Really? Something else to do in December??

I went back and forth over starting a new tradition this year. We already have the advent calendar and our December Daily Project.

But, it seems like everyone is doing Elf on the Shelf now. I really, honestly thought my kids were getting too old.

Obviously, I don't know my kids.

AT ALL.

At the last minute, we decided to pick up this cutie and I put him to work last night.




My kids could NOT have been happier or more excited this morning.

They couldn't contain themselves, really. Olivia started naming all of her friends who have this little phenomenon (which, by the way, is ALL. OF. THEM.).

And Whit chimes in and says, "Mommy, at first I thought it was you who put him there [on the shelf], but then when Olivia said all her friends had one too - well - you couldn't have done ALLLLLLL of them."

No, buddy. I couldn't have placed all of the other elves.

And, none of those kids have mommies who could, either.

Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

So, needless to say, they are excited. I've found 1,000,0001 ideas on Pinterest of all the crazy things he can get into. Just type in Elf Ideas and see the wonders that pop up.

Of course. Another outlet for me to get creative??

I'm in.

Happy elfing!

Another {new} Advent Calendar

Soooooooooooooo...I decided to make yet ANOTHER new Advent Calendar this year.

I loved the one I made last year, but I still wanted something a bit different.

While the masses were out elbowing each other down at midnight for Black Friday deals, I was at home in my kitchen assembling what I hoped would be the cutest little Advent Calendar yet.

It all started when I saw this post. Then I saw this one.

Done.

It had me at "envelope." I'm a sucker for cute envelopes, you know.

I recently ordered this kit from Elle's Studio, so I decided to whip up the envelope book in the wee hours of the morning using my newly acquired kit. {Yay for actually using my kit and not hoarding it, like usual.}



I dug around and found a few cute envelopes that I liked and I steamed them open so that I could use them as templates to make new envelopes.

I'm clever like that. {Or high school like that - depending on which way you look at it.}

Anyhoo...here's how it turned out!
































I really like it.

I like that it's all wonky and crazy with it's odd-sized envelopes.

I really, really like the confetti envelope at the back. The inspiration for that one came from Ali, who in turn, got her inspiration from Pinterest - imagine that!

So now all I have to do is add an activity to each "pocket" or envelope and I'm set! I'm all ready for December!

Yay for being ahead of things for once.

Happy Advent-ing!

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December 24

Advent Calendar - Unwrap one gift from under the tree!

Remember This - The kids are WIRED up today. They can't wait to tear into the gifts. They each chose one and opened it. Olivia opened her Christmas outfit for Kit (her American Girl doll). Whit opened another DS game. They were so excited. We spent all day getting ready for Christmas Eve at the Lanford's. This has been my Christmas Eve tradition since I was born. I still love it even though it's changed quite a bit through the years. The people are still the same and it still means a lot to me. Here are a few pictures from the night.








So, that's it! That's as far as our Advent Calendar went. I learned a lot about myself, my kids and my "lofty goals" by doing this project with them. Maybe I'll do a "What I learned" post in the future.

But, for now, I just want to remember that I loved every second I spent with them this season...teaching them crafty tricks, watching their expressions as we turned over each number and something magical would appear, watching them fight and then say sorry afterward, teaching them the true meaning of Christmas and spending time together. I want to remember that forever. And, maybe, just maybe, they'll remember little pieces of that, too.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

December 23

Advent Calendar - MOVIE DAY!! {Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel}

Remember This - The kids have been dying to see the new Chipmunks movie, so I knew I wanted to include it in the Advent Calendar. It turned out perfect because Hon got to go with us! We weren't expecting that since I thought he had to work that night. The kids had a great time. It was fun for our whole family! By this point, I was in a pretty funky mood (more on that later), but the movie cheered me up and I enjoyed it.

We had some trouble taking our picture...I couldn't get everyone in synch to look at the camera at the same time, so the pics turned out pretty bad. Oh well!

December 22

Advent Calendar - Deliver neighbor gifts.

Remember This - We did not get the chance to swap gifts with Brayden and Lexi today. We got busy just hanging out together and running some last minute errands. I didn't even take a picture (I know...I'm shocked). I did snap a few pictures of my favorite ornaments from my grandmother's tree. I've loved the ornaments since I was a tiny little thing and every year I can't wait to see them on her tree. She used to be a crafty thing, my grandma. She made these ornaments from felt. I just really, really love them. It makes me wonder which ornaments Whit and Olivia will remember when they are older? Which ones will be their favorites forever? I can't wait to know!

Here are mine:

December 1

Advent Calendar: "Write Santa a letter."

Remember This: (these are notes I jot down everyday to help me remember the events and the "little things" I might normally forget).
"Whit you almost had a nervous breakdown writing your letter to Santa tonight. Olivia knew just what she wanted to ask for and started writing quickly, but you only got to the first item (Transformers). Once you saw O's "hair salon" you freaked out and tried to come up with something BIGGER than hers. You couldn't even think about items you might truly want, you just wanted something, ANYTHING, bigger than her hair salon. Eventually, you went into total meltdown mode and ended up being sentenced to bed for almost 30 minutes while you cried it out. When you realized you weren't even going to get to write the letter to Santa, you really lost it!! After about an hour, you calmed down and decided to pick some things you would really like to have. Your list included a rocket that would shoot 100 feet and a bowling set (both of which I've never heard you mention before). At this point, I am ready to give up on our family Advent Calendar.... Is it really worth it?