Baby Jesus Birthday Party, Our little angel, and a visit with Santa

We have had a very busy week here at the Cook house hold. We have had four parties (all potlucks), a small Christmas pageant, gift exchanges, and a trip to the mall to visit Santa. We are relieved that all of our running around is finished, and that we can finally stay at home and prepare for Christmas.

Ben attended two Baby Jesus Birthday parties at preschool. The students all bring in presents for Baby Jesus which are then donated to Birth Line, a local shelter for moms in need. They even have a cake and sing to Baby Jesus. I only attended one party, because it is a lot of work to take Sophie into the preschool classroom. Nick and I always sing "Markers, and Scissors and Glue, Oh my!" when we take her into Ben's class. She is like a kid in a candy store, and I can barely keep up with her. Anyway, the kids had a great party, and Sophie and I had fun too!

On Wednesday evening, Benny's CCD class was part of the CCD Christmas pageant. Some kids from the fourth grade class read from the gospel of Luke, and the preschool class arrived as angels. They were the cutest little angels you ever did see. Benny was so excited for "his play". He was worried that we wouldn't be able to remember his lines (he didn't have any....).

Finally, yesterday we braved the crowds at the mall and went to visit Santa. We were pretty sure that Sophie wouldn't sit on Santa's lap (she wouldn't), but Benny really wanted to go. Benny was 3 before he would sit on Santa's lap. We waited in line, and when it was our turn Benny marched right up to Santa and sat next to him. He told Santa that he had been a good boy and that he would like some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (this was news to Santa....), and that his sister would like some things to go with her baby doll. And then it was done. Luckily they let us take our own photos. I can't believe a picture with Santa cost anywhere from $13 - $24!!! Seems like highway robbery in these times, and where is the Christmas spirit? We had a nice lunch at the mall, and then left the crowds in favor for a cozy afternoon at home. Can't wait for Christmas!

Grinch Dust and Reindeer Food

Earlier in the week and for the second year in a row, Benny and I made a batch each of Magic Grinch Dust and Reindeer Food. We packaged up our creations for all the students in his preschool class. The recipes are simple to make, and Benny has so much fun helping. It is even more fun to scatter the Dust and Reindeer Food in our yard on Christmas Eve.

Reindeer Food is simply oatmeal and red sugar. Grinch Dust is crumbled graham crackers and green sugar. It takes a lot of sugar for it really to show amongst all of the crumbs. Sophie helped too, but she was more interested in eating the graham crackers.....



Our finished products:

Each recipe has a little poem that goes along with it, so we attached them to the bag. They go as follows:

Magic Grinch Dust

Don't let the Grinch steal your Christmas, you must be on your guard. Before retiring on Christmas Eve, sprinkle this dust out on your yard. The Grinch will see your magic dust, and know you've taken great care, to protect you home and family, and keep Christmas in the air.

Reindeer Food

'Tis the night before Christmas, And since every year, You feed Santa Claus, Now feed his Reindeer.

1. Wait until Christmas Eve.

2. Open bag and sprinkle on the lawn.

3. Hop into bed.

4. Shhh! Listen for Santa.

5. Close your eyes and watch the sugar plums dance.

Contents: Enough reindeer food for eight reindeer and Rudolf.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Earlier in the week we had a few very cold and stormy days. We did get a little dusting of snow, but not much that actually held on for too long. Wednesday night, Benny was at 'Church School' as he calls it (really CCD), and I decided that it would be the perfect night for a bath. Sophie loves to take baths too, so I decided that we could bathe together. In our master bath we have a large tub that hardly gets used, so we opted for a big bubble bath. This was a first for Sophie. I filled up the tub, and we hopped in. Now, I seriously underestimated the amount of water I would displace at 6 months pregnant. When I sat Sophie down, the water came up to her chin! Fear not, our little water bug had a great time. She loved the bubbles, and kept trying to float on her back in the deep water. I think we may have a new Wednesday night tradition-at least in this cold, cold weather.