A Dangerous Composition

At Guitar Center awhile back, Talon tried out all the keyboards and even composed a tune.
 If your speakers let the bass come through,  you'll hear the full of effect of his dangerous composition. 




His Gram and his Dad are songwriters and they are going to love this video. Bet they think he might win an Oscar for best movie score someday!

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Lesa Loves... Hawaiian Tea Time!

Nothing better than a cuppa to make a winter day more cozy. And to make it cheerful as well? 

A happy yellow cup. 

And tea from Hawaii. 

Isn't the packaging beautiful?  Takes me away to one of my favorite places on earth. Blue ocean, fragrant flowers, fresh fruit, warm sun, balmy breezes... mmm... okay, okay, I'm back.

My sweet grown up baby brother sent this tea to me.

Love. Love. Love. 

The gift and the giver.

Do certain colors brighten up your dreary winter days?  What happy warm place do you drift off to on a cold winter day? Please share.




Also, linking to Ruby Tuesday 2. The RT button wouldn't work for some reason.

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Ringing in the New Year!

 This fun bell shaped shadow is cast by a nearby town's Christmas decorations. 

Ding Dang Dong... 

Happy New Year!

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Merry Medley Photo Diary 2011

Oh my, after a week long bloggy break, I uploaded my Christmas Eve/Day photos. Guess how many there were. 

Over 300!! 

Can you believe it?!  Silly question, eh? Of course, you guys believe it. Most of you are crazy camera clicking bloggers too.  But still. That is a lot.  

Between getting back to work, parenting and housekeeping, it took another week just to edit.  Whew, I'm worn plumb out so without  further ado...

The Official DustyUs Family Merry Medley!

The main event?  

Talon, of course!

Stocking surprises are almost as cool as Santa toys.

 In the top right quandrant: A cool sportscar computer mouse with working head/tail lights;  Talon slicing a tiny Darth Vader candy dispenser with a light saber; Wonka bar!

One of my favorite things?

 giving Hub funny stocking stuffers. The paint sticks and gloves are hysterical... well, to me anyway! Don't worry!  My hub isn't only a skilled bone idle procrastinator... he is also a good sport! 

We love our...

MamaGram!  And not just because she gives great gifts!

A little bit of Lesa too.  And more Talon, of course... that little scene stealer! Making his mama share the limelight! For shame! 

Love me some Christmas merry making!

Can you tell?

Until next time...

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Children's Classroom Party Game Ideas

No more blah classroom parties!

Are you a teacher or homeroom parent responsible for hosting or planning a class party soon?

Check out these games for inspiration. They are Christmas versions of traditional party games but could be adapted to suit any holiday or theme. 

Musical Gift/Hot Gift Game

This is a version of the hot potato game (or musical chairs, if you prefer).  In this game, the players sit in a circle passing a 'hot' gift quickly around the circle while music plays. When the music stops, the player left holding the gift gets to unwrap a layer of paper.   The game continues until the last layer of paper is removed and that player keeps the gift.  

    

In this instant, the gift was a large Hershey bar wrapped in about 10 layers of varied giftwrap.  

Talon got to unwrap a layer of paper!

A very good game to increase motor skills and teach sportsmanship.



The gift wasn't hot enough for this girl-- she slowed the game down on every round which drove the other players craaazeee!

  Most of the kids loved playing this game but there were a couple of disgruntled players-- maybe they need to play again!

Snowball Toss

Toss the balls through the holes and win a prize. Harder than it looks since the styrofoam snowballs are light. Only two kids won prizes but they all had fun and there were no bad sports.

Yes,  my silly 'ham' of a boy was the only one who acted out scooping and forming a snowball.

Pin the Nose on the Reindeer

Played just like 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey'. The players who pin the nose somewhere on the face or closest to the face get prizes.

Mrs. R's party games were cute and fun. They made the party so much more memorable than just snacks and a movie.  Good on ya, Mrs. R! 

What a fabulously creative teacher! We are very grateful that Talon is in Mrs. R's class. He is having the best first grade year ever!

And not just because of the party fun, but because of the intense but fun focus on academics.  Talon has learned so much so quickly.

Throwing a mean party is just icing on the cake!

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Hope these party game ideas provide inspiration for your next children's party be it at school/home/church.  Please share any ideas for adapting these games to other holidays/themes. What other children's party games do you recommend?

Just had an idea pop into my head for a little boy's Nascar birthday. Pin the steering wheel on the Nascar racecar.  What do you think?

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