Creeping Up On Us All

I refuse to believe that Christmas will be over in just a few days. Don't get me wrong...I am ridiculously excited about Christmas. I actually think I know what I'm getting this year, and it's going to be insane. I've casually suggested to my husband about a million times that we should just open presents a few days early. When I started the nagging on such a topic, of course, it was a few weeks ago. And the time frame then was "a few weeks early" to open everything. I am tickled for what I got John, but really, really tickled about what I think he got me. That all being said, this whole Christmas season is still going by way too quickly for my taste.

Some signs of quickly-approaching Christmas: I went to the mall with T'liese and Evan to watch him get his picture taken with Santa. Needless to say, it wasn't too successful. As soon as Evan was in Santa's arms for the camera, he was crying with real tears streaming down his face. Kudos to that Santa for being so patient...and having an iron grip on a squirmy kid who wanted to be anywhere but on Santa's lap! It was pretty entertaining to watch, though certainly traumatic for Evan. Luckily, he won't remember a thing in the years to come. T'liese picked the picture where Evan was crying the least, and we were on our way.

Another sign that Christmas is getting close is some treat bags we made for our neighbors. Using my photo-editing software, I created our tags from scratch. If I could just sit at a computer and design things all day, I am sure a big part of my heart would be pretty happy. I happened to pick a rare rainy day to make deliveries...perfect timing since the treats were in white paper bags. I also learned during deliveries that I wouldn't make a very good math teacher since I apparently can't count higher than nine. We were out visiting houses within about a five-block radius of ours when I asked John if some bags had fallen out of view from the seat. I had written down eleven names but only made nine goody bags. Is this part of being old, I wonder? Luckily, the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever were made even better using Christmas M&Ms. And the few families who were scheduled to receive and didn't won't know the difference, right? Am I right?

As a slap in the face, one of those families delivered treats to our door today! They must have known! How dare they give us hand-dipped candies when I apparently can't count anything without using my fingers!

The other good news is that the Christmas Weekend Menu is complete. We have guests arriving Sunday through probably Tuesday...John's sister and family who live in Albuquerque. It will be fun to catch up with them but even more fun feeding them. I find that when I plan out a menu, an overwhelming weekend crunches into manageable items. Am I the only Type-A person out there who uses a ruler to make a shopping list?

I can almost hear crickets when I ask such a question to a "normal" person such as yourself.