hustle and bustle

This has been a busy week as I am trying my best to get my Christmas shopping done...one day I was able to shop child-free and the other two days I had Coby and Cale along (thankfully mom was with us too). I have been to the mall 3 out of the past 5 days and I have yet to finish my shopping! I am really disappointed in the selections this year...especially the selections for girls 14 months and under! I've never had girls to shop for and now I have all of these precious nieces and nothing seems good enough or cute enough for them. I want to get something girly and cute, but I cannot find anything. It is stressing me out!! Then, I feel guilty for feeling stressed out over the fact that I cannot find the perfect gift because that is not what Christmas is about. I keep telling the boys that we need to remember that Christmas is not about giving or getting gifts but about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Gifts are a fun part of Christmas and it is fun to both give and receive, but I really want the boys to understand why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. I know I seem to forget...way too often.

Cale has been begging to go see Santa, so we stopped off for Cale to have a visit and picture with Santa during one of our many mall trips. Cale marched right up to Santa, got into his lap and gave a picture perfect smile on the first try! Then, he proceeded to tell Santa that he wants a race car. I think Santa is getting off easy this year...at least where Cale is concerned.

Coby had a mission of his own during our shopping trips. He wanted a scarf and we realized just how hard it is to find a scarf that is fit for a prince (there are tons for princesses however). We looked at the mall, Target and Wal-Mart. Finally, we found just what he wanted on day THREE of shopping....at Old Navy. He wore it everywhere that day. It wasn't quite warm enough for a coat so he just wrapped his scarf around his little neck and proudly wore as part of his outfit. I love that Coby is slowly discovering his own style and has the ability to express himself artistically both on paper and in dress.

Something funny from the week: Last night I was extremely tired and on my own as Darren was at a meeting. I was helping Connor with his spelling words and he was not giving his best effort and I was getting frustrated. I finally just told him that if he didn't want to take the time to learn the words he was struggling with, that was his choice and I wasn't going to let it be my problem. It is his grade after all. It killed me to say that to him, but it's true...I cannot force him to learn if he's not willing. However, there wasn't going to be much fun if he chose that route (i.e. loss of XBox, computer, outdoor play, etc.)! Right after this, we sat down at the table for dinner and Coby looked at me and said, "Mommy, I don't think you're going to get anything for Christmas this year." I asked why and he informed me that I wasn't being very kind about Connor's homework and Santa and God are watching me. He was then quiet for a minute and finally said, "Maybe daddy will get you a present though."