Christmas 2018

We had an amazing Christmas this year. It was so wonderful to be in our own home, with all our decorations, and with both parents employed. It has been so long since we had a Christmas that was essentially stress free. I feel badly for David because he's in PACE this year. I remember what it was like last year to do PACE over the holiday and not really have a break. I'm so glad that this year I'm free from that!

We decided to make our own gingerbread houses again. I used butter instead of shortening in the gingerbread and it made it too soft, which meant it was hard to build a house. Our neighbors gave us a kit, so we made both kinds. Baylie took the homemade one and Jalen the kit. The frosting I made turned out way too hard, basically like fondant.

David told the kids they couldn't eat their houses until Christmas. By Christmas Eve, this is what they looked like. Jalen had even eaten some of Baylie's candy!

By Christmas morning, Jalen's house was history.

For Christmas dinner, it was just our little family, which was so nice.

Our former neighbor, Rose, had given me a roaster oven, so I cooked the turkey in that. I was nervous to try it, but it was great! It cooked it perfectly and kept the house from getting so hot. Plus I could use my oven to cook everything else while the turkey was cooking.

Jalen really wanted to eat with candles, so we did!

There were grean beans, squash and sweet potatoes...

 ...salt potatoes, rolls and mac 'n cheese.

Yummy dinner!

The  kids wanted to eat the legs.

On Christmas Eve, we all got Christmas jammies, even Tashi!

David and Jalen had matching ones - only David's were shorts because I didn't have enough fabric. (I sewed theirs.)

Baylie and I also had matching ones. Ours are from Old Navy.

David read the kids Christmas stories.

Santa was very generous with us. Jalen got a basketball hoop and Baylie got a jungle gym.

Baylie bought Jalen a bottle of candy.

Jalen loved the present Baylie gave him. It was the same thing he got for David! It was a small table top basketball game.

Calligraphy set

Bath stuff from the twins.

Sewing machine.

Superhero accessories.

Planning calendar like mom.

Jalen and I got Irmo sweatshirts.

Christmas morning is torture for OCD people like me.

South Carolina white Christmas (cotton fields).

This was our Christmas card.

Mrs. Claus

Baylie has loved singing with the Irmo Elementary School chorus. She had the opportunity to choose between strings or chorus and she has been really happy with her choice.

They put together a really fun Christmas program and she got to be Mrs. Claus! It was such a fun part and she really got into it.

The chorus had the opportunity to go on a field trip (and I was a chaperone).

First, they went to a retirement home. The people there were so happy to have these kids come sing to them.

Next, they went to the airport. It was such a pretty setting and the acoustics were great.

We love the new chorus director, Tania Turner. We're on the same team at work and I love working with her.

That same day, the chorus put on three performances at the school! One in the morning and another in the afternoon for students, and then another one in the evening for parents. They did such a great job.

Mrs. Claus!!

I love watching her sing. She gets so much joy out of it.

Here are some videos of the performance: Video 1, Video 2

Home for the Holidays

It has been 13 years since David and I spent Christmas in our own home. While we have been very blessed to rent beautiful homes, there is something special about being in our own home. Decorating it this year was so much fun.

Family room.

The "conservatory."

The kitchen.

There's truly no place like home for the holidays.

Our Little Scientist

Baylie has been very excited about the science fair. I was really proud of her for choosing something that she is already excited about. She decided to study how cookie baking was impacted based on the temperature it was baked at. She cooked some at 250º, 350º and 450º. She learned about something called the Maillard factor, which is why things are baked at 350º. I didn't know that! She also learned that while the cookies look funny at 250º, they are still safe to eat since eggs are safe after 160º. I learned a lot from her experiment!

We had a bit of a mishap because she brought samples of each cooking temperature and had planned on handing out the good ones. Some of her classmates were starting to sample them when the teacher reminded us that you can't hand out baked goods at school. Baylie was in tears. I completely forgot about that! Mom fail! Baylie recovered though and was very proud of her experiment.

We were very proud of her!

Holiday Happenings

Baylie joined the IES Chorus for the annual city tree lighting, one of our favorite Christmas traditions. Her chorus sounded amazing.

It's always a fun night with free pizza, hot chocolate, cookies, and friends.

I have been blessed with the dearest of friends here in South Carolina.

So have my kids.

The choir was even on the front page of the city paper!

David joined me for our faculty holiday party. I am so grateful to love the people I work with. I can  honestly say there is no one at my school that I wish weren't there. They are all supportive and kind. The location was charming - a former horse barn converted into a hunting lodge on what used to be a plantation - Belle Grove Plantation.

It's been a wonderful beginning to what I hope will be a fabulous holiday season - our first in our new home.