Charlie The Elf 2012

Our Elf has arrived and is already up to all kinds of mischief! Can you believe that the Holiday Season is already upon us?! This year has truly just flown by. I plan on updating this page right here with all of Charlie's antics but if he does something extra special, I will be sure to post about it in it's own posting. Seeing as he has been with us since Thanksgiving, I have a lot of updates to do!! Follow along with us this year to see what our elf has been getting himself into!

Charlie arrived on Thanksgiving morning with a bang! He was playing around by the mantle and had brought a note from Santa and a large bag of Christmas books!! His note told us that along with these books he would be delivering one book a day for us all to read together as a family! What fun we were going to have this year.

Next he was found up high in a nook in our kitchen! Hanging out with our dear friend Mickey Mouse! Autumn had made him a necklace and a keychain for Santa, so he decided to pop the gift tag around his neck to keep the other necklace safe. Did you also notice that he snagged and ate a cookie?!

Oh Charlie! He and his friends built a slide and were having a blast all night! Getting to and from the entryway was a lot of fun the rest of the day, because we had to limbo under the slide!

Oh dear! Charlie has gotten a hold of one of Mommy's lipsticks and written a note on the mirror to the kids! Do you see him over on the shelf to the left! Silly Elf!

Pipe cleaners are all Charlie needed to make himself a swing and look out over the decorating of the tree from a plant hook! He had a blast keeping an eye on everyone there!

Late one evening we found him taking a dive from our light fixture in the dining room! What on earth was he after? Ahhh...the plate of desserts of course!

When we took a break from an evening of tree decorating, Charlie couldn't stand it! That night he put the star on himself! Solved the problem of which child would get to do it this year!

One morning Charlie trapped each child in their rooms and left a trail of crepe paper to his cozy hiding spot!

Messages from the North Pole are always received well! Charlie was found hiding in the fireplace lantern with a new message from Santa.

Day 1 of 25 Days of  Family Reading Books has arrived! Charlie and Santa have sent us: 

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree.

Day 2 of 25 Days of  Family Reading Books has arrived! Charlie and Santa have sent us: 

When All the World Was Waiting

An Advent Book for Children

Day 3 of 25 Days of  Family Reading Books has arrived! Charlie and Santa have sent us: 

Just A Toy

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!! That Crazy Charlie has decided to start a snowball fight with the head nutcracker! That sneaky little elf then went and buried himself in a safe container!

After yesterday's Snowball Fight, the Nutcrackers are extracting their revenge! They have taken Charlie as their prisoner and used Bandaids none-the-less!!!

Have You Liked My Facebook Page Yet?

What is Normal?

Hello there! It has been another long time, I know.

This whole working thing has me incredibly busy. See, I even take my photos at work too! I am busier than ever and then when you add in the whole exercise thing, I am exhausted by the time the evening rolls around.  Don't get me wrong, we're still crafting up a storm and finishing up our new home but it's just at a slower and simpler pace. We are hosting our second Thanksgiving this year and I should be shopping for that at the moment, instead here I am writing to you lovely friends. What are you up to today?

Fun with Fruit!

Have a fun surprise waiting in your little ones lunch box!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Get into the Halloween Spirit by putting lunches in a fun Halloween Bucket! I added some coordinating treats and it's a present and lunch tote all in one!

Progress?

Well my friends, I am still in the process of making my house a home and this darn thing called WORK keeps getting in the way! Hahaha. Who would have ever thought that I would pick THIS moment in our lives to go back to work! We are slowly but surely making things our own. We purchased a house that has sat empty since the height of shag rug was in fashion. So needless to say, even though it was move-in ready...it needed to be updated! 

My homework center is one of the first things that I wanted put up, but this room was covered in Avocado green wood paneled walls and orange shag carpeting! Oh and did I mention that this also used to be a beauty salon?! Yup, with shag carpeting! I am still in the process of putting up shelves and seeing what I want to add and where...it's a work in progress.

Backpacks and Jackets all get corralled into one place, along with shoes. We are wanting a shoe cupboard but until I find the right one, this vintage hamper does the job perfectly! More updates to come soon! What are you working on? 

Terrible Customer Service: At Your Service Heating and Cooling

Every now and then, a blog has to get the word out to warn other locals in the area about bad businesses. Unfortunately it is my turn to share one. This chilly weather has had us turning on our furnace earlier than I would have expected. Lo and behold, we had a problem! No worries, we purchased the home with a warranty and it's as simple as requesting a service call. Within 24 hours we had scheduled an appointment and we were ready to go! The man from AT YOUR SERVICE HEARING & COOLING was 1.5 hours late for an appointment in which I took the morning off from work. After calling him at 608-201-0068 he then informed me that he had 'totally forgot' about my appointment! I had to wait 30 minutes for him to arrive, which now made him 2 hours late. Sean from At Your Service Heating & Cooling was at my house less than 20 minutes, collected his money and claimed that all was well. Not even 10 minutes later do I hear the same exact problem and feel cold air coming out of the vents. I call Sean from AT YOUR SERVICE HEATING & COOLING in SOUTH BELOIT, IL and he informs me that he will attempt to make it to my house before 2pm. I have now taken an entire day off of work instead of just the morning. 

Get the job done? YEAH RIGHT!

2pm arrives and SEAN FROM AT YOUR SERVICE HEATING & COOLING in SOUTH BELOIT has not shown up. He alerts me that he will then be there at 5:30 PM. We arrive home at 5:20 and begin making dinner and the like. Before we know it, it is 6 and we still have not heard from AT YOUR SERVICE HEATING & COOLING in South Beloit, IL and I know that the city is not far from my home. Now he is just not answering the phone. We have now been calling non stop since 6pm through 8 and he has chosen to ignore his ringing phone and not show up to fix the mess that he had made. SEAN took the money and ran. 

Prompt Service? Is this a JOKE?!

I get to work the next day and guess who should call first thing? Ahhh yes, Sean, the money thief. We ONCE AGAIN arrange for another 5:30 meeting time. Well here were are RIGHT NOW at 6:34 and he has NOT SHOWN UP and of course is not answering his phone (608-201-0068). Which I know is a cell phone, heck if you get through to him because your number is not blocked tell him to call Michelle back and quit ignoring the calls if he is a professional! 

SEAN from AT YOUR SERVICE HEATING & COOLING, you get an F for Furnace work and an F for customer service. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!

This company is located in SOUTH BELOIT, IL and services (or steals from) homes in the Northern Illinois area. At Your Service Heating & Cooling, this is your chance to refund my money or FIX THIS FURNACE!

Send Sean and E-Mail: ATYOURSERVICEHEATING@YAHOO.COM

Space Fun!

We have just about finished unpacking 1 room and are having fun with decorations! WHAT??? WE MOVED??? Yup, sorry I have been MIA but it's been insane! I started working full time and out of nowhere found a house that we really liked and bought it. WHOA! Soooo you can imagine what the beginning of the school year + first job in over 10 years + brand new house and move equals. More on that later! For now, look at Gabriel's planets! These are from a glow in the dark kit that is so much fun to put up.

My sons love for space started at the library book sale when all these treasures were unearthed! He dove right in and even took notes and marked up the pages. He knew right away he wanted a space room!

This kit is so easy to put together but it's time consuming. My son didn't want the plain mobile look and to tell you the truth, the tacks that come with it are so weak, that my husband put them on flexible tubing from the home improvement store and suspended that with cup hooks. PERFECT! What other ideas do  you have for a space room?

These stars and planets are all over the ceiling and walls and even under the bunk beds. Could we find the perfect play rocket or shall we make one???? Hmmmm.....

Simple Fun!

Want to see children have fun for hours and get their creativity juices flowing??? Hand them a roll of tickets! These cost me .49 at the thrift but you can get a similar roll for 5.00 at party stores and mini strips even at the dollar store!! Hand them over and let them GO!!!

They put special stamps on each ticket and this alone took an hour. They were so careful not to tear them yet and then even attempted to roll them up!!!

The puppet theatre became the box office to buy your tickets to their play! They are having so much fun that I know we will keep tickets on hand all the time!!

Jr. Explorers!

Want to stay close to home but have fun? EXPLORE your backyard! Set up your little explorers with a 'home base*' stocked with:
bottled water
magnifying glasses
bug catching cups
butterfly nets

Walkie Talkies
Tweezers
A Camera
Small shovels
Collection Trays

and then let them loose on your yard! You will be amazed at what they find!!
*Our home base is just a small folding plastic card table that I can put away in the garage when not in use!*

My kids love to examine things and always have magnifying glasses at the ready! We have nice big ones that we keep indoors in the Science Lab but whenever I see cheap-o ones on sale or clearance, I always pick them up for the outdoors, their zoo packs etc. If these get broken or misplaced or even given to a friend, it's no big deal!

My youngest found and photographed an ant. The lesson he learned? WOW, they run fast! He had over 10 pictures on the memory card which just had the trampoline spring protector in them, because the ant got ahead of him!

The kids and their walkie talkies made me laugh! They would call one or the other over and when they got next to one another, they would continue to talk on them!

Exploring the garden turned into a harvesting trip! There were cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and strawberries ready to eat!

A little egg in a nest was spotted on a low hanging branch, I wonder what the future holds for this one!

Remember that fun is as close as your backyard! No need to spend money, just give the kids a little nudge and they will be entertained for hours! This simple water bottle with the bottom cut off + a small dish of soap and water bubble mixture offered so much entertainment, the neighbor littles came over to play too!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday...With Linky!!!

A fun breakfast puts everyone in a good mood!

Spending all morning and having lunch at the Splash Pad makes a wonderful day!

Farmer's Markets are my addiction!

Link up your posts today!! If you link up, please follow my blog so that I can follow you back! 

Tuesday's Tiny Talker...AUTUMN

Welcome everyone to my newest weekly event at my blog! Tuesday's Tiny Talker is when I hand the camera and the computer over to one of my children. They will document what their favorite part of the day was or what they did, drew, anything at all! This is all about getting my children involved in my blog and not just being the subjects of it! It also encourages their writing and learning skills as they spell and type with the best of them! This week your host is Autumn, my oldest, my Princess, my 7 year old!

Hi, I am Autumn. Today is SCIENCE DAY with Mommy and my cousin from Mexico, Andrea. Mom made us a science lab outside and we mixed up stuff and made things explode and change colors.

We made tons of different colors at night time using the tea that mom drinks. We let it sit out all night to get all the colors we needed and then poured it into different water bottles.

My brothers just liked mixing up the colors but I liked making potions and perfumes. 

Mom always saves containers when she can but we got a lot at a huge science store by nana and grandpa's house. I love to go there the most.

This is my perfume I made from an empty science store bottle. My cousin and mom even say it smells really good. I put in mint leaves from the garden and raspberry tea mixed with a little other secret things.

I even got to make dessert today. It's chocolate pudding with fruit and sprinkles. Everyone liked it and wanted to eat more and more. This was a great day.

Mommy is back! Thanks for reading our post, my middle child will be doing next weeks post! If you have any questions about what else was in our Science Lab, check out the post I did here on my FACEBOOK PAGE! Are you a fan over there yet? Head on over and LIKE my page please! I post a lot more regularly there with even the smallest things that we have going on!

BLOG WARNING!

A Warning about the future of my blog/page!

As my Littles get to be not-so-little & I lose my baby to all day kindergarten this year, my blog will be growing with them.

I will not have as many posts geared toward the younger set but more 

towards the school age group:

Homework Helpers, Home Organization, Love for Learning, Experiments that tend to be more for older kids and the like.

I will occasionally post things from the archives when it gets busy and crazy but I will try to keep it all fresh and new daily.

My children are going into 3rd grade, 1st Grade and Kindergarten.
If you are interested I am also embarking on a transformation of myself. I plan to shed 50 pounds this school year and get into a permanent lifestyle and fitness change.