Day 2 of Christmas vacay

Day one of Christmas vacation was filled with kids fighting, and a grumpy mommy.  

So, I'm fast forwarding this blog post to day two of Christmas vacation.  IT was filled with crafts, quietness, and game playing.  Ahhh.... now THIS is what I love about time off from work!

 The day before I had decided we needed craft supplies, so with the craft sticks I bought, Jada and Gracie made people- a whole family.  They even named each one.

 Sophie even made her own project, which I put up on my kid wall in my bedroom.

 This monster was so quiet after he painted his own black artwork.  I didn't even realize he was sitting across from me at the table reading books.  

 I even made my own Christmas project- it's a present for someone special.  :)  It came from Pinterest and turned out great for something that only took me about an hour to make. (I put scrapbook paper into the shredder for long strips.  Then, I glued each strip one by one and cut them to the right length.  After I got the tree done, I put the red paper zigzagging up the tree.)  It was a fun project to make.

 Tonight we are in for a night of Just Dance 4, ordering pizza, and spending time together!  After the events of December14th in Connecticut, I'm having second thoughts about going anywhere- I just want to spend time with the people that matter the most.

A Christmas Surprise!

Sophie has been waiting and waiting for some packages to arrive.  I wish I would have taken pictures of these ginormous boxes that came full of things for her.... and for Chad and me! 

She said her friends sent presents- I can't wait to see what they are on Christmas when she opens them!  I also saw that AFTER the boxes arrived, more presents appeared under the tree!

The box that came for Chad and I had a Christmas Pyramid in it.  Have you seen them before?
The more people I tell about it (or Facebook about it), the more people I know who has one.

    With the candles lit, it was hard to get a good picture of it.  But, the propellor at the top spins when you light the candles.  The middle and bottom section moves around and they have nativity pieces in them.  

I don't know if my grandparents had one or not.  And if so, I wonder if that was the connection to why I was so weepy last night.  I just couldn't get enough of this Christmas Pyramid.  I kept looking at it, and the more I looked it, the weepier I got.  It's just so beautiful.  And I've been missing my grandparents (all of them) a LOT lately.  I've been thinking about them so much, and wanting to find time to go visit them.  

This was the perfect gift for us.  Thank you so much, Thomas and Alexandra, for sending this from Germany!  It touched my heart deeply.

He's over 200 years old?!?!?!

Trying to explain something like "Santa Claus" to kids is tricky.  "He looks like Santa Claus, but his name is St. Nicholas.  And he comes to your door on the eve of Dec. 5th, and if you put your shoe/boot out then he'll fill it with goodies- IF you've been good all year."  
Gracie:  "Oh, I get- he's a cousin to Santa!"
Me: "Well, no... St. Nicholas is more religious than Santa Claus."
Jada: "What does religious mean?"
Me: "Uh....."
Gracie: "You mean he's over 200 years old?!?!?"

Why is this so hard!

Well, hard as it was, St. Nicholas visited our house so that when the kids woke up on Dec. 6th there were treats in their boots.
German treats!

    The boots were all lined up like this,

 But St. Nicholas must have known better than to keep them there.  So, when we woke up, the boots were put up.  Can you see who would/could have been a culprit to some Christmas candy?

 Thank you St. Nicholas!  The kids are still calling you Santa Claus, sorry!

thanksgiving weekend

Some think Black Friday is such a stressful, unnecessary waste of time.  To me (and Amanda, Tom, and Hannah) it's a family tradition- three years strong!  And this year we had three extra people- Kara, Bradley, and Tracy.

 It's the thrill of the chase for that awesome sale- although I can't say I found any sale amazing this year except for a few clothes I got Trey.  But, where else can you see a lit up truck at midnight?

 Tracy and Bradley wanted to take the kids somewhere fun over the weekend, so we took them all to Exploration Place.  Poor Sophie was sick, so she didn't get to come.  This is what she missed...

  Some of the big kids got to build, too.

 Since we celebrated Christmas with Chad's side over Thanksgiving break, we felt it necessary to decorate the tree.

 In my last post I talked about how I'm ready for December.  Now December is here.  We have a child with a fever, I wanted to start Random Acts of Kindness with my 2nd graders tomorrow, and I have Christmas presents that need to be bought yet.  Why is this the time of year I look forward to the most, but seem to be the most stressed in?  Oh well.  Life goes on.  Jesus blesses us daily, and we give him the Glory for that. 

Isn't it December yet?

I usually LOVE November.  
and this year, I liked it.
alot.  
But, for some reason I'm ready for December.

It might be the Christmas tree that's been decorated now for a week. Thanks to family coming in for the Thanksgiving weekend, we got to have Christmas early.

17 people in one house for 4 days.
Every one with a bed.
So thankful for that!

Chad's family kept giving me looks like they were trying to figure out if I was ok or not.  Apparently most people wouldn't like 17 people in their house for 4 days.  And then 5 of them stayed for a week.  
I was fine.
I'm a cleaning freak when it's my house. 
I don't want people to think it's messy or dirty.
So, I pick up all the time while people are still here.
Maybe that threw them off.

At any rate, Thanksgiving was awesome.
And now I'm ready for December.

At school we're learning about being "rich" in character and what that means.  I've given my students' parents two assignments/homework now (well, they won't actually know this until tomorrow), and am hoping I still get help for the Christmas party!  We'll see how annoyed they are with me.  But, I want to teach the kids about being thoughtful and kind.  I want to teach them about doing random acts of kindness- not for the attention of it, but just to do it out of the kindness of your heart.  (anyone thinking of how the Grinch's heart grew 3 times it's size at this point?)  

You know, I say I'm ready for Christmas.... 
but more than that, I'm ready for snow. 
It's supposed to be 70 degrees by Sunday.
Kansas, sometimes you annoy me.          

Jada Bear

She's a teacher almost everyday after school.
She's a joker at the supper table.
She's a wonderful mommy to her babies.

She's Jada Bear.
Who turned 7 years old last Saturday.

 
What?!?!
How did that happen so fast!

Jada wanted to take her friends swimming, and the way we do that in November is a local hotel pool that has a great party room where we take over and decorate.

The invitations were... interesting.  I let Jada and Addie write them out.  I've learned that if I let them do that again, I will need to check all of them before they seal the envelope.  One mom called me asking if they missed the party- their invitation said, "3-7:00 p.m."  when it was really supposed to be from 7-8:30 p.m.  It all worked out fine.  Her friend came back to the party at 7:00.  

Just a little embarrassing.

Happy Birthday, Jada Bear!  
 

       

Home Sweet Home

When you think of "HOME" what do you think of?

Your childhood?
Your children now?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I miss my childhood home.  Just the things we had, and did.  The way my mom decorated for Christmas.  The "homey" feeling when I go to my mom's house.  

I know 35 years old isn't that old in the scheme of life.  But, lately I'm not having "homey" feelings about getting older.  

Getting older= wrinkles- which I am starting to see.  Ok, maybe not terribly noticeable wrinkles.  But, they are starting.  And the lose skin on my face?  Yep, that's happening.  

I get it.  I'm probably exaggerating, but it's hard getting older when "things" start changing. 

Jada turns 7 years old in two days.  

Seven.

These are birthday treats for her class.  

 I will celebrate her birthday.
Reluctantly.  
Because I want her to be that little girl still who carries around purses and wears only dresses.

Recently I told a friend that I cry on my children's birthdays.  They grow up too fast.  And now it seems like I feel the same way about myself.  

I love my own home.
I love my family.
But, I wish I could go back in time for a day.  
Back to Buhler where I grew up.  And spend a day watching myself as a 7 year old.  I think I would see a lot of similarities with myself back then and Jada now. 

I don't want to grow up.  
I want to look like I'm 30 forever. 

      
      

Carving pumpkins... and Target... and Old Navy

Told by Gracie (with my two cents added in):
 
Here are the steps to carve a pumpkin:
1. Gather materials (go to the store for PUMPKIN carving tools when your daughter cuts herself with a knife because you were dumb enough to give her one to use on her pumpkin.) 

  2.  Cut off the top of the pumpkin.  Remove all the pumpkin guts.

 3.  Draw your pumpkin design on the outside of the pumpkin with a permanent marker.  

 4.  Carve (with a pumpkin tool!) along the marker lines.  Have Jody take your picture with your pumpkin when finished.

 5.  Go to the store (for the third time that day) to buy battery operated lights for the insides of the pumpkins.

 Chad's Jayhawk, Gracie's jack-o-lantern (bottom left)

Sophie's haunted house, Jada's two jack-o-lanterns, 

Trey's bats and number three.

   This big beauty is mine (Jody).  I'm going to drill holes in it to make it look like polka dots. 

As for Target.... 

Every year we go, as a family, to Target searching for the "right" costume.  And every year we usually stay for over an hour because we like to try on the different choices.  It's free entertainment. Here are the Childs kids in one outfit.  

And Old Navy...