"Home" for the Holidays

We have been "home" for the holidays. I say "home" loosely because of course we have not really been back in our actual home in Chicago, but we have been traveling between various locations including time spent with Scott's family and my family in an effort to see everyone during this time of year. It has been wonderful to see everyone and Crosby has been a trooper during her various moves between hotel rooms, houses, plane rides, train rides, car rides, etc. For the most part, our time back "home" has been spent fighting jet lag, unpacking, repacking, traveling, and visiting with family (oh and eating more meat than we ever thought possible!). I think we crammed a lot into our visit this time and yet it still doesn't feel like we've spent enough time in any one location, or seen everyone we had hope to see. I know this is just often the case when traveling in from out of town, and now with a baby, time seems even more compressed.

I am not sure if it is better to have both families in one city or if it's better to have them in different locations? I am aware that either situation has its own set of benefits and challenges. For us this year, it felt like neither side of our family got a fair bit and of course we felt like we were a bit sandwiched in the middle. We were rushed on Christmas Eve to pack up all of our belongings and get everything ready for our travel on Christmas Day, and then we didn't get to stay long on Christmas Day with my family because we had to fly twice, transfer planes, etc. and drive another hour to get to Scott's family once we landed at our final destination. So, we ended up eating Christmas dinner back at O'Hare airport where we had to transfer flights. Then once we got to Scott's family's house, it was late and so we did Christmas gifts, etc. the next day. So much pressure around one day and it just goes by in a blink of an eye! I am not sure what the answer to the splitting of the holiday is - it would be a challenge even if we were just in Chicago, still but of course the international aspect makes it even more complicated. Despite the headaches of travel, we did enjoy our visit as much as we could and were very glad we decided to spend the holidays back in the US. Crosby of course probably enjoyed it the most because she had everyone's attention!

Crosby at the train station in the suburbs of Chicago. Crosby & I took a train from the suburbs of Chicago while Scott stayed on to do some work for a few days at the start of our time back in the US.

Having dinner in the city with some extended family. Crosby loved being out in public and eating at the table in a proper high chair.

Bundled up in her snow suit for the cold Chicago weather. Thankfully no snow, but it was cold!

Enjoying a dinner out at one of Dad & Mom's favorite old restaurants.

On the plane again....leaving Chicago and off to see my family.

Crosby's ride through the airport (she will have seen the inside of O'Hare airport 5 separate times during this trip back to the US alone!!).

We spent some time with my family and then flew out to see Scott's family on Christmas Day.

The three of us on Christmas.

Crosby loved playing and being with her Aunt Carrie again!

Playing with her nativity set on Christmas morning.

A brand new baby doll for Miss Crosby! She was so happy and loves giving the baby doll kisses.

Hanging with Grandpa Craig at his house.

Crosby has really become attached to her little stuffed lamb. The lamb even had to join her at breakfast a few mornings while we were with Scott's family. She would not let it go!

A gift from Grandma Cris - a motorized hamster. At first Crosby was scared of this pretend pet but by the end of our week's visit, she had really warmed up to it and was chasing it around the house instead of letting the hamster chase her around.

Spending time with Uncle Todd & Gail was fun.

A third Christmas gift opening event for Crosby. Gifts with Great Grandma!

Visiting with Great Grandma and practicing her wave.

Watching football games with Uncle Matt.

Enjoying her visit with Grandpa Craig & Grandma Cris.

On the plane again....another flight, back to Gram & Pa's house on New Year's Eve.

Ringing in the new year with Pa, Gram, Uncle Ray & Aunt Claire. Although Crosby didn't know it, she was the greatest entertainment ever for the evening.

Crosby has been busy sifting through the local newspaper and clipping coupons and sale ads while we've been back. The newspapers in England don't include such sale flyers and coupons.

Spending time with Pa and winky the lamb too.

Learning new tricks - first how to use her new snack "catcher" with Gram.

And then how to drink from a straw!

It's been a great visit but now it's time to start packing to go back to England....

Meeting Santa

Visiting Santa at a local mall is very much an American commercialized event. I have yet to see any type of Santa (or Father Christmas as they call him) at any main mall area in England. Shopping malls are not as common in England to begin with but then additionally, Father Christmas tends to reside and have visitors at his "Grotto." Just out of interest I looked up the history of the Grotto online and as it turns out, the Grotto actually began as a British tradition and then grew to America and Australia, where visiting Santa has become more commercialized in the mall as opposed to just the Grotto area within one department store.

So, today we took Crosby to experience the American version of visiting Santa at the local mall in the US. Since it is just days before Christmas, the lines were alive and well so my mother agreed to go early and stand in line for nearly an hour before we arrived with Crosby. Total time spent in line waiting to meet the big guy in red was nearly 2 hours so it was a good thing that we had the tag team approach.

Upon arrival and while we waited in line, Crosby was very busy watching all of the other people in line and at the mall. She brought along her favorite stuffed animal to keep her company. Almost to the front of the line with Gram, Crosby seemed to really like watching the other children go visit Santa. All smiles in her pretty Christmas dress before meeting the big guy in red.Santa left his chair and walked over to us at the front of the line, to introduce himself to Crosby. She was slightly hesitant when he approached us but wasn't too shy just yet.The plan was for Gram to place Crosby on Santa's lap, while Scott was trying to get her attention by me while I snapped the photos of her first visit with Santa. It did not go as planned......as soon as Gram set Crosby down, she immediately curled up into a ball and tried to climb as high up back onto Gram as she could!So, then we decided to make a switch and see if Scott's presence would be a bit more reassuring to Crosby with Santa. It was not really the case. Crosby started to curl up in a ball again, this time right up against Dad.And then there were screams and tears....And more hiding in Dad's coat.

Sorry Santa, it looks like Crosby wasn't too smitten with you this year. We hope you will still visit her on Christmas Eve and hopefully next year she'll be more thrilled to sit on your lap and tell you about her year because she is a good little girl.

Baking Ingredients

I bake quite a bit during the weeks leading up to Christmas each year. It's become a new little tradition for us in that I bake huge trays of cookies for Scott to bring in to his office for all of his co-workers to enjoy. Then, I make bags filled with homemade treats for co-workers, neighbors, friends, etc. I used to do this before Scott & I met and then once we got married, my list of people to bake for has expanded to include his colleagues as well. I love planning the items I will make, and I do try to plan the list out in advance, so I can then go shopping to stock up on all of the baking supplies to ensure I don't run out of some important ingredient in the middle of my baking frenzy.

This year I was contemplating making these chocolate mint brownies as part of the assorted baked goods / cookies on the trays for Scott's office to enjoy, but I wasn't sure if I had seen peppermint extract on the grocery store shelf here before. I looked in my pantry and did not have any, so I went to the local Sainsbury's to see what I could find.

I was surprised of course to see the peppermint extract labeled as "AMERICAN" peppermint extract. Why is it American and not just Peppermint Extract? I did find it amusing from my standpoint, because of course I am an American who would be using it to make an American brownie recipe!

Home for the Holidays

Halloween has just passed and now it seems everyone's attention is already focused on Christmas. We are fielding questions - When are you coming home for the holidays? When do you plan on being in X city for a visit?

Surprisingly since we have been over here in England, we have actually not been home for Christmas in the US. Our first year we had been home in November so we saw our families right before the holidays, and then we took a vacation to Egypt for our first Christmas. I was quite sad not to be with my family for Christmas that year, but since I was with Scott is was ok.

Our second Christmas over here, my parents took my sister and us to Italy for a week. We really didn't do Christmas gifts, since we all took a trip together, and it was wonderful. I look forward to doing this type of Christmas celebration again and someday treating our children to vacations. It was so nice to spend time together and to experience Italy together.

And last year, I was too pregnant to fly on a long-haul flight at Christmas time, so we stayed here in England and ended up with an unexpected guest for Christmas day (my friend Sarah) due to the snow storm that hit England last year. It was a quiet Christmas but a very relaxing and enjoyable one.

This year we are flying home to the US with Crosby since it is her first Christmas and all of our families want to see her. Although our families are relatively close in proximity [just a mere 5-6 hour drive apart----to Brits, this is NOT close in proximity! but to Americans, it's "close"], the physical travel between the two cities, the stuff / gear we now have to travel with for a baby, the extra baggage for Christmas gifts, extra clothing and gear for a visit in the winter months, not to mention the attempt to please everyone involved, is already a bit overwhelming.

We are trying to secure all of our flights for this trip back, and it appears Crosby & I will be taking no less than SEVEN flights over the break. Scott will be with me for half of these flights so I will appreciate his extra set of hands for sure. Let's just hope we don't have any snowstorms or flight delays thrown in there, or else my worst travel nightmares might be coming true.....after hearing about the recent planes that were grounded in CT for over 7 hours on the runway with no electricity or assistance, I am fearful of these situations now that I will be traveling with a baby in tow. Traveling just as two adults at this time of year seems to require extra patience since it feels like every public gathering place and airport is extra crowded with people and lines for waiting are always twice as long! However now traveling with a small child, the stakes seem even higher because it is no longer just about us, it is now about trying to keep an infant appeased during all of this travel and change from her daily routine. Why do things always get so crazy at the holidays? Besides the crowds everywhere, it seems everyone is so busy and everyone is trying to cram too many visits into a short period of time. Why does it happen year after year?

Then upon arrival, we will of course be living out of suitcases, staying with relatives in someone else's home, shuffling back and forth between various houses with all of the baby gear and suitcases in tow, and will be without our own surroundings that Crosby is used to, so I know it will be twice as much work to watch her every move to make sure she is not exploring nooks and crannies that are not meant to be.

Hopefully our travels will be uneventful and punctual at best. It will be nice to go home but I do look forward to having Christmas in our own home without the hassles of travel and the worries of bad weather at this time of year. It will be nice when Crosby can wake up in her own house and we can start our own traditions as a family. This is when living so far away from home is not as attractive as being only one [short] flight away from family. For this year, we will be taking a lot of deep breaths, hoping for good weather, smooth flight connections, and a well behaved little girl!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

In hopes that St. Nicolas soon would be there!

Our neighbors brought over a plate of homemade mince pies this evening so we have the perfect treat to leave out for Santa this year since he will be visiting us in England. Sarah & I already tried one each and we think Santa will enjoy!

Merry Christmas Eve!!

Grocery Store Insanity

Sarah & I decided to brave the grocery store today to go shopping for our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day food needs. Saying that our local Sainsbury's store was a ZOO is an understatement!

I am sure part of the madness was due to people not having shopped due to the snowstorm, and then there was probably a large part of the craziness due to the Christmas holiday. However, in preparation for the Christmas rush, I would have thought the grocery might have been more prepared. Instead here was the scene in one of the many aisles - the milk aisle.

Luckily the one kind of milk left was the one we tend to drink, however, many of the other items on my list were just completely out of stock and there was no information on when they might be back in stock! It was a rather frustrating day at the grocery but after three other visits to three other local stores, we were able to finish off the items on the list. Glad we didn't wait until Christmas Eve to do all the shopping...

Snowed In!

Over the weekend we awoke to snow in England....it was a bit messy but manageable. We opted to travel around via (very delayed) trains instead of driving but we were lucky in that we didn't have too far to go. Traffic in our little town was a disaster over the weekend, so we were thankful we didn't have to go far to get to the train station. And although our train on either side of our destination was delayed by 2 plus hours, we managed to enjoy a day out in the snow. The town looks very pretty covered in all of the white stuff.

And then we woke up to more snow as the week began! My dear friend Sarah has been in town visiting and she was due to fly out of London back home to the US on Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately the snow and ice have caused complete chaos for this country and her flight (along with 98% of all others going out of London early this week) was cancelled! Thankfully we found out in advance of her going down to the airport but the bad news was she is literally snowed in with us and cannot leave England until after Christmas! While we are more than happy to have her stay extended, we know we are on borrowed time with her husband and family since they will not get to be with her for Christmas this year.

More snow out the morning window!

More snow as of Tuesday - compare with the photo above from the weekend....quite a bit more! It almost feels like we are back home in Chicago (minus the part where the city actually knows how to cope with removing the snow, and people know how to manage in it!)

So, Sarah & I have been taking advantage of being snowed inside. It has really been great fun! We have baked, cooked, and baked some more.....we have stayed in our pj's until well after noon and watched nonsense on TV.....have been enjoying hot cups of afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream and jam.....and have been organizing my closets and extra guest room in preparation for the baby's soon-to-be nursery.....and have even done a bit of sewing and monogramming too.

Sarah turning the made peanut butter chocolate chip biscotti that we baked one afternoon.

We baked even MORE cinnamon rolls today....this time we also made the orange marmalade version instead of just the traditional cinnamon version.

Two more pans of cinnamon rolls ready and waiting for our consumption on Christmas morning!

Holiday Baking 2010

Tis the season for baked goods....and it is that time of year when Scott brings in baked holiday gifts to his co-workers. This year I was fortunate enough to have my friend Sarah visiting from the US, so upon her arrival, we spent a day fully engrossed baking treats in the kitchen! The list of items made this year included: Cinnamon rolls (and many more cinnamon rolls!), Ranger cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Mint Cookies, Turtle pretzel treats, Cranberry-orange Shortbread Cookies, Gooey Butter Cookies, and Chocolate Fudge. The house smelled divine and we had sugar coming out of our pores by the end of our baking extravaganza!

A few of the pans of homemade cinnamon rolls baking in the oven.

The platters of cookies Scott took into work with him for his co-workers to enjoy.

Over 24 pans of cinnamon rolls wrapped up for individual gift giving and ready for Scott to take into his co-workers. (The tags should have read: From - Scott & Cassie and Sarah too!)

In total, we made over 200 cinnamon rolls, 12 dozen cookies, and 5 lbs of fudge!!!!

O Christmas Tree

Since we are spending our first full Christmas in England this year, I decided that I would like to put up a real Christmas tree this year in our house. Scott & I were out and about over the weekend so we went shopping for a fresh tree. I am not quite sure how many English homes have trees versus how many American homes have trees, but the trees here seem VERY expensive and VERY short in height compared to the selection in the US! We were out running errands and came across a local nursery with a sign for Christmas trees so we decided to give their nursery a try.

Entering the Christmas tree area of the lot.

Trying out various types of Christmas trees. A bit short?

Still, not much taller....so we moved on from this nursery to another tree nursery closer to our house.

Upon entering the lot, these trees looked a bit more promising.

Turns out this nursery actually grows all of their trees on their property. I went to check them out. There were fields of trees growing.

So we selected a tree, had it bundled up in netting, and stuffed it in our front seat (I squished into the backseat!) and brought it home.

Our living room is now complete with stockings and a decorated tree. Probably the perfect height for the space so we chose wisely!

Unfortunately we did not bring any of our Christmas ornaments over to England with us when we moved here (who would have thought we would be here for our 3rd Christmas?!?!) so I purchased a box of just red ornaments in various shapes. We have also acquired a few British themed ornaments during our time here, so our tree now has a red ornament and British theme to it!

I am enjoying the simple decor our tree has this year, although did miss pulling out our own ornaments to decorate the tree this year, since it always brings back nice memories when unwrapping special ornaments.