The Elf Diaries: 1

Meet Peaches. M does not approve of her bad behavior.

Peaches originally came to our house last Christmas but I don't think M's 3 year old memory remembers. M was playing in her playroom a few days ago and heard the doorbell ring . She loves when the doorbell rings because that usually means someone is here to visit her or a package has arrived (Mommy has an online shopping problem. Don't judge.). In this case it was the latter. This time the package was sent by Santa. According to the Elf on the Shelf movie or tv special that came on last week, Santa sends the Elf each year. News to us. Last year we just set her out.

Based on M's reaction to the special Elf delivery, I could tell she didn't remember having Peaches at our house last year. A good thing for mom and dad considering we were pretty awful at making sure the Elf moved every night.

After getting off to a late start this year due to traveling, me being sick and forgetting to move the damn thing, we finally managed to help Peaches get into a bit of mischief last night. As you can see from the picture, Peaches must have had a bit of halitosis because she decided to use M's toothbrush to brush her teeth. When I came out of my bedroom this morning to wake M for school, she was already up and in the bathroom. She had gotten up to go potty and discovered the Elf's shenanigans. I found M frantically wiping at the toothpaste that had been squirted onto the bathroom sink with a kleenex .

Me: "M?! What happened?" I asked.

M: "Peaches just sat on my toothpaste and made a big, big mess" she said.

Me: "Peaches did that? Oh my goodness. Are you sure? Why did she do that?"

M: "I don't know Mommy, I just found her like that. Just sitting on my toothpaste."

Me: "Are you sure it was Peaches and not M?"

M: "My name is M and it wasn't me. I only do good things. It was Peaches."

I sent Peaches to time out. 

 I know some people are against the whole Elf on the Shelf thing because you're tricking your kids into being good for a short period of time by making them believe the Elf is watching their behavior and reporting back to Santa whether they are being bad or good. Clearly those people are not parents. Or they're just a scrooge.

*Photo Source: Orphen5

 I'm all for anything that encourages M to have good behavior and that holds her accountable for any bad behavior. I also think it helps when she can be the mommy or teacher in certain situations and show someone, or in this case, something else how to behave and how to tell the difference between right and wrong. What I like most about it though is the magic. They're only little for a short period of time and I want her to experience all the magic and joy of believing in something. Stay tuned for more elf on the shelf stories from Sweet Fancy McGees.