Mondays Come Too Fast...

I honestly believe that I ask myself 'how is it Monday already' every single week. We like to stay busy constantly and even steal away sometimes and I think that keeping busy 24-7 is what makes time fly by too quickly. My fit bit logged in so many steps each day this weekend, I honestly thought that I was on a Disney vacation! Do you know how many miles you log on those trips?! One thing I ALWAYS do when we steal away is bring a bag of school work and books, the kids moan and groan about it, but late at night when we are in the room, they are often found snuggling up in bed with a book and reading or playing some type of game. TV is a luxury that sometimes gets turned on the minute we get into a room, but they love going back to the books after the initial excitement!

Joann Fabrics has these adorable sleighs made of wood that your children can paint and they are the PERFECT size for your elf pet and Elf on the shelf along with some friends!!

St. Nicholas Day came and as we read all about him, the kids had fun exploring their new goodies! Books and candy and games along with a few other goodies!

Our elf has been having a war with the nut crackers every year since he arrived and this time they caught him coming back!! He is in popcorn jail, but it worked out just right as he brought along a family movie and a bag of popcorn!!!

Our book of the day is Courduroy's Christmas Surprise by Lisa McCue. I have been a Courduroy fan since I was a little girl and am always eager to share a favorite story with my kids. My husband knows of him, but he was never a fan, I think it's great that as an adult he is discovering an old friend and seeing him in a different way!

The silly elf took our coloring book that ST. Nick brought and he started coloring the pages we left blank!!

Enjoy every minute my friends, it goes far too quickly!

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Tis the Season for Giving!

The end of the week should always be seen with excitement of what is to come, but this week has been full of a lot of testing and boring work and it had started to drag! Instead of hitting the books at home, we packed up and headed to the local Dunkin' Donuts to not only do our work but to spread good cheer! We arrived armed with coupons and cash for each child and after settling into the booth we began our work and say quietly so that we could listen to each person order and as they were just about done 1 child would spring up, grab their cash and head to the register to pay for them! Spreading good cheer was not only fun and teaching the kids that giving feels so much better than getting BUT it kept them silent and focused on their work too! Double Win!

This morning our Elf Pet, hot coffee, was found in the Elf Club House that the kids made. It's still not ready, they were waiting for the glue to dry, but they plan on making it into some kind of scene. I love when kids get crafty!

THERE HE IS!!! It took a bit of searching to find Charlie this morning, but that could be because he was up high in our mistletoe ball! What a silly elf sending out kisses to all!

The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuvler was our read for this day. I only wish a book this magical could be read on a day when there was real snow outdoors and not a 40* day that has us outside with only light sweaters on!

Look what we found!!! The perfect sled for elves and their friends. This will be gifted to the elf once the children have painted it and made it 'elf ready'. Head over to Joann Fabrics for this awesome craft that will be sure to have your children working together and brainstorming!

Enjoy every minute my friends!!

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Hello December?!

Thanksgiving came and went in no time at all and before I knew it, we were putting up the tree and welcoming in the month of DECEMBER?!?! I think I reflect on this every year, but I really do feel as though these years are just being swept away so quickly that I will be an empty nester before I know it! I am sorry that my blog goes days and sometimes week without action but life seems to take over. My kids are older now and we are always on the road. We are not so much as crafty now but more explorers. I try to get away from the camera and put it away in general so that I can be IN the moment with my kids. Soon they will be gone and off on their own lives and living with their families and then I will be able to say that I do not have one regret, that I gave them all my time and now it is time for them to do the same with their family. Then it will be time to get to know the newer, older, wiser version of my husband as we explore more of the world together in a different way. Life changes daily and I am trying to take my own advice and not miss one minute!

One tradition that started with our elf and will continue for as long as I have children under my roof, is the 25 books of Christmas. Charlie brings wrapped books that we can share together as a family by the tree with our evening tea and cocoa. Each unwrapped book elicits smiles and cheers as the kids clamor around to read aloud or listen quietly to what is to come. They are usually holiday books for the most part both religious and secular but some other books sometimes sneak their way in too! They are all picture books, because NO ONE can outgrow a picture book and they are just the right length for kids to snuggle up with a parent, no matter how big they get! I will try to post daily about the elf and his antics as well as what book we unwrapped that day as well, otherwise I will catch you up if I can, as I am doing tonight!

Our elf is still up to his crazy ways as he tries to sneak a ride in the car on our way to an Elf adoption event! When the kids got in the car, they noticed new jammies brought just for them from Charlie! He doesn't always bring gifts, but when he does they are always something the kids have been needing.

December 1st brought us The Little Snow Plow by Lora Koehler

This book is absolutely wonderful and even my oldest kids looked over each photo and listened intently.

Our elf was caught scaling our fridge to get into the top where we hide all the candy! At the bottom of his rope was his pet Hot Coffee holding the rope steady!

December 2nd brought us The Very First Christmas by Paul Maier. I was hoping to hold onto this one until it was a little closer to Christmas but it's size made it an easy one to grab. Next year we have to be sure to leave a note for the elf to number the books!! A beautifully illustrated book that helps remind the kids what this season is all about.

Oh Look at who we found here! Charlie the elf was found in the living room reading to all of his friends! It was a good thing that no one had to use the screen porch this day, because we would not have been able to get to the door!!

December 3rd brought us Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney! Oh boy do we love this llama, he has been a family favorite for many years now and we don't see ever letting him go! He is up to his typical antics in this book, but always with a heartwarming close!

Well now look who is in the bathroom!!! Charlie has taken off his sweater and made himself into a toilet paper snowman! His smile tells us that he knows wasting toilet paper is a bit naughty but he just had to do it to make sure the kids are brushing properly and washing their hands!

Enjoy every minute my friends!!

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A Thankful Heart...

Happy Thanksgiving from The Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls and our family to yours!! I truly hope that it is an amazing day full of love, fun and food for all.

Charlie the elf is back! He has built a staircase out of cardboard and snuggled up in a big black chair with a slice of pie, Hot Coffee his reindeer, Inside Out the movie and his letter to the kids. The kids are beyond excited to see him and cannot wait for the season of Charlie antics! Keep up in this main post HERE with everything he has going on this year. 

Enjoy every minute my friends!

 

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Charlie The Elf 2015

It's the time of the year again! Time for you to follow our Elf on the Shelf Charlie and see what he is up to! He arrives on Thanksgiving to kick off the Christmas Season and my kids are beyond excited! Creating a suitcase is as easy as a jewelry box and pipe cleaner and these little details always have the children tickled! I will try and keep this post updated throughout the season, so you can always find all of his antics posted daily in one spot! Please be sure to read the most recent posts that will go into more detail about Charlie's surprises that day, this is just going to be a pictorial with some comments.

Michael's craft stores has a new batch of Christmas sweater ornaments and they fit the elf perfectly! Be sure to check them out, as they are much cheaper than the official elf merchandise and so much more unique! Not to mention they come with their own little hangers!! They have hats this year too and we will see if they fit him.

Use google for Elf on the Shelf stationary and you will find some good stuff! I am predicting that he will most likely show up with this one!

The kids are so excited to be able to read his book and watch the movie again! We save it for the season and it truly makes it more magical! They read the book over and over again and the movie becomes memorized by all in the family by the time Charlie departs on Christmas Eve!

He arrived with a bang and dove into a slice of Gabrie's home made cherry pie! He arrived with a banner of thanks to decorate and bring to Thanksgiving and even hacked into our craft closet to construct some stairs for his friends to join him on his high seat! He brought a movie and letter.

Our elf loves to climb and he usually uses ropes, stairs or ladders but he always finds a way.

He sometimes sneaks rides in the car and brings pajamas every year too!

Charlie's friends enjoy getting carried away with things too and always await his return from the North Pole!

Building things for his friends help the kids keep occupied and stay crafty while always getting along too!

He sent a chain of kisses down from the mistletoe as he hung high above all the heads!

Snow Man Charlie enjoys being a tiny bit messy but always has fun and cleans up after himself when he leaves! Here he is watching to be sure the kids wash their hands and brush their teeth!

Being held  captive by king nutcracker he was inside the popcorn machine and you can't see his gifts but he brought a family movie and a bag of microwave popcorn!

He loves to read as much as we do and here he is reading to all of his friends as they hear the story of Christmas!

 

He and his friends are all hiding around and in the tree as they let St. Nicholas take center stage on his day!

St. Nicholas brought a coloring book of his story and the kids colored many pages as we read, but they thought they left some empty pages....not so! Charlie took over where they left off!

 

Enjoy every minute my friends!

Check out our other ideas:

2014

2013 (we bought a new house and did not keep a document of Charlie's antics)

2012 Ideas HERE

2011 Ideas HERE

 

2015 from arrival to departure:

He's Baaaccckkk! Charlie & Hot Coffee have arrive with a cardboard staircase built to reach a chair so that he can eat a slice of pie and drop off his letter. He also brought the movie Inside Out!

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Christmas & Birthdays & School...Oh My!

WOW, it came and it went all so quickly didn't it?! We managed to celebrate the Christmas holiday with friends and family, rush in a birthday celebration for a very special 9 year old and even did some school work! Just because your friends are off of school, does not mean that we have to be! I am one of those parents and it drives my kids insane. Even while out of town for a few weeks, we are still doing school. Oh woe is me..I mean them! How was your Christmas? I am NOT looking forward to finally getting home and having to clean out toys to fit in new ones...oh and my kids all got tablets from my father...so I need to look into filtering them and doing something with those as well.

While getting ready for friends to join us in an evening of games and exchanging gifts, I needed the kids occupied and didn't have time to put anything together. I handed them scissors, tape and coffee filters and told them to create a table runner for me! The result was this snowflake runner and I LOVED IT!!

Being out of town results in a lot of eating out and sometimes even that loses its luster for children and I am so glad my purse is always full of entertainment! (No cute clutch over here) Games, cards, dice, cars, figures, tape...you name it, I have a variety in there. I like to use brain games as much as possible or even just hand them a few things and tell them to create their own games. Keeping them thinking is key.

School on the road needs to be quick and handy as well as not take up too much space so these Folders are perfect for flashcard learning! We made these folders out of cardstock and are perfect for the flashcard kids in your life. The folder closes up and stays closed with a rubberband. This makes them portable for a quick run through on the go! It's also a great visual reminder on what your child/student needs to work on. Visual enticements keep the kids eager to keep going, because they see how much they know and want to add to it! My boys are visual and tactile learners and this works so well for anything they are doing. They are always eager to fill in that KNOW column. I tell them that the know column is their brain and the more they put in that slot, the more they are filling their brain with awesome information.

With a new year on its way, I remind you to enjoy every minute my friends!

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