Merry Christmas!!

Well, this has been a fantastic weekend! I don't know exactly where to start, but I will attempt somewhat to not write a novel this morning. :-) The weekend started for me on friday. Friday was an important day for me. I was to finish up some last minute shopping, clean the house, and prep things for our Open House. That was not to be. I was awake in the wee hours of the morning with a migraine, and really was incapacitated. My wonderful husband did what he could to get some cleaning done, but mostly he needed to occupy Zander and Abigail. Around 3 in the afternoon I was finally able to keep something down and quickly took some painkillers. An hour later I was at least able to mildly function. We headed over to Mom and Dad's for a pre-weekend family feast. It was great. It has been a long time since all my siblings and their respective counterparts were all together at one time. Even though I was still subject of a throbbing head, we were all able to enjoy the time together visiting and eating. It was very nice.

Saturday morning I HAD to finish my shopping. I was successful thanks to my children who wake nice and early in the morning. I managed to beat the crowds, and got exactly what I was after. Back home again presented me with a few options. I started with making a simple fruit salad and my cookie trays for Christmas Eve festivities at Mom and Dad's. After getting Zander down for a much needed nap, Abigail and I embarked on a Pulish tradition. Pierogi making. Let me tell you, the invention of the pasta roller has got to be the true joy of pierogi makers everywhere. The tradtional dough for pierogi is very elastic, a lot like a pasta dough. I could not imagine rolling it out by hand. Yikes. I had made my fillings earlier in the week, and Abigail was such a little helper, rolling the maker for me, and then stuffing the dough. She had so much fun with it, they may have to make an appearance more than once a year. I will share the recipe I used at the end of today's post, along with approximations for the fillings.

Upon Zander's awakening, we headed over to Mom and Dad's. We had a nice time visiting and eating, nd eating some more. Zander has developed a particular fondness for the men in the family. He absolutely adores his Uncle Buggy, and spent a good deal of the weekend climbing all over him. :-) But I do think all the boys in the house got adequate Zander time. After Church we all gathered around the Christmas tree for the big gift exchange. I just love watching people open gifts and seeing what everyone receives. I don't think there was a single gift opened that wasn't completely appreciated. One in particular... Pardon the happy sentimental moment, but the entire evening was capped off by a beautiful wedding proposal for my baby sister Lizzie. *sniff* It's going to be awhile before I stop getting choked up thinking about THAT. :-) So Uncle John is truly going to be Uncle John next August. We are all sooooooo happy for them and excited. I can't believe that both of my baby sisters are getting married next year.

Ahem. Well, Christmas morning started with a VERY excited Abigail waking us all up to see all the presents under the Christmas tree. Of course, we trudged down, started the coffee drip and began the celebration. We completely spoiled Abigail and Zander this year and so far it has been worth it. They are very happy with their gifts. So much so that they recieved some money gifts this year, and I think they may not exactly know what to purchase for themselves. What more can a Mom ask for than happy children. After the big gift opening the task of preparing the house for company began. Since I completely lost Friday I spent the early afternoon in a mad scramble to get everything done, while cutting some necessary corners. We did well. And were ready for company before they arrived. We weren't sure who would come. It was after all, an open house. It was wonderful. We had the unexpected guests, and the expected, and everyone came and stayed. We all just had a ncie time visiting and sharing Christmas. The munchies, and meal, and gobs of cookies and truffles kept everyone happy. We recieved a stunning gift basket from a dear friend of ours. It was so thoughtful. And full of fantastic foodie gifts that will be fun to explore. Part of me wants to dig in right away today and try a little bit of everything, but I think we will slowly savor the basket and disect each component itself. Today may very well be a cheese fondue made with a Lemon Artichoke Pesto. (How could that be bad!!) Or maybe it will be a presentation of Warm Gooey Camembert smothered in an Apple Confit made with Calvados. Or perhaps I will make up a batch of scones and somther them with a Pumkin Butter with Port. Wow. So many choices. :-)

Well, I have a daughter who is anxious for Mommy to join her in a rousing game of Guess Who. So I will be off, and I will be back later today to post the recipes for the pierogi.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!