the elf is back...

That's toothpaste. And, yes, it's hard to get off the mirror the next day.

Funny, my neighbor was just pointing out how we seem to get a naughty elf each year. Hers only does nice, clean, tidy stuff.

Click here for past antics. 

elf antics

our Elf helps me out during the week, but apparently she needs to be clear on the timing expectations...

oops. well, that's what happens when she's left in a super messy art area for 2 days. the girl got hungry...

{must be accompanied by loud thumping drum music when the kids come in from playing, or the whole drum circle thing will be totally lost on one of them, and he'll think "the elf is trying to teach the dinosaurs how to eat marshmallows with chopsticks"}

and... this is what happens when you ask your husband to do something with the elf before he goes to bed

our elf is back

December 1st was {drum roll} Antarctica Day, and the day our Elf returned. {FYI, since I don't know who is reading my blog, all elf posts are kid-friendly.}

As many of you know, I have 2 children. One is still very young and full of imagination. The other is teetering on tweenhood, has recently become too cool to hold my hand in public, and lets out a very dramatic sigh every morning when the school bus pulls up and I kiss him goodbye. Which is why we have a new Elf this year. Somehow {I have no idea how this happened}, our Elf was wedged into one of the shelves in my office. For months. And my older son realized this and took note, announcing a few weeks ago, that "he didn't know if I knew it, but the Elf's just been sitting on my office shelf" {accompanied by a look like, "so, I'm thinking it's not real".} Well, as we all know, Elves move daily, and they go back to the North Pole around December 24th. I have no idea why our Elf stuck around {or how he lodged himself in between a bunch of junk on a high shelf in my home office?!}, but by the time he woke up from his post-holiday slumber and went home, there must not have been enough time to get back down to CT.

So, I was thinking maybe this year there would be no Elf. {Right.} Then lo and behold, a girl Elf showed up yesterday. According to the note she left, this is her first Elf gig. She's learning the ropes and left a loooong note, that our reluctant reader eagerly read. She wanted to know "what real kids do to 'be good'". Our younger son was anxious to clue her in...

For anyone who doesn't have a phonetic speller, I'll help you out:

1. Be nice!
2. Share! x2
3. Teamwork!
4. Help!
5. Take turns!
6. Introduce yourself!
7. Smile
8. Be funny! x2

The x2 are the things our older son, reluctantly, agreed the two of them should do to "be good". But he sure as hell wasn't writing a letter to an Elf.

Fine. She'll just have to make sure he still believes...

because everyone know I wouldn't TP my son's room. 

our Elf this year...

Last year, as some of you know, I was totally into our Elf. Both kids believed, and somehow I found the time to come up with these creative antics day after day. This year? I sort of hoped no one would notice if he didn't return. Dream on. December 1st rolled around and my kids eagerly anticipated his first trick. They excitedly recalled the snowball fight. What was I thinking last year?!?! 

I couldn't find the darn Elf, and honestly, he was stressing me out. And so I went to bed December 1st, and made mention to my husband, that "if he could find the Elf and do something with it, great". Guess what? I woke up to a complete disaster the next morning. Every coat and piece of outerwear was strewn about the condo we're temporarily living in. Nice.

A day or two passes, and the Elf gets into the cookies the kids had begged for at the market. Ate the  whole bag. And I didn't have to lift a finger....

I did partake in one antic to bring a little holiday flair to the condo....

And last night, clearly he had too much champagne... but the kids were thrilled b/c he's made it perfectly acceptable to dig into the gingerbread houses. So anyway, that's the scoop for those who have emailed me asking what he's been up to. He's not nearly as prolific-- or messy-- as last year, but he's happy to be back and surprises us when he does get around to moving...

elf antics - days 23 and 24

I'm having some trouble with my camera talking to my computer, so this is as good a shot as I've got. Suffice it to say that this photo doesn't do the Elf's latest antic justice: after a long day cooped up in the car, the Elf upended Christmas decorations, covered the room with Christmas cards, and started opening gifts.... the kids seemed a litle skeptical that this was the same Elf?

It turns out... (with a little quick thinking-- because really, how could an Elf get out of a locked car and get into a locked house? The kids had a point...) it wasn't our Elf. Our Elf was still out in our car. Of course he was. Sure enough he was still sitting in his little candy box, suspended between the front seats when we checked this afternoon, and the neighbor's Elf seems to have scurried back to their house. Still uncertain about how our Elf would re-enter our house, the kids built him a tree fort in case he has to spend the last night outside, and we left the car's sunroof open....

They will be thrilled tomorrow morning when they realize how much our Elf appreciates their fort building skills. I don't know that our Elf will make another mess-- I mean, appearance-- inside this year. This might be it. But, we're ending it on a high note. The house is back in order, the Elf appreciates our boys, and I will now regain at least an hour a day. Cheers to all of the above.

If you'd like to relive our Elf's antics, you are welcome to click here.

just three more days with the Elf... day 22's antic

Every morning, the kids get up at, oh, about 5:30am to see what the Elf's been up to. And then they come to our room a few minutes later to excitedly tell us...as if we weren't fully aware. I am betting on a little extra sleep today, since the Elf will be harder to find (suspended between the front seats of my car in a candy box). Ah to be an Elf, when even the day's errands can be deemed a road trip. (Note that he also brought all of his "stuff" along for the ride: his goggles, ice skates and tooth necklace. All of the important stuff...)  

elf antic - day 21

Yep, that's a genuine baby tooth necklace the Elf is sporting this morning...

and his competitive streak played in our older son's favor as he upped the ante. This go round, not only did the Tooth Fairy leave her customary dollar coin, but the Elf left him a $2 bill. Whoa.

And the magic of both The Tooth Fairy and The Elf appears to still be alive and well for another day...

elf antic - day 20

elf antic - day 19

our older son's favorite antic: the snowball fight (which only took me about 5 days to clean up...)

our younger son's favorite: "when he juggled marshmallows blindfolded swinging from an electric light...I want to practice that too"...no, please don't, sweetheart.

p.s. a lot of hoopla that the elf was sporting his gifted goggles too...

elf antic - day 18

the elf burst out of his (2-day) hiding place (someone was a little overzealous there...) and found peace and quiet in one of the teacher gifts we made yesterday

lid was left ajar so the kids wouldn't be traumatized that the Elf couldn't breath...and to appreciate today's placement, here's what we were up to yesterday!

elf antic - day 17 (or lack thereof, as the case may be...oops)

Hmm, Elf didn't move last night... did he forget or was it because the kids forgot to do the pen project he requested? (Oh, and all of you moms will appreciate that our dining room table is still covered in powdered sugar. I kid you not. Why did I think that was a good idea-- I mean, let the Elf do that?!) By this afternoon, our Elf had put quite a dent into the gingerbread house. Apparently, Elf also had a prime viewing spot for both the pen clean-out (finally) + our first hour of the gift making extravaganza. So far, a dozen tins of our-made-up-spice-rub are made and 6 large bean soup kits have been assembled. Later this afternoon we're going to make an enormous batch of lemon sugar scrub, then let the kids decide who gets what and tag everything. Hopefully...

elf antics - snowball aftermath + day 16

so, he leaves town...and then comes home that afternoon with chocolates if the kids clean up the playroom? interesting.




note that he broke into the gingerbread house of our most easy-going child...

elf antic - day 15

elf lesson of the day: it's risky to forget your homework at home... wish I could see his face when he opens his notebook to turn it in this morning.

(thankfully, his teacher has a good sense of humor...)

elf antic - day 14 (snowball fight)

Kids are tucked in, and now I have to (achem) help the elf clean this mess up.

Creating messes has been fun, but I think the elf's going back to spending a little more time encouraging nice manners, completed chores and whatnot while we have 11 more days together...

elf antic - day 13

if you'd like to see more of what elf's been up to around here, here's the elf antic archive...

and for that gingerbread recipe, click here.

now i'm going to go peel him off the ceiling after all that sugar he ate last night.

elf antic - day 12

elf antics - days 10 & 11

it should be abundantly clear that the elf antic creativity wasn't my top priority this festive holiday weekend...

even if there weren't notes, huge messes, or death-defying acts, his antics still elicited excited squeals both days.

when the elf climbs down from this latest spot, hopefully he'll spot the sticky half-eaten candy cane my little one has lovingly left for him...