Ends and Odds

I was trying to think of a new title for today. I think I have used Odds and Ends before, so I thought I would switch it up today. :)

Here are Random Thoughts of Reba...scary, huh?

I didn't get to post anything last night (I am sure you were waiting with bated breath). I thought I would. I had been productive all evening working on school projects. Then I settled down to watch a little t.v. with my hubby while I cruised the Internet. Unfortunately, somewhere in all of that, I fell asleep. (Happened again tonight while I was in the bathtub) Such is this time of year...

Today was school party day. Fun, fun! The kids were asking first thing this morning when it was. I kept saying, "At the end of the day..." Finally we got there. We did some creating with ice cream cones/frosting/sprinkles. Then I moved them over to the rug for a game/book exchange. While there, one of the kiddos looked up at me and said, puzzled, "Is this our party?" I guess that it wasn't everything he expected and more. :) (I try to have fun with the kids but still keep it fairly structured) In the end, I think they had a good time. We sugared them up really well anyway. And they all went home with some goodies. When I got home, I got to relive three different parties, again complete with goodies and stories of lots of sugar!

Speaking of goodies, I have been quite blessed this year. By party time, I had a desk full of presents and treats from my students, including a gift certificate to feed my sushi cravings, a cute pair of ladybug slippers (my nickname growing up was "Ladybug"), a warm throw, an ornament, some chocolate, and much, much more. I am thankful for a sweet and generous group of students and parents who shower me daily not only with gifts but with support, encouragement, and love.

I still hope to write a whole post in honor of our now 11 year old son. I have tried a couple of times to write one but I end up getting emotional and stop.

Speaking of our pre-teen, we hope to have our son's birthday celebration this weekend. I think he is ready to open some presents!

Do you remember the "Christmas card" rejects I posted the other night? Well, after all of that picture taking (which is enough to make me want to pull my hair out), finally designing a decent Christmas card, going through the order process, etc., I think our cards are missing. I have been tracking the package, eager for them to arrive so I could send them out at least a few days before Christmas. Today when I checked the tracking, I was rather surprised to learn that the package had been "delivered". I am not sure where it was delivered. It is not at my house. So, either it was delivered to another house OR it was delivered to our house and someone stole them (we had a flyer in our door today, so we know our front porch has had visitors). I cannot imagine that they would be much use to anyone else, but I guess a crook wouldn't know that from looking at the outside of the package. Either way, the pictures are not in our possession. So it looks like we may be going a different route with our Christmas cards this year! (I am not really flippant about it; I hate that we spent money for something we never got. And once again, I wonder if we were robbed...that would make three times this year in some sort of fashion. But at the same time, I am really tired and know that I cannot do a thing about it at this point in the game.)

I don't think I have mentioned much about gift giving since my "Toning Down Christmas" post. Let me tell you what my saving grace has been with the gift thing. A spreadsheet. I have always kept lists but they weren't very organized. What would happen was around Christmas when I would finally get to wrapping I would realize that one child was getting more than another child. So I did a lot of last minute shopping to "even" things out (and often for random gifts that were really there just to even out the number of gifts, not because it was a really "wanted" item). This year I made a spreadsheet, actually several. I even made one for books which we (Mom and Dad) always get the kids. I have been filling it in as I go shopping. I even change the color once something is bought. It sounds so simple but it has helped me SOOOO much. It has given me a focus when I go shopping. It has also stopped some "impulse" buying. If it is not on the list, then I probably don't need to get it. I am hoping this one little step will save me a lot of stress!

I really should get some sleep. I still have one more day of school. Then it is "break" (if you can call it that) for two weeks! Yippee!

Reba