Santa Saga Part II

READ PART I FIRST!!!


So it was worth all the lies. Tori is one of the biggest believers out there I think. She said, "I didn't think it was going to be a good Christmas this year, but now its the BEST CHRISTMAS of all time!"

She was VERY pleased with the presents and gifts and quite dissapointed in Santa for the Bratz gift. LOL.

So after the gift opening, Brad tells the girls we need to go give a gift to someone who is really in need (family tradition) and Tori says, "Daddy, I'm going to give my Bratz toy to Olive. (her friend from church)" I thought that was hilarious, she said she didn't want it, and she could give it to someone else. I assured her that Olive had plenty of toys for Christmas.

Last night Brad told the girls that an elf would come with Santa to wrap the presents while they were sleeping. I did such a poor job wrapping, I thought it was hilarious. Brad said that Tori would say that Santa's elves are bad gift wrappers. So this morning Tori says, "Santa's elf is not that good of a wrapper." I laughed quietly and went and told Brad who was in our room at the time. Do we know her well or what!?!

So anyway, the girls are pleased, and I'm totally stoked that we spent about $100 total this year for Christmas, and the girls are completely satisfied. PHEW! We pulled it off!

Santa Claus - Not for young readers PART I

So now that my children are old enough to really get into this Christmas thing, and really start to believe, it creates a more dramatic and complicated Christmas than I ever thought it would. As a child, Christmas just is what it is. You don't realize all that your parents do to make it so special because in your mind, its magic. But now that I am the parent, trying to make all the magic and work a full-time job, its VERY HARD! Of course i didn't go out and buy gifts in November, why would I do that when I still have plenty of time, right? Well, we weren't going to get a ton of presents anyway this year, but I found myself buying presents the week before, with the children there, because I had no one to watch them... and I thought, I'll get the Santa presents later... so we went on Monday to get the Santa presents... Brad was going to stay in the car with the girls, Tori was sleeping, and Abbie... well, she had to go potty of course. So I had to take her inside with me, and by the time we went all the way to the very back of the store, I wasn't about to take her all the way to the car and then go back inside to get the gifts. So I'm trying to work it all out in my head how I'm going to make this work. So I start with, "You have to close your eyes..." Then I realize there's no way that's going to work, so then I get desperate with, "This is from Santa, he gave me money to buy your gift." I thought that would work till I told some lady in line that and she about hit me in the head and gave me the most disgusted look I've ever seen. My face turned red with embarrasment as I apparently made like the worst parental Christmas mistake there is... Abbie really is oblivious though, she doesn't really care. So I thought that might fly, as I made her promise not to tell Tori. Well I left it in the car last night, and today as we were driving to a meeting Tori goes, "You got Barbie and the Diamond Castle!?!" I couldn't believe it. I'm so stupid. SO... there goes that Santa gift... maybe its better anyway since I totally screwed it up with Abbie being there... so all day I'm debating, what should I do? Should I just give up and tell them the truth? But all day they are asking us things about Santa like, "How does he get here? How does he know if we're good? How does he see us? When is he going to be here?" Etc Etc and Brad and I are just filling their head with these make believe stories aka LIES and I'm just thinking to myself, "I can't believe I am sitting here lying to my child... and for WHAT?!" So we went to Costco to go get WALL-E and two toys that can be from Santa... but of course we have to take the kids into Costco because they are too ansy to stay inside the car, so we decide to split up. I go pick up the photos that I got printed for Brad (surprise) and guess what, he has the debit card, so I have to spill the beans that I'm at the photo lab, asking him for his debit card (I didn't have mine with me) so he comes over, tries to hide the girls gifts under a t-shirt he was buying for me, the girls start snooping, and Wall-E falls out! SO, then we have to pretend that we have to put it back, which then sends the girls into tantrums, so Brad takes them to the car, I go change their gifts (except Wall-E because of course I "put that back"). So we went through all that just to get them presents from Santa. On the way home from Costco Tori is crying that it doesn't seem like Christmas this year because we don't have a Christmas tree or stockings (and where is Santa going to put our presents if there aren't stockings) and no SNOW! We can't have Christmas with NO SNOW! So I decide to take the opportunity to share with her the TRUE meaning of Christmas, and how Christmas is in our hearts and the meaning, etc. etc.

So Tori put out the 8 carrots for the 8 reindeer and 2 cookies, and a cup of milk in front of our fireplace, thank goodness we have one of those! And Brad comes in after a quick trip to Walgreens since they are open till 10:00 to get milk, he comes in with 2 bags and declares that he no longer is allowed to go to the store alone because he spent $40.00 As he walks in, he tips over the glass of milk which spills all over the carpet and he has this really mad look on his face, and I just start busting out laughing. I say, "Brad, its okay, you can laugh, its funny." So he decides to smile a little and then shows me how he got stockings for the girls and some candy to fill them, and get this... he got them BRATZ Pez candy because we never get them any Bratz stuff and so Tori will think, there's no way it was Dad, it had to be Santa because he doesn't know we don't get Bratz stuff... tricky tricky. So anyway, that's the part 1 of our Santa Saga, I think tomorrow morning might be worth all the lies, but I'll let you know. I guess they can have one more year to their childhood innocence.

Merry Christmas Y'all

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Coodie Bugs

Coversation while laying down with Abbie:

Abbie: "Mom, Tori got coodies."

Me: "Ohh, really, how did she get coodies?"

Abbie: "from a boy at her old school, cause he kissed her (on the cheek), boys give girls coodies."

Me: "Oh wow, if boys give coodies, how come I don't get them from Daddy?"

Abbie (smiling): "Cause he's a MAN!"

Doing some research for this story, I found a term in the dictionary for coodie bugs:

"a young girl's greatest fear of boys..."

J Hilburn-The Perfect Present for Your Husband/Father/Brother/Son

In December we are doing a special for gift cards. We are offering a free tie for any gift card for a Brown Label Shirt ($99) or a Black Label Shirt ($149). OR a Free Men's Polo Shirt ($79 value) with the purchase of any gift card of 3 or more shirts. And as always, I can give you $20 off your first purchase :) So you can get your husband (or loved one) a custom tailored shirt that fits him perfectly for only $79.00 PLUS a free TIE (shipping and tax not included). We've got someone in Washington and Utah and a few other states that can get measurements if I'm unable to, we can work it out, these are great unique presents that your husband will be SO EXCITED to receive, and think that you put a LOT OF THOUGHT into getting him the best gift :) Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

We decided last Monday (a week ago) for Thanksgiving we were going to take a trip back to Utah. Brad's Grandpa, Dean Brockbank, passed away on November 21st, and his funeral was on Saturday, so we decided... why not? Besides the 20 hour drive, nothing else was holding us back, so we decided to jump in the car and take a trip :) I'll tell you what, I'm SO GLAD WE DID! It was an incredible trip. We had such a great time. Thanksgiving Dinner was the best I could have ever imagined at Bart and Jeni's (my brother in law/sister in law) house as they are pretty much the best cooks IN THE WORLD. I got to hold a little newborn for like 2 days straight, which was so fun, and we went shooting, and just had a blast. On Friday night we went to the viewing and Saturday to the funeral. I got to sing a solo a capella and that was fun, glad that's over :). The girls were SO good in the car, even though it was 20 hours each way, they hardly complained at all.

Blogworthy Moment: Abbie is responding to the question of how old are you... "I'm four (holding up all fingers but her pinky), I'm a grown up now." I thought that was hilarious.

We had a great time, I miss my family and friends in Utah. I sure loved coming back home and sleeping in my own bed though, there's something about your own home that is so welcoming, it sure feels good.

We're excited to be moving in January though to a new home in Richardson, TX. Its about 20-30 minutes away from where we are now. Its got an incredible school that Tori is now going to (Hallelujah) and its a brand new townhome with a two-car garage and a back yard. Granite Countertops, Stainless Steel Appliances, Crown Molding, you know, all that good stuff. I'll post pics once we move Jan. 1st. We're doing a lease option so that we can see where the market is in a year and decide then. 25% of our rent is going towards our down payment if we choose to buy, so that's really good.

Life is good, we're happy, excited for the future, and happy where we are, and SO GRATEFUL we aren't where we were a year ago!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Abbie's Growing Up

I can't believe she's over 4 years old now! I remember being in Washington and receiving a beautiful soft baby blanket as a gift from Shirley Morgan for Abbie. We swaddled her tight in it and used it very often. As soon as she was able, she started asking for it. Even before she could talk she'd start looking all over for it and get frustrated if she couldn't find it. As soon as she could start talking, she kept requesting her blue blanket. It took another year for her to realize it was green. She's loved the thing to pieces... literally. I found a piece of the fabric in her bathroom the other day. About 6 months ago I had to stop letting her take it to places because it was getting all ripped up. So Thank you Shirley, it was definitely the most used gift we were given by far! This morning as Abbie was making her bed and asked for her green blanket, I gave it to her, sat her down, and asked her if she'd like to go to the store and pick out new fabric so I could make her a new favorite blanket. She finally said, "Yes." She said, "This one is actually a little scratchy now." Since the middle part of it is exposed from the rips on the flannel, she's been cuddling up to that white scratchy padding stuff (can't remember the correct name). Anyway, so I hurried up and went to Walmart today before she changed her mind (I've been trying to replace the favorite blanket for about 6 months now). She decided to get a Blue Blanket, because that's Abbie for ya. She got blue puppy paw prints. And I found the coolest little handy sewing tool by Singer. I made this blanket in about 30 minutes maybe with all the cutting and sewing (I forgot the yarn needle, so we'll do that part later), its a handheld sewing machine that is actually all set up and ready to go (minus batteries) the second you open it. It was such a relief to not have to thread it and worry about all that sewing stuff. This is great for those who don't like to or don't know how to sew, definitely worth a try, and it was only $15!! So We're going to pack the green blanket away for her when she's my age and has a little one her age so she can look back. Good times :)