Meet Charlie...

We're very happy to welcome little Charlie, our happy little magical scout elf all the way from the North Pole!



Today I decided to pick up "Elf on the Shelf" from the store (SH&G)...Rod & I decided that this was the year to start Sophia on the tradition! I learned of EOTS last year at market (2008) when I made my semi-annual voyage in January. It's the most clever little idea that is making someone very, very rich. It's one of those products that you slap your forehead thinking, "that's so smart - why didn't I think of that!?". We bought them for all 3 stores last year & sold out FAST! I almost got one last year, but figured Sophia was still just too young to really 'get it'. I knew that her little imagination was just right to handle it now. For example, she'll have pretend phone conversations on her little phones, or cook something for an imaginary customer at her little kitchen. Timing was perfect this year. So, I trotted home with EOTS in hand & couldn't wait til the bedtime routine kicked in! The great thing about EOTS is that not only do you get the little elf in the box, but it comes with a CUTE story book that you read to your kids that explains the whole thing. It's precious. Felt bad as Rod missed out b/c he's sick. Sophia got decked out in her little 'Santa's Helper' pj's (c'mon people, it's time to festive!) & she crawled into my lap to read the story. Her little eyes lit up with every page. After much deliberation, we settled on the name "Charlie" for our little elf. After tucking Sophia in, Rod & I went to work on finding Charlie a little place to hang out...can't wait to watch Sophia find him in the morning! Tee hee...







Here's the general jist of EOTS: the special scout elf was sent by Santa to keep watch on your kids' behavior. Each night after they go to sleep, the elf flies back to the North Pole to report the behavior to Santa. By the time the kids awake, the elf is back 'home' in your house. The idea is that the parents or grandparents move the elf to a different spot in the house each night, so the children can get up to find the elf...the elf can be dangling from the chandelier, sitting on the mantle, clinging to a picture frame, etc. Maybe he's even sitting in one of the kids toy cars/trucks...the possibilities are endless. However, the trick is that the kids cannot touch the elf, otherwise, he'll lose his magic. In order for the elf to come to 'life' with magic, the kids must choose a name for the elf & whisper it to the elf (not too close though!). EOTS has a whole website that you can register the elf's name, get a certificate, etc. You can even play games, tour the N. Pole, make cookies for Santa - the site is FABULOUS! Sophia particularly likes the Elf Registry area as we pretend to ride down the slide (it's an animated little site). Each ride was complete with our arms up in the air saying, "WEEEEE!"!

I highly recommend going to Southern Homes & Gardens to pick up your own little elf!

C is for Cookie!

And cookies are for ME! During our little Publix shopping trip (see older post below), I asked Sophia if she'd like to help me make some cookies, & she was right on board with that idea! I went simple (Mom, cover your eyes...) it was the Pillsbury Ready-to-bake 24pk of cookies. Gasp! My mother has the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe that she knows by heart (I was a chubby girl growing up, wonder why?) and she passed the delish recipe down to me. However, involving a 2.5yr old in measuring flour, sugar, etc. is a disaster I just wasn't prepared to handle that day. HA! Sophia loved putting on her little apron, & standing up on her little chair to help me place the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet - this was a perfect little project for her age! I'd break them apart & let her place them however she wanted to on the cookie sheet...they all ended up in a wandering mamba-style line! So then we counted off 3 cookies to go in the top row, then 3 more for the next row & so on. I couldn't believe that I was teaching her basic math...I may have broken out in hives as I've declared with pride before - I'm just too cute for math! It was my worst subject growing up. Let's hope she has better luck...sigh, I digress. We finished up the first cookie sheet & I placed them in the oven. We watch them in the oven window "grow" & then she wanted them out to taste one. After they cooled, she got to sink her little teeny tiny teeth into the gooey cookie (& so did I)...they were delish! We had so much fun doing our little project together!

Santa's Little Helper

I can't believe how big Sophia has gotten! She's close to 3 - where does the time go? As we pulled out the Christmas decorations last weekend, she was completely into wanting to help. I just wasn't as jazzed about doing it all this year for some reason? Retail tends to ruin the magic of the holidays a bit, as our store put up Christmas by Oct. 1! I've been listening to Christmas music all day long at work (against my will...usually I make myself wait until Nov.1, sigh!). I'm a bit jaded this year I think. Plus, last year I probably jacked myself up on caffeine & decorated everything while Sophia took a 3hr nap! Oh well, the show must go on! Rod was great as he put on some of our fave Christmas cd's while we unpacked it all. Luckily, the weather put me in the decorating mood too - cold, dreary & drizzly. As I always tell Rod, weather like that reminds me what it looks like right before the first snowfall up north. When I think of it that way, then I get more Christmas-sy. Weird, I know. This will be our 3rd Christmas in this house (UGH, I'm SOOOO over this house!!) & so I know just where everything goes. I whipped up the tree with the ribbon, stems, picks & ornaments in no time. Then it was getting all the other table-top stuff in it's proper place. One of my favorite pieces is our hand-painted ceramic nativity figurines that my mom painted & we displayed each Christmas during my childhood. She gave that to Rod & I our first Christmas, & it was just so special to me. I still unwrap it in the old discolored moving paper that is tattered & torn - the same paper that my mom always wrapped each piece in when Christmas was over. Now, I unwrap it & place it on our mantle - in a few more years, Sophia can help me. This year, she was super happy to get to sift thru the boxes of goodies asking 'Mommy, what's this?' or 'I don't like that' (infamous phrase as of lately!). We gave her a few special ornaments to hang (her Baby's First Christmas, Santa's Sleighbell from The Polar Express, etc.) She LOVED her new little job! We'd tell her to pick out the very best branch & then hang it carefully. She was quite pleased with each selection!

Personal Shopper

Last Sunday, Rod & I took Sophia to Storkland to find her Christmas dress & some dress shoes. We found a beautiful dress, matching dress shoes & a real-live shopping cart. Yes, you read that correctly. A flipping shopping cart. Rod couldn't resist when Sophia ran over to it & immediately started 'shopping' - she proceeding to find a baby doll & put her in the seat, then go around putting 'groceries' in it. I admit, it was pretty funny. However, I was trying to be the 'responsible' parent in trying to get the task of finding dress shoes that fit done. Rod was convinced we'd have to get the cart & I fought him on it as I thought it was silly to pay ____ (it's more than I care to share/admit!) well, let's just say it cost more than $20. So I continued to put up a fight claiming that we only needed to purchase what we actually went there for. I lost. Luckily, we still had to go to Publix to get some groceries...so, we were able to put Sophia to work in the grocery store - HA! We gave her a fake grocery list (as she's all about mimicking Mommy these days)...& voila! We had our personal shopper....everyone in Publix was killing themselves laughing - including us. Sophia felt like such a big girl!

The Uncommon Finch

One of my dear Sigma Kappa sisters in my pledge class from Auburn emailed several of us girls last week & shared the link to her newest baby, The Uncommon Finch - it's her line of gorgeous handmade jewelry. After perusing the site, I was blown away! I had no idea that she had this sort of talent, but her pieces are amazing! This newest venture was born out of the poor economy where she was an accomplished architect & was laid off - she struggled & prayed for the right door to open (meanwhile downsizing & working several other jobs to make ends meet). She even began taking metalsmithing classes to learn to work metal into fine pieces...jewelry was always a big part of who Catherine was (& is!), but we're all so proud of her for making something so beautiful out of a very dark period of her life! She has several lines that she's started (with very clever titles) & there is truly something there for everyone ranging from simplistic to exotic in earrings, necklaces, bracelets & more. She's just launched her site, so please take the time to check it out...you may just find something fabulous for your friend or even for yourself. She'll even make custom pieces...& that's a good thing, because I've got a few ideas up my sleeve for her!

http://www.theuncommonfinch.com/index2.html

Happy Halloween!

It's hard to believe this was Sophia's 3rd Halloween! We've gone from being a Pea in the Pod (not even crawling)to a Ballerina (the chubbiest & cutest!) to our little Minnie Mouse who was capable of shouting "Trick or Treat"! Ah, we're just so proud. HA! We'd been trying to prep Sophia this year on 'what to do' - wearing a costume, carrying a bucket, ringing a doorbell, saying "Trick or Treat" & then "thank you". We accomplished most of that list...not too shabby! We had made plans to take Sophia by the grandparents houses that afternoon to let her do some practice runs & to let them have some photo opps. We arrived at Lopez's first where she totally didn't want to wear the ears, carry the bag or ring the doorbell. Fantastic. We even completed the mission by not wanting candy. Fail. However, we were able to get some sweet photos of Sophia with Patricia, Rafa & Gabby...the bonus was Devon showed up! This made Minnie's day! Next up we headed to the Schultz's where we had a repeat...at least she rang the doorbell here & was interested in receiving the goods from Nana's basket! This time she understood what was going into her bag & she wanted to taste it....like, NOW. A few photos & giggles later, we were off to Ava's house!

We had planned to get together with Crimi's at their house to do trick or treating & to have dinner. Upon arrival, the girls squealed at each others costumes & decided to play. We quickly gathered the goods for the trailer ride around the neighborhood with some other friends & off we went. It was much colder than we expected, so in total we gathered treats for about an hour I'm guessing. The girls had fun riding on the trailer & seeing all the other kids' costumes. They did very well & were the most polite children out there...of course! Afterwards we headed back to Crimi's where we changed the girls into their PJ's & warmed up eating some yummy homemade ziti, breadsticks & more. It was delish & we were all able to thaw out - BRR! The girls had a blast & Rod even assembled a fun fort out of blankets & chairs - they LOVED this...they were giggling going in & out & it was fun to watch.

I even opted to bring a Halloween favorite from my childhood that my mom would make, Ghosts in the Graveyard dessert. It was always fun to eat...however, I was too late in buying the supplies & couldn't find the pumpkins or candycorns. My cool whip ghosts were only one & he melted into the dirt....the disaster provided a great laugh & good lesson that I need to buy the supplies early next year. However, it tasted the same as I always remembered - deeeelish!! Here's the link to view it & to make it next year:

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/ghosts-in-the-graveyard-54472.aspx

Meeska, Mouska, Mickey Mouse!

Our whole family couldn't wait for October 18th, when we'd all go down to the MPAC to see Playhouse Disney Live! on tour...we'd been pumping up the big day for awhile to Sophia. It was her chance to see all the characters of her favorite morning Disney programs - Little Einsteins, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Handy Manny & of COURSE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with all the main characters! It was so funny that here we were taking our 2.5yr old to see these characters & thinking she was really excited, but the level of excitement in the theater completely changed when Mickey Mouse came onstage - young or old, it was like we were all 5 again - it was pure magic...and the faces of our kids were truly priceless! We attended the event with our partner family in crime, the Crimi's. Ava & Sophia had fun giggling & 'talking' about the characters sitting on their daddies laps - meanwhile Monica & I served as the family historians snapping the family memories. The girls had a blast (& so did we!)...Sophia even wore her upcoming Halloween costume, Minnie Mouse - sans ears...that just wasn't gonna happen. We had to even bribe her with M&M's to wear it - if you think you're above bribes, just become a parent & you'll quickly understand why we do it! Sophia was jazzed at the whole experience & even walked away with a new Mickey Mouse plush animal!

It was well-worth the investment & I believe the next time the show comes to the 'area' is next spring to Birmingham...we highly recommend it! The show was great as the adult people dressed in character, but they lip-synched to the chilren's voice from the show...this kept it as close to the show as possible as the kids recognized the characters by sight & voice. It was an interactive show where the kids helped the character by shouting answers to questions, etc. Lots of fun! We even got to do the Hot Dog dance with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang - yay!

After our trip, Rod was set on whisking Sophia off to Disney World next spring, but I said 'not so fast'...I think we still have another year before it's worth THAT sort of investment - HA!

Yada, Yada, Yada

Here I sit dreading having to update this 'thing'...I think I might be in a mood today, not sure. However, lots has happened since our last post - sigh. It's been very eventful for little Miss Sophia for sure! The remainder of September brought some fun birthday parties for two of Sophia's friends, Ava Crimi as well as Sophia Minor. The parties were back-to-back on one weekend & so our little Sophia was completely partied out when all was said and done! It also brought a very fun trip courtesty of Nana & Papa to the Georgia Aquarium and of course, the pumpkin patch too!

Sophia at her BFF, Ava's party:


Sophia at Sophia M's birthday party in the inflatable jump-jump:



Next came our 2nd annual trip to the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch in Clanton, AL. It's a fabulous little place that offers tractor-train rides, an inflatable jump-jump area, shopping, music, eats,facepainting, etc. all in addition to the pumpkin patch itself. Like last year, Sophia had a great time (aside from some tantrums, but hey, she's two - it's to be expected!) & so did we. We managed to snap some fun photos of Sophia trapesing (sp?) thru the patch to find the perfect pumpkin...just in time as it started to mist on us!

Next came a much anticipated trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta! Rod & I first visited the aquarium back on our first anniversary in 2008. We decided we'd go 'check it out' & take notes on the do's & don't's before we took Sophia. We both had such a great time that we knew in another year it'd be about time. So a year & a half later we went back - this time with Sophia & my parents. We arrived at lunchtime & proceeded to have all sorts of fun inside! Sophia loved running from window to window looking at all the fishies & watching them move, swim, eat, etc. It was sensory overload, but she loved it. She even ventured to the 'touch pools' where she experienced what different marine life felt like. We were proud of this accomplishment for sure. We watched the 3D/4D? show....however, Sophia didn't want to wear the shades they provide, but she was completely content watching a blurry movie without it. Go figure. Meanwhile, the rest of us had a great time grabbing at things in front of our faces like we were 5! When all was said & done, all of us were completely pooped & ready to drive home...what a FUN day!

Whew! I made it....now I'll be working on getting photos together of our trip to Playhouse Disney Live! that came to Montgomery and our Halloween photos...they are priceless!!