Untitled: Because I can't think of a nice title that doesn't include swearing.

I am SO ready for this to be over.

By "this" I mean Christmas.

Don't get me wrong. I am so excited to see my kids open their gifts that I could just pee myself right now. And I enjoy immensely dressing them up in cute matching Christmas dresses and showing them off.

But that's where the fun stops.

I am one of those people that stress easily anyway. I have little meltdowns over the stupidest things. For instance, I once threatened to leave the ex because he was giving the girls pizza while they were wearing white shirts. In my defense, I had told the fucker on more than one occasion to always ALWAYS bib. But anyways, my point is that I get stressed.

Christmas stresses me out. I always overextend myself trying to make everyone happy. So far I have set myself and the kids up to go to my gramcracks, as I do every year. She lives about half an hour away, no biggie. I want them to be able to see the kids on Christmas, or else they wouldn't really have a Christmas.

And then I went and agreed to go to my dad's house too. I see my dad like 3 times a year, so I would have felt bad if I said no when he called today and asked me to bring the girls down. He lives about another half hour past my grams. And then on my way home, I have another stop to make at Ronda's. That won't take long, I just want to stop and see her on Christmas.

So that's three different places. In three different cities. On one day. I will have to plot out time allotments to make sure I get everywhere and make it back home in time for the kids to enjoy their gifts for a bit before bed. I hate being on a time limit. And I hate that I will spend my Christmas ushering the kids from place to place.

Maybe I'm a Scrooge. Maybe I'm just lazy! But I wish I could spend the day just sitting home, drinking coffee, playing with my kids.

I say this every year, but next year will be different. Next year I will celebrate with the extended family the day after, or the day after that, and spend the actual holiday at home. Or at least I'll damn sure try!

Christmas 2009, Part One

I wrote a letter to Santa on my blog recently, and asked him to ensure that I could get an excellent picture of my girls for Christmas. Well guess what? The Big Guy failed me again! It was a very stressful photo shoot! I'm sure Angel was ready to kill me by the time it was over. Ella nearly broke a handful of things, Brookelyn wanted to be in every single picture, and we spent a good five minutes picking candy up off the floor when we were done. All the time I'm running around in a big red suit with pillows stuffed in it and boots that came up to my knees! It was not a fun time!

But...

We did manage to get a few good ones of each kid.

I'm saving the ones of them together for the next post!

Double Ugh

Ugh. It happened. It snowed. I am pissed.

I mentioned before that I loathe snow. I hate it with every fiber of my being.

My first instinct was to close the blinds and hide under a blanket. If I brought enough water, I could easily stay there until the snow melted.

But you see, I have kids.

And Brookelyn has seen the snow. She is uber-excited, making me wonder if she is even mine. She wants to go out and play in it. Since I am not blessed with a fenced in yard, I will have to go out too.

This sucks.

But being the wonderful mother that I am, I will paste a smile on my face, and dress in layers. I will freeze my fingers to the bones while helping her make her first snowball. I will let my pants get wet up to my knees while trying to build a snowman. And I will let my first born lay in this dreaded snow so she can make her first snow angel.

Unless of course someone that resides somewhere warmer would like to send me a plane ticket? No one? Ugh, then I guess I better go dig out my long underwear.

Yes I Did! Friday

It has been a long week, but it is Friday! Today is when you get to brag about your awesomeness, or admit to your silliness, whatever you would like to share about your week!

This week, I did stay up for 36 hours because I was afraid of oversleeping. I suck at morning time, so staying up was the easiest alternative. I am still paying for this, as I really haven't had time to catch up on my missed sleep.

I did get a ticket this week. For running a "red" light. It was yellow dammit! I'm fighting it. Here in a few weeks, one of my Yes I Did's will be that Yes I Did beat the criminal justice system. Just you watch!

While being pulled over, with my grandmother in the car, I absolutely did drop the F bomb as I was voicing my opinion of the cops. Gramcrack understood, I hope!

Earlier today, I did dress as Santa Claus in hopes of getting a great Christmas picture of the kids. I don't know how well the pictures turned out, but I do know I look great in the big red suit!

I did spend some quality time with my oldest this week. We built a gingerbread house. Did I take pictures so I can blog about it later? Of course I did!

Did I completely forget about Yes I Did! Friday this week? I most certainly did! My bestie reminded me, thank goodness.

Okay, now it's your turn! Write up your own Yes I Did post, and share what you did this week. Then get the URL for that post and come sign up on the MckLinky so everyone can see what you did!

How to Stay Awake for 36 Hours without feeling the Urge to Shank someone

Consume large amounts of coffee.

    -Dope the coffee up with sugar-o-plenty and French Vanilla creamer.

Go through almost a whole box of Crystal Light Energy packets.
  -If the caffeine in the mix doesn't keep you up, the urge to urinate every 7.5 minutes will.

Have a Scrabble buddy willing to stay up until 3 along with you. Spell funny words to keep yourself entertained.

When she finally says she's going to bed, refer to the first step.

Catch up on your Google Reader.

Find something entertaining on the internet. Get so absorbed that you end up not getting ready in time and you have to rush therefore defeating the purpose of staying up all night anyway!

Play happy music in the car all throughout the day.

When you are finally ready to drop, go clean someone's house. Eat pizza while you are there, they won't mind.

Go shopping. Resist the urge to punch the cashier in the throat for asking you if you want your milk in a bag 3 times before he actually puts it in a bag.

Buy more Crystal Light energy packets.

Go home and catch up on everything you missed. Answer email while you are at it.

Doze off while chatting on IM with your fellow blogger who you think you quite possibly might have been separated from at birth. She will wake you several times using the buzz feature.

By this time, you have probably reached 36 hours. Pass out on the sofa while still wearing your daytime clothes. Socks are optional.

Okay, I figure my readers are now divided into 2 groups. Those who are ready to kiss me for finally giving them the answer on how to stay up all night long, and those who are wondering what the F is wrong with me, and why I would even want to stay up that long. I'll tell you.

My gramcrack had a momentary lapse of common sense and scheduled an appointment at 8am. I don't really do 8am. I don't really do early very well at all. I'm more of a 1pm appointment kinda girl. So I knew there was no way I would be able to get up and get me and the kids ready in time to leave here by 6:50. I made the logical choice to stay up all night instead. Because then, 8am wouldn't be early. It would be more of a daylight late. Get it? I still didn't leave on time, but we all looked a hell of a lot cuter than we would have if I had went to sleep and tried to get up in time to get us ready. Been there, done that. Wore pajamas. To the appointment. Gramcrack wasn't pleased. I made a mental note then to never do it again. Which is why I had to stay up all night. Every thing comes full circle.

And here is an absolute must. The day after, when you have ran your ass off for the 3rd consecutive day, head over to my plate-lovin friend raw chronicle's blog, and enter her giveaway. But don't pick the cherry apron! That's mine! I might, just might, be able to talk her into sending it to me if the winner doesn't pick that one. You heard right. You have a choice! There are 4 aprons to choose from.

What are you waiting for!? Hop over there and check it out!

Alone Time? What's That Like?

By the end of this week, I will have attended two, maybe three doctors appointments. None of which are for me. I have already grocery shopped once, and probably will again. I have and will continue to Christmas shop for the kids throughout the week.

Raise your hand if any of this sounds like a good time.

Okay, you with your hand up. Yes you. You are obviously nuts. Quit reading and seek help.

For those of you still here... Do you ever get out for just you? I can't remember the last time I went out to dinner, saw a movie, or just did something fun, without the kids.

This is one of the few drawbacks of being a single parent. I can't leave the kids with a spouse and take off for places unknown. I can't even hire a sitter and go out with my significant other. You know, cause I don't have one and all. Not that I want one. The only thing I miss about having a man is having someone to carry in the groceries and take out the trash. That is a whole nother post though.

Alright, back on track. My point is, as a mother, single or not, we rarely get the opportunity for alone or adult time. Either there is too much going on with the kids, or there isn't enough money available. Whatever the reason, it sucks. Many of us spend time online as a social outlet, and that's great. But it's no match for actual outofthehousewithoutanykids time.

Even though I rarely get the time or energy to take advantage, I try to keep my eyes open for events going on around me that I may have an interest in, and deals that I see online that might make it easier on the funds to do something I enjoy. I saw a deal on the JuiceBoxJungle widget on my sidebar that I thought I would share. It would go along way toward making an evening out affordable, or would be a great gift. Restaurant.com is offering $25 gift certificates for only $10. And if you use the special promo code listed in the widget, you can get it for only 2 bucks!! Check it out!

My kids turn two and three in the first few months of the coming year. I'm hoping this means I will finally be able to have something that resembles a social life again. Am I deluding myself? Wait! Don't answer that. I probably am, but I prefer to live in delusion. It's what gets me through the day. Well, that and Ativan.
Has anyone else came across a great deal you want to share? I'd love to hear about them!

It Could Be Much Worse

So after watching a few YouTube videos, I'm feeling much better about the issues I blogged about here. Until I have to deal with this...

I'm not going to worry!