This is the life: christmas

Thursday, December 11, 2014

brockett cookie bake 2014

bring on the sprinkles, chocolate chips and the fudge. it's time for the annual brockett cookie bake. this year we also incorporated the early christmas get-together because this ever growing family is getting busier and busier during the holidays.

this is a tradition that bobby's family has done for many years. the siblings would get together at one house, bake cookies and other sweet treats and then go home with a sampling of what everyone made to enjoy during the holiday season.

as the family grew, more and more people came and more and more recipes were shared. and now it's a full on party. and a win-win for me. food, recipes, and tradition all rolled into one - pun intended.

this year everyone brought their a-game with new recipes as well as the tried and true. you bake and eat a cookie. have lunch then eat a cookie. open gifts then eat a cookie. it's non-stop fun.

i always make the pretzel hugs.

pretzels with a hershey hug. in the oven at 250 for a few minutes until the chocolate gets soft but not melted. then straight out of the oven you add m&m's.

this year we tried the peppermint m&m's and they were better than ever. let them cool in the freezer or fridge so the chocolate sets. these are a fun treat to put in a jar and give as a gift.

i also tried 2 new recipes. this one is a chocolate chocolate chip cookie with a rolo baked in the middle and sea salt on top.

they were decadent. i also made these sugar cookie blossoms.

i love how festive they looked. and they were pretty tasty too.

the littlest kids (and a lot of grown up kids too) do the cookie decorating. that makes them a part of the festivities as well. it's always fun to see what designs they will come up with.

and of course this family has a great sense of humor.

here's a sampling of what we brought home. peppermint fudge, snickerdoodles, lemon bars, pretzel toffee (my favorite), peanut butter cookies. after a few days in the one container everything starts tasting the same, but we enjoy it.

uncle ed and aunt elaine have hosted the cookie bake for the last few years. they have the perfect kitchen for it, and the oven of my dreams. but an added bonus is the cappuccino machine.

i don't know how i earned the honor but mine is usually the first one. i feel so special.

and we share a cocktail or glass of wine. it is a holiday party after all.

this year we also exchanged gifts for the kids at the cookie bake. every child in the family receives a gift from another family. gift are sent from all over the country. it is so fun to watch them rip open their presents.

and to watch the next generation of cousins share in this tradition.

we take lots of pictures too.

but mostly we are a family. we catch up and share stories and updates. we wish each other a merry christmas, share lots of hugs and kisses, and we think about those that can't be with us.

thank you to everyone for continuing this tradition. we look forward to it every year.

wishing the brockett clan a very sweet christmas!

Friday, January 10, 2014

a christmas recap

if you look back at my december blog posts it's pretty pathetic. was it because there wasn't anything to share? heck no. it was because there was no time to share it. and in a way, that's ok with me. i was busy living life, and yes, trying to survive the craziness. but it was about being in the moment and living it.

one thing i have come to realize, especially with the recent loss of computers and pictures, is that this blog helps me remember and document our story. i often find myself looking through this blog to answer questions like, what did we do last christmas? or how old was andrew when...? or what did i make for dinner last month? it's our life on paper (or computer screen.)

and it's great that i get to share it with those of you that come by to read. so thanks.

i am once again recommitting to posting here regularly, and by regularly i mean 3 times a week. if i can do more i will but i am also aware that quality beats out quantity and that's what i'm aiming for, meaningful posts.

we did have a busy december and i wanted to recap in pictures and short description what our december 2013 looked like.

now if you are saying to yourself, christmas was so last year, you're right. but we still have our (artificial) christmas tree up so it's still the season at our house. at least until tomorrow.

so read on friends.

december starts here with bobby's birthday. i love that we get to celebrate a birthday at the beginning of the month and we get to end the month with another birthday at our house. cake, tacos, rice, the usual. gifts, love and happiness made it special.

the notre dame band marched in the granada hills parade. what made this extra special is that this is our neighborhood. we walk to this parade every year and see the floats and people go by. it was so much fun to walk the parade route with the band and see many familiar faces along the way.

for sofia's class my mom and i made tamales to show a tradition that we celebrate during the holidays. i love that it's become a tradition for my mom and i to make these for school. my mom does most of the work but i love this time shared with her that i know i will share with sofia someday.

the kids holiday performance was great. the songs are always so fun and festive and it gets better every year thanks to our amazing music director.

i tried hard to keep up with my mile a day this year but it was not meant to be. i think i made it to day 17 or 18 and then i got sick and busy and the weather was not perfect! i start training later this month so i better get up to speed fast or i'm in trouble.

bobby and i got away to palm springs for the weekend. not always the best time to go away but it was so relaxing and kind of perfect. bobby is a guest lecturer for a screenwriting masters program and they invite him back every year. i tag along and go shopping or hang out in the room and then we get to go to dinner or the movies or a party at night.

we ate at a pizza place one night and had these buttery gnocchis that i'm still thinking about.

brockett annual cookie bake was a blast. the adults bake and the kids decorate and then everyone eats. always new recipes, always lots of people, and one of the best things we do in december.

the pto held its annual holiday boutique where the kids get to go shopping for gifts for their families. it's a crazy two days but it's so much fun to see the kids picking out gifts for their parents, siblings and pets. especially the little ones who really just want to buy something for themselves. this is a great event.

my friend jennifer and i took a class at chez cherie again. this time it was all about holiday appetizers. these were simple, pretty and really good.

here's jen with her potato leek shooter. lots of great ideas at this class. looking forward to the next one.

we had a pot luck at our december pto meeting and someone brought in these gorgeous candies. did i mention i gained a few pounds over the holiday?

christmas cards were ordered at the beginning of the month and did not go in the mail until mid month. it takes a lot of time to stuff, address and seal each one. my dream is to handwrite each of the addresses with fancy lettering. i should start doing that now, right? i think this was one of my favorite cards ever.

school holiday parties before the break. it was nice to only have 2 to go to this year. not as much running around for me. loved the creative parties and seeing the kids hanging out with their friends.

we are lucky that bobby also gets time off during the holidays. we get to have breakfast at ihop and hang out together for two weeks.

we went to a christmas party with friends. we got to sing carols, sit by the fire and visit with people we haven't seen in a while. lovely.

the brockett christmas gathering is always a lot of fun. hanging out with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids (and soon to be new little cousin) is a highlight for sure.

we do elf on a shelf, sort of. the first year sam came to our house, the kids freaked and didn't want him around. last year they got used to him. and this year we kind of forgot about him. but every once in a while he would show up doing some silly things.

christmas eve meant a visit from santa at the grandparents' house, a tradition that we are restarting now that there are more little ones around. it was fun to see them sitting on his lap and answering his questions. looking forward to the tradition continuing.