Exhausted!

So, Christmas vacation is to be a relaxing time, right????  WOWSERS!  I think I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.  Our last day of school before Christmas break was the 17th, and we got out early.  We left right away to begin our 16 hour drive to Disney World (yes, we drive--we are a family of four and my hubby and I both teach--therefore....we drive to save money lol).  We came back home on the 22nd--just in time to do laundry and clean--before I fixed Christmas Eve Dinner here for my in-laws.  Then we of course had Christmas here with my babies...they actually let us sleep in this year.  They only woke us up at 5:15...much nicer than last year's 4:45ish.  We went back to the in-laws Christmas evening to see my sister-in-laws and my adorable new nephew.  Yesterday was a purging day--and today I have appointments.  So...needless to say, I am POOPED!  Would I change it?  Absolutely not....despite all this craziness, we are making some wonderful memories. 

I don't have any freebies to post as of now---and I haven't made anything to sell in the store.  I see all these FABULOUS bloggers have been so great to get things made to post, I'm still trying to catch a breath.  I will share with you some of the great Christmas toys my kiddos got for Christmas though.  My daughter who will be 10 in February is quite a "nerd."  I use that term lovingly, of course.  She loves reading, science, and school---my son, 5, isn't as much into school, but he does love Science.  Allow me to share some of their favorite gifts---some of these would be great for the classroom setting.

Scrabble Scoop--The words are on the card for you to build.  Players choose a word.  Read it.  Then scoop for their letters as quickly as possible.  This game has several words on one card, so it can be modified for abilities. 

Snap Circuits (She asked Santa for this.  Yes she still believes, isn't that AWESOME?) Notice how happy she is for it too.  This comes in a variety of piece sizes.  We opted for the smaller, in case she didn't like it.  We may need to upgrade to the bigger set for her birthday.  Anyways--with this, you build things.  It all works around electricity--it's quite neat.

Dr. Dreadful Zombie Lab---he has the stomach churner too.  This is making edible foods in a gross way.  But baking is a science---and lots of stuff to mix ;)  (a Santa request)

Smart Lab Extreme Science (another Santa request)---this kit is AWESOME!!  Instead of having to buy the refill packs for the kit (like Dr. Dreadful) you can use your own kitchen supplies.  Granted, you can do the things without the kit---but when I told her that before Christmas, she kinda just looked at me like "whatever"

Solar System in my Room--I don't think he realized how neat this was until last night when it was spinning above his bed.  It shuts off after 10 minutes.  He came downstairs, and said it stopped working, so we know he was watching it.  We told him to push the remote again to get it to work.  He hit it 2 more times before going to bed. 





They also got these two plant kits:

This is Wild Science Future Farm.  (Click the pic to take you to Amazon).  This teaches you the life cycle of plants and the water system.  Kids will experiment with wick fed gardens, liquid nutrients, composting, planting, propagating and cloning. 






and

Sprout and Grow Window.  Watch seeds sprout and grow into plants and observe roots developing and growing in soil through the large, transparent sprout and grow window.  (click the pic to see it on Amazon)

 




Now, of course Christmas wasn't all science and such, they did get their requested video games. WHICH...I do believe you can learn from those.  My son enjoys Bowser's Inside Story for the DS.  There's reading involved with that (something he doesn't like to do)--and last night we were watching TV.  IT just happened to be on Jeopardy (something that he's never seen) and he said "Mommy, what's Jeopardy?"  He had read it off of the guide at the bottom.  Great, right? :) Speaking of my son..he DID NOT complain when he didn't get his I-PAD 2 that he requested from Mommy and Daddy.  I don't think he was horribly disappointed.  I worry about the years to come with that one----he's going to be a handful with all his "tech" toys. 

I hope you've all enjoyed your Christmas, and are relaxing as the New Year rings in.  So from my house to yours---Happy Holidays.