RACK day 16 and Elf on the Overachiever Shelf.

RACK day 16 consisted of visiting my Grandfather in the nursing home and bringing a tray of treats along. My Grandpa has Alzheimer's and it always breaks my heart visiting, because I really hope that he remembers me and knows who I am, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a clue.

But he receives great care in his memory unit of the nursing home and for that I'm grateful.

Here's our picture from yesterdays RACK:

With 3 kids, there will always be a picture where 1 of them is looking away.

It never fails.

And what is going on with my hair?

Why don't people tell me I look like that?

Geesh.

 

Alfred went above and beyond his normal Elf duties last night.

Or the past few nights.

He's a hard worker with great vision.

Sometimes his visions end up growing and growing until it's out of control.

But it was a blast!

 

I just wish Evan spent more than 30 seconds looking at it today.

"Oh, look what the Elf did. He's funny. Can we eat now?"

Sure...why not.

I didn't just spend 3 days and countless hours creating a masterpiece.

No problem.

Welcome to being a Mom.

 

Here are all my pictures, in case you're really bored:

Day 2 of this adventure.

My original idea spiraled out of control quickly.

It was going to be a pipe cleaner Christmas tree, a chair and a fireplace.

Then, I started looking stuff up online.

That's when I went nutzo and came up with all sorts of "fun" ideas.

My box of "stuff".

Beginning of the dreaded chair.

It didn't start out bad, but took a drastic turn towards the end.

You can clearly see I need practice.

Lots and lots of practice.

The room as I started the gluing process.

By the way...gluing is dangerous.

I used super glue, because it works quickly.

But it almost works TOO well.

I glued everything together.

I glued curtains to my fingers.

My sweater to my fingers.

My fingers to the house.

My fingers to my fingers.

Glue is bad.

Beware of glue.

The completed project, without the Elf.

I even had some lights.

And it's a real tree.

The mantel piece.

All made by my hand and look a little scary.

Except the glass jars.

Those I purchased in the jewelry section at the craft store.

One was used to hold the candies I made.

The other as a miniature scene that took me far too long to make.

The dino "dog" I purchased.

My Mom found a bin of key chains and suggested a normal dog.

I found this and decided it fit much better.

This dollhouse scene needed a little weird.

The presents, the ornaments and tree decor were all hand made by me.

I apparently have too much time on my hands.

Now I have a weeks worth of laundry to catch up on.

Way to prioritize.

The Welcome mat was cut out from an ad. 

A closeup of the tiny scene I made.

It's a snowman and a tree.

I took the cork out of the glass bottle and turned it upside down.

Here's the Elf, snuggling up with his cup of cocoa and gingerbread cookie.

The table the food is on was purchased at a garage sale years ago.

The pictures behind him are more cut outs from an ad.

I even made his tiny blanket.

Just another picture.

Hope you enjoyed!

Because no one else cared.

Welcome to my world.

 

 

I love miniatures. This was so much fun to create. I'm keeping it forever. Minus the tiny tree. Poor tiny tree is going to need a new home soon.

 

The Elf brought our Polar Express Train out from the basement the other night.

He's such a helper.

Now my time is spent keeping the kids away from it.

Thanks a lot, Alfred.

 

When Evan woke up that morning, he said, "Mommy! Alfred brought up our train because Daddy was being lazy and wouldn't do it."

 

I love these kids.