Traffic Jam Monday

I have never before been shopping on Dec. 23rd.

I do not plan to go again.

Give me Black Friday any day.

Yesterday was Traffic Jam Monday.

I'm not sure why, but I did not anticipate the Monday morning two days before Christmas to be quite so busy. It's funny how I expected more people to be at work....even though my husband and I were not.

I think the term for that would be double-standard.

What is crazy is that we weren't even Christmas shopping.  We were looking for a gift for someone who has been known to read this blog, so that is all I will say about that.

But there was definitely an electric charge in the air from those in a flurry to get last minute Christmas gifts.  Customers were getting all fired up that their engraved item might not be done and ready for pick-up before tomorrow.  And the store will only be open until 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve? It was as if they were hot that the store neglected to call them and ask what holiday hours would work best in their personal schedules.

Yikes.

Some of the funniest moments of the day were seeing all the men sitting in the comfy chairs scattered throughout the mall.  They looked less than thrilled to be there.

Even funnier was walking into Cabela's and seeing a bunch of women sitting on the furniture at the front of that store.  The people around me may have wondered why I was laughing out loud.

But the most obvious last minute Christmas shoppers were all the males at every jewelry store at the mall.  Seriously, the male-to-female ratio had to be 90:1.  Women across the state will be receiving well-planned, thoughtful gifts of jewelry from their significant others.

I would not be one of them.

I know this for two reasons:
1)  If my husband was buying me jewelry for Christmas, he would have researched, shopped, and purchased it weeks ago.  He's just that guy.
2)  We are impatiently waiting for our new camera to arrive on our porch on this very day.  We are like two kids on Christmas morning.  We have been checking the UPS tracking website daily (or possibly 3 times a day) since we got our shipment email.  We may not leave the couch by the window until it arrives.

I plan to tear into the box the moment it arrives.  Then I will graciously hand the manual to my husband, let him read it word-for-word, and expect him to teach me how to use it. 

Then I will probably be skeptical of something he is telling me, and read the manual word-for-word by myself.

Yep, we are nerds like that.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Snow Much Fun

Corny title, but I couldn't resist. 

I'm pretty sure that phrase is in every scrapbook across the nation.

The boys begged to go sledding this afternoon, so we decided to start Christmas a little early and hauled up a big box from the basement.  They could not figure out why we would be letting them open a Christmas gift today. However, we thought it was a bit crazy to go sledding with one tiny sled when there was another one sitting there waiting for Christmas Day.

We started on the typical 30 minute routine just to get everyone decked out in 12,000 layers of clothing. 

I was the last one out, and when I walked outside, all three males in my family started laughing.

Apparently I need to invest in some snow gear of my own. Wearing my husband's snow apparel turns me into the abominable snowmom. 

My husband's exact words...while he was trying to stop laughing...were, "Don't hate me, but you look like you weigh about 300 pounds."

This is why I love my family.

They are great self-esteem boosters.


Here they are, breaking in the new snow.  Down the hill...

again....

and again.

 

If only there were ski lifts to get back up.

 

 

When traditional sledding gets too boring, we surf-sled.

While mom and dad (especially dad) pray for no broken bones during basketball season.

I Need a Parenting Instruction Manual

This morning my 11 year old didn't want to wait until the pancakes were ready to eat breakfast.

Since it was later than normal, and he is the kid who likes to eat the second he wakes up (which is usually 6:30 a.m.), I told him to grab some cereal to hold him over.

He grabbed the cereal, pulled the sack out of the box (which drives me crazy), ate for a bit, left the sack, left the box, and walked away from table.

This is my first born, type A, analytical, black-and-white, rule-following, justice kid. Shouldn't this personality type just naturally do the right thing?

I, being the observant parent that I am, did not see him make the mess and walk away.

His father walked into the room, and "sighed" his son's name in that parental-I-am-disgusted-right-now sigh.  And then he started to put the cereal away.

I stopped my dear hubby from doing it, and declared that our son should be the one to put it away.

The following conversation ensued:

Me: "He needs to put it away.  It's time we grow up and be responsible around here."

11 year old:  (with a big grin) "Growing up and being responsible is for adults."

Me: (without a big grin) "We are already grown up.  It's the kids' turn to learn how to be responsible."

11 year old:  "No.  We are just here to keep you company."


Oh my.

I will admit, so many comments came to mind.   They may have been along the lines of how much money it costs me to have "company"....or how a good book and a quiet house can keep me company nicely....

Regardless...one thing is obvious.

We have a lot of parenting work to do.

Right after we stop laughing about the kids being here to keep us company.

Blink....And It Is Over

Thanksgiving Break has come and gone.

It is always so slow to arrive....and so quick to fly by.

I was unsure about how this one would play out, but armed with my TENS unit, Kinesio tape, and Advil, we set out for Branson on Tuesday.  My back cooperated with adequate decency.

The GPS, however, did not.

Turns out, it does not know its way to Branson.

It also does not know when bridges are out and 30 mile detours are involved.

Note to self: Do not rely on the GPS.

We eventually made it to Branson and enjoyed a few days away with the family.  It seems that everywhere we went, photography was prohibited, so we have very little proof that we actually did anything on our mini-vacation.

But, we did go here...

 

and saw this...

 

...which was amazing.  We also went here...

and educated ourselves on the events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic.  

I can honestly say that I have never spent Thanksgiving morning touring through a museum.  

However, as museums go, this one was pretty cool.

Here we are discovering which Titanic passenger we were for the morning.  

 

I am happy to report that 10 of the 12 of us survived the tragedy.  

My husband and father-in-law did not fair so well.  They perished when the ship went down.

And in other news....

We attempted some serious Black Friday shopping in the metropolis of Branson.  "We" meaning my dear husband and I.  No one else in our crew ventured out in the madness.  

We have always said that the key to Black Friday shopping is to go with no expectations and be thankful for whatever items you happen to get.  More often than not, we get everything we set out for.

Until this year.

This year was strike out city.

My husband stood outside in the freezing cold for almost two hours waiting to get a camera at Target. He was the first one to arrive in electronics and ask for the camera in the advertisement.  Their answer: "I'm sorry, we didn't get any of those at this store." 

Seriously? If it is in the ad, shouldn't each store at least have ONE?

I had to keep reminding myself...no expectations...no expectations.

Which is a lot easier when hundreds of dollars of savings is not involved!

Aside from those moments, it was a great break with good family time, which is something you can never put a price tag on.