We are so close to being all done with our Christmas shopping, but alas, once more we’ll have to finish it off on the 24th. We just couldn’t get it all done. George, bless his merry heart (or something), went out to buy gifts for his family, two for mine, and two more gifts for the kids – and he did it while he was sick. We’ve all been sick the past few days except for Hayley, which means she is bordering on bored while the rest of us want to sleep or die. Breanna was probably the worst because she spiked a high fever on and off for two days straight. She seemed better this evening, though she hasn’t eaten much. She gulped down a full bowl of applesauce after watching “Charlie Brown’s Christmas” tonight, so hopefully she’ll be back to normal tomorrow.

Because Breanna was sick, we couldn’t take her shopping or drop her off with anyone, so I stayed home with the kids and alternated between taking care of them, working, and cleaning. George was pretty darn successful in his outing. The only gift proving to be tricky, shockingly enough, is my mother’s gift. She wanted some perfume (she doesn’t read this site, and I know my dad won’t tell her if he happens to read this before Christmas) and I figured that would be a fairly easy thing to find. I latched onto that idea so firmly that I can’t even remember any of the other things she had suggested. She doesn’t like heavy perfumes or anything overly floral. She’s not into the exotic scents that make liberal use of patchouli, and she doesn’t want to smell like an 80-year-old woman who bathed in perfume. She had suggested White Chantilly as one she loves. Do you think I can find it anywhere? NO. NO I CAN NOT. I found two tiny sample sized bottles but that was unacceptable.

Other than that, she just likes light scents. She always loved a Lily of the Valley perfume that she used to wear but it’s been discontinued. I’ll have to go to the perfume counter (gag!) tomorrow and see if I can find White Chantilly or something else acceptably light. It’s just hard to buy perfume for someone else based off the description “not too heavy”. I don’t want her to feel like she has to wear it if she hates it. This should have been the easiest present out of anyone in my family, but who knew White Chantilly was suddenly so hard to find?!

Aside from my mother, we still have to get stocking stuffers for the kids but I’m not worried about that at all. Last year I walked four (long, suburban) blocks in the snow, collected everything, stood in line, paid for them, stopped at the bathroom, bought myself a bottle of water and a snack, walked back, and did it all in just under an hour. The line up will likely be annoying, but that’s why God invented iPods.

I’m hoping to get it done early in the day so I can spend the afternoon making reindeer food with the kids (plain oatmeal mixed with glitter, which you then sprinkle outside in the snow so that the moonlight or streetlamps will light the way for Santa to your home!), baking cookies, and relaxing.

And speaking of relaxing, I pre-posted enough stuff to carry me on my work blogs from now until December 27th so I’m going to celebrate with a cup of green tea to beat back this Cold From Hell, a bunch of chocolate, and Christmas Vacation. Maybe I’ll even go bust a piece off the gingerbread house the kids and I put together the other day!