Catching up after the holiday/birthday THING...

Christmas was great. On Christmas Eve, we let the kids open their Christmas jammies. Alex's reaction was priceless. His jammies are Spiderman 3, complete with ?webbed? arms, and he immediately threw them on and hit the hallway to BE Spiderman. Mercedes enjoyed hers as well, but she didn't quite flip like Alex.

I woke up at 2 a.m. Christmas morning with the sudden realization of what Corey had gotten me. I had done so well. My present had been sitting UNWRAPPED in the trunk of MY car for several days, and I was never even tempted to look. I honestly didn't even think about it, although I knew how much it cost. And I was right, I just never thought he'd get THIS for me:

WOOHOO! You can bet when it was my turn to open that one, that paper was RIPPED off.

Mercedes was totally thrilled with all her electronics. I got her a camera that will dock with her photo printer (FINALLY) and an MP3 player and she's pretty much in hog heaven. Alex is, too. The PS2 - in spite of being used/rebuilt - has pretty much been on non-stop since Christmas morning. I'd complain, but with Corey's schedule still not being on track, at least Alex has some distraction.

Mercedes's birthday party was damn near a bust, salvaged only by an arcade/pizza date with her boyfriend, brother, and dear old mom, and the discovery of a cell phone on her bunk in her room. We also had yesterday, her ACTUAL birthday, where I gave her some tops that she'd been eying for awhile and the flash drive that I have been wanting for me (LOL) so that she could have it to take computer-based homework back and forth to school. She didn't know she wanted it until she had it, but now she's got it all decorated with the spiffy stickers it came with, and she's thrilled about it. Oh, and the ice cream cake. Who doesn't love ice cream cake?

I also took Mercedes and Alex to Laughlin. What with her birthday actually LANDING on seafood buffet night, how could I resist? Afterwards, I treated them to a movie, since our theater here in town is now defunct, and we won't likely have another theater for at least a year and a half.

Today is officially quit day, after I've had some sleep. Wish us luck. No more smokie.

I'm ready to see this year out and the new one in, although with Mercedes turning 12, I'm not too anxious for it to pass. How little time I have before she decides that SHE, as opposed to I, knows everything. How little time I have before she thinks that I'm completely stupid. And how little time I have before she's all grown up and making ALL her decisions for herself. Please, PLEASE, let me give her the tools she needs to make the best life possible for herself.

the last trail...the next path