Cookies for Eating and Cookies for Building

Today I needed to make a batch of cookies for tonight's scout banquet. Thanks to a blog post on Sara's Art House, I felt inspired to make Corn Flake wreaths. My target audience was young boys, so green and gooey seemed like a spectacular combination. My morning hours were tightly scheduled with activities, but I made a quick dash to the market for ingredients. No red hots at my super market. I decided to drop in at the pharmacy and pick up a prescription that was ready so I could grab some red hots too. No red hots at the pharmacy. At that point, I scoured the candy isle for any red thing that I could reasonably use to decorate a Corn Flake wreath. Hot tamales? M&M's? Jelly beans? It is only when I am extraordinarily pressed for time that I feel a complete freedom to stand in the pharmacy and debate these types of possibilities at length. In my mind, nothing could possibly compare to the red hot, and reminding myself once again that my target audience was young boys, it seemed to be of utmost importance that the Corn Flakes be properly adorned. We all know how young, strapping men carefully scrutinize their baked goods and hold tightly to strict standards of visual aesthetics.

So, me and my busy little self chauffeured the box of corn flakes and bag of mini marshmallows to a third destination where I thankfully secured proper "berries" for my wreath cookies. Who knew red hots were so obscure? Anyway, I love how these little cookies turned out. I think they're very retro. I don't think I've actually seen this cookie since circa 1978. They are not "wreaths" so much as green globs. With red hots. Anyway, thanks, Sara, for the great idea!

Two of Hayden's friends crossed over from cub scouts to boy scouts tonight. After their special little ceremony we had a Christmas celebration with milk and cookies. Look at all the baked goods. How did all the busy homeschooling Moms have time to do all this baking?? I suddenly felt very behind.

Emma was a bit of a drama queen during the cross over ceremony, and when even a shortbread cookie drizzled with fancy pink icing failed to console her, I had to call Oma to come and pick us up early from the party.

Tomorrow the boys have some special visitors coming to help them decorate gingerbread houses. I figured it would be wise to assemble the houses tonight so they would have time to harden before the kids pressed on them with candy. So, after putting my overtired toddler to bed and scraping green marshmallows off my counter tops, I set to work assembling ginger cottages.

The instructions on the gingerbread house box made it look incredibly easy. That is because if they posted pictures of the actual process and provided a detailed description of what you have to go through in real life to get those six pieces of gingerbread to stick together, they would surely never sell a single kit.

I've spent the past hour and a half praying blessings of stable construction over these houses. Once I finally got the roof seam secure on one of my houses I backed up to take a look at the sides, and this is what I saw...

The side walls completely collapsed! Maybe the kids would want to make a diorama instead?? I'm off to fuss and fidget with these a bit longer. When Buzzard mentioned on our way to the scout banquet that he had no interest what-s0-ever in helping to construct these houses I thought he was certainly pulling my leg. Turns out, he wasn't even kidding. He's on the couch watching the history channel and munching on Chex mix while, on the counter top behind him, gingerbread doomsday is playing out. Walls are sliding. Roofs are caving. Royal icing is oozing. I've got to go get these things together and in some form that remotely resembles "upright". After all, I have a whole bowl of red hots just waiting to be used for decorations.