7QT - - gifts, to and from.

I'm tempting fate by beginning a post when 1) Amby has about 12 minutes left in his nap, 2) we're having guests for dinner and 3) I haven't done my dishes yet. But away we go!

1. 

From: Me

To: Joe-Joe

We spent one weekend in August renting a little cabin at a rustic resort on a local lake. The main office had a bookcase of 30-year old board games to rent, so we grabbed Candyland and played with Joseph. No little boy has ever had so much fun not getting the point of a game AT ALL but loving the little cupcakes and lollipops.

I'm hoping he's as excited to unwrap it on Christmas as he was to play it in a dimly-lit cabin full of bugs. Probably not. But a mom can hope.

2.
From: A dear friend

To: Me

Do I have any quibbles over receiving a Christmas present early? Why no, no I don't. My dear friend went to Spain over Thanksgiving and brought back these beauties. I love that they're neutral enough to wear with almost every outfit, but still have such charm and detail. Did I sound like Stacy and Clinton at all there?

3. 

From: My Mom (Babcia)

To: Me

Waffles are personal to me. I don't eat that Belguim stuff, with cavernous divots that puddle syrup like potholes. No.

I like my waffles semi-dense with grids just deep enough to catch a little butter and Log Cabin syrup in each square. When registering for our wedding gifts, I came across no such waffle maker in all of Macy's or Crate and Barrel (two places at which I no longer shop, but that's a separate and unrelated story). I told a very dear grandpa-figure at our church about this problem. And a few weeks later, he arrived at Mass with a waffle maker in a bag, a waffle maker that checked all my boxes. That dear man passed away on All Souls' Day in 2010. A few months ago, Sean was rummaging through our pantry in the dark looking for something and crash... no more waffle maker. Tears. But now, Mom's replacing my beloved one with something just as special: the same exact waffle maker that she and my Dad have at home.

4. 

To: Sean

From: Me

My man's tracking his steps these days, and I've heard this is the best thingamabobber to do that with. (That was a terrible end to a sentence.)

5. 

To: Amby 

From: Me

Amby's in the knock-down stage. Joseph's in the build-up one. Match made in screaming toddler fight heaven. And with this set, they can do it 100 times!

6.  

To: Joseph

From: Me

I wouldn't say that Joe's train obsession is waning, but I do sense some new preoccupations on the horizon. He's equally scared and fascinated by the idea of dragons and knights, and this little book seems like a charming introduction to the theme.

7.

To: My sister

From: Me

My sweet autistic sister? She likes the slots. And man, when she gets hot on those nickels, she makes it rain. I'm feeling like she'll also get five dollar bills to go with this.

Hop over to Jen for more quick takes or Mary Kate's gift lists.