Cookie decorating this year was a family affair. Come to think of it I don’t know if Seth has ever iced cookies in our whole married life. He even got to wear an apron this yr per Jackson’s instruction! My mom was able to whip up 6 kinds of cookies when I was growing up. For us this year it is just one kind! Classic sugar cookies with bright icing and sprinkles! We have tried lots of recipes over the years but I think “The Joy of Cooking’s” Rich Rolled cookies are the best!  And this is how it went….

There was laughing and crying, messing and cleaning, and lots of sugary cookies!

ps- I am off to the Embassy bazaar to sell some baked goods and stocking stuffers!! I will let you know how it goes! My sweet friend is coming to play with the boys so I am actually going ALONE!!!  Haven’t done that in a while.

The day after Thanksgiving Seth and I got busy putting up the tree and decorating the house so that everyone could enjoy it, particularly Nana before she heads back to Thailand. We have been playing Christmas music and getting in the spirit!  I kept our decorations minimal this year with only some non-breakable Christmas ornaments on the tree, some fresh greenery around the house and one non-breakable nativity. I am normally one of those people that thinks kids should just learn not to touch, yada, yada. But, in light of the fact that Owen is cherishing each moment of his fast approach to the big 2 I decided to just cool it this year with my goals and aspirations of beauty and perfection. And so, we are keeping it simple. And really simple is turning out to be quite beautiful. Who knew?!

On Sunday morning I set Nana and Jackson up at the dining room table by the Christmas tree to decorate a gingerbread house. From the get go I knew it was going to be a funny experience but one I hoped would make fun memories for both of them. I set them up and took Owen out for a walk once I knew they were okay for at least a few minutes. When I returned they were both covered in marshmallow creme and the house had collapsed a good 3 times already. The house is partially standing now and Jackson is quite proud of their work. Nana on the other hand has found me now on 3 occasions to discuss how various pastes and sugar glues might have been preferable.

Here are some funny pictures of them…

He was a bit skeptical of her ability to read the directions in Swedish!

crash #1!  Oh my!

“TA DA!”

Nana woke up this morning and said she had packed her bag and would be leaving today. Turns out it is $2500 to change the ticket (which we knew but spent an entire morning confirming for her sake) so she has decided to stay the remaining time. She is anxious to get back to Bangkok and get resettled now that the flooding has subsided but we will continue to entertain her at Swiss Chalet Kolb in the meantime.  Maybe we will move on to Christmas cookies next!

Saturday night we had a group over for pumpkin carving! It was such a fun evening. Most of our friends had never carved one before but they all dove in and seemed to have fun.  We covered the dining room table with a plastic table cloth and newspapers and told everyone to bring a pumpkin and a knife!

I set out a few appetizers to munch on while we carved and then kept dinner super simple!! We had hot ham and cheese sandwiches (thanks for the recipe, Amy!) and a fall salad. We followed it up with homemade pumpkin pie and a friend brought some cake! I must say that might be the first and last time I make pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin! It was wonderfully delicious and better than from a can but I must say took waaaay more time than I had! Another friend brought Gluwein that simmered on the stove!!! Maybe this week I will try to post some recipes for that so you can try it in whatever corner of the world you are!

Here are some pics from the festivities…

caramel apples…darn things stuck to the buttered wax paper but they looked pretty!

a little hesitant to pull out the “guts”!

it was serious work folks!

most of the kids showing off their creations!

thanks for a fun night, friends!

The weather here in Switzerland has been so gorgeous lately. Seth and I have decided that we think Sept/early October can be even better than summer. Summer was pretty spectacular but not so consistent. Maybe we have been blessed with extra nice days but this Fall we have had only a few rainy days. The rest have been crisp and cool. Here is a snapshot of how we have been filling our Fall days!

I have been trying to get the boys outside as much as possible and to do as many fallish activities. Last week we spent the morning hiking down through the woods down the hill from our house. I wish I had taken my camera because the lighting was beautiful and the boys were all kinds of cute feeling like wilderness men. Owen was more hesitant than Jackson but they both tromped around like “Lord of the flies”. We took a ziplock bag and I told Jackson he could fill it with whatever he found. He focused on leaves, acorns and small twigs. I collected some branches and acorns as well to use for a fall wreath. When we got home I pulled out some crafts paper and glue and let Jackson work on making something with his finds. Free fun!

That morning we had a great time together getting out of the house and working on a project but truth be told I was in a bit of a funk that morning. You see I was so wishing I could pop in my car that morning, visit with a friend, grab lunch at Chickfila and pop in to Home Goods or Target to look for some cheap fall decor to spruce up the house. These days come and go. I do miss home and I do enjoy life here, yet some mornings the two worlds collide and I want to pop back to my All-American life. Anyhow, I pulled myself out of my funk and gathered enough things to make a wreath. I have never made a wreath so it is quite rough. But, it was so enjoyable to pull out the glue gun and just work not knowing how it would turn out. It does the trick of sprucing up the house a bit and it gave me time to process my funk.

So, here is my makeshift wreath….which may or may not keep the Chinese lanterns…I may keep fiddling with it!

Another morning last week I posted a recipe for pumpkin spice playdough on a link from a friend. Here is the link for the original. I cut the recipe in half and used a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice as well as a bit pf extra cinnamon…because it didn’t seem like it needed so much and I kind of ration spices here!  We added some orange food coloring to make it look more pumpkiny without the extra spices. It smelled yummy, filled some time with a project of making it, and filled even more time with the boys playing at the table with it. Owen is stepping up into the world of playdough. He attempted to pop a big bite in as we smelled it originally but after he knew it was salty playdough he was satisfied to play.

Last Friday I was missing my friend Leigh as I was praying so hard that she and her hubby would hear about a new job! Anyhow, as you all know when I miss a friend I normally end up cooking something that reminds me of them! So I got some fresh pumpkin and attempted to make some pumpkin soup. It wasn’t what I remember eating with Leigh at Funfshilling in Germany but it reminded me of sweet times!

This recipe is next on our Fall treat list…Pumpkin Gingersnaps!  Now to find molasses in Bern! Wish me luck!