Getting ready for the holidays

The official launch of the Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving, and this year the kids are the main holiday elves. They are in love with the season, but not just for gifts. Carbon put the Christmas lights outside, with a tiny bit of help from me, and they've decorated inside and made a gingerbread house. We're listening to Christmas music and planning baking and other fun. It's lovely to see them be old enough to take a hand in creating their own holiday.

And here's the scene that went into the creation of the gingerbread house:

I'm aiming for a lovely holiday moment, so I've got Christmas music playing, milk on the stove for hot chocolate, and I'm making a gingerbread house with the kids. Then the doorbell rings as I'm trying to stick all the parts of the house together and hold them up until the icing sets. It's the Fedex man, with a holiday related package. But I'm covered in icing, the house falls down, the dogs and kids go crazy and we have to get the big dog out the back door so I can open the front door. I have to excuse myself to go wash icing off my hands, and while I do that our little dog takes a poop right in front of the door! Meanwhile, the milk overboiled. At least I gave the Fedex guy a good laugh today.