Christmas Countdown

Bailey is on the countdown for Christmas this year. She reminded me just yesterday "we only have 26 day until Christmas"!

Christmas Wreath

I could resist the chance to take pictures standing behind this large wreath. Wish I would have know we were going to pose for pictures and I would have had everyone don their Christmas attire ;~)

Visiting Santa '09

This year, like every other years since we have had kids, we took the trip to the mall to visit Santa. This year we went a little early. Mom bought the kids a Christmas outfit and we went to visit Santa while she was here visiting. This year on Bailey's list she asked for Baby Alive and Zhu Zhu Pets. Jack's list included Legos and cars.

Teacher Gifts for '09

Every year it seems I happen along something for the teachers gifts. In the past I have given wordles, snack mix, scrable tile necklaces, white chocolate popcorn, and I have even had personalized mouse pads made. This year for Christmas, I got everyone a necklace with their initial. If you are interested in the lady's name and number that made these let me know. They will make great inexpensive gifts for Christmas. I just love them ;~)

Mexican Food for Thanksgiving

This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving at my in-laws on Saturday. Christian suggested instead of having turkey twice in just a few days that we have big Mexican for our first celebration. So, this year for Thanksgiving, we had big Mexican. It was wonderful! I made steak taquitos, cheese enchiladas, creamy chicken enchilads, beans, rice, guacamole,7 layer taco dip, quesadillas, queso, and chip. Bob and Esther came down and brought an apple pie for dessert. Everything turned out wonderfully and was so yummy. I can't wait for Turkey on Saturday!

My Little Indian

Yesterday, I went to pick up Jack from school and was greeted by an Indian. Jack was so proud of his costume that he had made at school. He even posed for pictures!

Pumpkin Bread

This month for HHE's Teacher Appreciation we made bread for all the teachers. I did an easy pumpkin bread. It is really a cake, but worked great in the loaf pans. Click here for the recipe. It is too easy not to try ;~)

Myth Busters

We here at the Barger household are huge MythBusters fans. Bailey is by far one of the show's biggest fan. My friend, Kathy, works for Discovery Channel and was able to get Bailey autographs from the cast of MythBusters. We had it framed and gave it to her for her birthday.
She and Jack loved it! We had to hang it up immediately. Below is a picture of Bailey standing next to her new art work.

We are gearing up for the science fair and these guys bring a lot of inspiration.

Eatable Cornucopias & Other Treats

The annual WLC Feast was held today. We feed over 600 people and gave the leftovers to Star of Hope. I was so pleased with my favor my class made, I had to share. Eatable Cornucopias! To made you will need the following:

Waffle Cones
Pretzels
Bugles
Candy Corn/Pumpkins
plastic wrap

Mix pretzels, bugles, candy corn and pumpkins (you could use other things such as dried cranberries or raisin) in a large bowl. For my two year old class, we wrapped the cones leaving a flap. Had the kids pour in a cup or two of the pretzel mixtures. Covered with flap and you're finished. These looked great on the tables and helped pass the time while waiting for the food to arrive!

Here are a couple other cute crafty food ideas. First is an Oreo Cookie Turkey from Make and Takes.

Indian Corn Treats from Holiday Crafts and Creations.

Turkey Cookies from Fun Snacks 4 Kids.

Turkeys for the Teacher I made last year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bailey Turns SEVEN!

Yesterday, November 19, was Bailey's 7th birthday. We have been celebrating for a week now. Starting off with Disney On Ice. This year Bailey chose a Wii instead of a big party.
Bailey's birthday fell on an early release day from school. I took donuts for her class to enjoy for snack. After school, we had a few friends over for pizza and cake.
We played a few games on the Wii. We make turkey's. Enjoyed some cake.It was a fun filled week. After all, you don't turn SEVEN everyday!

Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic

My mom got Bailey tickets to Disney on Ice. They show was a few days before her birthday so it was an early surprise. We wrapped up a stuff Mickey and Minnie with a note saying she was going to Disney On Ice. She was so funny. When she opened the gift, she read the card and thought we were going to Disney World!
Bailey was still excited to hear that it was

Disney On Ice.

Here is a clip of the finally.

We had a GREAT TIME! Thank you Grandma!

The Gingerbread Man

They are doing "The Gingerbread Man Unit" in Bailey's class. She needs cards/letters from near and far telling about sightings of the gingerbread man. They will be reading various renditions while discussing and comparing story elements. The are also going to pretend the Gingerbread Man has jumped out of the oven and run away. They want letters from all over saying they saw him. You may mention Bailey in your letter. They will pinpoint and mark the location from which each correspondence originated on the map. Messages should arrive the week of November 30.

Letters should be addressed:
Ms. Dale Smith
Hidden Hollow Elementary
4104 Appalachian Trail
Kingwood, TX 77345

Thank you in advance!

Jack's Family Turkey Project

For homework this weekend Jack had to disguise a turkey. The instructions read "This turkey needs to be disguised to survive Thanksgiving! Working together as a family, plan and make a disguise for your turkey. Be creative in the materials you choose to use. Fabric, items from nature, markers, paint, photos etc. are some suggestions." We decided to make Buzz Lightyear. What a fun homework assignment.

PS - Bailey did this same project last year. Click here to see her turkey in disguise!

Rudy's Street Jam

Friday, we took Grandma to Rudy's Street Jam. It is a Fall Festival Fundraiser for the kids elementary school. They had jumpers, games, food, raffles, spin art, face painting and much, much more. It was so much fun!

New Roof

Thanks to hurricane Ike, we got a new roof! Over a year after the storm, we finally got a new roof from State Farm. Here is the finished product.

We had the best experience with Aspen Contracting Inc. and would highly recommend them to anyone looking to replace their roof. They replaced all of the big turbine vents with a ridge vent. It looks great!

What a deal.....

If you know me, you know I love a deal! I picked up these costumes for the kids and they were marked 50% off. When I got to the register, they rang up 75% off.

This geisha girl outfit was $3.50!

Captain American only cost me $3.00.
You got to love a deal!

Glass Marble Magnets

I hosted Mom's night this month and here are the glass marble magnets we made. This is such a fun and easy craft.

Directions for Glass Marble Magnets
You will need:
Flat glass marbles (found in the floral dept)
Small pictures, scrapbook paper, etc.
Mod Podge
Magnets or flat push pins
1. Find great pictures for your marble magnets: magazines, printed scrapbook paper, small photographs, using your computer, or your own tiny artwork. Look for small images that are about the size of the marbles.
2. Punch the pictures out with the hole punch or cut out with scissors.

3. Put a drop of Mod Podge over the picture and adhere to the flat-size of the marble. Squeeze to get rid of any bubbles. Let dry.4. I used 1/2 magnets with a sticker back. Adhere it to the back of the picture.
You could also adhere a flat push pin to the back of them and use them on bulletin boards, etc. They make great, personalized gifts, too. The magnets fit great in a small metal mints tin.
These little gems are super easy to make and we had a great time making them.

2009 WLC Bears' Crosses

Here is my cross for the MWF Bears class.

Here is T-TH.
I just loved how they turned out this year!

God Bless Lil' Texans

Here is my auction project for my MWF Bears class.

It is a child size table and chairs with 2 pictures of each child in my class dress up in a cowboy hat and kerchief. Had them printed in the brown tones and decopodged them to the table top. A piece of Plexiglas was attached to the table top to make it more user friendly. And for the finishing touch, I tacked on a small horse shoe. It turned out better than I could have imagined. Hope it brings in a pretty penny tonight at the auction.