When my wife decided that we were going to do the Elf on the Shelf thing, I wondered just how difficult it would be. When you see those funny videos of a mom or dad shooting up in bed at 5am saying “The Elf!” and then running to move it, that is not a joke.
There have been plenty of times this year where our Elf, Twinkles, is in the same spot as the day before. The puppy is a good excuse, “She must have been afraid to move because she thought the puppy would get her.” That only works a couple times. I knew I had to do something that would make up for those days of no movement.
So, last week, I told the kids I couldn’t find my phone. I had them looking around for it too. I finally “found” it by my work bag. Before I left for work, I texted the following to my wife’s phone:
“Hey guys. It’s Twinkles. I have your dad’s phone. I didn’t want you to worry about where I was, so I wanted to let you know. It’s our little secret.”
That text came with this:
When they called me before bed, I told them that something weird was happening. My phone kept moving all over the office. Throughout the night I planned on sending pictures one by one. However, it was a busy night, so I sent them all at one time in the morning.
Twinkles sure did have some fun …
Hanging out on the IV pole with my equipment Napping in one of the empty patient roomsMaking a mess in the shredderTrying to steal my co-worker Amy’s popMaking one of the front desk staff’s stocking her ownChilling in the employee freezerProbably my favorite of the night. Copying her butt on the copier!
These pictures were popping up in text messages as my wife and I were talking on the phone. Ella was in the car waiting to go into school. With each picture she would crack up . She was loving every minute of it. When my wife picked up Andrew from school, she showed him. He came in to wake me up for work and said, “Dad! Did you know Twinkles was at your work!?’
What was really funny was that two of my co-workers said, “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have brought mine in from home too! They could have had a real party. Maybe next year…
I truly hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! I’m a bit late getting my update written, so please forgive me. It has been a busy, yet relaxing few days.
On Monday, we got quite a wintery mix of weather. The day started with rain and freezing rain. It eventually changed to snow. As the temperatures dropped, the accidents were piling up. All throughout the day, there were messages on social media and on the news about the roads being icy.
Sam had to work Monday, so I was worried about her driving. She promised that if the roads were too bad, that she would turn around and call in. The weather wasn’t a surprise, and the main roads were salted pretty good, so her drive was not too bad. The drive home was a bit trickier, but she made it home ok.
Christmas Eve morning I knew I had to get out and clear the driveway. My sons were planning on coming over and I wanted to be sure it was clean. Ella and Andrew, who have been in the house TOO long, wanted to go outside with me. They ran around the yard, made some snow angels, played tag, and enjoyed the snow. Despite me telling them that it was not “scooter weather,” they played with them anyway!
The boys arrived about noon. They brought pizza and we all had lunch together. When they walked in, each of the two little ones ran to one of the older ones and hugged them. My second oldest was caught off guard by this. All I could say was, “They miss you, obviously.”
It was a nice time catching up. Phone calls between us are often cut short, possibly because of “listening ears.” Texting is hit or miss, so to have them with me and in conversation was very nice. My oldest and I talked about his job and his girlfriend. He also told me of his plans to move in with a friend from work. My second oldest told me that he had a girlfriend, too. He showed me a picture of them from when they went to the homecoming dance. My ex’s family had their holiday get together the previous weekend. Both boys were allowed to invite their girlfriends to the party. They both seem genuinely happy. This makes me happy.
They were able to stay for a couple hours, but my second oldest had to work that night. He works at a movie theater, and the holidays are always a busy time for them. I was glad that they were able to come over and spend time with me and their siblings. Of course, I am THAT dad who has to get a picture of all four of them together. You’re guess is as good as mine as to how many photos were snapped before getting one with all of them looking at me.
The little ones and I hung out for a bit as we waited for Sam to get up. We watched some Christmas cartoons and snuggled on the couch. Sam joined us in the living room and told us that her folks were coming by. They were going to drop off the kid’s Christmas gifts on their way to church.
I had to laugh because when they arrived, I went out to help bring stuff in. There were three boxes. I brought the first one in and set it on the floor. Ella was like, “Is this mine? Can I open it now? I wanna see what it is?” Sam’s folks weren’t even in the house yet and she was ready to rip off the paper!
Once every thing and everyone was inside, Ella was allowed to open her gift. It was a table top vanity. It came with fake cosmetics, but we didn’t know that. Sam bought some cheap – real – make up to go with it. This led to her giving everyone a makeover!
It was not exactly my shade of lipstick ….
She really loves it. I hope it is just a phase. She’s too young for makeup.
Andrew got something called Squigs. I guess they are toys that he uses at Physical/Occupational Therapy. He loves them. They have suction cups on them, and he can so all sorts of things with them
Nana and Pa couldn’t stay too long, because they had to get to church. Thankfully, they both made it out with out a makeover.
About 5:30, we grabbed out coats and hopped in the car. It was time for our yearly Christmas Eve tradition. We drove over to the county park where it was totally lit up for Christmas. For $10 a car, they have it set up so that you can drive through and see the lights. (During the holidays, they have a Christmas Train ride that we like to go on, but didn’t get the chance this year.) As you drive through the town, Christmas music plays and it is really beautiful.
They really do a nice job here. The old houses are even decorated in period decorations.
This tree always amazes me. The detail is brought out so well with these lights.
They have things like this at the Detroit Zoo, too. I wish we had been able to come up for the train ride and village walk. That way we could have gotten a picture in that ornament bulb.
By the time we got home, it was time to get ready for bed. The kids knew that their Elf on the Shelf was leaving with Santa that night. They loved seeing the craziness that she’d do every morning. They wanted a picture of her with them before bed. After hugs and kisses, they thanked Twinkles and told her they’d see her next year.
Andrew fell asleep pretty quickly. Ella, on the other hand, was talkative. Typical “night before Christmas” stuff. She is so sweet, though. As she turned over to close her eyes, she stopped and looked at me. She said, “Daddy, I really hope that Bubby (Andrew) doesn’t get coal from Santa. He doesn’t mean to be bad all the time.” I told her that he would probably be just fine. I made sure she was aware that Santa knew that he was good “most of the time.”
When the kids were asleep, Santa got to work. There were a few toys to put together, but nothing too complicated. I think the house was asleep by 11:00pm. That is always good, because you know how early so Christmas mornings can be!
Lucky for us, it was just after 8am when Ella burst into the bedroom and said, “It’s Christmas!!! Time to get up!!” If we hadn’t stopped her, she probably would have been out the door, into the living room and had all the presents unwrapped before we could put on our slippers! Andrew was still asleep, but once we told him that it was Christmas, he shot up and was ready to go.
They each got a Santa gift. Ella got a balance beam that she can practice on. Andrew got a Paw Patrol Big Wheel!
Andrew got new books, an explorer kit, Bluey toys, and a set of construction vehicles that you can put together and take apart.
Ella got some things for he Gabby’s Dollhouse, a Barbie changing room, Pocahontas pajamas, and a Tiana cookbook.
They had just the right amount of things to open. It wasn’t overly elaborate. There were not hundreds of gifts stuffed under the tree. It was simple and they were happy with everything!
Someone posted this on a Facebook page and I completely agree:
“I understand now. The Christmas magic I experienced as a child wasn’t about the decorations, the food or the gifts. It came from my parents and the effort they put in throughout the year to make the holiday special for me. I’ll always be grateful for that. Now, I have the privilege of sharing that same joy and magic with my own children.”
When everything was opened and the playing commenced, Sam was off to make her homemade cinnamon rolls. I made a pot of coffee, and called my brother. As we sat and enjoyed breakfast, I chuckled as Bitsy, our kitten, looked at the piles of wrapping paper and boxes. She would eventually make the boxes her new toys.
There were plenty of wonderful memories made this year. I will look back on them fondly. I’m already looking forward to next Christmas!
With 4 days left until Christmas, I thought I would share a little update.
Despite the many Christmas posts, I am not really feeling “Christmassy” this year. It seems like our family is focused on one event and once that is done, we’re on to the next one. Point A to Point B, then on to Point C. We haven’t had two minutes to really appreciate the season, even though we are decked out and have done some holiday activities.
Once Ella’s dance recital was over, the focus shifted to her surgery. She had an ear tube that was stuck. She also was set to have tonsils and adenoids taken out, if they needed to be. The surgery was on Thursday and she did really well! The tonsils got to stay, but the adenoids came out.
If you do “Elf on the Shelf,” you know the kids are not supposed to touch the elf. If they do, it loses its magic and cannot fly back to the North Pole. The morning of her surgery, there was a note from “Santa’ that said that he gave Twinkles (the elf) special powers for that day. She could hold her and take her to the hospital with her. She was thrilled!!
We arrived at 6am and were on our way home by 9:30! It’s crazy how they shove you out of there after surgery! When we got home, we all took a nap, and there was a special surprise that awaited.
You may remember this from last year. One of our neighbors puts out a mailbox for kids in the neighborhood to mail letters to Santa. Each child receives a response. The kids love to go there and drop the letter in the mailbox.
The neighbor messaged me on Facebook and asked if there was a good time to drop off a letter. I told her about the surgery and she said she would drop it off then. After our nap, we woke up and I told the kids, “You will never guess who just texted me!”
They asked who it was and I said “I’m not sure, but it says it is a North Pole number!” I said that there were photos attached. So I opened them in front of them.
Santa himself delivered their letter!!! When they saw the pictures, they both ran to the front door. I opened it and we looked around. He must have got back in the sleigh and went home! They wanted me to look in the mailbox and sure enough, there was his letter. Talk about two giddy kids!!
It looks like they both made the nice list and will be getting what they asked for this year. Thanks, Santa!!
Christmas Rock
This was too cool not to share. In Flint, MI, there is a big square rock. It has been there as long as I have lived in mid-Michigan. I’ve seen a lot of things on it. People have spray painted memorials to loved ones who have passed away. Sometimes it is in honor of the anniversary of their passing. There have been marriage proposals in it. There have been patriotic tributes for events like 9/11. There have been funny paintings and sad paintings.
For Christmas, a local mural artist named Johnny Fletcher did his part to get folks in the Christmas season. The first mural, which was featured on many websites, featured the mean one – the Grinch.
This mural became the talk of the town. A week or so later, he did yet another one. This time it was of a couple of misfits!
The quality of his work is truly amazing. It didn’t take long for folks to ask if they could buy a print of these. I hear he was selling them through his Facebook and personal site. Those would look pretty cool on a wall. However, they look downright amazing on this HUGE rock.
The countdown to Christmas continues … Have a great weekend.
Quick rant today: I am over the Elf on the shelf. The first year, I had some fun with it. An example is this photo ..
The entire set up took a bit. I love the way it came out. This year, however, we’re both tired. The other night Andrew was at Nana’s. We forgot to move the elf…. So we said the elf didn’t move because he wasn’t home. Then last night, Sam literally threw it in a Christmas stocking….
I give kudos to the people who have the time and patience to create and set up these elaborate scenarios. There are a few Facebook pages with ideas that you can steal, but sometimes I feel like it is there for folks to show off.
I am not about to spend an hour creating a mural of the Grinch made out of Post-it notes. I am also not going to shower my living room in confetti. I don’t want to spend $10-20 on outfits for the thing either.
Do you want to know what the most common question asked on those elf Facebook pages is? “Can someone please give me quick and easy elf ideas?”. Amen! Give me an idea I can stretch out over three or four days even!
A friend of mine sent me a link to someone’s Instagram page. Every day there is some crazy set up they do with their elves. Yes, elves! They have more than one! I can’t deal with just one!
ln one photo, they have the elves dressed as the characters from the Wizard of Oz! In another they are a baseball team. Good Lord…..
The holidays are stressful enough. Why put more pressure on yourself to do this?
It’s lunch time at work. In just a few hours I will punch out and head home for the holiday weekend. I am truly looking forward to four days with my family. It’s been a very busy year for all of us.
I was ready to write that my son had his last appointment for the year today, but I remembered he still has one more. Today we saw his neurologist. We discussed the results of his sleep study, the MRI, and his EEG. It was a long appointment and we have some direction and a plan of action.
I left the appointment and went right to work. I’m only a mile or so from the doctor, so I punched in early knowing I will be able to leave early. I was able to get most of my work done before lunch, so I thought I’d blog.
The other appointment, incidentally, will be to pick up his AFO leg braces. This is something that will help eliminate the toe-walking. Hopefully, he won’t need to be in them too long.
I recently blogged about our family tradition of getting a new Christmas ornament at Bronner’s. We had yet to go this year, but someone (maybe someone who read my blog) did the work for us. We received a Bronner’s box in the mail and the message inside said, “It looks like Daisy needs an ornament for that tree of yours!”
This week, I found out that McDonald’s has adult Happy Meals. Sam took the kids to get lunch and they brought me back one. Ella apparently said that mom and dad needed a toy, too!
How silly is that?!
Money has been a bit tighter this year than in the past. Normally, I would try to get something small for my boss and co-workers for the holiday, but I just couldn’t swing it. One of my coworkers got bags for everyone. There was a small gift and some chocolates. My gift was socks! Go figure, right!? Well, they are actually pretty cool.
If they only made socks with the Miser Brothers on them …
I’m looking forward to Christmas for many reasons. One of them is that the Elf on the Shelf goes back to the North Pole! It becomes work to do something with it each day. Some people really go all out! It’s crazy. My favorite one from this week ties into the last bit of news to share …
I don’t care if I use this one every year! Here is Twinkles, the elf, reading from the Bible. I said that it ties in with my last bit of news.
This week, I finished my 1st semester of the second year of my Bible classes. I will have three tests to do over the next week or so. Then I will move on to the second semester. I feel like I have really accomplished something. Actually having a lunch hour (which we really never got when I was on midnights) allows me to watch an entire class and take notes without any real interruptions. I’m hoping to keep it up and press toward the mark.
I know many of my blogger friends are taking a break over the holidays. I’ve got plenty of things lined up over the weekend, I don’t know that I will not blog, but just in case I don’t, I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. As we get ready to wrap up another year, I find myself grateful for you. Your own personal blogs, the comments you share here on my blog, and your friendship has brought me much happiness.
I look forward to a year of sharing experiences with each other.
“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that’s important, but rather who is around it.”
“The best Christmas gift is to realize how much you already have.”
“The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.”
“From home to home and heart to heart, from one place to another, the warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other.”
I’ve been asked by my boss to act as Emcee for Holiday Trivia at our Christmas Meeting/Gathering. There will be some training before hand, catered dinner, and Holiday Trivia.
I’ve never been to a Trivia night at any local bar or pub. Because of this, I really have no idea how they play. I know a few bloggers who have and some friends who go, but it seems that every place does it a bit differently. Getting questions for this is no issue – all I had to do was go into my folder of Christmas trivia I used when I was on the radio. It is the execution of the game itself that I don’t know.
The basic gist of the thing is that there are 2-5 rounds of questions. Teams write their answers to the questions on a piece of paper or on index cards. There are points for getting the right answers. Some places wager on questions based on the topic. I really am clueless. I plan on doing some sort of search online to see the best way to do this.
Have you ever been to one of those trivia nights? Any suggestions?
Our doc is probably sick…. of us!
Over the past 10-11 days, every one of us has been to the doctor. Today, I had both kids in the office again because their coughing sounded awful. We were worried that the gunk we all got was in their chest and might lead to pneumonia.
I swear, between in office visits, ER visits, telemedicine calls, and messages back and forth through the office portal, our doc has got to be sick of seeing our names! On the other hand, she might just thank us for making her house payment this month!
Chilly Fun
Daisy finally got to go outside in the snow. She wasn’t really sure what to make of it. She was biting at the falling snow for a bit and really didn’t know what to think about walking on it. It didn’t take long and she was running round and rolling in it. She was even eating it off the ground.
The kids were insistent about going outside when the snow fell. Neither was feeling great, but they wanted to see the snow. We bundled them up real good and we were outside for 10-15 minutes. In that time we started to build a snowman.
At first glance, in the above photo it looks like Andrew is putting the snowman’s head on. That, however, was not the case. He has actually removed it and about 2 seconds later, he threw it on the ground. Then he and his sister jumped on the rest of the poor snowman. Sigh.
Elfin’ Around Again
The Elf on the shelf is back and once again, I have to be creative with it. I’ve been lacking a bit, but the kids still get a kick out of it. Two nights ago, I just put it on top of the TV looking down. The laughed at that more than the Elf and Barbie looking at Christmas lights…
Last night, I printed some pictures of the elf and made it cover all our faces in the pictures on the wall…
Perfect Gift
I’m not sure who might read this, but this will be a bit cryptic. My wife’s Christmas present is on the way. All I will say is that I may have mentioned something about it in a past blog. I have seen some pictures and I cannot wait to see it in person. I truly believe that this will be a BIG surprise for her and I hope that she will love it!
I’ve had to tell her that there is a package arriving and that she cannot open it when it comes.
The turkey is in the fridge thawing out and should be ready for the oven by Thursday morning. We always cook it in a bag, and it usually comes out ok. I’m looking forward to a simple Thanksgiving holiday.
I’ve always loved this picture of Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson from Sanford and Son
I follow Joe Lennon Cartoons on Facebook and he’s had some great cartoons on his page. He did a whole month of Halloween themed cartoons and he’s posting Thanksgiving themed ones now. Two favorites:
I was sad to hear of the passing of a Detroit Tiger great – Willie Hernandez. He was part of the amazing bullpen that helped us win the 1984 World Series. He had just recently celebrated his 69th birthday. He was so fun to watch! Rest well, Willie.
We had some Christmas photos taken last week. The kids were crazy! They would hardly sit still. Ella, who went to the doctor today, may have been at the beginning of her illness for pictures. She was not her “smiley” self. They should be available for download by tomorrow, but a couple preview pictures wound up on our photographer’s Facebook page.
Can’t wait to see the rest of them. I pray we got at least one good family photo for Christmas Cards!
Speaking of Christmas, I was reminded by my wife that after Thanksgiving, the Elf on the Shelf has to make her return. Last year I really struggled to come up with fun ideas. I don’t even know what to do this year! I guess Sam bought some Elf shirts for the kids that “Twinkles” will bring with her when she returns. I probably should have been planning for the month of Elf stuff long before now….
When we first got Twinkles, our Elf on the Shelf, from Sam’s mom, I wasn’t sure that we’d be up for creating something new for it every night leading up to Christmas. Over the last month, I discovered an Elf on the Shelf Facebook group with ideas and stumbled across many on the internet as well.
I won’t lie, it has actually been very fun to do every night. Ella loves waking up and searching for her elf. Twinkles will be heading back to the North Pole on Friday night to help Santa get ready for his ride and deliveries. I’m sure next year she will have as much fun or more!
We may or may not have to recycle some of these ideas in years to come. Here are a few of my favorites from the past few weeks.
Twinkles the action hero! Zip lining to the tree.
TPing the tree! Festive, right?!
Sam gave her some wings!
Ella had been talking about paper snow flakes. I got to make a mess and she loved it!
When we were all sick, it only made sense to give Twinkles a cold, too!
Sam grabbed Ella’s princesses and they had a little dessert party.
Twinkles threw “snow balls” at all of us in pictures on the wall!
She obviously had so much fun with the “snow balls” that she challenged one of Ella’s Barbie dolls.
When Ella woke up, I didn’t say anything. I was making her chocolate milk and she looked up and saw Twinkles. She looked at me, then back at Twinkles, then back at me and said, “Daddy! Twinkles is in my chips!” Priceless.
Last night, Sam sent me this at work in a text message that read, “See? I can be creative, too!” I laughed out loud!
I may have to start planning next year’s Elf things ahead! This was fun!
It is hard to believe that we are just 4 days away from Christmas. Someone observed that time moves a whole lot faster in December if you are an adult. This is so true! As a kid, it seemed to crawl by as we waited for Christmas.
SNOW!
This weekend kept us pretty busy. We got about an inch of snow on Saturday night and when Ella woke up she saw the ground was covered. So after breakfast, the kids and I suited up in snow gear and went out to play in the yard.
It was fun to see Andrew all bundled up. He looked so funny trying to walk in his boots and snow pants. The snow wasn’t “snowman” ready, so we really couldn’t build one. But we did get to run around and throw snow at each other. He really had fun once he got over the “awe” of it. Ella? Well, she just loves to run and jump in the snow.
Cookie Time!
Our Elf on the Shelf, Twinkles, had the idea to decorate cookies this weekend.
She is obviously a Sam’s Club member!
The kids had a blast decorating them.
Ella had her “Bucket O Princesses” with her as she decorated hers. Andrew was eating them as fast as he decorated his …
Picnic
Yesterday, Ella wanted to have a picnic. So we put a blanket down in the living room, I whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches, and they had a picnic.
Note the “Bucket O Princesses” are with her at lunch, too! LOL!
I probably should have thought about giving them applesauce pouches. That blanket needed a good wash after the picnic was over.
Say “Ahhhh”
This morning, when Sam got home, we had to take the kids to the dentist. Ella did ok, but there are things that she won’t let them do. Sam went back with her and I guess she started to freak out about getting an X-Ray. We will probably need to see a pediatric dentist who may be able to get her calm enough to get them. Andrew had no issues at all, He was a champ.
After our visit to the dentist, it was time for a visit to Santa. Ella was so excited to go see him. More on that in my next blog!
One Final Story
Last year my dad got us an Amazon Echo. You have to link it to an Amazon account, so I linked it to mine.
Sam and I decided that we were not getting each other anything for Christmas this year. I decided to get her something from the kids. So I took $20 I won on an instant lottery ticket and put it in the account I used for my DJ business (so she wouldn’t know) and ordered her something on Amazon.
She was standing by the fireplace yesterday where the Echo is yesterday. She see’s something that pops up on the screen.
She asks me, “What did you order from Amazon?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“According to the Alexa, you have something arriving Thursday that YOU ordered,” she says.
“Don’t worry about it!” I told her, hoping she would drop the subject.
She didn’t drop it and says, “We don’t have the money to spend. Did you put this on your credit card?”
“No. It’s not anything big. It’s something from the kids to you.” and I explained that it was from the lottery ticket money.
She finally drops the subject, until today.
“By the way, I know what you have coming from Amazon,” she slyly says.
I look at her flustered. “Every time I try to get you something as a surprise, something spoils it!”
She then says, “What made you think to get that?”
I don’t say anything. I told her to just act surprised when she unwraps in.
Then she laughs and says, “Yeah, I don’t know what it is. But I was hoping you would tell me by telling you I knew what it was!”
“Wife Trickery” at its finest!! Man, I almost told her what it was! Somehow I think she knows what it is anyway, but we’ll see.
I admit my creativity level is not what it used to be. Thank goodness we have the Internet! Thank goodness for those who are more creative than I am!
With the addition of Twinkles, the Elf on the Shelf, there is now a nightly panic about what we are going to do with it every day. I didn’t think Ella would be into it as much as she is. She really loves looking for her every day. She doesn’t get the whole idea that the elf “reports back to Santa” yet.
I am not ashamed to admit that I have borrowed many of my ideas from the Internet. I have had some fun with it for sure. I am not to the point where I am going out to buy props or outfits for the thing yet. Maybe when Ella gets older, but not now!
Here are a few highlights of the past week –
Twinkles on her one horse “Olaf” sleigh…
I was surprised I had all the right (and enough) letters to do this!
I guess that there is an Elf on the Shelf cereal that comes out around this time of the year. The idea I saw had the elf popping out of that box instead. These Cheerios were stale, so we put the box and cereal to use…
This one is my favorite. I found some old wrapping paper and used it for a backdrop. I thought that guy by the camera just looked like a photographer. I also added a line of people waiting to get their picture taken.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 