Secret Santa!

So...Santa arrived at my house! For me. ME! Usually I'm the Santa around here, so when a box came with my name on it (and not from one of the places that I've ordered a gift from), I was a bit curious. Then excited! And the return address was "Santa!" Yay! I knew all my good behavior had been paying off. So would you like to see what my Santa (who is still secret, by the way...hmmmm), sent me???

Delicious...I ate the whole box in one day. Ok, it wasn't one day, it was two.

Santa read my blog and know I like pretty writing paper. And are those little gift tags pretty? I like pretty!

Quick story: Just last week I was wrapping a birthday gift and had to make a homemade gift tag. I have a million Christmas gift tags, but no "every occasion" gift tag. I made a mental note...pick up some everyday gift tags. Soon. No need to do that now! I think Santa also can read minds. ;)

I'm a mommy. I have photos. Lots of them. This is much needed and much appreciated!

Cute little snowmen...look cute with my other Christmas snowmen!

Candle. Love candles. This one smells so yummy it makes me want to lick the air.

And...this...this left me speechless and made me want to cry! I held it in my arms like a baby.

I love my Secret Santa!!!

Merry Christmas Secret Santa--you really are the BEST and I wish you and your family peace, love and the magical moments that Christmas brings. Thank you SO much!!!!

Perfect Pairings-Job 6:8

Sorry I missed last week. Here's today Perfect Pairing...go see Baloney for some more.

Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, --Job 6:8

At our house, we're hoping for a white Christmas (not me, the kiddos).

Headwear 101

I think I've pointed out before, my 6 year old, Katie, is very fashion-forward. And as every fashionista knows, accessories are extremely important. Katie's accessory of choice is head wear.

A flower is always a nice touch.

As is a skirt.

You can never go wrong with football shoulder pads.

And don't forget to wear...this...to your next dress up function.

Always keep a hardhat with you, in case of construction.

Animal print is always in.

Merry Christmas from this little elf!

What Would You Rather Do? Wednesday-La La La Laaaaa

Last week's post was quite popular, so I get the feeling you all like the non-sensical type of What Would You Rather Do? Wednesdays. I'm all about being juvenile...so let's do it!

Which song would you rather listen to...

Jingle Bell Rock

or

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time

Random...I know.

As for last week...that's tough. But I'm going to have to go with Scooby Doo. I think. I really do love Bugs. But, no, I think I'm going to stick with Scooby. Actually I like Flintstones, but that wasn't one of your options. But this is my blog, so I can say stuff like that! ;)

Ho, Ho, Ho

So sorry I've been bad about posting anything new and exciting. Like the rest of you, my life is so super busy...between Christmas parties, Christmas programs, Christmas pageant rehearsals, making dinner for friends, birthday parties, Christmas shopping, potty training, pacifier-breaking, laundry, cleaning, sleeping, breathing...well, you get the picture...my poor 'ol blog is getting very neglected. So today, because I don't have time to do a nice big post, I'm just going to give you some pics of the kids with Santa through the years.

Ok, let me rephrase...I'm going to give you pics of the kids (not Josie...don't have any of her with Santa) that I have scanned in or downloaded. Again, it's a time issue...if it's not on my computer, it doesn't make the post...

Katie's first Christmas. And the only professional photo of any of my children with Santa.

Katie with Santa when she was 2 years old-with a black eye (one of her friends threw a block at her...I'll never forget it).

Patrick's first Santa visit. Cute....and happy.

A year later...Patrick's next visit with Santa. Not so cute....or happy.

Katie giving Santa a hug.

Like I said, I have no photos of Josie with Santa. Maybe I should do something about that, but I know how it would go. Not very well.

So that's what you get today. Happy Santa-ing. Sorry they aren't better photos, for the past 5 years one of my kids have been the the "I freak out when I see Santa" phase and I refuse to put them through it, that's why I don't have many pics of them with Santa. Really...is it more important to get a photo of your child screaming in fear? I think not. But that's just me. If you have cooperative kiddos...go for it!

Happy Tuesday!

Ornament Making-Easy!

Today I'm going to share with you a super easy Christmas tree ornament craft that you can make with your kids. It's easy, pretty quick, fairly mess-free and I think you'll actually like the end product. I had my little Kindergarten Daisy Girl Scout troop make these for our December meeting and they turned out pretty darn cute, if I must say so myself. I wasn't sure since I just kind of walked around Michael's craft store and picked up random things--hoping it would come together. It sure did.

So try this at home with your kiddos. My 4 year old could do this, so I would say the age range would be 3-3 1/2 and up.

This is what you'll need:

Clear glass balls (you can get them at Michael's or Hobby Lobby...probably any craft store)

Glitter glue--color of your choice

Shredded paper (it's in the wrapping paper aisle in many colors)

Ribbon

The only prep you'll need to do is putting the child's initial on the ball in glitter glue...let it dry before you have your kiddo start. Older kids can do their own initial.

Step 1: Write child's initial in glitter glue--let dry

Step 2: Pop the little hanger thing off the top of the ball

Step 3: Stuff shredded paper into ball...you can make it in all one color, mixed, layers for a striped look, etc. Be creative. (use a pencil to kind of stuff paper down in the ball when it starts to get full).

Step 4: Put the little hanger thing back on the ball

Step 5: Tie a pretty bow around top of it

That's it!

Here's the finished product hanging on the tree. Pretty!

Super easy--it can keep kids entertained and busy for a little bit while you get things done.

One of my little Girl Scouts was sick and couldn't make it to the meeting so I put all the ornament making items in a bag and wrapped it with a ribbon. So if you're looking for a little something to give to a child for a pre-Christmas gift, this would be good for something like that, too.

Happy ornament making and Happy Friday!

Some of the 'Tips'

So a couple days ago I posted the cover of Golf Digest and the headline that said "10 Tips Obama can take from Tiger (and vice versa)." Since I'm assuming the majority of you do not have Golf Digest delivered to your home (except you, Baloney, I know you do because we're both married to crazy golfaholics), I thought I share a couple of the highlights:

(not in the order they were in the mag)...

Things Obama Could Learn from Tiger:

--The Quick Recovery-yeah, I'm not sure Tiger will be recovering very quickly from this mess.

--The Trouble with Compromise-um, apparently he has no trouble putting himself in 'compromising' positions.

--Controlling the Message-sorry Tiger, when you act this stupid the message you're sending is out of your control.

--(my fav)The Danger of Looking Ridiculous-no comment.

Things Tiger Could Learn from Obama:

--Dial it Back a Little-yeah, like only have 2 or 3 mistresses instead of 10+

--Save Some for the Losers-oh wait, you're the loser now Tiger.

--The Art of Grace-I think he's past the point of having any grace.

--(my fav from this list)-Share a Personal Moment-CHECK, we're hearing all about his personal moments.

Now, this is the last I'm going to say about Tiger (probably)...so in the words of one of my favorite guys, Forrest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that."