Elf on the shelf~ Henry's story

We adopted our elf on the shelf (Henry) towards the end of 2012 and every year around Thanksgiving the kids get excited about seeing him again. Henry is a very mischievous little elf at times, he's definitely gotten himself into some jams. I truly don't know who has had more fun with him the kids or the adults. I have been racking my brain for weeks trying to come up with a really cool idea of how to bring Henry back this year. He normally contains a lot of his antics and remains more on the well behaved side of things, but this year with all 6 kids I'm thinking maybe he should start pulling some really sticky stunts.

Do y'all have an Elf and if so what's some of the antics your little visitor has pulled?

What happened to morals and values

I have been known to say the statement "Well, they're not my child" to all of my kids at some point in time especially when one of their "friends" decides to show their entitlement syndrome. I have always raised my kids to understand that life isn't fair, you don't always get your way, and you will not be handed everything throughout life; and as the years have passed I have noticed not many parents instill morals and values into their children anymore. I don't mind sending an extra snack to one of their friends if their parents don't send them with snacks during the day, I don't mind having another child eat supper at my house, I really don't mind having extra kids stay over. However, I do mind when another persons child invites their self to my house for play dates, supper, and weeknight sleepovers. I especially mind this when their parents do not have a clue who we are or where exactly we live. 

Now don't get me wrong I know the old saying it takes a village to raise a child, but that village knew one another! I know that every parent has their own technique and what works for some may not work for others, but I also thought there were standard do's and don'ts! For example:

Don't let your child WALK to a strangers home and stay overnight 

Do know where your children are going

Don't allow your child to cuss someone more than a sailor

Do teach your child right from wrong

Etc....

I am not a perfect parent by no means, I have made A LOT of mistakes throughout my 11 years of motherhood. However, I am confident that my children will become productive members of society, they have good morals and values that include: respect, manners, doing kind deeds, being helpful, knowing consequences are a result of all actions, etc. I'm also not oblivious to the fact that as they get older they will test the waters and they will do things that I didn't raise them to do as they set out to find theirself, but i can only hope what I've taught them will leave permant impressions and help guide their decisions.