Just Simply Holly

So, since we postponed our Christmas until this coming weekend, I get to Christmas shop and benefit from the after Christmas sales! This is awesome because I do have at least one “big ticket” item to get, which would be a digital camera for my daughter. My husband and I were talking tonight about gift ideas for each other. He had no idea that I already knew what I planned on getting him, which I won’t mention since I know he reads this blog…LOL! But I did drop some hints about some of the things that I’d like. He knows that I really need some new perfume as well as some new jeans, but I think I blindsided him when I showed him a couple of really nice gold chains that had caught my eye, but that’s probably because I never ask for jewelry.

Before these next 4 hours pass and Santa and his sleigh visits, I wanted to take a moment to wish all of the readers here at JustSimplyHolly a VERY Merry Christmas!

Dyane was asking if anyone had the Cheech & Chong Santa Story and it just happened that I did. So for your listening enjoyment I’m sharing a third song today!

Cheech & Chong - Santa Story

You know, in many ways I wish my kids were still young enough that they still “believed”. Christmas was always such an exciting time when the kids were young! Christmas Eve would be spent getting things ready for Santa’s visit that night. We’d bake cookies and dig our special plate and cup out that we used every year for Santa’s treats. The kids would carefully write their last minute letters to Santa and leave them with his treats, as well as a few carrots for Rudolph and the gang, because we all know that reindeer get hungry too! Then we would start the huge chore of getting the kids to wind down and get to sleep. Being kids, they were always totally excited that Santa was going to pay them a visit, and we went through heck and back trying to get them to sleep! I remember one year that Santa almost didn’t pay them a visit because they were up so late that Santa kind of fell asleep on the job…LOL! Fortunately, Santa is an early riser!

This year, the reality is that the bills have to come first. And since my kids are now teenagers, we don’t have to worry about Santa any more. So, after a family meeting and explaining to the kids that we have to put the priorities first, we asked them if they would be OK with us postponing Christmas for just two weeks. We explained to them that by doing so, it would be more possible for us to fulfill their Christmas wish lists which include things like MP3 Players, Cell Phones and a notebook computer. Not that they’ll actually get what’s on their wish list, but by postponing Christmas two weeks it means that they’ll actually be able to have a Christmas. So even though I miss the magic of the Christmases from when they were young, I appreciate the fact that they are old enough to understand that priorities are more important in life!

YAY!! It’s Friday!!!!!! I am so ready for the weekend and being able to sleep in, I am so totally exhausted from several near sleepless nights this week, including another last night! I need to learn to deal with being here alone with the kids over night. I know that it’s more that I just don’t know the noises from the house in the night than anything. Last night, after hubby left to go back into work, we were having a little bit of wind, nothing major, but enough that it kept setting the motion flood lights off out front. Every time the dogs seen the lights go off they would go crazy barking, I finally ended up having to close the curtains on the front window before they finally shut up….LOL!

The kids went to bed good for a change, but I simply wasn’t tired, so I stayed up and played for a while. I think the motion lights going off out front kind of spooked me because I kept hearing noises, so I went through the house and pulled every curtain and blind closed that I could and make sure all the windows and doors were locked as well. When I finally went to bed, I laid there and kept hearing this noise that was freaking me out! It sounded like something scratching on my bedroom window, but that’s not possible because there are no trees or anything near my windows. I laid there looking out in the hall watching for a shadow thinking someone had managed to get into the house. I finally worked up the guts to try and find out what the noises I was hearing was, turns out it was my sons pet rabbit……LOL! I finally fell asleep about 1:30 AM only to find out that my hubby had reset the alarm clock when it went off at 4:30. I was SOOOOOO mad! I turned it off and laid back down, just for a second ya know…LOL! Only to wake up about half an hour later to someone knocking on the front door. I was so totally out of it that I opened the door without even looking out to see who was there. Good thing it was my hubby…LOL! Somehow he didn’t have a house key on his key ring.

So, it’s 7:30, the kids are gone to school, the hubby is sleeping and I’m tempted to do the same…LOL! But before I do that, I wanted to post today’s song, it’s from my all time favorite Country Duo, Montgomery Gentry.

Merry Christmas from the Family

Well, in my best “motherly” impression, there is nothing wrong with her knee! But I did take her to the doctor and then took her to have the X-ray taken that he ordered. They’re supposed to call and let me know if the results show something it wrong with her knee. Contrary to what the school was telling me, it is not swollen, there is no “knot” and I cannot see what they were talking about when they said it was bruised, even with my glasses on…LOL. But I did the good mom thing and had her seen. I’ll let you know if I get a call from the doctors office, but I’m honestly not expecting one!

Now for this afternoon’s song share! I’ll keep these songs up until I shut my puter down tonight. One is funny, and contains no profanity, but parents might want to listen to it before they play it in front of the kids…LOL! The second one isn’t for little ears…LOL

Yellow Snow

Who Put the D**k on the Snowman

Well, as I went to start this post, the phone rang. It seems my darling daughter managed to wipe out going up the steps at school and fell on her knee cap. According to the nurse, it’s not swelling, but it is bruising. So I need to grab a quick shower and run out to check her out. I’ll let you know what happens. In the mean time, I have something fun for you.

For your Christmas music enjoyment, here is one of the most fun Christmas songs of all times!

I want a Hippo for Christmas

My hubby just got back from getting a real Christmas Tree!  It’s so pretty, and just the right size!  We think it’s between 6 and 7 foot tall (haven’t measured it yet), it’s a nice narrow tree and is about as straight of a Christmas Tree as you can get.

We are going to let it sit until tomorrow before we decorate it, as soon as it’s decorated I’ll post pictures for you!

Of course, the word “think” is the key word there…LOL! My husband has been asking me for weeks what I would like for Christmas, and I keep putting off giving him and answer, because I honestly didn’t know what I wanted. But after catching the flock of wild turkeys that run around out here two times in the past week, but not being able to see them well, I think I’ve decided on a good pair of binoculars. Since we’re surrounded by woods, the opportunity to use them would be almost daily, and I’d love to be able to actually see the turkeys up close rather than squinting to see them when they’re on the outer edges of the property!

Besides the turkeys I could also get a closer look at all of the gorgeous birds that I hear, the deer that are way out back, and I might even be able to catch a glimpse at the cute guy that has been using a brush hog to knock down the tall undergrass in the woods surrounding our property! OK, after all of this, I’ve definitely talked myself into it, and I REALLY like this pair of Bushnell binoculars, they’re small enough that I can keep them here on my desk, but powerful enough that I’ll be able to enjoy the animals and the nature around me!

Yes, I know that Thanksgiving was yesterday, but since I’ve been gone since noon yesterday I thought I’d fill you in on a few things that have happened. I was recently chosen by Learning Resources® to do a product review of some of their educational toys. Yes, I know, my own children are teenagers, but I have a 6 year old niece who was held back to repeat kindergarten, so my thought was that if I could find something that would help her in school while having fun at the same time, I just might be able to help my sister win the battle!

The first game up was one called AlphaBall™ Electronic Word Game.

This was the game that I looked forward to the most because one of my niece’s biggest struggles is learning her alphabet and spelling. AlphaBall has several different games to play, and since you play using a trackball, and my niece loves a computer mouse, I thought this would be an awesome game that might hold her interest. This was a HUGE hit with my niece, and I’d post the picture of her laughing and having fun while playing it, but unfortunately I left my digital camera up in Michigan, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. But even my sister commented that she loved the fact that my niece was learning but having fun while doing so! As all parents know, if learning is made fun, the kids learn even better!

Next up was a game called Spill Your Guts™ Human Body Game.

My thought behind choosing this game was the fact that what kid doesn’t like things that seem GROSS! And no, I don’t mean gross on a bad level. We’re talking about pretend body organs that look so very authentic, even though they are much smaller than real size. Although she’s a bit young for science, my niece, as well as her older sister and my own two children, gave this game a total of eight thumbs up for being fun!

Finally we have my personal favorite, a game called Gears!Gears!Gears! ® Lights & Action Building Set. It’s relatively basic packaging gives you no idea of the fun your children will have when they open it up!

And although this was my personal favorite to begin with, the four kids playing it each gave it two thumbs up at least a dozen times! I cannot even begin to explain the many different creations kids can make with this set, the options are endless if you let your imagination run wild! I can tell you that besides the actual gears, there are also lights, stickers (some of which glow in the dark), as well as a battery operated motor to make everything work once your child builds to their hearts content! The kids enjoyed all four games, but this one kept them busy for over 2 hours alone, which says a lot considering that three of the for are teens with ADHD!

So my message to parents out there is this: Right now we are all worried about the toys that our children play with. There have been many toys that have had recalls because they make your children sick, there have others that have been recalled because pieces break off them. To alleviate your worries I recommend you check out the Learning Resources® website! Their toys and games are not only very well made and durable, but they also help your children expand their imagination and help them learn! Add all those things together and you honestly cannot ask for a better gift for your gift giving dollars!