The kids are super excited that it's almost December 1st, and I've decided to share our list of activities on here to help anyone who may want it. :) So, without further adieu . . .
1. Go to the library to check out Christmas books.
2. Write a letter to Santa.
3. Play a board game as a family.
4. Read the Christmas story from the Bible.
5. Make ornaments with our friends.
6. Study the names of Jesus.
7. Make paper snowflakes.
8. Bake bread to give to friends.
9. Family Movie Night! (The Santa Claus)
10. Make Christmas cookies.
11. Build a fort and have dinner in it.
12. Deliver cookies to the hospital and daddy's work.
13. Learn about the real St. Nicholas.
14. Create a nativity together from scraps and craft supplies.
15. Go to the dollar store for the kids to buy gifts.
16. Family Movie Night. (It's a Wonderful Life)
17. Go out to look at Christmas lights.
18. Make a Gingerbread House.
19. Playdate with friends.
20. Go caroling.
21.
22.
23. Fireplace/guitar/hot chocolate
24. Nana and Grandad's house with the cousins!
We're still missing a couple of days, any suggestions?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thankful
Last weekend I got the opportunity to remember the number one material possession I am thankful for; my mattress. It happened like this. . .
Ethan's company does work with a variety and commercial customers. One recent customer was a local hotel. As part of the payment they traded for some free nights. We were blessed with one of those nights and decided immediately we should use it for Giggles 7th birthday. She is such a big fan of swimming, which is unfortunate when your birthday is in the winter. She has always wanted to go swimming for her birthday, so she and Spunky and I had a mom and daughter overnighter at the hotel!
Walking in we quickly noticed a variety of oddly dressed college age people. And I mean REALLY oddly dressed. Bright colored wigs, fake weapons, tails, make-up. It was wild. We later learned they were there for an Anime Convention. I don't know a single person who's into anime, but they were all quite nice.
There was a lot of swimming, but there was also a good eight hours of sleeping. Or maybe I should say eight hours of trying to sleep. The beds were soft and looked inviting, but man did my back hurt in the morning! It reminded me of how much I'm spoiled by our wonderful bed.
About four or five years ago we desperately needed to replace the mattress we'd had since we got married. We researched, because that's what my man does, and settled on the Intellibed. It was expensive, but we fortunately had saved up for a while to buy it. I don't have a whole lot of brand loyalty to anything else, but I won't ever buy another brand of mattress as long as I live. It was worth every penny!
Ethan's company does work with a variety and commercial customers. One recent customer was a local hotel. As part of the payment they traded for some free nights. We were blessed with one of those nights and decided immediately we should use it for Giggles 7th birthday. She is such a big fan of swimming, which is unfortunate when your birthday is in the winter. She has always wanted to go swimming for her birthday, so she and Spunky and I had a mom and daughter overnighter at the hotel!
Walking in we quickly noticed a variety of oddly dressed college age people. And I mean REALLY oddly dressed. Bright colored wigs, fake weapons, tails, make-up. It was wild. We later learned they were there for an Anime Convention. I don't know a single person who's into anime, but they were all quite nice.
There was a lot of swimming, but there was also a good eight hours of sleeping. Or maybe I should say eight hours of trying to sleep. The beds were soft and looked inviting, but man did my back hurt in the morning! It reminded me of how much I'm spoiled by our wonderful bed.
About four or five years ago we desperately needed to replace the mattress we'd had since we got married. We researched, because that's what my man does, and settled on the Intellibed. It was expensive, but we fortunately had saved up for a while to buy it. I don't have a whole lot of brand loyalty to anything else, but I won't ever buy another brand of mattress as long as I live. It was worth every penny!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Why the Heck Do I Even Try?
This was my "To Do" list for this week, in no particular order.
Scrub master bathroom from top to bottom. Take the car to the carwash and vacuum completely. Make homemade bread. Make lentil soup. Make sweet potato soup. Teach the dog something. Take the dog on walks. Hand-wash the kitchen floor. Hand-wash the entry floor. Organize the master bedroom. Organize the baby's bedroom. Paint a picture. Paint more pictures. Write descriptions for upcoming classes at the academy. Clean and organize the bonus room. Make Ethan's Christmas gifts. Get ahead on curriculum planning.
Here's what I've actually done.
Painted a wall. Cleaned the master bathroom. (Okay, 1 point for following through on that.) Cleaned up 15 or 20 puppy accidents. Started a Christmas gift-buying list. Made bread and lentil soup. (2 points.) Thought about planning our advent calendar activities. Talked to hubby on the phone. Went coupon grocery shopping with Bubba.
I did mention that the girls are gone for three days, right? I figured going from four kids down to one would somehow magically make me superwoman. Sigh. Well, there's still tomorrow. :)
Scrub master bathroom from top to bottom. Take the car to the carwash and vacuum completely. Make homemade bread. Make lentil soup. Make sweet potato soup. Teach the dog something. Take the dog on walks. Hand-wash the kitchen floor. Hand-wash the entry floor. Organize the master bedroom. Organize the baby's bedroom. Paint a picture. Paint more pictures. Write descriptions for upcoming classes at the academy. Clean and organize the bonus room. Make Ethan's Christmas gifts. Get ahead on curriculum planning.
Here's what I've actually done.
Painted a wall. Cleaned the master bathroom. (Okay, 1 point for following through on that.) Cleaned up 15 or 20 puppy accidents. Started a Christmas gift-buying list. Made bread and lentil soup. (2 points.) Thought about planning our advent calendar activities. Talked to hubby on the phone. Went coupon grocery shopping with Bubba.
I did mention that the girls are gone for three days, right? I figured going from four kids down to one would somehow magically make me superwoman. Sigh. Well, there's still tomorrow. :)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
In The Last Month . . .
* We adopted a puppy. His name is Archer.
Baby boxers have funny shaped heads. His is already starting to look more normal. I've forgotten what having a puppy means. It's like having another child, only this time we can keep him in a kennel when we need a break.
* The girls went to their first slumber party. I love how my friend planned it out. They were tired the next day, but not excessively so. They watched "Soul Surfer" and really liked it.
* Read the book "1001 Ideas for Teaching and Raising Your Child with Autism". One thing that stood out to me was about respect. Even though Bubba doesn't talk much, he does understand us. It's important for me to remember that and not always talk about him like he's not there. (Harder than you might think.)
* Had a harvest party with some friends. Highlight of the night, in my opinion, was the dance contest. All the kids and several adults participated. We had two judges. There really was no contest. The winner was a four-year-old boy that could get down! He was hilarious to watch.
* Started thinking about the next semester in co-op. I will be teaching a dance class for grades 2-5. Really looking forward to it!
* Preparing for the hubby to go to Dallas next week. So thankful that my parents are going to take the girls part of the time so it will just be Bubba and I. We have one morning that his aide will be here and I am going to CLEAN. (I feel the word must be in all caps to show how serious I am.) I may even skip meals or eat as I go to make the most of the time. I'm more excited to get some deep-cleaning done than I would be if I won a trip to Europe. (Well, maybe.)
* Calico has gotten into reading, big-time. She'll be seven in a couple weeks and has been devouring chapter books. It's kind of like a dream come true for me, because I adore reading and know that it has helped me to learn so much. She's reminding me of myself when I was a little girl.
* The girls went to their first slumber party. I love how my friend planned it out. They were tired the next day, but not excessively so. They watched "Soul Surfer" and really liked it.
* Read the book "1001 Ideas for Teaching and Raising Your Child with Autism". One thing that stood out to me was about respect. Even though Bubba doesn't talk much, he does understand us. It's important for me to remember that and not always talk about him like he's not there. (Harder than you might think.)
* Had a harvest party with some friends. Highlight of the night, in my opinion, was the dance contest. All the kids and several adults participated. We had two judges. There really was no contest. The winner was a four-year-old boy that could get down! He was hilarious to watch.
* Started thinking about the next semester in co-op. I will be teaching a dance class for grades 2-5. Really looking forward to it!
* Preparing for the hubby to go to Dallas next week. So thankful that my parents are going to take the girls part of the time so it will just be Bubba and I. We have one morning that his aide will be here and I am going to CLEAN. (I feel the word must be in all caps to show how serious I am.) I may even skip meals or eat as I go to make the most of the time. I'm more excited to get some deep-cleaning done than I would be if I won a trip to Europe. (Well, maybe.)
* Calico has gotten into reading, big-time. She'll be seven in a couple weeks and has been devouring chapter books. It's kind of like a dream come true for me, because I adore reading and know that it has helped me to learn so much. She's reminding me of myself when I was a little girl.
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