Merry Christmas!

Here’s Rosie Jo in the Kmart Wonderland. She was very interested in the singing “mooses” (Reindeer) and “birds” (snowmen—think long carroty beaks). And a little concerned about Winnie the Pooh and Pals trapped in their plastic snowing bubble…

I was pushing her in her stroller through the aisles of the grocery store, when I suddenly hear this muffled giggling. When I look, she has put this bucket on her head. Hm. I understand the impulse.
Rosie seriously exploring all her new stuffs... it's hard work being a drummer-princess puzzle-master....
And hiking...

And a random pig skin hung over the side of the bridge. Gruesome, innit?
The kid on the big-kid playground, fending off cursing, pole-dancing, spitting, frothing 6 and 7 year old hoodlums.


Rosie is into offering everyone imaginary food items, especially the "samwich." Here's a tasty looking one. She also offers dogdogs, sushi, milk, and ice cream... and sometimes, when you're least expecting it, poop.

We had a wonderful Christmas-- we had charcoal-like steak and mushroom pie, and peppermint bark, and crab legs, and shrimp scampi, and clam chowder, and avacado soup, and ham and bean soup, and green eggs and SPAM, and boxing day sushi, and Christmas Eve sushi, and Oxtail soup, and steaks, and liver meatballs, and about 6,000 sugar cookies with peppermint, cinnamon sugar, or chocolate sprinkles on top. We also had some potent egg nog (yich) and some wassail and some yummy eggnog ice cream.
We got to spend Christmas and Boxing Day with some lovely families and their kids. Rosie loved, in a frantic, freaked out, buzzed, and overwhelmed way, having lots of kids around and sharing her toys. The adults did their share of toy-sharing, too. I showed off my new cast iron enameled dutch oven, and made everybody jealous while I flipped my hair and said, "oh, this little thing? Isn't it just darling?? try some chowder, dears..." and Matt's friend showed off his "Guitar Hero" game, making Matt mutter and toss with jealousy for three days and three nights.
But as always, the most important part of Christmas is the getting. So thanks everybody! We recieved a dumptruck of bundles of cash, a silo of golden dubloons, three new cars (Rosie gets her own) and an actual life-size artificial intelligence "My Little Pony" that braids our hair and sorts out our taxes for us. Love you Sparkles!!!
Merry Christmas!