Is there an Elf on your shelf?

Well I finally broke down and bought an “Elf on the Self” ploy. The kids and I were shopping last weekend for a birthday gift and Julianne, my persistent and loving child, really wanted to have an elf in our house. All her friends had one and she did not understand why we did not have one. So I ended up purchasing the 30 dollar elf and book and the kids have enjoyed it. I have been hesitant about purchasing it just for the sheer fact that it enhances the are you “naughty or nice,” “Santa will give you a lump of coal if you are not good,” etc (do I need to go on? We all have heard these sayings). That drives me nuts and I think it is actually a bad parenting strategy. We all have our naughty sides when we were children but did we ever receive a lump of coal or less gifts then our siblings? No. So it drives me nuts when people ask my kids this. Oh well, I guess it is more the tradition of Christmas than adults really meaning what they say. So anyway, I do not talk about being naughty or nice when talking about what Santa will bring the kids. However, the book emphasizes this fact, thought not too much, so it is a small enough amount that I have accepted our Elf and what it stands for in our house. It stands for a mystical figurine that travels to the North Pole each night and ends up in a new place in the morning. The kids have enjoyed finding the elf’s new location as much as I have enjoyed trying to find creative shelves/TV/Lighting fixtures for it to call home for the day. The kids are still intrigued about how it actually gets to the North Pole each night and why it does not talk to them and why they can not touch it (it looses its magical powers if you touch the elf). So I love the creativity it adds to the Holiday Season so for that fact I am glad the Elf (named Chris) is in our house and a part of our Christmas tradition.

We found out a week ago that Julianne did not pass the 3rd grade reading assessment test. She failed it by a measly 6 points so that was a little frustrating but I remember not passing my planning certification test by one point so I can relate to the pain, frustration and feelings of it being unfair. However, as we all know, life must go on and not everything is fair and just. So we shared this news with her and since she did not pass it she has to take it again in the spring. Her teacher told us before we found out the results that most the kids that do not pass it do so mostly because they have never completed a test like this. The wording and directions are sometimes more difficult and foreign to the kids. So I think that may have played a part but I do think that it is mostly because Julianne hurries through work and does not take her time. She swore that she took her time and I am sure that she took more time then she usually does knowing that it was a test. But she also misses main themes/words/information when she reads because she is always moving onto the next sentence. She rushes a lot and misses minor words that have important meanings. So the next day we got a letter from a reading resource teaching stating that she should probably get additional help for reading. So I was thrilled because I have been wanting her to get extra help for reading but she has not qualified in the past. So this will give her extra time and attention and someone else who is more qualified than me to help her out. I, quite frankly, get frustrated reading with her because she does make such small mistakes and does not really “sound” out the word and instead just guesses. So we are hoping that this extra help and her awareness that she just needs to slow down and take her time will help her in future reading tasks. She has been really excited about meeting with her special teacher. There are several other kids in her class and another class that are also in the program she is in. So she loves that the teacher gives her treats and checks up on her. I am proud of her for adjusting so well and for putting in the extra effort.

Julianne is also having a hard time going to sleep. She has always had weeks where she claims that she can not fall asleep after having been asleep for awhile. But this is the longest episode and is probably going on 1 month. She really does not go to bed until 10 or 11. Which I think that for her 10 would be the latest but the 11 and beyond are a little late. Mallory and her play until about 9:00 then she does things in her room but she has been coming down every evening around 9:30 or 10:00 stating that she cannot fall asleep. So we keep telling her different strategies and we have even given her Melatonin for a few nights and the does not seem to work. So I feel bad for her because she always says that she is tired at school and she wants to go to bed but she is having a hard time falling asleep. I can relate to the fact that it is annoying when you have spurts of not being able to fall asleep. Then you starting thinking about all the sleep deprivations that is going on and that just makes it worse. So we are trying to help her but also not make her reliant on us for solving all her issues. Hopefully it will work itself out and we will not have to really do anything drastic.

I just dropped Nathan off at school for his last day of school before the winter break. We got his teachers flowers and a card and he was so excited to give his teachers his present. It was really sweet. In the car he said, "I can't wait to give Ms Caroline my present." He ran into the classroom and gave it right to her. It was really sweet to see him care that much about giving his teachers a gift. He is really excited for Christmas this year and keeps talking about it. We finally got our tree up so that that has helped. It will be fun to see him really excited on Christmas.

Our room addition is in full swing now. They have removed the back wall of our house and now we have all these temporary walls up. It is becoming a little drafty, especially with the single digit temperatures, but it is great to see the progress they have made. they are suppose to get it done before the baby is born so we will see. I am not too hopeful but I will be pleasantly surprised if it is. They have been working hard so I know that if it can be done they will do it.

Pictures of the house (this was actually about a month ago so I need to take updated pictures)



Grandma Marci brought over gingerbread houses and cookies to decorate. The kids and their cousins had a great time. Everyone got a chance to decorate and add their personal touch to the goodies.







We went bowling a couple weeks ago and despite the high cost of bowling we had a great time. We played one round and ended up paying almost 50 dollars. what ever happened to bowling being a low cost activity. We will wait until coupons arrive before we go again.










Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-listening to Mallory read on her own (she loves to read)
-hearing the kids go downstairs before we get up so that they can find the Elf
-Nathan telling us that he loves us.
-Julianne and her love of snow (she was outside yesterday laying on her belly licking the snow for quite a long time)