Always Believe

As I mentioned in my previous post, my son W., wants a gazillion things for Christmas. He has a serious case of the gimmies. I really don't think it's because he's spoiled, okay, maybe a bit, but he still believes in Santa. And Santa doesn't pay for gifts, right? He just has his elves work a little OT and KAZAAM! The gifts miraculously appear under the Christmas tree. He truly believes it's that easy.

W. is the type of child that believes in everything. He's 9 and shows no signs of even questioning the existence of St. Nick, the Easter bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. I think he'll still have faith in these characters well into his twenties. Do your kids know yet?

This all being said, I wanted to prepare, the sometimes dramatic son, for the reality of Christmas morning. I wanted to do this without making him suspicious about the true identity of Mr. Claus.

I began by asking him what was the number one item on his wishlist. He, without hesitation, yelled, "A Wii!"

I think to myself, "Great, the top seller of the season." UGH.

I then told him that Santa may choose to give him that, but he probably would not give him any of the other electronics he asked for (I mean really, does he need a Wii, a PSP, and an Xbox 360?!)

I also told him that Wii's are expensive and that he probably wouldn't get 10 or 15 gifts under the tree. He would probably only get 6 or 7, or maybe even less.

He thought for a second and looked at me with a puzzled look. "Santa has to pay for the gifts he brings?"

Oh boy. Quick, quick, think, think.

"No, of course not. But some gifts are more valuable than others. And Santa has to put this value on everything. He has to bring gifts to all of the children in the world. He needs to make sure he is fair and gives each child gifts that are worth the same."

I continued as he looked at me with those big gorgeous eyes of his, "As you get older, the gifts you want are ususally more valuable and that means less number of gifts. Okay?" I waited for the drama.

"Okay."

He went on his way as I stood there, completely baffled. He reacted very well. With W. it could go either way. My boy is growing up. But not too much, because he still believes!

Bullets

Hi everyone. I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. I am a complete nut this time of year and can't seem to get a grip at all.

So to catch up, I am going to throw out some random thoughts from the jumbled mess in my brain.

*I hope everyone had a GREAT Turkey Day yesterday. I stuffed myself fatter than the bird!

*I hope you crazy people that woke up at the butt crack of dawn today got some great bargains. I was under the covers, snuggling with my little one, T., who had crawled in after a nightmare.

*I am SO.FAR.BEHIND in everything. I usually have most of my Christmas shopping done by now. I've purchased two gifts. TWO!

*The kids wrote their lists for Santa. I think my son W. needs a reality check. I'm not sure if he seriously thinks he'll get EVERYTHING on his list or he figured he'd list as many things as he could think of with the HOPES of getting something. A Wii, a PSP, Guitar Hero, Playstation 3. Are you seeing a pattern? Considering we already own Playstation 2 and Xbox, plus numerous Gameboys, the boy is truly out of his freaking gourd delusional.

*R. wants that Baby Alive that pees. I just got her out of diapers. Maybe that's why she has been having accidents this week, it's that darned commercial and she thinks it's funny!

*I usually have my Christmas card photo taken and the cards purchased and almost addressed by now. I am known for having very creative cards. People tell me they can't wait to see what I've come up with every year. I've got a lot to live up to people! So much pressure. And yet, this year, I got nothing. Nada, Zilch.

*I am sick. Or maybe it's allergies, considering most of the trees still have leaves on them. And many are still green. December is next week, no wonder I am hacking up a lung every night.

*I haven't slept much in 4 days. Did I mention I was sick? The coughing is making me feel like I have a concussion. The constant convulsions are tossing my brain around inside my noggin.

*I'm taking W. to see Disney On Ice: High School Musical tonight with my SIL, BFF, and their kids. That should do wonders for my pounding head. But Disney On Ice is a family tradition. We've gone every year, the day after Thanksgiving, for the past 5 years.

*I added some new stationery to my Doodle Kids® line. They are Invitations, Thank You Notes, and Address Labels in kid's party themes.

*FYI - The notes and notepads at Doodle Kids® make great teacher gifts, etc. for the holidays! (Sorry for the shameless plug!)

*I just sent out invitations for T.'s, 5th Birthday. We booked The Lizard Guys!


*Speaking of Christmas, I think I am hosting both Christmas Eve AND Christmas at my house this year. There will be about 15 people on Christmas Eve and 12 on Christmas. I'm going to be a wreck.

*Christmas dinner, I keep easy. I think this year will be Sausage, Potatoes, Onions, and Peppers. A ham, rice, mashed potatoes, etc.

*Christmas Eve needs to be fish. You know, the Italian thing. I'm Irish and Swedish, I'm not so good at this. Does anyone have any easy, tasty fish recipes for a crowd?

*I have to start my Christmas cookies too. I make sooooooo many cookies. Really, like 85 dozen, I'm not lying. This year I'll make Kiss Cookies, Peppar Kakor (Swedish Spice Cookies), Snickerdoodles, Spritz Cookies, and maybe Angel Whispers (Lemony Spritz).

*I just realized I have WAY too much to do....and here I am blogging. Crap, I should go.

My 40th And A Half Year And 18th Day Birthday Celebration!

Back in April I turned 40. I was suppose to have a nice mom weekend away with my best friend to celebrate. It never happened due to some plague the Schmitty household was infected with.

Well last night was a make-up night out. My best friend, sister-in-law, a friend of my sister-in-law, and I went to the Daughtry/Bon Jovi concert. Now, I am a HUGE fan of Daughtry, he's my boyfriend, you know. I even have his picture plastered on my wall by my computer. Okay, I am robbing the cradle, but so what? I can dream can't I? He's just such a great singer and quite yummy too.

I also think Mr. Bon Jovi is quite easy on the eyes. He actually is getting better with age. And let me tell you, he looks mighty fine in those black jeans he wears on stage! *Fanning myself*

So get this, we arrived at the concert and couldn't find our section. We passed section 7 and then the lounge and then got to section 9. Where did section 8 go? Our section was MIA. We asked at the entrance to the lounge. Section 8 was through the lounge....OH YES, how convenient was this? We pause for drinks as we make way to our seats in rows 22 and 23.

The usher took our tickets and put them in his pocket. He pulled out a small stack of tickets from a different pocket and handed 4 to us. WHAT?! What's going on? My SIL, began arguing with him. "SHUSH!" I said. He's giving us BETTER seats!! So from rows 22 and 23 of the first level we moved on down to the 1st row of the first level!! In my honest opinion, we had a better view than most of the floor seats because we were a little higher up. WE COULD SEE THE SWEAT ON JON BON JOVI'S BROW!! How awesome is that?

Both sets were amazing. We were dancing and screaming like teenagers. I had the best time. We even got some free drinks from an older gentleman that was being VERY generous with the female patrons at the bar. Sweet guy, but he's gonna be pissed when he gets his Visa bill next month!

Though I think not as pissed as he probably was if he hooked up with the blonde at the bar. He was chatting up the fair haired one and buying shots of some clear liquid. Suddenly the blonde hair was tucked behind an ear and the face was turned our way. I almost spit out my beer. I turned to my friend and said, "That's a dude!" No.Doubt.In.My.Mind.

So here is my weak attempt at a poem-like dedication to that lovely couple using Bon Jovi's song list from last night:

LAST NIGHT you were BORN TO BE MY BABY. We drifted off the LOST HIGHWAY, the SUMMERTIME an old MEMORY. OLDER than you, WHO SAYS it's BAD MEDICINE? IT'S MY LIFE and WE GOT IT GOIN' ON. Let's RUNAWAY this SATURDAY NIGHT, ANY OTHER DAY just won't do. RAISE YOUR HANDS and say a PRAYER, I'll be all you've ever WANTED. LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME...whoa...hold on Nellie! Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? I'll be the LAST MAN STANDING cause you give love a BAD NAME, so....HAVE A NICE DAY!

Fall, Y'all Winner!

I know, I know, it's about FREAKIN' time! I am sooooooooooooo sorry that I am sooooooooooooooo late getting this done. But read my prior post and you will see things have been a tad hectic in the ole' Schmitty household.

Miss R. is back to her self, thank GAWD! I was getting very worried the past few days because she was basically a lump on the couch. That sickness took everything out of her, the poor girl. Thank you all for the well wishes!

Okay, let's get down to some business here. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer's, Fall, Y'all Bloggy Giveaway Extravaganza! She's such a dear to organize this second great giveaway carnival! Now, my prize was from my business, it is a set of 20 Personalized Doodle Kids® Notes with coordinating Address Labels. I had 183 entrants!! That's so awesome. I used an online Random Number Picker and it chose lucky #21. BLACKJACK!! Meleah Rebeccah, my fellow New Jersian, you are my winner!!

Congratulations! I will be sending you an email with instructions on claiming your prize. Thank you all that entered, I can't wait until the next go-round!

P.S. Don't forget to check out my other blog, It's Not Shopping....It's Retail Therapy, to see who won there!

It's Always Something!

I am sorry I haven't been around for a few days. Halloween started off really great. T. dressed up as Anakin Skywalker and R. was a ladybug. They were adorable. We walked over to W.'s school for his parade and to see him dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was fun seeing all of the neighborhood kids in their costumes. We walked back home and I was loving the beautiful fall day, greatly anticipating the trick or treating festivities. This is my kind of day!

Then the poop hit the fan. Or should I say the vomit hit the grass. As R. was about half way across our lawn she stopped dead in her tracks and proceeded to get sick all over her ladybug costume. Glitter shoes and all. I wanted to cry for her.

She had gone from feeling fine to looking as green as an unripe tomato in seconds. She didn't even care that she didn't get to go trick or treating with her brothers. She just wanted her pillow and Spongebob on the tube. I was devastated. I was so looking forward to seeing her little smiling face as she collected her Halloween loot. Instead I watched her sleep as I handed out candy to other children.

Her brothers were sweet enough to tell her that they would bring her pumpkin and collect candy for her. They would make sure to tell the neighbors that she was home sick. It's times like that I know I must be doing an okay job raising them. They made me so proud.

Anyway, the next day at about 3:30 am, the real fun began. R. was so sick she couldn't even keep sips of water down. It got bad. And to make a long story short, she wound up in the ER with Mr. Schmitty. She stayed in the hospital for two days. Besides the stomach bug, she also has strep. She needed to be given I.V. antibiotics because of all the vomiting she was doing. She was also VERY dehydrated and needed fluids.

She is home now, though today she is extremely tired. This has taken so much out of my sweet girl, who is so tiny to begin with. Say a prayer that she gets better quick!

P.S. I have not forgotten about the Fall, Y'all giveaway. I will be posting either tonight or tomorrow and letting you know who my winner is. Thanks for your patience!