Future Hospitality Worker

Every year we are fortunate enough to have each class reenact the Christmas Story. This year C has reprised his role as the Innkeeper. He has been practicing every night telling us he has "No rooms here, but you can sleep in the barn." I cannot wait to see it again this year. Here is last year's picture:

Back Again

The holidays bring out the worst in me. My tree is up. House is decorates with all the gifts wrapped and assigned. I know it is a time to reflect on our many blessings, but it brings tension and chaos to our family.

Whose Christmas is it this year? How long do we have to stay? Who is going to visit? Will we have a place to sleep? Every year I think it will get easier and every year brings the same added insanity and I feel a mental breakdown slowly approaching. I am so blessed to have healthy family members and for the most part, understanding relatives, but I as Christmas nears I feel overwhelmed and anxious. It is Jesus' birthday, not mine.

 I have made an early resolution to push through this month with a smile and take a step back from the craziness. I am going to try to stay positive and not hold a grudge this year. Hopefully next week I will have some cute ideas posted and loose the scrooge attitude.

Black Friday

I am having a debate with myself over going or staying in. We have bought all of our presents for our boys and nephews, but it sounds so tempting. Most of the gifts we have bought this year have been purchased through awesome online deals or the huge Target clearance at the end of the summer. It is not a good deal if no one is going to use the item or if it is so cheap that it breaks after a few days. While it makes sense for me to stay home, I cannot make any guarantees. I guess it will depend on how chaotic my house is on Thursday night/Friday morning. My guess is the long lines, crazy shoppers, and crowded roads will be less insane.

Burlap Wreath

Tonight at Hobby Lobby I stumbled upon some clearance burlap and an 80% off fall sale. It was only a yard so I cut the burlap in 4in x 1yd strips and just wove it through a wire hanger I had smoothed out. I added 2 accents I got for a few bucks and twisted the wire hanger together at the top. I might add a bow but haven't decided yet.

Homework Havoc

As I am now approaching the 1 hour mark of my 8 year old sitting at the counter doing his homework, I am growing more and more frustrated. Was he not at school for 7 1/2 hours today? I find it hard to believe that in 7 1/2 hours there is still more time that my child needs to be sitting at home during his free time filling out ditto sheets (this is a totally different rant).

While this is not the typical for A and his teachers are usually very kind about the amount of work they send home, it is still very frustrating. I remember walking in the front door and straight out of the back one, disappearing until dusk. I am saddened that my children are not afforded this luxury as they are inside studying. If I wanted my child to sit at the kitchen table and do school work, then I would homeschool. It would be a much easier schedule, we would get to go out of town more, and I would not have to worry about the negative influence of some of the other children. Hmm the more I think about it, the better it sounds.

Melissa and Doug 25% off coupon

My friends at school and my own children love Melissa and Doug products. Take the poll right here and get a 25% off your total order coupon emailed to you. It is valid from November 20-December 31st. I plan on stocking up on some more items for my Dramatic Play center.

Corn Prints

In keeping with my corn theme today, we stamped yellow corn on 11x13 constuction paper. I used potato mashers from Walmart for this activity. After we were finished my aide and I decided these would also be great beehives!