Cooking Mamas

For the past few years, I've been trying like crazy to come up with good, family traditions during the holidays. It sounds so easy and simple, so I'm not sure why it feels so difficult to accomplish. Maybe it's because I forget by the following year what we did before (like how I tried to read and collect Easter books each year only to forget to add to my small collection).... Or maybe because life happens and we get too busy (like how we haven't even visited any Christmas lights this year and I only have two days left!!). Truth be told I suck at this! And yesterday was no exception...in all my brilliancy, I decided my new Christmas tradition would be baking. I always dreamt of my house being filled with the wonderful festive smells of cookies and gingerbread and anything fattening and yummy during the holidays. The only problem is, I'm also not good at baking. But I decided this year I was going to bake -- and not only bake but also package the goodies and deliver them to our neighbors. Such a novel idea, right?? Well here is the reality of how that marvelous idea played out.

First, Brenna kept sticking her fingers in the dough, licking them, and then double dipping!!! Being the germaphobe that I am, there was no way I could actually give those to people. Failure #1.

Then, after Hayden and Brenna fought over who would help mommy crack the eggs, Brenna decided to take one and smash it in her sweet little hands. Failure #2.

Then, because the kids pretty much lost interest before the oven even reached 350 degrees, they continued to bicker... And mommy, despite all of her efforts to create a happy, peaceful holiday memory for my children, proceeded to scream "Cooking is fun darn it! You're supposed to be having fun... And if you won't have fun, then you're both going in time out!!!" Failure #3.

And finally, the after product.... Let's just say my baking skills remain as bad as my tradition making skills...Failure #4.

We did manage to get some good pictures out of it all though. Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to convince my kids that this was a happy memory, and the house did smell wonderful and full of holiday yumminess, and they really got along perfectly, and the cookies were the best darn cookies they ever ate... Maybe, just maybe...