12 Days of Christmas Fun

I saw a fun idea on Pinterest to do the 12 Days of Christmas for your husband and decided to go for it - not only for my hubby, but also my kids. It has been a lot of fun!

The first thing I had to do was convince my husband to participate and open the presents. He is very "strict" about not opening any presents until Christmas Day. Believe me, this was a source of contention when we first got married. I was the baby of five kids and we would always convince my dad to let us open our presents early! As a newlywed, it was really hard for me to wait! LOL!

Hubby has softened up and now allows our kids to open one present on Christmas Eve (pajamas).

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to share the gifts I gave if you are in need of any ideas...

For Hubby:

Day 1 - Fusion Shaving Gel (I really like the smell of it - it is kind of an inside joke)
Day 2 - Pack of 2 of his favorite pens
Day 3 - Pack of 3 Chap-sticks
Day 4 - Pack of Undies
Day 5 - 5 Packs of Tic-Tacs
Day 6 - Pack of 6 of his favorite candy bar
Day 7 - 7 is the number of perfection, so I gave him 7 reasons he is the "perfect" man for me!
Day 8 – 8 coupons for some of his favorite treats that I make
Day 9 – Pack of 9 Krispy Kreme donuts
Day 10 - 10 homemade chocolate chip cookies
Day 11 - Package of 11 screws
Day 12 - Pack of socks

For Kids (11 year old daughter and 13 year old son):

Day 1 – Journal to write letters back and forth to us...my daughter has affectionately termed these the "LTFMD" for Letters To/From Mom and Dad. See the rules below:

 

The journals are something I have wanted to start for awhile...something that I can use to tell them things I want them to know or remember should something happen to their father and/or me. I explained it in the first letter I wrote to them. The gift had my daughter in tears. We have already had fun writing back and forth - even my son! His is plain black.

 

Day 2 – Pair of gloves
Day 3 – Pack of 3 Chap-sticks
Day 4 – Package of Snack Pack Pudding*
Day 5 – Gum or undies
Day 6 – Pack of 6 of their favorite candy bar
Day 7 – Gum or undies
Day 8 – Pack of socks
Day 9 – Pencils (10 pack, I took one out!)
Day 10 – Package of Capri-Sun*
Day 11 – 11 homemade chocolate chip cookies
Day 12 – 12 pack of their favorite pop*

***You have to understand that my kids don’t get that sort of thing very often, so they love it! It is even a tradition that I buy their favorite “sugary” cereal and wrap it up for one of their presents to open on Christmas Day because I won’t buy any cereal with more than 10 g of sugar. I’m such a mean mom! LOL!

And guess what? Hubby got in on the fun! He got pretty creative.

Day 1 – candle

Day 2 – pair of socks
Day 3 – 3 skirt hangers (Woohoo! I really wanted these - seriously!)
Day 4 – 4 new washcloths (remember I said I wouldn’t discuss the condition of our old ones…)
Day 5 – Post-it note flags (pack of 5)
Day 6 – pack of socks
Day 7 – coupon for something sweet
Day 8 – pack of Sharpies
Day 9 – “9 Verses That Bring My Wife to Mind”
Day 10 – decorative binder clips
Day 11 – “11 Things that Make My Wife Special to Me”
Day 12 -  TBA...

Merry Christmas!

Crystal

Christmas Activities in Pictures

Our words are still few as we think of Sandy Hook Elementary, but we wanted to share a few pictures or our last two days of activities.

 

Yesterday was our first day of break! :-)

 

Thinking of you that are still working. :-(

 

Decorating gift bags for our parent gifts...

Reading to Someone from the other first grade class...

Working together on a couple of Christmas worksheets...

Christmas gifts for mom and dad...

We bought the foam snowflakes on clearance last year, added their "sticky pictures" from the company that takes our school pictures, and of course, GLITTER!

Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. May the Lord give grace to help the families, friends, school, and community at this time.

Kristi and Crystal
 

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

 

 

Kristi and Crystal

Teddy Bears and CHAOS!

So here I sit...waiting...

...for the Christmas program...

And it dawned on me that I should have been taking pictures of some of the things that have contributed to our CHAOS around here, but I neglected to snap any shots. So let me just tell you what I should have captured (as if it is not permanently etched into my mind).

1. Christmas Around the World trip to Mexico with a pinata.

What were we thinking?

You have to know Kristi and I really like routine and structure. These fun things throw us off a bit. Not to mention as you listen to the kids comment about not getting enough candy or why this person got this many pieces or how it wasn't fair that the pinata broke when it did... Well, you get the idea. We ask ourselves why do we do anything fun when they don't appreciate it...

Here's why...At the end of the day, one of my sweeties said, "Thank you for letting us hit the pinata today."

Okay, it was only one out of 38 (between our two classes), but it was one!

2. Christmas Around the World trip to France with shoes kicked off to receive treats.

Okay, so I am glad I missed this one (had a sub). Apparently, both of our classrooms really STUNK during that time... Ha ha!

3. Program Practice Day 1

First time for us traveling to another building for the program. It is a little difficult to lay out clear expectations when I wasn't sure of them myself! Add to that, Kristi had an emergency and had to leave before the practice. A wonderful Title Aide (retired teacher) took her place and we muddled through.

4. Program Practice Day 2

Better right? Well, maybe as far as the kids go...

I definitely made my expectations more clear and we remembered to take off our coats before sitting down so we didn't think we had to have that exact same seat after singing.

Kristi was still gone, so I was trying to tell her sub and helpers what we were supposed to do and where the kids were supposed to be. All the while, prodding one of my little ones to finish the math that should have been done before we ever went to practice.

5. Teddy Bears, Teddy Bears

For one of our songs, the kids are supposed to have teddy bears.

It is the first song.

That is important for you to understand the chaos.

So the kids brought these bears from home the whole week and we had to remind them everyday to keep them in their backpack and not at their desk pretending to be their "Furry Friend" (a reward they can choose).

Here is the fun part...after the first song, Kristi and I have to walk across the stage to pick up the bears.

Ugh! I do not want to walk across the stage in front of all those parents!

Anyway, the first day of practice, we took our library totes thinking they were plenty big. As I walk across the stage, collecting 19 teddy bears (you know how kids are...some of these bears are huge because--of course--who ever has the biggest teaddy bear wins, right?) my tote fills up and kids are now throwing their bears on the top of the stack which is so high I had to literally hold it to the side to see where I was walking. My principal even worried I would fall down the steps...

Now we each have a huge round tote to carry--and after today's practice these are even borderline too small.

6. Grade Cards

Ummm...Who has time for that? ;-)



Okay, enough chaos for one day. Hope your days leading up to break are going better for you!

I'm off to gather teddy bears and hope that I don't end up falling on my face. At least the landing will be soft...

Crystal

P.S. Three more days for us!

And the Winners Are......and a sad loss!

Congratulations to...

 

Our BIG Winner ($30 to your choice Amazon or Target AND 3 items of your choice from our TPT store):

 

Christine

 

Runner-Ups (3 items of your choice from our TPT store):

 

Delighted

Jennifer

Kirra

Lori

 

We will be contacting each of you via e-mail soon!

 

 

On a sad note, my husband and I lost one of our dogs last week.  Many of you know that we don't have kids and our pets are like our babies.  I was reminded of how precious life is and how our days our numbered in this world. 

 

Last Friday, I stepped out into our garage and turned off the outside lights.  We have a doggy door into our garage so the dogs can come in and cool off in the summer and get warm in the winter.  So, here came Kody, Zuez and Raquium in to see me as I was turning the lights off.  I was in such a hurry because I was running behind and I turned and said hi to the three of them and was off.  Kody was just fine and acting himself. 

 

Around 5:00, my husband called me and asked where I was.  He then stated that I needed to come home right away.  I asked what was wrong and he said that I needed to just get home as soon as possible.  I knew then that something was wrong (he didn't want to tell me on the phone since I had to drive home).  When I got home, I found my husband laying on the kitchen floor beside Kody.  Kody was passing blood, couldn't walk and struggling to breathe.  My first thought was, why didn't I take the time to stop and love on him a little more that morning.

 

We took him to the vet right away and she said that he was almost gone and that there really wasn't anything that she could do to save him.  Therefore, we had him put to sleep.  He was 13 years old and and they thought that he may have had a tumor in his stomach that ruptured. 

 

Needless to say, I was reminded that I should slow down and take the time to enjoy all that are in my life.  So, this whole week, I took the time every morning to give a little extra love to the babies that we have left in our lives and to my husband.   Kody was a blessing and a friend for 13 years of our lives.  He will be missed!

 

Guarding mom!

Guarding the kitty cat!

Enjoying the truck ride!

Waiting for the vet for a check up!

Another fun truck ride!

Just relaxing!

 

Hope all of you have a great week and remember to slow down and take time with the loved ones in your life. 

Kristi

 

 

 

 



16 Years of Marriage = Appliances Dying (and Currently)

On December 14th my husband and I will celebrate 16 15 years of marital bliss. You see, there was that one year...that year we didn't like each other and we try not to talk about it much. LOL! We just praise the Lord for His mercy and grace that helped us through.

 

Anyway, as my anniversary approaches, I'm noticing that many of our appliances are dying a slow and painful death. Two years ago, I replaced my toaster. Last year, I replaced my clothes iron. And in the last two weeks, my blender AND my mixer have died...up in smoke, you could say, literally. I won't even talk about the condition of my bathroom towels (this is our 2nd set of towels).

 

I suppose I should be thankful that our things lasted so long...I've heard some people have gone through 3 blenders in the same amount of time. :-)

 

Anyone else experience this?

 

Okay, enough whining...here's my Currently. You can link up to over at Farley's.

 

Okay, now I really do have to pay bills. Have a great rest of the week!

 

May your blenders and mixers run smoothly (without the smoke)...

 

Crystal

P.S. Don't forget to enter our giveaway!

Merry Christmas (early present) and THANK YOU!

It is GIVE-AWAY time!

Kristi and I have been talking for awhile that it is time for another give-away here on our little blog. If you've been with us for awhile, you might remember how the 50 follower give-away ended with us well over 100 followers...so we combined that celebration.

So why now?

Mostly, we just want to say THANK YOU because we have had so much fun with our blog - getting to know other bloggers and reading all the supportive comments that are left here. We want to thank you for challenging us to keep growing as teachers and for the wonderful ideas that are shared in "blog-land."

And, well, it is that time of year when we are all looking for ways to give back.

Ooops...almost forgot to tell you what you could win... There will be one grand prize winner who will receive  $30 gift card to either Amazon or Target and 3 items from our TPT store. We will also choose 4 more winners to pick any 3 items from our store.

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck!

Kristi and Crystal

P.S. Sorry we were MIA this week for the mid-week post! This week was a little chaotic getting back into the routine after Thanksgiving break!