Cake balls and other holiday smiles

 Christmas Eve day began with baking.  Anyone ever had a cake ball? If not I suggest you try it.... delicious. My friend Amy gave me this recipe and I will write the directions on the bottom of this post.  Lila actually helped with the Christmas baking this year and she has gotten pretty good at cracking eggs and adding ingredients without making too much mess. I am going to attribute her skills to her lovely Montessori training in practical life skills, thank you Mrs. Karyn!

We had a playdate at a friend's home and the kids wanted to play outside, no mind the temperature in the mid 30's. While the big girls try to get along in the playhouse, the littles' have fun playing in the leaves.

My in-laws are known for the fabulous Christmas Eve party that they have been giving for the past 3 decades. It is a festive occasion where families come together to be merry and enjoy the blessings of friendship before going home and awaiting Santa's arrival. I love this party because everyone is in such great spirits and we get to visit with friends that come home for the holidays.  Soon after we arrived to the party, Lila found an old ballet costume in one of her Mae Mae's drawers and decided that she had to wear it.  She danced and sang and pretended she was in the nutcracker all during the party.  I love her charisma!

It was delightful to see how excited Lila was about presents from Santa. Watching her open presents was so much fun!  I have tried to instill in Lila the true meaning of Christmas, and talked alot about "baby Jesus" over the last month but she is 3 and currently to her Santa and baby Jesus are about on the same level. I think that it is a work in progress. But for the time being it is pretty cool to see her and all other children get swept away in all the Christmas spirit.

 We actually got a white Christmas this year, my first time ever! It was mostly gone by midmorning but nice nonetheless

As I write this the day after Christmas, I am surrounded by a house that looks like it was hit by a tornado and Bradley has flown the coop to duck camp (lucky getaway).  But I am thankful for this mess and the family and holiday that made this mess possible. I hope my Christmas spirit lasts all year long....


Cake Balls:
Make a cake using standard box mix (I used classic yellow and devils food) following the package directions. After baking the cake and letting it cool, break it up in small pieces and add in 1 jar of icing ( I used cream cheese & chocolate) and mix together.  Make into small balls and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and stick sticks (I used toothpicks) in them. Put in freezer for about 3 hours or until solidly frozen.  Melt bakers chocolate (either semisweet or white) and roll balls in the chocolate. Put in fridge to let cool and harden.