"C" is for CORA....That's good enough for me!

Some of you may remember Cookie Monster singing the song "C" is for Cookie.  Well when Cora was little we would sing "C" is for Cora!  Well this Christmas I finally decided that it was time to make cookies with Cora.  Please read this entire post before you judge me!

Through my career with Pampered Chef I have found that there are generally two kinds of people: Those who like to cook and those who like to bake.  I like to bake.  My mom likes to bake and her mother was a good baker as well.....my grandma's last name is even Baker!  I remember when I first got married I would bake at Christmas using the same cookie recipes that my mother used.  I would make huge cookies trays that looked just like my mothers.  And I thoroughly enjoyed doing it!  That is......until Cora was born.  After Cora was born my time was taken up by a sweet little girl and honestly had no energy to lug out a kitchen aide mixer to mix cookies.  So Christmas cookie making resulted in Pillsbury ready made cookies.  I remember one Christmas calling Grandma Baker and she asked what we were doing.  I replied making snowman cookies.  It took me a minute but she thought we were making snowman sugar cookies.  I didn't want to embarrass myself by letting her know that they were Pillsbury!

So this year I decided we were going to do things a bit differently.  Cora was 8 1/2 and it was about time that I dust off the Kitchen Aide mixer and show her exactly where cookies come from!  So she donned her Pampered Chef apron and chef hat and was ready for our day!  Her readiness to me meant that we really should be doing this more often.  So I got out what seemed like ancient Christmas cookie recipes.  These were the same recipes that were on my mother's coveted cookie plates!  And so we began.....

First lesson.....learning how to measure flour!

Next lesson.......

.....learning how to crack an egg!

Then we learned how to use a scoop to make sure all the cookies are the same size!!

Then comes the fun part!  Decorating!  There was a lot of finger licking so I cannot be held responsible for the germs!

And the best part.......taste testing!

We tried a new recipe for these sweet snowman cookies!

And this was the end result.  Perfectly placed on a Christmas platter (my mom would be proud!)



So I hope it is not too late to develop my daughters love of baking.....or cooking for that matter.  I have learned lessons from each of the beloved women in my life.  From my grandma Baker I learned that you take the cookies out of the oven a little bit before the timer goes off and leave them on the cookie sheet to finish baking to keep the cookies from getting too brown.  From my mother I learned to stock up on baking supplies through out the year so you always have them on hand.  I always remember margarine and flour in our freezer.  And from my mother in law I learned to always put a piece of bread in with the cookies to keep them from getting stale.  I even have my own baking tips aside from those.  I always use butter when baking and I like to bake with room temp eggs.

I took recipes from these 3 women and hung them on the wall in my newly decorated kitchen.  Once again trying to surround Cora with the baking and cooking traditions in our family.  So here's to Cora's new cooking adventures.....and my sanity!

The recipes are all in their own handwriting.  Grandma Baker- Oatmeal cookies , Mary Welsh (MIL) Angel food cake, Marty Holt (mom) Mustard Sauce. 



"And The Stockings Were Hung......"

For as long as I can remember Christmas, I remember our Christmas Stockings.  I wish I could remember where there was a picture of them.  But what I do know is that they were a tradition in our family and one that I gladly passed on to my family. 

These are hung here because the room our fireplace is in isn't finished yet!

Of course there is a story to how they came to be a part of my family's Christmas Tradition.  My mom happily decorated our house each Christmas in matching red and white decorations.  Every Christmas she added one new decoration.  So as the story goes (circa 1976) my parents decided that because of money being tight they would only buy for each other's stockings.  So my mom came up with the idea to added new Christmas stockings to the Christmas flair.  The stockings were made of red and white gingham quilted fabric adorned with different color trim and rick rack at the top.  The "mom and dad" stockings were a little bigger than the "Dionne and Zach" stockings.  But what made these stocking unique is that they were over 2ft long and over a 1ft wide.  They were big enough to actually put them on like boots and walk around! (Yes we did try that out as adults one late Christmas night where in a few drinks had been consumed).


At first sight one may think that the size was a bit much.....a bit over indulgent.  But what they became was the best part of our Christmas.  It is what we waited for.  The made the saying "big things come in small packages" real!  My mom was the QUEEN of filling that stocking.  Over the years there was toothbrushes, socks, lip gloss, matchbox cards and chocolate.  When we got older it was jewelry, money, videos and gift cards.  My mom is the "stocking stuffer master".  She shops all year long to find just the right and sometimes quirky thing that will end up in someones stockings.

And soon the days of going home for Christmas were over my brother Zach and I were charged with finding our own Christmas traditions.  But one tradition that we chose to keep from our childhood were our stockings.  So from my Mom's original stockings, patterns were made by my Sister in law Kimberly and by me (although Kimberly indeed made hers and I had someone make them for me :/)  But just like that I found myself scouring clearance aisles all year long looking for the right and sometimes quirky thing that will end up in Cora's stocking! Great things like band aids, hair brushes, videos and fuzzy socks. 

A picture of our stockings from last Christmas!

Zach, Kimberly, Bear and Kody's stockings.....she will be making another one for next year!

As for Steve, I am sure this was a tradition that he had to get used to.  After all the stockings are larger than the normal stocking!  And for the past few years he has done a great job.  But this year.....we have done a lot of work on our house....."and money is tight".....  So we are going to take The 20 in 20 challenge .  However because of the size of our stockings it may need to be a 30 in 30 or a 40 in 40.  So we are getting a sitter for Saturday night and we are going shopping.  And the tradition of "the just right and quirky thing" will live on!

But at the end of the Christmas season what I so hope for is that when Cora gets married her husband will welcome our stockings into their home.  And hoping that she will enjoy filling them like I do....and my mom does.  So please don't judge us when you see our stockings....just know that they are filled with love and memories!

.....By The Chimney With Care,
~Cora's Mom



Dear Cora.....

Dear Cora,

I decided to do this blog in "letter form" because I fear that this Christmas will probably be the last of its kind.  For next year you will be another year older and another year wiser.  So I am taking the time to put some thoughts down about this holiday season:

It is finally December 1st!  Some would say that you can now officially start thinking about Christmas and all that goes with it.  It is finally an acceptable time to put up the Christmas Tree.  And in a couple weeks Daddy will say that we can start listening to Christmas music (even though you have been listening to the Justin Bieber Christmas CD that we bought while he was gone).  It is pretty boring if you ask me.  You see Cora there are two types of people in this world....the ones that Welcome the Holiday Season as soon as possible and the cynical ones that think everything is commercial and no one knows "the reason for the season".


I have heard the debates for a few weeks now.  The big deal over stores opening on Thanksgiving and the craziness of Black Friday (You just discovered what Black Friday is and I think you just love to say "Black Friday" !).  Those who judge forget about the people who need to work on those days so that they have a good paycheck.  They forget about the family who needs to stand in line because they need a good sale to make their money go further.  But you can participate in all the craziness of the holiday season and still know the "reason". 


So exactly how long should this "season" last.  If you ask me 365 days!  You heard me!  There are those that were upset that there were Christmas decorations up at Halloween.  I just ignored them and you should too!  I am my mother's child.  I couldn't be more excited when I see the first signs of the holiday.  And Cora, you are my child.  I love that you will probably still be listening to that Justin Bieber Christmas CD in March!

 All I need to do is look through your eyes and I can see the "season" all year long.  When I was a child I always loved going to church in the summer time because when it came time to sing hymns it was the congregation's choice.  So we would yell out page numbers and then sing that song.  We used to LOVE so yell out Christmas hymns thinking we were so funny.  But to be honest those hymns are relevant all year long.....O Holy Night....O Come Emanuel....Silent Night.  Not one of those hymns say "On December 25th Jesus was born and on December 26th take down your tree!"


What are we to do on December 26th?  It is so hard to put everything away.  Last Sunday started advent and we called "Come Lord Jesus".  Ahhhhh to wake up every morning saying "Come Lord Jesus"!  Why are we only to say it for a month?  My prayer for you is that you say "Come Lord Jesus" all year long.  We can sit and judge others saying that Christmas is too commercialized but I hope that I have taught you the same thing that my mother taught me.  Christmas is the most magical time of the year.  A time to be treasured and remembered.  A time for Christmas trees perfectly trimmed and food that is only eaten once a year!  A time that we allowed Jesus to enter our hearts.  And a time for Peace and Good will toward men. 

This year we have been invited to a friends house to celebrate Hanukkah.  You are so excited!  I absolutely love that you are so eager to find out that Hanukkah is so much more than playing Dreidel.  Your daddy will tell you that makes you my daughter.  He is right.  You are like me.  But being like me makes you always want to find out more.  Isn't that what this season is about?  Always wanting to find out more.....Having the faith that there is enough oil in the lamp?  I well up with tears just thinking about it.  If only to live all year with the wanting...and faith.


Leaving you with one that thought that I you'll understand when you are older.......Each of us is an Innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus-Neal Maxwell.  I would only add that you make the decision every day not just on December 25th.


Until Next Year,
~Your Mommy