The Elf on the where?

The Elf on the Shelf has landed in Edgewater. Geega finally found one last year and gave it to us after Christmas was over so we got to introduce him this year. For those of you know don't know of this new must-have trend, it's a book that comes with a little elf in a santa costume. The book explains how he works. He's sent by Santa himself to watch over boys and girls the weeks before Christmas. Every night, he flies back to the North Pole to give Santa the report for that day (the good, the bad, and the ugly).

Now there are a few rules. He cannot be touched or his magic will dissappear. He can't talk to you, but he is a very good listener. So if you really want Santa to bring you a special toy or present for Christmas, you can tell him what your wish is for.

The true magic of the elf is that he pops up in the oddest places around the house. You might wake up to find him on your bookshelf. You could turn around one day in your playroom and find him staring at you from the window sill. Or he could be a spunky little guy who climbs into your Christmas tree while you are playing in the living room. Hopefully he doesn't scare you when you go grab your juice out of the fridge, he very well might be waiting for you in there.

When he arrives at your house, you have to give him a name. Isabelle named her Elf "Wizzle" with a little help from Ed.

The Angel Gabrielle?

Confusion reigns in the Siler household. Isabelle got her very own Nativity set this year (thanks GeeGa and Grandpa!). It's a "Little People" set (and no, I don't mean those who are vertically challenged). The "Little People" are a Fisher Price collection of toys/sets.

So in the Little People Nativity Set, there is an angel. And the angel is a pretty little blond female. So Ed and I were trying to give Isabelle the rundown on who's who in the Nativity set, and sadly we were having confusion (to say the least). Maji or Wise men? Stable or Manger? Were Mary and Joseph married or not yet? The set came with 4 animals but no shepherd boy, where is he? And how did those animals get there? Whoa is me!

So we did the best we could. Then last night when I was shopping, I found a BOOK called "The Story of Christmas". And it was geared to Toddlers...perfect! So I read the book for her tonight at bedtime and lo and behold, the book tells it like it is!

The angel sent down by God was Gabriel. And he wasn't any petite blond hottie like the Little People like to pretend. So the 12-page board book took about 30 minutes to get through because of the barrage of questions about why the book had a BOY angel and her nay-tivity had a GIRL angel. And where were the GIRL angels in the book? And why didn't her nay-tivity set have a BOY angel?

Fisher Price, you need to hire a few more Christians to correct your set and add a shepherd boy so those animals don't get loose. Oh, and while you're at it, you might want to find a more PC name for your collection because those vertically challenged people have taken over the Little People name. They even got a cable show now. Just sayin.

La Isla Del Encanto

...or...The Island of Enchantment, for those of you who don't know Spanish. That is Puerto Rico's slogan, if you will. And how fitting it is. We just got back late Saturday night from a fabulous ten days there visiting Grandpa Siler, Abuela Carmen, Aunt Jessie and her boyfriend John, Carmen's son, Luis, and Carmen's daughter, Tashi with her four-year-old son, Nafet.

All ten days were perfect weather, 82 degrees, sunny, light tropical breezes. We only had a few rain showers at night while we were sleeping. Most of the amenities have closed down at Palmas del Mar (the resort where Ed's Dad lives and works) due to the economy and a called bank loan. The golf course, tennis club, and beach club are all pretty much shut down. They have been taken over by the homeowners, though, and plan to re-open in the new year. Preparations are being made now.

We were able to hit the beach club one day when they held an "open house" to try and entice residents to join. The "Beach Club" is a huge pool with swim lanes, volleyball courts (in the pool), a regular swim area, and adult water slides.




They also have a massive kid pool with an interactive water play area with a few small water slides, water guns, and a huge bucket that dumps water every minute.

Izzi had no fear this year, running through the powerful fountains in the kiddie pool. She had a blast, and I have about 100 pictures to prove it.






This was the first year I didn't go down the big-kid water slides at the Beach Club. Because the club was only open one day last week, and it hasn't been open in SO long, it was pretty crowded and I didn't feel the need to stand in line with screaming 10 year olds.

On Tuesday, we went on a ferry ride to Culebra, a separate island off the coast of Puerto Rico (but still part of PR). The ferry ride was ROUGH, to say the least. We all took Dramamine, but Isabelle still got seasick. She was a trooper though, as soon as we got back onto solid land and got some lunch, she was rearing to go! We saw a huge iguana at lunch whose name, apparantly, is Tangelo. He's been a member of the restaurant/bar "Mamacitas" for about six years now.

The water at Culebra was more turquoise than any of the Caribbean water I've seen (Bahamas, Jamaica, Aruba, Cancun). The pictures don't even do it justice, it was superb. The sand was like baby powder. The day we were there, the water was a bit on the chilly side (for that part of the world) and a little rougher than normal so Isabelle couldn't go in too far, but she was, again, fearless in her attempts. That's her in the back trying to catch up with Aunt Jessie, Luis, and John.


The ferry ride back to mainland was much calmer, thank God. Everyone slept the ride back except for me and Carmen. We took pictures and chatted most of the 90-minute ride. We saw one of the best sunsets of the week on that ferry ride. The pictures, again, don't do the sunset justice. The island up ahead is Vieques, another separate PR island located between mainland and Culebra.

One day, we went to Luquillo for lunch, a small town about 30 minutes north of Palmas. They have a group of "kioskos" (kiosks) with tons of choices of authentic PR food and other delicacies. I had the best Peruvian ceviche of my life that day and vow to learn how to make it just as good as I ate that day. I can't wait another year to have it again.


The rest of the week, we lazed around the beach and various pools in the resort. We traversed by golf cart (called golf cars there). We saw a pretty amazing sunset every night, and we took over 500 pictures so we could relive the vacation every day until we return.

Te amo, Puerto Rico, la isla del encanto...

Palmas from the Beach Bohio

Izzi and Ed on the golf cart at Palmas Doradas (our neighborhood)

Izzi and Jen at the Beach Club

Another sunset, from Edd and Carmen's backyard

Happy Birthday Princess!

I can't believe our baby is three years old today! Yesterday, at daycare, they had a party for Isabelle. We walked in to streamers and a huge birthday sign. I brought cookies and candles, and she wore one of her Princess dresses and her Princess Tiara to celebrate the special day.

She already got a big train table from GeeGa and Grandpa, we set that up early so she could start playing with it. Today, she woke up to presents from me & Ed, and her party this year is at an athletic club called Big Vanilla. She has 8 little friends coming. Big Vanilla has a list of "themes" to choose from so we chose the only gender-neutral one they offered - Under the Sea. We had cupcakes made by our friend Patty. Ed & I made sandwiches in the shapes of fish and crabs and seahorses using cookie cutters. And we'll have goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish to nibble on.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby girl. Thanks for the best three years of our life so far.

She wore her Ravens purple beret...

…the kind you don’t find in a second-hand store.

Isabelle got a unique gift in the mail last week, just because her Aunt Susan loves her. Meandering around the streets of the Montmartre district in Paris, Aunt Susan spotted the perfect gift for our Littlest Raven. A perfectly purplicious beret befitting the most fashionable Parisian. Très chic!

Three going on Thirteen

We're just three days away from the Third Birthday. This week has brought a more-than-usual hectic schedule between me having a work training event this past weekend, an out-of-town guest for two nights, Ed trying to finish his third Grad class before vacation next week, preparing for the pending Birthday Party this coming weekend, me finishing up a creative writing class, ahhhhhh! Calgon, take me away...

My weekday mornings are chaotic under normal circumstances, and I only have one kid! But in recent months, Isabelle has been sleeping late, thus leaving us less time for the required routine (breakfast, getting dressed, finding coats and shoes). This morning, Isabelle apparantly woke up before my alarm even went off. Typically, when she wakes up before me, she comes into my bedroom and stirs me awake, alerting me to the obvious conclusion that it's time for breakfast, getting dressed, and going to school.

This morning, I'm not sure if she tried to wake me or not (I was admittedly in very deep slumber). When my alarm sounded, I performed my normal routine of slapping the snooze button in disgust. Isabelle sauntered into my room, informing me that she already put her clothes on, but now she reallllly wanted her banana and OJ-juice.

As I pried my eyes open, not quite understanding what she was saying, I saw with an unreal fascination that she had, indeed, put her clothes on already. (Note: This was not an outfit I had laid out the night before). She had actually gotten her little stool, pulled it over to her tall dresser, and went through three different drawers, choosing the pieces that any good outfit requires (shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and underthings).

She had chosen her Ravens purple long-sleeve t-shirt, a pair of blue stretchy play pants, matching blue socks, and her Ravens purple boots. She explained, quite pointedly, that her boots and shirt were purple-purple, and they matched! She then explained that she really wanted to wear her purple "Wild Things" shirt but she couldn't figure out how to put it on (ha ha). She was quite proud of herself, and I was speechless with my own pride.

I realized quickly that I've probably been "stepping in" a little more than I should. In our hectic morning routine, I often pull out an outfit and rapidly get her dressed for the day. I do this mainly because of time constraints -- she has been able to put some of her own clothes on for a while now (I just don’t have the patience most days). But, I have been remiss in allowing her the autonomy to try and "do it herself".

Even more surprising was the coordination and utility of the outfit that she chose. Not only did the colors and styles match, but she also chose a good play outfit for daycare. She could have just as easily ended up wearing a too-fancy dress or a Halloween costume.

We’re just three days away from the Third Birthday. Hey Doc, where's the PAUSE button on this time machine???

The Wickedest Witch of Selby

Halloween was a blast this year. It was a chilly night, but we had no rain like last year. Izzi and I were decked out as black and pink witches with full makeup to match. Our little witch got very into character, cackling her way all over the neighborhood. She wished everyone a Happy Halloween, she proclaimed "Trick or Treat?!?!" on cue, and pretty much said Thank You each time without being prompted.

One of the first few houses we visited, she went up to the door for her treats. She turned around to come back down the front walkway and tripped over some uneven bricks. She screamed in terror and pain and I thought she had really hurt herself. Hat askew, plastic pumpkin rolling down the walkway, and dress caught under her feet, she landed flat on her face. I picked her up and checked out the usual spots (knees, face, hands) for blood or raspberries. She was free of any glaring injuries. When she finally caught her breath, she finally was able to tell me what was wrong. "Myyyyyyy cannnnnndddddddddyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!". She was devastated at her spilled candy all over the brick walk beneath her. Hilarious. We picked up the candy and were on our way with cackles of delight and a bit of smudged face makeup.

The rest of the evening, we steered clear of any houses with big steps or uneven walkways. We had no more spilled candy tragedies for the remainder of the night.

We finally circled our way back to the community beach. The neighborhood association puts on a Halloween party every year with treats, a haunted hayride, and a costume contest. Isabelle WON this year for the scariest costume in the 'under 5' group. She got a big gift bag full of treats, coloring books, pencils, crayons, stickers, and light sticks.

The only bad part of Halloween this year is that it's over. Izzi did not like having to take the decorations down. But she quickly got over it, when we went to Factory Card Outlet to get the party favors for her friends who are coming to her Birthday Party next weekend.