Our Very Own Elf

They are 2 and 4, yet it seems as though these two children of mine have been here for an eternity. I can't remember life without them, and am grateful for their faces (smiling or angry) every single day.

Life with my 2 year old daughter has been a rollercoaster. One moment she is happy and dancing and giggling, and the very next screaming "NO JONAH NO!" and running off to pout and be grumpy. The mood swings are intense, for all of us. I am not saying SHE is the root of the arguments, we all add our own unique tension to the situations.

Christmas is coming and they both know it. I have in the past used the "Santa is watching" technique, but this year is different than years past. Each year the children understand more and more, about life, love, and particularly, one another. They know how to love on one another in a way only a young brother and sister can. They stick up for one another, think about one another, and obviously, know how to push each other's buttons.

In the last few years, I have seen a few Mom's here and there talk about their Elf on the Shelf. At first, I had no idea what it was, until Stephanie started blogging about their elf, Chazz Star. But this year, CBS aired a 30 minute movie called Elf on a Shelf: The Elf's Story and after a single viewing the kids were asking when OUR elf was going to arrive.

The movie laid out the entire idea of the Elf on the Shelf. Where he comes from, how he gets there, how he needs a name before he gets his magic, how he reports back to Santa, and how you cannot touch him, or he will lose his magic. Yes, the book does this well too, in a classic, bedtime story kind of way, but in today's age of visual learning and technology, this made it easier for my little ones to "see". Of course, we can all advocate the importance of imagination, but if it weren't for the movie (it's only 30 minutes, INCLUDING commercial breaks), our Elf, Dazzle McNoodle would never have come to be known as ours.

The Matuska Family Elf ~ Dazzle McNoodle