Santa-tizer Gift

I needed a quick and easy little Christmas gift to give the ladies on my team at work. I usually make some kind of yummy treat, but I know a couple of people are counting calories. I made these Santa-tizer crafts to hand out. I have seen these around for the past several years.

I found 2 oz. bottles of scented hand sanitizer at Target for $1.29 each. I brought them home and used them to decide what measurements I would need for scoring and cutting.

I cut 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch red cardstock into 2 in. by 11 in. strips. Then I used my scoring blade to score at 1/2 inch, 2 inch, 5 inch, and 6 1/4 inch.

I used a 1 inch circle punch to punch a hole in between the 1/2 inch and 2 inch score lines. Then I flipped the strip to the other end and used a decorative border punch to make it look cute.

I cut a 2 inch by 1/2 inch black strip for the belt. Then eyeballed the size square I needed for the belt buckle. Then I place a small rectangle of black in the center of the buckle.

I ran a strip of mono adhesive along the 1/2 inch section before my first score mark. Be sure to put the bottle of sanitizer inside the red strip of paper before you glue it together.

I attached a little note on the back and I was finished with the quick and easy craft gift. My team mates thought is was cute (and calorie free).

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Cutesy the Elf Day 3, 4, 5

When Cutesy first came to visit our house four years ago, he came with a note that said he might get up to some nonsense and mischief. He is certainly living up to that prediction. On Cutesy's third day here this year, he took a clean pair of Boogs' underwear and put them in the freezer where they froze as stiff as a board.

 Cutesy left a note and a ribbon trail for Boogs to find the underwear.

When Boogs opened the freezer he said, "Ugh! Cutesy that is disgusting. Look, it is all the way frozen! I can't get it unstuck." Then Boogs noticed there were homemade popsicles by the end of the ribbon. He thanked Cutesy for the popsicle and then tried to eat it. I had forgotten those popsicles were in there. They were actually made from Pedialyte when Boogs was sick during the summer. They taste nasty! Boogs thought Cutesy was playing a trick on him. Ha!

I ended up having to get a hair dryer to unfreeze the underwear to remove them from the freezer. Then, I made Boogs a lunch to match Cutesy's prank. In the ELB lunchbox: pb&j underwear sandwich, cheese snowflakes, orange slices, salad with radish snowflake & cheese letters, yogurt, and Goldfish crackers.

The next morning, Boogs found Cutesy tied up with the ribbon used in the freezer. It looked like Purple Minion was using a penguin popper to shoot balls at Cutesy. That mean and evil Purple Minion had struck again. During the past couple of years, Purple Minion has captured Cutesy in a box made of Legos, dangled Cutesy from a ceiling fan, and used a toy army to tie Cutesy to a door knob. Boogs helped Cutesy break free.

When Boogs woke up this morning, Cutesy had set up materials for Boogs to use to complete four challenges. I think Cutesy must have looked at the Frugal Fun For Boys blog for the ideas for these challenges. You can see the challenges posted HERE.

Cutesy typed up the challenges and left out one-inch wooden cubes, colored craft sticks, and 3 oz plastic cups for Boogs to use.

Boogs got right to work on the first challenge - build a structure with only one block for the base.

We both started working on the other challenges to see who could finish one first. It was fun. Boogs tried to blow my structure down so he could win the tallest challenge. We left the materials out to play with later in the day.

Boogs is certainly enjoying Cutesy's visit this year. I wonder what other things Cutesy is gong to do before he heads back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.

Do you have a Christmas Elf? What kinds of mischief and nonsense has your elf been up to?

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! You can see all of Cutesy's adventures on his Cutesy the Elf Pinterest board.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I can feel the holiday season getting started. That means it is time for gatherings, crafting, shopping, baking, and a visit from our elf.

We put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving. It was fun listening to Boogs talk about the memories he associates with each ornament on the tree. Every year, since he was two, Boogs has picked a new ornament to add to our tree. I write his name and the year on the bottom of these ornaments. When he is grown up and moves out, he will be able to take these ornaments with him for his very own Christmas tree.

 

I love all of the crafting opportunities that happen at this time of year. My husband needed a container decorated for work. Stampin' Up punches are the best!

 

Tomorrow (Dec. 4th) will leave us with 12 days until our school's holiday break begins. Every year, we like to give Boogs' teacher a gift basket filled with a little treat for each of the 12 days until Christmas break. We use the teacher's list of likes on our PTA website page to help pick the items we put in the basket. Boogs does not reveal who the basket is from until the last day of school before the break. The little bag with the OPEN ME LAST sticker contains a gift card and a note with Boogs' signature. He thinks it is fun keeping the secret.

Cutesy the Elf has returned to our house for the fifth year in a row. This year, Cutesy left clues for Boogs to solve to figure out where Cutesy was waiting.

 

Boogs liked running around the house searching for and solving the clues.

He finally found Cutesy resting on the shoe rack in the laundry room.

Boogs was very happy to see Cutesy return. He can't wait to see what kind of mischief Cutesy causes this year.

To celebrate Cutesy's return, I made a special Elf in the House lunch for Boogs to take to school. In the ELB lunchbox: pb & honey house sandwich, Babybel cheese, carrots, hummus, trail mix, and applesauce.

On Day two of Cutesy's return, Cutesy was waiting under the tree reading a new book to give to Boogs.

We can't wait to see what Cutesy is going to do next. Do you have an Elf visiting your home? You can see Cutesy's past adventures by clicking HERE.

Catching Up

Time is going by so quickly this year. I am shocked that it is already December. I thought I would post a few pics of what we have been up to since mid-September.

We have been getting a lot of rain during the past couple of months. Of course that means Boogs and I have to take walks in the rain every chance we get.

 The path through the woods to the park was flooded.

 Boogs still had fun playing on the slippery wet playscape.

The volleyball courts and the swing area were flooded. Even with our rain gear, Boogs and I were soaking wet by the time we made it home.

The rain has also kept us from spending time on our motorcycles. I think we have only had the chance to take the bikes out twice in the past two months. Boogs and my hubby sure are having fun riding them. I was supposed to take a lesson, but it got cancelled. I will eventually get on a bike, but I am not in too much of a hurry.

We are keeping busy with school, work, Tang Soo Do, hanging out with friends, OT, Math Pentathlon, reading, and just living life.

Boogs has enjoyed working on some of the projects that come with his Little Passports subscription.

We have tried a few Little Passports recipes. Boogs gave the recipe for Kheer Paneer a thumbs up.

At school, Boogs prepared a lesson (using the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy) to teach a group of first graders. 

I was checking through Boogs homework and found an assignment that asked: What's one thing about Fall that you can describe using vivid adjectives and verbs?
I loved Boogs response. He has such a wonderful way with words. "The pumpkins stir with life with a big ear to ear grin. They beam with candles as they snarl at passersby."
I don't know many 9-yr-olds who use the word "passersby". His use of words has amazed me since he was about two-years-old. Boogs makes me smile every day.

We have also celebrated two holidays since my last post - Halloween and Thanksgiving.

 Boogs and his friend went to a local high school for Trunk-or-Treat.

I stayed home and passed out candy (wearing my Batman gear) while Boogs went trick-or-treating with Daddy.

Thanksgiving Dinner was at our house this year. We were glad my sister, her family, and my parents were able to make it. We were sad my brother and his family were unable to be with us this year.

Before I know it, it will be 2016. Sometimes I really want time to slow down a bit.

Recent Lunches

Boogs is still taking lunch to school every day. I have not been posting his lunches very often because I have not been taking very many pictures of his lunches. He is only taking one themed lunch to school each week. Here are a few of his recent lunches.

Peanuts Treasury by Charles Schultz

 

Boogs checked this book out from his school library. He really enjoys reading the Peanuts comics. In the ELB lunchbox: ham & cheese sandwich with provolone cheese Snoppy hugging Woodstock, mango, salad, pistachios, and chickpeas.

Fall lunch

Our Texas heat (high 90s for part of this week) is keeping us from feeling like we have entered the Fall season. I packed a little Fall lunch for Boogs. In the Laptop Lunchbox: pb&j squirrel sandwich, cheese leaves, Clif ZBar tree trunk & ground, pistachio leaves, salad with bell pepper and radish leaves, strawberries, and the squirrels winter stash of trail mix.

The Best (Worst) Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson

 

Boogs is getting into the Halloween spirit with this cute Halloween book. In the ELB lunchbox: garlic bologna (I know it is gross, but both my husband and Boogs love it) ghost & pumpkin sandwiches, salad with a yellow pepper moon, trail mix, orange slices, and yogurt.

That is it for our recent themed lunches. Here are a few "boring" lunches Boogs has taken to school. I pack most of Boogs' lunches in our favorite lunch containers - ELBs. You can find them HERE.

 In the ELB: ham, string cheese, Chex Mix, Clif ZBar, grapes, and salad.

In the ELB: strawberries, kiwi, salad, ham & cheese roll-ups, roll, mixed nuts with cranberries, yogurt, and rice pudding.

In the ELB: turkey & cheese sandwich, Babybel cheese, kiwi, salad, and mixed nuts with cranberries.

In the ELB: cheese, salami, Pringles, roll, okra, strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt.

 

In the ELB: salami, Babybel cheese, baby carrots, hummus, yogurt, Goldfish crackers, and berries.

In the ELB: almond butter & jelly sandwich, cheese stick, Goldfish crackers, Panda Cookie, strawberries, and okra.