Clark is Such a Nut!!

Clark is a master at blending in with the crowd.  The boys didn't even see him for a long time!  Clark can get a much better report on their behavior when they don't find him right away!!  Lucky for them they were pretty good this morning!!

What has your elf been up to?

Smiles!

Santa's Little Helper

Silly Clark!  That's not the REAL Santa!!

I guess old habits die hard!

Smiles!

Clark Roasting Marshmallows

Clark better be careful!!  It looks like he nearly caught himself on fire!!!

Smiles!!

Clark Hanging on the Hutch

We're not exactly sure what he was up to, but when we sat down for breakfast, Clark was watching us from a berry swag on the hutch.

What has that little elf been up to?

Smiles!!

Clark's Snow Ball Fight

Clark and the Abominable Snowman had quite the time!

They stacked the large marshmallows for the fort and....

used the mini marshmallows for snowballs!

What a mischievous elf!!

Smiles!!!

Gift Card Tree for Teacher

Another take of the Gift Card Tree I did HERE and same song, second verse of the Gift Card Wreath I did HERE.

New to the Gift Card Wreath/Tree?

It is a really simple way for Room Moms to coordinate a group Christmas gift for the teacher that she will definitely enjoy and use!

As a room mom, we always send out a principal approved letter/email to all of the parents in the class.  It asks for them to communicate with the Room Mom if they are sending a card, are sending money for the Room Mom to buy the card or if they are doing something else.  There is no pressure to participate.  The key is to set a deadline early enough that if you need to go pick up a few extra cards and/or send reminders, you have enough time.  Sometimes, if there are not many cards, I'll purchase cards of smaller amounts to fill up the tree.

The trees were personalized with the teachers' favorite colors/themes and their initials.

The card stock initials are from the Paper Studio that I simply decorated with scrap paper, glitter and ribbons.

A variety of cards from the teacher's "favorites" list make this gift a real no brainer!

Merry Christmas to all of the teachers out there!

Smiles!!!

Clark the Elf - Revisted

We're getting ready to welcome our friend, Clark the Elf, back to our house.  Thought it would be a good time to revisit some of his past adventures...

Roasting Marshmallows

Building Fun

Doodling on Pictures

Drinking Hot Chocolate

Racing Cars

Reading Christmas Cards

The Reason for the Season

Playing Games

Sharing the Christmas Story

Wrapping the Christmas Tree

Playing with the DS

 Snow Ball Fight

Hanging on the Hutch



Merry Molasses Cookies

 

Part of this week's homework for my 2nd grader was to make cookies with a family member.

I'm glad it was part of their homework assignment because it MADE us take the time to make some cookies.  With everything we have going on and with me trying to work everyday, time at home with the family has become so precious.  This recipe was the one my guy decided upon.  We had not made them before and we were pleasantly surprised when they were SO YUMMY!  Addictive actually! Why don't you give them a try?

 

MERRY MOLASSES COOKIES

 

1 cup butter, melted, room temperature

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (trust me, it makes a difference!)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg (room temperature)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup molasses

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Combine melted, room temperature butter with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl.  Beat well with mixer until well combined.

 

Dissolve baking soda in the water; add to creamed mixture, beating well.  Stir in molasses and flour.

 

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for about 8 minutes.  Cool completely on wire racks.

Makes about 8 dozen

 

 

ENJOY!!!

 

Smiles!!!

 

Will share this yummy cookie recipe with some of the fun parties found in my side bar!

Eat, Drink & Be Merry (Again!)

It's that time of year again...time to show our awesome teachers how much we appreciate them!

Last year we picked up some great insulated cups at Wal-Mart, filled them with candy and passed them out to our teachers.

 

This year, we did it again...but chose the blue snowflake cups.  Thought they could use them a little longer since they are not so Christmas specific.

 

If you'd like the FREE PRINTABLE for the Eat, Drink & Be Merry Blue tags,

CLICK HERE.

 

If you'd like the FREE PRINTABLE for the Eat, Drink & Be Merry Red & Green tags,

CLICK HERE.

 

What are some of your favorite Christmas gifts for teachers?

 

Smiles!!!

 

Will share these tags with some of the parties found in the side bar--->

 

 

 



Rudolph Oatmeal

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Nothing special about this bowl of oatmeal except that I shaped it like Rudolph...some brown sugar, pretzels and M & Ms finish the job!

Kah-yute!

Smiles!

May be linking to some of the fun parties found in my sidebar=>

Clark Reminds us the Reason for the Season

We found little Clark holding baby Jesus in the Nativity scene.  In all of the fun we have with him, we're so happy he remembers the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!

May share this post with some of the parties in the sidebar=>

Clark in the Cards

This morning we found little Clark hanging out in the Christmas card wreath!

He must have had fun catching up with our friends and family!

We sure have!

Do you want to make a Christmas Card Wreath?

Check out how HERE!

Smiles!

Sharing some of Clark's antics with some of the fun parties in the sidebar =>

Clark the Gamer

Clark got out the boys' DSi games and had a little fun taking his picture!

They were so tickled to see what he had done!

What has your little elf been up too?!?

Smiles!!!

May link up to the parties in my sidebar!

Welcome Home!!

Silly Clark!  He beat us home from our trip!

What a nice elf to welcome us home!!!

Smiles!!

May share this sign made by our thoughtful elf with some of the thoughtful people's parties found in my sidebar =>

A Hunting We Will Go...

We recently took a little trip down to the hunting cabin. 

Guess who followed us?!?

Clark, our elf, was holding a peppermint while perched in some antlers above the boys' boots....look out below!

Their boots were filled with peppermints!

They were so surprised to find the Clark had made the long trip, too!

Clark has magic elfin powers which help him transport himself quickly from the North Pole to our house or, say, from one end of Texas to another!

We trudged through the back door after our LONG drive (and SHORT trip) to see that Clark had beat us back home!!!

Be sure to come back Wednesday to see what we found!

Happy hunting & Merry Christmas!

Smiles!

Doodlling with Clark

Look at the silly faces Clark left on the pictures!

Thankfully he used dry erase marker!

Merry Christmas!

Smiles!

Game Time

Last night, the boys forgot to put away a game they were playing...looks like Clark and the Toys Story gang took advantage of this!

Is Rex about to win?!?

What has your elf been up to?

Smiles!

May share this antic with my friends in the side bar =>

Frosty Goes to the Movies

This week I was asked to wrap up a secret Santa gift for a friend.

Her gift recipient collects snowmen so I made this paper mache' box to hold the goodies.

I think it would be really cute made from a bucket, too! 

It was really pretty simple...spray paint the botton white, paint the lid, the rounded wooded pieces and the wooden wheels black, add some glitter to the wheels, some snow & glitter to the lid and super glue everything together.  OH, don't forget the snowman's scarf!

Now he's ready to be delivered!

I wonder what's inside?!?

Popcorn, candy, drinks and a movie theater gift certificate!

This gal must have a pretty special secret Santa!

Happy gift-giving to you!

Smiles!

May share Mr. Frosty with some of my fun friends found in the sidebar =>

Wrap it Up

***Looking for Tuesday To Do Party?  Click here or scroll down to next post!***

Our little Clark has been a little mischievous lately...guess he's feeling a little more comfortable in our home this year!

We hadn't put the decoration on the tree yet, so it looks like he decided to take matters into his own hands!  What a mess!!!  Hope he plans on cleaning it up!

Smiles!

May link up this mischievous antic to a party or two found in my sidebar =>



Flasks for Friends

Spoiler Alert!

If you are one of my friends that happens to live out of town...skip this post!

(That includes you...Plano resident!)
Thank you!
Now...look what they're getting for Christmas...
FLASKS!
My friend and I saw some super cute decorated flasks when we were out shopping a few weeks ago and decided we would like to try to make our own.
Said friend gets online within hours and buys flasks and finds a tutorial.
She explains how its done and she got to work.
Now, it's been 4 weeks or more and I just got started on mine.

Zebra with beaded heart...

Lime leopard with rhinestones and brown eyelash fringe...

Happy Flask....

Star Wars Flask with Darth Vader & rhinestones and...

Large beaded heart flask.

My friend bought the flasks online and we split the cost...want to say they were about $6 each.  These little flasks are only 4 oz.  Somewhere online (not sure where as I never saw the tutorial, but I'm sure you can Google it,) my friend read that you should varnish the paper BEFORE putting it on the flask.  I varnished both sides then added varnish to the flask and attached the paper.  All that's left is to decorate them!  Large rhinestones and beaded flower centers found at the craft store top the lids (I used super glue and E6000.)  The beads are attached using gem & glitter glue...I drew the design then added the beads as if they were glitter.  Tacky Glue was used to attach the ribbon and fringe.

Oh, and by the way, neither my friends nor myself are a bunch of lushes (well, ok, one of them is, but she's wonderful just the same!!!)

I doubt the flasks will ever be used.  They were just cute and something different.

Which is YOUR favorite?

Smiles!

May share these fun gifts at some of the fun parties found in my sidebar =>