian thing).  Travis, gladly, adopted this tradition.  We have friends coming over for dinner, and I have much to do before then!  But first a little relaxation, fireside, with my boys.  Gotta steal a few quiet moments amidst the holiday craziness.  :)

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases to you and your loved ones!

' tis the season

For baking.

Right?  Don't you have a list of cookies to make this holiday season to share with your friends and family?

I know I do...  It's a beloved tradition.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

I did just make a batch of cookies that are a first for me.
A friend *bragged* about having a fresh batch of homemade mint oreo cookies come out of her kitchen on Facebook the other day, and I haven't been able to shake the idea of them since.  I found this recipe, and altered the cream filling ingredients just to make them pepperminty (replaced the vanilla with peppermint extract).
I'm a sucker for anything peppermint - these cookies are no exception.

Here are few tips:

* If you don't have parchment paper (I didn't), lightly spray your cookie sheets with cooking spray.

* Roll teaspoon sized balls, place on cookie sheet, then dip the backside of a 1/4 c. measuring cup in water and press the cookie flat, until it's about the size of the bottom of the measuring cup.  The water is important - it keeps the dough from sticking to the measuring cup.

* These cookies spread, so make sure they really are about 2" apart.

* Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet, once you take them out of the oven, for a few minutes.  Then transfer to a wire cooking rack.

* I got about 21 cookie sandwiches out of the recipe.  I have a few cookies naked of frosting (because there wasn't enough - maybe I was too generous with the others), but they're quite tasty on their own.  Although the frosting definitely makes the cookie.

Yum.

If you love Oreos, peppermint, or cookies in general, these won't disappoint.  :)

What cookies are on your holiday agenda this year?  Do you have any traditional ones?  Any that you are trying for the first time?  What are your favorites?  Do share!

{linking up with gingerbread}

Callan and Christmas ornaments

 Callan has a favorite Christmas ornament.  It's a mini Dunkin' Donuts mug that I've had for years.

He walks around with it, lid popped off, like a baby giant with his teeny cup o' joe.

The lower half of the tree has Callan-friendly ornaments on it.  I pick them off the floor several times a day.  But sometimes he gets brave, climbs on the sofa, and reaches for some of the higher ones.  I had to move a few around to keep the breakable ones out of his reach.  I'm sure you know how it is...

And, of course, there's the occasional ornament in the mouth.

Aside from Callan undressing the tree, I thought I'd share a bit of what's making our place look festive this time of year.  This is our first Christmas in our house, so it's pretty special.