Psychos R' Us

It seems like every year, the gap between Halloween and Christmas gets a little bit shorter.  This year, our neighbors had their Christmas decorations set up even before we went trick or treating!!  Too soon?  I'd say so.  

Growing up, Christmas pre-gaming didn't start until after Thanksgiving.  I'll admit it was sometimes difficult for all of us to wait, but we always did.  Usually within a week or so of Thanksgiving, the tree was adorned with four children's worth of tacky homemade ornaments, the stockings were hung and repeatedly rearranged (I think we all thought that which ever stocking was hung closest to the fireplace, would get hit the hardest with Santa's treats), and the Christmas lists were in full development.  Usually around the time the decorating was wrapping up, us kids knew it was time to be on our "best behavior".  The whole "naughty or nice" thing really resonated with us, and seeing as we were all huge brats - we had quite a bit of work to do.  

By the time Toys R' Us sent out their Christmas catalog our golden child act had faded, and we went right back to causing trouble and duking it out any chance we could.  I'm pretty sure my Mom had to divide the catalog in four equal parts one year, for fear that we'd kill each other fighting for it.  As luck would have it, I always got stuck with the electronics section - and let me tell you - in the 90's, little gadgets like iPods and Xbox's didn't exist, and thus this section was always pretty bleak. 

Yesterday was the dreaded "Black Friday"and I decided there was no better time to fall into the Christmas spirit than to make a completely impromptu trip to the toy store.  Toys R' Us was filled with some top notch psychos, many of which were fully prepared to beat you down for an iPod touch.  I had always protested this outrageous shopping tradition, mostly because I hate people and panic in crowds, but also because I never really found a deal that was worth standing in the cold all night to score.  This year however, with Grace's first real Christmas morning experience upon us, I decided it was worth a drive by.  I refused to wait outside and set a limit to the time I'd spend in line.  I'm pleased to announce than I was neither pepper sprayed nor attacked by any fellow shoppers, and I did get a few sweet deals!  Win!  

This picture alone gives me anxiety.

As a mother, the amount of life changes I've experienced has been countless and continuous.  Thanksgiving used to mean eating a ton of food while nursing a moderately severe case of the booze flu, followed perfectly by a 6-18 hour food coma.  This year, Thanksgiving marked the beginning of yet another round of firsts for Grace.  Her first Thanksgiving dinner, soon to be her first time decorating the tree, ripping through wrapping paper, scoping out the local Christmas lights, and eating copious amounts of Christmas cookies!
 
This Sunday we will be setting up our Christmas tree and I can hardly wait to see G's face light up. As with most holidays, there is always a bit of stress involved, but knowing how excited Grace will be makes it all worth it.

In other news - I'd like to thank my own Mom for all those years of Christmas shopping, particularly those involving Toys R' Us.  You spent countless hours waiting for the hottest toys, and from "Furbies" and twin dolls,  to Old Dirty Bastard's new CD :), you always got us much more than we deserved.   Between the insane people and the 150º store temps, I have a whole new respect for what "Santa" does every year.  Love ya Mom.