***note:  If this were a movie, the screen would get all wiggly, ‘cuz we’re going back in time…***

The Christmas buzz was in the air.  The kids were ready to be done with school and score some loot.  But here’s the thing.  Becca REALLY wanted one of those darn zhu-zhu pets.  Along with every other kid on the face of this Earth.  A few weeks before the Christmas break began, my niece-in-law (who we’ll just say is my niece, because it’s easier) asked me if I had bought Chloe a zhu-zhu pet for Christmas.  Nope.  Hadn’t done it.  Chloe wasn’t really asking for one all that much.  She went through a few days around Thanksgiving saying that she wanted one.  But then it changed to something else…and something else…and something else…

You get the idea.

Well my niece found some zhu-zhu’s online for a good price and got one for Chloe.  Which was great.  As I thought about this situation, a vision of loving sisters danced in my head.  And I thought it would be a little experiment.  They had been getting along great (I’m sure it had something to do with my Santa-Cams-in-every-lightbulb-ever-made story).  So, I had this vision of them sharing this gift.  Really.

I did consider getting one for Becca.  My sister in law called me the Friday before Christmas (as I had three children in my car on the way to school).  She was at Wal-Mart and they had seven more left.  They were only letting customers purchase one. She got one for her daughter.  Could I get there in time?  I still had to drop off these darn kids!!!  Needless to say, I didn’t make it.

We open our gifts on the morning of Christmas Eve.  (Yup…maybe I’ll tell that story later.  Maybe I already have.  I dunno).  We would see Tony’s family (and aforementioned zhu-zhu pet) at Tony’s sister’s house that night.  We get there, see everybody, chow down on some fantastic Christmas dinner, and get to the gifts.  The kids tear in.  I’m watching Chloe with excitement and anticipation.  She opens the zhu-zhu, smiles a gigantic smile, runs up to Becca and says “Becca, WE got a zhu-zhu pet!!!”

My heart about exploded.  I was so proud.  They were so happy. Christmas is beautiful.

Really?  Did you think it was gonna end there?  Nope.  After about an hour, Chloe wasn’t so excited about the sharing.  Becca wasn’t complaining (which is not exactly like her).  She just sat on the couch very quietly.  I did the correct mom thing.  We talked about it.  She presented her case in a very lady-like, calm manner.  Which also made me proud.  I told her that the best I could do was to try on the day after Christmas.  I would call the stores.

Well, I called.  Nothing.  So, we head to Amazon and find a zhu-zhu pet with a couple of accessories.  But, even with the super-duper-fast-and-expensive shipping, it wouldn’t come until Tuesday.  She was OK with that, and started counting down the days.  I wasn’t about to spend fifty bucks on this toy and shipping, so I took the offer that Amazon always has for the $40 credit if you open a credit card.  Like I need another credit card.  But I digress…

That Monday, as I was headed off to work, the UPS man walked up to my car.  There it was.  Becca’s zhu-zhu.

I ran it up to her.  I was the hero.  I was better than Santa because SHE got to pick out her zhu-zhu.  Mom saved the day! She rocks! Mom can always make it better.

I think the last day they played with zhu-zhu’s was December 30.  Which will lead us into New Years Day.  And this one goes down in history…

When I was small my father (who was a cop) almost always had to work on Christmas Day. Plus, my father is not exactly patient when it comes to gift giving. I’m the same way. Must be genetic. Anyway, Santa always came to our house overnight on the 23rd/24th, and we opened gifts the morning of Christmas Eve.

Fast forward to my grown up years. Yes, I’m already impatient. Tony and I are living together. I was tending bar at the airport, and I always had off Christmas Eve. And always worked Christmas Day (I usually didn’t start until 4:00 – and I got FANTASTIC tips that day). Also, at this time the Downey family festivities usually lasted on Christmas Eve until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, and one (if not both) of us were experiencing a fuzzy Christmas buzz. So, the Christmas Eve morning tradition continued.

So, now we have kids. Up until this year, Tony always worked on Christmas Day. Just made sense to keep the tradition alive. This year I had to pause and think about it, though. Yes, Tony is working on Christmas Day, but not until 7:30 pm. Should we break the tradition? Should we follow the Christmas rules? I decided to keep our personal tradition alive, and here is the reasoning: Tony is SO not used to waking up any time before 11:00. If I had to wake him up at, let’s say 6:00 am tomorrow morning, it would throw him off for the entire day. So, he came home from work around 3:30, we set up the presents and stockings, and sat around shooting the shit until 5:30. Out came the bells, the mad rush to try to find Santa, and a whirl wind of cute Christmas wrapping, Hershey Kisses and plastic play things. Tony even made breakfast. (Although he kept referring to the 24th as ‘tomorrow’ and I kept referring to the 24th as ‘today.’)

Becca is now old enough to figure out that she’s getting her presents early. Easy cover up there. PapPap and Santa go way back. Best friends, in fact. There’s a very elite group of people that Santa comes out early for. And we’re included.

So, now I’m dead tired (I’ve been awake since about 2:00 am). And I just went through all the opening of the toys. With the wires. And the plastic restraints. I only swore about five times, and came through with one injured finger. I’ll share more about the toys (and which ones suck) tomorrow. But for now I will leave you with a design I did for t-shirts and such a couple of years ago. (I think…or maybe it was last year). Anyway, as I was twisting, pulling and swearing I thought of it:

Toy Company Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

Have a great holiday, and please be safe!!!!!!

Deadlines make me crazy. They didn’t used to. I’d get a bill, and mail it that day. I’d have a paper due in school, and nine times out of ten it would be done early. But now that I have these two little bundles of energy, they pretty much dictate how my day goes. And shopping for them? It was almost impossible. The hubby’s at work 60 hours a week. I made a mad dash to Wal-Fart one morning when Chloe was in school. Normally, while Chloe’s at school I’m working at the restaurant. But I put that off and plowed through the toy isle. It actually was going pretty smoothly. Too much so. I got in line and got somebody on their first day. I’m very patient when it comes to that sort of thing, but I had to make it home to hide the toys before I went to pick up Chloe at school. I was practically jumping out of my skin! I did make it, though, and the kids were none the wiser.

The crowds…well…I’ve always been like that. I’m a loner. A rebel (anybody know the movie?
). And keeping secrets? I think it’s genetic. I just don’t enjoy keeping a secret. If absolutely necessary, I can do it. I’ve also found that it’s safe to tell a secret to somebody who basically wouldn’t give a crap about it. You know, I’ll tell my mother or father a secret about one of Tony’s friends that they don’t even know. They really don’t care, and I get it off my chest. It’s win-win. I’ve kept Christmas secrets so far, but I’ve definitely dropped some hints. After I drop them, I’m ready to just kick myself right in the ass.

So, I’m glad the season is almost over. I’ll thoroughly enjoy watching the kids open their gifts. I will also enjoy having a house free of Christmas Decor. It always feels so clean and organized once all the Santas and snowmen are put away. I may not post again before the big day, so I hope you and yours have a fantastic holiday.

And shopping – I’ve really got to get on the ball (and get some cash!!!!). Looks like this entire shopping season will be paired with Mr. Chase Visa. And we’re getting hammered with birthdays right before the holiday. Between now and Christmas I have 2 sister-in-laws, a husband and four (probably five) kids birthday parties. Aarrrgh! Of course, there’s still a kid inside of me, and I think I’ve figured out what I want. I want a digital video camera. One of those cute little ones. I saw that Kohl’s has one on sale today and tomorrow for $90.

Now, I have no idea on reviews and such for this thing, but for $90 bucks I think it’s a deal. They just added Flip Minos at CafePress, and they’re almost twice as much. Now, I know that they take a nice picture and I’ve heard great things about the Flips, but I’m into saving cash.

Well, I’m off to do some office work for the restaurant. Well, not really off…I’ll still be sitting here at my kitchen table in my froggie flannel pj’s, drinking my coffee, listening to Chloe spin on the sit-and-spin!

OH, I almost forgot! There’s a free shipping coupon at CafePress for the weekend. The code is FCPHOL1 and it’s for orders over $50. Here’s the link to the CafePress Free Shipping Ad.

And shopping – I’ve really got to get on the ball (and get some cash!!!!). Looks like this entire shopping season will be paired with Mr. Chase Visa. And we’re getting hammered with birthdays right before the holiday. Between now and Christmas I have 2 sister-in-laws, a husband and four (probably five) kids birthday parties. Aarrrgh! Of course, there’s still a kid inside of me, and I think I’ve figured out what I want. I want a digital video camera. One of those cute little ones. I saw that Kohl’s has one on sale today and tomorrow for $90.

Now, I have no idea on reviews and such for this thing, but for $90 bucks I think it’s a deal. They just added Flip Minos at CafePress, and they’re almost twice as much. Now, I know that they take a nice picture and I’ve heard great things about the Flips, but I’m into saving cash.

Well, I’m off to do some office work for the restaurant. Well, not really off…I’ll still be sitting here at my kitchen table in my froggie flannel pj’s, drinking my coffee, listening to Chloe spin on the sit-and-spin!

OH, I almost forgot! There’s a free shipping coupon at CafePress for the weekend. The code is FCPHOL1 and it’s for orders over $50. Here’s the link to the CafePress Free Shipping Ad.

So, my plan for the past week has been to get the girls to bed, clean up the house for about a half an hour, and then sit down and blog/design/work. That hasn’t exactly happened. The girls are still awake right now. They are dragging each other around in a large cloth hamper from Ikea. There is a great chance that somebody is going to get hurt. In fact, as I typed this, Chloe bonked her head off the ground, and she’s not giving Becca her turn. SCREAMING, CRYING – ‘MOMMY, CHLOE WON’T LET ME HAVE MY TURN!!! I WANT MY TURN!!! Excuse me, but the hamper is going on time-out.

OK, I’m back. They are both screaming and crying. What was I saying? And that is why I’ve been trying to blog at night when they are sleeping. (CHLOE IS THE MEANEST SISTER IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD). So, the reason I haven’t been blogging at night is that I’ve been falling asleep while I put Becca to bed (Chloe is already sleeping by that point). So, tonight I’ve drank about 3 cups of coffee since 4:00, and I’m getting ready for another. Darn it, I WILL NOT fall asleep tonight.

Hopefully you hear from me again later!