'Jett' has landed

So this is the first year my boys are experiencing the magic of Elf on the Shelf and so far it is one of the best traditions we have every started with them.  They never heard of it so really they had no clue what in the world was going on.  When my middle son woke up Friday morning and saw there was stuff in the kitchen he came running in my room.   I totally acted like I had no clue what he was talking about.  Told my youngest to go check it out with him & two minutes later they both come running back and at that point I had my iPod set on video to record what they were saying.  During all this my oldest was still sleeping so I said go check to see if he was up which apparently mean go wake him up to a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old.  So once all three came running back and my oldest said it's an Elf on the Shelf, I said a what? and followed them to the kitchen acting all surprised.  They had Christmas place mats waiting along with Christmas Star Wars cups and some powdered donuts, a letter from Santa himself, the Elf on the Shelf book and of course the Elf.  They were beyond thrilled, so I read them the letter and then read the book {which to me is so adorable} and after five minutes they finally agreed on his name.  'Jett' our family Elf was written in the book by my 8 yr old son and since then the Magic has begun.

I am documenting each day to share with family & friend..

Day 2:  We just moved him to the mantel before it was decorated & I never got a picture with my camera my husband did with his phone but it's just not the same.

Day 3: Okay I thought this idea was brilliant, I put him where I thought my boys would notice him right away and it was the first day he was being mischievous. He had used tinker toys to help him hang upside down and written his name upside down on the mirror with a green crayon.  Well I had no clue at 645 in the morning he would totally scare my 5 yr old son to death.  I mean he was literally screaming at the top of his lungs & ran into his room.  Apparently in the dark when something is hanging from the hallway mirror it's very scary.  I felt horrible but after he said there was something on the mirror I couldn't stop laughing. 

Day 4:  He turned our milk green and bundled up to stay in the frig for the day, they loved having green milk to drink and with cereal but I think they loved him dressed up the most.

Day 5:  This morning they woke up to see he had taken their stockings off and hung up their underwear LOL and he also made a red/green paper chain.  I think he figured we needed more Christmas decorations.

Mini Apple Pies... Yumm

Thanks to the pinterest world once again {I'm sure that is getting old but really the things I find on there are ever so amazing} I came across a picture of mini apple pies which looked & sounded amazing.  It brought me to this blog little bit funky and I luckily I had everything I needed on hand.  So while the older two boys were at school me & my three year old partner in baking went to work.  I cut her recipe in half since I only have one muffin pan.

Peel & core 5 green apples, cut up into 1/2 inch pieces 

{I say 5 cause I shared about an apple with my son who kept saying how great they tasted lol}

Mix the apples with:

6 Tablespoons of flour

3/4 Cups of sugar

2 heaping teaspons of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg 

(I did half of 1/4 teaspoon but you can leave out if wanted)

Make sure you coat all the apples.

Next you will need one box of Pillsbury Pie crest {not frozen}

Unroll your first pie crest and cut out circles 

{a mason jar lid washed first of course works great}

Do the same with the second pie crust {save the scraps to use}

Line each muffin tin with the circle pie crest and pinch together sides so it fits nicely.

Next add the apples to each muffin tin & I found using an ice cream scooper for this part is perfect.

Add a small piece of butter to each pie then top with the left over scraps of 

pie crest {it doesn't have to be perfect}

My son loved doing this part.

 Brush with melted butter & bake at 400 for 18 to 22 minutes.  

{I started checking on them 15 minutes into baking, 

once the tops were a nice golden brown I took them out}

Enjoy & they taste really good the second day also.  I'm sure if you added 

some vanilla ice cream on top they would taste even more amazing!!!

Elf who?

We are starting a new tradition with the boys & to be honest I'm so excited about it.  Traditions are amazing and I feel what kids will never forget. Sometimes the traditions are even better then the actually holiday.  I still remember traditions my mom did with us as children & we are now doing those with our children.

I know Elf on The Shelf has been around for awhile and before this year we never really looked into it.  But a few friends said they do it with their children and seeing ideas of what "Elf" can do or get into while the kids are sleeping or not home on the pinterest just seemed perfect for our children.  He will make his appearance the day after Thanksgiving and I have a bunch of ideas lined up.  One Elf painted the children's noses red while sleeping and had a note by him saying go look in the mirror.  Sitting next time to him in a cup was a paint brush with some red paint on top of it.  The mom took a picture of all three kids on the couch with their noses red, it was so adorable.  Our friends said their Elf cleaned out their entire pantry last year lol.  Elf had changed the color of their milk, had a nerf gun fight with woody, a snow ball fight with buzz {marshmallows} baked something or just made a complete mess.  The possibilities are endless.  We both can't wait to see the boys reaction.  Here are some ideas to pass along that I have found.

http://blossombunkhouse.com/2011/11/08/101-elf-on-the-shelf-ideas-2/

http://raeoflight-photography.com/blog/2010/12/20/elfie-rojos-mischeif/

http://www.chubbycheekphotography.com/blog/?p=2564