Hide-n-Seek

Here are the first few places Udu has been"hiding"... on top of the grandfather clock, on the range hood, from the dining room wall and on the fireplace mantel. Trying to keep her out of reach because doubt Addie recalls the part about not being able to touch the elf.

Udu

Have you ever wondered how Santa could know if you're naughty or nice each year as you grow? For hundreds of years it's been a big secret. It now can be shared if you promise to keep it.

Well we began the new Christmas tradition tonight, reading the book as a family and trying to explain the concept to Addie. She did come up with a name (Udu) but then she immediately wanted to open the box to play with it?! So whether it will work or not is highly debatable but I plan to at least hide the little elf each night for her to find in the morning. As always, there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest but I don't really want our new elf friend being so mischievous. (Mostly I don't want to create a mess just to then clean up - ha!)

The coordinating website is cute... we got a Certificate of Adoption as well as a letter from Santa. I won't be purchasing paraphernalia but will record/watch "An Elf's Story" on CBS on December 14.

However Udu plays out, I do look forward to Christmas starting to be magical for her!
 

Rock & Read

Today Jim spent the morning volunteering at our neighborhood park while munchkin and I set out for a day on the town. First on our agenda was a road race and fun run but the adventure began sooner. We were running late so Jim literally dropped us off in the middle of the road where the race was about the begin. Being the competitive person I am, I couldn't just casually fall into the back and enjoy a jog with my daughter, I needed the official time so sprinted to pick up my timing chip. We got a few chuckles on the return sprint since the "start gun" had already gone off but it did justify my weaving through the other participants.

I only heard about the race through my sorority alumni club. Our national philanthropy is literacy and proceeds from the race were to benefit the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. It turned out to be a great event and one I will keep an eye out for next year. Winning my division, Females 30-39, helped but the race shirt, food, drink, fun run and door prizes were top notch. Addie "won" $10 to the movies for basically being cute and I ended up with $50 to Slate Interiors for cheering the loudest about something, ha!

It's extra weight to push but having my own mobile cheerleader is awesome!

Next we walked to the Light Rail. I felt so urban or European, regardless it was very nice to relax and be able to rely on public transportation. We took The Lynx from Scaleybark all the way up to 7th Street and walked to our next destination, ImaginOn, where we met friends for Storytime. Next we walked over to Brixx for a fun lunch. I would love to say I walked home from there but we loaded the jog stroller into my friend's car and caught a ride instead. All in all I felt like we conquered the day!

Art By Me

I love that Preschool sends so many art projects home for parents but I also am not sure what to really do with it all. As usual I have grand ideas and intentions but time always runs away from me. Even so, it still hurts me to just throw her work away but as that pile grows taller I am getting better about picking the more special pieces. Such as this sweet project...

The even cute part of this is there was the opportunity to order this as magnets, bookmarks, mousepads, etc but that is where time got away from us again. At least I can share it with you here.