Why Didn't I Think of That?!?!

Being a teacher, I've known about the whole "Elf on the Shelf" phenomenon for a few years now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go here: www.elfontheshelf.com. It is crazy! About half of my students have an elf in their home, and Lucy's school classroom has one too. Well, I figured she was too small for one this year, but a LOT of people were trying to change my mind. I'm not one that is easily swayed, but having a two-year-old that needs some positive reinforcement in her world sometimes, I figured we'd give this whole elf thing a go.

Seeing as how life has been a bit nutty lately, I'm sure you're not surprised at me being a day late and a dollar short on this one. You see, we're only 15 days from Christmas (and you're supposed to get your elf out more towards Thanksgiving I guess) and all the stores in town had the stupid things on backorder. THANKFULLY, my mother saved the day (not the first time she's done that lately) and found ONE at a locally owned toy store here in town. Praise the Lord! My kid didn't actually know she was missing out on this, but she was!!!

So I bought our family elf! It was a boy (didn't realize they came as girls-hmmm, maybe a twin for next year???) and he came in a great box kit with a delightful little picture book all about how to care for him. This idea is so stinking cute, and let me tell you, that woman who created it is probably a ZILLIONAIRE by now. WHY THE HECK DID I NOT THINK OF THAT?!?!? Once again, my dreams of being a zillionaire myself are crushed.

Anyway, I got the elf. Now, how to introduce him... A few days ago Lu got a silly band at school. I know I know, they're not for kids under three, but I am pretty sure that she won't strangle herself with one. She's pretty smart. Anyway, it broke and she was DEVASTATED. I am telling you there were MANY HUGE tears and screaming and flailing. It was not pretty. I told her that maybe if she was good and she asked Santa, he might be able to help her out. So she got herself all out of the tizzy she was in and we shouted out a message to old Saint Nick. So I figured when I picked her up yesterday, the elf could be sitting in the car with a package of silly bands waiting for her. GENIUS! She totally freaked out and was THRILLED with the whole deal.

When her dad got home, we read the book as a family and had to name this elf we were now in charge of. Now, I love Italian food, and Lucy does too. When I was pregnant, I sort of was obsessed with the name Giuseppe (if it were to be a boy)-pronounced JA-SEP-PEE for all you non-cultured readers. Bryan did not go for it ONE PERCENT, and I can't really blame him, as it doesn't flow too well with our last name. But again with the loopholes, I figured this elf might be my chance for a Giuseppe!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I threw out other ideas-Einstein, Edison, AND Giuseppe. Which one did she choose (TOTALLY ON HER OWN!)? GIUSEPPE!!!! I have never been more proud!

Now, the idea of this elf is that he (or she) goes back to the North Pole each night (using his or her flying magic) to report to Santa about a child's behavior. He reappears in the morning, but is usually in someplace crazy or up to some kind of mischief. This is all well and good, but creates homework for the parents each night. "What kind of crazy thing can we do with the elf?" is probably being asked millions of times over all around the world (thus making that woman a ZILLIONAIRE!). So last night, after Lucy had been quite good, we said goodnight to Big G and put her to bed. Now, the book states that the kids can't touch the elf or he'll lose his (oops, or her) magic. Thank goodness for this rule because my child would ABSOLUTELY want to sleep with this guy. (She currently sleeps with 5 rather large animals/dolls.) Anyway, great rule, thanks zillionaire woman for thinking that one up.

So last night, Bryan was working on his portfolio for school, and I was wondering what I could do with G. I had a thought and this was it:

Pretty clever and cute, right? Well, after I had that thought, took the picture and headed back upstairs, I pretty much had a small anxiety attack over the mess I had left in my kitchen. I mean, is it good for your countertops to have flour on them all night? Can that seep into them and ruin them? How was I going to clean this in the morning? If you know me, you know the list of irrational worry continued until I had to just clean it up and think of something less chaotic:

My poor child never even saw the mess on the counter. Probably for the best, as I'd hate to give her any ideas... So tonight the journey with G continues. I did print out a list of 101 things to do with your elf. Thank goodness I'm not the one blazing new ground with this little guy. More posts with pictures of our holiday adventures will follow this one I am sure.

As for other things...Bryan will have his exit interview with LMU on MONDAY-WAHOO!!!! He has applied to all the big school systems around, so now we wait. If only I'd invented that stupid elf we could be zillionaires living in the Caribbean! Oh well.

It snowed! It was just for a few minutes this past week, but it snowed! Lucy and I dashed out the front door and played in it. She was quite thrilled to be playing in the first flurries of the season.

She also had a blast with my mom last weekend making her first gingerbread house. It is a real nice piece of work. Nothing compared to the gingerbread house duplex my friend Kendra and I once built, but hey! She's only two. I'll give her time and she'll be giving Frank Lloyd Wright a run for his money (and yes I realize he's dead, but he's the only famous architect I can think of right now).

Other than this being the hardest 3 weeks of the year to be a teacher, we're surviving things ok. Many nights you can hear us belting Christmas songs at the top of our lungs, we're enjoying the decorations being up, and can't wait to see the look on Lucy's face when she sees all that Santa has for her on Christmas morning.

Merry ALMOST Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Seattle

I cannot believe it is December. Where did this year go? It is sort of cold here, but raining like CRAZY every week. I'm not talking small rain showers, I'm talking FLOODS for the past two weeks, and this week's forecast is no different. I feel like I live in SEATTLE. UGH. If it is December, and there's precipitation, can it please be snow? And really, I hate cold, so I would actually like a warm 72 degrees.

As you know if you read my last post, the house is decorated. Did that BEFORE Thanksgiving since I found my little loophole this year. And Thanksgiving...that was easy! We literally got a meal from Cracker Barrel and ate in our sweatpants.

Pretty table for such a casual affair, huh? We really were in sweatpants. It was incredible. We actually ended up spending the night at my parents' house (there was a bit o' merriment after several pitchers of sangria...). My mom, the genius she is, got Lucy this cardboard playhouse thingy. You've probably seen them, as they are in all the stores. Anyway, if you need a good 6-8 hour break, just get your kid one. Lucy was entertained ALL DAY LONG and it was MAGICAL. Mommy had lots of wine and was wearing her sweat pants-could life have been better?! Well, perhaps if I'd been on a beach in the Caribbean... but anyway, it ranked way up there.

After all our merriment, we made REAL Christmas cookies with Lucy.

See how proud she was?! We didn't take too many pictures, as there was lots of flour, sprinkles, dough, and well, they didn't look so great. I'm more from the school of "Nestle Tollhouse" where you just open the pack, plop 'em on a pan, and you're done. For some reason my mom and I thought she needed the experience of using real dough and cookie cutters. It was not something I'll do again any time soon.

After cookies were done and we all settled into bed, we woke the day after and went to the Fantasy of Trees. If you aren't from around here, it is a HUGE event that raises money for Children's Hospital (which we have donated to quite a lot this year ourselves:-) Anyway, local businesses, churches, schools, etc. decorate trees and gingerbread houses to be auctioned off. There are TONS of activities for kids to do, including SANTA and a CAROUSEL! Yay for Santa, and the carousel...well, if you've ever read my blogs, you know how this is about to go.

We had fun. Lu did every craft she could. She LOVED Santa! I got some great pictures-it is quite helpful that she's such a diva and loves to "pose." She psychotically loved the pink Christmas tree, and due to that love, she now has a small version of the one we saw in her room. She's quite proud of that too. Her grandmother convinced her to go on the carousel. She made it a half-lap around before the screaming started. After A LOT of coaxing, my genius (different, more sarcastic tone now) mother and I convinced her she was ok. you can't really see the fear in her eyes in the picture, but I assure you, that isn't a smile. SHE HATES THOSE THINGS. WHY DO WE KEEP TRYING?!?!?

After the Fantasy of Trees and our big holiday weekend, we've just been keeping quiet (and trying to stay dry). Nobody is sick, and yes, as I write this I am knocking on wood. Lucy hasn't actually been on antibiotics since her last dose on Halloween. It is unbelievable. That is why I am convinced I'll get a call from her school this week telling me she's barfed. Oh well. It has been a nice few weeks!

I've also found myself a new hobby. Bryan is ALWAYS studying (which I am glad he's doing so well and about to be DONE-YAY!) and mama needs something to do after 7:30 p.m. Yes, I know I could exercise. I do look 4 months pregnant, but in fact, am not. I have been obsessed with banners lately. You might have seen them in magazines, or maybe you have one. If you do, I was very jealous of you. If you have no clue, they look like this:

You can hang them seasonally, and they look great on mantles, on vaulted ceilings that aren't too high, on mirrors, in doorways, the list goes on and on. SO, I've been obsessing about them. I can't find them in stores, so I looked on etsy. If you don't know etsy, wow, it's a bit like pinterest. If you don't know pinterest, sorry, we can't be friends. BOTH VERY ADDICTING. I know ya'll already know we're dirt poor. I can't be buying stuff on etsy!!!! So after hours looking at stuff yesterday, I decided, much like the quotes on canvases, I CAN DO THAT! So, a quick trip to Michael's and I had me some stuff (being careful not to spend more than the cost of one etsy banner mind you). Four hours later, I had me FOUR banners.

They are terribly cute. I am terribly good. Maybe everyone is getting a banner for Christmas-hmm...