The mischievous elf

Christmas is over and the decorations are all put away until next year…

and Jingle the Elf has gone back to the North Pole to hang out with Santa and the other elves until it’s time for him to come back to visit us next year.

I thought, though, that I’d share with you the final exploits of Jingle’s visit to us…

I think he really outdid himself this year. I’m beginning to wonder what next year will bring – the more he is with us, the more mischief he gets into.

You can see what I mean:

There were “snow angels” on the kitchen counter (in my flour)

And lights in the hurricane lamps…

A little fishing expedition in the fish tank (that, thankfully, yielded no fish)

And a date with Barbie (he has a thing for Barbies, I think)

Played games with the critters…

And ate some kisses… which he ate and shared with the girls.

Reading Christmas stories…

Flying with the unicorns in Little Bit’s room…

A zipline (!) in the family room…

He watched some TV and took over the remote control…

Loved on Little Bit’s snowman…

Did some hanging around (while we were gone to Ammi’s no less – SuperMan reported nightly on his activities from the night before)

We came home from Ammi’s to find he’d set up a swing set of sorts in the living room…

The girls were pretty amazed to find this whirling around in the living room. I wonder what the housekeepers thought when they came that day?

And the final night was quite a blowout party, apparently, with the Barbies and some New Years’ Eve type décor (complete with strobe lights and disco balls)

Oh my.

Tiny game of Uno… so funny!

So, while the girls are missing Jingle this week, I can’t say I’m sad to see him go. There were quite a few messes to clean up and I’m thinking next year, Jingle needs to bring his own clean-up crew!!

Journal Your Christmas/December Daily

I decided this year to do my own version of a Christmas Album. I’ve done Journal Your Christmas for the past two years and have watched Ali Edwards do her December Daily with awe… this year, I decided to do my own combination of the two – a little of each. I think it will keep things fresh for me, both from a creative perspective and from a content perspective.

I started taking pictures on Dec 1, but didn’t really start on my album until yesterday. (just too busy) I have, however, a plan and a general approach in mind.

I began by listing things I want to be sure I capture – so far, I am at 25 things and that is without Shimelle’s prompts, so I know I will come up with plenty more thanks to her creativity.

Here’s my list in case you are looking for some inspiration yourself:

Letters to Santa
Letters to our Elf on the Shelf
Christmas Card (I plan to add in the cards we receive as well – maybe at the end of the album)
Baking & favorite recipes
Decorations (especially new ones or things that have a history or special meaning)
Holiday parties
Craft projects
Self portrait
Family picture
Visit by my brother & his family (this will be a big bunch of pictures, I’m sure)
Shopping & my shopping lists
Receipts & packing slips
the kids’ Christmas trees & the family tree
Grocery lists & menus for the special meals
Weather
Pinterest – things that have inspired me (and that I’ve actually done!)
Wrapping
Wrapping paper
Goodie bags for friends/family/teachers
Advent calendars
“Joy is…” and have everyone complete the sentence
“I’m loving …” things I’m finding special this year
Instagram photos/posts
TV Specials
Special events/traditions (like our annual trip to Lake Lanier Islands’ Magical Nights of Lights)

That’s it so far! But, with all of that, I’m looking at a pretty hefty album!

I’m planning to make a small album this year, size-wise. I have decided to do 5×8 as the page size. I have some extra 5×8 page protectors from a recipe book project and I will use those up. Not decided yet on the actual album, though. I had planned to use a 5×8 album I had from Staples (nothing fancy) but after coming up with my ideas I think it may not be big enough.

I may just end up binding the album with ribbon or clip rings… and coming up with a homemade cover.

I’m going semi-digital with some handmade/paper accents. I’m planning to print everything at home (note to self: buy ink!) and use white cardstock as my base and then go from there.

I bought the December Daily overlays that Ali Edwards uses and I’m loving being able to use those as the base for the page of the day. My plan is to have the left-hand page be journaling and smaller photos/memorabilia and then the right-hand page be the overlay with a full-page picture. We’ll see how that works, but here is a sample of the first two pages I have created.(still in progress) They will not be facing each other, but you get the general idea.

I plan to share more sneak peeks on the blog as I go. I’m hoping to work a little each day but I know that, realistically, I will probably end up doing like I have done in years’ past and do my journaling here (or on a file on the PC) and then catching up with multiple pages on the weekend.

Are you doing anything to capture your holiday memories this year? Even if you don’t do anything but keep a journal of your activities and thoughts, I encourage you to! As I said in my journaling above, these Christmas albums usually end up being my favorite ones to go back and look at later.

I’ll share more with you soon. Right now, I’m off to finish the Christmas shopping!

Oh, Grow Up! (just not so fast)

Today was a little bittersweet for me.

My youngest daughter (5) had a Holiday program at school. They sang carols and did a few recitations for all of the parents, showed off their artwork and then we had a “reception” where we shared donuts and muffins.

I loved it. She did such a good job and all of the kids were so adorable. (I love this age) The little boys with their energy just bursting from their little bodies, straining against the structure of standing in a row and reciting in time with the rest of the class… The little girls with their fancy dresses and pretty hairdos, smiling at their mommies and daddies and waving occasionally to be sure they are still paying attention to them.

It was heaven.

And yet, it was a little sad for me.

I couldn’t help but think that this was probably my last Christmas program I’d get to see (at least until the grandkids come along). So, while I was reveling in every moment, there was a part of me that wanted to hit the “Pause” button. Stop! Wait! This can’t be it! Let’s go back a year or two.

Isn’t that funny?

When our kids are little and dependent on us for EVERYTHING all we can think about is that we can’t wait for them to get bigger so that they can do things for themselves. We push, we nudge, we cajole and we threaten.

And then, one day, you wake up from the everyday and realize that that time is here. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’m ready!

One girl entering her pre-teen years, thinking she knows it all already; the other learning she can be independent and it’s ok. Don’t get me wrong… I love it for them. I am proud of my girls. I am so excited to see their growth and development, to cheer their accomplishments.

I’m just not ready to give up my babies yet.

I know what is coming. I have seen it with friends. Next, I become the “mean mom” who doesn’t let her stay up all night, texting with friends on her cell phone. Or the mom who won’t let her meet friends and hang out at the mall (all alone) (as if!)

I’m still enjoying being the mom they WANT to be with. The mom they think is cool (and that they think actually KNOWS stuff) I’m not ready to give that up.

I want babies to snuggle in my lap, rock to sleep, and kiss their boo-boos.

So, it’s bittersweet.

While I’m so proud of them and can’t wait to see what they will become, I’m going to miss these little girls of mine. I love them an awful lot.