Cookie decorating in da pajamas~! ♥

[Esme Russel]

( www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=86250366 )
Most teenage mothers are concerned about the holiday season because of that whole money thing but Esme was just a ray of sunshine this year despite what had happened not even a month ago. She didn't need to worry about anything, did she? Her father was more than willing to continue letting her use his credit card as long as she stayed in school and went over to his place every day to feed the animals, water the plants and restock the kitchens (the one in the main house and the one in the guest house). He didn't even make her pay for the groceries on her credit card! The only difficult thing was cleaning out the trash cans in the bedrooms because she always found used condoms.

It really wasn't a very hard life and that was exactly why she was in the mood to invite some people over to decorate Christmas cookies in their pajamas. The pajama thing was really just because she was too lazy to put on real clothes when she was at home but it ended up working out, right? How could anyone not want to wear their nice comfortable pajamas and lounge around on the couch while the cookies baked? She'd already made two batches of cookie dough - one was for actual cookies and the other was this weird vegan recipe that she found online that they could eat raw because everyone knows that cookie dough is best.

Everything was going to be homemade, of course. She'd grown up with a mother who believed that frosting from a can was basically a sin so even that was from scratch which was better anyway even if it was more work. Cici was pretty good baking company if she did say so herself though. The nine month old wasn't much for conversation but she was a wonderful listener and she enjoyed every little sampling that she got which wasn't too much until the frosting was done.

When Esme was a little baby, her dad used to do this thing that he called 'sugar tit' which was just dipping her pacifier in a bowl of frosting and placing it back in her mouth. She'd loved it as a child and she didn't have any issues well aside from the fact that she needed braces because she wouldn't give up her pacifier until she was four and that was only because her dad invented 'sugar thumb' which really just made a new problem. "Do you like mommy's frosting? It's cream cheese frosting with just a little red dye to make it soft pink." She had a habit of telling Cici everything that she was giving her so she would eventually be able to identify her foods all on her own.

If you asked the nine month old then she could actually point to certain things like her banana or her blueberries and it was those little victories. "Come on, dumpling.. Let's get some real food inside that tummy." She wasn't a terrible mother so she knew that it wasn't wise to just feed a nine month old frosting and cookie dough for dinner even if the dinner that she was having wasn't really much healthier - chicken fried rice with a little soy sauce, broccoli and orange chicken cut into little pieces so she wouldn't choke to death. "Uncle Mark is going to be here soon, sweetie and I think he's just going to love your little hat. Oh yes he will, oh yes! How could he resist such a sweet little face?" Maybe it was a good idea to have more adults to talk to...

[Naveah Withers]

{ www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=86264657 }

Naveah honestly hadn't seen Esme in a while, and she knew it had been way too long. She had dodged questions and invitations for months. Finally, she knew it was time to be social. She has honestly missed her bubbly, red-headed friend. Back in their first few years of high school, Naveah, Esme, and Riley hung out quite a bit. They were like the Three Muskateers, except more mischievous. The Unholy Trinity, someone had called them once. The name was befitting, in Naveah's opinion. They were constantly up to something - sneaking out, staying up late, you name it. Though Naveah often pretended to be bored or preoccupied, nothing could be better than a visit with Es!

Parties were the problem. Not many people knew Naveah - though she had been going to Somerset since she was a sophomore. She was just one of those forgettable faces... Yet now that she was almost out of school, she wanted to change. She wanted to go to parties and meet guys and have fun and be a little crazy, sometimes. Her issue was mainly just stepping out of her comfort zone. Most of the time, it was so much easier to just pretend not to care and never smile, dress in dark colors and listen to dark music and throw herself pity parties. When she avoided her friends, she could do just that - sit wrapped up in blankets and scroll through Tumblr all day, pretending that she didn't have a care in the world. That was the main reason she hadn't seen Esme in a while. She had been a bit down in the dumps, especially since the shooting occurred.

When Es texted her about the party, she figured it was time to get into the Christmas spirit. Dragging herself out of bed, she glanced in the mirror. Okay, the dirty pajamas had to go. She was wearing wrinkled short shorts and a top that had so many stains she couldn't tell the color, and her hair was a total rat's nest. When she took a closer look, it appeared as though she resembled Bellatrix Lestrange. The thought made her laugh as she took a shower and changed into a cuter pair of pajamas, something more up to Esme's approval.

Armed with her favorite pair of pajamas, her hair still drying in loose curls, she made her way to Esme's house quickly. She loved Esme's nice house - it was huge. She would live in the basement if she could - or the closet. Or the dog house. They had more room than her dorm, really. She walked right through the door and straight to the kitchen. She could already smell cookie dough and home made icing! Dropping her backpack full of whatnot and the two pillows she brought for relaxing, she gave the baby a pat on the head and offered a polite hug for her friend. She hated hugs, but she'd allow it for Es.

"Hey, Es, thanks for inviting me over." She said, warming up immediately.

[Riley Wilkes]

www.polyvore.com/chursmas_baking/set?id=86263599 ~ Riley
www.polyvore.com/whoo_baking/set?id=86260646 ~ Mark

-

Not having a car was a total bummer for Mark. The subway and the bus were as exciting as they were frightening. Especially at eleven at night but luckily he had Riley. She was doing much better since last month although her struggle was now more internal than external, she was carrying on pretty well.

She was happy that she could spend time with her friends during the holidays. It was really needed. Michelangelo had left the week after to Italy once again and Veronique had been pushing Riley to move on by taking her out shopping and to the spa. Needless to say, she was incredibly pampered and had began to enjoy her riches rather than "save" it.

Riley was hoping that it'd turn back like the good old days when Esme, Naveah and her used to hang out at least 99.99 percent of the time. They usually had a great time; staying up late, picking up guys and just living life. Nowadays, it was once in a blue moon that she saw the two of them or that they hung out.

"Say cheeeese." Mark chimed while he was taking selfies with Cici on Esme's iPad.
"Should we make dough for donuts?" Riley asked Esme as she was looking through the ingredients set out.
"Homemade donuts oh my god. Does Cici want homemade donuts!?" ah yes, Mark was using the baby talk. It was impossible not to! The little muffin in his arms was just too cute. And homemade donuts sounded great.
She then turned her head to the living room when she heard Naveah's voice.
"Naveah! It's so great to see you." she was beaming with happiness just to see the three of them together again.
"Hi Naveah!" Mark greeted her, setting the iPad aside and standing up with Cici.

[Stormy Wynn]

( www.polyvore.com/this_took_way_too_long/set?id=86265240 )

I could just wear the pajamas I have on.

Wouldn’t that have been easy? After a day of sitting in her dorm on the computer all day, and sipping a mug of hot chocolate that was no longer hot. Then she realized that it was snowing outside and wearing shorts probably wasn’t a good idea. Changing from pajamas into other pajamas felt a little bit weird, but considering she wore sweat pants most of the time wasn’t that basically the same thing? She was beginning to question the logic of Esme was having a pajama party in the morning, but figured that was just Esme being Esme and decided not to ask that question. Instead she dug a pair of pajamas out and changed into them. Then she did her hair and threw on a hoodie because it was cold.

When Stormy got to Esme’s house she didn’t bother knocking because the door was open, and it was freezing outside, so she didn’t really want to wait for someone to come open the door. She was really happy to spend the holiday with friends because her family wasn’t in the area. She had actually wanted to go visit her family for Christmas, but she hadn’t made that happen yet. Even though her mom had asked her about it multiple times when she called, and said that she missed her.

“Hey Esme this looks like fun, thanks for the invite,” she shouted hoping that Esme could hear her. “Oh doughnuts sound amazing,” she said to Mark. She didn’t really know Naveah, except from a class and she never really talked to her, she looked scary to be honest. So she wasn’t sure how to greet her, but ended up just giving her a halfhearted awkward wave.

[Jaxon Porter]

{ www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=86278311 }

Jaxon had gotten to know Esme pretty well over the past couples months. He'd technically known her since freshman year, seeing as Jaxon just kind of knew everyone. Honestly he had that sort of 'creeper' title with how many people he knew that didn't know him.. but that was beside the point and practically irrelevant because hey, Esme and him were friends now. He had a reason to know her name. And because of this, when he got a Facebook invite to a cookie/pj party, the message wasn't immediately trashed. Instead, he took the time to open it, read it, and consider it before deciding to get up from his dark little pillow-infested corner and put on something a little nicer than the stained shorts he was currently in.

Going from shirtless and pants-less (but boxer-ed, i swear) to a pair of sweats and a 'Joker' muscle tee, Jaxon slipped on a pair of sneakers, grabbed his phone and shut off his lights before exiting his dorm. Pulling his door shut and checking the lock maybe four times, Jaxon turned on his heel and stepped down the stairs.

He didn't have a car, and had considered just walking. But that's when he realized he was just in a tank top. Looked like this was gonna be a bit of exercise.

Huffing and puffing and leaning over to rest his hands on his knees, Jaxon finally made it to Esme's house and was practically frozen as he shivered in his sweats. His cheeks were bright red and his hands were numb as he entered the house and began rubbing his frigid ears. "Hey, Esme," he tried to greet warmly, but not even his hello could be warm with his absolutely freezing his body was. "When did winter come. Its literally freezing out there." Moving towards the ovens, Jaxon let out a sigh of relief as the heat warmed him. "Hey, everyone," he added once he'd regained feeling in his legs.

[Esme Russel]

Esme would be lying if she said that she didn't remember the old days where she, Naveah and Riley spent ninty percent of their time together but that was before she had a daughter and a husband.. and now another baby daughter on the way. It wasn't so easy to find time to spend time with them which she knew was her own fault. She could make more time for their friendship and she could have Jonathan take care of their daughter so she was able to go out but she just didn't have the motivation to anymore.

She just felt like spending time with her daughter was far more important than any shopping trip or lunch out could ever be. Who was she going to have to justify her actions to in eighteen or so years - her friends or her daughter? Okay so maybe she was being a little dramatic by assuming that spending an afternoon away from her daughter would actually negatively impact their relationship forever but she couldn't help but worry. What was she supposed to do? Just leave her baby?

Just looking at that little pumpkin made Esme feel like her life couldn't get any better. "Honey, are you having fun with Uncle Marky?" She gushed as she watched her best friend and her daughter enjoying each other's company like this. It really made things easier that most everyone who she loved also loved her daughter. "Are you guys hungry at all? I think I went a little overboard on the food." She didn't really think that she had enough if she was being honest! She'd ordered two large pizzas, buffalo wings, garlic bread, Chinese buffet style food then she'd made macaroni and cheese, burritos, tacos and a lasagna in honor of Gavin since she knew that he wouldn't be in the mood to party.

The dessert selection was definitely smaller than usual - cupcakes, cookies, cookie dough and then ice cream in the freezer plus everyone knew that they were allowed to get anything that they wanted from the kitchen well as long as it wasn't from the nacho platter that she made herself to satisfy her current intense pregnancy craving. "Oh yeah! We can make dough for donuts! Cici actually really loves donuts. Does you guys know how to make filled jelly donuts? Those sound fucking awesome right now." Had she just admitted that she gave her nine month old daughter excessive sugar? Eh, she was sucking on a pacifier with frosting on it anyway.

She smiled when everyone greeted her until she saw Jaxon. Thank goodness that he came! "Hey there! I got something special for you." She reached behind her and pulled a paper batman cup from inside the pantry and quickly filled it with soda before handing it to Jaxon along with one of the chocolate batman cupcakes that she'd made. She wanted to make sure that she had something nice for everyone so people would definitely have fun. Jaxon's was definitely the easiest - she'd just gone to a party supply store and picked up batman cups, plates and napkins.

"What movie should we watch first? Or does nobody care? I also got some games that we can play if we feel up to it." She was beginning to feel just a little bit overwhelmed.. How was she supposed to ensure this went smoothly? She really just needed her husband.

[Naveah Withers]

Naveah was officially bored. Esme had kind of slipped right on past without a care in the world, and it was definitely not making her mood any better. She knew that being a new mom was something that Es cared a lot about. Her daughter always came first, the way babies should, but it just kind of made Naveah sad to see that Esme couldn't even spend a day away from her kid just to have fun. Es, Riley, and Naveah hadn't been out to lunch or shopping or whatever in a long time. Noting the wave from Stormy and the look from Riley, Naveah offered a smile and a curt nod in reply before heading straight for the dessert table.

"Oh my god, cupcakes galore," she said, to no one in particular. She picked up one chocolate cupcake piled high with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles, and wondered if it had a filling. That would make her day so much better. Naveah's favorite part about cupcakes was icing, that was it for her. If she had to choose between a batch of cupcakes or a bowl of just frosting, she'd take the bowl and lick it clean. It was probably a bad thing, but she had been feeling terrible lately. She was in a slump she couldn't shake, really. Having her friends slip away, forget about her and move on with their lives... that hurt. Then there was the shooting and everything, and she few horrid, pretty much all the time. She thought cupcakes and Christmas parties would cheer her up - for the most part, they kind of were. Just looking at the cupcake made her grin!

She watched the little ordeal that took place when Esme handed a boy named Jaxon a Batman cup and cupcake. Her eyes widened as she took in his attire. There's no guessing there - that kid liked his superhero. The Joker shirt, the sweat pants with the Batman logo, and the way Es gave him special treatment? He seemed like a fun Batman guy. She picked up one o the Batman cupcakes herself, and meandered over, hoping to strike up conversation. She just really didn't want to be so... awkward and lonely. This guy looked just as awkward though, and birds of a feather flock together, right?

"So, I think these cupcakes are so cool, but I don't understand the weird frosting. So odd!" was the first thing she said. She had meant it as a joke, honestly. When she gauged his reaction, she offered a small smile. "I'm kidding, I know these are the Superman symbols," she gestured to the cupcake, giggling. "Sorry, sorry, my jokes are lame and I'm just gonna... fail and walk away." She blushed, feeling stupid. Okay, so that was terrible. "I like your shirt though. Batman is cool." She gave him a thumbs up and sort of stepped to the side in shame.

Really, a thumbs up. Oh god, social interaction is not fun.

[Jaxon Porter]

As Esme turned, Batman objects held out before her, Jaxon practically melted and tried so hard not to fangirl all over the floor. That would be messy. So he just sort of lifted his shoulders in anticipation as the cup and cupcake got nearer. His eyes were probably bugging out and he felt his mouth opening into a gaping smile as his fingers made contact with the papery objects. "You know how to get the four year old of me," he said with a childish giggle as he smiled at Esme, then took a sip from the cup. "Mmmm," he moaned, "Tastes like justice."

Turning as a girl approached, Jaxon smiled at her but quickly frowned when she asked about the cupcakes. "Oh my god," he muttered, sounding more than seriously concerned as she asked what the symbol was. "You must be joking..." And he was pleased to find out that she was. But then, Superman? Was she.. did she not have a childhood? Or was she that sheltered from comic books? But yet again, she was explaining herself and actually seemed kind of upset. The thumbs up was always a last resort of his and he spotted how uncomfortable she seemed rather quickly. "Oh I uh.. thanks," he tried to make things less awkward but that had never been an easy task for Jaxon Porter. Shaking his head, Jaxon smiled and stepped forward to stand in front of her. "Lemme try again. Hi, I'm Jaxon Porter and I like your jokes," he said in a confident tone before reaching a cupcake-filled hand forward to shake. Of course he hadn't realized the cupcake, and when he did, he retracted it and pressed forward his cup. "Oh dammit that won't work either," he hissed, putting the cup down and trying again. "There we go."

Wow this was a mess.

[Jonathan Russel]

www.polyvore.com/jon/set?id=86269661

Jon wouldn't leave the house around this time of year, especially with Christmas coming up. He still wasn't very... social, not getting back into the same routines as much, as he was still in shock about everything that had gone on with the shooting, but he was getting better, at least. He felt bad that he was depriving his pregnant wife of sex -- pregnancy sex helped along with delivery, what if it hurt Esme more giving birth to Ariel because Jon wasn't loosening her up?

He didn't want to think about that. Instead, he got out of bed and changed into some clean pajamas, rummaging through his drawers until he found his Santa hat with matching beard. Perfect. That'd be enough to make up for the lost time on the days he'd been gone, right? Hopefully it would put a smile on everyone else's faces, because he wouldn't do this kinda shit for anybody else, that was for sure.

Making his way downstairs, he plastered a smile on, even if you couldn't really see it underneath the fake beard, "Santa hears we're making cookies down here?"

[Morgan Sawyer]

www.polyvore.com/morgan/set?id=86270795

Morgan was so amped up for a cookie decorating party! Baking cookies and then decorating them with ice cream and sprinkles and other sweet objects? How could she not go!? Needless to say, she was more than excited to be attending. She even wore her favorite cupcake onesie that she'd gotten as an early Christmas present from her dads! They really were the sweetest, sending her baking supplies and other sweet gifts and whatnot throughout the year.

Sitting on a stool in the kitchen, Morgan kicked her feet around, admiring the cute bunny booties she'd worn that day. Bunnies were her absolute favorite animal, and they were the cutest things to look at -- though, of course, Morgan obviously didn't discriminate against other animals. All animals were cute in her eyes! Bunnies just so happened to be her favorite, didn't mean the others were less cute.

She was happy that Gavin still decided to go regardless of the fact that he wasn't the type to really eat cookies and cupcakes and what not, just being there with her put a smile on her face! He was the most supportive boyfriend, and Morgan was more than thankful to have him around, especially now, even when he was going through a rough time, what with Ginny gone... but this party was supposed to liven things up! Help people smile, forget about the bad and focus on the good, right?