Last moments of 2011

As 2011 draws to a close, I'm so excited to reveal my new blog design! I hope you have all enjoyed reading my blog and following my family over the past year and that you'll continue to follow us in 2012 (complete with the new design!).

I look forward to sharing my special blend of modern mommy magic with you all in the new year. Cheers!

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Top Ten Blog Posts of 2011

I decided to take the time to sit back and reminisce over the blog posts that I've done in 2011. It's been such a great year for us. Looking at these old posts brought back a lot of great memories. So I decided that I'd take you down memory lane with me and share with you my top ten blog posts of 2011 (based on how many page views they received). So here they are:

10 Tasty Tuesday! This was a recipe that I threw together out of odds and ends in the cabinet. It was apparently fairly popular!

9) Cyber Monday Steals! Nothing special... just raving about a purse that I got on a ridiculous sale. I love that bag.

8) Beating Stress. My top tips and tricks for taking care of mommy and keeping stress under wraps.

7) Engagement Rings... for Men. Who knew this would make the top 10? Prompted by a news story, I shared how Jon and I both wore engagement rings when we decided to take the plunge.

6) Breaking the Habit. I almost forgot about this! It seems like Lorelai hasn't used a pacifier in forever! Glad I packed a few special ones away that I can pull out and smile at when she's bigger.

5) Why I Chose to Adopt. This one is near and dear to my heart. I really spilled my guts on this one.

4) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (And is a Whole Lot of Work to Get!). Here is when we found our new favorite photographer - Courtney! She accomplished the amazing task of getting both girls to smile at the same time and photograph it.

3) Elrod the Elf. Elrod was our "Elf on the Shelf" who came to visit over the Christmas holiday. I kind of miss him already.

2) We Should All Be Outraged.  So funny to me that one of the top the blog posts that generated the most traffic on my blog had absolutely nothing to do with being a mom! It was just me being fired up about animal welfare! Nonetheless, I'm glad that it was so popular.

And the top traffic generating blog post of the year...

1) Lollipop Tree. I actually made this for Lorelai's 2nd birthday party (not in 2011), but despite how old the post is it continues to generate a ton of traffic. Seems that people are constantly searching for instructions on how to make a lollipop tree. Glad it is helpful to some folks out there!

Thanks for sticking with me through 2011. I'm looking forward to bringing in the new year with a new blog design and an updated approach. I hope you'll join me as I kick off 2012!

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Book Review - The Smarter Preschooler

 With Christmas break finally here, I had some time to catch up on a little bit of reading. I was so excited to sit down with this book - The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child's Intellectual Potential by Renee Mosiman, M.A. and Mike Mosiman. I ordered the Kindle edition of this book on Amazon for under $10 (love that!).

Like many parents, Jon and I have been mulling over whether or not to send Lorelai to preschool. She is 3 now, so it's the next logical step, but we weren't sure that's what we wanted to do. I'd been searching for preschools in the area, and then I stumbled across this book. Basically the premise of the book is that if you are an engaged parent who provides an enriched environment for your child, preschool is not only unnecessary, but it may in fact be detrimental to your child (because you can do a better job providing one-on-one guidance than a preschool teacher can do in a classroom full of children).

I really liked this book for a couple of reasons. First, I love that there is a wealth of research in this book. Every time they make a recommendation, the authors back it up with research studies that support their assertions. And they provide a lot of research that helps debunk some common myths too.

Second, they also provide a lot of concrete guidance: take your child to museums, read to them daily, paint with them, allow them to play alone, count items at the grocery store, etc. And then they tell you why these ideas are important... this teaches them to... or this helps them understand...

I'm so glad that I found this book. I'll definitely be putting a good number of their ideas into practice at our house. And it looks like Lorelai won't be headed to preschool any time soon. Instead Lorelai is just going to be getting some quality time with her parents. We'll save that tuition money and put it towards a piano (which will help with her math skills!).

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Christmas Time!

I have been comparing our new town to Stars Hollow for some time. (For those of you who haven't seen it, you need to dig out the dads and watch Gilmore Girls! You will not be disappointed.) Our town had an amazing Christmas celebration the other night... carolers, a bonfire with chestnuts roasting, hot chocolate everywhere, red and green kettle corn, horse drawn wagon rides, and Santa Claus! It was amazing. It totally rivaled Stars Hollow's winter carnival. Here are a few pics from our night out and about... (and I apologize, as they were taken with a camera phone and are clearly not the best photos ever taken.)

A shot of the festivities. 

Lorelai, Jon, my dad, and Logan (and the little girl riding next to us).
Mom and I were conveniently not in the picture (it was cold and windy!).

The big tree!

I can't wait to go back and celebrate again next year! This will definitely be a family tradition for years to come.

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Merry Xmas!

Santa's been here!!!!

Hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday today. We are looking forward so much to celebrating today with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. Wish we could share the day with all our family and friends, those near and far. We can't all be together, but we're with you in spirit!

Happy Holidays!

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Christmas Eve!

First, let me begin by saying that I know I've been MIA lately. We've been battling one illness after another around here. It began with Lorelai having a run in with some peanuts (she's allergic), followed by her having a flu bug that lasted a couple of days, my bought with the same bug a few days later, and now Logan and I are both fighting nasty colds. Long story short, sitting down at the computer has been a dream that's been out of reach for a while. Now we're on the mend and I'm gearing up for the new year!

But before we dive into 2012... it's time for Xmas!

Tonight was so much fun. While we kept track of Santa on the NORAD radar, Lorelai and I baked cookies for Santa. Filled a plate with them and put it on the mantle along with some chocolate milk and carrots (for the reindeer). She also said a good bye to Elrod, our elf on the shelf. And then she was off to bed to anxiously await the arrival of Santa.

I, as usual, have wrapped about two presents and so have spent most of the late hours here furiously wrapping presents and stuffing them under the tree. And now that I think about it... I forgot to put away the damn elf. Time to go take care of that before I forget...

Merry Xmas Eve!

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Christmas Crafts ala Lorelai

Lorelai has been a crafting machine. Apparently the cold weather and the holiday festivities have her feeling like the kind of girl who needs to glue things together. Thought you'd all enjoy seeing a few pieces of her work...

This one was an ornament that we made together. It came in a kit where all you had to do was glue on the glittery ornaments. We, of course, used glitter glue. Lorelai pointed out where she wanted me to squirt the glue and then she squished in the gems. The kit came with a marker to write your name on the ornament, but we felt the glittery dots were more important.

This is one that she created with her nanny. They used paint to stamp her handprints in the shape of a tree. Then they decorated the tree with some extra paint and an ink pen.

This kit is one that I bought at Target. All you have to do is peel and stick the ornaments right on the tree. She had a great time with this one and is proud to have made the centerpiece for our holiday dinner. These sorts of kits where she can stick foam stickers to things are some of her favorites.

I'm so proud of my little artist. :)

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Weekend Review 12/17

So what's been happening in cyberspace this week?

Jen from Tatertots and Jello had a great post sharing some amazing ideas for holiday mantels.

The Grand Hooker Experiment - it's not what you think. It's a wonderful effort to help out some fellow mommies over Christmas. The experiment has come to an end, but it's so nice to read about the outpouring of love around the holidays.

A tale of a dad who became vegetarian. Really liked this post because it wasn't "preachy" which is something I really hate.

Do you tell your daughter she's pretty? More or less often than you tell her she's smart? Creative? Resourceful? This blog post is a gentle reminder to us to not focus on our children's appearance.

What things did you find on the internet this week?

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I'm not feeling berry well.

My little Lorelai is sick. Running a fever and complaining of a tummy ache. And it's awfully pathetic. Really. Look.

I know. All passed out on the floor.

She's been bouncing around between 103 and 101 for two days now. And in true Lorelai form is being incredibly stubborn and refusing to take her medicine. I did stumble upon a special trick to make that happen - the equivalent of the preschooler mickey. I crushed up chewable Tylenol and mixed it in with a cup of ice cream. She thought it was sprinkles! Score. That brought the fever down, but now it's back up a bit and she's not eating the ice cream this time around with quite as much zeal... I've also been able to mix grape liquid Tylenol with grape Pedialyte and have that go over fairly well. We'll see how it goes...

Ice cream is kind of a staple in our house. And it's about all that's on the menu when you're sick. That was always the case in my family. Mom always made us grilled cheese and tomato soup when we were sick and we could always have all the ice cream and milk shakes we wanted. We were sick after all.

Glad to be carrying the tradition on... I just wish my baby didn't have to be sick to share it with.

What special things make you feel better when you are sick? And how do you get medicine into your stubborn little ones?

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Toddler Food - That's too yuck for me... continues

I have struggled to get vegetables into Lorelai for some time now. 2 years to be exact. I had begun to become a bit defeated, but recently I've regained my composure and am giving it another go.

You see, about 2 years ago, Lorelai got H1N1. Up until that time she would eat anything we put in front of her. And then she got sick. And that poor little baby was sick. I held her for 3 days. 3 days. No sleep for either of us. Only Mommy could hold her. And she couldn't keep anything down. And I think she became convinced that vegetables had done this to her because - like a switch was thrown - she refused to eat vegetables from that day forward.

And can I just say that I don't understand how she knows the difference between a fruit or a vegetable, but she does! No matter if she's never seen it before, she instinctively knows if it's friend or foe.

So I've tried scoured the internet for advice. Everyone keeps saying that if you just put the vegetables on the kid's plate that eventually they will try them. We've tried this for 2 years. And the only successes we have had was with corn on the cob and tater tots (which I'm not sure really count as a vegetable). She has never touched another vegetable. Each night she declares, "That's too yuck for me!" and I throw them away and try again the next night.

So for 2 years I've been defeated and thawing money down the drain nightly. So I opted for Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook where you sneak in veggies by pureeing them and adding them to recipes. This presented me with two problems: 1) there are only a few vegetarian, nut free recipes in the book, and 2) Lorelai is a super sleuth who can spot a trick a mile a way. The cookbook did give me a few good ideas that I have been able to pull off... but only in limited quantities.

My current standby is to make spaghetti (which she will eat!) with marinara and add a can of pureed pumpkin to the sauce. She will eat that up with no problem. For a while I used to add canned pumpkin or winter squash to muffin recipes, but she eventually seemed to have caught on and quit eating those. Sometimes I mix in a few tablespoons of pureed cauliflower, pumpkin, or squash with her mac and cheese. Sometimes she'll eat it, other times she turns her nose up at it.

So I've launched a new effort. 2012 will be the year of the vegetable. I'm making it happen. Tonight I tried Dr. Praeger's Sweet Potato Littles. These are essentially tater tots made from sweet potatoes in these shape of dinosaurs, stars, and bears.

Photo from drpraegers.com

Logan happily ate them. Lorelai refused to try them. I thought they were delicious.

So I'm willing to try just about anything. How would you get a picky preschooler to eat veggies?

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!

I'm so excited to announce some improvements coming to my blog!

First, I'm getting a whole new redesign. A pretty new layout complete with a button and everything!

Second, I'm restructuring pages so you can view by content. So excited about that one. Recipes in one place... crafts in another... It's gonna be awesome.

Time to get out the hard hats! The construction has begun! Who knows what else will be in store. But stay tuned! I plan to have it all ready and going by the new year!

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Tasty Tuesday!

This week, it's not an Ashley Original. And it's not exactly healthy. But it is soooooo good. And it's sooooo easy.

This recipe is one that I found at Allrecipes.com by Laurie Bennett. I've made this pumpkin bread for so many different occasions now... Logan's birthday party, family get togethers, and just because. It's so easy to make and absolutely delicious. Check it out here!

Photo from allrecipes.com

If you want to "health" it up a bit, try swapping out the flour for whole wheat pastry flour, replace 2 eggs with 4 egg whites, replace 1/2 cup of vegetable oil with applesauce, and reduce the sugar by 1/4 to 1/2 a cup.

Logan points to this and yells "that!" every time we walk past the plate of bread in the kitchen. I can't think of a better endorsement.

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Shellac - Have you been reading my diary?

I'm a nail biter. A serious one. I've been indulging in this (some might say disgusting) habit since I was about 5, maybe younger. I've tried about 5 billion times to quit, but I can't. I've tried acrylic nails but I really don't have time to go get my nails done every two weeks. Plus the drilling on my nails freaks me out a little. I can't seem to keep plain old nail polish on my fingers either.

And then a miracle occurred.

My mom was telling me about someone she met who had the most gorgeous looking nails. She asked the woman who did her nails and she proudly announced that she did her own. She proceeded to tell my mom about Shellac. And let me tell you, it's wonderful.

Shellac is basically nail polish crossed with gel nails. You paint in on like regular polish, and then let it cure under a UV lamp for a couple of minutes. You do this about 4 times (base coat, 2 coats of color, and a top coat) and after the last round under the lamp, your nails are COMPLETELY dry. Like dig around in your purse and you'll be fine. The polish adds just a bit of thickness to your nails - just enough to help keep my nails from breaking and tearing, but much thinner than acrylic nails are. And the best part is that they last a long time! Now I'm picky and as soon as I see the tiniest chip I have to take it off and redo it (else I'll bite them all off). That means that the polish lasts just over a week for me. Other people I've talked to manage to keep theirs on for 2-3 weeks. I also tend to be a little hard on my hands in general...

Color: Hollywood.

And yes, those are my fingers! That I painted myself! (I know that you're thinking this isn't anything special, but if you had seen these nails a few weeks ago, you'd be impressed. I won't subject you to a before shot.)

So where do you get this miracle product? Well, you can get this done at the beauty salon, but the cheapest price I've found was $35. Instead, I did a little googling, found instructions online, and bought everything I needed straight off of Amazon.com. It cost me a grand total of $115 for all the equipment and 4 bottles of polish (base coat, top coat, and two colors). I figured if I did my own nails 4 times, I had more than saved my $115. And I've done them at least 6 or 7 times now (and bitten in between)... so really I'm not spending money at all... I'm saving it! In fact, my nails are practically paying me to paint them.

Here's to another week of no nail biting!

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Weekend Review 12/11

With the holidays in full force, there are some awesome things happening out there in cyberspace from decorating ideas to recipes to gift ideas. I'm in holiday heaven.

Here are a few highlights from sites I've been stalking this week:

Bakerella - I just discovered this site and it's a real gem. This link takes you to a recipe/gift idea for Cowgirl Cookies. I love this! Such a great idea and with a little reworking (my oldest has a nut allergy) we'll be making these for sure!

Home Fries - These are podcasts by a mom about everything related to being a mom - laundry, parenting, organization, etc.

SheKnows.com - This website is pretty neat. It has advice on all sorts of things from clothing to parenting. I stumbled across it this weekend wondering if my child's tantrums were normal. (They are.)

The list is a bit short this week, but it's been a busy week and I haven't had much time for net surfing. Maybe we'll have a better run down next week!

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Massage Happiness

I just went and had a massage.

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And I feel like jello.

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And it is AWESOME.

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Take an hour this weekend and do something nice for yourself. You deserve it. Mommy's orders.

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My plight

Can I just say for a moment how hard it is to find cute shoes that fit me? I don't want to wear shoes that pinch my toes, rub blisters on my heels, and make my feet ache after just a few hours. I want comfy shoes. That being said... I want pretty shoes. Why can't shoe designers make me both???

Ugh.

You see, the real problem is that I have fat feet. (Yes, it's possible that it's more than just my feet, but that isn't relevant here.) Most shoe stores I venture in don't even carry wide widths. And if they do they look like something that should have the label "orthopedic" written on it. Why can't we just make the same cute shoes in wider sizes? And while you're add it, add some arch support! And make them out of nice quality materials. I want to wear pretty heels that I can stand in all day!

I'm not opposed to paying for nice shoes. I get it. Nice shoes require more $$. I'm good with that. Just make them fit!

My most recent shoe shopping endeavor has brought me to a new brand of sneakers... Brooks. They're awesome!!! I just got my first pair and have been wearing them nonstop for 2 days. They have arch support. They're comfortable. They come in wide width. They don't rub or pinch. They're awesome. AWESOME!!!

Order these at: zappos.com

I'm a convert. I'll be wearing no other tennis shoes but Brooks from now on. Now if they would just make some saucy heels...

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Christmas Shopping is DONE!!!

I'm like a small child. Really. All I want to do is break out the kids' Christmas presents and go to town. I don't want to wait until Christmas. I want to play with my their new toys right now!

Seriously. It's going to be a bang up year at our house. You should have seen Jon and I shopping in the toy aisles. We were like kids in a candy store.

Because I have to share these with someone (since I can't tell the kids)... here's a sneak preview of some of the goodies we found:

Mmmm... Play Doh Pizza! 

Olivia the artist... reminds me of a little redhead I know.

For our Logan

Don't tell the kids. 

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Tasty Tuesday!

It was another night of digging through the cabinets wondering what to make for dinner... and another night of randomly throwing items in a pan. 20 minutes later... Viola! Dinner was served. And it was good too!

I've decided to call my creation: Last Minute Couscous

What you'll need:
1.5 cups of whole wheat couscous
3 cups of vegetable broth
A drizzle of olive or vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon diced garlic
4 large portobello mushroom caps, chopped
28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
15 oz. can chick peas
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top (optional, leave it off or substitute vegan cheese if you want this to be vegan)

To make:
Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a 2qt saucepan. Once boiling, add couscous. Stir and put on the lid. Simmer on low for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit.

Saute onions in oil in a large skillet until tender. Add garlic and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are soft (about 3-5 minutes). Then add tomatoes and chick peas. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.

Fluff the couscous with a fork.

To serve: Scoop 1/2 cup of couscous onto plate or in bowl. Add a large scoop of the tomato/mushroom mixture. Top with a healthy sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

What's for dinner in your house tonight?

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"I'm feeling a bit shy."

This weekend was my office Christmas party. Very few people in my department have children, but those of us who do usually bring them with us to the festivities. This year I brought both my girls with me. We thought that Lorelai, our little social bug, would have a great time. When we walked in the door everything was fine. She was very excited to be there. Then she saw the large crowd there and immediately froze, turned around, and beelined for the door. She got to the door and stopped, turned around, and looked to see if I was still there. I, of course, had followed right behind. Let me preface this by saying that she has picked up a little bit of a British accent. She's been watching the television show, Peppa Pig, incessantly, and seems to be picking up Peppa's pronunciation.

http://www.nickjr.co.uk/shows/peppa-pig/

So as you read this, envision Lorelai speaking with a hint of a British accent. It makes it so much better.

This was our conversation:

Me: What's wrong?

Lorelai: I'm feeling a bit shy.

Me: I see. You're feeling a bit shy right now?

Lorelai: Yes, Mommy. I'm feeling a bit shy right now.

Me: Would you like to sit down here? (Pointing to couch)

Lorelai: Sure.

(We sat there for about 5 minutes).

Me: Do you want to go see the people at the party? They are Mommy's friends.

Lorelai: No. I'm feeling a bit shy.

Me: I heard they have candy in there.

Lorelai: Hmmm... Well, actually... No. I'm feeling a bit shy.

Me: Ok.

(We sit there another 5 minutes.)

Me: I think they have cookies in there. And candy. And there's a lot of our friends in there. They probably want to say hi to you. And there's cookies and candy.

Lorelai: Well... Ok. Let's go get some candy.

************************************************************************************

She still fluctuated back and forth for about half and hour with being "a bit shy" and then my tiny "British" piggy loosened up and partied like a rock star. She danced for folks, sang songs, and shook hands. Overall it was a success. I hope the British accent doesn't leave us any time soon. For some reason it makes things so much cuter.

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50 Followers!!!!

I'm so excited that I now have 50 followers on here! Thank you to all of you who follow my blog and who share your input with me. It means so much to me to have you here!

Thank you!!!!
Ashley

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Weekend Review 12/3

Wow. Can I just say it? Wow. There has been some awesome web-activty this week. So many articles and blog posts that have made me smile, panic, or laugh. Here's a sampling of some of the things I was checking out this week that made me read with interest:

Relativist Parenting - I think this really describes me as a parent. I struggle with about every decision trying to decide what is the right one to make and often times fall into my laid back style of deciding it's all relative. It's a really good read.

Abortion - Yup. I pulled out the A word right there. This blog post by Becoming SuperMommy detailed a woman's right to choose and why she supports it. You'll even see that I got geared up enough about it to post a few comments. Whatever your position on abortion, I think you'll find that she had a very nicely written piece on it.

College and Parenting - Another post by Becoming SuperMommy. I think she was speaking directly to me this week! She posted an amazing post about what it is like to balance going to school, working a job, and being a parent to small children. It's what life is like for us every day here in Modern Mommy Magic world. It was nice to know that there is someone out there who knows and understands what we're going through. And who will be wrapping it up this summer with us!

Tatertots and Jello on Pinterest! - Jennifer has done all the work for us! Check out her collection of holiday ideas that are just itching for me to have spare time to do. I love the ornament garland and the paper trees! Beware - you'll be here a while!

Christmas Traditions - I love the family tradition that Six Sisters' Stuff posted this week. Such a great idea and a wonderful way to teach your children about giving at the holidays... particularly how it's not important to get thanked for your kindness.

Hope you enjoyed these links as much as I did. What did you find on the internet this week?

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Elrod the Elf

Please join me in welcoming the newest (and most beloved) addition to our household: Elrod the Elf.

Elrod arrived on Sunday, complete with his book. For those of you unfamiliar with The Elf on the Shelf, let me enlighten you. Each family can "adopt" an elf into their family. In doing so you get to name your little friend and he becomes a family holiday tradition. The elf is about the size of a soda can and looks like one of those terrifying dolls you'd find in your grandmother's attic. Seriously - he's really creepy looking. But the elf (we named ours Elrod) is magical.

During the day he keeps his eyes and ears on the kids checking to see if they are being good. At night he flies home to the North Pole to report to Santa on the kids behavior (or misbehavior). If the elf gives Santa a positive report, then Santa will come bring lots of presents on Christmas. A negative report does not bring such happiness.

There are some guidelines that must be met. First, you cannot touch the elf. He'll lose his magic and be unable to return to Santa with the "good" news. Lorelai is strict in enforcing this policy. You may lose your life to this child should you make the mistake of touching our beloved Elrod. Second, the dutiful parents must make sure to move the elf to a new location in your home each night. You see, when he returns from the North Pole he likes to stake out a new spot to demonstrate to the kids that he was gone during the night while they were sleeping. Lorelai takes great joy in figuring out where Elrod is in the morning. (And the loser parents that we are, we almost forgot to move him last night!) Some people have really taken this to a whole new level. Some people who are a whole lot of awesomeness. And I plan to steal many of their ideas. Check out the One Story Down blog post not the elf for some awesomely awesome ideas.

Other than that, you sit back and enjoy as you utilize your most powerful tool of manipulation. I LOVE THIS ELF!!! Every time Lorelai starts to act up, I quickly whisper, Careful! You don't want Elrod to see! He'll tell Santa! And Lorelai quickly stops what she was about to do and heads off to some parentally approved activity. I have never had this much control over my preschooler. Never. Not with this much ease.

Better get to bed. You don't want Elrod to tell Santa you stayed up past your bedtime!


You were going to share with your baby sister right? Elrod won't like it if you don't share.


You better pick up your mess. Elrod is watching.


Yes. We're evil. And I'm not entirely convinced she's not complying out of fear of the possessed doll. However, I'm willing to let an evil figurine live in my house if it garners this much cooperation from my children. I just hope he doesn't lose his magic before the holidays arrive.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if he'd stay all year long?

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