Family for the Holidays

We (I) had my family come for a visit for the holidays-my sister and her 9 year old son. We had a wonderful visit, complete with 2 feet of falling snow. For the visiting Floridians, this was mostly a treat, except they had no warm clothes. My sister and I shared my awesome new Keen Betty Boots-we took turns going outside. We did manage to go out and get to the Flying Heritage Museum and bowling. I made this spare, with a baby on my hip (a new event in the Mom Olympics

We entertained the kids inside with mostly sugary treats, which was closely followed by taking snow walks. We made a ginger bread house and Merry Mints, a treat my mom used to make with us!

Merry Mint Recipe:

1/3 c lite corn syrup

1/4 c butter-soft

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

16 oz powdered sugar

Combine first four ingredients until well mixed, stir in sugar, then knead until smooth. Separate dough if adding food colorings. Roll out between wax paper 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutter or old jars. Place on wax paper to dry overnight. Dip or drizzle with melted chocolate and chill. Enjoy!

I love giving presents. I keep a notebook of my Nice List (very Martha, I know, but my mom did it and I used to think it was crazy but it's a great idea-you don't buy the same thing and I write ideas for people all year long). Getting hit by a snowstorm didn't stress us out. We have enough in our pantry to last us several months, plus I always have ingredients for some kind of baked good-cookie, muffin, bread, chocolate covered pretzels. We had our shopping done way early and had most of the wrapping done, we were able to enjoy the snow and enjoy the visit! (Incidentally, it's fun when your Aunt gives you a new sugary drink-Sprite, but she probably won't get it back!)