Anything?

Today Belle and I set out for the mall so Belle could pick out a Christmas gift for Jeff. Before we left Jeff pulled Belle aside to talk to her. He whispered something in her ear and then said, “That is what I really want for Christmas, but you can pick out anything you want.”

When we got into the mall, I knelt down next to Belle and asked her what her Daddy wants for Christmas. “I can’t tell you,” she replied. “It’s a secret.”

“Well honey, I need to know what he wants so we can go to the right store.”

“My Daddy said that I can buy anything I want for him and for you and for Ariel and for myself.”

Oh boy, am I in trouble.

After many minutes of negotiating, explaining and begging on my part, I finally extracted the information I needed. We set off for the appropriate store so Belle could pick out her Daddy’s gift. While we were shopping, Belle needed to use the restroom so we put our item on hold and attended to her needs.

While in the bathroom I asked Belle about the gift we had picked out. I wanted to make sure it was indeed the present that Jeff most wanted. “Do you think Daddy will like it?”

Belle responded with an unenthusiastic, “I guess.”

“Honey, I thought you said Daddy really wanted one of those.” I said.

“What Daddy really wants is a doll, a really big doll as big as me,” my daughter explained as her eyes drifted off tho the right as they tend to do when she is lying. I encouraged her to continue talking just so I could see how far she was willing to take this ruse. She continued with, “Yes, he wants the biggest doll we can find, one that looks like Pocahontas.”

“Are you sure that he doesn’t want a new razor to shave his face?” I asked.

“No. Daddy said that I can buy him ANYTHING I want,” she explained impatiently. “Daddy really wants a big Pocahontas doll or a bouncy ball. He told me to buy something for Ariel and for me too. ANYTHING I want.”

I was trying so had not to burst out in laughter, I almost fell over.

I managed to leave the mall with a gift I think Jeff will like. It’s not a life-sized Pocahontas doll or a bouncy ball but, I’m pretty sure Jeff will be okay with that.

Over the River and through the Siskiyous....

It's 10 pm. The car is packed, the kids are asleep, the dishes are washed, the coffee maker is set to start brewing at 3 am. Everything is in order for our early morning road trip. This is our third time making the 10 hour drive to California. We have it down to a science.

I hope that this trip goes better than our last one. After the last trip, we vowed to never return to California again. Obviously that vow was short lived. It's a hard one to keep considering the number of people we love that live in that God-forsaken place. God-forsaken is a little harsh, but let me tell you what happened last trip, and then you can be the judge.

I know you are all busy with your Christmas preparations, so I will reduce it to a short photo essay.

Our car DID NOT look like this when we embarked on our journey.

Nor did it look like this.
To be honest, I don't have any pictures of our beloved 540i before we drove it to California, but I can tell you it was pristine, as you can see from the parts of the car untouched by the accident.The good news: Jeff was the only person in the car at the time of impact.
The bad news: The car was totaled. The accident happened 12 hours before our vacation ended, and we spend a obscene amount of money on plane tickets so we could all fly home. Not exactly ideal when the reason we drove in the first place was to save money.

But that is in the past and what are the chances of something like that happening again? Wait, don't tell me. I don't want to know.

**Update - As I was falling to sleep I realized the my California readers may not appreciate the good-natured way in which I referred to their state. So I would like to say, ah hem...California has many great features which I love. For example Santa Cruz, the Bay Area, Monterey, the San Francisco 49ers and the Sacramento Kings. My gripe with California lies only in the cars that occupy the roads, and in particular Hwy 99 between Turlock and Elk Grove and the car that ran the red light in Modesto.**

Preschool Logic

Anyone with kids knows that dinnertime can be a power struggle between the parent who strives to put a healthy meal on the table and the child who would prefer to eat something else. Last night Belle used her creativity to come up with a reasonable excuse not to eat her dinner.

Belle: I'm allergic to these foods I don't like.

Me (stifling laughter): Allergic?!? Honey, if you were allergic you would get red dots all over your body.

Belle (alarmed): Red dots!

Me: Yes, and you would sneeze...

Jeff: and cough

Me (to Jeff under my breath): Not symptoms she can fake!

Me (to Belle): ...and we would have to take you to the doctor. The doctor would give you a shot.

Belle: A SHOT!!!! I don't think I'm allergic anymore.

Yep, that's what I thought. Score one for Mommy.

Chocolate and Cancer

Someone got us a box of See’s candy for Christmas. I am not sure who this gift is from. I am sure that there was a card that went with it at some point in time, but last night the card was destroyed when the gift was unwrapped. So I would like to say thank you to the giver of the See’s candy. It was a really nice gift to give. All that is left of this delicious gift is little brown wrappers strewn across our living room floor like rose petals. The chocolate was devoured by Hercules in the middle of the night.

Yes Hercules, our dog who was diagnosed with cancer in October. Hercules doesn’t realize that he has lost 15 pounds and shouldn’t have the energy to sniff out the good presents and eat them. He can now cross “Eat a pound of chocolate in one sitting” off his “things to do before he dies” list. I wonder what else is on that list.

All you dog lovers know that chocolate is bad for our four legged friends. It’s supposed to make them sick, it could kill them. Does Hercules know this? Is his midnight snack a suicide attempt, or did he overhear us talking about the health benefits of chocolate to cancer patients and decide to self medicate? Who knows… One thing is for certain, our dying dog has not changed one bit. His body is failing and he is still a trouble maker.

I love you sweet dog, even if you did eat my chocolate.

You you want to hear another story of a dog pillaging the Christmas tree? Read "Someone's in the Doghouse" at Wonderful World of Wieners.

Wordless Wednesday

How to eat a cupcake.

Yummy!

Look at my hat!

My kids had a great time at a birthday party last weekend. For more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

Hugs in Heaven

After writing my Friday post, “In Memory of Oma”, I called my Opa. Christmas is hard for him this year; this is his first Christmas in over 60 years without his wife. During our conversation the only time I heard happiness in his voice was as he talked about my Uncle coming home for Christmas.

For those of you who don’t know, because I have never bothered to explain this, I live in Washington State. My family and Jeff’s family, with the exception of some siblings, live in California – 650 miles away. Jeff and I lived in the Central Valley of California until three years ago. Our family is there, as are our friends.

After my conversation with Opa I really wanted to be with him on Christmas. While this is a wonderful thought, it isn’t feasible. Jeff and I have committed to live within our means. We withdraw a fixed amount of cash from each paycheck and make do on that amount. Because of this commitment we constantly drive cars that need gas; our refrigerator and pantry are empty every Saturday. (I am not exaggerating; I have turned away people collecting canned food for charity, because I don’t have any food to spare.) Our decision to live on a meager amount has drastically changed our lifestyle. Taking a 1300 mile round trip to California is not an option.

The thought of going home for Christmas stuck in my mind. The only thing that would make it possible is a Christmas bonus from work. A Christmas bonus would be a miracle. Not because I don’t deserve one, but because I have received two bonuses already this year. It would be asking a lot to expect another one.

On Sunday I told Jeff, “If I get a Christmas Bonus AND it is over “X” dollar amount, I want to go to California.”

Ever since the words pass my lips, I have prayed and I have asked other people to pray for a bonus. Yesterday my prayers were answered. I received a Christmas bonus and that bonus was two times more than I needed to justify a trip to California.

Have you ever bought someone a present that you know they are going to love? You watch them open it with anticipation. You wait for their face to register the surprise and then the thrill of receiving that gift. I have this vision of God looking down on me as I “opened” my gift. I can see him smiling and feel his love and happiness for me. In response, I want to give God the biggest hug humanly possible.