Monday, December 24, 2007

Getting ready for Christmas

Yesterday we went shopping as a family. It was less drama than I anticipated. We did some last minute toy shopping: Wren received a couple of sheep since he is learning to say "baa" [aside: this morning he said BUB-BUB quite clearly while Frost blew bubbles for him]. We also bought a couple of gifts for friends of Frost.

Joshua bravely entered Fred Meyer in search of a floor lamp and some wireless accessories and came back with some of the things on his list. We drove down to Fremont and had lunch at Blue C Sushi before visiting PCC and Dustry Strings (a music store) with small and older children respectively. Frost came back from the music store saying he wanted a $700 violin and Wren and I did the grocery shopping narrowly missing buying duck and rabbit (I am hungry for Flesh living with this meat-selective family).

We have been reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Wood at bedtime. The last chapter we read was about a party at the end of maple sugar season. The party continued while the maple syryp was stirred and ended as the sugar granulated and was poured with some left over for the children to make maple candy. I was pleased to see boxes of Maple Candy on sale at PCC so we bought a few little sample boxes. Frost was very curious and opened his box this morning (before breakfast). Maple candy is the most delicious stuff in the world! It is just like the most sublime vanilla fudge but is 100% maple sugar. As Laura writes (paraphrased) "the children were allowed to eat as much as they wanted because maple sugar never hurt anybody!" [ho hum] Frost and I have decided that Maple Candy is going to be one of our Christmas traditions. Frost plans to eat "the big maple leaf candy on Christmas day. We can divide it in 3." When I reminded him that Wren might like a taste too he said he would break off a little piece for him then.

Speaking of Christmas traditions. Yesterday I made my own shortcrust pastry (possible since we have ample butter in the house all the better to fatten Wren with.] I rolled it out and made a batch of mince pies with a bottled fruit mince they had at QFC. I am pleased that everyone on the family finds them delicious. I was doubtful so made some of them into jam tarts but the mince pies are far more popular. They were sinfully delicious hot and I made myself calculate their WEightwatcher points so I could not claim ignorance and nibble a batch myself (they are 3 points each!)

I have pulled up some Christmas Carols on Rhapsody (online music service via Comcast) and but for the fact I haven't slept since 4am due to Wren having a bad night (wet diaper leaking and banging head on toybox during AM nursing) we are feeling pretty festive.

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