He's Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

I feel the need to start this by asking your sincere restraint in not judging me.  Yes, I am aware that our Christmas elf is sitting among a bed of pumpkins.  We're in a bit of a time warp on Greenbriar Drive with the move coming up next week.  I can't bring myself to break out the Christmas decorations when we'll just have to take them all back down to move, but I also can't bring myself to put the fall stuff away and be left with nothing until the 17th when we start moving.  And so, there you have it.....a juxtaposition of two holidays, all captured in one photo, and a small peek into the madness that we're living in right now.

But anyway...

Last night marked the return of Clocky, our specially adopted elf from the North Pole.  If you'd have asked me last Thanksgiving when my mom introduced us to the tradition of the Elf on a Shelf whether or not this would have "taken off" in our family, I might have guessed wrong.  In case you're not familiar, the Elf is a special Christmas tradition.  Your family can adopt a special elf.  As soon as he has a name (chosen by your children) he becomes magic and is Santa's official helper to keep an eye on things at your house before Christmas arrives.  He sits somewhere in your house, keeping watch over the kids and their behavior.  He can hear everything, no matter where you are in the house.  He can't talk, but he's an excellent listener.  Each night when the kids go to bed, the elf takes his magic flight back to the North Pole to report to Santa about the day's events.  He then returns to the house and finds a new spot to sit and observe for the next day.  The fun of it is finding the elf's hiding spot each morning.

Joshua has been talking about Clocky for a few weeks now.  He was expected to arrive right after Thanksgiving, but we've just been waiting and waiting to see when he might show up.  His delayed arrival may or may not have had something to do with a box of Christmas decorations that Daddy had packed (and taped shut) in the basement, I really can't say.  All I know is that last night when we were upstairs getting the kids tubbed, he arrived.  I only wish I had the video camera rolling when Joshua found him.  His voice changed into the fast paced, high pitched excited child voice that immediately made me want to have about 7 more kids.  It was just pure Christmas magic, unadulterated by the chaos that is our life right now.  Unaffected by the hustle and bustle of the season.  Just pure 4 year old joy as he realized that the magic of Christmas had come to HIS house. 

We had to review the rules about Clocky to make sure Joshua remembered.  No touching Clocky, or else he'll lose his magic.  And an elf with no magic is no good at all.  Clocky can't talk to kids, but he can occasionally deliver a message to Santa from a Mom or Dad.  The no touching rule is especially difficult for Joshua, and he wanted me to hold him up as close as possible to Clocky so that he could inspect him, but he was very careful not to bump him.   

The first recognizable thing out of Joshua's mouth this mornign was, "I wonder where Clocky is hiding today?"  He then spent his breakfast time trading magic with Clocky.  He also insisted that Clocky was eating toast for breakfast just like he was.  I quickly asked that Clocky make sure that he not make crumbs where he was sitting.  Joshua even asked me if I would ask Clocky a question for him, and insisted that I find out what he reported to Santa yesterday.  When I told him that Clocky had given a good report to Santa, he was thrilled.  Then he told Jason that "Clocky told Mommy that I was a good boy.  That means I'll get a lot of presents!"  How quickly they form the connection.

This is Christmas bribery at its best, my friends.  But I have to tell you that I'm not ashamed to participate.

Lauren is a little small to understand this whole thing, but she is aware of a new friend in our house.  She has been pointing to Clocky and attempting (with pretty good success, actually) to say his name.  Her language is really starting to take off and I'm remembering how much I adored this stage with Joshua.  It's even better this time as I find myself a whole lot more relaxed with Lauren, and so much more present with her.  What a gift that transition has been for me.  The more I get to know this precious little girl, the more I fall in love with her.  She's a handful for sure, but I'm so glad she's mine!  I hope you enjoy the picture below of her sitting in the refrigerator on Sunday morning.  Every time the door opened, she'd plop herself into the fridge and stay put until I removed her.  Typical Lauren.  Always making us giggle in amazement at the things she comes up with.