X-mas comes and goes!

X-mas eve we have a family party at Hub's Mom's house, otherwise known as MiMi. Cole is once again the entertainer. Now in this group there are a few of us that like to be the center of attention. He definitely has a run for the money. In my opinion he out entertains all of us.

The kids can't wait to open up their gifts. Me I'm just scared for the day Hub's gets the credit card bill.

My niece loves Justin Bieber. My boys say he is gay. Me I say they are jealous.

"Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight" There it is......someone finally caught the God awful drunk dance on film. Ya know the one where your hands always end up above your head. You really do think you look good. That is until you see the pictures the next day. The cheezy ass grin tops it off for me.

We lost my Father in law five years ago to cancer. MiMi had a tree planted in the yard in his honor. Every year on X-mas eve we wrap the tree with lights. The first year we did it the night was really windy. Later in the night the wind had blown the lights in the shape of an angel. It was one of those times where you get chills down your spine. He loved spending X-mas with all of us. It was always so much fun with him. We still have a great time together but it's just not the same. Those days are some really great memories for me. We miss him all the time but especially at this time of the year. What I miss most is after the gift opening we would always have a big karaoke sing along. The man could rock the house out! He was a force to be reckoned with. He was a great person to go to when you had a problem. He always had a good answer. He always knew when to call and check on you. There have been many times I wish I could pick up a phone and call him. He is missed everyday. I know he would be proud of all my boys and his Granddaughter. I do believe he looks over us from above.

Even though we did Santa early, I saved the stockings for X-mas morning at MiMi's. Aidan got up before all of us to dig through his loot. This is a big NO, NO, in my house. They know good and well to get Mom and Dad up before they check. He's not too smart, when I was a kid, I would dig and check and then put everything back in it's place before I woke the folks up. I want to barf when I ask Aidan if he liked what he got. He tells me he is OVER "WEBKINZ"! Really dude????? This is what you asked for one week before X-mas! Who can keep up. I want to yell at the top of my lungs....I'm Santa, and you are hurting my feelings. I hold back of course, all in my head! Just like most things I think.

Cole is happy as a clam with his stuff. This has not always been the case with him. We have had some tearful X-mas mornings when he was not happy that he did not get what Blake got. I'm just happy that someone likes what I got for them. This did once again cost me some great boots.

Oh. totally forgot Hub's lifetime friend stopped by on X-mas eve. I won't say much except Hub's may just have turned into the drunk that stole X-mas. Great seeing our friend of course.

Me at this point likes the dog more than anyone. That is mostly because he can't speak. Not to mention he is always happy to see me!

It was great to spend X-mas with family. We had such a great time. I think the boys only broke two things in MiMi's house this visit! My niece Lexi is a doll. I tried to trade but I was shot down right away! Please God give me some Granddaughters some day. Not to fast of course.

Anywho, Cole kind of wins out as best X-mas child this year. I'm just amazed at how fast it comes and goes.

The awful drive to Dallas for X-mas

Ok, we are driving to Dallas for X-mas! Feel sorry for the dog, I do! He is trapped in a very small space in the back of the car. At least he is coming.

Cole is in the back complaining about everything and I mean everything!All that's going through my mind right now is........I'm calling Santa to take back all the shit he just brought! I am serious! Instead I yell that I want a vacation by myself for a week. Cole being the smart ass that he is tells me.......maybe you should take a year! Flabergasted once again by the nerve of this one, I got nothing! Hub's who has totally tuned us out with his Ipod hears none of this! Now Cole who can really be the sweetest of my three can also be the meanest of my three. I really don't know what to say to this and I am usually quick with my words.

Alittle more time goes by and I go to make a phone call. I call some Lotto number by mistake. I see this as a sign. I think I need to stop right now and buy a ticket. Hub's won't stop and thinks I'm crazy. So I'm still waiting to win the Lotto. I just know I'll win big before the end of this year. I have big plans for my money.

I have a bad habit of sitting on my legs. Most of the trip I sat on my legs, texted, facebooked, and checked E-mails. That is in between yelling at my kids and punching Hub's to get his attention. I went to stretch my legs out and all of the sudden I could hear Debbie's voice in my head. She was saying........."Don't sit on your legs it can cause a blood clot that will shoot to your heart and kill you". I have a slight panic attack while stretching my legs out. I'm wondering what it might feel like if my heart exploded from a blood clot. Would I feel it coming????????

Were almost to MiMi's house and that scale in her bathroom enters my brain. I don't keep one in my house.....ignorance is bliss! That crappy thing is going to haunt me for four days. Hub's almost misses the turn in so we seriously roll in on two wheels. I survived another shitty road trip with these people I live with.

Santa comes a little early!

We are opening the rest of our gifts tonight because we are heading to Dallas tomorrow for the holidays. I get the kids a family gift every year. This year they get Kinect for Xbox. I secretly can't wait to play this. I really can't wait till the Michael Jackson dance and sing along comes out in February. I hope Thriller is on it. Hub's and I are trying to figure out what to do about the Santa situation. We want the kids to get their stuff under our tree. Plus the little guys are getting Razor motorcycles, way to big to take anyway. We run a few ideas past each other. Hub's says...Lets do it tonight! I think he is crazy at first. Then I think there is really no other time to do it, unless we do it after X-mas. The kids are all upstairs busy with the gift they just opened. I agree and we start this craziness! I take them out of the house to Walgreen's while Hub's gets the stuff ready. Everything is in our bedroom ready to go when we get back. After we get back we send them upstairs to play a game on their new Kinect. Hub's scrambles putting stuff under the tree while I guard the stairs. He has it all set up so I take some pictures while he guards the stairs. Now it comes down to HOW DO WE EXPLAIN WHY SANTA CAME ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHILE THEY WERE UPSTAIRS. Because he is magic, of course.

I write a quick letter to them and put it on the tree. I disguise my handwriting, of course! I tell them I had to come early since they would not be here on X-mas. I tell them to leave me cookies and their stockings at MiMi's. The stocking were just brain overload for me at this point. I need a day or two to prepare this. Plus they need something fun on X-mas day. Next I grab the jingle bells off the stairs I run through the down stairs jingling these bells yelling HO, HO, HO, in a deep voice trying not to laugh.

It looks great downstairs and I may be more excited then them.

They run to the stairs, that is the two little guys. I tell them hurry up and get Blake. They want to know what all the noise was about. I tell them Santa was here.

They at first think I'm pulling their leg. I am in some ways, but Santa really was here. They are really excited, especially since this came out of left field.

I LOVE Blake's face......it kind of says.....WHAT THE HECK, ARE YOU FREAKS FOR REAL?????? This is of course since he is the one who knows there is No such thing as Santa. I believe he thinks we have gone off the deep end.

That is until he realizes he got the computer he wanted. Now he he doesn't think we are that freaky.

This really went off with out a hitch. That is until Aidan saw Hub's throw the jingle bells into the laundry room. Aidan pulled me aside to ask why Hub's had Santa's bells. I tell him Santa left them here so we will have to return them. He then shows Cole the bells, who tells Aidan....."I saw those bells in my room when Mom was setting up for X-mas, those are, our bells". Shit I have to retract my story and make it believable. I tell them Santa landed in the yard and came in through the garage to bring the gifts. He asked if I had a set of bells, since it is not actually X-mas. I gave him my bells to use. He dropped the gifts and the note, used my bells, yelled HO, HO, HO, with some laughs and left lighting fast. They totally bought this bullshit and now I'm exhausted and can't believe I can lie sooooo fast! Well I am giving myself a little too much credit they do still fall for "secret cameras".

All I have to say is.... I hope to God I earned my angel wings when I go! This picture right here makes it all worth it! These people I live with just aren't that smart yet Thank God!

More X-mas

Today I spent the day out doing my last minute shopping. The traffic is horrible and people are cranky. It's X-mas time we should all be happy.

While out I run into Game Stop. I'm behind this lady who has her middle school child with her. The guy ringing her up asks her if she knows about the violence and the language in this game. I see her get uncomfortable and then she starts to try to explain herself. The guy doesn't care, they have to say that crap it's part of their job description. I want to say.....Hey lady don't worry were all lazy parents who have given into our know it all children. So we might have an abundance of violent children with fowl mouths in a few years, it's not our fault it's the game peoples fault. I'm next and the guy asks me what age I'm buying my game for. I totally lie and say it's for my thirty year old brother. Then I have to add in my two cents by saying....I can't believe parents allow their children to play this crap. WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO??????
.

Blake gets a Ipod dock so he can stop stealing ours! This was my deal of the year. I got it months ago when Target was closing them out. Damn thing was $125.00 and I got it for $29.00 dollars. I love a deal.

Cole is busy at the kitchen table trying to put his Lego's together. This last about ten minutes before he is bored. Guess who finishes this project??? You guessed it.....Mom of the year. A girls job is never done.

There are these guys in our neighborhood that fly remote control planes. Aidan loves to watch them fly these suckers. He always comes home and "Googles" the planes. Of course one of these is on the dreaded Xmas list. These aren't cheap and there not really for kids either. I search on line for a deal. No deal to be found. I go to a Hobby shop in town and find one on the clearance isle. He is so excited when he gets it. But then he says something like this is not the one I asked for though. I really want to slap him about now. Hub's really wants to slap me about now because it's a pain in the ass to put together. I see now why it was on clearance, I believe it's something the hobby shop found in it's warehouse. It must have been hidden behind something for years since the instructional video is VHS. I don't have a VHS, what am I going to do with this. We will never be able to fly this! You know that saying..."To good to be true". It usually means it is.

Hub's passes me in the hallway and quietly says....YOU SUCK. I think to myself so do you! He was a trooper putting the 1980 plane together. Now we will see if he can figure out how to fly this sucker. And I wonder why people are so cranky at X-mas. The older I get the more I get it.

Like that grin on Hubby's face..........PRICELESS. The Joy of Christmas!

Day two of...the early X-mas!

So on this day Debbie is still with us. We love Debbie by the way! Tonight the kids are going to open the Xmas gifts from her and the Grump.

The little guys get these cute tiger hats since there school mascot is a tiger.

Can't wait till football season, these will be a must have!

Hold back your excitement! Thirteen is such a fun age.

Is this a wooden moose??????????

Finally something he likes.....$$$$$$$$$

The little guys are really excited to open their gift. They have no idea what they are getting.

Grandma and Grandpa got them a X-box 360!Our Christmas tree with the gifts that have been shaken to death underneath.

X-mas early

So Sunday night we opened one X-mas gift each. We started this tradition when we moved to Austin three years ago. Since we no longer spend X-mas eve or X-mas day at our house. I want my children to remember opening gifts under their tree. Especially since it's such a pain in the ass to decorate. I actually like it better this way, I think the Jewish were on to something with Hanukkah. The kids appreciate the gifts more. Instead of mowing through a bunch at once with paper flying everywhere and people not even knowing what they got because it's on to the next! They actually enjoy their gifts and play with them for one full day.

Aidan gets one of those titanium necklaces, because Blake has one and Blake is his idol. It's cute and all that he looks up to his big brother, but damn I really don't enjoy having to dress a seven year old in Abecrombie and hundred dollar shoes. Not to mention that forty dollar necklace. This for me just means less expensive boots for me.

Cole waits very nicely while Aidan opens his gift. He kind of gets the shaft since Aidan is the baby he gets to go first a lot.

This picture cracks me up because at this point the gift is a brown box! What's with the excitement in the eyes....it could be a box of rocks for all he knows. I love that he is just excited to be getting something. These are the times I think to myself....see I can't be that bad.

So Cole being the Cowboys fan he is got a Jersey with his name on the back. Just another thing that Blake got before him and he has wanted since. See here we have another fan of Blake. This again just costs me more money!


So Mom.....aka....Debbie is in town. I'm so glad she got to come and spend this special time with us. She wanted to get on my blog while she was here. Since she's not so computer savvy I don't really worry about her getting on here. The relatives have done a good job of keeping my shit talking on the down low! I think....SHIT, I have kind of poked a little fun at her on here. She reads it and says it's pretty funny. I think....wow I'm in the clear. HELLO, Of course I'm not in the clear! After a Cozmo, Deb tells me she would like me to retract a statement from one of my entries. Me, I'm thinking which one????? In my Chicago entry I said she likes to pay full price for things because she knows they are quality then. She informed me that she does not like to pay full price and she in fact likes a deal. What she doesn't like is a "knock off" like twisted sister and I! The problem is when she finds a deal she gets one in every color and spends more money.

So this night I made the mistake of leaving facebook up on the computer. I tell Debbie I'm going up to put the kids to bed. She says she is going to bed too. This always takes longer than I think. When I come down everything is silent. I come down to find Deb sitting in front of my computer. I know right away this can't be good. She looks guilty as hell when I ask what she's doing. What she is doing is hijacking my facebook page. My twisted sister wrote on my wall....how did you blog with Debbie there.... is she in bed????? Debbie replies.....Mommy Dearest is putting her kids to bed and this is Debbie!

So while Debbie was visiting my Dad....ake...Grump went out and got himself a fast laptop! My twisted sister's brother in law who is super computer savvy put a shortcut on there to my blog and my sisters. Now Debbie scares me and she can put my ass in dust with her smart ass comments. I may have to tone things down in fear she will out do me! BTW, Debbie
I love you!

A day in Wimberly

Mom...aka...Debbie Downer flew in Friday night. Saturday we headed out to Wimberly TX. We dragged ass of course. Before we left Debbie informed me that my house might burn down if I did not unplug my X-mas tree. In the past she has told me not to run the washer and dryer because they too can burn the house down. My favorite is don't run the dishwasher because you may flood the house while your out. And I wonder why I WORRY all the time. I think she should spring for some good therapy for me!

Let me tell you the boys have a blast shopping in these "Home Inspired" shops. Cole always manages to make the best of it! He tries stuff on, he entertains the locals, and he always chases Geese.

There is the cutest little candy shop where the boys always buy candy cigarettes.

I really think they love these for "SHOCK" value. Everyone that walks by does a double take. Most people put their two cents in as well. Some laugh and whisper, others say things like what's your brand or your way to young to smoke. Then there are the people that look at them like they have been raised by white trash, they roll their eyes and whisper, because I'm sure their rich ass has raised the perfect children. My pet peeve is judgmental people. Now don't get me wrong I have done my fair share of judging when I have had no right. I'm really trying to change that part of me. It is a BAD quality to have. No one really knows why someone is making bad decisions. Me, the candy cigarettes as bad as they may be, shut their asses up for at least an hour. I just stayed a few feet behind them and acted like they belonged to someone else.

Scary thing is Cole looks like a professional smoker with the leg up and arm resting on the bench. I SEE.........ZANAX in my future.

Webkinz.......what can I say except jealous. side note.....totally had to have Cole walk over and spell Webkinz for me because I'm truly not smarter than a 5th grader. Who would have thought that some dumb ass stuffed animal that you feed and house on-line would take off like this. They don't even really want the animal , they just want that damn code it comes with it to decorate the animals house on line. Didn't this company make enough money on Beanie Babies??? Which BTW, I have about one hundred and fifty of.......I'm keeping these suckers, some day they will come back!

After shopping we head over to the Emily Anne theater in Wimberly for the beautiful light display they do every year.

The kids complain about going but have fun once we get there. They roast hot dogs and marshmallows by the fire there. We walk through beautiful light displays. It has become a family tradition since we moved here.

The work that goes into these displays are awesome. The best part it is all free, they do ask for a small donation when you walk in, but totally worth it.

The boys have fun putting their heads in the little cut-outs they have everywhere.

They have some belly dancers there that night. Cole being the entertainer he is tries to do every move these belly dancers are doing. Maybe because he is my kid I find him way more entertaining.

There is a place where the kids can write a letter to Santa......too cute! The sad thing is I think I scared the crap out of Cole and Aidan about being on "NAUGHTY WATCH" with Santa. They were afraid to see him while we were there. I may have taken this shitz a little to far this season. But damn it has come in handy for some sanity for me! I'm not sorry and I don't have any guilt!

I can always depend on Cole for a picture! He poses like a rock star in Cinderella's carriage. Now Cinderella is a can of worms I don't want to get into. All I can say is.......why do we teach our girls that this is possible????? There really is NO prince charming like this. I love it...someone that sees you once and chases all over town for your shoe size. Hello ladies in reality guy just wants a piece! I guess I have gotten cranky in my old age. What the world has done to me!

Another great picture....see they are finally getting into this! Anyway these people are driving me crazy and it is really day one of the break.

Thoughts of my day.......I have a conversation in my head almost constantly......difference between me and the crazy person...they are talking out loud! Scary thought....right???