The day began by getting things ready for our 9:30am party. Oh my. There was getting dressed and setting up and getting dough and games and toy stations, etc. Why did I plan a party at 9:30am? Oh yeah, because nobody has the same afternoon nap time.
We managed to have everything ready and were able to welcome our guests.
Schäfer did a pretty good job of sharing his toys. At one point, everyone was in his room playing and he was in the living room by himself. I think it was a little overwhelming to have 5 kids and 5 adults in his room.
The first part of the party was “free play”. Then, we moved to “moose photos”. Everyone seemed to like this except Long Long. He was completely unwilling to have his photo taken.
Hu Quan Yu Zhao Zhi Yi
Xi Xi Yuan Ye
Schäfer Cai Xin Yi
After moose photos, we cut out cookies. (Long Long is in the gray jacket.)
While the cookies were in the oven, I told the Christmas story and we added correlating felt ornaments to the small tree.
Time for cookies!
The party ended about 11:30am. It was so fun to have so many friends to play with. The house was a wreck, but our hearts were filled with the warmth that good friends give.
During the party, we dropped the camera and broke our lens. Sigh. I shot with a damaged wide angle lens for the rest of the day. (We keep forgetting to send it off to be fixed.) Hubs assured me my favorite lens [Canon EF 50mm f1.8] could be purchased at the Canon store downtown.
This afternoon, Schäfer eventually settled down for a much needed nap.
Today, I busted out the Christmas socks that Grandma Huckleberry gave me last year. My festive level is off the charts.
Oh the joy of gingerbread house decorating! I’ve been saving this container of sprinkles for over a year!
After nap time, Hubs lead Schäfer through a workout.
Thank goodness for these photos – otherwise you’d never believe me. There were sit-ups.
And push-ups.
Schäfer said this was his favorite push-up.
Hubs practiced the guitar while Raffe rested on his shoulder.
That evening, we hosted Rong Rong and family. We made a moose craft (also know as a reindeer craft) and a gingerbread house.
Schäfer makes his reindeer face.
Here’s the completed craft. Hubs wanted the hands placed in just this way so that they would be “moose like”. Yes, it matters. (the antlers are Schäfer’s hands and the face is a trace of his foot)
We had the gingerbread all ready to make into a house. We just love this recipe. It is tried and true. (We substitute honey for molasses and dark brown sugar for the white sugar. It’s just delicious and golden colored.)
Hubs loves that there’s no egg so he can munch away on the extra dough.
Our icing did not turn out as well as previous years (no clue why) so Hubs was using toothpicks for structural assistance. Then, he got the grand idea to make marshmallow icing which quickly hardens. (Marshmallows are unbelievably simple to make!)
Schäfer loved eating unlimited amounts of sugar decorating the house.
At this point, he had all the gummy bears in conversation with each other.
Our One Room House 2009. Yum.
Next year, we’ll just go with the marshmallow icing.
2007 2008
This year’s One Room House didn’t turn out as well as the Log Cabin in 2007, but definitely better than The Disaster Stricken Victorian House in 2008. (That year, we didn’t spread the dough thin enough or wait for it to cool.)
Rong just about fell apart during supper. When I asked his Mom if I could help she said that he wanted to hear Jingle Bells. As soon as we set the iPod to Jingle Bells he was one very happy toddler. So, we enjoyed supper while listening to six different versions of Jingle Bells.
Schäfer finally went to sleep at 9:30pm. All of these late nights are bound to catch up with us soon.
