There is a funny phrase that we've been kicking around at work, to put a nice bow around the reaction of some more distant colleagues to some of the new initiatives that our office has been trying to implement... No good deed goes unpunished. That same phrase nicely encapsulates the last few days of our vacation in Williamsburg, visiting my father and his wonderful wife. As the prospect of spending 5 days or so in a new environment, sans most of our familiar toys, games, child-proofing, gates on stairs, etc., I began to realize we'd need a game plan. What could we do to help pass the time? Bring the bikes! Done. Bring the Wii! Oh yeah, done. Toys, books, enough other assorted crap to make us have to borrow DnB's roof-top carrier in order to cart it all down here? Done.
So, what else? I know! I heard a story on NPR the other day where the afternoon anchor invited a cookbook author into her home for a personal tutorial on how to make a gingerbread house. It sounded like so much fun! And what a cool way to spend some quality time with the kids working with great tasting treats!!! So, it was a plan. I picked up a bunch of decorating things at Target the day after Christmas and we hit the Super Wal-Mart down here for all of the other ingredients. Then, away we went.
Dude, I don't know how these "bakers" do it. I mixed up three batches of gingerbread batter (one double batch, then realizing that my plan was way more ambitious I did a third) and let it sit overnight in the fridge. I’m such a homemaker!
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Check out my ambitious plan made out of cardboard...
Next day I did the baking, cutting out each piece using my cardboard pieces as templates. Took me a while to figure out how to transfer the rolled and cut pieces to the cookie sheet. I finally figured out to put the rolling sheet on top of one cookie sheet, then put the other one on top and flip them over. I’m such a smarty. Pretty sure people who do this all the time could have figured that out prior to totally wrecking one of their pieces. Ok, not such a smarty.
Anywho... I got ‘em all baked, which took FOREVER and the assembly started the next night. Let me tell you, all these how-to and tutorial sites… they are in need of some serious revision. They all need a sign on them saying NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART or maybe FATHERS, WHO HAVE ONLY A CURSORY KNOWLEDGE OF BAKING, SHOULD NOT EVEN THINK OF TRYING THIS. Yeah, that about covers it. Why do I say this? Because aside from using some sort of construction adhesive or 2x4’s and wood screws putting these dang pieces together ain’t easy. I had to play with the icing glue for a LONG time to figure out how to get the right consistency to hold these things together. But, I did it! I did the four walls last night, and put the roof on this morning after making a fantastic breakfast.
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So, hopefully after nap the kids will finally be able to jump in and decorate. Only four days later...
Yup, nice easy project to do with the kids. *shaking head*
So, what else? I know! I heard a story on NPR the other day where the afternoon anchor invited a cookbook author into her home for a personal tutorial on how to make a gingerbread house. It sounded like so much fun! And what a cool way to spend some quality time with the kids working with great tasting treats!!! So, it was a plan. I picked up a bunch of decorating things at Target the day after Christmas and we hit the Super Wal-Mart down here for all of the other ingredients. Then, away we went.
Dude, I don't know how these "bakers" do it. I mixed up three batches of gingerbread batter (one double batch, then realizing that my plan was way more ambitious I did a third) and let it sit overnight in the fridge. I’m such a homemaker!
| 
Check out my ambitious plan made out of cardboard...
Next day I did the baking, cutting out each piece using my cardboard pieces as templates. Took me a while to figure out how to transfer the rolled and cut pieces to the cookie sheet. I finally figured out to put the rolling sheet on top of one cookie sheet, then put the other one on top and flip them over. I’m such a smarty. Pretty sure people who do this all the time could have figured that out prior to totally wrecking one of their pieces. Ok, not such a smarty.
Anywho... I got ‘em all baked, which took FOREVER and the assembly started the next night. Let me tell you, all these how-to and tutorial sites… they are in need of some serious revision. They all need a sign on them saying NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART or maybe FATHERS, WHO HAVE ONLY A CURSORY KNOWLEDGE OF BAKING, SHOULD NOT EVEN THINK OF TRYING THIS. Yeah, that about covers it. Why do I say this? Because aside from using some sort of construction adhesive or 2x4’s and wood screws putting these dang pieces together ain’t easy. I had to play with the icing glue for a LONG time to figure out how to get the right consistency to hold these things together. But, I did it! I did the four walls last night, and put the roof on this morning after making a fantastic breakfast.
| 
So, hopefully after nap the kids will finally be able to jump in and decorate. Only four days later...
Yup, nice easy project to do with the kids. *shaking head*
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