Like the Keebler Elves...

One of the Schwangston Christmas traditions is cookies - lots of them. Like some of our other traditions, it started small and is now tallying several hundred cookies. Because we have many people that we like to thank this time of year: colleagues at work, customers, Carter & Owen's teachers, neighbors, friends, if you live close to us, and you are not getting some cookies , then you are probably on the "naughty" Schwangston list.This year we made our normal peanut butter cookie w/peanut butter cup, brownie w/mint cup, peppermint bark w/cookies, chocolate bark w/pretzels, peanuts, and M&Ms, peanut butter cookies w/Hersey Kiss, Brownie Christmas Trees, and the sugar cookie. Oh the sugar cookie...please let me know if you even like these cookies. They are a pain to make,and decorate, and they reward you with tasting like iced Styrofoam.

We decided that we were up to bring C into the tradition this year. His enthusiasm for sprinkles and treats kept him going even when we were begging him to take breaks. He showed significant attention to detail in decorating and cutting out cookies. He often asked if he could eat the sprinkles or even the cookies/treats. His work was interrupted frequently for requests for M&Ms. At least he said "may I..."

Yesterday morning while eating breakfast, Carter noticed the first batch of "treats". He requested those in lieu of breakfast. I told him, "no, those aren't for us, they are for our friends". He said okay and continued with breakfast. A few minutes later Carter paused and requested my attention, but with quiet purpose, "Daddy, I'm your best friend". Indeed. Well played kid, but no cookie.

Side Note: friend and cousin of the blog, Matthew Collum, recently broke his arm during a slide mishap. Not the best way for a 3 year old to spend Christmas, but he is persevering. Carter wanted to use possibly the largest ever gingerbread man cutout for a cookie for Matthew (it covered half a cookie sheet). It took twice the time to cook and resulted in burning the rest of the cookies on the pan, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice. It was the last cookie to be decorated and was sprinkled, M&M'd, and frosted with gusto.I told Carter that if he took a quick bath and ate all of his dinner, he could have "one cookie" before bed. You know the cookie he requested? So much for ailing cousins. We managed to talk some Christmas spirit back into the green eyed sugar monster. He actually chose a rather pedestrian miniature sprinkled number to the delight of his mother who was fearing a continuation of the sugar high that stretched us thin the last hour and a half of cookie manufacturing.

Hopefully the cookie will mend bones or at least lift the spirits of Matthew.

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading...