When we first got here I learned about the toy lift and thought it was a great way to start getting in the holiday spirit. We also noticed that our library had a book tree much like a giving tree and thought that would be a great addition too. It always throws me off as they are both the first week in December so I have to pay attention to dates and events something that has been much harder the past 2 months with working at Kohls. Not being aware of whats going on in the community is still a hard adjustment for me as planning outings like that for our family is one of my favorite things to do. It was like second nature, I always knew what community events were coming up but it has really scaled back this Fall. Part of it is just that I never know what days I will be working (sometimes they are really slow with the schedule) so I didn't bother seeing what was going on and part of it is just not having as much free time. It has worked out fine but I am looking forward to a more set schedule. *
Buying the toys for the toy lift was rather frustrating sadly. Before we went into the store we talked about why we were there but as we walked down aisles it turned into a lot of I want this instead of maybe a kid would like this. They absolutely understood what and why we were doing it but really struggled to keep that as their focus. And I totally get it, it's Christmas! They have presents on their mind but I had hoped this store trip could be a little less about them. Dropping off the toys was great but it was a struggle to get there! We dropped off the library book and then headed over to the toy lift.
Lydia now wants Shopkins for Christmas which I get, miniature things are cute! We are typically pretty slow on trends, I think these have been popular for at least 6 months if not a year now.
Sunday Jared and Lydia helped me get our Christmas cards ready. As we worked on them Jared commented that he was like a machine and he could do this all day, he was actually disappointed when we were done. Me too buddy, me too. Such order. He had a nice little assembly line going on. Lydia did not love it like Jared did but was very helpful. I seem to be getting lazier as the years go by. I started sending them with a nice Christmas letter then it became highlights, then a paragraph and this year all I sent was the card. I'm glad we got them out and love getting them in the mail. Mark had a long weekend and we didn't see him much. He was gone for stake meetings and such from 1:50 - 9:30 Saturday and then from 9:00 - 4:00 Sunday. Sunday was largely due to Choir practices. He has a performance coming up on Sunday (The Joy to the World Christmas concert our church hosts with quite a few other musical groups from the community) and was just asked to sing with another choir performing at the same concert. I can't imagine being a super musically inclined individual in the month of December. So much going on so people like me can enjoy their talents Speaking of music, I am really enjoying my piano lessons. I love that I can sit down at our very own piano and look at songs (basic as a song can be) and play it. And people recognize it! Sadly it is going to get harder as I am supposed to focus on rhythm and tempo this week but I will keep at it. I find myself sitting down to practice and then playing the songs (mostly Christmas) over and over as I want to get it right and I genuinely enjoy it when I do recognize notes and play them right. I am grateful for my family's support and patience.
Monday we headed over to the Gingerbread village display with some friends. It was actually a really nice day so we stopped and played at a park downtown that I had never been too and then walked over to the display. I am always nervous about parking downtown and was so happy when I found a spot right at the park. It seemed like there were less houses this year but we found our favorites and enjoyed checking it out and playing with friends. Lydia and I stopped by a friend's house before we picked Jared up from school and had a fun visit. I have wanted to get to know this family better for quite some time and hope we can meet up again soon! ( Jessie!)
Festive foods and theme activities are coming out too.
I personally do not like lunch and do not enjoy making Jared's lunch for school. I just don't feel like there are that many healthy things I can send for him and have him eat it. I know he is getting fruits and vegetables from out smoothies and our food is fine at home but I would love to just throw an apple, orange or even banana in his lunch but he won't eat them. It has been a bit of a joke lately as I have been lamenting making his lunch, Lydia always says how easy it will be to make her lunch next year, I could just put fruit in there and she would be delighted. Thinking about making 2 kids lunches (way easier than say 4...) makes me sad. But I do love a festive treat! And even though Jared does not love PB and J sandwiches ( I still make him have them) he does like them more when they are cut out with Christmas cookie cutters. I love to do this with pancakes and french toast too.
Rudolph donuts!
I feel like I am doing a better job adapting preschool activities for Jared and spending more time with him in general after school. I still want him to just play when he gets home but I can certainly find at least one activity we can do together. He is always excited when I ask if he wants to do the art project or science experiment we did in preschool so I am really trying to make that happen.
Things like, gingerbread man relays, Christmas bow sorting, candy cane/cookie dissolving, and Christmas memory.
Jared loves running so this was right up his ally, it was so simple, just running to get a gingerbread man from one side, high-fiving your teammate so they can go then repeat.
Christmas bow sorting. I had them guess which size there was the most of then estimate the number of bows in each size. Super simple but enjoyed. When we do "talk time" at night Jared almost always asks me to tell him about our preschool day. He has said more than once he would be happy to stay at home and by my assistant.
This year I mixed it up with different flavored candy canes. I saw a box of mini assorted candy canes and thought they would be great for this experiment. We did a little taste testing as well which was greatly enjoyed. I did not really like any of the flavors, (Blueberry, fruit punch and I don't know what the pink and purple stripe one was Berry?) I am a purist when it comes to candy canes but do't really even like them that much.
We also dissolved these super crunchy Santa cookies which was quick fun experiment.
*Work is going pretty well. I am thinking they finally truly believed me that I could not work more than 3 days a week. I turned in another availability schedule listing T,W, and Friday as the days I could work and last week and this week they scheduled me for those days. I was starting to feel really annoying because every week I would be scheduled for 5 days and then go in and make them change it so I am hopeful that can be done with. Then I could plan more things to do too. One somewhat helpful somewhat not thing is that I am now aware of all the sales they have and therefore feel like I should take advantage of them but need to stop and ask myself is this a need or just me buying something because I know there is a sale? Overall its going well and is helpful.
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