A Christmas Story Moment

We made our annual trek to see Santa with just a few days to spare. The kids were excited. We took Hayden to get a haircut right before and then when we entered the store, I had to pick up a sweater for him to wear. We went to the Belks in Canton...I know, it is not the mall, but I think the picture came out great and we were the second in line and could see him at our leisure. If you know me, the stress of making my kids smile right with people waiting for us to move just makes me break out into a sweat, so visiting this man, who was at Michael's last year, is a perfect fit for the Robbins.

All day, Hannah and Hayden knew that we would be visiting him that evening, so they talked about what they would ask him for. Hayden was going to ask for a dinosaur (very random, but do-able) and Hannah wanted to ask for a Wii. The kids were great - walked right up and climbed on his knee. Hayden was checking him out while Hannah was ready for her big moment...... but......nothing! She could not think of anything to ask for. I think he asked her if she wanted a doll. I saw her shake her head yes, but I was laughing so hard inside because I knew she was drawing a BLANK! Hayden told him he wanted a dinosaur, they took a few pictures, gave him a high five and each left with a lolli-pop.

As soon as they left his knee and started walking towards us, Hayden started telling us he wanted his dinosaur. Apparently, he was under the impression that you walk up, tell the big man what you wanted and then he would hand it to you RIGHT THEN.

Well, after it was all over, Hannah was satisfied with the fact that she had written to Santa already that she wanted a Wii, so she wasn't too stressed that she forgot what to say. Then we headed home.

Early to bed, early to rise, and all I want for Christmas is no pink eyes

Early to bed, early to rise....I think I have complained before about the exhaustion that is felt by Bunky and I at night around 8 o'clock each night, right after the kids are down...well, I think it is compunded by the fact that our children have not slept past 5:30 am in about a month. I think Thanksgiving with my parents was the last time my children "slept in", which means they slept until 6. But....every day since they are up at the (scratch that) before the crack of dawn. The problem is that when Hannah and Hayden open their eyes, they are up. There is none of the we need to sit and relax before we do anything because it is early....it is just go!go!go! right away. I am a morning person myself, but I still need a moment to breathe each morning - not sure what to do.

I am writing this at 12:15 on Monday as I contemplate taking a nap along with Hayden while the house is quiet. Why am I home on a random Monday at 12:15, you may ask? Well, I am home with pink eye! I woke up Saturday morning with a nasty case of it - good thing Hayden had some left over antiobiotics from his last encounter with pink eye - I just used that, but to be safe I stayed home today - Lord knows that no one needs pink eye for Christmas pictures!

Bunky is not here today though because he started work for UPS. He is a driver's helper right now until Christmas (I pray they need help longer or with something else). He looked cute in his UPS garb and it made me think of the "King of Queens". Pray for him that he will find work that he enjoys soon. I told him to think of this temporary job as a free workout.

We picked up our Christmas tree on Friday night. It is amazing to me that the tree never looks the same in our house as it does on the lot. We picked ours up from HomeDepot. I wanted to support the local dairy farm that also had trees, but wow! $50 for a 5 foot tree....sorry, just can't do it.

Just a few more days until we are off for Christmas break. We are so very excited about it all - even though I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me.

Blog games

ok - so I think I have this right. I am supposed to post my 4th picture from my 4th folder from my computer documents. Then anyone I know with a blog is supposed to do the same...so post on! Here is my pic....

Like Lisa, my fourth folder had Christmas 2007. This happens to be an aerial view of the tree on Christmas morning last year. It is the year that Santa brought those gigantic chairs for Hannah and Hayden. It is also cute to notice Santa's cookies on the fireplace.

Post on my blog friends!

Getting Closer to Christmas

Whew! These past couple of weeks have flown by and are wearing us out! Last night, our neighbors called and I was so embarrased when they asked if I was sleeping...and it was only 8:30! It feels pretty typical since the time has changed that we are falling asleep wherever we stand around that time each night, but as the calendar fills up and more and more events are getting started, we will have to "wake up" so we can enjoy all the fun of the Christmas season.


We have decorated the house and will be getting our tree this weekend. Hannah is dying to get one and Bunky has been holding us off in hopes of having a tree that lasts until the new year. I will be sure to post pictures of the prefect Robbins Family Christmas Tree! This year, I have to set aside ornaments that once belonged to my brother since he now has a family of his own and will have a tree once again. I stole my parents ornaments years ago when they stopped putting up trees. For many years, they collected Hallmark ornaments and I remember when mom would visit the Hallmark store every year right after Christmas. They are still some of my favorites and I think it is so cool that Hannah enjoys recalling which ones we purchased/received the previous year.


We finished our Christmas cards already and will be mailing those out in the next day or so. I am excited at how they turned out and of course, had to use the pictures that Darby took for us in the fall. She rocks!


Only 17 more days until the big day and with lots of work still left to do, we will hopefully be able to slow down, enjoy the season, remember the reason and soak it all in.



Peace!