Elf on the shelf, part III

Hi there,

Elf on the shelf continues to excite the little people, and convinces me more and more of my inability to know my own limits. 6 Sleeps to go for this weary elf.

Elf on the Shelf: Part I

Elf on the Shelf: Part II

I hope all of your Christmas preparations are done and you can sit back this week and enjoy a little family time.

Much Love

Liv xo

'Advent Activity Calendar' continued

...and so our 'Activity Advent Calendar' continues.....

It's been HEAPS of fun but totally exhausting, and still 8 activities to come (time for a berrocca)

a bogan vist to the Bunnings Christmas party for free food, free activities, free craft and free carols (the smiles are slightly contrived and no Dad in sight,  not sure we'll revisit this one next year?!) 

Fun had by all at the cousins, and one Japanese Grandma with a mountain of craft activites. 

The Dusk Hunt: This activity was forgotten about until just on bedtime when #3 remembered! Of all activities to be left until the last moment....chocolate filled little people at 8:30pm

A visit to the water park with the other cousins!

Elastics

The common response to "ok boys, all smile"

Stupidity. Always stupidity. 

Cookie making.

A fun Christmas Party with old and new friends

Much Love, until tomorrow

Liv xo

Elf on the shelf: part 2

Rudy continues to watch for naughty and nice behaviour, and dutifully reports back to Santa, but more to point, he continues to bring magic and wonderment to my children.

(All 4 + a cousin had red noses when they woke up. The big boys and the cousin swiped theirs before I got a chance to snap a photo)

And then today (one week after school finished for the year), this sweet little package arrived in the post and added to the magic of Christmas.

Teachers can make a lasting impact in children's lives and Lucy's did just this. Her teaching experience was exceptional but it was the little things that made the difference: her warmth, sense of fun, attention to individual needs ...

I feel truly blessed for the year Lulu has had.

Anyway, the sun is down and that only means one thing in this house...Rudy will come alive at any tick of the clock, so I have to get the little people in bed.

Actually just one last thing, this Sunday in Mass there appeared a 4th King....but this new one wasn't so wise.

Much Love

Liv x

Our 12th wedding Anniversary

It's hard to believe is already been 12 years!

It's been one hell of a fun ride, we've crammed A LOT in:

4 beautiful children

Lived in two Australian states

7 homes

Traveled to three countries

made LOTS of interstate trips

and changed thousands of nappies.

Honey it was never going to be an easy ride with me, but it was never going to be dull either. I cherish each and every moment we have had together and I look forward to the rest to come.

Love you with my whole heart and more

Liv xo

Elf on the shelf

As I've become quite the Pinterest addict lately, I just HAD to give 'Elf on the shelf' a go this year. However, I left my run a bit late and no local shop, in fact no shop in all of Sydney stocked this famous little elf, so I decided to make him myself.

So this Advent we invited Rudy into our home, via a letter from Santa in the letter box.
The idea behind 'Elf on the shelf' is that Santa is far too busy in the North Pole to keep check on naughty and nice behaviour all over the world, so he sends out some of his elves to help him.
The elves come alive at night and play around the house, but as soon as there is movement in the mornings they freeze into toys again.

Buz is in "the know"(but still excited to see my creativity), Jimmy is too but pretends otherwise just incase Santa doesn't come if he admits it, Lulu is totally and utterly captivated and Bear destroys most of the scenes within seconds which leads to Lucy crying and the magic momentarily disappearing until I come to the rescue!

But the kids bounce out of bed every morning with excitement, and the joy on their faces makes it all worth while....let the magic continue! 

19 more sleeps to go.

Much Love

Liv xo

(I wrote about the importance of imagination here and I just want to reinforce it again. Feeding your child's imagination with beautiful books, creative play and story telling is so fruitful, and it is something they will always be grateful for. 

Memories last a lifetime.) 

Advent Calendar

This year I decided to forgo the $3 chocolate Advent calendar and instead start a new family tradition of making our own 'activity/treat/RACK calendar' (still working on a fancy name).
So last week I wrapped and numbered 24 presents both big and small, and each morning in December my kids wake up and take it in turns at unwrapping that days present.

Here is what they have done so far:

Day 1:

A package with paper, pencils, stickers and candy canes...."today we will write letters to Santa"

(starring James goose features Denahy!)

At this point the big boys thought I had rocks in my head. They played along but I could tell they thought my childish game of Santa letters was a thing of the past!... but we are day 4 in now and they are loving it.

Santa returned a letter, and with it sent us 'Rudy' the elf. Rudy comes to life at night and plays around our house. The kids wake up to his mischief every morning. (I will post about this on Friday....loads of fun!)

Day 2:

Today we made Rocky Road.

But it all happened sooo quickly and was eaten with just as much enthusiasm that I didn't managed to snap a pic :(

Day 3:

The big boys had a ball with this one. We made a heap of RACKed gift cards with gold coins and candy canes and popped them all over our suburb. Random cars, a red post box, the butcher counter, a truckies windscreen....to name a few.

A day later we drove past a few of the spots to check if they had gone, and all of them had! The kids were so excited and proceeded to exchanged stories of how they thought the person would have reacted. It was such a joy to see how excited they were for these people.

Day 4:

(my rest day)

They scored themselves some choccie today.

And tomorrow we are off on an outing! (hubby is horrified. A bit bogan I guess, but they will have fun) Watch this space for pics!

......................................................................................................

And a big shout out to one of my gorgeous sisters today on her birthday!

Here she is taking a birthday call. Bear and I ( and Mary and a sheep) took her out for morning tea:

(he had a lovely time playing in the dirt at the cafe with "mummy Jesus and wittle sheep")

The crib has clearly been a winner with Bear.

Much Love

Liv xo

ps I picked up a Chritsmas gift today that I may well regret?!?!? 

Have you ever done that and thought 'why the hell did I just buy that?'