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Have you heard of “Elf on the Shelf”? It’s a really cute but admittedly creepy kid’s story where Santa sends an Elf on a reconnaissance mission to make sure you’re being good. It comes with an Elf — which Charlotte named “Timmy” — that we hide each night. Sometimes he brings presents. Here’s some footage of Charlotte stumbling upon Timmy, then reporting back to Mom.

I spent last weekend at the Chicago Toy & Game Fair pushing Split Decision on the game-buying elite. Or at least the six-year-old children of the game-buying elite. I also met this giant coupon.

Things are going well with the game so far. Copies are flying off the virtual shelf in the mental_floss store, and you can also buy it at Borders, Books-A-Million, Midwestern toy chain Marbles, Powell’s in Portland, and Uncommon Goods. If you see Split Decision in the wild, snap a picture. (Then buy two dozen.)

While we were in Chicago, I got to stop by the WGN studio and chat about the game on The Nick Digilio Show. Have a listen!

Big weekend for celebrations around here.

Friday marked the five-year anniversary of the day we brought Bailey home.

Saturday was Ellen’s 30th birthday!

And Sunday Katie turned two-months-old.

Good thing Charlie’s always up for a party.

Here’s how Charlotte reacted this morning when Mickey Mouse called her. It sort of backfired — she couldn’t understand why Mickey (and Minnie) couldn’t stop by to say hello, too.

I spent the first half of the year working on a trivia game called Split Decision. It’s now available in most Borders stores, in Books-A-Million, in various independent bookstores across the country, and of course in the mental_floss store.

The other day Charlotte and I went to see if we could find the game in our Borders. She couldn’t contain her excitement:

OK, I promised her as soon as we found it, we could end the silly scavenger hunt and head over to the children’s department. But I promise the game is fun. AOL News just ran a story on it.