What were we thinking? Adventures in babysitting.

Sometimes Ben thinks I tend to go overboard. Whether it be with gifts to loved ones, treats for the office, decorating for Christmas or any other "hair-brained" idea that comes to mind.......I can't really help myself.

It was no surprise to him that upon returning from Louisville this past November my Sunday adventure in "just baking some cookies" quickly had spiraled out of control and produced 9 dozen soft batch (almond flavored) sugar cookies (I should share my recipe but I'm selfishly keeping it to myself). During this temporary break of reality I had decided "How much fun we would have over Christmas if we invited the kids up and decorated cookies for Santa Claus!"

About 3 dozen never made it to Kansas because of either I took them to the office, had one for a "treat" after work or Ben snuck a dozen when I wasn't looking. Never-the-less we took home 6 dozen cookies, 4 containers of every imaginable sprinkle, my new frosting tips and 6 containers of frosting,

Mom and my brother conveniently contracted "headaches" the afternoon we had planned to decorate cookies leaving Ben and I with four kids, 72 cookies and 85 lbs of frostings and toppings.
Thankfully Kait and Camdan are old enough to be pretty self-sufficient because it took a village to keep Kenya and Honey a) entertained and b) from sampling.

Here are a few pictures of the kids as they worked, hopefully Santa enjoyed the cookies from the Godsey kids!
Kait was very diligent and thoughtful in choosing the perfect color and sprinkle combination. Is anyone really surprised by this? Not me.

Kenya couldn't keep out of those cookies! She LOVED them!

Camdan's favorite part was "mixing flavors."

Uncle Ben was a good helper but I did catch him rolling his eyes, sighing rather loudly and clearing his throat about a hundred times over the course of 2 hours. He finally retreated to the recliner with Honey while I man-handled the remaining 4 dozen. NOTE: THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN KEEP A 7, 5 and 3-YR. OLDS ATTENTION LONG ENOUGH TO DECORATE SIX DOZEN COOKIES - NO MATTER HOW MUCH FROSTING AND SPRINKLES YOU HAVE!!!!!!!!!

We (mostly me) enjoyed being able to hang out with the kids - it gave me a chance to ask them what they commissioned from Santa this year, how their school programs went, their grades and who their favorite reindeer is. However, I am equally thankful that we only decorate cookies once a year!