Unfortunately, TechyDad and I are not able to send out holiday cards to everyone that we would want to. Thanks to that, we revamped our cards for our blogs to wish all of our readers a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year.
From our family to yours, we wish you only the best in the upcoming year.
I admit it, I am a recovering stuffed animal addict! I believe that this illness began as a child. Of course, the addiction really grew during my Care Bear and Pound Puppy years in elementary school. I believe that my parents were quite lucky that the Build-A-Bear Workshop did not exist when I was little, or more stuffed friends would have joined my world.
NHL was given his first stuffed friend, a My First Big Bird, from Uncle I. Bird was loved from day one. He would chew on his beak and he traveled all over. Bird was quite yellow in the early years. Here is NHL kissing bird and Bird watching over sleeping NHL.
Of course a boy can not have Big Bird alone. Thanks to Bubbe and Grandpa, Elmo and Cookie Monster joined the crew. Over the last five years, friends have come and gone, but the three Amigos remain on NHL’s bed. Here they are today along with his two favorite "squeaky" buddies.
As you can see Bird has been very well loved over the years.
Tara at Feels like home is having a contest to win a $25 gift card to Build-A-Bear Workshop. All you have to do is tell about a most loved stuffed friend like NHL’s Big Bird. I sure hope her hubby Joe appreciates a boy and his love for Big Bird!
On Sunday I asked hubby if we could stop by CVS. I had some really good coupons and wanted to check out the deals for the week and month. I had not been to CVS since Thanksgiving Day, so I had a lot of ECBs to use. I mentioned to JL that they had a General Mills cereal special. The boxes were on sale 3/$10 and if you spent $20 on cereal you would receive $10 in ECBs back. That would make them $1.67 a box, but I had coupons for General Mills that made them even less.
The six boxes of cereal:
Deodorant (99 cents each after sale $2.99 and ECBs $2.00) and toothpaste (free + overage thanks to sale, CVS/MFR coupons and ECBs):
Now for the math part of the trip:
Price w/out sales –> $43.99
Total of all 11 items w/sale –> $34.95
Mfr Coupons used –> $4.35
CVS Coupons used –> $6.00
ECBs used in transaction –>$23.76
Money spent out of pocket –> $0.84
ECBs earned during the trip –> $20.00
Sure, I lost $3.76 in ECBs, but I still did quite well. I went to another store Thursday and completed the limit of 5 on the deodorant. I also picked up 5 of them for my mother with her CVS card. I was lucky that that store had plenty left.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating. Th
Aloha #27
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My question for this week:
Have you ever played the Dreidel game?
As previously mentioned I went into my son’s kindergarten class on Wednesday to play the dreidel game with them. Here are some of the new dreidels that I bought for our family last year on clearance (always looking for a bargain).
To get into the Chanukah spirit, since the Festival of Lights begins Sunday evening, I want to share a fun video. Several of my friends have posted this and sent links to it via e-mail. Even my grandmother (Hi Mimi) received an e-mail from a friend with this. Please enjoy Captain Smartpants singing Dreidel.
P.S. Be sure to enter in my Chanukah Shopping Fun – Game Giveaway. Don’t be fooled, this is great game for non-Jewish participants as well. The giveaway ends today!
Several weeks ago, NHL’s teacher asked me if I would go in this Wednesday to celebrate Chanukah with them. Wednesday they would celebrate Chanukah, Thursday Christmas, and Friday Kwanza. Each day they would do something special to celebrate and have a treat. Friday is also their End of Year celebration.
They left it up to me on what to do. One of the teachers has been teaching kindergarten for quite some time and said she had many Chanukah sheets, crafts and items to use with the kids. I told her that I would go out and get each of the kids their own dreidel to take home. I asked about time to use the dreidels in school. She liked that and said she already had M&Ms to use.
Since it was snowing and nasty in the morning, I sent in some items with NHL just in case I did not make it. The dreidels were already with his teachers, a musical/light-up menorah, and a CD with Chanukah songs (BNL of course).
When JSL and I arrived at school, the kids were all sitting at their group tables working on sheets. Some were cutting and pasting, others coloring, and some using glitter (which is all over my jeans from sitting on the rug). Then I noticed there was a theme with the work. Everything had to do with Chanukah! Check out what came home with NHL, they are so neat.
The one teacher explained that NHL showed his menorah in the morning and they had already talked about dreidels, read at least six books about Chanukah, and had listened to the songs I sent in several times. When the kids were finished and cleaned up, they met me on the rug. I showed them some of our giant stuffed dreidels, talked again about the Hebrew letters on them and what they mean in the game. Then the kids were split up into groups, M&Ms given out and we played dreidel.
I have to say it was interesting watching the kids in my group. Some felt that anything other than gimel was not good enough and tried to hide their spin off to the side and pick it up quick. Of course, they would then proclaim they had gimel. This does not make for a very exciting game if everyone is constantly winning the pot of M&Ms in the middle.
While the kids played, the classroom aid was busy frying up potato latkes. Earlier in the day, the class had made the recipe together. Once the game of dreidel was over, they had a chance to try a latke with apple sauce.
I was so impressed! They honestly did not need me there, but it was sweet to be included. While the kids went to library, JSL stayed to play and I saw the huge rubbermaid container of Chanukah items that NHL’s teacher had collected over the years. It was amazing and possibly had even more than we have at home. Kudos to her for making sure that all of the holidays are represented so well.
P.S. Be sure to enter in my Chanukah Shopping Fun – Game Giveaway. Don’t be fooled, this is great game for non-Jewish participants as well.
