This weekend was Eric’s staff Christmas Party. He asked me this summer if I wanted to be in charge of it and I with great enthusiasm said “Yes”. I love parties. Everything about them. The food. The decorations. The people. Love it all. For years, I have torn out pages of magazines of different ideas for parties and decorating. I even have it all filed away. Apple party, Christmas Party, Summer party, just to name a few. So, I have spent months thinking and planning this party. That was before I got pregnant and my world came to a screeching halt. I’m glad I did so much before, because there is no way I could have pulled this off if I had been asked after I have been so sick. But, with menu written up, decorations in mind, and two amazing girls that came over in the afternoon and stayed until almost midnight, we did it!

So here are the details…

~The Menu~

Appetizers
-Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
-Veggie Wraps
-Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

Entree
-Cranberry Walnut Salad with Sweet Poppyseed Vinaigrette Dressing
-Prime Rib with Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing
-Provolone Risotto with Petite Tomatoes
-Steamed Broccoli
-Buttered Green Beans with Toasted Almonds
-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Dessert
-White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
-White Chocolate Cherry Tartlets
-Eggnog Truffles

Now, before you are too impressed, I need to make sure to give credit where credit is due! Katelynn and Danielle were both an AMAZING help to me. Katelynn is in her first year of Culinary school and so she kept my kitchen going while I slipped in and out of the party. Danielle took over all the children. Fed them,them took them all upstairs and entertained them with crafts, movies and stories and then put them all to bed. So there, that’s how I did it!!

The evening was lovely. I used all my china and crystal and silver from our wedding that has been boxed up for the last decade. I plan on using it much more these days now that it is in the hutch and so readily available. Eric smoked the prime rib with his new smoker. He has been having alot of fun learning how to cook with it. Everybody laughed and ate and then laughed some more. When the children were all ready for bed, teeth brushed and pjs on, they all paraded downstairs for hugs and kisses. It was a sweet little trail of children entering the dining room to bid their parents good night.

Laura making the Veggie Rolls

The Table

The Centerpiece. I used boughs from the fir tree in my yard, candles and gold ball ornaments.

Seating for 11.

The children made this sign before the Party. It says, “Please, Do Not Enter” and reminds me of a museum.

And proof that we used every single pot, pan and utensil in my kitchen while cooking. 4 hours of clean up!! (But, only one actual hour because Eric and I and Katelynn and Danielle all worked together washing, drying and putting away!)

And not a single picture of the food. I was far too busy once we started cooking and people arrived. So this is just the before and after pictures!!!
~Cheryl

It’s early Wednesday morning. Trash Day. I was laying here in bed, thinking about the day, what’s already happened and what’s still to come. Eric woke up an hour early this morning just so he could go play on the ice on the pond. The last two days he has been sad leaving to go to work when there is so much fun to do around here. Last night at dinner, the children talked non-stop about ice skating on the pond in their rubber boots. Even played a game of ice hockey. Their first actually. So Eric went and skated in the dawn of this morning, then while he was showering I hear this crash of glass. Someone had let Gabriel out of his crib, and he had made his way downstairs and was playing with the Advent candles. Glass jar candles. I don’t know if he threw it or dropped it, but it shattered into a million pieces. Got that cleaned up and back in bed (because it is so warm and I am freezing) and I hear the trash truck on the street over from us. Aggghhhh!!!! Forgot to put the trash out. So just like a crazy woman, with no time to get dressed (our trash can overflows each week, so missing trash is a huge deal) I throw on Eric’s boots that he wore skating this morning, and I run outside to a frozen world. The temp right now is 13 degrees. The race to the trash truck is on. I have found that Mr. Trash truck driver is not very nice. He picks through recycle, only taking a few things and throws the rest on the ground, hence why I quit recycling and the trash can is that much more fuller. He won’t stop if the can is not on the road. Even if he sees me coming down our very long driveway with it. And somedays, he just skips us completely. And I call and complain and they send him back.
So here I am, lungs burning from the frozen air, pj’s still on, trash can way over filled, running down the driveway. And I make it. He has not even turned onto our street yet. Yeah! One more week of trash behind me. So back inside, I am standing in my bedroom, looking out the window to see what he will throw back this week, and I am distracted. There is this fly on the inside of my window. And it is frozen solid to the glass. On the inside!! I look all around the window and their is frost everywhere. Looks like little snowflakes and it’s on the inside!!! Like what you see when flying on an airplane. I have noticed that since it got really cold, the heater never shuts off. I keep turning the heat down, but it just keeps going. Ah ha! These windows are the original windows. They are beautiful. Full of character. Preserved through all these years of this house. Over 80 years to be exact. But when it comes to insulation, well it’s definitely lacking . There are these special blinds on the windows that are suppose to keep the cold out and the warm in. But if you stand next to the window, you can definitely feel a draft. So I am getting very concerned about the electric bill this month.
So it’s now 8:00am. Everybody is up and dressed. The boys are ready to head to the pond to skate some more. But I am insisting on breakfast first. Something to warm up their tummies. Very few times in this house the boys choose something over food. But they have heard that it’s suppose to start warming up again and don’t want to miss any last chances to play on the ice. Time to get up and get dressed. The day has begun!

Some pics from the last month.

The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree.

My stick boy. Always on the hunt for a big stick!

The chosen tree

Lots of Lego play these days.

After decorating gingerbread houses.

Laura, Joshua, and Maryann’s house

Ben and Michael’s house

Decorating christmas ornaments

I think we have glittered our whole house!

Our tree.

Our Angel, who looks like she is going to jump at any moment. The tree tends to forward just a little, no matter how much we adjust it. Maybe the trunk is crooked.

Jumping on the ice. Michael looks like he is about to take off!

The frozen pond.

A game of ice hockey.

~cheryl