Unrecognizable

My kitchen was near unrecognizable this afternoon after our Christmas cookie baking tradition went down.  I mean flour on the floor, icing all over the counters, sprinkles on the chairs, and a load of dirty dishes in the sink.  But the giant smiles on my little baker's faces made it pretty worth it.

We made three different kinds of cookies.  Our usual sugar batch loaded down with colored icing and every sprinkle known to mankind, chocolate chip {because Santa just had to tell Jack those were his favorite and Jack was not going to let that one go}, and then our newest variety...reindeer cookies.

I could hardly believe it when all three kiddos stuck it out from start to finish.  Everything from mixing, rolling, cutting, and decorating.  They were there.

Still, the decorating remains a fan favorite.  I decided our family has just grown too big for the kitchen counter.  I scoured up an extra disposable table cloth from our birthday bins and set up the decorating at the big dinner table.

It made it impossible to get a picture of all three of them at work. But they loved the extra space and spreading the mess to make the eating area as unrecognizable as the kitchen itself.

I held out hope that they could hang on for one last batch...the reindeer.  I was looking forward to this batch the most.  It was one I might actually eat without entering a sugar induced coma.

Happily they sustained interest and went right to town.

A few of our reindeer {mainly compliments of Lucy} ended up with an extra eye or two.  And given creative freedom, a few of Jack's had chicken pox and a smile.

When we finished and the oven beeped for the last time, I announced "clean up".  They ran like the wind until, I so kindly reminded them that we could each have a cookie once the kitchen was cleaned up.

In no time flat {and one container of clorox wipes later} our dishwasher was full and I actually recognized my kitchen again.

We literally have three large Christmas tupperware bowls filled to the rim.  We decided to share the love {and save our waistlines} and passed out a few to the neighbors and the delivery men.

Oh what will I do with these energetic little elves tomorrow? Christmas couldn't come any sooner.  We need some new toys before these little ones start climbing the walls!