Typically speaking, I usually have a pretty good idea what I am going to blog about before I sit down to write. But not today. Nothing blogworthy really sticks out in my mind. Today is the normal Monday...or the normal any day. The only day that's usually "different" for me is Sunday. The rest of my days are spent chasing kids, watching Blues Clues nonstop, and cleaning things.

Friday we did the Christmas shopping thing and put most of the kids' stuff "Santa Claus" in layaway.

For Travis:
1. F-150 Truck...battery powered...he can ride in it ($150)...yeah, we went over our limit a little.
2. Hungry Hungry Hippos game ($16.00)
3. 3-pack of remote control trucks ($10.00)
4. 4-pack of cardboard puzzles with trucks, dinosaurs, etc. ($5.00)
5. Spiderman Helicopter ($5.00)

For Jacob:
1. 3-in-1 Trike...transforms from a rocky-bike to an actual trike with wheels...also has an extended handle where he can be pushed on it to learn to steer. ($30.00)
2. Little People theme park ($15.00)
3. Sports pack with miniature soft basketball, football, and soccer ball ($5.00)
4. Hammer with lights and sounds ($6.00)
5. Little People truck with cart ($5.00)

I ordered both of them some movies at Half.com. I got Jacob the "Blue Talks" DVD and one of the "Baby Einstein" DVDs, and then I got Travis "Babe", "The Lion King", a "Thomas The Tank Engine" DVD. I also want to get them both a new fleece blanket, and some stocking stuffers.

I think I still want to get...umm...wait...ask Santa to bring Travis a Magna Doodle...it looks like something he'd have a lot of fun with. Jacob wants cars, lots of cars. He will sit in the floor for an hour, pushing a car or truck back and forth across the carpet. The problem I think we are going to have come Christmas morning is Travis and Jacob are going to want the other kid's toys, lol. Maybe I messed up and should've bought them both the same thing. Believe it or not, I still try not to buy Jacob's toys that say "Not intended for ages 3 and under", which is silly, because guess what? Travis has TONS of those "Not intended for ages 3 and under" toys, and Jacob plays with them. All the time.

I had Michael's Christmas presents, or so I thought, but I got outbid on Ebay for both items...darn it! And I refuse to bid higher when it means I'll be paying the same or higher than I can get the same thing in a store without having to pay shipping.

Going Christmas shopping early has got me looking forward to Christmas coming back around. It seems like more and more people dread Christmas more and more as the years go by, but like, I have fun with it because I LOVE to see my kids' faces. Last year was Travis' first year to really be able to express himself and show a lot of excitement about it, and so this year he's highly anticipating "Santa Claus" and "Christmas trees" and "Christmas cookies". In all honesty, I want to make Christmas a lot more than just being about "getting stuff". I want to give my kids a special Christmas...give them things they love, but I don't plan on spending thousands of dollars either. I really don't buy them anything else during the year other than necessities...food, clothes, etc. Their grandparents don't really buy them toys during the year either. They both have a room FULL of stuff, and while it is great to get new toys, I want them to learn the real meaning of Christmas, something I never learned until I got married. (Yes, my parents made Christmas very special in our house and it was a wonderful, exciting time of year. Not just because of the presents, but just because of the warm, fun, loving atmosphere we had in our home. Helping decorate the tree, helping make sweets, watching Christmas movies with my family while drinking hot chocolate, going shopping with my Dad to pick out my Mom some special things, I have tons and tons of wonderful Christmas memories and traditions growing up that I want to keep going.) Growing up I was never taught the REAL meaning of Christmas...Jesus' birth. Like, I knew Jesus was born of a virgin, and I knew the story of Mary and Joseph, but it wasn't taught to me as being part of Christmas. I was taught in church "We don't celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday because no one really knows when he was born." I was taught that it was bad to have a nativity scene in your front yard and "Jesus Is The Reason For the Season" written out in lights across the roof. And now, to this day, I'm not sure WHY they believe this. This country "observes" many other "holidays" that no one knows the day it actually happened, or they may know the day, but observe it on a different day. Of course, I was taught about Easter the same thing I was taught about Christmas. So in church growing up, Christmas and Easter were not even MENTIONED. Totally doesn't make sense.

Okay, so, I don't know how I got off on all of THAT! I must run for now! More later!