Bad Elf....Again

Some of you might remember this post from last year. It's all about how I hid the "Santa gifts" in a room I thought Caleb couldn't get in to, but he ended up seeing his gifts anyways. This year, I was once again a "not very smart" elf. (When will I learn???) Yesterday, I helped Caleb write a letter to Santa. He wrote about what he wants for Christmas and how he's been good. Then he wanted to include what Hannah wants for Christmas (since she's too small to write a letter of her own). (On a side note, he then said that Hannah has NOT been nice this year because she knocks down his block-towers every day, but when I asked if we should write that, Caleb said, "No...say that she's been good." Ha! Way to look out for your sister, buddy!!) Anyhoo, Caleb signed his name on the letter, then we sealed it up and put a "Santa stamp" on it. Last year, I got this really cute little mailbox for sending letters to Santa. If you put the letter in the mailbox (which is in our kitchen) and put the flag up, then "elves" will come by while you're sleeping and take the letter. So, we put the letter in the mailbox and put the flag up. Last night, while Caleb was sleeping, I (the elf) took the letter out and put it in a safe hiding place in the kitchen. When Caleb woke up, we were all excited to see that the letter was gone. "Elves" came into our house while we were sleeping! What magic! It would be nice if the story would end here, but no....this is where I made my mistake. Mid-morning, Chris and Caleb ran some errands, including getting some toiletries at Walgreens. By habit, I always pile stuff that is supposed to go upstairs on our stairs and just take it up the next time I go up that way. I'll fill baskets and bags on the stairs to save space and take care of it later. I ended up sticking the Santa letter in the bag with the toiletries, thinking that I'd put the letter in Caleb's keepsake box, which is upstairs. The bag with the letter in it sat there for well over an hour, and I didn't think of it again until I walked past the stairs and noticed that the letter was in clear view! Caleb wanted something from the bag and saw the letter for sure!! My attempt at "making magic" in our house was ruined by me. Again. Chris said not to worry about it until Caleb asked about the letter. I thought I was in the clear until just now when Caleb said, "Mom, where's the Santa letter?" I said that I didn't know. Caleb said, "It's over there in the bag. Elves didn't come while we were sleeping, so they don't know what to make us for presents yet. So, they're making different presents for us right now!!!" Luckily, he didn't seem sad by it, so I said that I must have forgot to put the letter in the mailbox and we'll put it in there again tonight. I'm thankful for the forgiveness of 4-year old minds, but also know that I can't get anything past this kid!!!