First of all, apropos of nothing, I know that pretty much everyone in the free world has already linked to it, but if you haven’t seen Justin Timberlake’s “Dick in a Box” skit from Saturday Night Live, for God’s sake, go watch it now (well, assuming you have an open-minded office or your young kids aren’t around). And then when you’re done, another great, quick video is this one of Stewie Griffin from The Family Guy; that little 30-second video sums up my life with Hayley.

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We’re getting there slowly but surely with the shopping. I still hate doing it; I told George that I think when I was born I was missing that gene that the majority of women have, the one that makes them enjoy shopping. I mean, if you gave me $5000 and set me down in the middle of Best Buy, I’d be very happy to shop for, say a laptop and some mp3 players or something, but generally shopping is not something that I enjoy very much. Add in the crowds at this time of year and yikes. However, it went well today. We managed to get the vanity from Santa, and we also picked up a package with accessories, like a hair dryer, brush, etc. I think she’s going to be ecstatic.

We got Breanna a little farm set with soft vehicles and animals, and it comes with a fold-out playmat with the fields and roads. It will go well with the barn that we already have. We also got her a little electronic tambourine that plays different songs.

Then we were at the grocery superstore and just for fun I said we should peek at the toy department because I know Hayley also wants a Diego Rescue Pack, and that would be good to get her from us. They didn’t have any (bah, I guess we do have to go to Toys R Us after all), but we found Breanna’s big gift from Santa, the Fisher-Price Baby Grand Piano. We didn’t get it right then because we had only brought a limited amount of money, but they had at least seven of them and not many people shop for toys at the grocery store, so I’m sure they’ll still have some in a day or two. It’s going to be perfect; I tried the demo on that site to see what it’s like and just from that Breanna was dancing around the living room and laughing. I can’t wait! As a bonus, that means we don’t have to bother going to Ikea at this time of year for that bead rollercoaster because we’ll have everything we need for Breanna (on top of those gifts both girls are also getting that ball pit, so it’s plenty) and we can get it some other time when we’re heading out that way anyway.

Now we just need the Rescue Pack for Hayley, although we’re also debating the Diego Rescue Center playset, and one other little thing. Plus stocking stuffers. Eep. But we always do stocking stuff at the dollar store so that will be okay.

Hayley’s also getting a really neat present from my mom. I don’t know if it’s the exact model but I think it might be this Cinderella castle, which is really awesome.

As strange as it may sound, I am really looking forward to the fact that I get to assemble all these things for the girls. I always loved that as a kid, sitting at my grandmother’s kitchen table and watching my parents put toys together, putting stickers on them, and setting them up. We never did that thing some people do where anything requiring assembly was done the night before, so it’s a tradition that I enjoy carrying on.

So we’re getting there. One big gift for Breanna, two gifts for Hayley, stuff for our family (but at least we have an idea of what we’re getting them), and stockings. Pajamas for the girls on Christmas eve are done, so that pretty much covers it. We may be down to the wire but we’ll manage it.

I did tell George today that although it’s mildly stressful to wait this long to get everything, in some ways it’s good too. It means less time for me to wait before giving them stuff. I’m terrible with the patience factor. Right now I’m practically bouncing, knowing what is waiting for Hayley from Santa in George’s parents’ garage, and I can barely stand to wait until next Monday to give it to her. If I bought all my stuff in October I’d go nuts. We’ve had the ball pit since November and I am freaking out wanting to give it to them NOW.

So sometimes last minute isn’t all that bad. As long as we can manage to avoid any big ticket items on the 24th, I’ll be okay. I can deal with stocking stuffers the day before Christmas, anything else and I’ll need to breathe into a paper bag.

And for the record, I’m still laughing every time I see that picture of Breanna with Santa.