So Christmas morning had the makings of a disaster. We had been at my parents until 10:30 the night before which means the kids weren't in bed until close to 11. And while were out in the family room getting things ready, we could hear Tiana singing to herself until well past midnight. We just held on to the faint hope that the kids would sleep late.
No such luck.
Ok, well, technically, I suppose they did sleep late compared to most kids. LOL. But for kids who are used to sleeping for 11 hours a night, 9:00 was just not enough sleep. Especially for the mom & the dad who went to bed at around 3 am.
Eli was up early - way too early. Probably around 8:00.
Tapping on his bed.
Now I know my son. His claim would be that he was just tapping - no reason. But I know him. He was tapping in the hopes that he would wake up his still-sleeping siblings and be able to fein innocence. Booger.
So a few minutes later Ryan comes in our room complaining that Eli woke him up with the tapping. A few minutes later Grant comes in with the same complaint. Once those three are up there's not much we can do to keep Tiana asleep. So when she woke upat around 9, we all got ready to head out to the family room.
We have a family tradition, carried over from my parents, were we tape toilet paper across the hall so the kids can't sneak out in the family room while we're still sleeping. It's always great fun for them to make a break for it when give them the go.
The kids behaved surprisingly well while we opened presents.
It was proclaimed on more than one occassion that this was the best Christmas ever - so all in all, SUCCESS!
Except for the 2 lumps of coal I got in my stocking. Literally.
Eli in a moment of sheer delight.
Grant has been really into cowboys & westerns so he got a playset of army-man-style cowboys & Indians. It was quite the Wall-E Christmas for Ryan. LOL Ooooh, another princess movie!!!!!
Eli laughs at something his Dad is saying
Cute lil' Grant :)Ryan, my little cheeseball Look Tiana got a CAMERA! A REAL one! (and sssshh.... so did Mommy!! After getting my coal, and after all other gifts had been opened, Aaron pulled out a box for me. Woohoo!)
Every year, we spend Christmas Eve with my family at my parents' house. The kids had a fantastic time, as always - gooooood food (mmmm, I'm drooling just remembering it), fun presents, goofy uncle.
Here are Tiana & Hannah, doing a little dance show for us before the festivities.
And Uncle Ben teaching Tiana how to Waltz. Or Tango. Or something.
The Ben decided to bust out with some interpretive dance lessons for Eli.
Ryan has a style all his own - I call this one Saturday Night Fever Lives.
And here's a little glimpse of what is just the normal chaos of a Christmas Eve.
Here are the three girl cousins, sittin' pretty in front of the tree. And my four adorable monkeys :)
And here's one of me & my girl.
We were there until 10:30 that night, then headed home to put the kids in bed and get ready for Christmas morning!
I just need to clear up one thing. If you received a Christmas card from us and noticed this on the picture...
Yeah, that would be a typo. I went over this card no less than 20 times to make sure there were no typos. I sent them all out. And on Christmas Day someone just casually says, hey! Did you know it says 2007 on here? *sigh* So, yes, that card is SUPPOSED to say 2008. What can you do. Oh, and if you didn't receive a card, here it is for your viewing pleasure! :)
For what you are about to receive, may you be truly thankful.
These are arguably the best rolls ever. They are RIDICULOUS.
And surprisingly easy!
Let's get started...
Karah's Famous Rolls
INGREDIENTS:
5 cups white bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 package Rapidrise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
DIRECTIONS:
Set aside 1 cup white flour. Mix together remaining flour, sugar, salt, & yeast in a large bowl. Heat butter and milk together in the microwave until hot to the touch.
Stir hot liquid into dry ingredients; stir in eggs.
You may need to mix the eggs in with your hands. Mix in only enough reserved flour to make a dough that is no longer sticky. (thanks for being my hand-model, Eli!)
Knead well for 8-10 minutes. Cover dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 24 pieces.
Shape into rolls; tie into knots or divide each piece into 3 balls for cloverleaf rolls. Place on greased cookie sheets (use muffin cups for cloverleaf rolls). Let rise till doubled.
Brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds (optional). Bake for 12-18 minutes at 375o (350o if using a dark or non-stick pan).
Well it's that time of year - that time of cooking and baking and gorging on innumerable tasty treats and goodies. So who would I be if I didn't share some of my most amazing and fattening recipes with you? :)So without further ado - Holiday baking recipe #1....
Now you must be forewarned. These cookies are bad for you. And you WILL eat a lot of them. In fact, once you eat one you won't be able to stop your hand as it reaches for a 2nd. You will try - you will tell your hand NO! DON'T DO IT! You will even use your other hand to try to stop it, but to no avail. You will be sucked into the cookie's evil grasp for all eternity.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon white sugar
48 chocolate-covered caramel candies (ie: one bag of Rolos)
DIRECTIONS
Beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in white sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and cocoa. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in 1/2 cup walnuts. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Combine remaining 1/2 cup nuts with the 1 tablespoon sugar. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Work with one part at a time, leaving the remainder in the refrigerator until needed. Divide each part into 12 pieces. Quickly press each piece of dough around a chocolate covered caramel. Roll into a ball. Dip the tops into the sugar mixture. Place sugar side up, 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for 3 to 4 minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
So a couple of days ago, the kids got to decorate the Christmas tree! They always LOVE it. Their favorite part is getting their new ornament for the year. I decided when Eli's first Christmas was coming that I wanted to get him the same character every year and have done the same with all of the kids. Eli gets reindeer, Grant gets gingerbread men, Ryan gets penguins & Tiana gets snowmen. Here's a small sampling of their past ornaments....
They get SO excited and consider each character "theirs". If there is any other decoration in the house with a gingerbread man on it, it officially belongs to Grant. If there is something with a snowman, it's all Tiana's.
So here are the pictures of each of them with this year's ornament along with photos of the tree-trimming festivities :) Enjoy!
Name: Karah Home: California, United States About Me: I've been married to my super hot hubby for just over 10 years and I'm a SAHM/WAHM to 4 crazy monkeys :) I love to scrapbook (it's an obsession, really), to take pictures, to play the Wii (it's good exercise - really!), to hang out with good friends & family, & to watch my kids as they grow to be righteous and honorable little men & woman. See my profile...
posted by Karah at 
