Combining Christmas

Christmas has been on my brain for the last few days because I have been trying to get lists together to hand out to the fam. You would think that it would be an easy task, but I not only have to make up a list for myself, but I have Maddie, Charlotte and Dan to make lists for as well. Normally its like pulling teeth to get gift ideas outta Dan.....he's always like, "I don't need anything," silly boy doesn't realize that gift giving is not about fulfilling needs, "What do you WANT?" I ask him. This year he actually sat down and helped me with the list.

Typically when it comes to our little family, we make a budget (which I normally end up blowing) and make lists of moderately priced items and we buy everything off the lists.....the specifics are up to the buyer i.e. sweater color, perfume scent, wallet shape, man tool brand etc. But on Christmas morning there are a lot of colorful and shiny packages to rip open. This year Dan and I threw around the idea of taking our budget and pooling it together to buy something that we both would like/use/need. Now that Dan is doing school on line, he spends his evenings and nights on the computer which means that I can not be on the computer and on some days the only time I actually have to be on the computer is after both girls are in bed. So its a conflict of interests.....I am interested in being on the computer, and Dan is interested in doing his homework which just so happens has to be done on the computer.

So, we decided to bite the bullet and do it. We bought a lap top. I am really excited about it because now I can work on my photos or blog, or just surf the net all from the comfort of my couch no less. But I'm also a little sad because this is it for us and Christmas. There will be very little (if anything) wrapped and under the tree. There will be no surprises. Maybe I'll wrap the lap top up and put it under the tree lol. I know I'll get over it, especially when I'm sitting on the couch and photo editing and not bugging Dan while he is doing his homework, but its still a little sad. I wish we were rolling in dough so we could have it both ways, but the lap top is definetly a good choice for us. Maybe we can still buy stocking stuffers for each other.....I'll have to consult my boss.

The lap top should arrive by early next week, so Merry Christmas to us! And to you too!