A little bit of this and a little bit of that....just a life update 😊

You know, I have written this post twice now...the other one was in 2022.  It just never got published or even finished.  But that's ok, I don't mind.  This is not a business or a place with thousands of followers, just my own happy place where I can be unapologetically "me".   And that's all I'm looking for, a place to just be Kim.

So, what's been going on? Asks no one? Well, I'm glad it was asked, even if by me.  😊 I am sitting here at the very end of the year 2023 and I have had a whirlwind of a life since 2019.  I have had a loss in my family so great that I can't even get the words out, not even on my blog.  We helped out a child in my son's class during his hard time with his family.  I graduated with my degree in Early Childhood Education, Brad was laid off during the pandemic and started working for himself.  Caleb turned 13 this year and has officially become just as tall as I am.  I'm pretty upset by this, just so you know.  And finally, here I am typing on my laptop that I will be using in one week's time when I start my teaching journey for the first time.  I received my teaching certification about three weeks ago and I am set to teach 1st grade next week.  

We are still in our humble abode here at 523....we are still very much average income earners, so our home is not large nor fancy.  But it's comfortable, safe and very welcoming, which is exactly what I was going for.  My philosophy is this: if I can't have my dream home right now, I will do everything I can to make my current home as "dreamy" as possible.  I don't doubt that one day I will have the house of my dreams, but until then, I will not neglect to give myself the best I can for the time being. 

I suppose that is the philosophy of my life in its entirety....make the absolute best that I can and as close as I can to where I truly want to be.  

Life has given me grief and happiness, sadness, loneliness, joy and fulfillment.  I want to write and tell all about what I do have in my life.  Maybe for me to remember what it is that I have, remember to make it as great as I can no matter what my financial status is, and to be grateful for all I have.

I forgot just how much I loved writing, and to be honest how much I really need to return to writing in my life right now.  With Caleb getting older, I sometimes feel I lack purpose in my home and family life and get kind of lost.  I remember when blogging gave me an outlet to reflect on all the things I have, and I still have all of these wonderful things.  I just haven't taken the time to see them anymore.  

Well, that's all I have for now.  Until next time, whenever that may be, take care.

Kim

Blue and yellow is an ok fellow 😕...I might need some help on the title.

Ok, I had a hard time coming up with some sort of catchy phrase for my title....so, unfortunately "Blue and yellow is an ok fellow" is kinda what we are going with.  😏

How have you been?  Is life just crazy for you?  I can't get past the fact that Caleb has only 6 weeks of school left until he's in the third grade....😭....I'm not happy about it, not one little bit.  I hate everyday that he grows older...it makes me cry.  But, as Caleb constantly reminds me...."mommy, I'll always be your little boy".  💓

So, how was your weekend?  Whew, mine was a whirlwind....again.  On Saturday we did quite a bit of fun stuff.  It rained all day long, so Caleb decided that even though it was in the 50s that he was bound and determined to play in the puddles.  Along with my little sis and her two girlies, we went to Michaels craft store.  They have these kid's crafts every Saturday, so we attended that.  They made a bunny out of a small flower pot, bunny glitter slime (I do NOT recommend), and then they sent them on a scavenger hunt throughout the store to find different items and bring back the list checked off for a prize.

Seriously, I know what they were doing with the scavenger hunt....I would have bought the entire store out, if I didn't have my wits about me.

This scavenger hunt sent us through the Easter decor and then we went through the home decor aisles....but, no Michaels...I know that ploy, you will NOT get me to buy that cute farmhouse sign decor....even if I did imagine how beautiful it would look in my kitchen and even though there were many tears after leaving empty handed....

I might be back there tomorrow...

Okie dokie, I am dipping back into my Rimmel Jewel Rocks pallet today.

Sometimes, I get caught up in doing the same thing....even as a beauty blogger who is always trying new things...this just sometimes happens.  With my crazy schedule right now, that's how it has been for me.  So today, I decided to go back to my easy but colorful look that I have come to really love, and I wanted to show you just how simple it is to create.

Most people do not think about yellow as being an eye shadow shade they are comfortable wearing.  I think it really depends upon the tone of yellow first and foremost, but it's also in the way its executed on the eyes that determine how the look comes out as well.  I did this yellow and blue look quite a while back and have since worn it several times over....it's so simple you will pinch yourself in disbelief.

So, let's hop to it...

First up I went in with the matte yellow shade from the pallet and swiped it all throughout my crease.  I went in with a couple coats to get the intensity I was looking for.  But you could do a light dusting if you are hesitant about a yellow eye look.

Next I used one color over, the yellowish golden shimmer, and swiped it all over my lid.

I think I might have said before, that you want to swipe these all the shimmers in the pallet, as opposed to patting, to get the best application.  Or you can use your finger or even a wet brush application.  They really work so well with those three application methods.  But patting it on will result in an overlay of shimmer and not too much color.

Next, I went in with a blue pencil liner, this one is by Loreal in Cobalt Blue, and I put it directly in my lower water line.

Then I used the blue color in the pallet and ran it along my lower lash line to smudge out the liner.

I finished up the eyes with black liquid liner on the top lash line and a few coats of mascara and moved on to the face.

I decided to go easy on the cheeks with the blush and went for the very neutral Bellisimo Bronze from Milani.

Then I used Maybelline's Clay Crush matte lipstick on my lips, and topped it with Milani's Lip Plumping Gloss in Prismatic Peach (BTW:  No, this does not plump my lips, I'm pretty sure it's just an optical illusion, LOL)

I love the way the look turned out....I thought it was a fun and easy look to create and to be perfectly honest, it's not a look that I feel is way extreme or "in your face kind" of look.  It's a subtle colorful look....at least that is my thought on it.

So that's all I have for today....we are picking up part of Caleb's first communion suit today...the jacket has to be altered still, but it will be ready next week.  I swear that was the biggest fiasco I think I had ever been in when it came to clothes shopping.  We went to five different stores and I am pretty sure I was shedding tears in each and every dressing room we were in.

I'm so happy to have remembered the Men's Warehouse, and their assistant manager, Jonathan was there to help me out.  I spent more than I had been hoping for....um, by quite a bit, but fortunately we did have the money for it, and I am getting what I want, Caleb is getting fitted exactly for it, and it will all be ready by May 2nd like we need.  So, NO MORE TEARS!!!  Yay!!

Well, that's all I have for today, I hope you enjoyed and will come back and visit me here again at 523!! I will talk to you all again, really soon.

Until next time, take care!

-Kim

A Lazy Day....the 523 Way!! 😄

It's been a total whirlwind of stuff here at 523....as I spoke about on my last post, the house is a wreck, Easter is only a week away, school commitments and first communion are all sweeping in and must be assessed, planned and then executed.  There are just few (and I mean a VERY FEW) hours or if I'm lucky half a day to just veg out and do nothing, lately.  You have seen the blog....I used to post upwards of nearly 5 times per week, then just two and now all you hear from me are crickets.  So, I'm a busy girl...that's the point I'm getting at.  But for the rare occasion that I get to stay at home and not do a darn thing, I wanted to show you my makeup look for those special times.

While I am one who is going to STILL apply makeup, even if I don't leave my couch for the weekend.  And just for reference, yes, I have actually asked Caleb to "run to mommy's makeup room and grab the stuff on the table" and then proceed to apply my makeup from my couch.....shameful, I know.  

BUT, that was only once and it was a long time ago....but anyhow, the reason for my ramble is that even if I don't leave the house, I will still apply a little makeup to brighten up my face a bit.  Let's keep this real...I had the flu and still put on makeup just to stay at home.  There's some definite issues that I should really address about my infatuation of makeup, but that's only if I "accept" there's an issue...I'm still in denial so I frankly think I'm ok. 😉

Again, I'm getting caught up in my rambles....so I apply makeup everyday no matter what.  The reason?  I don't want to walk by a mirror and scare myself, so I do what I can to make sure I feel good about what I see in the mirror.  So, today what I'm going to show you is my "lazy day, 523 way" of makeup....I hope you enjoy.

I will most definitely forgo the liquid liner on days like these....I love the look of it, but sometimes you just gotta make sacrifices in the name of simplicity.

Oh, one more thing....you will see a huge mess of toys in the background...please pay no attention....Caleb's toy room moved into the makeup room until the flooring is done.   😖

Ok, well I will always start out with making sure I have either foundation or a BB cream.  Then I will set it all in place with powder and then fill in my eyebrows.  These two steps are crucial to me feeling my best.

Next I grab a bronzer, for this day I used the Loreal Lumi Bronze It in Deep.  Go a bit easy on this because it's very pigmented and dark.

I will sweep the bronzer in and all throughout my crease of my eye. 

Next I will use the highlight shade on the eyelid and I also use it on my brow bone.  I used the Wet N Wild highlight bar in Earth.

Then I take a dark brown pencil and run it in my lower water line and smudge that out with the bronzer on the lower lash line.

I curled the lashes and topped them with a ton of mascara and moved on to the rest of the face.

I used the Lumi bronzer as my bronzer and then I popped the Neutrogena Get Cheeky Blush in Boys N Berry on my cheeks.....this is such a fresh and beautiful color for any skin tone.

For my lips I used the Milani gloss in Luminous....it was neutral enough, shiny enough and had just a hint of color for the look I was going for.

I put on my makeup shirt, threw my hair in a messy bun and then went to sit on the couch with Caleb where we watched movies and then of course we had to leave, we had to go to a birthday party.  I'm telling you, there is no rest for this girl....at least not until......hmmm, I think we might be free in June, perhaps. 

It's a crazy life, but it's my life and I truly love every crazy minute of it. 💓

Well, that's all I have for today...I hope you enjoyed and will come back and visit me again here at 523!!  I will see you all again really soon, so until next time, take care.

-Kim

What's been happening at 523?

Hi sweet friends!!

Where's my cape? 

I have been really absent from the blog these past couple weeks.  We have had some family things going on that had me all over the place, but then we really started in on the remodel of Caleb's playroom.  We dove in head first with replacing walls, painting walls, replacing electrical outlets and then finally replacing the flooring!!

I am so stinking excited to be replacing this flooring.  We are also going to do the living room and hallway but that will start right after Easter.  But I wanted to show you what fantastic work the hubs did on the flooring.

Caleb couldn't wait to play on it. :)

Didn't he do a stellar job?!  I am so ridiculously proud of how beautiful the floor looks and what a fantastic job Brad did.  I can't wait until it's time for the living room and hallway.  Caleb wants to do a birthday party at our house, so we have until July to get the rest done.  

So, I have a huge light at the end of my tunnel on my floors....a tunnel that has taken 15 years to get through!! 

Since I have been so non-existent on the blog, I wanted to at least pop on here and tell you that all is well....but all is VERY busy.  :) 

We still have Caleb's First Communion to get ready for and of course Easter is always hectic.  I am really swamped with the PTA commitments at Caleb's school, my own school work and Caleb's schedule of stuff that we have to do for Cubscouts and birthday parties......

Whew!! I'm exhausted just thinking about all of the stuff going on here.  But I haven't forgot about my blog...at least not yet anyways.  But unfortunately for now I might have to be absent from it until all gets back in order.  

It's a crazy life, but a blessed life I have right now.  

So that's all I have for today.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim

Family Favorite from Paula Deen - Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

This weekend we had Caleb's Cubscout Blue and Gold Banquet. 

He had lots of fun playing with his friends, receiving his hard earned awards, learning about lemurs and seeing waayyy too large for my personal comfort...tarantulas. 

We all had to bring a dish to share of food from our culture.  I brought German sausage which is from a German meat market, not too far from our home town.  This sausage is something that is sought after during all the family gatherings at Brad's family. 

Another dish I brought was the Paula Dean's Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding.  This has been my family's and Brad's family favorite for a very long time as well.   I make this multiple times per year and on holidays where my sister's husband and children come, I typically make them a batch to take home with them because they love it so much.

Today I wanted to bring you the recipe and show you just how easy it is to prepare it.  I hope you try it out and enjoy it just as much as our family does.

You can view the recipe on Paula Deen's website here.

I will always give credit where it's due and my gosh does Paula EVER deserve the credit for this dish!!

So here's just what you need:

1 - 12oz tub of Cool Whip (this will be the freezer section, but when you bring it home, put it in the refrigerator)
1 - 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk....make sure you get the "sweetened"
1 - 8oz bar of cream cheese
2 - cups of milk
1 - 5oz box of vanilla INSTANT pudding / pie filling (do NOT get the "cook" kind, make sure it says "instant")
6 - bananas....you can use more or less...I find that 6 works perfectly for us, however I see people use only 4 and some use 8
2 - bags of Chessman cookies....these are made by Pepperidge Farm and are in the stand up bags

Directions:

The first thing I do is I separate out my cookies....there are bound to be some that are broken so I get those out.

Next thing I do...because I have issues....is I get out five of the shapes and make sure to have four cookies of each shape (as you see below) and set these aside,  these will be the topping at the end.

Slice up your bananas.

Lay the other cookies on the bottom of a 13x9 pan and then top cookies with sliced bananas.

In large bowl, combine milk and pudding.

In another bowl combine cream cheese (I like to cut the cream cheese up in little blocks, it makes it easier to mix) and condensed milk, using an electric mixer, beat until smooth

Mix pudding and cream cheese and condensed mixture together.

Next, drop a cookie to Scooby...he wouldn't move out from under my feet until I did.

Fold the Cool Whip into the pudding mixture until well blended.

Pour onto the cookies and bananas and then top with second bag of cookies (the ones we saved earlier), cover and put in refrigerator until time to serve.

This is best when it's had time to set in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.  It allows the cookies to get slightly soft.

Last, you will want to take the broken cookies and scrape the bowl....because licking the bowl clean wouldn't be polite.

But that's how you make this famous banana pudding.  Ours was eaten completely at the banquet and Brad had to work so he didn't get any of it.

I promised him I'd make him a batch this coming week.  So I'm going to go to the store tonight to get the stuff for it.

I hope you enjoyed today's post...its a little different than normal.  But I like sharing our real life with my followers just as much as I do the makeup stuff, so I hope you don't mind...I might bring a few more posts such as these in the near future.

But for today, that's all I got.  I will see you all again really soon with a makeup post featuring a new Maybelline City Mini pallet....yep I found yet another!! I'm excited because I really like the looks I have made so far with this little gem.

So, until next time, take care.

-Kim

Just a ramble

And here we begin another week.....my heart is still reeling with pain from losing my grandmother.  I have been so distraught that I can't seem to function in my daily life.  Thursday night was terrible, I just went bat crazy on Brad (the hubby)...and while at the time, I felt as though I had good reasoning...I didn't.  Then Friday morning, I had no school uniforms for Caleb to wear....apparently I hadn't washed any laundry in well over 6 days by now.  I woke up an hour before us leaving for school, which is very late for me, and was rushed to wash a school uniform for my sweet baby. 

I almost forgot his lunch (fortunately I didn't), I forgot to pack him an after school snack for extended care (this is an after school care for the kids), to be frank, I forgot to tell him he was going to be staying in extended care.  For his homework he has to complete one hour of a math computer program each week and I didn't remind him to do any of it.....I think he maybe finished 15 minutes total for the week. 

After getting to work and just crying my eyes out from being a complete and utter failure of a wife and mom, I felt a little better when the hubs called and talked to me a little bit.  He apologized for not stepping up and doing more.  Granted, I will agree....Caleb and I were very close to my grandmother and this really threw both of us out quite a few notches.  So I do think that it would have been good for Brad to have stepped up and helped with Caleb's homework, laundry, etc.  But to be honest, the fact that he even noticed on his own what he could have done and apologized for it...well I can't be mad at him.  Of course, the forgiveness was really given after he came home and did 5, yes I said FIVE loads of laundry while I sat on the couch and ate Girl Scout Cookies into an oblivion. 

Caleb and I took Saturday to rest and recoup from the week and did absolutely nothing, which was good being that I had to recover from my sugar induced hangover.  But it was then that I decided  enough was enough.  While the pain is excruciating still, I know that my Granny is watching down on me and she wouldn't put up with me acting this way towards my family.   

So this morning, I got up and forced myself to be productive.  I was up at the usual 5:00 am, doing laundry, unloading dishwasher, getting dressed and actually applying a full face of makeup.  I only did bare minimum, which was foundation and my eyebrows, nearly all last week, except for at the funeral.  I figured there was no point in putting on makeup if it's just going to run down my face when i cried.  I also fixed my hair this morning, but the rain screwed that up...but hey, I did at least try. 

Caleb had lunch, snack and breakfast this morning.  He completed his chores and he was excited to get a jump start on his math program with Brad's help this morning. The grieving may not be over completely but, I can't continue to ignore everything in my life because of it. 

Well, that's my ramble for today.  It felt good to get it out of my system and into words.  I know this isn't my usual makeup post, but I think this helped me clear my head a bit.  I will be back again on Wednesday with a real makeup post.  I have a couple of reviews to do for you on a foundation and an anti-wrinkle cream that I have been using for about 9 weeks now.  Do you think it worked?  I will let you know soon.

Thanks for listening and I will be back again really soon.  Until next time, take care.

-Kim

Time will heal, but for now I just have to breathe

There will be a most definite shortage of posts this week....in all actuality this will more than likely be the only post this week. 

We are dealing with a hard loss in the family.  My paternal grandmother passed away on Sunday morning.

I have spoken many time about my "granny", and how Caleb and I go visit her every Monday and have been for a long time now.  Last October she was put in the nursing home and our visits were even more important being that she was in a new place and not the typical comforts of her home. 

But just as though she were at her home, every Monday Caleb and I would go to the nursing home and he would read her his story from school each week.  We'd typically get into a fierce game of Old Maid or Go Fish during our visits and would often talk about the goings on in the town, Caleb's school or the nursing home puppy dog that wandered the halls. 

For the past two weeks we have been unable to see her because of a viral illness that had run rampant at the nursing home.  They asked for visitors to stay away unless the visit was  absolutely necessary.  So the rule follower in me stayed clear.  I hated that we couldn't go see her.  While I knew she wasn't in all reality lonely, it made me sad knowing that she didn't get her weekly story from Caleb. 

I am having a hard time with closure because of our inability to see her the last time.  Caleb had been seemingly unsure of the situation and that also made it difficult.  However, I was relieved that when the hubby and I were talking about how she won't get to see Caleb make his First Communion (she was a devout Catholic), it was then that Caleb chimed in saying "yes she will, she'll see me from Heaven". 

While the loss is a very hard one. I do have peace knowing she was cared for.  She was truly loved and cherished by the staff of nursing home.  In fact one of granny's favorite nurses was a mom to a little girl in Caleb's class.  Granny always referred to her as her "angel".  I couldn't be more sure of the title. 

Even when she was moved to another hallway, granny's "angel" still came by every morning to check on her and see how she was doing.  This was a care she didn't have to do, but she did. 

I'm thankful to all of the people who cared for my grandmother, all of the people who came to visit her, the ones who would look past her certain fiesty-ness and everyone who has prayed and well wished our family during our loss.

I know time will heal this pain eventually, but for now I just have to breathe.


-Kim

My tips for surviving Elf on a Shelf

Here we are again, one sleep away from the arrival of the Elf on a Shelf.  Some parents are excited and some are gloomy.  I'm kind of in between.  While I sometimes wonder what I was thinking when I agreed to have the elf come visit, I sit here typing this out and am giddy with excitement over his arrival tomorrow.  Does that even make sense? LOL 

It makes the season feel like Christmas all month long for my son.  Instead of anxiously waiting the one day of the month, he gets excited about every day of the month, now that we have the Elf on a Shelf. 

While it can be a daunting task for me, in the end I am really happy I chose to have the elf.  However, I do know it can be a source of stress for parents too.  So, today I am going to give you the run down of what our elf on a shelf, Jingle Bells, will be up to this year along with some tips that I learned last year.  And a few photos of last years elf movements.  This will hopefully give you a few ideas as to what you can do with your elf. 

First up, to make things a little easier, I started out with a very important rule for the Elf.  I stated that he was not allowed to go in any room where people were sleeping...so that meant that nothing will happen in Caleb's room or bathroom (since the bath is connected to his bedroom). 

I don't want any slip ups during this whole thing and because Caleb is a very light sleeper, tip toeing through his room is not a good move.  So stating this rule out loud, Caleb won't be expecting Jingle Bells to show up and be in his room during any of this.

That's the only rule I have, so now let's get started with the rest....

So these are divided among a few categories.  The "arrival and exit of the elf", "elf fun during the week", "weekend elf adventures" and finally "elf emergency movements" for those times when you need a quick movement in an emergency situation.  We all have those, so it's best to be prepared.

First up is The Arrival and Departure of Jingle Bells the Elf:

• For the arrival this year, Jingle Bells will show up at the house on the mantle with his new found pet (the St. Bernard) and the movie "Santa's St. Bernards Save Christmas"  This one is easy because it will have the elf's arrival letter and the dog.  If you are doing the movie, I'd let your child wake up to the movie on a weekend, so you can have a family movie night that evening and watch the Elf and Pet movie together.

• The elf's last night with us will be a letter saying good bye and then I found a Pez candy dispenser that has an elf on it for a going away present for Caleb from Jingle Bells to remember him by.

Elf Adventures During the Week: 

This will be easy movements from the elf that can be quick to execute and fun for my son when he wakes up in the morning.  Caleb is in the 2nd grade, so we have to get up and get dressed for school, so I can't have him spending thirty minutes looking for a hidden elf, but I have to get up early so I can't stay up late either, waiting on him to fall asleep for the elf to move.  So that's where the following movements will get me the best of both worlds.

• I bought two outfits for Jingle Bells at the Liberty Trade's Days, last weekend.  One is a sweater that has a Pikachu (Pokemon) face on it.  And since Caleb is really in to Pokemon, I will have Jingle Bells and his new sweater sitting amongst all the other collection of Pokemon's that Caleb has.  

• The other outfit I bought for the elf was a taco costume.  This one caught me by surprise, because I wouldn't have thought of such a cute costume....but we have our Taco Tuesday nights about every other week...so this one will be saved for Caleb to wake up to on a Tuesday morning, with the elf in his taco suit sitting on top of the taco shells in the kitchen.

• An easy weekday movement this year will be that Jingle Bells will fill up Caleb's school shoes with Hershey Kisses.  This just makes me laugh when I think about how Caleb will react to this one....I don't know why, but I just giggle from thinking about it.

• Since we will have the St. Bernard dog with us this year for the Elf, I have decided to have him eating out of our dog, Scooby's, food bowl.  This also sets me up for tomorrow night.

• The next night I will have the elf and the dog both taped to the wall and a note that reads "Scooby did it" as a punishment from Scooby for eating his food.  Be sure to use painters tape so it won't peel any paint off the wall when you remove it.

• Again, I will be set for night where the Elf gets down the dry erase board from the fridge and writes "good list and naughty list" on the top and continues to list each member of the family under the "good" section and Scooby (the dog) under the "naughty" section

• I found the Sno Ball Cupcakes from my local grocery store last week so this will be set out on the table as a snow ball breakfast for Caleb from the Elf.  Of course you don't want your kid eating a bunch of cakes for breakfast right before school, so he can share one with mommy (or if your kids have siblings they can split one and share) and then have their regular breakfast waiting for them.  It's a fun and unexpected treat that only and "elf" would think to give for breakfast. :)

• I like to do some of the elf movements in our hall bathroom in our house.  A couple different reasons for this, first off, it's not the bathroom that Caleb uses so he won't come here when nature calls during the "movement of the elf" and second, you can lock the door and do the setup for elf fun in privacy.  So that's why I will have the elf and his dog set up with silly string sprayed all over each other and a can set up next to each one, so it looks like they have been having a silly string fight.  The bonus with the bathroom is that it will be an easy clean up because there isn't much to ruin in our hall bathroom

• Another easy bathroom one will be to have "Elves are Awesome" written with dry erase marker on the bathroom mirror.

• One last bathroom one would be that the elf and dog are playing tic tac toe on the mirror with dry erase markers.  Again these in the bathroom are good because you can lock the door for setup.

• If you have those gold star stickers or any stickers you find in the school supply section of your store, you can have your elf look as though he has stuck them all over himself.  This will make for a simple and funny movement for your child to wake up to.  

• We love books in this house, so Caleb will most definitely be waking up to our elf reading a new Christmas book and a note suggesting that this was the best book EVER and Caleb must read this tonight.

• One night I will take the photos out of two frames and have the elf and dog sitting behind the frame as though they are the pictures.  

• Another simple weeknight one will be to have him set up playing the Xbox in Caleb's play room or you could have him sitting on the couch with the remote control watching tv and eating popcorn (I'd pre-pop the popcorn or buy it in the bag.  Anyone else come running when they smell fresh popped popcorn like my family?)

Let's talk about the Weekend Elf Fun:

These will be more advanced thought and prep that are great for the weekends, when you don't have to get up early, you can stay up a little later and really set the elf up for success the next morning.  These are also going to be things that may take longer for Caleb to find or do, so he can take his time and not have to worry about being late for school.

• The first one for the weekend will be that the elf leaves a gingerbread house kit for Caleb to decorate.  If this comes on a Saturday, he won't have to wait until after school to decorate it.

• Hide and seek candy canes are another fun one.  Just hide 6 or 10 candy canes in one room of the house (or more areas, whatever you feel is good for your kiddos) and write a note saying that they are hidden and to find all of them.  This again would be difficult to do before school so I save it for the weekend.

• Toilet papering the tree would be a good one for the weekend.  It will take a little extra time to accomplish so you can do that after the kids go to bed and then not have to be pressed to wake up early and be productive the next day.

• Another one that Jingle Bells is doing on the weekend this year will be to put crepe paper strips and tape them across the door way.  If your child has his door closed at night you could do this on the outside of his door.  But this will excite Caleb when he busts through the crepe paper to get out of his room or down the hallway.

• One that will need a bit of prep ahead of time, will be to have paper snowflakes cut out (save the scraps) and set the elf up as though he cut a bunch of the snow flakes out himself.  Have a pair of child scissors, the snowflakes and paper scraps all around him on the table.  

Let's talk about the conundrums that can come with these elves.  Sometimes I can stay up later than Caleb and put the elf in fun places, but this isn't always the case.  So last year, I decided to start keeping the elf in my room in a drawer each night so when I got up in the morning I could move him to wherever I needed him to be.  I will be doing that again this year too.  

But there were times that Caleb would wake up before me and I'd still have this elf in my room and no place for Caleb to find him.  So I devised up a plan for times such as these.

• The first one is to have him hanging from a light fixture or door knob of some sort.  This was my "go to" plan for when Caleb woke up before me and the elf was in my room instead of his hiding spot.  Our laundry room is right outside out bedroom so when Caleb couldn't find the elf, and came to my room, I ushered Caleb out of my room and told him I'd "help" him look for the elf. I told Caleb to look in the play room and I'd look in the kitchen.  I then ran to the room, took the elf and hung him on the door knob in the laundry room, which is right off of my bedroom.  

• Another time last year, I had just ran completely out of ideas and was too tired to think of anything.  So I stuck him up against the wall with the Highlights magazine opened and had the "hidden pictures" page open and the pen in the elf's hand.  

• This year's spot will be hiding in the wreath in our kitchen.

• I have also decided a backup one will be to have both the elf and the dog sleeping in our dog, Scooby's, bed.  You can't get much easier than that. 

• One last quick one will be to have him hanging from my rear view mirror in my car.

While these aren't as fun as the Hershey kisses in the shoes or the Christmas book, it will still give you a break from this elf and it will give you a peach of mind knowing that you have a plan B ready to go for anything that comes up.  And to me that peace of mind is worth a million bucks in my book.

And there you have it....my ideas for the arrival and departure of this year's Elf on the Shelf.  I hope you found it useful, even if it's one idea, I hope it works. I think with a little planning it will be fun for your children and you as well.  

I wish you and your family the happiest and peaceful of holidays this year.  

-Kim