Eva the Elf

Posted on November 29, 2014 by carriebeary29

So, let’s just say I was torn. I really wanted to do the Elf on the Shelf and have the fun and wonder with M, but that elf just totally creeped me out. I refused to use that thing. So we improvised. I purchased an elf from TookensTale on Etsy, and we took the Elf on the Shelf book out from the library.

Dan actually suggested the name, and we have been prepping M on and off for a few weeks.

Dan and I made a calendar last week, with different ideas that we wanted to use. We are taking turns every other day to help Eva (or E Bee as M calls her) get to her new location.

We are trying very hard to not have Eva do bad things and as M grows older we will use her as a kindness elf and have her suggest to M to kind things for others. Right now she doesn’t get that as much, but we will still stay away from the more mischief things in the meantime.

“C”lue-Pinterest has tons and tons of links to different ideas. I have pinned some of my favorite to an Elf on the Shelf board. Check it out here

“L”ink-Want to buy your own adorable Elf on the Shelf? Check out TookensTale.

“T”houghts-So my goal is to post pics every day of Eva and her adventures. I will do my best to remember and to do on time. I might not have a full blog post every day, but I will try to post pics. Here is arrival day on 11/28/2014, just hanging out in her box (that I wrapped so I can reuse each year) on our tree (or as M calls it, Ho Ho’s tree):

Another fun (but quiet) activity for the kiddos!

Posted on August 4, 2014 by carriebeary29

Time for another giveaway for the kiddos! Click here to enter!

Feltabulous Creations sent me one of their fishing pond play mat roll-ups to review and to give one away!

I love quiet activities for M because she is ALWAYS on the go. This worked great for when we were eating out and waiting for our food to come. It’s nice and compact and fits easily in her bag. It’s great to practice M’s fine motor skills and can practice her counting and colors while “catching” the fish.

We had it with us last week while out for Dan’s birthday dinner. It was awesome! Kept her busy the whole time while we were waiting for the food and so I didn’t have to give her “snacks” before the meal came. She was then still hungry when it came time to eat and I actually got to eat a warm meal! What is better than that!?! I’m looking forward to having it for on the plane when we head to Florida later this month!

Feltabulous Creations has some other great products too. Check out their Etsy site here. I LOVE the crayon and marker wallet, and of course the Disney treasure box book.

Feltabulous Creations is offering a 10% off anything over $16.00 until 8/10 friends of The CLT Diaries only!

Use this coupon code on Etsy: 10POFF16D

You must use capital letters!

You can also follow Feltabulous Creations on Twitter @Feltabulous

*I was reimbursed in product for this review. The review of this product is my own opinion.

I Spy Bag Giveaway!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by carriebeary29

Maddy just survived (Ok Dan and I survived, but you know what I mean!) our car trip to Sesame Place this past weekend. To help we bought an I Spy Bag from KidBizSpyBags on Etsy! It was great to keep her busy without sticking her in front of the iPad or DVD for 6 hours on our way there and 6 on the way back! She got it as one of her “prizes” for good behavior.

I have partnered with KidBizSpyBags to giveaway and I Spy Bag of your choice! To enter, click this link. Like The CLT Diaries on Facebook for your first entry. For extra entries you can tweet about the entry or follow @thecltdiaries on Twitter. Don’t forget to share with all your friends!
Make sure to check out their etsy page here to see all their choices and Good Luck!