Merry Christmas!

Wishing all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!!

Our Elf on the Shelf

Do you have an "elf on the shelf"? Well ours just joined our family and he couldn't have come at a better time. The days have been LONG around here! Listening and behaving have become a challenge in our home! So our little elf on the shelf has made his appearance and has now become a part of our family, and a new tradition. We started a little bit late... but I think he came just in time! As of yet we have named him "Pepper". Mateo is in awe of him.

We have a little advent box with collection drawers. The little "elf" has come every night and leaves a small treat (a little piece of candy left over from Halloween :-)) or a message. (Mateo has been asking where he lives and what he looks like). Today on the way home I told Mateo that the elf had come to live in our house and would stay until Christmas. I told him he was waiting for him somewhere inside. Well he couldn't wait to "see" him. He found him sitting on our mantle along with his little story book. Mateo's face was in awe. He wanted to know if he was alive and if he could move. We looked at him, read the book and learned the "rules". You cannot touch him but you can talk to him. If you touch him he will lose his magic. We read the story, talked about him, talked about behaving and where the elf might be when he wakes up tomorrow. You see, he goes back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa and let him know if the boys have been naughty or nice. I think it might work cuz the elf has only been here a few hours and when Mateo does something he shouldn't be doing, he looks straight to the shelf to see if the elf is looking. And of course, in big brother fashion, he has all ready reminded Marco that he could be put on the "naughty" list.

*update. It's been 4 days. Pepper has returned every night in a new location. The morning excitement starts with running downstairs to find him........and is it really "magic". Mateo has been trying really hard to be on his best behavior!! ANd that makes for one happy Mama!!

Where we found him this morning!

Portable North Pole

Came across this super cool idea and site and wanted to share!

Register at Portable North Pole, and you can send a message from Santa Claus to a toddler, older child, or even an adult. After navigating an extensive online questionnaire that even mentions siblings, chores, and the most coveted gift on your child's list, PNP creates a high quality video of Santa speaking directly to your child. You'll get a quick tour of the North Pole hot spots, hear a little about your child's strengths and areas for improvement, and even see your child's name, right there in Santa's book. And if your kid's name isn't exotic, Santa even says it. Neato. The best part of all? Sending messages through Portable North Pole is free. If you want a DVD keepsake, they'll make one for a small charge.

It's super cute, super easy and so much fun for the little ones!!

A Reminder to Be Thankful!

One of our traditions that we have decided to keep is having a real LIVE Christmas Tree. Even if it only means a trip to Home Depot, usually in the rain. Borrowing the scissors to keep removing twine off each wrapped tree in search of the "perfect" tree. Only to drive Jeff bananas and still wonder all the way home if we picked the "right" one. This year we have been putting it off due to timing and wanting to make sure the tree stays fresh thru the holidays..or was that the real reason? Poor little Marco is sick, yet again. Unfortunately he is easily affected by colds and the allergens in the air. His poor little lungs are affected so quickly and wheezing is not our friend!!

Well our plan had been to get our tree on Tuesday. Come Tuesday mommy had a horrible stomach flu...YuCK!! So no trip to get our tree. Also the start of Marco's cold. So on Wednesday it led us on yet another trip to see Dr Novesteras. And what were her friendly words? "you dont have a LIVE tree do you?" My response, "No, not yet, we're going to get that tomorrow." Sadly, plans have changed. Basically she said if we want Marco to keep Marco healthy and breathing normally, or breathing at all...no LIVE tree for us. Her suggestion, put a live tree on your porch, but no way inside your house.

It's horrible to say but I did go thru a moment of being sad and wondering what we were going to do. No offense, but I am NOT a fan of fake trees. I did ask if this was permanent or if there was hope for next year and it may be a temporary thing. Yes, it may be temporary. Yipee....but until then, we have to decide, do we "borrow" a tree to get us thru this year and make it a Charlie Brown Christmas, or do we go shopping, find the "perfect" fake tree and go from there?

But in the end, I am left with the true reminder! That we have two beautiful, healthy, active, incredible boys!! And in the end, neither of them will even take a second to wonder if our tree is real or not!! They will just revel in the excitement and joy of Christmas! And it's our job to make that happen!!