A Visit from Santa

I finally got my kids' pictures with Santa Claus! Right before Thanksgiving, I took my kids to the mall in Hagerstown because I knew that they had a Santa already. I thought that I would get a picture of them with Santa, until I found out that it was gonna set me back fifteen dollars for one measly four-by-six inch photo. Is that ridiculous or what?


However, Santa decided to make a stop at our subdivision on a fire truck! We were very excited! The kids had a blast, and they even got to sit in the fire engine. Andrew was absolutely ecstatic about sitting in the fire truck. I guess we have a future fire fighter in our family.





The problem that we have faced as our kids have gone around visiting Santa, is that all they seem to want for Christmas is a "Handy Dandy Notebook." This is a problem, because they don't make them anymore. They each got one last year for Christmas because we were able to find them on Ebay for about ten dollars. But this year, the cheapest I have been able to find is twenty. So that would mean forty dollars plus shipping for NOTEBOOKS. I made them notebooks for Halloween, but it was a huge hassle that I am not willing to go through again. I keep trying to explain to my children that there are no Handy Dandy Notebooks for sale, but they just say, "But I want a notebook for Christmas, just like I got last year."

Another problem is that last year, they had torn the notebooks apart within a month. They have wipeoff pages, so it's not like the pages would get all used up. It's just that my kids destroy everything. They seriously ripped out all of the pages. So, I am not paying forty bucks for notebooks that they are just going to destroy in seconds. I'm a little nervous about Christmas this year, though. I really hope that my kids will be too excited about all of their other presents to be concerned about these notebooks. But what if they aren't? How do I explain to a toddler that Santa can't make him a notebook? How am I supposed to handle a toddler who doesn't want any of his other presents because they aren't a Handy Dandy Notebook? EEeek!

Please Tell Me That This Is Just A Phase!

It has come to my attention that my last post may have led some to believe that I may be pregnant! I could not be further from being pregnant. "Pogchap" is just someone Joseph has apparently added to his list of imaginary friends.


Speaking of imaginary friends, Joseph has an imaginary friend named "Gokagaddy." I am not sure if this is how you spell it. I spelled it phoenetically. Where does he come up with this stuff? My guess is that he misses his friends from Morgantown, so he had to make up a new friend. This friend has been hanging out at our house since we moved. I just wish I new where he got these strange names from - Pogchap and Gokagaddy.


Also, I am a little tired of my kids calling one another Steve (Joseph) and Joe (Andrew). When is this phase going to end?





I made the huge mistake of making my kids Steve and Joe costumes (from Blue's Clues) for Halloween, and ever since they have refused to go by their real names. For a while they would only refer to Brad and I as Diego and Dora, because that was what we dressed up as. They still call us that occasionally, but this Steve and Joe thing doesn't seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. Everyday when they come home from school, the first thing they do is rush to put on the costumes. They have a fit if the costumes are dirty. You should see these things - they are ragged! They have been worn, literally, every single day for over a month. They have to wear their brown dress shoes every day, because that is what Steve and Joe wear. All I do is draw pictures of thinking chairs, Blue's Clues houses, handy dandy notebooks, and crayons all day - yes, I even have to draw a crayon to look like theirs! The whole Blue's Clues addiction used to be kinda cute, but it has just gone way too far. I have to ween them from Blue's Clues. It's fine for them to like this show, but I just want Joseph and Andrew back - I did not give birth to Steve and Joe! Has anyone else ever gone through an obsession like this? I will gladly accept any advice...

The Funny Things My Kids Say...

Sometimes my children say the most hilarious things. Here are some of the things that Joseph and Andrew have said in the past week:

• Joseph: "Daddy, I went to the pretzel store to buy these pretzels."
• Brad: "Oh really. What was the store called?"
• Joseph: "Pretzelvania."

• Joseph: "Daddy we're going to have a new baby."
• Brad: "You don't say."
• Joseph: "Yeah, his name is going to be Pogchap."

• Andrew (very sweetly): "Daddy, I kill you." (We finally figured out that he said this because Brad is always saying, "You guys are killing me.")

• Joseph (as Brad was putting new batteries in one of his toys): "Daddy, batteries aren't included. But now they're included."

• Joseph: "It's time for Blue's Clues. It's nine-eight central."

• Me (as Andrew passes gas while I am changing his diaper): "Andrew, are you letting stinkers?"
• Andrew: "No, I had stinky farts. Two (and he holds up two fingers) stinky farts!"

• Joseph: "Mommy, get me a tissue. There are too many boogers in my nose."

I'm sure that there have been other funny things this week, but everything they say is so funny that it's hard to remember them all!