Bah. And while I'm at it, Humbug.

I'm a fan of online shopping. No crowds, no salespeople ignoring me, and sometimes, no sales tax. Bruce is of the same mind, and since Kate has a birthday in a couple of weeks of course we purchased her present online. Check out the GIANT box that arrived on our doorstep yesterday. Bear in mind, that Kate is kneeling in the picture below.

Perhaps your thinking, "Lucky Kate, getting a 50 inch flat screen for her birthday." You'd be wrong. Those earth haters at Toys R Us used that giant box to ship a gift that was less than two feet by two feet (I don't want to spill the beans on the contents until her actual birthday). I know the corporate bean counters are just trying to recoup their eroding profit margins by sticking it to me on the shipping. FYI: UPS generally charges by dimension, not weight, hence the box that could easily contain both my kids.

I mentioned that I have been resisting Christmas decorating since we are going to be in Phoenix for the holidays, but I caved a little. Pictured below is the sum total of ALL the Christmas decorations I am putting up:

A wreath on the door...

The world's littlest Nativity...

A tree...and for the sake of perspective, that's a 4 foot tree, and those are candy canes of the "mini" variety. Kate warned me, "I'm probably going to eat those." No need to worry about excessive sugar intake, however, since every time Powder walks by, she knocks a few canes off with her tail and they hit the ground and turn to smithereens.

I've been trying to keep the holidays in perspective. I am already so busy- I was in charge of the Relief Society party last night, went to another party tonight, and as I look at my December calendar it's just filling up. I definitely feel like I'm missing the Christmas spirit a little, because I'm so busy with tasks! I need to reframe. Kiki apparently shares my ambivalence. I was addressing Christmas cards when the doorbell rang; Kate ran to answer the door; I heard screams; and when I made it to the door, Kiki was standing totally nude in front of 20 primary kids who were out caroling. I tried to apologize but lacked the words to properly express my feelings of embarassment, and was somewhat conflicted since I also found it pretty funny.

Kate was a little bit naughty yesterday, and in frustration I said, "Why can't you just be GOOD?" She pulled out a piece of paper, wrote her name, and said, "At least my WRITING is good." That's not the only trick she has up her sleeve: when Kiki tried to get Kate to share her drink, Kate said, "Fine, but I have diarrhea."