Gingerbread House Making Hell

We have this tradition of making a gingerbread house around Christmas, and then smashing it on New Year's Day.

My fantasy has this as a great family activity, happy kids, smiling parents, clean kitchen, joy all around. The reality included

• Big fights about which music we could listen too
• Baby peeing on the kitchen chair
• Discovering that the whole house was devoid of baking soda
• searching ten minutes for the darned ginger, and then discovering we were almost out of that too
• Jane yelling that she would be nice to Kate if only Kate hadn't ruined Jane's childhood
• Everyone fighting about the gingerbread leftovers from the house
• Phone ringing at crazy times
• Erik needing to eat right now, and only something that I could make
• Sylvia hanging on to my legs, crying, if I dared to move more than two steps away from her

I am sure you get the picture. The worst thing is that this was only the baking, the contruction still has to happen. So why do I do this to myself every year? I think after a few days, the bad things kind of get forgotten, and the good memories remain. At least, that's my story and I'll stick to it :p

Aiki budoin was fun today, we did free style fighting. One in the middle, the others attacking. Wow, it was hard. I had no idea what I was doing, and would have been killed many times in a real fight like that. But it was so much fun!!!! Better than trying to roll with a sword in my hand, still haven't mastered that skill :p