How I saved Christmas dinner
The post title's a little melodramatic, but not inaccurate.
Christmas morning was good: the girls enjoyed their loot, and it was especially pleasing to see L's face light up the most when she got a package of the books that she's most enjoyed from the library over the last several months. Mind you, that didn't stop her from waltzing around all day with the purse / handbag from the princess costume she got from her great-aunt in Scotland. Rr was in heaven with new musical things to hold and sway with. Too bad she decided to join in the great tradition of children in the house having the runs for Christmas...
Anyway we did pop out for lunch with some of the local relatives, which was fine, but by the time we got home R plainly felt like crap. She disappeared for most of the rest of the afternoon.
This left me to cook Christmas dinner -- and it went surprisingly well. The girls were both angels and just played all afternoon so I could get on with it. L did wander by in the altogether at a couple of stages but what the hell, if you can't do that on Christmas day then what's the point?
Anyway, with a little discipline, I managed to produce chicken, asparagus, (organic instant) mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding, and a pavlova for dessert. I hadn't actually ever made yorkshire pudding or a meringue (as part of the pavlova) before, and luckily beginners' luck was with me... anyway, it was a surprisingly good meal. R more or less recovered herself in time to join in.
Of course, being three, L only wanted the chicken and a piece of bread with butter, and insisted on taking the whipped cream off the pavlova, but if you wait for approval of your cooking from a 3 year-old you probably deserve what you get...
In any case, a merry christmas was had by all.
Christmas morning was good: the girls enjoyed their loot, and it was especially pleasing to see L's face light up the most when she got a package of the books that she's most enjoyed from the library over the last several months. Mind you, that didn't stop her from waltzing around all day with the purse / handbag from the princess costume she got from her great-aunt in Scotland. Rr was in heaven with new musical things to hold and sway with. Too bad she decided to join in the great tradition of children in the house having the runs for Christmas...
Anyway we did pop out for lunch with some of the local relatives, which was fine, but by the time we got home R plainly felt like crap. She disappeared for most of the rest of the afternoon.
This left me to cook Christmas dinner -- and it went surprisingly well. The girls were both angels and just played all afternoon so I could get on with it. L did wander by in the altogether at a couple of stages but what the hell, if you can't do that on Christmas day then what's the point?
Anyway, with a little discipline, I managed to produce chicken, asparagus, (organic instant) mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding, and a pavlova for dessert. I hadn't actually ever made yorkshire pudding or a meringue (as part of the pavlova) before, and luckily beginners' luck was with me... anyway, it was a surprisingly good meal. R more or less recovered herself in time to join in.
Of course, being three, L only wanted the chicken and a piece of bread with butter, and insisted on taking the whipped cream off the pavlova, but if you wait for approval of your cooking from a 3 year-old you probably deserve what you get...
In any case, a merry christmas was had by all.
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