Caz
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!! Some of the local ferals (meant in the most affectionate way, as mine are also local ferals ;) have been released from their cells.. err... classrooms, for the year. So the beasties are everywhere.

Today was playgroup at the indoor playcenter with the homeschool group. Usually playgroups get free admission, because the centre knows that we'll all have to spend small fortunes feeding our little monsters while there. Well, the center, which shall remain nameless (but whose initials are wriggle it) decided at the last minute that since it was school holidays (only for private school kids though) they NEEDED to charge playgroups 5bucks per kid admission. Keep in mind the rate is usually 7.50 each for the age group our kids fall in.. so yeah.. 2.5o off as opposed to free... we are not impressed. We get there & grudgingly hand over the 15bucks to get in.. only to find there are people coming out of the woodwork. There was a huge birthday party as going on *insert cranky ass smilie* So there were balloons and facepainting that my kids couldn't have and the littlest guy was VERY unimpressed with this turn of events. After 3 meltdowns (one over balloons, one over a thomas the tank engine backpack that he wanted but was.not.ours, and one over the fact that he was just plain up at 515am and needed to go to sleep) I said F*ck this and we left. The kids had a couple of hours play, I had a couple of hours frustration and might have gotten to say 5 words to any of the other mums. And actually.. I may bow out of future events there because I'm shitty with the management. So there, take that.

However on the upside, we managed to find ONE of the xmas tree that we fell in love with a month or so at the shop... everytime I've been in there, there's been an empty bay where my beloved tree was to be *sigh* It was sheer dumb luck, or divine intervention, or I just plain manifested my dream tree (if so, go me!) I assembled it last night and hubby shall be putting lights on it (got flash new led lights too!) when he gets home and then later we shall deck the halls.

I also scored a cute advent calendar to count down to solstice. I have a short list of fun things (baking cookies, making paper chains, going for an xmas lights drive, watching classic holiday movies) that I need to put on little slips of paper to stick in the pockets so when the kids move the candy cane to the next day they get a little activity to do that day.

Tomorrow hubby & I are doing the unthinkable.. we are going to the biggest mall in the area shopping for presents. We must be crazy, at least we've managed to offload the hobbits onto their grandparents for the day so that we can do this in relative peace. We are planning to make a date of it and have sushi & fancy coffee for lunch.. and maybe even cheesecake. cuz there's always room for cheesecake!

And WTF is up with my photo showing up at the top no matter where in the blog I insert it?!?!? NM stuff the photo. Anyway, good luck to you surviving the silliness of the season, please wish me the same because as my dearest put it 'I don't want my wife psychotic this year' *scowl*