Christmas Prep with Lil Red

Thursday evening marked the beginning of my "Christmas break." Five whole days of family time. Ahhhhhhhh. I could just feel the weight of work lifted from my shoulders. I decided to kick-off our big weekend with a trip to see Monster Inc in 3D. Nanny and Kylie were able to join us girls for the 7:00 show. Hallie chatted about monsters and popcorn the whole way there. She even practiced her meanest monster growls in prep for the movie. Our partners were waiting for us at the door with tickets, popcorn and drinks. The royal treatment! All of Hal's monster prep went right out the window once we sat down inside. A lot of wiggling and whining, about ten minutes of somewhat patiently sitting on Nanny's lap and then finally hopping down to escape. Kylie and I followed her to the arcade where she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with monsters or 3D glasses. And she definitely didn't have any plans to stay quiet. So I did what any prudent mom would do.....I called her dad to come pick her up and then enjoyed the rest of the movie! ;) Those 3D glasses sure came in handy as a stylish accessory the day after....

On Friday morning my shopping partner helped me look for a Christmas party dress. I found a dress. She found a backpack. There was no way we were leaving without that backpack.....

She even napped with it around her arm. You never know when you might need a map while you're sleeping...

We definitely needed it post-nap for our trip to the park. Good thing we had some fruit snacks and a map for our one block walk to the playground....

Come Saturday morning there really were no words to describe how stoked I was about the Christmas weekend ahead of us. My to-do list was rather long but I welcomed it since I had plenty of time to cross off those items that had stacked up. In true Christmas eve eve eve fashion I began to question whether I had picked out just the right gifts for all of our loved ones. This happens every year at the last minute. I do my best to get all shopping done by mid-December, give myself a big pat on the back, wrap them up a couple weeks in advance and marvel at the beauty of all the pretty packages under the tree.........and then inevitably convince myself that I need to buy more. And then I do. And then I kick myself while I'm digging the wrapping paper back out to pretty up the new pile of gifts. And then I'm really DONE when Riley walks in and says "didn't you say you were done shopping a month ago???" Yes, honey, I have a problem. While I was out on my last minute shopping excursion I realized that Lil Red might just be the key to me overcoming my problem. She was in no mood to be browsing through stores. Well, I guess I need to give her some credit. It wasn't ALL bad......

Innocent enough, right?

Um, no. 

No crying in the first store. Just wiggling around on the floor in her new white tights as I cringed. I continued cringing as she frolicked around the playground across the street from our first stop. I hovered like I'd never hovered before. I was NOT going to let her rip her new dress during her impromptu play session. I'm obviously all about the fun! ;) She didn't seem to mind her neurotic mother....

Our second stop was a bit challenging. Whew. I felt like I'd just ran a marathon after juggling her, my purse, my bags and trying to keep her out of the merchandise. She was getting ramped up even more during our stop at ACE. I should've just turned around and headed home at that point.....

But I didn't. Nope, what I did do was endure the most embarrassing parent moment in 29 months of Hallie's little life. I could feel the glares from the other shoppers. Their eyes were searing through me saying "control your heathen!" I was trying. Trust me. But my heavens, I'm not even good at disciplining in the privacy of my own home let alone in a crowded store full of people. Miss thang did get a spanking on our way to the car. I could not get out of that store fast enough! She confessed to her dad that she had been a "bad girl" when we got back to the house. And don't even think for a moment that Santa wouldn't have been disappointed in her shenanigans once we got home. I was busy preparing some lunch in the kitchen when I heard a loud BANG! I turned to find Hallie cowered down over the candle holder that had been pushed over. There was no doubt that she knew she'd been bad. I couldn't help but snicker as she side-stepped behind the tree and turned her head away in hopes that I wouldn't see her....

"Elf on the Shelf did it, mom!"

A little shut-eye did my cantankerous little elf some good. Quite a bit of good actually. She was chipper and full of giggles after waking up from a nap. In hopes of saving some steam for cooking later that night I took the easy route and ordered pizza. The pizza thief was thrilled about my choice....

She stayed busy for quite some time picking the toppings off the pizza and not letting a piece get past her grubby little hands.....

If you want to enjoy your slice of pizza then make sure not to sit next to Hal gal. She will stop at nothing to get her hands on all of your toppings! ;) I even found her here looking for leftovers.....

Thursday, Friday and Saturday FLEW BY!!! No really, they were just a complete blur of free time and fun. The second half of "Christmas break" is flying by as well......it's been an amazing time so far and I can't wait to share it with the blog world!