nothing like a little sugar to kick off winter break

for the bean's last day of school before winter break, she got to ditch the uniform and wear something festive.  although the day called for an ugly christmas sweater, she has none of those.  so we settled for cute instead:

this is as festive as my own attire got:

as the room parent for her class, i'd sent out a sign-up sheet for the other parents to bring stuff to do a few fun activities during the class party.  they all came through like champs, and while the kids were in music class a few elves got together and got their classroom all set up:

and of course, the first activity?  decorating cookies.  duh.

it was fun watching them get all crazy and creative and sugared up as they worked on their little edible projects.

a quick selfie before moving onto the next thing:

each kid had been instructed to bring a wrapped book to do an exchange.  as their teacher read a story (a twist on "the night before christmas"), when they heard the word "left" they were to pass the book in their hand to the left, and the same went for "right."  it was funny to watch them as some of them forgot which was which, and when all was said and done the bean ended up with a book she was happy to receive.

then while they settled down and watched the first half of "polar express," we scurried around and got things ready for lunch.  and what were they eating, you ask?  well, here's a hint:

oh yeah.  dump a bag of fritos into a bowl, top it with some hot chili and shredded cheese, and you have the deliciousness of frito pie.  or pepper bellies.  or whatever you want to call it.  either way, it's tasty as hell.

after lunch and recess were done, the kids came back in to watch the rest of the movie and enjoy some hot chocolate, courtesy of the teacher's keurig machine.

and now there's no school till 2016.  the bean is stoked - she can take afternoon naps, stay up as late as she wants, and be required to do absolutely nothing.  as for me - well, not dealing with car line at school, figuring out lunches, hounding after homework, washing uniforms...it's a welcome break.  most of her extracurriculars are shut down for the holidays too.

yee-haw!  it's vacation for both of us!