Don't be so hard on yourself or your dd. My son will be 6 in a few days and this is the first year he understands being generous to strangers. We do a giving tree at my church where we get gifts for parishioner's children who can't afford to get their kids anything. They make lists, we buy gifts and wrapping paper that get handed over to the parents so they can wrap the gifts for Christmas morning. When my son asked, doesnt santa get them gifts I responded by explaining that he gets tons of gifts from all the people who love him, including santa. These parents aren't able to give their kids gifts so we buy the gifts so the parents have something to give to their loved ones. It finally made sense to him because he loves giving things to people he loves. I imagine your dd will get it eventually.

Hugs Melissa

My sil was 13 when her dad had to tell her Santa wasn't real because some kid at school was arguing with her that he wasn't real and she wouldn't believe him. I personally don't even talk about Santa unless my kids mention him so I imagine they will figure it out soon enough.

Today was a mess! So many of my errands didn't get done because I had no brain today and forgot essential things I needed to do almost all my errands! Silly me. But I did get to spend some time hanging out with a good friend while our kids ran wild in her new house. I also packed up a box to go to Goodwill and 2 bags of trash. I am apparently not done decluttering but will be done before Christmas rolls around. I even have at least one truck load of stuff to go to the dump, I just need to borrow my dads truck and a sibling who can help dh load and unload it! Time to read in bed and hopefully fall asleep quickly

Yeah, I can't quite understand how these aren't manslaughter charges or at least negligence of some sort. I know very little of this case but something doesn't seem right here.

Gotta make a list today because I have a bunch of errands to run. - prenatal appointment - call to get insurance provider switched - hang out with friend - return a duplicate gift - deposit checks - buy new advent wreath - pack up box to ship to my sister

Annie linked to the taco recipe up a few posts. Today I forgot the broth and just replaced it with more sauce. This recipe freezes phenomenally so I usually triple it or more and freeze it for future taco nights. Edited because apparently my brain froze or maybe its my dumb tablet but my sentence made no sense.

My no list day was productive yet again! But I did manage to do too much and now my back is killing me. The joys of being 30 weeks pregnant! Time to relax and wrap presents with dh while we watch Arrow. Night all!

Soft tacos using America's Test Kitchen beef taco recipe. If you haven't tried it you should! It's the best taco meat ever!

Last week I watched two 4 year old hop into the front seat of their dad's truck without car seats or buckling up. The father didn't buckle up either. It made me very sad and upset to think of what will happen if they get into an accident.

In my state, they are allowed to pull you over for not wearing a seatbelt and frequently do. That is not the case in all states but I think it should be.

Does she do this with other people? If so, it's probably just an odd habit. If it's just you maybe she doesn't feel you two communicate well so she's trying to overcompensate for that.

I'm pretty sure it common for people to not wear seat belts. Sadly, growing up I knew more people who didn't wear them than did and that still seems to be the case. I remember many occasions as a teenager getting shit from my friends for putting my seat belt on and the fact that I wouldn't get into my boyfriends car because his front passenger seat belt didn't work. I have had to yell at adults who were passengers in my car to either put their seat belt on or get out.

Well my list free day is turning out quite productive yet again! So far I've done... -3 loads of laundry washed, folded, away -dishes washed and away -school halfway done -helped kids cut out the first 4 pieces of their nativity project -made breakfast and lunch Time to finish school and take a short break before continuing with my wing it plan! This seems to be working quite well for me

My mil and sils did all their cookie baking on Saturday, mainly because no other weekend worked for all of them. They freeze the cookies and will hand them out and eat them for themselves closer to christmas.

I think of pigtails as a child's hairstyle. I can't remember the last time I saw an adult with pigtails. But I'm not one to ever think about what is in style so I say go for it.

Aside from finding the Advent wreath I'm going without a list again today.

Today was such a productive no list day! I may just try this no list thing again tomorrow. Today I... - paid all bills for the rest of December! -pet sat - got school done -helped kids clean and declutter their room - cleaned my own room. And cleared it of the remaining things I felt were cluttering it - did the dishes -3 loads of laundry washed, folded, and put away - quick cleaned down stairs - did our advent discussion and prayers (without the wreath since I can't find it. An entire box of Christmas stuff is missing!!)

Nope. it tastes like Red Hots

If he is known for taking care of his clothing then I would go with a leather one since it is affordable. If he is not good with taking care of clothing or he doesn't really care about it then I would get the faux leather and save the leather one for graduation.

Fireball whiskey really does the trick for me too!

I've seen nothing noteworthy. But I'm done my Christmas shopping so I haven't looked too hard

Christmas came early for me!! My new pet sitting client just knowingly paid me twice as much as I charged her because she's tried to find someone who could watch her aggressive dogs forever and was so grateful I could handle them! This payment will pay for our new dishwasher that I almost had to put off yet again because of other unexpected bills!!!!!

My listless day has been quite productive but it has also left me really confused. I have spent the last month or so decluttering our house and getting rid of tons of stuff. Yet somehow we still have too much. There is stuff everywhere and I feel like its as cluttered as it was before I started decluttering! I suppose it's time to really narrow down what needs to stay and what can go because I need to get things to a manageable state before Christmas comes and we have more stuff

We did phonics, math, reading to yourself and nothing else. Tomorrow will be better but I was not prepared or in the right state of mind to get much done.