I looked up and realized it was midnight and I needed to get to bed. Up I go to retrieve Hermie from his hiding place. I opened my pj drawer, moved the mountain of Christmas jammie pants out of the way only to find- nothing. I broke into a cold sweat...where was that elf?! I was sure that he was left in there, in fact I know I saw him this summer. I quickly went through each drawer and then each drawer of my bedside table, G;s bedside table, my closet, G's closet, under the furniture. I was pale with panic, cold sweat was beading across my forehead.
Stupid elf, why did I ever start this for the kids...
We search the crawl space and all the Christmas boxes, nadda. Hermie is taking hiding to a new level. Apparently he is so well hidden even the kids couldn't find him on Tuesday morning when they woke up....
After work I raced to Chapters, picked up a new Hermie who was a little chubbier than our real Hermie and decided to have him bring a reindeer friend for Amelia.
Then we raced home, I put the elf and reindeer in place with a note, hid the boxes and went to pick up the kids.
Austin was really excited to see Hermie and Amelia was thrilled that he brought a reindeer friend. Austin read the note and the kids named the reindeer Snowy. I think Snowy and the excitement of getting their first chocolate from their calendar was a good distraction- no one noticed that Hermie had gained some weight and had a little tan...
Apparently Amelia REALLY wants that special gift from Santa because she slept all night in her own bed and didn't get up until 5am for a morning cuddle. I'll take it!!! It takes 21 days to make a new habit and we've got 22 days left to countdown. I'm praying for a Christmas miracle!