house construction

Thanksgiving is over, which means it's time to begin thinking ahead to the winter holidays. Actually, mostly I just try to keep a lid on the excitement that tends to come along this time of year. Every year that gets a little harder. Especially when our beloved Mimi gives the kids a Gingerbread House kit at Thanksgiving dinner.... (thanks, Mom.....)

Not surprisingly, the kids wanted to put it together right away, but I managed to hold them off until today, then sic'd them on The Map Man, who, being a structural engineer, is the obvious choice to oversee all house construction!

Here The Man helps the boys put the finishing touches on this year's house.









And, Ta Da! Here it is! I'm pretty impressed with this year's house! Zoo Boy says we're going to write our last name on that name plate over the front door with red icing, so that everyone knows it's OUR house.









One final piece of business to take care of -- making sure every last drop of icing is out of the icing bag. I sure wish this photo did justice to the sheer amount of icing that is all over Zoo Boy's best shirt....









It didn't take long before J started picking off pieces of the house to nibble on. So I moved it to the oven, telling them it can come out to be "enjoyed" once a day. Hopefully that way I can manage to keep their blood sugar levels under control through the holiday season....