It's (almost) a wrap!

More Christmas recap -

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family on Christmas Eve, as we always do. On the menu:

Appetizers
MS State cheese with crackers, a delicious melted brie topped with fig jam, hummus with baby carrots, and a nice fresh fruit plate

Dinner
Crown pork roast. This turned out really well. I just rubbed it well with a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and sage. I roasted it in a 350 oven, basting every half hour or so with a seasoned mixture of warmed butter, chicken broth, and champagne. Delish! We got 9 ribs for a group of 6 adults and two little ones. That gave us plenty for dinner that night, as well as a couple of chops for sandwiches later. At about 8.5 pounds, it was the perfect amount.

Mashed potatoes

Green beans with bacon, balsamic vinegar, and a touch of brown sugar. My sister made this, and it was divine. I'm definitely trying it later.

Sister Schubert rolls (or hubs would revolt).

Salad with Dad's famous dressing.

This was all washed down with liberal amounts of champagne, red wine, and sweet tea.

Dessert
Christmas cupcakes. Clay and I made these white cupcakes with white icing, which we decorated with all kinds of Christmas sugars and sprinkles.

Gold butter rum cake with freshly whipped cream. Oh. My Lord. This was a new recipe for this year, and I am soooo glad I tried it. I picked it because I was looking for something different and Christmasy. And what's more Christmasy than a liquor-soaked cake, topped with a generous helping of walnuts and a large dollop of pillowy whipped cream? Everyone loved this. Definitely a keeper.

The food was absolutely delish, and we opened presents after dinner while we patted our (very full) tummies. Clay had a blast playing with his cousin and trying out his new doctor's kit on all the assembled "patients."

Then, it was off to home, where hubs and I put booger to bed and set up all the Christmas presents for the morning. In a true Christmas miracle, Clay slept in until 7 a.m. (Yes, Nicole, there is a Santa Claus.) When he woke up, we opened presents while enjoying our traditional Christmas breakfast of little country ham sandwiches with mimosas.

Clay loved his Mr. Potato Head and his carpenter tool set, but the favorites of the day were the three little plastic animals (a zebra, a kangaroo, and a leopard) that we tucked into his stocking. He has slept with them every night since.

Now, we have ONE MORE Christmas celebration this weekend, and our merry-making will be complete! In the meantime, we've taken all the decorations down at the house (save the wreath on the door), and we're in the process of the Great Annual Clutter Purge of 2009. I've got a call in to Gateway, 'cause we are getting rid of ALOT of stuff!

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