Elf on the Shelf

Some friends turned us on to this new holiday product, Elf on the Shelf.....here is a write up about it from Barnes and Noble.


The Elf on the Shelf is an activity the entire family will enjoy. Based on the tradition Carol Aebersold began with her family in the 1970s, this cleverly rhymed children's book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity allows The Elf on the Shelf to become a delightful hide-and-seek game.


Let me just say, Mo is WAY INTO this elf.....ours came today and she named him "Stumpy." We have been getting lots of traction with this. Mo is eating more of her dinner, putting her things away.....really following directions. This thing is brilliant.

Now how we can create a Valentine Sprite and a 4th of July fairy?

The ugly tooth

So lately, this blog has been about dogs.....they are our first children, so it is appropriate that they get some blog time.

Our dog Cricket is our super sweet, super sensitive dog. We got her the summer we lived in Mexico. We volunteered at this animal shelter while we were there, and little Cricket was there. She was just getting over a major illness, and she almost didn't make it. When we walked through the doors, the people who ran the shelter could tell we were a couple of suckers, and they immediately put Cricket in our laps, and told us her sob story. It took about 10 minutes for us to decide to adopt her. She has been ours ever since.

Lately, Cricket's breath has just been awful. We have been giving her those special teeth/breath cleaning dog biscuits, but they haven't helped. So, yesterday, we took her to the vet. And she did need a teeth cleaning, and they thought they would have to pull a tooth, or two.

We took her in this morning, and they put her under for the cleaning, and to see what was going on. They called a few hours later to tell us that Cricket needed 21 teeth pulled......

Yes, you read that right...

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21!

Every single tooth in the front of her mouth had to go....she only has her molars left. The vet said it was due to bad food and care when she was a puppy. And that we will have to be extra careful to avoid loosing the rest of them. She may have to eat wet food for the rest of her life (which I am sure she will love).

Our poor Cricket is at home, and very sore, groggy, and gummy.

Losing Percy

Tonight, Mo and I were coming home, she had fallen asleep in the car. I was trying to carry her, and numerous other things into the house. Apparently, I didn't make sure the gate was closed. The dogs saw this as a golden opportunity to explore the neighborhood.

Now, I have posted before about our dogs (one got the looks, one got the smarts)....well, tonight perfectly illustrated this. Cricket and Percy headed out on their adventure. By the time we realized they were out, Cricket was back at the back door waiting for dinner. She was able to find her way home.

Percy is still not home. He couldn't find his way out of a paper bag. He got about a block away. Some very nice people took him in, and gave us a call. They were headed out, and we are going to get him later tonight. Percy, as I write this, is having a play date with a Boston Terrier.

Happy Halloween

This Halloween season sure was fun. Mo has been looking forward to it for the past several weeks. We went to the pumpkin patch a few days before and had a great time. We took Uncle Brad and Jacqui with us....So basically, there were 4 grown people focusing on one small girl. I tell you, she is deprived!






Mo helped get the house ready....

She "helped" carve pumpkins....we had to do 3, one for each of us. Mema is the goofy looking one!


Mo loved being a fairy.....and she was so brave. She walked up to every door by herself and knocked on the door. She had her eyes on the prize. Her efforts were rewarded, she came home with more candy than one person should ever need.




We love our new neighborhood, we had about 30 trick or treaters....the most ever since moving to Portland. Kids were all over the neighborhood. I am still so enamoured with our new house and where we live. Feels like a real community that we have fallen into.