Star Wars and Elf on the Shelf

We saw Star Wars this weekend and it was awesome. My kids, especially little girl, loved it. She spent today playing with Star Wars figures and having a great time. Even our elves got in on the fun.

Dolls

It seems that nearly every Christmas, Katie starts playing with her American Girl dolls again, even is she has hardly touched them the rest of the year. It seems that if she has friends that are 'into' their dolls, then she is too. Otherwise, it is stuffed animals and Littlest Pet Shop stuff. She's been branching out in hobbies too, especially sewing. She wants to learn to sew for her dolls! Actually, she wants to learn to sew so she can give girls in the hospital outfits for their dolls OR sell her doll clothes and raise money to help kids in the hospital. Why? Because she remembers how it was 2 years ago when she was in the PICU and hospital and how scary it was and her American Girl Molly by her side helped tremendously!

Elvish Mischief

We love our elves! We have 2: Gabriel and Noel. A third came for a brief visit before joining her forever family across the street.

Maestro Manager

My friend Jessica Pattison created a truly useful, wonderful LIFE PLANNER called the Maestro Manager  that is perfect for anyone, but especially busy moms! Of course, I could be biased about this because I am a busy mom! But seriously, this thing is incredibly useful at orchestrating all 6 areas of life - mind, body, soul, community, work and home. This thing has EVERYTHING - a plan to incorporate housework and cleaning (on a weekly, monthly, and seasonal basis!), a place every month for a budget, goals, books you want to read, prayer and journaling areas. Did I already mention this thing is amazing?

I didn't think it would be this nice! The cover is sturdy and comes in 3 colors - orange, gray and green. My friend Jessica was kind enough to send me one. I got the green cover and I simply love it! Even unboxing it was an "apple-esque" experience. It is obvious even care and thought went into packaging it! It was beautiful - perfectly boxed, with tissue paper that you pull back to reveal a Maestro Manager pen and sticker. Then you see this gorgeous hardback cover that encases a spiral bound Maestro Manager life planner. The pages also ooze (useful) luxury. (okay, I'll admit that I am a bit nerdy when it comes to paper, pens, books, and stuff like that). The pages have a slick feel to them and a nice weight. The pages don't bleed ink through, even with my favorite pens and highlighters. (yay!).

It is such a gorgeous planner that you will want to keep it in easy reach and won't mind leaving it (displayed?) on a table or armchair, or even with your Bible and journal. (though there is space in the planner for some journaling and even prompts,  if you're like me you'll also want a moleskine if you write too much!)

I can't even address all the stuff this thing has! Shopping list area, To-do lists,  this thing has it all and beautifully and thoughtfully put together. It truly is an everything you need life planner!  You can check it out at http://www.themaestromanager.com

Our 2 Elves

Gabriel and Noel having quite a bit of fun this year!

Christmas Wish Lists

It's so interesting; nearly every year Katie becomes enamored with her American Girl dolls right before Christmas. All of the sudden, she totally wants a doll for Christmas - even though she hadn't played with her dolls for 9 months prior.

I'm loving this and embracing this! I fear it won't last too long before she feels she's too old for dolls. She is planning a party for her dolls, and she asked me to take a few pics of some of her friends.

Elf on the Shelf Returns

My kids are too old for Elf on the Shelf but my youngest (11) LOVES the tradition of the Elf. She looks forward to awaking to see what crazy antics the elves were up to the night before. Oh, she knows I move him. It doesn't matter. She loves them. (we have 2, a boy and a girl elf). Last year I tried to do less crazy antics and more sweet, cute ones but she prefers it when the elves are naughty.  So far, our elves have been pretty nice. In fact, they've brought things and encouraged us to have game nights (with a new board game they brought), movie nights, complete with red vines and popcorn tin they provided, and even a gingerbread house to decorate.