Ruler of the Elves

Some things we accomplished this past weekend…

1. I finally got all of our holiday cards sent out.

2. 99% of our Christmas shopping is done. Yippee!

3. We took Pinky to the mall to see Santa. We waited in line with the millions of other children excited to see Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. Here is a photo of the delightful event.

Pinky weenied out when it was her turn to sit on the old man’s lap. She was even reluctant to take a lollipop from him. Smart kid. It only took her 5 years to become afraid of strangers. OK, well not really. Imagine this.

Multiply it times 100, plus 4 years. That’s what we were dealing with on Saturday.

4. Since she was probably 2.5, Pinky has been talking about getting her ears pierced. Although I figured it would be cute, the thought of mutilating my child’s beautiful earlobes sat heavy in my soul. When she would bring it up, we thought we had several tactics to delay the inevitable. We tried changing the subject. We showed her videos of other small children getting their ears pierced. We told her it would hurt. Like a shot. She persevered unwaveringly. So after the botched Santa visit, we headed to the place that puts holes in the lowermost portion of the human pinna.

There was excitement, fear, happiness, anxiety, laughter and tears, which was expected. Here are several photos of the moments before the event occurred.

And after…

About 30 seconds had passed and little Miss Pinky was all smiles again, excited to pick out more pairs of ear adornment. This is what she had to say about the experience:

Me: So, are you glad your ears are pierced?

Pinky: Uh- huh. It hurt really bad.

Me: Was it what you expected?

Pinky: I knew it would hurt, but these earrings are awesome.

Recently, Pinky and I were craving something sweet and juicy, so after I viewed this recipe for Mini Caramel Apples, we decided to give it a try. Let me just say, these are awesome! And perfect for little mouths to munch on. Plus, it’s always an added bonus when there is little to no work involved.

Here are the needed supplies…

-1 Apple (We used a little Fugi)
-Butterscotch chips
-Sprinkles of any kind, optional
-4 inch lollipop sticks
-Melon baller

First, melt the butterscotch chips according to the package. Then, with the melon baller, scoop out a section of the apple, leaving a bit of the skin on the piece. Push a lollipop stick into the skin portion of the apple ball and wipe it with a paper towel to dry off any excess juice that has come out. Next, dip and swirl your little apple on a stick in the melted butterscotch chips until it is mostly covered.

And that’s it! If you want to add a little pizzazz, dip them into the sprinkles. The kid seems to like that extra step. We pushed ours into some florists foam so that they could dry upright, but you could certainly place them on some wax paper to dry as well. Then, eat and enjoy! Ours were gone in a matter of minutes.

On Monday evening, Pinky’s dance class had a mini Christmas recital that parents were allowed to attend. On a normal basis, we aren’t allowed in the classroom, so we were pretty excited to not have to take turns peaking through the tiny window on the door. The kids were supposed to dress in red and green, so Pinky and her BFF (best friend forever) both wore cute little matching green dresses and red tights. I even made them matching red bows.

According to them, the more girly, the better.

Pinky was super excited that she got to use props,

(Can you find the momarazzi in this photo?)

but the highlight for her was the disco lights. What is it about disco lights that are so intriguing?

I even tried to capture some videos of the class, but most of my attempts were fizzled by dance teachers blocking my view. I did however manage to get this little snippet, which isn’t that great, but I guess will have to suffice.

The second issue of Lonny Magazine is out and I am loving it! Gorgeous photos. So many great ideas! Here are a few of the pics I’m crushing on.

Aren’t these just amazing?

Well, the tree is up and trimmed and certainly getting us all in the spirit of Christmas. Pinky has even found my stash of extra gift bags and taken to wrapping up “presents” for Chris and I, which she strategically placed around the bottom of our faux evergreen.

Instead of a star or an angel like most normal people have, I whipped together this quick, cheap, and easy tree topper using the first initial of our last name. It’s made of sturdy cardboard and I found it at Jo-Ann’s for only 2 bucks. However, it is so sturdy that I had quite a hard time getting it to stay up there. (Nothing a little wire clothes hanger and some elbow grease couldn’t fix.) Pinky and I painted it last night with some silvery paint and then went over it with some glitter to add some extra holiday sparkle.

Pictured below are some of the ornaments that we have made/bought over the past few years. The snowflakes we’ve had since Pinky was born and the idea for the little glass baubles with the feathers inside was stolen from here last year. Since I always have the urge to DIY, this year we added some pine cones that we painted white to match the light and shimmery theme we have going on. And, as an added bonus, they are scented with cinnamon, so we get to smell their lovely aroma every time we pass by the tree.

(Also included in this year’s tree decor are multiple sizes and styles of silver balls which are not pictured.)