well, now...THAT didn't work out quite right!

(dressed for church, and having snack)

Otherwise known as "My momma told me there'd be days like this!" or "The day Mom's brain took a vacation without her!"

I have been cooking Christmas Eve dinner for over 20 years. Our family tradition is fairly simple: put the lasagna in the oven on timed bake, go to the 5:30 service at church, come home and enjoy dinner, then watch "It's a Wonderful Life." Somewhere today, though, my brain took a very long walk and forgot to check back in.

Usually I buy frozen lasagna at Costco. Most often, it's about efficiency--many years there are 25 of us and making that much lasagna on Christmas Eve is hard with a house full of guests. This year, though, was only the 7 of us, so I made homemade lasagna. So easy, and such fun with Logan's help! :) About 4pm, I decided I'd set the oven for the evening so that when it was time to go, all I had to do was pop the lasagna in and leave. Uh....yeah. I got the time set correctly, but it seems that either I didn't set the oven temperature or I inadvertently hit a button I shouldn't have. Problem is, I didn't know that. When it was time to go I slid the dish in the oven, stuck the bread near the oven vent so it would warm, and got in the car. The little guys had a small snack just before we left, but I knew they'd be starving when we got home. They don't do dinner at 7 very well! The Christmas Eve service was beautiful and the boys loved the candles. They're finally big enough to hold their own during the lighting, and they thought that was pretty special. Once the service was over, we headed to the car. On the way home, Ryan kept asking when we would eat, saying, "Mommy! I'm HUNGRY!!" I assured them that dinner would be ready when we got home, and that as soon as they got their hands washed we would eat. I only needed to slice the bread...or so I thought.

Yep. We got home to an uncooked lasagna sitting in the oven. OY! Now what? Do we eat bread and salad now, as appetizers, then eat in an hour when the lasagna is cooked? Or do we just wait? A vote amongst the big people said we wait. I turned on the oven and busied the boys with books and games. At almost 8 we finally sat down to a delicious dinner. Traditional? Well, almost. The food was right; the timing was awful! That's okay--the boys may not remember, but the girls will sure have fun razzing me about the night I couldn't get it right. And for years to come, we'll laugh about the uncooked dinner waiting for us after our Christmas Eve service.

Although it's quiet here with only 7 of us, I've never been so glad that we don't have company this year as I was tonight! Somehow I can't imagine dealing with 25 hungry people. Next year I'll have to have someone double check for me that things are correct, since next year's a Kassebaum extended family Christmas again. Can't afford to make that mistake twice.

Given the way my cooking has gone today, I'm almost afraid to tackle tomorrow. Dinner for 13 (not a big deal!) of rib roast, mashed potatoes, and green salad. I ought to be able to handle the salad just fine. But is my family really sure they trust me with that roast???