Since Jymi took last Monday off to be with his dad, he got this Monday off, too. There's a safety rule about having to have one day off out of every seven. So I took the model to the post office, and then went to Michaels to see if I could find a fiber optic tree. All they had were eight foot trees. They were half off, but they started at three hundred dollars! If I'm gonna have a tree that big, it's gonna be real. So I went across the street to Target, and I found one. I mean one. I got the last green one they had. They still had plenty of silver ones.
After lunch, I took the boys to see Santa at the mall. When we got there, though, Santa had just left for his lunch break, so I let them play in the play area. I never thought of my boys as particularly well behaved, but they were compared to most of the other kids there. They'd come up and shove Tobi and Tobi wouldn't do anything back. He wouldn't even say anything mean, and as big as Tobi is, he could've taken any of them if he wanted. I was very proud him. He played nice with all the kids, no matter how they treated him. Darin didn't want to play with the other kids. That's my boy, the loner. They were very excited to see Santa while we were in line, but when they were next, they got shy. Once they got up there, though, Tobi started telling him that he wanted Cars, the video game. They got their picture taken, but the scanner still doesn't work.
In the evening, after dinner, I put on A Muppet Christmas Carol. Jymi was on the computer, and got his current Netflix movie, and was going to watch it in the bedroom. By the time he finished what he was doing on the computer, though, he was "sucked in" to the movie, and he enjoyed it, too. Tuesday, we watched the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The boys sat entranced, while Jymi and I discussed the pros and cons of each version. We both like the original better.
Yesterday, Jymi stayed home again, because he didn't feel well. Tobi didn't feel good either. So I went out and finished our Christmas shopping. All we have left is something for Jymi's sister, and she's already getting so much. She just getting a gift card for Best Buy. I had planned to get Jymi a James Bond boxed set, but they were out of my price range. I did find something else for him, but I can't say what. He keeps trying to figure out/find it, and I wouldn't put it past him to check here. I put it in another box, so he couldn't guess from the shape. I also put in plastic bags, so he couldn't shake it. I had gotten Alex a bouncy ball maker for her present at Michaels, and also the last color I need for The Castle. I took the ball kit out and stuffed the bag in the box. When I went to bed, I remembered the thread, which I had left in the bag! Jymi told me to write it on the package, because he'd forget. So we now have a present that says, "To Daddy, Love Tobi and Darin," in one corner, and, "My thread is in this box," on the other.
I had planned to go to the DMV to try to figure out the car stuff, and I stopped at the bookstore, since I finished Son Of A Witch. It was very good as long as you remember that Liir is not Elphaba, and he's also never had any guidance at all. He doesn't know what to do with his life, and is just struggling to survive each horrific event, until he knows what to do. I'd read lots of bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it, maybe because I can relate to Liir's aimlessness, and the way he finds purpose to his life.
At the bookstore, I got Mirror, Mirror, and decided to see if they had No, David!, one of Tobi's favorite books. Lately, they've been more interested in books, but the only one they ever want to read is Alphabet Soup by Scott Gustafson. It's a good book, but every page is like a tongue twister. When I'm really tired, that's not a good choice. When I got to the children's books, they had a big display of Dr. Suess books. They were three for the price of two. So I got The Cat In The Hat and Green Eggs And Ham for Darin, and The Lorax and No, David! for Tobi. I am very eager for Santa to bring these. I can almost recite Alphabet Soup in my sleep.
Darin found a purpose for Jymi's whip. It's Tinkerbell's new favorite toy. She'll keep playing with it for an hour after we've quit. She's such a funny, psychotic, little kitty.
Here's the answer for those of you who couldn't find the happy dance. I finished it Tuesday night. I tried to be crafty yesterday, but it just didn't work out. I got some fabric to finish Jymi's grandmother's butterflies, but then the bobbin on the sewing machine ran out out on the first seam. After an hour of fighting with it, I figured out how to wind a new one. It was exactly how I tried the first time, but it didn't work the first time. So I started hand doing it. I had a small tantrum, and found that then the stupid machine wanted to work. So I ended up having to re-wind the bobbin on the machine. Jymi thought this was hilarious. He's very lucky I didn't throw anything at him. Then I couldn't re-thread the machine (it's borrowed from my mom). After another hour of fighting with the stupid machine to try to get it threaded right, I gave up, and had another tantrum. The boys were in bed, and it was just Jymi, laughing at me, so I started yelling obscenities at it.
I also got the word that my ornament exchange has been received. It's Feliz Navidad, by Monsterbubbles, from the 2006 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue, on 28 ct. Midas Jazlyn from Picture This Plus. I made some changes to suit what I had on hand, but I think it came out well. I found a pretty tin at the grocery store, and filled it with a bag of Ghiradelli special holiday chocolates. They come in peppermint bark, eggnog, and spiced cinnamon with nuts. I bought us a bag of the peppermint ones to keep here. I also sent some floss, and a calender. My grandma gave me some calenders charities have sent her, and I put one in the package, since we don't need eight calenders. I should stop writing about it now though. Thinking about the chocolates is making me hungry. I guess it's close enough to lunch time.

Labels: Books, Gift Stitching, Holidays, Jymi, Kids, Ornaments