I took the plunge. I tried another childhood dessert. Here is my gorgeous key lime pie (before the flour canister fell on it). It was very tart, but very tasty. Mary even preferred it to the lovely blueberry pie our landlords gave us the same day. We ate well on Christmas Eve.


On Christmas morning, Joseph was helping his baby (named Dr. Elias) to open a present.



Dr. Elias got a new coat. Clifford (Nathan's) and Molly (Mary's) each got a scarf and hat. Mary said, "You made these from the scraps of the coat. I can tell." Yup.

Princess Mary asked for "pink and princessy" this year. Aunt Stacy and GG amply fulfilled this wish. She also got fancy dress slippers and nail polish (Piggie Paint, "safe for little girls and pregnant women," as she tells everyone).

And Joseph, who loves tangrams, got this lovely set. It has 12 puzzles and all the pieces, which are magnetic, store inside the little drawer. The puzzles store under the top flap, which locks down. It's awesome!

Today is the first of Nathan's month-of-work-free-Fridays. He promised to wear the kids out, but they are running around and arguing. He is asleep at the table on a cookbook. As lil'Nathan just said, "I don't think Daddy is going to make dinner tonight, b/c he's snoring on the table."

Funny kid stuff has become a regular occurrence around here. Especially from Mary. And she always prefaces her stuff, so we know it's going to be interesting...

(To me) "I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but that shirt is really ugly. The stripes are nice, but the color is awful."

(To Daddy) "I don't want to insult you, but when you stick out your tongue, you look like a snake."

(To my mother) "I don't want to tell you what to do, but the nail polish you give Katie (her cousin) is not good for her. It's full of bad chemicals. You should try Piggie Paint, it comes in all colors and is good for little girls and pregnant women."

(Again, to me) "That was the best cheesecake you every made. Well, not really, maybe the second best."

(I just discovered this gem in a thank you note from lil'Nathan)  "Thank you for the (gift).  I really enjoyed it while it worked.  It was a cheap design."