RUM-pum-pum-pum

we will be embarking on Christmas Eve activities shortly. 
thus, an earlier post than usual!
yay!!


i grew up in a house with parents who appreciate eating healthy foods. 
no soda, not too much sugar, lots of homemade food, etc. 
and my little sister was allergic to dairy and glutens and had to bring her own buns to McDonald's/have apple juice in her rice puff cereal, etc. 
(needless to say, when i went off to college, i might have been a bit ridiculous that quarter in the cafeteria.)
but, because of this healthy eating, my mom's holiday parties always stood out as havens of sugar and other unusual goodies. 


back then, i also had a healthy fascinating with office supplies. 
much like i do today. 
as in, i can't enter Target without at least passing through the pen aisle. 
i limit my trips into Staples and Office Max. 
Papyrus? i literally salivate. 
you get the picture. 
except back then, my fascination centered on cute erasers, pencils, and other Hello Kitty goodies. 
i had a small, purple pencil case that i believe had penguins on it. 
inside, it had a tray that could be removed to create two tiers of storage. 


it was inside this very tray that i used to steal little round cookies from my mom's holiday party and stow them away in my room. 
where i would eat one at night at bedtime. 
after i had brushed my teeth. 
ah, rebellion. 
it wasn't until years later that i found out that my favorite holiday treat at the age of 8 was, in fact, Rum Balls. 
yep, i was secretly stashing rum infused treats in my room and consuming them alone at night as a child. 
hmm.


(now, i recently found out that my grandmother once found my mom walking around the aftermath of a holiday party drinking the remains out of people's wine glasses. also fabulous.)


anyway, this year, i decided to make rum balls for the holidays. 
for nostalgia.
and, benny, being the little chef that he is, asked to join me in the kitchen. 
and, being the Parent of the Year that i am, i said, "of course you can join me in making alcoholic treats that you cannot consume, honey. how fun for you."
(note, for the sarcastically-uninclined, i did NOT actually say that to my 3-year-old. i probably said "go pull up a chair.")


benny's job is to pour in ingredients and stir. 
at one point while we were measuring ingredients, i looked over at the recipe and he leaned in with me as well. 
i had already seen what i needed, but he was still peeking at the little card. 
i asked him, "what does it say i need to add next, benny?"
he looked at it for a minute, and then whipped his head around to look at me. 
wide-eyed and slightly panicked, he yelled, "oh no, mommy! i think i forgot how to read!"


Happy Christmas Eve!!!