Hello December!

Wow. December. Can you believe it? I mean really. We just put away our Halloween decorations. We celebrated Thanksgiving, did a little Black Friday shopping, and then wham! December. What happened?!? I'm still eating leftover turkey.

Now it's Christmas this, that, and everything! My neighbors have inflat-a-santa-and-Snoopy-and-snowmen up in the yard. Beautiful lights twinkling from the rooftops. I've got the Christmas music going. One batch of caramel corn made which is a true sign of the holidays in our house. And the kids and I have started our December calendar. An advent calendar of sorts. Each day designated for some holiday activity to help us to think of more than just toys. We do Santa stuff, we do Jesus stuff, and we do giving-to-others stuff. I try to mix it up so we can enjoy all parts of the holiday.

One thing not on the list but has been the forefront of many conversations is our Elf on the Shelf. Will he be back this year??? A question I love given all three children were not at all impressed upon his arrival in 2012. I suppose it was a little beneath them... age wise. But our elf Buddy is pretty ornery and my kids LOVE ornery!

When the kids woke up this morning, Buddy was waiting to greet them with a decorated tree.  Such a wasteful elf. Does he know how much toilet paper costs these days?!? That is how my kids know Buddy is real. Mom would never throw around an entire roll of toilet paper just to play elf. 

Just in case you miss last year's mayhem. Here are a few of Buddy's antics we endured. War games, stuff animal parties, snow forts. He toilet papered the bathroom, tagged the mirrors, ate all the kids candy (the teenager wasn't impressed!), and so much more.

 Our favorite was the war games. My husband was deployed and Buddy was a great distraction during the holidays. He even teamed up with the Daddy Doll to protect our Christmas tree. 

This year my husband is here and gets to experience Elf on the Shelf for the first time. He isn't a believer yet. I have a feeling it will change. As much as my kids love ornery, my husband loves it 10 times more!