Hermey's Got Nothing on Me!

One of my good friends from the North Pole, Hermey, is always going on and on about wanting to be a dentist and how kids and elves should brush their teeth. So, I thought I would show Charlotte and Nathan how important dental hygiene is to me and to the big guy up North. They were really excited to find me today...and it took them a while to spot me all the way upstairs in their bathroom. It was a fun start to their day. Charlotte finally went back to school today after her Thanksgiving break. They had a French lesson today in school...and let's just say that Charlotte isn't a huge fan of French. Maybe if a character on Nickelodeon spoke French, she would like it more. She better get used to it, because at her school, French is mandatory. So, she'll be around it a few more years. Bonjour!

I hope they find me soon, I love seeing their faces!

I had to sign my handiwork!! I hope their mom isn't mad about the mess :)

Just hanging around!

I left Charlotte and Nathan a little gift for today

They found me!

So excited that I brought them gifts!

Nathan couldn't wait to get brushing

UNO!

Whew...the traffic coming back tonight was awesome! I got back so early this morning, that I decided to round up my friends, the sock monkeys, and start a rousing game of UNO! Charlotte loves UNO and plays with her dad all of the time. She is really good and she was super excited to see me playing her favorite game this morning.

Your move, brown sock monkey

Change it to red, red's my favorite color!

Charlotte seeing me for the first time!

Even Nathan was excited to see me!

So curious! I love these kids...so glad I am their elf :)

Color Me Happy!!

Hi Everybody, it's me, Norman...I'm back! I had a great trip back to the North Pole last night...I got to see the Big Man, Santa and I had some milk and cookies with my other elf friends before I came back to Downers Grove this morning. There was a little bit of elf traffic over Canada, but otherwise, a great trip. I had some spare time this morning before Charlotte and Nathan woke up, so I decided to draw them a few pictures! I think they look amazing for someone my size :) I didn't clean up my coloring mess...I'm a stinker like that!

Me coloring some pics...so glad this picture shows my good side!

Us elves like to keep busy!

After coloring, I had to hop up onto the mantle for the kids to find me. Me thinks that little one, Nathan, wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of me...and that's how I would lose my magic...so, it's safer for me up here :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here at the Clinnin house! Charlotte and Nathan's mommy and daddy already have 5 Christmas trees up! Plus, they have like 2 more to go....man, did I get assigned to the right house or what???? It's just like home here...so Christmasy!!! I sure hope the weather turns and that there is a nice day soon so they can decorate the outside too!

Blog Hijack!

Hi Clinnin Family blog readers! I am Norman...Charlotte and Nathan's Elf on the Shelf. But, I have already gotten ahead of myself! Many of you might not know what an "Elf on the Shelf" is! Santa has sent me here from the North Pole to be Charlotte and Nathan's special elf! I sit around the house all day long and at night, I fly back to the North Pole to report back to Santa if the kids have been naughty or nice. I even have my own book written about me :) Every morning, I fly back to Downers Grove and find a new spot in the house to hang out for the day...the kids have to try and find me every morning.

I arrived in Downers Grove last night to meet the kids, introduce myself and get the holiday season started off on the right foot! I left the kids my book on the mantle that explained who I am and what the rules were. First, they needed to name me...after all, we are going to be together every Christmas season for a long time to come! After much debate and careful consideration, (Charlotte felt the name needed to be Christmasy and Elfy) she settled on Norman (which is arguably neither Christmasy nor Elfy). The kids can talk to me, but I cannot talk to them...and they are not allowed to touch me...it might make my magic disappear.

My book!! *Blushing* How many of you can say that you have your own book....I thought so!

My perched spot for today...Nathan spotted me right away, but it took Charlotte a few minutes. Today, I was just hanging out by the TV...but soon you may see me doing some more precarious things, maybe even causing some trouble, who knows??? Stay tuned!

She finally found me!

And, hey! Since I just sit here all day long and watch the kids, I've decided to hijack the Clinnin Family Blog until Christmas. Charlotte and Nathan's mom has so much to do this time of year, I am sure she will be glad to get this off her plate! Plus, how hard can it be...I've see her, she just sits in front of the computer with a glass of wine in hand and blogs away....EASY!

Norman the Elf...your guest blogger, reporting for duty! Can't wait to write for you all for a whole month!!

Hmmm...Something looks different....

Well, it's official! For the first time since around April 2008, we are a crib-less household! Kevin and I converted Nate's crib into a full size bed last night. He was an expert at getting out, and amazingly enough, back into his crib. So, it was goodbye crib and hello big boy bed! He did pretty good last night. I had to lay with him for a while to get him really tired. But, once he was almost comatose, we exchanged our nightly "Good night, I love you" and I left. He looks so cute in that big bed. He's so tiny in it! I'm keeping the video monitor for a while...I don't want him roaming the house without my knowledge. He for sure would top my legacy of the cough medicine tea party.

His big boy bed!!

Uncle Jon would approve of his fancy, cozy shark sheets!

What little boy wouldn't love this bed!!!

The Greatest Show on Earth

Saturday, we took the kids to the circus! They were both really excited to go! From the minute we got there, Nate was terrified. The clowns were out on the floor entertaining the crowd and I guess he just didn't like it. He clung to me like those clowns were going to kidnap him. He wouldn't even look. He spent the first 45 minutes like that...with his head buried in my shoulder. I finally peeled him of of me and told him to look at the horses and he changed his tune. By the time the elephants and tigers were out, he was clapping and cheering louder than anyone in our section. Towards the end, the kids were getting tired and I was just praying for it to be over...I was almost out of snacks and suckers from my bag of tricks. All in all, it was a great time...great, but expensive! Popcorn was $8 a box!!! I won't even tell you how much those light up necklaces were...holy cow. Sorry for the lack of pics, but bad lighting combined with a 2 year old clinging to me for dear life made picture taking difficult.

Some of the horses

Charlotte

Nate enjoying a handful of popcorn...that handful was probably a dollar's worth :)

Some of the performers

Happy to be at the circus!

Keeping our Tosies Cozy!

Showing off our new slippers to keep warm over the winter

Charlotte was literally "Hello Kitty" from head to toe

Nate loves those slippers...but the kid doesn't need any help in the tripping and falling department if you know what I mean!

The Nugget

Nate's Birthday Party!

Now that I have finally decompressed from Nate's party and Halloween, I can finally catch up on blogging. And, it was a FABULOUS party to blog about! We rocked out to a Sesame Street themed bash...you know I love a good theme party. We had a beautiful day for the party...it was so much fun to celebrate with friends and family!

The invites...took me months to make! The left is the front and the right is the back, they were pasted together and had fishing line running through it so it hung like a mobile.

The dessert table. Kevin and I made the sesame street signs from wood!

The cupcakes! Grandma Judy did a great job of decorating them. They were amazing!

A bouquet of suckers!

Themed cookies

The wine table (for the adults of course!)

I made alphabet wine charms to match the theme

The kid's food table

Our food theme was "Grown up versions of kids food favorites" Here was a grown up version of mac and cheese

My Grandma Cannata's Chicken Noodle Soup with meatballs and tortellini, served with a parmesan crisp

Fish sticks..literally, fish (shrimp) on a stick

Braised pork shoulder served over a white bean puree with a cilantro pesto

Delish!!

Grandma Mary reading Nate a book

Not the best pic of Nate, but it shows his birthday shirt

A Blackhawks pillow pet

Making a wish!

Charlotte (sporting Christmas pj's) Nathan and Charlie (one of my Godsons)

Nathan blushing because everyone was clapping for him