Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Totally Awkward... What day is this?

So, I was thinking today was Tuesday, and I was all ready to play along with Tova Darling. Then I realized, today is Wednesday. No matter though, after being home with the kids for nearly 2 weeks straight, having Christmas, Santa, more Christmas with various relatives, I am having a hard time keeping straight what day it is and where I am supposed to be. Forgive me, however, I will regain my senses once the children go back to school. In the meantime, bear with me, I have two stories today for your reading enjoyment....

Child #4 started Kindergarten this year. He went to pre-K last year at the elementary school because he needs speech therapy, and I desperately needed to get him out of my hair...uummm... he desperately needed some structure in his day. He has what his doctor termed as the most classic case of ADHD she has ever seen. We started him on some medication, not a stimulant, but something that would take the edge off his constant fidgeting and climbing and talking and... well, the medicine has worked pretty well, but it was tricky finding just the right amount at the right times. The first week of Kindergarten was pretty rough. They have a smiley face system, in which everyone starts on a green face, if you have been warned 3 times about behavior you move to yellow and get a note home, then another 2 times and you move to red face and go to the prinicpals office. Child #4 had a note home every day that first week of school for various infractions of class rules. Then Friday came, and I was so glad that week was almost over. School gets out at 3pm and the bus delivers my children to the door around 3:45pm. At 3:30pm I got a call from the school. It was the prinicipal.
Mrs. B: Are your children home yet?
Me: No, is everything ok?
Mrs. B: Well, I wanted to talk to you about an incident that happened today.
Me: What did he do? (note here: the rest of my school age children are girls, I knew it related to Child #4)
Mrs. B: While the children were lined up to get on their respective busses or in car rider lines (and the parents were lined up in cars outside, and the busses were lined up outside), Child #4 pulled the fire alarm. We know it was him, Mrs. T watched him do it.
Me: (being totally silent and thinking WTF?!?!)
Mrs. B: We called the fire department and cancelled the call, reset the alarm, and I talked to him for a minute, but he didn't seem very sorry about it. Maybe you can explain to him how important it is not to do that unless there is a fire.
Me: Thank you.... I will certainly talk to him when he gets home. I am so sorry. He really knows better.
Of course, when the kids got off the bus, everyone wanted to be the first to tell me he had pulled the fire alarm. I sat down on the porch with him and asked him what he was thinking, we certainly know better than to pull a fire alarm when there isn't a fire, yes? And he said, "but mama, I didn't pull it.... I lifted it! I didn't know it would go off, I thought there was something inside you had to pull. Besides... I can't read! If Mrs. V (his K teacher) would have taught me to read, I would have known it said if I lifted it it would go off!" Bless his heart. This is true... we have always talked in terms of not pulling fire alarms. This one you have to lift to set it off. No wonder he didn't seem very sorry. Child #4, being literal as always, did not see things the way we did. Its a blessing and a curse. So, we revised our discussion to include not touching fire alarms unless there is a fire. And on Monday I had him go back and apologize to Mrs. B and promise to never do that again. So far.... so good.... on that at least.

In other news, I was trying to be a fun and entertaining mama (and not have the kids trash the house any more than it already is) and took my kids to the zoo on Monday. It was a pretty good time. We wandered around, the boys got to run off some energy, they played on the really huge jungle gym. We watched the monkeys swing around and walk tightropes while the boys tried to get their attention by making monkey noises and hopping around. We at lunch at the zoo restaurant. Looked at all the spiders and snakes in the reptile building. Brushed and petted every single goat in the petting zoo area. I spent 7 hours at the zoo. I was really sure the kids would be worn out. No such luck. Just me. I was worn out and the kids were pumped up. How does this happen? It just reminds me of why I don't teach school. I love kids, I think they are hilarious, but how on earth do you survive the energy? Maybe I need to take more vitamins....

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Totally Awkward Tuesdays

Tova Darling had a wonderful idea for Tuesday blogging. Every Tuesday you can post a Totally Awkward story on your blog. Then, leave a comment telling Tova you've participated, and also link from your blog from hers, and she'll include a link to your blog in her post - that way, we can all cringe/laugh /die of shame together! The awkward story can be anything - something awkward you saw, you did, or you were unwittingly a part of; the most awkward moment of your week or the most awkward moment of your life.

So... here goes.....

By the way- this one reminds me a lot of a story that Vodka Mom over at I Need a Martini Mom could relate. I'm sure she has had something similar happen. Kids....

When my twins were in first grade they were learning their "letter partners". You know, when you put two letters together and they make a new sound, like /ch/, /oo/, or /sh/. The letter partners they were working on were /sh/ and the teacher had the kids sitting around in a circle on the floor. They were talking about the letters and the teacher asked them to think of words that started with /sh/. The kids were taking turns raising their hands... "shoe", "shirt", "shelf".... my sweet Child #3 (who just never gets into trouble) raises her hand and says she knows one, but she thinks it might be a "bad word". The teachers says, "well, we probably shouldn't say it at school then, thank you Child #3". The teacher goes around a few more times... "she", "shine", "shore", and then Child #3 raises her hand again.
Teacher: yes Child #3?
Child #3: how about "shit"?
Teacher: Child #3! I thought we decided we wouldn't say that one at school!
Child #3: but it starts with /sh/!
Note home to Mama. Please discuss with child #3 that we should not say bad words at school, even if they start with the letter partners of the week. I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that my 6 year old child knew the word and knew how to spell it, or that the teacher didn't realize that word was eventually going to be said. I mean, it is one of the more common 'bad words' out there. I'd like to think if it weren't my child, it would have been someone elses.

Next Tuesday.... the story of the fire alarm..... I know, I can see you all on the edges of your seat. Yeah... its that good. And he sure to check out Tova Darling and play along!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Friday Fragments


- Child #5 woke up this morning and said he felt sick. Then he ate two chocolate covered donuts. I thought all was well. Then he puked them up on the couch. Thankfully its leather.

- I have one more class before Christmas break. Then I have 3 classes after break, then exams. I really want to get all my reading done for all the rest of the classes over the holidays. Then I can study for exams. I know, its ambitious, but I'm going to try.

- I signed up to take Immigration Law and the instructor quit. They have a new instructor, but she can't teach at that time. The class is cancelled/put on hold. Damn.

- My 12 year old wants some of those fancy furry boots. I think I may look at TJ Maxx because I don't know where a Payless is and Target didn't have any.

- My 22 year old brother bought his girlfriend (who I just love) an engagement ring and trusted me enough to help him pick it out. He isn't going to give it to her until this summer (for a lot of weird reasons), so he has also trusted me to keep it in my safe until he is ready. Right after he paid for it, he looked at me and said "Shit, now I really have to do this" and then laughed nervously. Its funny to see him being grown-up.

- I'm being overwhelmed with crafts from kids. I did get a really cute ornament though- in case any of you are crafty.... You take a plain colored Christmas ball, drizzle some glue on the top part the toss on some white confetti paper or sparkles, then glue an ice cream cone on the bottom. It makes an adorable little ice cream cone ornament.

- The high today is 66. I love it. I wish it never got colder than this. Ever.

- It has been foggy here for the last several days. I live out in the middle of nowhere and the fog + winding + curvy roads = a mess. It has taken me forever to get anywhere. Especially at night.

- My mother in law got me this thing called "elf on the shelf". Its an elf that watches and reports back to santa. You move him around each night and the kids have to find him. Its like a real life Wheres Waldo game. Kinda. For all you Christmas-y folks out there, you'd probably love it.

- I figured out the perfect gift for my husband. I am getting his garage doors fixed on his workshop. I know it sounds weird, but he has been complaining about them for so long I figured it was worth it. I exceeded the spending limit, but its something we would have had to do anyway. And since he kept saying he was going to do it, I figure this will save him at least a day of messing with something he doesn't want to do.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Cold

I grew up in Northern Indiana, just east of Chicago. It was cold there. It snowed. A lot. I happened to live on the east side of Lake Michigan, and being that it is a huge lake it creates what we liked to call "lake effect snow", meaning that as the storm crossed the lake from west to east it picked up a ton of water out of the lake and deposited it on my fair city in the form of snow. Like 4 feet of it at a time. I always swore I would leave that dreadful weather for somewhere warmer. When I had a chance to move south, I took it. I interviewed with a couple places in Jacksonville, Florida and in Nashville, Tennessee. I took the job offer in Tennessee and have lived here for the last 10 years. I love hot weather, I hate cold weather. We get lots of hot, and not too much cold. It only snows, on average, a few inches every year and it is usually melted and gone in a day. The caveat to this lack of snow is that schools close at the threat of a winter storm, everyone rushes out to buy enough bread and milk for a month, and absolutely NO ONE knows how to drive in inclement weather (including torrential rain). I digress.... when we got up this morning it was really cold. So cold, in fact, that I just had to trek outside in my pajamas and bathrobe and get a picture of this....

Not to worry though. The high today was 55 and everything is just nice and wet again.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Christmas Tip #487

Preschool children do NOT understand a gift exchange. I don't mind going out and buying the $5 gift for a particular gender child, but unless we are all buying the same gift the outcome is not going to be pretty.

Today I went to Target to pick up the last few things I needed for the class Christmas parties, and get the water and snack for my son's Kindergarten class. Tomorrow is Child #5's Christmas party and gift exchange at his twice a week preschool. We wandered Target and I found a pair of snowman socks for $1, a package of Cars stickers for $1, and a puzzle for $3. I thought I had a good thing going. Until Child #5 saw the puzzle. He claimed it as his own. I've tried to explain the gift exchange concept, but I think its lost on a 4 year old. No, he doesn't want to trade "his" puzzle to his friend and his friend give him a surprise present. He wants "his" puzzle. Its a freakin $3 puzzle! I even tried to convince him that if he really wanted it maybe Santa would bring another one just for him.... it would be like you both had this awesome present. NO. That does not work. For the past 3 plus hours all I've heard is intermittent whining about this damn puzzle.

My tip to all you folks out there considering a gift exchange for your young children: Don't even think that it will be so cute to have all the kiddos exchange stuff because its going to turn into a throwdown fight when someone else has whatever cheap ass gift it is that your kid wants. Boycot it. Its not worth it.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

5:08 a.m.

I am sound asleep. The phone rings. It is 5:08 a.m. I answer. It is a recorded message. A cheery voice greets me.

"Good Morning! This is Director of Schools 'Happy Lady'. 'Your' County Schools are closed today due to inclement weather. Have a Wonderful snow day!"

I hung up and returned to bed. Swearing obscenities at this chipper woman who called me to tell me that even though I have a paper to write for class tonight and was counting on children going to school today, and even though Christmas break starts next week and they will have a full two weeks off school, they will be fighting and screaming under my feet ALL DAY LONG.

Thanks.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Broke....

I'm sure I've posted before about how absolutely sweet and adorable my youngest child is. He is one of my most loving children, randomly telling me he loves me and stealing all my kisses.
Friday someone snuck into our house and replaced that sweet boy with one that threw tantrums and screamed for most of the day. First he wanted play-doh (which I hate anyway) and I told him he could play it if he kept it on the table. About 30 minutes later, with play-doh everywhere, I asked him to pick up the mess and he told me no. Wrong answer. So I told him he was going to time out. He then told me he was going to Nama's house (my mom who lives next door) to have her spank me. Great, except Nama isn't home. So he stood by the front door and we played a lovely game of open and shut the door in the freezing cold. I finally had enough and told him now he was in time out again for not listening and put him on the couch to sit. He kicked and screamed the whole time. I went out of the room, thinking that ignoring the tantrum would bring us all down a notch. As I walked back into the room, he leaned over the arm of the couch and did this......
and then this.....

and more of this.....

I'm not sure what happened to my sweetest most adorable little boy, but if you find him would you please return him as soon as possible? I don't like this new upgraded version.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Choices

I have two choices and one week in which to make a decision.

Our law school has about 800 students give or take. There are two terms: you can start on the traditional schedule of August to May, or you can do the other term which is February to November. For the second term, orientation for new students is the first week of February. The Dean of the School called me a couple weeks ago and said she needed a favor. Uh...sure...whatever you want. She wants me to speak at the orientation for incoming first years- do a 15 minute speech about what its like to be a student, then do a 15 minute Q&A afterwards. I was really honored that she chose me out of all the possibilities and gladly accepted.

Last week my husband told me that we could go to Ireland for a week. We would be going with my friend who works with him and her husband. This is the same guy I wrote about who is a total jerky. Besides the obvious problem of spending a long flight and then a week with them... we would also be going during the first week of February. Meaning... I would need to miss the orientation. I could call the Dean and explain the situation, and I'm sure she would understand. But do I really want to do that? Really?

What do you all think.... skip my shining glory moment at orientation to go to Ireland with husband, friend, and her jackass husband? Or claim I'm too busy?

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Just to be Fair

Since I ranted and raved like a lunatic yesterday about how awful these two very condensed classes are, and how that results in my lack of time for anything other than dreadful reading, I thought in fairness I should also mention a few other things.

1) my wireless internet quit on me. this shouldn't be a big deal, since I can easily sit at my desk, plug computer directly into the modem and happily surf the internet. I have a nice large desk, with pictures on it and a window to look out of while I ponder deep thoughts. BUT, I don't have a nice desk chair. In fact, I have one of my mother's hard-ass wooden kitchen chairs. As appealing as the internet is to me, I just can't stand to sit that long on this super-hard chair. I gave my husband a couple choices: a) get the damn wireless working so I can sit on the couch or 2) get me a nice big comfy chair with wheels that I can sit at the desk and spin around in. So far, I have neither.

2) I have been inundated with Christmas party requests. Now, I am not all saddened by this. I actually enjoy the fact that my childrens schools still refer to it as "Christmas Party" and "Christmas Break". As un-PC as that may be, when you live out in the boonies and your entire community lacks any indicia of diversity you can still call it what is for most of the kids. My problem is, I now have to find a $5 boy gift, a $5 girl gift, 48 stocking stuffers, a tub of white frosting, a bag of chocolate chips, and enough Christmas plates and napkins for 20 kindergartners. All by next week. Thank goodness we have a Dollar General nearby.

3) To go along with all the Christmas parties being held at schools, I also have the pleasure of attending every Christmas program known to man. It started with a luncheon at Child #5's preschool, then we moved on to a Christmas play presented by the second grade, Child #1 had a Choral concert in which the middle school visited the elementary schools and which I was expected to come watch. Cihld #1 then had extra practice for her band concert which is tonight. And next week I will be partying it up with a bunch of 5 year olds while making candy crafts.

4) Child #1 has been full of drama the last couple weeks. It started because she has a winter semi-formal dance this friday. Opposite sex dates are optional. I was strongly encouraging her to just go with her friends. She really wanted to have a "date" without having a date and would hope that her best guy friend would go with her. She mustered up the nerve to ask him, and he said no. The reason he said no is "because you are my best friend". She came home and in between sobbing and fist pounding manages to get out the conversation, promptly followed by a big "WTF does that mean?!?" I told her, in the most motherly way possible, that I was sure he just didn't feel comfortable going with you- his best friend- and that as boys get older they realize they can go to dances as "just friends". Its all about appearances honey. To add to the excitement, she also has auditions for Mid-State Band this Saturday. She is really stressed about the music and stuff, while I am looking forward to sitting in my folding chair and reading for 6 hours while surrounded by talented middle school musicians practicing their scales. Its looking like it will be a super fun saturday.

So..... while I would like to (and certainly will) blame my lack of free time on my school, I suppose I could admit half-heartedly that I have brought some of this upon myself. And I say that only because I realize that I am the one who brought these needy little ankle biters into this world. However, I will also in true Christmas spirit spread the blame around a little more because if the holidays weren't so hectic I would have a lot more time to read blogs. My wish from Santa... peace at home and goodwill to brothers and sisters.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I Ain't Quittin You....

Or something like that. I know I've been absent for a few days. Some of you may have noticed (or not). I am beginning to wonder just exactly what I was thinking when I signed up for two electives during the winter term. Granted, each class is one credit hour and completed in just six weeks. Sounds great, yes? Sure, until you realize that you have to go to class for 4 hours at a time for each of the six weeks. And then you have to read all the shit they assign you every week.

As an example, for one class we get about 6 cases per week, average say 15 pages each- total about 100 pages. He also assigns us to read some actual trial transcripts, average about 130 pages. He then would like us to either a) read his jury charge and complete the verdict form, average another 25 pages OR b) write an opinion granting or denying whatever requested relief we just read about, average another 3 typed pages.

But wait.... there's more! Behind door number two is the other class. Same hours, even more shit to read. And let me just say, the topic is so god awful that I considered coughing up the $50 the school charges and just dropping the class after the first night. Yes... it is that bad. His assignments come from a book, and thankfully there are no projects involved, but after reading 200 pages of very dense crap you end up with a massive migraine, or something pretty close to it.

So... if I have been unusually quiet or haven't commented, now you know why. I'm not out baking cookies or doing fun stuff with the kids. I am drowning in paper. And who am I kidding anyway, if I weren't drowning in paper I certainly wouldn't be baking cookies anyway- I'd be here.... telling you all about why I refuse to bake cookies...

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Holiday Humor a.k.a Don't Take Men Shopping

I got this email as a joke from a friend of mine and nearly peed my pants. So, because the holidays are upon us and some of you may be tempted to force your husband/significant other into doing some shopping with you... consider the following as a public service announcement (or, if you want to get out of shopping, consider any or all of the following):

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal- Mart.
Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out.
Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - she loved to browse.
Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal- Mart:

Dear Mrs. Samsel,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store .
We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store . Our complaints against Mr. Samsel are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condo ms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5- minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women 's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice , 'Code 3 in House wares . Get on it right away.'

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M& M's on layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a ' CAUTION - WET FLOOR ' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department .

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him, he began crying and screamed, 'Why can' t you people just leave me alone ?'

9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department , he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ' Mission Impossible ' theme .

12. October 6: In the auto department , he practiced his ' Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled ' PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICE S AGAIN !'

And last, but not least .

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, ' Hey! There 's no toilet paper in here! '

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Happy Birthdays

I got hooked up with a local Moms of Twins group while I was pregnant with the girls. They held monthly meetings down at the hospital. I went a few times before I had the girls, watching in amazement as all these little people, some who looked exactly alike and some who didn't or weren't even the same sex, crawled all over their mamas while we snacked and chatted. Could I really do this?

With my first child, I waited tables and bartended until 3 days before I gave birth. With the twins, I only gained about 30 pounds, but I was terribly sick for nearly the entire pregnancy. I had high blood pressure starting at 27 weeks, I ended up on bedrest at 30 weeks, I was admitted to the hospital twice from my doctors office, I couldn't eat anything except ice pops in plastic wrappers for the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy without throwing up. I was miserable.

One Friday afternoon around 4:30 I had this awful headache that would not go away. I had been warned about this being a side effect of HBP. I called my doctors office and asked how long I should wait after taking several Tylenol to see if the headache went away. It had already been 2 hours. I talked to the nurse, I was put on hold, I was told to come on to the hospital. I didn't want to go again. I didn't want to be 'observed'. I wanted to sleep and not hurt. I asked her if I could wait for my husband to come home, it would just be another hour or so. I swear I will go as soon as he gets home. I have a 4 year old, I can't just take myself and her to the hospital.

I called dear husband, I warned him we had to go. We arrived at the hospital around 6pm. I was poked, prodded, blood drawn, blood pressure taken, peed in the cup, monitored, IV ran, and fed. Husband rented a movie, my father-in-law took my oldest. We settled in. About 3am I woke up and had to use the restroom. As I was getting out of bed, I felt the warm gush of fluid run down my leg. I called the nurse. My water broke. I woke up husband. My doctor was called. My girls are fraternal and were in seperate sacs, but one of them was mercifully ready to be born.

The ultrasound technician came and did a quick scan. Both babies heads were down, all was well. The anesthesiologist came in and ran an epidural, just in case we had to do an emergency ceserean, and because having twins is tough. About 8:30 my doctor arrived. I was dilated to 6. At 9:15 the nurse checked again, we were ready to go. I was wheeled to the operating room as a precaution. I couldn't focus but I was trying to follow directions. There were so many people: each baby had 4 nurses, I had 4 nurses, the doctor, anesthesiologist, his assistant, and 3 emergency room nurses in case we had a problem.

The first baby, Child #2, came right along. I tried to crane my neck to watch the nurses. I tried to hear her cry and couldn't. I kept asking my husband if she was okay. The nurses kept asking me to pay attention, there was still one more. One nurse climbed up on a stepstool and started smashing my stomach, trying to pin down the baby still inside. Child #3 was being difficult, trying to turn around. The nurse shoved her in the right direction as hard as she could. I was thankful for the epidural. Unfortunately for this one, she was face up instead of face down. Babies don't fit well that way, and she ended up with a huge bruised forehead.

As soon as I saw her being taken to the warming bed to be cleaned up everything went black. I don't remember the next 3 days. What I do know is that I started having seizures. My blood pressure was too high. I was given all sorts of medicines to try to help. I couldn't have visitors, I couldn't have lights on, I couldn't have tv. The nurses told my husband it was serious. I needed to remain calm. My HBP was life-threatening. Truth is, I didn't have a clue where I was. A few times my husband brought the babies to me. I was delirious and swore he kept bringing me the same one. I wanted to know what happened to the other one. There are pictures and video dear husband took of the babies with me during those days that I don't remember him taking.

Once the fog cleared and the medicine kicked in things got much better. I was sore, but the babies were fine less the bruised forehead. We all went home a few days later. I was scared to death of them. So tiny. They needed to eat every 2 hours and it took an hour for me to feed them both. I didn't sleep more than 30 minutes at a time for the next 2 months. Everything I did was in a fog. Eventually it got better. They slept more, I slept more, they ate real food, I ventured out of the house with them. I went back to my Moms of Twins meetings. They held babies, brought food, offered encouragement. I would not have made it without them.

Yesterday, those tiny little babies turned 8 years old. When I brought them home I would never have imagined we would make it this far. I watched those women with older twins, triplets & quads and marveled at how big their children seemed, and I couldn't imagine that I would ever be the one with the toddlers offering advice on breastfeeding and starting table food. Or the one with Kindergartners offering advice on potty training. We fed, we napped, we potty trained, we played, we swam, we went to school- all the milestones I couldn't imagine. I look at them now and can't believe we did it. They are beautiful, smart little girls. They made it. And so did I.

Monday, December 1, 2008

I Need Help....

No, get your mind out of the gutter... not that kind of help. My prozac is working quite nicely, thanks. Well, honestly, I'm not taking prozac anymore, but thats beside the point.

What I really need help with is Christmas. Specifically.... for my husband. What do I get him? Here is how the conversation went:

Me: How much are we spending on each other for Christmas?
Him: Hhhmmmm.... $300?
Me: Okay, what would you like?
Him: Nothing. You know if I want something I usually just get it.
Me: So, can you explain how I am supposed to spend $300 on 'nothing'?
Him: Unlike you, I don't require presents... just don't worry about it.

WTF?!?! So, I am supposed to spend $300, but have no idea on what. I realize you all don't really know my husband, but I need help. I'm taking all ideas on what to get him.

In exchange, here are the lists that 3 of my kids made for me, in case you need some kid ideas: Child #4 is a 5 year old boy, and children #2 & #3 are twin girls that will be 8 tomorrow!!!

Here is exactly what they wrote (spelling & grammer included)....

Child #2: My name is 'Child #2' and I want a Baby Alive, Nintendo DS, a scooter, TV in my room a miny bratz tv, and a fur real friends and can it be a horse. I want a desk and some candy and a little fluffy chair and a blanket and a matching pillow, and a pet dog and can it be a puppy. I want a webkinz, a selphon, radiow, and some bratz tene shoes, and some cookies.

Child #3: Dear Santa, I want a webkinz and a guitar and a big lollipop and a fur real friend horse and a celphone and a Nintendo D.S. and a T.V. in my room and a Wii and a radio and a slide for my bunkbed and a P.S.P. and a necklace and a ring and a yo-yo and a jingle bell to see if I beleive in christmas and a baby alove with the toilet like on the T.V. From: 'Child #3'

Child #4: Hi my name is 'Child #4' and I want a bike and a DS, a celphone raidow and a monkey, but not a real one, and a pensel box and some new race car shoes, and some candy.