Getting closer to done
Today was our big day off shopping. It went fairly well. We started out with breakfast with the boys before school. Both of them got a kick out of it and were mostly behaved at the restaurant. Grasshopper wouldn't shut up, but that's not unusual. He has a problem knowing when to stop talking.
After dropping the boys off at school, off we went. We hit the Christmas Tree Shops first, figuring that it should be dead on a Monday morning. It was. It just opened in our area and I heard it was a veritable zoo on the weekend. We got some wrapping paper and other assorted gift wrapping paraphernalia. Then it was off to Target. Beyond a couple of video games for the boys, most of the shopping was for us. So, by about 10:30 am, we had NO actual Christmas shopping done yet. Granted, I hadn't expected to get any actual Christmas shopping done at those stores, but still. I had to keep the Wife's spirits up.
Next up was Toys R Us. Normally, I avoid that place like the plague, but surprisingly, they actually had better prices that Target on some of the things we were looking for. It shocked the hell out of us since usually they're the most expensive toy store out there. We also managed to find a new canine friend for Grasshopper (the non-living kind). Again, since it was a Monday, there were no crowds to be found.
Then it was off to the mall. We did a little better there. We had our list of who to buy for and what to get for most of them. We had a couple of people on our list that we had no clue on. Over all we did well. For those with definite gifts on our list, we bought the gifts. For one of the people with no idea, we got a gift. For another with no idea, we managed to get some ideas. A few others we need to get some gift cards, but that should be no sweat.
Overall, I'd say it was actually a nice day. I can't remember the last time the Wife and I got to just go out like that and not spend most of our time getting the kids to either behave or shut up. We got to sit and have a nice lunch for a change. We got to wander stores without someone saying "I'm bored, I want to go now" or "Ah man! I hate that store!". However, we did realize how old we were. We were shopping for maybe 6 hours total. Including driving time between stores. We were tired, man! The Wife and I split up for a little while and I sat down at a Starbucks to wait for her. My feet actually hurt! I didn't realize I was tired until I sat down. Damn that didn't used to happen.
Anyway, it was a nice day and I hated for it to end. It was nice to live a fantasy of no work, kids, or anything and just pretend we were retired empty-nesters. The illusion only lasted for maybe an hour or two, but what a blissful hour or two that was. One day, we'll actually get there. It will be nice. I feel like we're in much better shape now for the holidays. Not quite done yet, in good shape. I'm sure the Wife still thinks there's tons of things to do, but I think it's manageable. We even managed to not only visit my parents yesterday, but bake cookies too. Really goooooood cookies. That you have to hide or you'll eat them all.
So it's back to work and the normal grind tomorrow. Sigh.
After dropping the boys off at school, off we went. We hit the Christmas Tree Shops first, figuring that it should be dead on a Monday morning. It was. It just opened in our area and I heard it was a veritable zoo on the weekend. We got some wrapping paper and other assorted gift wrapping paraphernalia. Then it was off to Target. Beyond a couple of video games for the boys, most of the shopping was for us. So, by about 10:30 am, we had NO actual Christmas shopping done yet. Granted, I hadn't expected to get any actual Christmas shopping done at those stores, but still. I had to keep the Wife's spirits up.
Next up was Toys R Us. Normally, I avoid that place like the plague, but surprisingly, they actually had better prices that Target on some of the things we were looking for. It shocked the hell out of us since usually they're the most expensive toy store out there. We also managed to find a new canine friend for Grasshopper (the non-living kind). Again, since it was a Monday, there were no crowds to be found.
Then it was off to the mall. We did a little better there. We had our list of who to buy for and what to get for most of them. We had a couple of people on our list that we had no clue on. Over all we did well. For those with definite gifts on our list, we bought the gifts. For one of the people with no idea, we got a gift. For another with no idea, we managed to get some ideas. A few others we need to get some gift cards, but that should be no sweat.
Overall, I'd say it was actually a nice day. I can't remember the last time the Wife and I got to just go out like that and not spend most of our time getting the kids to either behave or shut up. We got to sit and have a nice lunch for a change. We got to wander stores without someone saying "I'm bored, I want to go now" or "Ah man! I hate that store!". However, we did realize how old we were. We were shopping for maybe 6 hours total. Including driving time between stores. We were tired, man! The Wife and I split up for a little while and I sat down at a Starbucks to wait for her. My feet actually hurt! I didn't realize I was tired until I sat down. Damn that didn't used to happen.
Anyway, it was a nice day and I hated for it to end. It was nice to live a fantasy of no work, kids, or anything and just pretend we were retired empty-nesters. The illusion only lasted for maybe an hour or two, but what a blissful hour or two that was. One day, we'll actually get there. It will be nice. I feel like we're in much better shape now for the holidays. Not quite done yet, in good shape. I'm sure the Wife still thinks there's tons of things to do, but I think it's manageable. We even managed to not only visit my parents yesterday, but bake cookies too. Really goooooood cookies. That you have to hide or you'll eat them all.
So it's back to work and the normal grind tomorrow. Sigh.
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