Children

It's the day before the Christmas Eve, and the kids are driving me nuts. Rael wants to watch one of the cartoons he likes, so he's being as noisy as possible. Aeia's wearing a Santa hat and refuses to take it off until after Christmas, yelling whenever anyone pulls it off or tries to grab it. Tasmia is in a lovey-dovey mood and gets fussy if she's not being held. Lash seems to believe that if he just takes forever often enough, that he'll eventually never have to do the dishes again.

Baking went well. This year my best friend wanted to learn to bake. I think that with practice and confidence that she'll do fine. I've been baking since I was 9 or 10, with minimal help from adults. The trick really is to know what is essential to the recipe and what you can fudge (like how much vanilla). Also, knowing the correct way to measure flour is absolutely necessary, as adding the wrong amount can ruin the recipe. You have to spoon the flour into the cup and keep the flour loose, using a straight edge (like the flat of a knife blade) to straighten it out on top to get off the excess.

I just made oven-fried chicken that turned out really well. I used a breading of 1/3 cup potato flakes (the thin kind, not Potato Buds), 1/3 cup flour, 1 Tablespoon paprika, probably 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon Kickin' Chicken, 1/4 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon tarragon. I may leave out the sage when I make it again, and may kick it up with a little cayenne, but it was yummy. Tasmia kept coming back for more too. Aeia of course doesn't like it. She doesn't seem to like my cooking much.

But back to festivities. Evan and I participated in a Secret Santa holiday party that ended up not going well. Evan got a gift he much appreciated (Mamma Mia!), but one person accepted a gift without giving a gift. Very tacky and rude. I was going to bake for someone, but I learned that very day that she has Celiac's Disease. I have a repertoire of all of one gluten free cookie, which I save for whenever one particular friend of the kids visits. It's a peanut butter cookie, and I find that it dries out my mouth. It doesn't give me joy, and what's the point of baking something that doesn't give you joy?

The gifts are all wrapped and piled under the tree, and Rael asks hourly to open his presents. Tasmia enjoys looking at them. Aeia is obsessed with size (Rael has the biggest gift, and Lash also has a couple big gifts, but all she has is small gifts, including the smallest one of all).

Happy Holidays everyone. And if you're upset that I didn't use a different greeting, well Bah Humbug to you.