I noticed today that there are only 13 days left until Christmas. It’s hard not to notice, really. Hayley has an advent calendar so I always know the exact date by breakfast time, which is the longest I can hold her off from getting to that tiny square of chocolate. She also has the countdown calendar that we made together, and every day she peels off one more number, leaving us with X number of sleeps until the big day.

It’s getting redundant of me to say this every year, but I’m just not ready. Oh sure, the tree is up and has been since the U.S. Thanksgiving because I couldn’t wait any longer. We’ve been enjoying the holiday-themed shows on various television networks. We’ve watched our Mickey Mouse Christmas DVD, the Caillou Holiday movie, the cartoon version of the Grinch, and a really bad remake of Rudolph on video.

But me? I’m not ready. We still have so much to get. So far Santa has gotten the ball pit tent and an Aquadoodle set for the girls but we still have to get Hayley’s play vanity and the stuff to go with it, Breanna’s musical instrument, and one more gift from us to each of them. We also have to get stocking stuffers, though those are usually pretty easy thanks to dollar stores. And we haven’t gotten any gifts for anyone in our families.

I know what the holidays are supposed to be about. Too bad my nerves don’t understand that and are going haywire over how quickly this month is zipping by with so much left to do.