Elf on the Shelf - "Sneaky"

Today, November 30, 2011, we welcomed a new member to our family... our own Elf on the Shelf.  I have been wanting to do this for a couple of years now and felt the kids were very ready for "him" this year.  So I bought the set at Barnes and Nobles and created little personalized letters for the kids.

I built "him" up all week long and boy were the kids excited.  They kept talking about how they were going to find him, what crazy things he was going to do, how good they were going to behave... yes, let's see how long that one lasts.

So tonight, the doorbell rang and on our doorstep was the book:

*props to Mr. Crazy for running around the house so quickly*

I opened the door and told the kids that there was a "special guest" at our door... they knew right away and came hurdling down the stairs screaming with excitement.  I told them the book meant that he was in the house somewhere and they needed to find him!  So the search began under beds, in the bathrooms, on a shelf (ha ha get it?)... but alas, he was hiding with the Christmas presents:

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was for them not to touch him.  It was quite hilarious if you ask me.  They grabbed their letters and treats and read them aloud.  Their little faces... I can't get over them.  Filled with so much joy and excitement.  I could barely take pictures.

So Mr. Crazy sat down with them and read them the Elf on the Shelf story so that they would understand he reports to Santa every night while they're sleeping and that if they touch him, his magic goes away.

Welcome to our family, Sneaky.  I plan on having lots of fun moving you around and helping the kids find you in the mornings.  Hopefully, you'll be quite an incentive for my children to behave a bit more...  I will be forever grateful.

I hope you Mommies out there try this, too.  I really love how much fun my kids are already having with it... and when they're happy, I'm happy.

Linking up at:
Sunday Showcase

XOXO

Did you miss me?

I've missed blogging so I'm back at it again.  Go figure.  Hopefully, I can stick with it this time, because I did in fact, miss it.  I think I was seriously delusional to believe working full time, 3 kids and their activities, tending to Mr. Crazy, plus being crafty enough to take pictures and post tutorials each and every time, was a good idea.  So here's the new story:

I was working full time.  Have you ever seen the movie "Devil Wears Prada"?  Yeah, I worked for the male version of Miranda.  Setting my alarm clock for 2am to make phone calls internationally for him.  Always at his wife's beck and call.  Running around like crazy.  Not to mention, being blamed for everything under the sun.  I not only assisted him, but also the CFO and I took on the accounting for all aircraft located at our jet center.  I wasn't busy or anything.  However, what started out as lower back pain turned into hospitalization for symptoms of a heart attack... I'm 28 people.  h.e.a.r.t.  a.t.t.a.c.k.  Seeing my kids in tears over seeing me hooked up to machines pretty much did me in on that one.  Luckily, the company conveniently "dissolved" my position after my bed rest was over so now I'm one happy stay at home mommy and completely off all medications used to get me through my days.

So I'm back and motivated more than ever... can we say thank you, Pinterest?  I used to think surfing blog world was an obsession... hello glass of wine and what's like 100 blogs on one page!  I have so many ideas for this Christmas season, plus the Holidays are just so much fun to post about.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving.  We sure did.  Gobble Gobble.

XOXO