Bouncy Ball Sillyness . . .

I'm obsessive about containment.  For example, I've been collecting these bouncy balls from around my house for a couple years now.  Sometimes I find them lying around or behind furniture when I clean.  Today, I added three to the bag.  They bounced right out of the dryer at me when I was pulling out the kid clothes.

 Bouncy balls, I'm sure, are made and marketed to be little bits of fun and sunshine all rolled up into a fun little package.  Personally, I find their bouncy sound grating, their consistency a waste of whatever they were made out of, and their small size a choking hazard. 

So why do I contain and save instead of capture and discard?
Part of me feels bad if I throw them away.  One of my boys was carrying it around and playing with it before they lost it and I found it.  And part of me has an evil little "ha ha ha" laugh inside when I confiscate another one and my collection grows.

After Christms Catch-Up . . .

I'm so glad it snowed last week.  A Christmas break is extra special when it snows.  It's like the kids can check that off their winter "to do" list. 

 "Play in the snow."  Check!

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma Patty's and the boys opened up fun p.j.'s from Auntie Jodie.

We got home in time to quickly make cookies for Santa.

 

Then the boys headed off to go to sleep, which was difficult and there was even a bit of crying because someone just couldn't get to sleep. 

Then the stockings were hung by the banister with care.

And thankfully all my UPS shipped gifts arrived in time.  Some as late as the 24th.  Whew!

We had our family over on Christmas day and enjoyed a fun new game.  Kilter!

Today, I cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and monkey bread.   I spent 7 hours in the kitchen from start to finish. 

This coming week is MY week of Christmas vacation and I'm going to savor every minute!  There are two new restaurants in Lynden and I'm ready to try them out.

The Week Before Christmas . . .

Three days until Christmas 2013.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of December I managed to complete 36 1/2 hours of training for foster parent licensing.  Most of it was done in the evening in Bellingham.   Josh and I just completed the CPR and first aid training today which was the last part.  Whew!  I am so glad that is finished!  Now we have to complete the paperwork and a home study.  The boys are eager for us to get licensed but I don't see it happening before February.  I'll keep you posted.

During the last week the boys and I were invited to a Gingerbread house party with a group of homeschoolers.  The Professor and the Scientist enjoyed the craft but the Architect was happy to opt out and play games.

Every house should have a swing attached.

That's a broccoli tree.

 The Architect is happy to play - not sit.

There were some very impressive Gingerbread houses. 

We decorated the tree after letting it sit for 5 days.  There were a few weeks in the middle of this month where there was only one evening out of five that we were all home together.  

We attended Josh's company Winter party last Friday.  We haven't missed a year yet. I usually stress about what to wear but this year I just pulled out an outfit from 7 years ago and called it good!

 

The Professor and I made a few ginger snaps (but will make more) and I had the boys make the traditional clove orange.  As I learn about essential oils I'm thinking the tradition of sticking cloves in an orange has a lot more meaning than I know about.

Then it snowed!  I'll have to post a couple more pictures later.  

Three day countdown to Christmas!

December Happenings . . .

I turned 41 last week.  I haven't had to say it out loud until tonight's Cub Scout Pack meeting when all November and December birthday people must stand in front of the Pack and announce their age and birth date.  Thankfully our Pack parents cheer louder the older you get so I received a fairly decent round of applause.

 The Architect was awarded the SUPER ACHIEVER patch tonight.  He has completed all 20 WEBELOS activity badges.  Wooo Hooo!   Next February is the cross over to Boy Scouts.

There was a super fun activity for the scouts tonight.  A relay race to make one scout into a Christmas tree.

He loved it!

Here's a couple fun pictures from the Christmas program the boys were in .

 One Sheep, one Announcer and the Sound Assistant was busy.

Well, the weekend is almost here.  As soon as the activities are finished I'll post the whirl wind report.  I may need to start calling my blog that. 

Random Catch Ups . . .

This is where we picked all those apples when we made dehydrated apples.  I should have included these pictures.

 Jonagold apples from Sm'Apples.

 We picked with a friend so only 3 of those buckets are ours.

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Last month I took my Wolf den on a field trip to see local historical places.  We started at the downtown Bellingham post office which is 101 years old.

 Then we headed to Bellingham Towers.  The tallest building in Bellingham at 15 stories.  It's around 70 years old.  The building manager took us up to the closed to the public 15th floor for a panoramic view of Bellingham.

 Then we headed to the Mt. Baker Theater for a behind the scenes tour.

All three of the places we visited were within 1 city block of each other in downtown Bellingham.  I'm not sure of the kids appreciated all the history but I sure had fun learning and planning the trip.

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 These cookie plates were part of 12 plates that went out to the service people of downtown Lynden.  The "Christian Homeschoolers in Lynden" group we participate in, organized a month of thankfulness ideas that culminated in a final meeting to create posters and cookie plates to say thank you.  We said Thank you to the police, firefighters, post office, library, city hall and one more I can't remember.

This was a nice way to make the kids aware of saying thank you to those who serve our community. 

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We have a stuffed animal problem in our home.  

 A couple weeks ago I tried to eliminate a few of them.  I managed to get 6 out of the house.  A small victory.  The rest I just tried to contain.

Cats & Dogs

 Sea Creatures

 Small Bears

 Random Small Stuffies

 Big Puppets

 Small Finger Puppets

They'll out grow these someday, right?!