Day 2 with the Elf

This is where our elf was this morning:

It's location on top of the fridge is not indicative of lack of imagination on my behalf, but rather lack of time on my behalf. 
I did learn that you don't need a special code to register your elf.  You just create an account on the website, enter your name, your elf's name, and the date you adopted it.  I learned this after I dug through the garbage to find the package, then realized there is no code anywhere in or on the box.  When Megan woke up, I explained how Isabelf is now magic, and that we can't touch her.  She seemed good with that.  Then, just moments later, she was bickering with Jonathan.  He told her the Elf was watching, to which she exclaimed "It's just a toy that Mom bought"!  So much for magic.

Our Elf

Apparently there is this Christmas tradition of having a little Elf hide throughout your home to watch the kids for Santa.  Since we aren't putting our tree up this year because of what we call Kacy's 'fiesty mode', and I haven't put up any Christmas decor yet, including our Advent calendar, and I haven't pulled out any of our Christmas story books yet, I thought perhaps the kids would like to have a new tradition to celebrate this year.

Meet Isabelf (get it....Isabelle + Elf= Isabelf)

 

I purchased our Elf at Target yesterday.  I could get the Elf alone for $12.99, or I could buy it in a gift pack with the book telling of the Elf on the Shelf legend for $29.99.  I just got the Elf.  I knew I could simply google what the exacts of this legend were all about later to share with the kids.
So, when the kids got home from school, I pulled our Elf out of the Target bag and showed it to the kids while the ate their afterschool snack and watched their afterschool tv.  They were excited.  They declared our Elf was a girl, since it had a skirt on (I did not realize they game gender specific....).  They said we need to name her via Family vote (Isabelf beat Shelly and KayElf by a 3-2 vote), and they knew she would watch over the kids to report to Santa any naughty or nice behavior observed.  Each kid played with the Elf a bit, cuddled with her, Megan introduced her to all of her dolls, etc.

This morning, I finally got around to learning more about this legend.  It seems I have already commited some serious Elf on the Shelf mistakes.
#1.  This Elf is magical, and no one is ever to touch it (meaning the children).  If the Elf is touched by a child, it loses all of its magical powers, and cannot fly each night to the North Pole to report to Santa.
#2.  The Children should not think/know that the Elf was purchased from Target for $12.99.  They are to believe it just magically shows up one morning to watch them.
#3.  The Children should not be told that Mom and Dad will hide the Elf each night, nor should the 10 year olds be told that they can take turns hiding it.
#4.  Before throwing the box the Elf was packaged in when purchased from Target, be sure there is nothing in it that you need, such as a registration code to register the Elf on www.elfontheshelf.com

Thankfully, on Pinterest, I stumbled upon a link that teaches you how to restore the magic of your Elf if touched by a child.  I just need to sprinkle some glitter on it ( and then run the roomba).  And, since Megan is the only Santa believer amonst the kids, I think we are still safe letting the boys take turns hiding the Elf a few times.

Sewing stuff

Don's niece, Heather, had a baby boy right before Thanksgiving.  Here is what we made for him.  Megan picked out the fabric.

 





Huxley's 4th Bday

It was Huxley's 4th birthday last weekend.  Tyler and Jess had his party Saturday night at Midway Lanes.  The kids all had fun.  Jess may have done better if she had used the gutter guards with the kids, as I believe most of the kids beat her.

I made Hux a Thomas the Train blanket.  I threw in a Hotwheels Pez dispenser as well.  I fully anticipated him tossing the blanket aside ala Ralphie and Randy from The Christmas Story, and am glad I got a pic of him smiling with it before he did exactly that.

A funny thing happened....

My Mom scolded me today for not updating pictures for a whole entire month.  Being the obedient daughter that I am, I attempted to upload some pics from the past month.  Lo and behold, it seems I have reached my free 1 GB storage limit from Google/Picasa for the blog.  I now have to purchase storage space. 
I did spend some time trying to figure this out, as I have heard it's not that expensive to upgrade.  However, I did not really understand any of the techie talk in the 'click here to find out more' link. Maybe Don can figure it out.

Soccer

I am very late in posting pics of Megan's first soccer season.  I was only able to take pictures of one game, since I was the coach, and it's hard to take pictures and coach at the same time.  Their last game of the season Don coached for me so I could take some pictures.

Megan had fun, and is excited to play again in the Spring.

Hoops

Jonathan decided to play basketball this year. Today he had his first game.  You may recall that his and Eric's football team lost all of their games.  By a lot.  Megan's soccer team also lost all of their games.  By a lot.  We were hoping that our basketball season would be a little different.  Of course, we know the purpose of Parks and Rec sports is to learn the skills of the game, and to be exposed to the basic rules of each sport.  But seriously....we wanted to win at least one game played!

 

Mission accomplished.  Jonathan's team was the "guest" team. He scored 4 points, and had a lot of fun.  He wears #35.
It is worth noting that the basketball shoes he wears are Men's Nike size 10....just like his Mom.