Dan's Office Party

We got to go to Dan's Office Party at an Irish pub downtown called Molly Malone's (which Megan liked because it has the name of where she was born in it). It was fun to be at, but probably would have been more fun had Dan actually been there. Good food, lots of rolls and butter (which Megan liked), lots of sausages wrapped in bacon (which Jack liked) and lots of turkey (which Kylie apparently liked). And Santa. Who was played by Dan's friend Tom, whose nickname is Santa. Not even kidding. That's what his wife calls him...normally...all year long.

Sick

Dan got in from his trip this morning at 9am! We were so excited to see him, to say the least! We took him to Burger King for lunch and then to our new favorite ice cream spot, iBerry. They make homemade sorbets, ice cream and yogurt. So yummy and fun to try new flavors. In the weeks that Dan has been gone, we've tried Orange sorbet, watermelon sorbet, pineapple sorbet and coconut sorbet. I've only like orange (as has Moo). Jack liked watermelon and Kylie like pineapple. No one liked coconut (I don't even think you would like it, Uncle Mark, - it's salty, which is freaky in ice cream!). So, yesterday we had orange, blueberry-mango and punch sorbet. Again, so far the only clear winner is Orange. We would have chosen Watermelon, but they didn't have it.

Then, Kylie woke up from naps throwing up. Not fun. She continued to throw up all evening and Jack joined her around dinner time (i.e. no one in the house actually ate dinner...too gun-shy) through 2am. Then Moo began around 3am. Nothing so far today (mostly because no one has even had a drink of water). Below is Kylie and Jack passed out sound asleep on the sofa last night.

Yay for Daddy being home - not sure how I would have handled sitting on the sofa having Jack and Kylie throwing up on either side of me. At least we could each have 1 kid to take care of and help out with...

I keep badgering Dan as to how/what we want to do on Christmas after we open presents in the morning. I told him I'm happy to do anything - go to a zoo, go swim somewhere, have friends over - as long as it doesn't involve just our family hanging out all day at our house because then it will be me reading blogs on the computer, Jack and Dan playing the xBox or DS and the girls playing or watching a show...and I can't handle that for Christmas day. So, with the kids sick (and the possibility of us being next) Dan asked yesterday, "So does all of us throwing up and being sick on Christmas Day trump the day spent at home doing nothing as the worst idea?" Yup, I think so.

Kylie Quote

Kylie singing cheerfully on the way home from Dan's Office Christmas Party (without Dan) and Mommy driving:

We're Totally Lost
We're Totally Lost
We don't Know-oh
Where to Go

(Can you tell we had no idea where we were? Yay for our GPS! I thought it was going to give up on us and shut down after it had rerouted us about 6 times.)

PJ Party Update

So, somehow the bus came at 6:45am this morning, when it doesn't normally come until 6:52am. That being said, I never took a picture of Megan in her cute outfit today. She did look adorable and she had a great time at her pajama party at school because (a)there was a ton of food there and (b) Kylie and I got to join her! I didn't take my camera (because it didn't occur to me), but the kids all looked cute in their pj's and we had some yummy eats. Kylie got to sit by Moo and even got her own plate full of food and her own Capri Sun (which, when you are a toddler in your big sister's class, is like hitting the jackpot)! The kids had popcorn, brownies, chips, sandwiches, cake, muffins, apples, cookies and a bundt cake. (Can I just say that the Bundt cake was phenomenal? It was flavored with peppermint, had red and green marbeling in it and then the glaze had candy canes crushed up in it - so fun and seemed not too hard!) Megan made sure Kylie got some of everything! Not too shabby!

We also got to go to Jack's party, where they decorated gingerbread houses, decorated cupcakes and watched a Garfield Christmas movie. Too cute.

Oh, and here are my and Kylie's piggy toes from yesterday. Poinsettia's and Kylie's request of purple polish and pink and white flowers. :) Moo will go on Monday to get her nails done and she can't wait!

Pajama Party

Megan gets to have a Pajama Party tomorrow at school for their last day before the break! Since her pajamas seem to be mostly tank tops and shorts, we had to come up with something appropriate for school.I got these capri pants at a yard sale this summer before we moved and she had the green shirt from another yard sale. I was inspired by a friend from our old church, Courtney, with her wonderful shirts she has made for both her family and to raise money for others! Thanks for the idea!

The fun part for me is that the polka-dot fabric is a scrap left over from Pappy's mother's sewing, the red ribbon is part of a huge assortment of crafts that Aunt Sheri gave me and I got to use the sewing machine Mom Mom gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago (and I love)! The green ric rac is from a cute store downtown that I bought one of the first weeks we lived here, knowing that I would put it to good use one day :) So, cute shirt for no money. As my Dad is famous for saying, "Free is better than cheap - I say no more!"

Thailand and Kids

Have I mentioned how much Thai's love children? Kylie is almost 3 and she gets smiled at, touched on her shoulder or back, her hand held, her curls played with, greeted and asked what her names is on a daily basis. And her response? Depends entirely on her mood at that given moment. Sometimes she'll wai (bow) to them and tell them her name, sometimes she attaches herself to my legs, sometimes she says, "No!" rather loudly. We've now made the rule that she needs to say, "Sawatdee Kah" no matter what, but she doesn't have to hold their hands. That seems to satisfy us both: be polite. And, for some reason, at least 4 different Thai girls (by that, I mean in their 20's) in the past month have asked to either take a picture of Kylie with their camera's on their phone or asked to have their picture taken with Kylie. Thankfully she has agreed (and so have we).

I do greatly appreciate the Thai's love of children, and more importantly, my children. I am thankful we live in a country where they continually get smiled at and are not a nuisance, but are genuinely enjoyed. It makes for a great time whenever I take the kids anywhere. I mean, how could you not love this little Bug? Seriously?

Drop Sand Tart Cookies

Tonight, we made Christmas Cookies. And not just ANY Christmas cookies...we made my Grammy's Sand Tart Cookies, my favorite Christmas cookies. I love cut-out cookies and the fun shapes (as evidenced by my owning of 100-ish cookie cutters), but I hate (hate) rolling out dough. It's also the reason I don't make homemade pies. It think it has to do with me wanting the end result with as little work as possible. It also contributes to why I'm not either a great cook or a great baker, but mediocre at both. (My Mom always says that you either love to bake or love to cook, but most of the time, not both). I'm guessing I'm leaning more towards cooking, because a Baker, I am not. (Incidentally, our family tally is Mom-Cook, my Nana Peggy-Cook, my Grammy-Baker, Tiff-Baker, Mom Mom-not sure, but she makes great meals, Heather-might be both, which will be annoying but she makes great meals and great baked goods and Sarah-not sure, although I can vouch for her great cooking).

Anyway, the kids and I made Drop Sand Tarts. They are awesome Christmas cookies. Paper-thin, light, buttery, sugary and delicious. And, so easy to make. Not to mention that you always have the ingredients on hand (which is a plus for me). I made the dough and rolled them into little balls, squished them down with a flour dusted glass bottom and the kids decorated! We made 6 sheets of them from 1 batch...and I think I've already eaten maybe 8 or so of them....yum!

Here's the recipe in case you want to try them:
DROP SAND TARTS from the kitchen of Helen De Vido
1/2 lb butter - 2 sticks softened
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter & sugar in mixer. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour slowly. Mix well. Chill a while. Shape into marble-sized balls. Grease cookie sheet and flatten the balls wtih the end of a glass, which has been dipped in flour so it doesn't stick. Decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles. Bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees! Cool on wire rack, then enjoy!!!