Elf On A Shelf & My Basement Door Project, Which Are Totally Unrelated Subjects

Over Thanksgiving break, while we were decorating my in-laws' tree, Oma pulled out "Elf on a Shelf," which is really just a dwarf ornament from Snow White (don't tell the boys!). Anyway, she launches into this big story about Elf-on-a-Shelf for the boys' benefit. She said that the elf sits on a shelf during the day, keeping an eye on everyone, and then at night he goes to the North Pole to report to Santa. Then he comes back the next day in a new place in the house. The kids thought that was pretty cool. So Oma put him up on a shelf. Sure enough, the next day, he was in a different spot. I was thinking, "I gotta get one of these!" Already planning out my own scheme. But Oma was ahead of me; she sent Elf-on-a-Shelf home with us. So he has made himself at home here in Christiansburg. I did not unpack the car when we got home at midnight Sunday night, & I was surprised (though I shouldn't have been) that the kids were asking about him the next morning. Oops. So I told them he must have stayed in the car that night, but that I'd make sure I made a place for him as soon as I brought everything in. I brought him in & put him up on top of our refrigerator (he does not have to be on a shelf, as you'll see later). The kids think this is just great. And, of course, so do I. I am totally playing up the "You guys better be good, Mr. Elf is going to report to Santa tonight what you've done today." I LOVE the magic of Santa!
As you can see, Mr. Elf has been in different places, including hanging from our basketball net--the kids got a HUGE kick out of that! The boys excitedly look through the house each morning for Elf-on-a-Shelf. Today he was in Derek's room. This is where he's "going to be" tomorrow, his first time actually on a shelf, in our living room:

This might be the best year ever for our family getting into the Christmas spirit. There is only a small window of time that you have with your kids believing in Santa. Once they start school, you're just not sure when they're going to find out the truth. I have no idea how much longer I have with Nathan, & after that when he'll be telling his brothers. So we're taking advantage of "the magic" as much as possible this year. The kids have Christmas Countdown Calendars, also courtesy of Oma, that have little chocolates in each of the windows. Every morning so far (which is 3), the kids have gotten out of bed & almost immediately started asking about getting their chocolate. I am planning to start another special activity tomorrow, where I read a Psalm to the boys each morning. If it seems to go over well, I'll try to organize it a little more next year. I hope to continue it past Christmas, but thought it was as good a time as any to get it started. Do you have a daily tradition your family does during the holidays (or did when you were a child)?

There is NOTHING cuter than a 2-yr-old shouting, "Look! Christmas lights!" which really sounds like, "Woot! Tismas wights!" Too adorable! We count how many houses have Christmas decorations when we're driving around. And Derek is in on it just as much as his big "buh-das."

Speaking of Christmas, you might be interested in the Countdown to Christmas I have at the bottom of this page. I think I might have mentioned it before. Today, there are only 3 weeks & less than one day til Christmas!

You might remember that one post I asked about ideas for our basement door. The door in our house leading down to the basement had a hole cut in the bottom for the previous owner's cat. The cat-door had fallen off & the hole that was left was all uneven & jagged-edged, so I wanted to do something to cover it up. I haven't yet taken the time to print out a picture of the kids' faces, which I plan to eventually do. But here's what the door looks like now. My mom, who is ultra-creative, helped me a few weeks ago find a frame & these velcro strips to attach the frame to the door. I bought a print to put in the frame. Since it worked, I went back to get another frame & print for the other side of the door, & thought Dan might appreciate an Italian scene, since he so enjoyed his time in Italy. So, walking up the stairs of the basement, it appears that you're looking out a window to a villa scene. I think it's cute. Kinda strange to have picture frames on the bottom of a door, but it's WAY better than an ugly hole.

View of the door from the upstairs:
And, from the basement steps looking up:

My sister now has a blog that you can find here. Loni is too cute! She started off with some observations on her experiences as a first-year teacher, but she's branched out a bit, talking about the moon & her weird propensity for handbags(you'd have to read it to understand).

These people were tagged either directly or indirectly from my Weird Post (which, if you don't know, is an ongoing "meme" going around the blog world--you'll have to check out Mom's weird post comments for Malia's informative definition of the word "meme"):
Loni
Dad
Mom
Trey
Tanya
Terri (left a comment on my weird post with some of her weird qualities)
Emily (Malia's sister; you may not know her, but Emily is WAY funny! You will get a kick out of her list)

As most people say, there are probably lots of weird traits that we don't remember when we're working on our list of 6 things. Every time I read someone else's list, I think of another thing or two I could have put on my own. Maybe someday I'll post the complete list. ... On second thought, it'd take too long. But one thing that's been kinda reassuring during this Weird Saga: you read other people's weird lists & check off half of the list that could apply to you as well (maybe more if you're related)...maybe we're not so weird after all!