A Few Pictures From Christmas

I'm being lazy today - I've cooked and baked and cleaned and hostessed...and today is my day (I decree) to do as little as I want.

But I had to post a few pictures from yesterday.  The best parts of the day, however, were not capturable on film (or digital imagery). 

Things like my son, when he unwrapped a book about Arctic Creatures (which he'd specifically asked Santa for) he looked up at the ceiling (I guess) in the corner of the room and hollered "Thank you, Santa!" with the sincere and unselfconscious gratitude only a 6-year-old can express. 

Or Julia - when she opened the brown-and-white stuffed animal horse SHE had specifically requested - sighing "It's just what I always wanted!"

Santa and the Mrs. done good this year.

The highlight of the day, however, did not come from Santa, but from Mrs. Santa's parents, aka "Grammy" and "Papa."  Papa carried in a huge white plastic bag containing a very large - VERY large - wrapped item that Julia opened (with help)...and when she unwrapped it sufficiently to realize what it was, I swear her head nearly popped off her little princess-outfitted body.  She gasped audibly and yelp/shrieked "I always wanted this!"

And here IT is:

 

Yes.  It's an enormous pink horse.  E.  NOR.  MUSS.

Bill brought it downstairs to make some room for the humans in our living room, and later on Julia dragged it upstairs by the reins, all by herself. 

She slept with it on her bed (and all her other - much smaller) stuffed animal horsies - though I'm thinking maybe the Big Pink Horse will sleep elsewhere tonight - Julia ended up in our bed at some point, probably crowded out of her own by all her equine companions.

This morning Julia was (uncharacteristically) the last one to wake up.  The rest of us were in the living room, Alex and Bill looking at Alex's magic kit and me looking through yesterday's photos on my laptop.  And then suddenly, the Big Pink Horse came hurtling down the stairs, followed by Pinky, Julia's much-loved and flattened pink elephant.  Then Julia made her appearance. 

I'm just waiting for her to ask to bring it to pre-school one day.  Um...I think not.  The axle's broken on our horse trailer - Big Pink Horse stays home.

 

Scratchy had a Merry Christmas, too.  Here is is, chillin' in the empty box Santa brought him.

 

 

And then, of course, there was the concert. 

Originally Julia was suppposed to perform, too.  She has two "songs" (exercises, really) she can play on her pink ulelele, but sudden-onset shyness took over both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so Alex went on with the show without her.

   

 

And then, finally, after all the wrapping paper had been cleared and the applause had died down, it was time to eat.

I only snapped this one picture - right after I set the two Yorkshire Puddings on the table (before the collapsed).  You can see a platter of sliced roast beef behind them.  And, of course, Alex is there, ready to dive in.

 

We also had a green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, turnip, and (for the non-red-meat-eating contingent) grilled chicken with a Greek-style tapenade marinade over rice. 

Next year I'm making 3 Yorkshire Puddings.  There's never enough, in my opinion.

Christmas Eve was a feast as well.  (We do Christmas Eve with Bill's side of the family, and Christmas dinner with mine).  For Christmas Eve, Bill made a FABULOUS paella, with 5 different kinds of seafood, chicken, chicken feet (yes, really), edamame instead of the traditional peas, and it was supposed to have sausage, but we both forgot it - the pan was so crowded with everything else, there were no gaps to remind us.  And we also boiled up some lobsters.  All the big claws and tails were consumed - we saved the bodies and little legs for other things.  Like, oh, the big lobster omelet Bill and I had on Christmas for breakfast.  The kids weren't interested.  Oh well.  The legs - I'm thinking little lobster cakes for dinner tonight.  And the rest of the roast beef.  Fancy-schmancy Post-Holiday Surf 'n' Turf.

And now...I think it's time to bake some bread.  I haven't in a while - all those cookies, you know.  And I'm really wanting the smell of bread baking...and, of course, the taste of the finished product.

Comments

[outdoorgriller]

That looks like you had fun I love green bean casserole.If you want more grilling recipes or if you want to take a look at the collection of tips I have for grilling you can visit www.cookingandgrillinoutdoors.com

[Tiffany]

Merry Christmas! I love reading your blog and seeing the cute pictures of your kitties and kids. That pink horse you bought your daughter is really cute. I would have wanted one too at that age.

[Foodista]

What a wonderful family you have! I had fun reading your blog and I'll be back here again. Have a happy and healthy 2009, from all of us at foodista.com

[Notable Cooking Schools]

Cute photographs, so funny, Really enjoyed reading your post.

Thanks for sharing.
Lilly