Day 25

Day 25 was very random.....I had other plans for the day, but that changed when I decided to bake Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls.  My family requested cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, so I started baking......the recipe makes about 7 or 8 pans (you could very easily cut this recipe in half).  I knew our family of 5 was not going to eat that many pans of cinnamon rolls and I know I could have frozen some or cut the recipe in half, but figured why not give them away.  So, that's what we did......neighbors, family and friends received our 25th random act of kindness!  Sorry, I didn't even take one picture of the baking or the giving of this act......it was a busy time I guess. 

If you are interested in making these AWESOME cinnamon rolls.....here is the recipe and a step-by-step guide on how to make them.....you will not be disappointed.

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Oh, and before I forget (which I almost did).....here is the gift the children made for their parents.  Salt dough handprints......these are very easy and you can do some much with salt dough.....handprints, footprints, ornaments, gift tags, etc.

4 cups flour

1 cups salt

1 1/2 cups water

Combine ingredients and knead dough.  Roll dough out and cut a circle (I used a bowl to get the size and shape and then used my pastry cutter with the fluted edge from Pampered Chef to give it a finished look).

Press their hand in the dough pretty good, so you get a good print. 

Make sure you make a hole at the top or prick before baking to prevent air bubbles.....I added their initial and the date as well.  Bake at 300ºF for 20-25 minutes.....you may have to bake longer depending on how thick your dough is.  Once cool, you can leave as is or paint.  We chose silver and gold paint for ours.

D painted hers twice.....she first painted it white and then decided on gold!

I added ribbon, a handprint poem on the back and then we wrapped them up.

The kids were very excited about these......I forgot to ask if any of them spilled the beans before Christmas.  Such a great keepsake for parents or grandparents.

Tracy

Birthday Party for Jesus!

Where do I even begin......let's just put it this way.....things didn't exactly go as planned for this party.  I got the idea from Tami Driggers, she has had a birthday party for Jesus the last 2 years and looking at her pictures and reading her blog, it looked amazing and so much fun....a great way for young children to try and understand the true meaning of Christmas!  So, I had big plans.....make crowns to wear (for the King), make angels, tell the story with props, and make a beautiful cake......well, we did very little of this plan.....but I think in the end they had a great time and came away with the true meaning of Christmas (at least I hope so)!

I started off by telling the story of the birth of Jesus with these wooden blocks that my mother-in-law made several years ago (I love them cause the kids can play with them without breaking anything).  Well, I told the story and barely made it all the way through.....we had a bit of drama going on during the story.  I think they understood though because they at least answered some of the questions I asked when we were done.

Then we opened gifts......and we talked about what kinds of gifts we would have taken baby Jesus if we had been around during that time.....most of the answers were clothes and toys!

Every picture I took, she had her tongue out!

Reese thought I needed my picture taken as well.....this was just one of many wonderful gifts I got.  My daycare parents really spoiled me this year and I felt truly loved and am very blessed!

After gifts, we had some visitors, so it kind of halted some of our plans.  But, it was still fun and I got to hold this precious little gift that was born just the week before.....isn't she a cutie!!!

Then it was time to eat and have cake for Jesus.  The cake didn't quite turn out as planned.....so please don't critique me (I am NOT a decorator).  I have made fondant before, but it just wasn't turning out at all......it was sticky and runny and when I finally got it rolled out it tore when I put it on the cake.....so I pieced a piece in and went on.  If I would have had time, I would have thrown it in the trash and gone to Vogts and bought one, but I didn't!  I found an angel outline online and traced it around some pre-made fondant and cut out a star.....stuck it on and called it good.  The kids didn't seem to mind and the cake underneath tasted good.  I got the idea from several different websites (used different ones and made my own).....each part of the cake has a special meaning.

Shape--the shape is round to represent the World into which Jesus is born.

Chocolate Cake (black)--represents the fact that all men have sinned.  This is why Jesus came to earth.

Frosting--pure white, symbolizing the righteousness and purity of Jesus Christ.

Star--like the star that shone heralding His birth and lighting the way to the stable.

Angel--the angel reminds us of the good tidings that were brought to the shepherds that night.  It also reminds us of the good tidins, or good news, that we can bring to others.  Luke 2:1

12 Red Candles--the red color reminds us of Jesus' blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. 

Light the candles--the 12 candles remind us to let His light shine every month of the year, not just at Christmas time.

I realize this cake only has 10 candles, but there were really 12 on the cake (2 were yellow cause I didn't have enough red candles)

We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and blew out the candles!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

Next year, I will be lowering my expectations of having a "perfect" party.....all in all it was fun and that is the most important part.   Oh, and here are our angels that a few of the kiddos made at the end of the day.  If you are wondering, the gold tinsel is supposed to be a halo!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.....ours are all over and went WAY too fast.....it actually makes me kind of sad that it's over.  We work so hard and spend so much time planning and prepping and then it's over just like that. 

This week, I probably won't be blogging much.....maybe one more post to finish up our 25 days of Christmas and what the kiddos made for their parents and then I will be back next week sometime.  We are taking a little time to just play this week.....lots of new toys at this house......thankfully some of them go outside.  

Tracy

Day 23 & 24

I am working on a long post about our Birthday Party for Jesus, but until then here is #23 and #24.....I placed dollar bills in the toy department at Wal-Mart last night....I would have liked to stick around and see the look on people's faces when they found random dollars all around, but I had things to do.

  And today we are taking treats to the librarians at the public library.....waiting on a sleepy little boy to wake up so we can go.

 

Tracy

Day 21 & 22

My internet was down for a day and a half, so I am trying to play catch-up.

Cooper took treats out to his bus drivers.....Grandma V and Miss Rhonda!  I'm sure those bus rides get a little long somedays, especially with 15 or more preschoolers!!!

Today we took gifts to all of Cooper and Reese's teachers.....Cooper has 5 paras in his class, so we did lots of baking.  These are all of our goodies.

Here is our craft we did the other day as well.  I got these clear ornaments at Hobby Lobby the other day for 50% off!!!  Can't beat that. 

Then you will need craft paint.....you can use any color(s) you want....it's fun to try different color combos and see how each one turns out different.

Then we just used some craft paint and squeezed the paint in the ornaments......we used red, green, gold and silver.....I think every one of them used all 4 colors.  Once the paint is in, close the top with a paper towel and shake until the entire ornament is covered......very simple and they turned out great!  If there is a lot of paint left in the bottom, turn the ornament upside down for a while and let the excess paint drip out. 

Reese and Cooper made theirs over the weekend.....we made a few crafts on Sunday afternoon and this was one of them they wanted to do as well.

Don't they look great......these would make great gifts for grandparents or fancy them up with ribbon or an initial or name.....lots of possibilities.

Tracy

Days 18, 19, 20

On Saturday, I pumped an older ladies gas at the gas station so she didn't have to get out in the cold (not that it was that cold, but still).......she was very appreciative!

On Sunday, I paid for a couple happy hour drinks at Sonic......the girl working seemed a bit confused about what I was wanting to do......but I think after I explained it to her several times she got it!  I hope someone enjoyed their free drinks! 

Today, the kids and I bought some new coloring books and crayons and took them to the clinic for the waiting room.  They were very surprised and delighted that we brought them. 

And they even got a piece of candy!!!

This week is going to be a bit crazy.....lots of baking to do, school parties to attend, and a birthday party for Jesus!  Oh and I need to wrap all the presents and still make a few.....hoping to get a lot done during naptime!  And still do our random act of kindness each day!

Tracy

Day 17

Friday we took a LOAD of stuff to Main Street Ministries.  They were in need of some toys for their playroom.....so my kids went through their stuff and pulled out some things they thought the children would like and some stuff that they don't play with anymore.  Cooper had a tougher time with this than Reese, but when it was time to take the toys.....he gave them up......he realized that he really didn't NEED all of these toys and there are lots of children out there that don't have very many toys.....how sweet is he!!!  They got rid of quite a few toys.....very proud of them for their donations!

We purchased some gifts and wrapped them up for a little girl that lives at Main Street.

 Some of the toys we donated.....oh and Cooper trying to get in the picture!

 My little elves helping deliver gifts!  They were so excited!

The kids and Nikki helping deliver all the toys.

Tracy