Post Weekend

This weekend definitely felt like one that was leading up to Christmas.  A winter weekend.  Dare I say - a perfect winter weekend.  It was a winter weekend that felt so nice and cozy because we've got maaayyybeeee another six weeks to go before we are SICK AND TIRED of winter weekends.  So we'll enjoy the fun they give us while it lasts.

Winter weekends were made for snow.  Playing in it...

...and discovering the eating of it.  Way to stay hydrated, guys.

(Nolan's face says it all.  "We were inside the warm house and then you bundled me up so I can't move and put things on my hands so I can't get to my fingers or grab things even if I could move my arm and don't you know that grabbing things is my FAVORITE and I'm not sure why we're out here when it's a solid 50 degrees warmer inside the house where I could crawl around."  Sorry, dude.  But you do look good in orange.)

Of course once we did get back inside, it was straight to some cookie baking.  One of Caden and Brooklyn's favorite activities.  (Which is good news for me, since the eating of cookies is one of my favorite activities.)

Well, favorite activity minus the mixer:

(Death stare.)

I guess it got kind of boring.  But it's all worth it when there are beaters to lick in the end.

(Shhhh...there were totes raw eggs in the batter.  Don't tell anyone's mother.)

My mom was all like, "wow, how ambitious of you to play in the snow and bake cookies all in one morning!" and I was all, "yeah, but I was supposed to be organizing/sorting/going through the mess of clothes that fit/don't fit/possibly fit at one time in all the kid's closets and this just sounded more fun". I'll take ambition, but it was really some productive-looking procrastination..  Tomato, tomahto.  Whatever.

(This recipe.  Downside:  needing to be put in the oven twice.  Upside: placing marshmallows on top was super thrilling for these little hands.  And honestly, I could have done without the dried cranberries in them.  Sorry, Ocean Spray.)

And...

...a tree!  The tree is up!  After debating whether I even wanted to bother with a tree this year (we put up a small one a couple of years ago when Caden and Brooklyn were Nolan's age because I was NOT dealing with two babies trying to pull over a 7-foot tree) we went for it.  After the initial fiasco of "oh crap the middle of the tree isn't lit" (something wasn't plugged in properly OH DUH SURPRISE), it's been a festive note in the background ever since.  I managed to get some ribbon on it yesterday, but I'm not so sure about adding ornaments.  While Nolan has steered surprisingly clear of the tree so far, I'm not so sure he could ignore sparkly, dangly things that look EXACTLY like toys hanging from the branches.

And these two probably couldn't, either.

Maybe I'll call it minimalism and say we're good for the year.