Winter Break

Winter break has STARTED!!!!!! Yay!!!! Not only are the kids excited, but I am too! I am so ready to have my kids home for 2 weeks. Translated, 2 weeks that we don't have to get up quite so early! Translated, I get to sleep in past 6:20! No, I am really glad to have the kids home with me for a while. We have some things planned, but not too much. I'm ready for some good family time!

Meanwhile, we had winter parties at school today. It was a challenge to get everything needed for the parties. Last night, Kaylyn and I made cupcakes (chocolate and butter cream frosted with sprinkles) and Claire and I made chocolate chip cookies (with little white/red chocolate Santa faces). Danny took in juice boxes. Thank God for Danny's class! It was easy! Collin needed donuts, a donation I thought would be EASY. WRONG!! I stopped to pick up Collin's donuts last night on the way home from last minute Christmas shopping, but they were out of holiday sprinkled donuts. Does it occur to me that I don't really need holiday sprinkled donuts? No...I had envisioned holiday sprinkles. Didn't think of anything else! So, I had to run back to Dunkin Donuts before 8:00 this morning to pick up what I ordered last night! At our old house, not a problem, but here, well, that's a 30 minute round trip. A HUGE thank you, Mom, for watching the kids while I ran out!

I also had gifts for all of the elementary classroom teachers. I had one gift previously, and purchased the other 3 yesterday (so much for my wonderful prepared Christmas!). I was pretty pleased until Nathan looks at me and said, "Where's my gifts?". WHAT!?! He's in middle school. Do we have to DO gifts in middle school? Apparently, he wanted gifts for just 2 teachers. Great...Wonderful...No problem...Let me just pull out my emergency teacher gifts.

What? You don't have emergency teacher gifts? Me either!!!!

Thank God I did have 2 extra mugs sitting around and 2 gourmet hot chocolate pouches. My plan was to include some homemade English toffee (something I have made in the past and it has been FABULOUS!) in a small tin. I made the toffee, and it was gritty. Yuck! Threw it out. I made toffee for the second time. Maybe I rushed the last batch...Maybe I need to let the sugar cook a little longer...Maybe I need a son that can communicate his wants a little earlier...Oh wait, that's another topic...Toffee, cooking toffee...The second batch will be great...Nope, the second batch is gritty! GREAT! Now what am I going to include with the mugs?

Now, any sane, reasonable momma would say, I have a ton of cookies in the pantry that I made at Cookie Day last weekend. Use those. Do you think I thought of that? Nope, not until this very moment did that thought enter my mind. Oh, how I wish it had! Give me a break, it was around midnight!

Instead, I go to the basement, search out the chocolate spoon stuff (mold, handles, baggies and twist ties) wash it, melt chocolate, pour into the molds and stare at the chocolate for a few moments. Hmmmm...it looks so plain. I then search out the holiday sprinkles, because you know that all chocolate spoons need to be fancy! I place the sprinkles one by one in the chocolate (they need to be just so you know!).

I am so crazy! Do other Mommas go through this?

Holy cow! Sometimes it would be so much easier to homeschool!