I do this every year; a holiday rant

<------- first of all, cool picture huh? That's a pear tree. I think.


Anyway, I do this to myself every.single.year.

The obsession begins around August. I start to worry. I worry about the kids having enough for Christmas. I don't know why I do this. We really do make a HUGE effort to focus on family and the spirit of the season. It's not all about the presents. But it gets into my brain and won't stop pecking at me somewhere before Labor Day. So I start to buy little things here and there that I find on sale. I feel oh so proud that I'm shopping early. I am a Christmas frickin' goddess. I stash my early purchases away and then get caught up in fall. Halloween costumes and turkey take center stage while my gifts gather dust in the top of my closet, away from prying kiddos.

Then a few weeks before the big day, I completely panic. I become CONVINCED that my children are completely and totally neglected. They are terribly deprived. I am positive that the magic of the holidays will be dashed by my horrible procrastination.

So out I go, pushing my cart through the stores and avoiding other bleary eyed parents through my half closed sleepy eyes, tossing My Little Ponies, Barbie convertibles, and art supplies willy-nilly into my basket. Then I get home and decide that DAMMIT I AM GOING TO WRAP because I am not going to get stuck wrapping at two a.m. on Christmas Eve, no matter how FUN Skippy seems to think that is. Hot chocolate with Bailey's in front of a fire while LAUGHING at Skippy wrapping is way more fun.

So I gather my wrapping supplies and then suddenly, I begin finding little caches of presents all over the place. There's a tinkerbell purse under my sweaters and six books hit me in the head when I reach for the DVDs on the highest shelf. I come to the realization that my kids are spoiled rotten.

Oy.

I mean, they really aren't. They pretty much only get new toys for Christmas and on their birthdays. I'm a mean mean mommy the rest of the year. But every year it's the same song and dance. I don't know why I do it to myself.

Anyway, I haven't blogged in awhile. We've been busy. Only one more full week of school before a Christmas break that lasts almost THREE WEEKS. I'm already frantically jotting down ideas for things to do while the kids are off school so that we don't all end up drooling on the couch watching seventeen Spongebob reruns. (Not that we EVER watch Spongebob. Nope. Not my kids. Nope.)

To make it all even more interesting, Skippy is going out of town this week and he won't be back until the Saturday before Christmas. While all the other googlers are getting sent to Iowa and Oaklahoma, my darling husband gets to fly into Sweet Home Chicago. Color my jealous. I'm mostly annoyed that he gets to eat Portillo's and go holiday shopping at a real mall. And see my Mom. And eat Portillo's. And see our friends and eat MORE Portillo's. So I figure I'll comfort myself by letting the kids stay up late, eating junk food and watching movies in our pajamas, and spending too much money. That's what we used to do with my Mom when my dad travelled and I always thought that was a pretty good system. Plus it takes away from the Portillo's pain.

Anyway.....let me ramble some more. Why not right? I haven't blogged in a week and it's 11:20 and I wrapped presents so I feel like I accomplished enough to sit here for a bit. Plus I knocked my shin on the toolbox that is in here and now my leg hurts. And the baby is snoring and that's just about the cutest sound in the world.

Friday we had the school carnival - totally exhausting, and I didn't even do the bulk of the work. Yesterday I took the girls to a Christmas fair and we had so much fun - they made me the cutest ornaments. Then last night, Skippy and I went on a date. A real date. I know - that makes two in a matter of weeks. We've officially hit our date quota for the year. Let me just say that Google throws one hell of a holiday bash. We had awesome food, strong drinks, a mock casino, music, singing, raffles, and NO CHILDREN. The party was fantastic and the company was even better. I dressed up. I even wore MAKEUP. I know. Wow huh? I honestly am in awe of the two gals who did the majority of the footwork because they know how to throw a major bash. It really made me realize how many terrific friends we have made since we moved. I miss every one in the Midwest so much sometimes, but I feel so blessed to have all of these wonderful new people in our lives. And as a stay-at-home Mom, it feels so good to see Skippy in his element - I don't think he ever understood the GUILT I felt when he worked for FTD. He worked there because he had to. Things like food and heat and clothes are good. They require money. That requires a job. FTD was a job. This is job but it's so much more to us. He is surrounded by people who he respects and who respect him and he gets up every day and genuinely enjoys going to work. That makes me feel so good about the choices we've made in the last year. It's one thing to do a great job supporting your family - it's another thing completely if you're lucky enough to be able to do something you love in the process. A lot of that hit home for me last night, and it wasn't just the Bailey's talking.

So yeah. Good party.

Today we hung up Christmas lights. Ok. *Skippy* hung up Christmas lights. I decorated the inside of the house. I'm annoyed that I haven't found our box of ornaments in storage yet, but everything else looks great. Outside Christmas lights have long been a point of contention in our marriage. Skippy has a thing for all blue lights. I think they look...........um.........well I just don't like all blue lights. Then last year my mother-in-law Dixie found forty six boxes of blue lights on sale and she bought them.

Ok, it was really only nine boxes but you get the idea.

So now I have blue lights on my house. And I actually LIKE it. Banana was so tickled when Skippy finally let us come outside for the big reveal - she has been begging for Christmas lights since last year when I was pregnant and by myself and wasn't about to get up on a ladder. I promised here that wherever we lived this year, we'd have lights and Skippy delivered beautifully. Now I just have to find the ornaments for the tree. They are probably in a box somewhere labelled POTS AND PANS sharing space with an old bike seat or something, but I'll find them. Eventually.

So there you go. Ramble over. I think my coffee has worn off sufficiently for me to go crash. It's been a long and busy week. We're ready for Santa and Ho Ho Ho and presents and friends and food in the coming weeks but the next few days will revolve around getting Skippy to PDX and off to the windy city. Where he's going to eat Portillo's, the horrible brat.

Good week. Good party. Good shopping. Good lights.

Good night.