December was great! :) Lots of busy times and lots of relaxing down times. Perfect mix! Here's what we did:
The countdown that fizzled out...
I planned a pretty involved daily countdown for Jac and I to do that involved each night being a different themed Christmas activity. I'd decorate for it and we'd do some short fun related activity...and maybe Jac would even cook some food that goes with the theme. So vintage me! It was fun to plan, and I REALLY did think we'd do it.
But then December happened. And I work full time. With 20 kids that are bouncing off the wall because of Christmas and so many things that needed to get done before Winter Break. And so, the countdown didn't happen. It's December's fault, right? It's not proof that I overplan. I shan't learn a lesson from this experience. I shan't! :)
We did manage to do the first four days. Here's what we did:
Day one was "Christmas in France"
I decorated our little kitchen Christmas tree like they do in France (with charming paper stars) and some French Christmas ads and played French Christmas music:
Jac got on board and made us the French version of biscuits and gravy. And then we had eclairs for dessert. A nice French themed evening.
Jac made us sloppy joes -- vintage 1980s food! (In fact, that was probably about when I last ate sloppy joes!)
and then we played a 1980s Song Bingo Game (that came with gameboards and a synced up Spotify playlist. That was REALLY fun. We played it like bingo but added a little 'name that tune' element to up the competition. Jac won of course. There's no competing against Jac's jukebox.
And that's where the whole thing kinda collapsed. The next day was "Country Christmas" so I decorated the little kitchen tree 'country style' -- with sliced wood ornaments and little checked bows. And....that's how the tree remained for the remainder of December.
It was too much, I admit. I'm not committing to not trying to do it some other year, mind you, but for this year....it just wasn't in the cards.
We lost Billy!!!
A few days after the countdown fizzled out, we lost Billy. And that would most certainly have ended it if we hadn't already! We were devastated!!!! He got hit by a car, and despite our attempts to get him some emergency vet care, he didn't make it. He died in the car on the way there, on Jac's lap. It was tragic and wrong. I STILL feel responsible, like I should have been a better cat mom to him and protected him better.
I made a separate "Remembering Billy" blog post to remember this special cat. I will miss him SO much!!!
We buried him in the front yard the next day, right where he liked to hang out. It was sad, really sad.
Next time we go to Southern Utah, we are going to get a big red sandstone rock, and then sand it down to the rough shape of the cat. That will be his little grave marker. (Right now we have the bird bath over top of him so we know exactly where it is). Even though this is sooo sad, we don't want to ever forget him!
We Made Suitcases
I am teaching my students about countries all over the world. We visit one country per week, and the kids are VERY into it. I'm thrilled and surprised by how into it they are! So, for Christmas I decided to make my gift be related to this 'traveling' theme. (Virginia gave me the idea actually. Thanks Gin!) It was a lot of work, but here's how they turned out. Each child got a 'suitcase' and stuff inside that they can use all year as we 'travel' to different countries.
Jac helped me make the suitcases, and had some great ideas to make them very durable. Here we are putting the handles on:
And hours later...he's still at it while I am putting on the travel stickers:
Each student got one suitcase with travel stickers and a luggage tag. Inside, there was
- a passport that looks as much as possible like a real US passport
- a book of passport stamps (for our future travels this school year, plus more if they'd like to learn about other countries on their own)
- a travel journal so they can write a bit about what we learn about each country AND include a photograph of themselves doing the Friday related activity
- a book that teaches them how to say hello in different languages.... they just love learning that!
- a few pencils with world flags on them
- a small globe ball
- extra stickers to decorate the back of the luggage
Here's the passport:
(I'm including all this here so that next year I can reference it when I make it again.)
I put them on their desks while they were at PE....
And they freaked out when they walked in and saw them. Believe me, I was nervous! That was a lot of work and I didn't want it to flop. But they loved them and we spent the rest of that day doing activities related to their luggage. Here are a few of them holding theirs:
I think I now know what I will be giving the kids for Christmas from now on!
School was crazy
Suitcases weren't it. There was more. LOTS more. December is a FULL month as a teacher. It's very fun but a lot of work. You have to really be organized and efficient to get it all done! Here are the kids holding THEIR present to their parents. I helped them make a calendar and while they turned out very cute, it was also A LOT of work for me. Oye!
But finally after all taht...it was winter break! Two glorious weeks. 16 whole days of freedom!! Boo-yah! Yee Haw! Yippee! I was as happy as a pig in mud. Like a dog with two tails. Happier than a possum up a pant leg and a kid in a candy store. I was grinning from ear to ear, bouncing off the walls, goin' bananas. Okay, enough, lol. Just trying to make sure it's clear that Betsy LOVES freedom!!!
We Had Christmas Parties!
We were lucky enough to have so much family for Christmas -- ALL of Jac's kids and everyone except Ben & Virginia from my family.
First was our party with Jac's kids. Jac cooked for DAYS in preparation. Here is the amazing appetizer spread.
Here are pictures from the party with Jac's kids. First we ate appetizers and played games and visited outside:
Emily won! Nicely played Emily!
What a fun party! It lasted an amazing five hours, which is UNHEARD OF for my family of homebodies. :)
Ringing in the New Year...Around the World
Our last hoorah of the year was a little New Years Eve party for just the two of us. The theme was celebrating the new year with traditions from all over the world! I made little cards that we would open each hour building up to 11pm, then every 10 minutes until midnight. But...that started to sound kinda late, so we just picked cards at random and did the activities until done. Either way it was silly fun (mostly for me, but Jac was a good sport).
We started with a FEAST of Chinese food, including long noodles to symbolize longevity, just like they do for New Years in China. What an amazing feast, with enough for left overs for days! See, we are already starting the new year right!
From there we hung out and did different New Years traditions as the night wore on. Here's the little cards I made in Canva (minus the China one which you can see above), showing the different traditions we did over the course of the night.
Here's the crackling fire in the chimnea, where we burned our Ano Viejo effigies (like they do in Ecuador).
Here's Jac eating the cake with the special lucky token inside (like they do in France). My piece had the token. Looks like it's gonna be a good year for me!!!
We ended up doing all of the traditions except the English wassail. (Forgot to make that one!) It was certainly a silly way to celebrate the coming of the new year. Poor Jac is stuck with me and all my very bizarre plans and schemes!
Also in December
Here's a few last shots from the month. First, football. We started watching football a bit, and surprise surprise...I kinda like it! It's fun once you know what they are trying to do. Here's one night's game over Winter Break, where Jac made this giant mound of nachos and we watched the 49ers barely beat the Bears. What a close game! Very fun to watch!
Jac made me a lot of delicious breakfasts over Winter Break. I love love love Jac's breakfasts! Here are a few:
our just watching the fire:
What a month! Crazy full but also with a lot of relaxing, puttering days off. It was the perfect mix and a great month (other than losing Billy). Life with Jac sure is a lot of fun! :)