Our Elf Part 2

More of Winky's Adventures . . .

Playing Around with Kassie's Clothes

Winky got locked out one night. It was a very cold night.

 

Winky got caught up in ribbon and the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Winky got ahold of a dry erase marker. This was not fun to clean up.

Some very big shoes to fill.

All photos by Nathanial.

25 days of Christmas - Review and Thoughts - What I learned.

So we got to day 21 with the activities. I had another few activities for 22-25 but they didn't get done. I think we will try this again next year, it was a lot of fun but maybe do different activities and have them planned out better. Maybe put together the crafts and stuff in a zip lock bag so that it is ready to go.

The fort and gingerbread train were their favorites. We had fun and this experiment made me wonder why do this in December? Why does this have to be a one time a year. It made me realize that these activities or similar activities can be done year round. As a family we had a blast. Sure we didn't do everything that was planned and some nights we switched things around but it was fun and we all had a great time and bonded. 

This has reminded me that fun does not just happen. Some days it's just built in but we get in a rut. The kids get home from school and have a snack then do their homework. After that we go off to swim practice, scouts, or Awana, one of our many activities that we do. We do this day in and day out then wonder why we are constantly bickering at each other. Everything is fine as long as we are on the go but when we are home it's a "I'm bored" "there's nothing to do". 

I have rediscovered that it's fun to sit in the dark with my family and watch a movie that we all enjoy, instead of the kids in one room and the grown ups in another. I have enjoyed playing games with my kids and teaching them new games. I have learned that I enjoy teaching them to cook. Yes the kitchen is messier when we are done but there are a lot of laughs and giggles in the process.

So our next project - a jar full of fun, family activities. The boys are going to help with some of the ideas so I can't wait to see what they are. I want to be more intentional about being active in my family and not just being present.

25 days of Christmas Part 2 (11-25)

11. Christmas Ornament - I looked for recipes and stuff to do this with and honestly as I am writing this we still need to finish the ornaments so they are not done yet. I went to Walmart and bought sculpty clay. We rolled it out and cut it into circles then used the kids finger prints on the surface. I baked them and that is as far as it has gotten  We need to paint or color them. I think I might redo Kassie's. I have lots of ideas but neither the time or the energy to pull them off. 

12. Christmas Craft's - so I didn't do the prep work on this like I should have so unfortunately this didn't get done, so maybe next year.

13. Christmas Color Pages - see day 12. plus the boys didn't really seem interested in coloring pages so this might be left off the list for next year or maybe just for me and Kassie.

14. Christmas Cartoons and Popcorn - This was a lot of fun. Anytime we can cuddle up in our jammies is a good time. Rudolph the red nose reindeer is always a must see this time a year.

15. Christmas Lights - the was a change of plans and we only saw a few lights on the way home from church. It was late and everyone was tired. I learned a long time ago that it's important to be flexible and plans don't always the way you plan it.

16. Gingerbread House - We decided to do a train instead. The boys absolutely loved it. Unfortunately we are not able to use the kids straight from the box since Nathanial is allergic to red dye so I picked up some spice drops for them to use instead. I have photos somewhere but can't find them right now. I will have to do a separate post later.

17. Family Game Night - We taught the boys to play checkers tonight. Everyone had fun and a good time. 

18. Make a gift for teachers - see day 12. I always have the best of intentions but for some reason things do not get done. I am working on this.

19. Breakfast for Dinner - Sausage and eggs with pancakes. It was easy for me and this kids enjoyed it. 

20. PJ's and the Polar Express - Another must see for the family this time a year. We always watch it at least once. 

21. Make a fort and watch Christmas movies - I think this was one of their favorite nights. They turned the living room into forts and camped out.

25 days of Christmas (1-10)

Last year for Christmas my sister gave me this wonderful, beautiful advent box. It was too late last year to use it but I was so excited to bring it out this year. She is a very talented and wonderful lady. Thank you Liz.

I had a lot of plans for this box. In addition to the candy we put in activities in the box as well. Certain things to do during the day. I was excited. It didn't always go as planned and some activities didn't happen but we tried. The days we were successful were a lot of fun and I learned a lot for next year. 

Activities - 

1. Enjoy some hot cocoa. Boys love any reason to have cocoa. :)

2. Get out and Set up the Christmas Tree - They decided not to wait for me this year and I was okay with that. They did an awesome job and are very proud of their accomplishment.

3. Decorate Wreath - So this didn't get done on this day and the boys really didn't seem very interested in it at all so maybe I will leave it off or just make it myself next year. I love that it only cost me $2 from the dollar store to upgrade it. I reused the ribbon from last year.

4. Play Christmas Music - I love the K-Love Music Player

5. Decorate Tree - I blogged about this already. The boys decorated the tree with our sitter Nicole. It turned out very nice and I have not changed it. 

6. Play Christmas Music - So as I typing this out I realize that this has already been on the list, oops. Oh well, I love Christmas music.

7. Pizza and Video Games - The boys don't spend much time playing video games except on Sundays while I am working. Lucas and I had a date night so they got to play games with Nicole. It was a win - win for everyone. 

8. Write a letter to Santa Claus - I think this got done the following day. I always have the best intentions but life gets in the way sometimes. It was very funny to see the letters, Nathanial even wrote a letter for Kassie. 

9. Santa and Storybook Land - This was tons of fun. The boys are almost too old but Kassie was memorized  I plan on writing about it later. 

10. Make Snowflakes - We do snowflakes for the windows every year but couldn't seem to get the boys excited about it. We did do a few. Maybe doing something else next year. Not sure yet. I might still do some more as we usually keep them up on the windows until the end of January.

Our Elf Part 1

A few years ago shortly after Thanksgiving we received a knock on the door. I was busy so we had the boys get it. On the door step was a funny looking elf in a sleigh and an envelop with their names on it. They brought everything inside and read the letter. The letter was from Santa explaining that this was one of his elves and that he would be staying with us until Christmas. His name - Winky Tippietoes. Apparently he got in trouble in the toy shop and got assigned to kid duty. That year he wasn't very much trouble, occasionally he would get into things like taking off the couch cushions and such but it wasn't that bad and the boys enjoyed having an elf around. He promptly went home on Christmas eve. 

The following year right after Thanksgiving he was back and so was the mischief. Last year the boys started asking about him even before Thanksgiving. The days after Thanksgiving came and went and he was no where to be found. (Literally, I looked everywhere and couldn't find him.) So a few days late on our door step they found an elf with a note. This elf was Winky's Cousin Wonky who was sent because apparently Winky never checked in and was MIA. The letter that came with Wonky said that he would stay with us until Winky was found. Winky never did show up that year and Wonky was a lot more troublesome that Winky ever was.

This year Winky has returned. The weekend after Thanksgiving on the way home Lucas heard a thud. When he got home he found Winky the elf on the front windshield. The boys were very excited to see Winky again. Winky however is not the timid elf he was the first few times he visited. He apparently has been taking lessons on how to cause trouble and can't seem to stay out of it this year. The first thing the boys do when they wake up is find the elf. How long is it till Christmas when I can ship him back to the North Pole?

The first morning the boys found Winky on the couch sippy cup in hand watching Grey's Anatomy. Silly elf. Then Nathanial kept coming up with ideas for the elf to do. I told him not to talk in front of the elf so what does he do? He cover's Winky's ears and keeps spouting ideas. Well apparently Winky's ears were not covered well enough and over the last week or so we have seen him do some of the things Nathanial came up with. Have I told you I am ready to ship him back to the North Pole already.

Snow Angel? nah, Flour Elf. 

Hanging with the Bunny

Winky got stuck in the Stocking. Photo by Nate

 Winky decided to try and be helpful. I had been trying to get the boys to pick up which they didn't do. In the morning there was a pile of trash in front of the fireplace and Winky had picked up all the non trash. The boys didn't think it was funny that he had thrown their toys away. I did find it funny and Winky did earn brownie points that day.

Photo by Nate

Plugging in the Christmas Tree

My doll Cabinet. Photo by Nate.

Nathanial has had a blast, he has shown an interest in photography so I have been teaching him how to use my camera. He was very excited to see his bi-line.

Date Night

Remember when date night was dinner and a movie. Occasionally our dates are that but usually we wind up walking though the mall or we've even been known to go grocery shopping. Tonight we started out at Carino's. The service wasn't the best, it was packed so we didn't see our waitress much but the food was fantastic. It was a nice time to catch up. With Lucas working 50+ hours a week and working on his MBA we haven't had a lot of time to connect so this was something I had been looking forward to.

It was nice to touch base and talk about Christmas shopping and stuff. I have been taking advantage of Craigslist and Facebook and have gotten quite a bit of the shopping done already. Yeah me!!! After dinner we walked through the mall then ended up at Freddy's. We were able to pick up shirts for the boys for their Christmas Photos and I scored two tops of the clearance shelf at Fred's. I love their clothes but won't pay full price for them.

I know it doesn't seem romantic but I love these nights. Sometimes we skip dinner all together and just walk through the store. It reminds me of a simpler time before the kids when we were younger and just strolling through the store hand in hand.

Our Memory Tree

I remember my first Christmas tree with Lucas. It had white lights and blue and silver ball ornaments. Everything was evenly spaced and looked great. I think we did red the next year. Oh how things have changed.

Sunday I came home and the boys had put the Christmas tree together all by themselves. I must admit they did a good job. By Wednesday we had still not gotten around to decorating it because I kept putting it off. I decided to give up control and let the boys decorate the tree this year. Not only did they decorate it on their own but they did it with the sitter while I was gone.

Nathanial Age 4

The boys put on three stands of lights. I had to laugh when we plugged them in that night. Around the bottom and the top are the rainbow lights connected in the middle with a stand of plain red ones. Lucas asked if I was going to "fix" it. I honestly thought about it and while last year I probably would have this year things are different. So it stands in our living room just as they decorated it. They are so proud.

Our tree has evolved over the year. I have set aside the glass balls and in there place hangs memories. Each year we add a few more pieces. It started with their first Christmas ornament, then their second. Those first few years of searching for just the right ornament for each of the boys was a highlight of mine. The last few they have gotten to pick out their own so I am excited to start the hunt for Kassie's second Christmas ornament. With the start of school so did the various ornaments that they made and gave to us.

Timmy Age 2

Timmy made in Preschool

Kassie's 1st Christmas

Last year we were able to go shopping and pick out a special ornament for our little girl. I keep searching and just couldn't find the right one. Lucas and I decided to stop by Hallmark and we found it. It was perfect. The star on the ornament says "From God." I am curious what this years will be. I never know until we find that special one. 

Starting a few years back when the boys started asking when we got certain ornaments I started putting the date and their initial on the bottom of the ornaments. This helps us know how old they were when we got them and tells us what they were into that year. After they move out and are settled I hope to give them a Christmas gift of their ornaments throughout the years.

It's not the Christmas Tree that I always envisioned, it's so much better. It's our tree full of memories. 

What's in a Name?

I have been writing since I was a teenager. I have taken breaks but usually come back to it so it did not surprise me when I decided to start blogging again. Writing is therapy. Not only does it serve as a healthy outlet but it also serves to document my life and the life of my family. We were here, we lived.

So what's next? What should I name my blog? Does it really matter? What is in a name? What do I have to say if anything. I wanted something that would speak to me. Something that summed up what my family was. How can I do that with a phrase? I honestly thought it was a no brainer until I actually tried to come up with one.

My Facebook friends helped me come up with a few and I tossed them around for awhile. Some of the names made use of Arnott such as "Fun Times Arnott to be Forgotten," "Ready Arnott," and "Arnott we Family." In the end I decided not to use our name and to go a totally different direction. So we chose Life, Love and Silliness x3. Those that know us knows that this fits perfectly.

I am excited to get started.