My Favorite Stocking Stuffers

While I was planning a stocking stuffer post at some point, I thought I'd go ahead and make it happen today after receiving so much feedback from yesterday's post about Christmas presents! And this way, there's still time for you to pick up things for your stockings if you see something you like!

Not all of these items are in both stockings each year, but these are my favorite. These are all easy to find items, but are {mostly} practical, affordable, and fun!

1. Chapstick (also known as "lips"). I'm hoping the kids will keep their chapstick in their cup holders in the car so they can use it during these awful winter months!
2. Shaving cream. Shaving cream, really? This here is the all time favorite thing for my kids to play with in the bath tub. Derek is getting annoyed with us using his stuff, so the kids are definitely getting their own.
3. Socks.My kids aren't in need of an entire package of new socks. But I'll pick up a pair of their favorite characters pretty cheap. They are at the dollar section of Target, among other places. I picked up a pair at Michael's this week for only 50¢.
4. Bandaids. As you are probably well aware, fun bandaids have extra healing power. My kids love having their own box.
5. Utensils. My kids also love their own special utensils. Jackson probably won't get any this year because he equates using regular forks and spoons as a symbol of being a big kid. I like to opt for the ones with metal prongs because they'll outlast the plastic ones!
6. Minnie Mouse necklace. Belle loves jewelry and she loves Minnie Mouse, so this will be just her thing. I picked up a necklace similar to the ones posted at Michaels the other day for  50¢
7. Hairbrush. Belle hates having her hair brushed, so I thought that perhaps a pink brush of her own might help. Maybe not. But it was worth the $1 I invested to give it a shot. 
8. Cups.We have several of these hard plastic party cups already, but these are such a fun thing to add in a  stocking. My kids love having all of their favorite characters on their cups. These are right around $1 at Walmart and Target.
9. Gloves. My kids aren't the only ones who can never find a pair of gloves when it's time to leave the house? Gloves are super cheap and are just handy to have around!
10. Silly String. We used silly string at Jackson's 4th birthday party and he has been asking for it ever since. A can is $1 at Dollar Tree, so the kids will each get one. If I'm already cleaning up wrapping paper... why not throw in some silly string, too?

We visit both sides of our family over the holidays and so the kids (and us!) will end up with plenty of toothpaste and new toothbrushes, so I don't typically pick any up! I might throw in an apple or orange to help keep them from whining about breakfast during present time!

Am I missing out on some great stocking stuffers? What are your favorites?

Our four gift Christmas strategy

I love reading about ideas for Christmas presents from other parents. I mean, catalogs and department stores all tell you about the coolest new "it" toy, but I like to see what parents say their kids love and what they plan to buy for Christmas. So this is about what my kiddos are getting.

Three or four years ago a friend shared how they do gifts: something you want, something to need, something to wear, something to read. We did this two years ago, but we didn't last year. As soon as Jackson started praying for lots of toys for Christmas, I knew that I wanted to implement the four gift rule. He knows what to expect and it keeps his excessive wishing at bay. Plus, he will be getting other things from family, too.

Belle's Christmas gifts:

Something she wants: We've played with magnetic dress up dolls at the early child development center and she loved them!

Something she needs: Belle has never had an actual bedding set and it has worked for us. But she's outgrowing her baby blanket to keep her covered up and there are times when she wants to snuggle with it instead of having it cover her up.

Something to wear: Headphones! And Minnie Mouse ones of course. These are made for little kids and have volume control to protect her ear drums. These will work with the DVD player in our van and also with the next gift.

Something to read: Jackson got a TAG reader for Christmas last year. Belle loved it right away and she often borrows his. She will love to have her own (and one that's purple!) plus, it came with some girly books too. (Another plus, I picked this up at a consignment sale and it was 50% the last day!)

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As I began to contemplate the categories, they didn't fit with what a few things I wanted to get and with things Jackson needed. I wasn't going to commit to the rhyme for the sake of doing it a certain way, so I switched it up. And bonus: It still rhymes. :)

Jackson Christmas Gifts:

Something he wants: He's asked for the whole set, so this is why it counts as one. Jackson LOVES transformers (and the Rescue Bots) if you haven't noticed and these are his favorite transformers toys. They are two steps to transform so as a parent, you'll love them, too. 

Something that glows: In case you didn't notice, Jackson is pretty into outer space right now. I'm not even sure if he is aware that glow stars for the bedroom ceiling even exist, but he will be thrilled once he opens them.

Something to read: Picking a book was tricky mainly because most published science materials oppose creationism, but this one didn't focus on the beginning of space like some of the others I browsed. I loved the photos in this one and the words will be easy enough for him to read in a year or two.

Somewhere to go: A visit to the local planetarium, of course! He can name the planets in order and he knows about the astroid belt, but only from books. I think he will seeing them in the actual sky. 

I'll get another post up sometime about their stockings!

Great Grandma Betty (x2)

Our kiddos were blessed with not only one Great Grandma Betty, but two! Unfortunately, both have passed away this year, but I am so glad the kids were able to know them-- even if it was for a short time in their lives.

This is my Grandma Betty, my dad's mom. She past away this spring. I remember at that time that I had wished I had more pictures of her and my kids. And then one day, I was cleaning out a drawer and there were a couple of pictures of Grandma Betty and Belle from my sister's high school graduation! It made my heart so happy to stumble across it! Grandma always took a ton of pictures (with a camera that used film, of course!) and she'd always send us copies! :)

Derek's Grandma (Betty) Duff passed away this year on Thanksgiving, which was a hard day to receive the news. But at the same time, it left us feeling very thankful for her many years and memories. I just love this photo. As Grandma Duff aged, her cognitive functions continued to deteriorate, but when she held a baby-- she was so different! It's like she transported back in time and her entire disposition just seemed a little happier when my kids were with her. I guess there is a part of motherhood (and grand-motherhood and great grand-motherhood) that are just permanently etched in the brain forever!

We last visited her on Halloween night. Jackson made her laugh-- what a perfect last memory!

The past several days have been filled with family time with Derek's side of the family. While it was a sad occasion to get together, we just loved getting to see and visit with everyone. I feel like I've been a broken record around here lately talking about how much I really enjoy spending time with family, but it's just so true!!

I do have pictures of both grandmas with Jackson, but my digital files are so severely disorganized that it's so difficult to go back and find old photos! I think Grandma Betty was on to something with her film camera and developing doubles. In fact, one of my new years resolutions might be to actually print more photos so they can be enjoyed outside of a computer screen!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I love Christmastime! I love decorating, I love the music, I love traditions and Christmas lights. I just love it all. 

1. Jackson has been asking to put up the tree as soon as his birthday was over and he desperately wanted to be the one to put the star on top! :)

2. We don't have a pinterest worthy tree, but it works for us! I let the kids put up almost all of the ornaments, so they are mostly all on the bottom third of the tree. I love our ornaments because we they each represent a memory and it's fun to go through them as a family.

3. While I love all sorts of Christmas decorations, my all-time favorite is the nativity set that my mom bought me right before I got married! 

4. My second favorite is this nativity. Don't you love how the animals are inside the stable? Right now, Mary is on top with the other pieces are gathered around baby Jesus. Oh, and Mater and McQueen have joined in. 

 5. Over the past year, I collected 25 Christmas books to open leading up to Christmas. The kids have LOVED it. And, really, I do too! Ideally, I'd love for the wrapped books to hang out under the tree, but I have a handsy two-year-old that couldn't resist the temptation, so they're on a shelf. Maybe next year they can be under the tree.

This weekend starts the crazy Christmas schedules of parties, Santa visits, and trying to find time to do our favorite Christmas activities. Even if it the schedule is super crazy, it's still my favorite time of year!

Serving and Sporks: Our Thanksgiving Recap

Though I probably say this every year (aside from T-day 2011), this Thanksgiving was our best yet! This past week, we've spent so much time with friends and family my heart is about to explode. I think our Thanksgiving celebrations tally up to four, so lots of food too. We were up with my side of the family on Thursday and then came back home on Friday. Saturday we were at Derek's parents and yesterday we stayed home and decorated for Christmas.

I didn't take many pictures because our celebrations weren't particularly exciting enough to photograph. They were just enjoyable moments playing games, watching movies, and hanging out!

I did take pictures when my family celebrated Thanksgiving, though! I received an email from a homeless ministry that I've volunteered with in the past asking for volunteers over the holidays! When I heard back that they needed Thanksgiving day volunteers, I knew my family would be on board so I signed us up!

There were several families who volunteered. My sister Laura wants to marry the gentleman on the left, but she has some internet stalking to do to find him first. :)

Most of us served plates (Normally, the clients go through the line themselves, but we were able to "treat" them a little bit and serve them!). Look how well they all cooperated with having their picture taken! :) 

Mom prepared plates in the kitchen for awhile

And Jackson was the best spork-hander-outer that you ever did see!

Despite my worries that he'd dump a plate on someone's lap-- he did a great job of serving, too!

Not only was it a easy and relatively short, we had a great time. Also, it fit in perfectly with how we're trying to teach Jackson about serving others! The minimum age for participating was 5, so Belle spent a few hours with my favorite Uncle Richard and Aunt Sharon. (If I don't say this, he'll read this and tell me that I had a typo!) He really is the best Uncle Richard that I have.

With my pretty blue-eyed baby girl on Thanksgiving morning!

My mom had sent Jackson $10 earlier that week for Jackson to pick out some items from the ministries wish-list to take with us. Jackson really wanted to buy deodorant (Specifically, red and blue. Absolutely no green labels). When brought them in, he said "We picked these out so that we can give them to people who don't have money to buy them!" He was so proud. And then I was so proud. 

We didn't do a thankful tree or anything like it this year, though it sounds like something fun to maybe try next year. But, I feel like we made good progress in teaching him how to be thankful for things that many of us often take for granted-- a home, food to eat, or even being able to buy deodorant!

How the favorite part of your thanksgiving??