Why my Clemson Tigers are already winners!!

So tonight feels a bit like Christmas Eve.  There is that little nervous butterfly feeling in my stomach as I try to go to sleep.  Everywhere I went today in Greenville there were orange clad individuals roaming the stores, orange and white flags flying on cars, billboards and signs on businesses filled with good luck messages.  There was a buzz in the air.  Tomorrow, I have no doubt that the feeling will just intensify.  Tomorrow a champion will be crowned.  College football will be finished for the year.

Now, I wish that I could write this and say that I'm not worried, that I feel confident that my Clemson Tigers will crush Alabama.  Unfortunately, that would be a lie.  I'm worried; but I was worried before every game this season.  I paced the floors before and during the game if I was watching at home.  If I was at Death Valley, I was pinching the arm of those beside me and watching with one eye open.  But each and every time, we prevailed.  Each and every time we walked away a winner!  Fourteen times; we won.  Now, as tomorrow draws near, I pray that we walk away with the trophy.  I pray that we get to wear the championship caps and spray the champagne and dance.  We love to dance!  But tomorrow will not define our season.  We are already winners.  This season has been special.  I am so proud of the accomplishments and the leadership of this team.  There has never been a more exciting time to be a tiger!  Do I want another National Championship trophy to head back to Clemson, SC?  Absolutely!  Will all be lost if we don't win?  Not a chance!  Forever and Always....Go Tigers!!

Diddle's Wish List

Last night we went to see Santa and take him Mary Chandler and Jackson's Christmas list.  Diddle saw the photo when we got home and decided to make his own wish list and sit in "our" Santa's lap!   His list was quite interesting and the kids cracked up when they read it!
 

On Dasher and Dancer and Zhu Zhu Pet and Monster Truck??

The note left by Diddle this morning stated that last night at the North Pole Santa was doing a trial run hitching up the reindeer.  Diddle asked if he could ride in the sleigh, but Santa said there was no time.  Diddle decided that he would come back to our house and make his own sleigh and his own reindeer.  He settled on a red barbie car for his sleigh and zhu zhu pets and monster trucks for reindeer!  The kids giggled so loud when they saw their "elf Santa" waiting on the coffee table! 

Hello my fellow elves!!

So apparently our elf is friends with my friend Amy Faulkenberry's elf and they shared ideas while in the North Pole one night! (aka . . . this idea is stolen.)  Diddle left the kids a note and told them that while he was in the North Pole the night before that he realized that he was a little homesick and was missing his elf brothers and sisters.  He decided to make elf hats and put them on MC and Jack's portrait and appoint them honorary elves!  He said that would help him to not miss home so much!  The kids absolutely LOVED seeing this when they walked down the stairs that morning! 

Diddle says Hi

So on Sunday morning, Diddle showed up at MiMi and G-Daddy's house because the kids spent the night with them on Saturday night.  They found him in the kitchen baking cookies! Mimi is sending the photos, so they will come a little later.  On Monday morning, Diddle decided to dig into the candy jar and indulge in some M&M's.  Jackson had left a few out for him a few nights earlier to see if he would eat them and when they were gone the next day, Jack got super excited and decided that M&M's must be Diddle's favorite candy.  So, on Monday, Diddle was propped up by the candy jar covered in M&M's and he had spelled out the word "HI" with the candy. 

Diddle and Elf Food

So on Friday morning the kids woke up and found Diddle in the kitchen where he had made himself a little snack of elf food!  He wrote to the kids that he had been really busy pranking them and he had forgotten how hungry he was!  Then, Diddle thanked them for buying special elf food for him.  He had found in the cabinet some mini pop-tart bites, Brownie Bites cereal, and Honey Nut Cheerio "elf doughnuts"  . . . ELF FOOD!!  He decided to prop himself up in an elf chair (aka- a Santa Claus wine bottle holder) and chow down! 

Diddle finds a "picture machine"

I am so far behind on blogging Diddle's nightly romps, so here is the catch up!  On Thursday night, Diddle found a new "picture machine" in our kitchen and he decided to make some photos of himself.  He left a note telling the kids that they should try it sometime!  I am waiting to walk into the kitchen and catch Jack or Chan with their face in the copier! 

Diddle the Decorator

So last night Diddle wrote the kids a note saying that our tree was pretty boring and didn't have very much color. He decided that he would redecorate it for us by going into the sock drawer and gathering up all of the socks and gloves and tossing them all over the tree.  Next, Diddle decided to hop into a monkey sock and become one of the decorations for the night.  The kids were so excited when they came down the stairs and saw the "new" decorations!

Diddle's Photo Booth!

Diddle decided that he wanted to borrow my camera and set up a photo booth! He met some Barbies that wanted to join in the fun, so they gathered some props and got the stuffed animal Grinch to be their photographer. After taking some cute shots, they printed off their photo booth strips so that they could have a reminder of their night! They also wanted to share the fun, so they printed some "human sized" props and left them for MC and Jack to enjoy! 

 

"human sized" props and left them for MC and Jack to enjoy! 

Diddle's Self Portrait

Well, today Diddle decided to pull out all of the paint supplies and paint a self-portrait!  He said that he loved all of the artwork that Mary Chandler and Jackson produced and he wanted to get in on the action!  He decided that he would paint a portrait of himself so that the kids would remember what he looked like after he had to return to the North Pole!  The kids LOVED it! 

Diddle's Debut 2012

Well, he's Baaaaccccckkkk!!!  After much anticipation from my children.  Diddle has returned.  Jackson has been drawing pictures of him and writing him letters and telling random strangers that our elf should coming soon!  So, last night after reading The Elf on the Shelf book, Diddle returned.
 



He "borrowed" some of my wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, ribbon, a sharpie, and some scissors and created his own bulletin board on our fireplace.  He made a giant sign that said "I'm Back" and
and little bullet points that said things like "Santa says Hi."

 Then during the creation of the bulletin board, Diddle got tangled in the ribbon and that is where he hung all night until my children woke up this morning with squeals of excitement!

So, Diddle is back and is ready to wreck havoc in the Keels house!  If you'd like to follow the antics, check back on this blog daily!  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from the Keels and Diddle!

This is seriously one of my most favorite times of the year (if not the most)!  I adore college football and everything about it!  I love the tailgate, the food, the clothes, the rivals, the team colors, etc.!  I love it, love it, love it!!!  With that being said, I am a Clemson girl, and although I love to watch ALL college football, I will always cheer for my tigers!!  I had to create something to post on here to show my love . . . what's better than being a southern belle and a clemson tiger??  NOTHING!  Go Tigers!! 

Dr. Suess Week - Suess Snack Mix

It's been a while since I have blogged. There has been a lot going on in my life over the last few months and to be honest, my creativity has been in a little slump. However, this week all of my creative juices came back as my kids celebrated Dr. Suess week. Actually, at school they only celebrated on Friday for Dr. Suess' birthday, but at our house it started on Monday. My kids (and myself) have ALWAYS loved Dr. Suess. Actually, one of the first books that I bought for Mary Chandler when I was pregnant with her was The Cat in the Hat! So . . . in celebration of Dr. Suess we decided to get creative!

We decided that our family would present a gift to Jackson's 1st grade class in honor of Dr. Suess. The first thing on the agenda was a special "Suess Snack Mix." I researched online and found a few things (recipes), but not exactly what I was looking for . . . so, I came up with my own! I decided that I would write a poem that gave specific items from some of our favorite Suess books and I would find snacks to coordinate with those items. I would toss them all together and create a "Special Suess Snack Mix." The poem was typed up and taped onto the container. This is the poem:

Letters make words and
words make Suess books,
Which ones you ask?
Well, let’s take a look!

Brown Bar-Ba-Loot Bears and
White truffula fruit
Make for some very yummy “Lorax” loot!

“One Fish, Two Fish” swim about,
while “Horton’s Egg” tries to hatch out!

“If I Ran a Zoo” I would have animals galore with a large
“Cat in a Hat” and many, many more!

Enjoy your treat and smile as you eat,
and be glad in this snack that I forgot the “Duck Feet”!

(The letters were Alpha Bits . . . Bar-ba-loot bears were Chocolate Teddy Grahams . . . White truffula fruit were mini marshmallows . . . One fish, two fish were colorful goldfish crackers . . . Horton's Egg was mini Robin's egg candies . . . If I ran a zoo were animal crackers . . . Cat in the hat was mini graham crackers dipped in white and red candy melts)

Then, we wrapped up a new copy of "I wish that I had Duck Feet" to donate to the classroom library.

For an extra treat, we decided to make each person in the class their very own "Cat in the Hat" marshmallow pop. We took two marshmallows and dipped the ends in red candy melts. When they were almost dry, we put them on sucker sticks so that they looked like the hats. Next, we put them in clear candy bags and tied them up with coordinating ribbons.

Once we were done with all of our treats, we loaded them all up in a gift basket and headed to Mrs. Emerson's class to give them their gift!

Super Diddle and Doughnut Diddle

Once again, I ended up getting tied up with Christmas comings and goings and have not had a chance to update the blog. So here are the last few days of updates from Diddle!

On Monday, the kids woke up to a letter from SUPER DIDDLE! He said that he was digging around in Jackson's closet and found the perfect super hero house. He said that he has always enjoyed playing dress up and super hero is one of his favorite things to play. Diddle was very excited to play in Batman's Cave and he even made his own super hero mask and cape! His message to the kids was to always do good and fight evil. He told them to always speak nicely to one another and to always remember the golden rule.

On Tuesday morning, we were in a hotel in Chapel Hill, NC. Diddle came to visit us and was in a Santa hat in the hotel room. However, we left before we could take any photos of him. Oh well . . . he was due for a paparazzi break!

Today, Diddle was SUPER excited! While we were in Chapel Hill yesterday, we stopped at Krispy Kreme on Franklin Street and ordered up a dozen holiday doughnuts to bring home. We ended up with 4 in the box by the end of the night. PLUS, we shared a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut milk shake. Oh. My. Goodness. It was heaven in a clear cup. You just have no idea how crazy good this gazillion calorie treat was to me. It was totally worth the calories. If your local KK has these, run . . . don't walk . . . and get one. You will not regret it. I digress . . .

So, Diddle was super jealous of our doughnut find and he said that there was no way the he could eat an entire doughnut, so he decided to make mini elf sized doughnuts. He used Fruit Loop and dipped them in melted white chocolate and covered them with sprinkles and colored sugar! Voila- Elf Doughnuts! Hope he enjoys his as much as we enjoyed ours!