The Elf on the Shelf - A Christmas Tradition

As I said in my previous post, "Gingerbread House Fun", I'm big on family traditions, especially at Christmas time. If you and your family do not have many traditions or are looking to adopt a new family tradition this holiday season, be certain to READ this post. You still have plenty of time to introduce this fun event to your child.

It's called, "The Elf on the Shelf". For the first time, we chose to begin this charming tradition this year. Most children want to know how Santa really knows who's naughty and who's nice. The answer... "a pixie-elf".

Let me explain...

I purchased this fun tradition at the "stocked market", but you can get it most anywhere or at www.elfontheshelf.com. It arrives in a really nice and thick BOX and includes a storybook and a dainty little stuffed elf. The idea behind this tradition is to place the elf on the tree within days after it has been decorated. Surprise your child by making him aware of the sudden arrival of this elf. The elf's sole responsibility is to watch your child's behavior daily and to report it to Santa each night. Every morning, after the child wakes, they will discover that the elf has returned from the North Pole (with a little parental encouragement), but is now resting in a new and different place. You will have so much fun watching your child race out of bed to try and find his new position.

You can even become a bit more creative and clever with this tradition, by telling your child that the elf is not allowed to be touched, but that they are able to speak to him as much as they wish. The elf, on the other hand, is under strict orders, by Santa, not to speak back. And finally, all grown-ups are under no such rules or restrictions.

This is not only a FUN tradition, but is also a great way to get your child to better control themselves before the fews weeks leading up to Christmas Day! All it takes is a gentle reminder that the "elf is watching" for the unacceptable behavior to be modified.

This product even provides you with the opportunity to register your elf's name at www.elfontheshelf.com and recieve a special response from Santa.

This is just a temporary tradition, obviously, as children will not believe these stories for long, but it's certainly worth adopting just to see the look on their faces as the elf arrives each year!!!!!

Gingerbread House Fun!

I am BIG on family traditions, especially at Christmas time. My mom always found ways to create and add fun to the holidays. Decorating a gingerbread house was always one of those things that she insisted we do. So... I figured I would continue the tradition and today I invited Tabby and her two boys over for some gingerbread house fun. Word to the wise, never attempt something of this much detail with a multiple of age ranges. You've got some kids eating the candy, some kids throwing the candy, and some kids throwing themselves on the floor while the others are pulling the Christmas Tree ornaments off the trees etc., etc., etc. You get the drift. Pretty darn stressful.

As many of you know my personality, I am beyond neurotic when it comes to my cleaning habbits and the need to keep things OVERLY organized and straight. I'm convinced Tabby is truly trying to break me of my obsessive compulsiveness. As a matter of fact, I think she's paying Jude to do her dirty work. LOL! I am still finding frosting (3 hours later) everywhere, thanks to him. Gotta love those curious little 2 year olds.

Let's just say, those darn gingerbread houses, NEVER, turn out as pretty as the picture looks on the box. It's always harder in real life than it appears from the directions. Tabby and I got a real chuckle out of the fact that her house CRUMBLED to the ground, while mine stayed in tact. She said, "It's just the way I expected this adventure to turn out." Poor James... after seeing his house crumble, he asked, "Who broke my gingerbread house?" And Tabby replied, "I did honey. I am so sorry!" He kindly exclaimed, "That's okay mommy, I still love you anyways!" Very sweet.

I will definitely be keeping this event in mind when Easter rolls around. JUDE, you are not welcomed in my home when we bring out the DYES for the Easter Eggs. LOL! In any event, I always have a fantastic time when spending it with the Sheilor family.

Until next time Tabby...

A Visit With Santa Claus

On Friday, we took the kids to the Triangle Town Center Mall, in Raleigh, to visit with Santa. Surprisingly, there was little to no line. We got a BIG chuckle out of this picture and contemplated making this our Christmas Card to read, "Have Yourself a Cranky Little Christmas!" Tyson and Aeila handled the visit fine, but Salene was NOT a fan of Santa at all.

Children... they add so much humor to your life!!!!

Christmas Decorating Has Begun....

Our household got a JUMP start, two weekends ago, on Christmas decorating. Due to the cold weather, we still have yet to be able to accomplish decorating the outside of our home, but the indoor decorating is complete. Hallelujah!

We purchased Tyson a 4-foot tree, with colored lights, for his room, and he had a blast from opening the box, to assembling the tree, to fluffing the tree, and finally to decorating it. Tyson also set up his Mickey Mouse Porcelain Snow Village that Poppy and Cee Cee bought him for his second year of Christmas. He always enjoys making his room look festive.

Afer assembling our BIG tree, in our living room, Ty insisted on sitting next to it while eating lunch. He is a true lover of the Christmas Holidays. We are focusing most of our Christmas celebrations, this year, on the TRUE meaning of Christmas - the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ - but DEFINITELY want him to be able to enjoy ALL of the traditions we enjoyed as children.

Be on the look out for a few other posts this week.

The Halloween Celebrations Keep On Coming and Coming!

Tyson has been a really busy boy this week. Today he had is Halloween party at pre-school! I was able to capture one or two great pics of him with his classmates. This is just a sneak peak to the MOUNDS of pictures I am sure we will have after tomorrow evening! Enjoy. Oh, by the way, the little girl in the Ariel costume, her name is Avery. She told her mommy the other day, "Tyson is my boyfriend!" Mommy exclaimed, "Oh really?" And Avery responded, "Yeah, but I think he also likes Piper!" The ONLY other little girl in his class. Where is this two-timing coming from? Not my man. He knows better :)

We wish you all a very Happy and SAFE Halloween! Brush those sugar bugs out of those teeth before going to bed tomorrow night.

"Oops" Gets Fixed & Accessorized!

As you may recall, Tyson was able to visit, for the first time, "Build-A-Bear" in Myrtle Beach, back in June. It was there that he created his friend, "Oops". Unfortunately, Oops' sound died. So, mommy and Ty ventured out to the Valley View Mall yesterday (where a new "Build-A-Bear" just opened) to get him fixed. For those of you who didn't know, your child's friend can be dismantled and fixed at anytime. I was so happy to hear that. Tyson watched intently as Oops was cut opened, the filling was removed, and the new sound was inserted into his body. We purchased a new accessory for him. Tyson chose a skateboard. How appropriate for my daredevil of a son!

Epperly Elite Gymnastics

Tyson, Piper, and Avery started Gymnastics class on Monday. It's the first class that I have enrolled Ty in where I was unable to participate with him. He's a big boy now :( I was a little sad about that, but my dear friend Jill reminded me about the two babies on the way and how I should have plenty of opportunity to accompany them at their extra cirricular activities!

I hope Ty really enjoys this sport and learns a lot. After all, nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.

Fall Is Here...

On Saturday, we visited the Sinkland Farmland pumpkin patch with the Sheilor family. What a blast we had! This is our second time visiting this pumpkin patch. Tyson remembered it from last year and made sure he didn't miss a trick. From the petting zoo, to face painting, to a miniature horse ride, to a hay ride, to picking out our very own pumpkin, to eating a yummy snack from the baked good sale, Tyson did it ALL! Afterwards, we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Chick-Fil-A in Christiansburg with our great friends and family in Christ, Jeremey, Tabby, James, and "Juda". Enjoy this video clip of Tyson and James as they went for a miniature horse ride. It was quite comical in my opinion.

Fall is such a fantastic time of year! I hope everyone is finding some great ways to get out and make some fall family memories together. If you've never been to this pumpkin patch and are local, I highly recommend it.

A Visit from "Butterscotch"!

Tyson is really enjoying pre-school at First United Methodist. I just love the curriculum and it amazes me at how much he is learning. He has even taught me a few things, no lie. I know, I just made myself look unintelligent, didn't I?

Each class day, Tyson has "circle time" where he and his classmates say the Pledge of Allegiance, count out the day, observe the weather, learn the days of the week, say a prayer, listen to a Bible story, and determine who the helper for the day is.

Of course, every student looks forward to snack time, which is always Ty's favorite time of the day, I am sure. Before snack, Ms. Becky takes this opportunity to teach them the proper way to wash their hands, take car of their trash and use proper table manners. Most importantly, they learn a memory verse and say their blessing.

Other class time activities include the learning centers, music time, Chapel, and group sharing time. Group sharing time is also another one of Ty's favorite. This is when he and his classmates gather together to have "show and tell".

The Yellow Bears have a special mascot named Butterscotch. He has become a part of Ty's life. He goes home with a different child each week and is returned on Tuesdays. Tyson received him last Thursday. Tyson is responsible for taking good care of Butterscotch. At the end of the weekend we (Ty and I) are responsible for filling in a notebook to record all the things that we did during Butterscotch's visit. At the end of the school year, we will get a copy of ALL of Butterscotch's adventures as a keepsake. Attached is a picture of Butterscotch buckled up in the car. For the most part, we took him everywhere and we always put safety first.

The last night Butterscotch spent the night, Tyson was really sad. I don't think he realized how much he loved him until it was time for him to leave. They always say, "You never realize what you've got until it's gone!" And in this case, for Tyson, it certainly was true.

A Little Football Fun!

Darren, Tyson, and I decided to go to one of Ashton's football games, two Mondays back. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I got chill bumps, filled with excitement for the day Tyson plays football. Darren and I sat with Rob, Jill, Nick (our pastor), and Gretchen while Tyson played with the younger kids. It was Ashton's game where Tyson met his first true love... Cami (our pastor's daugher.) Ashton's team won!!!! Yeah!!!!! After the game, John-John (our Pastor's son) and Ashton showed Ty how to stand like the real football players do. It was impossible to capture Ty doing it, but it was a cute picture of Ashy and John-John.