Baking Cookies All Day Long

Today, Christmas Eve, is Drew's cookie day, so both he and Evie started about 9:00 and didn't finish till about 3:30 with their baking.  Then, we had to begin dinner, our favorite, lemon/oregano chicken, with creamed spinach and rice. So, it's not been much of a day of rest and recovery, rather one of getting organized for tomorrow.  The cookies were as follows: peanut butter with a reese's cup in the middle; butter almond crisps, peanut butter cookie, pecan bars, chocolate chip, banana walnut cookies, and ginger molasses cookies.  After they were all made, Drew wrapped them up, put a Christmas card on each, with the girls' picture, and drove off to deliver them, as Jill stayed home awrapping with Evie.  I, of course, took a walk, read, and helped out with dishes as needed.  Before dinner we are going to listen to John Henry Falk's 'A Christmas Story,' a NPR radio broadcast from the early 80's that I loved, about a boy who cherishes a Christmas because he received an orange.  A good story and available online if you just google it.

The  girls' needless to say, are excited about tonight; in a moment of candor, Halle told me  that she saw a Barbie and Pet Shop present in our closet.  She must have looked through the wrapping because they were all wrapped.  I told her that if you sneak a peak ahead of time, you often don't get the presents, which shut her up pretty quick, and she began explaining how she's not sure what she saw.  What a  kid.

Listening to the story was a failure, as it was too difficult for the kids to follow and, I think, they are not used to listening carefully to a story unless it's accompanied by visuals.  I know my students at Reserve had a hard time just listening to an audio recording; they had to really concentrate to follow it although I remember them vividly laughing to NPR's story Squirrel Cop.  I wonder if the kids would like it.  I don't think so.  Anyways, it's time for lemon chicken and the works; the  girls did open a present before dinner, matching Xmas pj's from Old Navy.  They loved them, of course, and had to immediately put them on, though Hayden excused himself to change in her room.