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Staying Home Sawyer

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Holidays!

Reuben the Elf Returns

12.01.2018

Most people buy their Elf on the Shelf for their small children. I, on the other hand, have an Elf for my husband (and the rest of the world via Instagram of course). I’ve had years worth of fun creating set-ups for Reuben the Elf, most of the time trying to tame him for the public eye. I knew that inevitably he would have to really tone it down if we had children of our own, as he can get quite sassy. Thankfully that time has not yet come, she’s still too little to know what’s going on. But I’m not sure how many years we’ve got left.

Before Reuben the Elf returns this year, I thought I’d showcase some of his best work from last year. One of the best parts was turning my babe into Reuben’s new best friend elf. I’m not going to lie, I’m going to be a little sad when my baby elf grows up and Reuben has to do easy things like move from one shelf to the next shelf. Or maybe I’ll finally get a break. This preparation is no joke.

Reuben returned last year next to Sawyer. He issued the following statement upon arrival:

“How about that sleigh ride in? I guess that’s why they call it San Jose, hehe. You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-elf wolf pack. But when Shauna brought Sawyer home, I knew she was one of my own. I thought: “Wait a second. Could it be?” And now, I know for sure. I just added one more elf to my wolf pack. We will be the two best friends that anyone can have.” – Reuben the Elf

(The Hangover)

Reuben’s friend Ralphie double dog dared him to lick the frozen flag pole. NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a triple-dare you, and then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare.

(A Christmas Story)Dilly Dilly.

Reuben had the day off, so apparently Sawyer the elf thought it was okay to open her Christmas presents early!

Reuben made his own gingerbread house!

Reuben left our cat Lucy a treat.

Either elves have magic eyes or Reuben is a serious risk-taker for looking directly at the eclipse without his special glasses.

Reuben heard that The Today Show had an open position for a morning show host last year. With his stellar personality he knew he was a shoo-in.

Elf Sawyer decided to trick us into thinking Santa put our cat on the naughty list!

One Bite. Everyone Knows The Rules. (Barstool Sports)

Reuben let out his dark passenger last night. (Dexter)

The Today Show position wasn’t the right fit for Reuben. He heard there was another opening at Playboy, it was a much better fit for him.

Da-na-na-na Da-na-na-na BATMAN. “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

Reuben must have been tired of hearing baby cries because I caught him spiking Sawyer’s bottles.

Reuben took advantage of the fact that Sawyer couldn’t read yet.

Reuben really got into Snapchat filters.

And the cutest elf on the shelf award goes to…

Party at her crib. 5pm.

Wanna see the previous years of Reuben? Check them out below:

2017

2016

2015

2014

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Comments

  1. Bobbie Beckman says

    12.02.2018 at 6:18 am

    Can’t wait to see Rueben’s adventures this year

    • shauna841505@yahoo.com says

      12.02.2018 at 10:21 am

      Me either. You’re going to do him right? 🙂

About Me

About Me

Hi Mamas! My name is Shauna, a 30-something (big emphasis on the 'something') new mama and wife living in Southern California. I've become a Stay At Home Mom to Sawyer, and I would do it forever if I could! I'm originally from Wisconsin and am a total Cheesehead! I'm here to share DIY's, travel tips, and baby stuff I'm sure!

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Save for later. PS: This is my husbands rendition Save for later.

PS: This is my husbands rendition of a “Sexy Willy Wonka.” You know, because being Aladdin, Flynn Ryder, Prince Charming…he couldn’t just be a regular guy for one year. 🤣🤣
Don’t spend today wishing for tomorrow. Find five Don’t spend today wishing for tomorrow. Find five things every night that you’re thankful for, and BE thankful for them. So much of our lives are spent waiting for the next best thing when in reality, it’s sitting right in front of us.
If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’ If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’s to SLOW DOWN.

So much of life is spent going, going, going. Waiting for the next stage. Telling ourselves, “Once we get through this, things will be easier.” Once the kids are older. Once life settles down. Once we have more time. But what if we’re missing the whole point? Because the moments we’re so eager to get through ARE the moments.

Today is the important stuff. The ordinary days. The messy days. The little conversations, the giggles, the routines, the chaos, the moments that don’t feel significant while we’re living them. We spend so much time wishing for the next chapter that we forget we’re already living one we’ll someday wish we could go back to.

So slow down.

Be here.
Pay attention.
Let the moment take as long as it needs to.

Because someday, these will be the days we miss.

**And if you know us personally, you know why I had to jump on this social media trend**
This is your permission slip to let the crafts be This is your permission slip to let the crafts be messy. 

They don’t need to match your house. They don’t need to be Pinterest-worthy. They don’t need to be made with a neutral color palette and a Cricut. They just need to be theirs.

Because someday I’m probably going to miss the paper scraps, the glue everywhere, the questionable color combinations, and the little masterpieces I had no idea what to do with. Let them make the ugly craft. Let them make a mess. Let them create something that looks nothing like what you had in mind.

Childhood doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be beautiful.
When you stop to think about the fact that one day When you stop to think about the fact that one day all of her toys will be someone else’s toys, she’ll be heading off to college, and all I’ll be left with are these videos…
This is NOT a post to bash moms that are happy the This is NOT a post to bash moms that are happy their kids are going back to school. My neighbors and I commiserate all summer long about how long the days are, how frustrating the kids can be, how much they’re fighting, etc. 

But my days are always like that, and even though it’s exhausting and overwhelming at times, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if I only have ONE moment like this a day, it’s one moment a day I could miss out on if they were in a traditional school. 

So here’s to whatever choice you are making in regards to your kids education. What’s best for YOU is most important. And what’s best for us is this.
I honestly never thought I’d be the mom saying yes I honestly never thought I’d be the mom saying yes
 to slime... but here we are.

The difference? This isn’t just a container of slime
 to squish around. The Slime Prank Lab by @CrunchLabs
turns it into an activity. We spent the afternoon mixing the slime, experimenting with different textures, and (of course) testing out the ridiculously funny booger and fart pranks. 🤣

My girls were completely entertained, and I loved watching them create, experiment, and laugh together. It feels like pure fun for the kids, but there’s actually some pretty cool science and engineering behind it all, plus Mark Rober walks you through even more with the QR code inside the kit.

Who in your family would be the first prank target? 
#sponsored #crunchlabs @moosetoys_
I’m about as outdoorsy as an overwater bungalow in I’m about as outdoorsy as an overwater bungalow in Tahiti can be.

#tahiti
A core memory I didn’t know I’d be making… This w A core memory I didn’t know I’d be making…

This weekend at church, my daughter got to light the candles for the first time. At the end of the service, when she went up on her own to extinguish them, proud tears dropped from my eyes. And as I looked around at others, I noticed I wasn’t the only one. 

If you had asked me in my early to mid twenties, I wouldn’t have imagined how much this community, this faith, and these little traditions would come to mean to our family. There was a season of my life, long before I became a mom, where I drifted away from actively going to church. Now, getting to watch my girls grow up surrounded by faith, love, and a church family who knows them and celebrates them feels like such a gift.
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