My Bologna, Cookie Fiend

On Monday morning, while I was at work and Ben and Dex were at the grocery store, My Bologna apparently got a taste for sugar cookies. When the boys got home, they discovered a plate on the kitchen floor and sugar cookie crumbs all over the house.  My Bologna only took the plate with the cookies covered in sugar crystals but he ate damn near all of those two dozen (a handful had fallen off the plate onto the counter and were spared)! Dex found crumbs on both couches, on the floor in the play room, on the floor in the living room, and even in his Leap Pad case. Luckily, dozens of the more labor-intensive cookie cutter cookies were unscathed so our Christmas deliveries can go forward as planned.

Cookie Factory

Dexy and I were back at it Sunday morning making dozens of sugar cookies for our annual Christmas deliveries to our neighbors.

James Curley's Christmas Party

Dex was excited to go to James Curley's annual Christmas party this weekend. He was thrilled to be the only child allowed at a grown up party!  He minded his manners (lots of "pleases" and "thank you's") and was very social. Anne Curley is a mosaic artist and Dexy loved seeking out all her art in the house - his favorite was the mosaic she created on the risers of the stairs. The middle-aged ladies fell in love with him and when he asked them if they wanted to join him "looking for more art" they were very impressed.  No matter where I went, I heard someone talking about the little boy showing everyone Anne's art. When Ben and I noticed Dexter at the food table with his chin resting on the chip bowl and his fingers playing with the chips, we knew it was time to call it a night. On the way home, we drove down Michigan Avenue and looked at the Christmas lights then Dex promptly fell asleep when we hit the expressway.

Santa's Cookie-Decorating Elves

After the baking came the decorating.

Dexter helped but was not as enthusiastic as he was about the baking (decorating was not as messy as the baking either!).

Santa's Cookie-Baking Elves

Dexter got really into the Christmas cookie baking spirit this year. He diligently helped with every aspect and relished showing Daddy his skills. First, cover the surface evenly with flour.

Next, gently roll out the dough. Be careful not to push down too hard. When you get to the edges, lift up the rolling pin.

Try to get the cookie cutters as close to each other as possible without overlapping. Be sure to push down on all parts of the cookie cutter.

Carefully place the cookies on the cookie sheet and decorate with chocolate chips. Then Mommy can put them in the oven.







We spent a few hours baking the gingerbread cookies as a family. We made gingerbread people big and small to populate our gingerbread village and some greenery (trees and holly leaves) for landscaping. The village also has one reindeer, a star, and a silver bell (for on top of the school).