Fun Adventures With Our Elf

Finally, Santa Claus delivered the Elf on the Shelf to our house the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Since I forgot to set up his grand arrival, he just happened to magically appear on top of the Christmas tree while the boys were taking a nap that day. Jaxson finally found him about an hour after they woke up and let me tell he was just a little excited.

Of course, myself with those infamous "mom moments" totally forgot to hide the darn thing on Monday night. My sweet Jaxson saved me with I bet he didn't want to fly in the snow. How I love that child! That is exactly why he didn't leave! He did finally move to a new spot during nap time that day when it quit snowing :-)


So yesterday I was on a quest to find more funny and creative ways to hide our new Elf on the Shelf. I had the best time setting up different situations with our crazy elf and took some really funny pictures. It was hilarious because of course Aidan was home so I had to be sneaky as I was setting up the pics. Playdoh, popcorn, and cartoons were all used to distract him while I finished my mission!

As usual, I went a little overboard and ending up with about 18 crazy ideas. I decided to include some of my ideas in a hub I wrote on Hubpages. The first hub titled Funny and Creative Ways to Hide Your Elf on the Shelf  has already been published so be sure to check that one out to see all the fun adventures with our Elf on the Shelf. I am currently working on "Funny and Mischievous Ways to Hide Your Elf on the Shelf" so be on the lookout for that one next! Hope you will find them useful if you need some new ideas on how and where to hide your Elf on the Shelf!


Jaxson found our Elf on the Shelf!





Feeling the Love

I have to admit I am feeling the love today. I don't like getting any older but all the love and attention you get from family and friends just makes you feel good. My family took me out to celebrate with dinner last night which included an embarrassing serenade, a ridiculous hat, and whip cream shoved so sweetly up my nose. This morning I was awakened by my sweet Aidan who whispered in my ear "Happy birthday Momma! Wake up so you don't miss your birthday party." I also couldn't help but laugh when he wanted to put Toy Story gummies in goodie bags for all our guests. For those of you that are wondering...no, I am not having a birthday party, my boys just think it is required to have one to celebrate your special day!




Jaxson enjoying my special birthday hat :)


I have also felt the love from the stores I shop at lately. Just this past Saturday, my husband checked the mailbox and brought in mail from both Kroger and CVS. I received a free trial size Axe styling gel (which of course I gave to my husband) from CVS with a coupon for $1.00 off my next purchase. I also received an email today from CVS wishing me a happy birthday and included a coupon for $3.00 in extra care bucks to use on my next shopping trip. Kroger sent me a boat load of coupons thanking me for being a loyal customer this past year. These weren't just random coupons. They had done a report on what all I had purchased during the past year and sent me coupons on items that I buy on a regular basis. I was pretty excited to find four of the coupons were for FREE items!

Whether the love is from my family and friends or from the stores I regularly shop, I am certainly feeling the love today! Thank you so much for making me feel special on my birthday!



My Birthday Coupons! Thank you CVS and Kroger!



What A Day!

So my morning starts out a little like this...my plan was to be in the shower by 6 a.m. this morning only to find my husband stays in the shower until 6:10. My oldest son, who always rides to school with his dad, changes his mind at the last minute and decides to ride with me and his little brother since we were all going on the field trip with his class today. So calculate this...I had one hour to shower, pack up the car, get the boys ready, and drive the 35 min to school to have my son there by 7:45. Do you think I made it on time? Heck no! We rolled up at 7:51 thanks to a million red lights and those slow driving people you always seem to get behind when you are already running late. So imagine my total embarrassment when I have to sign my son in as late when this is only the second time Mom has ever dropped him off at school!



Jaxson's Kindergarten Class
2011



But all that anxiety and embarrassment quickly went away because we had an amazing day at Lucky Ladd Farm! It was the first time I spent the day with my son's class and I was really interested in how he acted around the other kids. To my surprise, he has turned into quite the social butterfly bouncing around from one kid to another. He just seemed so happy that it really warmed my heart. My little one also enjoyed himself and tried his best to keep up with his big brother but in the end he had a great day playing with his mom and dad. So the valuable lesson I learned today is do not give up on the day when you have "one of those mornings" because it can always turn into one of those days you will never forget!



Jaxson Found His Pumpkin :)



My Silly Boys! :)























Enjoying the Hay Ride :)



Aidan Found the Sand Box :)



















Pumpkin Patch Time

As we were driving down our road, we noticed that the leaves on the trees were changing into some amazing colors reminding us that summer is over and fall is officially here. Even though this makes me incredibly sad (I Love Summer!!!), I actually got excited thinking its time to take our little ones to the pumpkin patch! Last year, we visited Grandaddy's Farm in Estill Springs and had a great time but this year we will be going with my oldest son's class to Lucky Ladd Farms in Eagleville. If you are interested in taking your little ones to a pumpkin patch, I typed up a list of pumpkin patches in the surrounding counties. Please visit their links for more information and possible coupons on their website!

Bedford County:

• Cedar Rock in Shelbyville, TN - Festival Admission $5 per person. *Coupon Alert* Print this coupon on website: Buy 4 admissions and get 5th free!  http://www.cedarrockfallfest.com/

Cannon County:

• Farm at Hollow Springs in Bradyville, TN - Admission $7 for ages 6 to Adult, $4 for ages 2 to 5, Free for ages under 2  http://www.hollowspringsfarm.com/

Franklin County:

• Grandaddy's Farm in Estill Springs, TN - Admission $10 for ages 10 and up, $6 for ages 2 to 9, Free for ages under 2. *Coupon Alert* Print this coupon on website: $1 off Admission for Weekday Visit! http://www.grandaddysfarm.com/

Lincoln County:

• Lyon Family Farms in Taft, TN - Admission $9 per person plus tax, Special Discounts for groups of 15 or more  http://www.lyonfamilyfarms.com/

Rutherford County:

• Lucky Ladd Farms in Eagleville, TN - Admission is $8 plus tax, Kids under 2 are Free  http://www.luckyladdfarms.com/

Warren County:

• Cedarwood Nursery in McMinnville, TN - Admission is $8 for ages 11 to adult, $7 for ages 2-10, Kids under 2 are Free  http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/TNpmiddle.php

If none are these are close to you visit the following link for a more complete list of pumpkin patches around your city and state: http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/. I will leave you with a few pictures from last year's pumpkin patch trip to Grandaddy's Farm. Happy Fall Everyone!!!

Playing on the Playground!

Picking Out Their Own Pumpkin

My Lil Sunflowers :)

Just Dance!

Looking through all the sale ads today, my oldest son and I got pretty excited when we saw that Just Dance 3 was just released for the Wii. Our family has spent many weekend nights dancing the night away in front of the TV playing Just Dance 2. We have played it so much that I noticed both of my kids using some of the dance moves out on the dance floor at a friend's wedding a couple weeks ago! For those parents that say they don't want their kids playing video games, this game is different and will give you a good workout. Its especially great for rainy days when my boys can't go outside to get rid of all that built up energy. So needless to say this is one game that will be on this year's Christmas list! If you are interested in picking this game up check out Target who is selling an exclusive edition with 2 bonus tracks for $39.99. They also have Just Dance Summer Party and Just Dance Kids on sale for $19.99 this week. If you don't feel like making the drive and prefer to order online, click on the link below to purchase from Amazon:



My 3 yr old doing the "Cowboy Dance"



Sweet Family Deal on Groupon

Since I'm always looking for anyway to save a few bucks, I was pretty excited to check my email and find this great deal on Groupon to The Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. We took my oldest son there for his birthday last year and we had so much fun that he has already been asking me if we could go back this year. So YAY now i just have to decide which deal to get - the $12 for four admissions (a $24 value) or spring for the $25 for 10 admission punch card (a $60 value). Since it doesn't expire until April 2012, I may go ahead and get the $25 deal so we can go again on my youngest son's birthday. To get this same deal for your family, click on this link:  http://www.groupon.com/r/uu19234159

*Here are a few pics of all the fun we had last year!*