tntsmomie

Justice had some when I ran in last week. Very cute! And I think they were on sale, buy 2 get the 3rd for free.

Wow! That's wonderful that you're doing this and have been doing it for so long! Very cute turkeys, btw. :) Very creative! :)

I think it's pretty! The lights look very bright and twinkly. And you did a great job decorating. If I didn't think our kittens would use it as a "ride", I'd consider a spinning tree.

I disagree with this...we've tried several recipes from food network's recipe bank and have disliked ALL of them. Granted, most were from Rachel Ray's collection.... BUT, they do have great reviews on them (which I saw afterwards ) so you should be able to find one that sounds good. We normally just buy the big bags of them...what are they, Pepperidge Farms? It's a white bag with dark blue trim. We don't get the cubed kind. My mom always makes hers by melting butter and cooking some celery and onions. Then adding the water, then the stuffing. I absolutely LOVE her stuffing and it's very simple. This year, I'll be using chicken stock instead of water. I keep saying that one of these years I'm going to make it from scratch with day old cubed bread and such. The sausage stuffing recipes I've seen sound so good!

at what I highlighted in pink. I move carts no-problem and always wave and smile when they give me "the look." How dare I move their rather large cart, stuck in the middle of the aisle while there are TWO of us standing there looking at it like we're gonna move it with our minds. The other person's too afraid to touch it, but I have no issues with it. Kill 'em with kindness!

I was just thinking about this on Monday! DD6 and I went grocery shopping at our military commissary. This particular day was unlike any other, in the sense that the commissary was full of older retirees and their spouses. As well as a few moms with small children who were screaming very loudly as they shopped. There were so many times that I said "excuse me" as I tried to get around their carts parked in the middle of the aisle, or they simply were just standing there way too long trying to figure out what soup to buy. I just wanted to push our cart by so we could get done. I got jabbed in the side with an elbow by a man who was at least 2.5 times my age. I couldn't believe it! I know my mom taught me manners. I use them frequently and find it irritating when others don't. It took all I had to not tell this guy how rude he was. I just don't get the lack of manners, appreciation, or even chivalry in men. What happened to allow ladies to go first, or holding doors open? Shopping isn't an excuse to get your frustrations out on others.

I've seen deals for the Wii Fit plus they just put out, but I they're at a military exchange. Not even sure of the price, but do remember there being a sign out for them on sale.

Could you change it so that everyone does something homemade?

Honestly, I don't think there's much you can do other than to respect their wishes and make changes to your plans accordingly. I can relate to money being tight. In years past, we've always felt strapped at the holidays b/c my in-laws tend to spend WAY more on us than we can on them (b/c we have 2 young children). There are so many holidays that I feel guilty about the amount differences, and I'm just now learning to accept it. We do what we can and put lots of thought into what we get. Plus, we have to expense of shipping several boxes cross-country...postage adds up! Whatever your SILs reasons are, she obviously has them, and was a little worried about telling you (sending the email late at night, waiting to respond to your request). Please don't let it worry you too much...

http://www.freelettersfromsantaclaus.com/free_printable_letters_from_santa.asp http://bestsantasletter.com/create-free-letters-from-santa-claus (Just used this one for this year to type and print more personal letters for my kiddos. It's a GREAT site!) http://www.santas-workshop.ws/ (we used this one last year) Hope these help!

BINGO! "Perfect" moms and families don't sell movies.

DH bought himself a Keurig earlier this year and he's the only coffee drinker here. He's loves it! Honestly, what I'd to have is a shopping spree for new clothes. If I could ask for one thing and know Santa would deliver, that'd be it.

I have a funny thought every now and then. How much total is this PS3 and games going to cost? We just spent $100 on DD6's AG Doll (Santa gift)...I'm thinking that's 1/3 the cost??? I have a feeling that the holidays are only going to get more expensive.... You could buy him the controller and tell him to pretend he's playing. Just trying to keep up your sense of humor while you're figuring this all out.

ooh! I just got an email -- Michale's is having a free demo of how to make this really cute advent wreath-type calendar...let me see if I can post a link/picture: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/static?page=holiday-events I'm going to take DD6, so we can see what to do, and make it with her and DS4 over Thanksgiving break. Looks simple and you could certainly add fun/romantic stuff inside (like romantic coupons folded up, hershey kisses, etc).

We've asked family members to "chip in" before, too. Actually, I asked my mom if she wanted to "chip in" on an American Girl Doll for DD6 for her birthday earlier this year, and she actually bought the whole doll. (You know, as opposed to just an arm or something...) It works well, and it means that the relatives who are doing the chipping in don't have to wonder about what to buy your DS. Stress free and light on the postage, too!

I second what rachelb said. Betas are very easy to care for and will adapt rather easily. If you're worried about transitioning the fish, let it "float" at the top of the larger tank in it's bag for 10-15 minutes or so, then release it. Or keep it safe in its pet store cup, and bring it out in the morning maybe with a note from Santa explaining that he asked "Mom" to keep it safe from the cats until DS could safely put it in his tank. We had 2 that we kept for well over a year, and I just rehomed them to a friend b/c our kittens were WAY too curious...so I completely understand about not being able to put it under the tree!

Yep, I immediately thought of putting it a smaller bowl (like a beta). That way, you can tie a nice pretty red ribbon on it and set it near his other gifts. And it'd still show him how great at multi-tasking Santa really is! Find a nice, quiet, out-of-the-way spot for Christmas Eve, then put the fish out after DS has gone to bed. The gift card is a great idea, too!

Yep, we grabbed 4 rolls and I LOVE that they're short rolls. And they really have a ton of paper on them!

Haha! Yeah, I saw that other thread....we're getting spooky. :) You're a mom who's a girl. Double whammy! When men rule an industry, things don't make sense.

When we sold ours, we actually left it hooked up so the guy could try it out. He played with it for a bit, then decided to buy it. You can always ask if they're willing to do that, and if they're not...don't go with their PS3. But yeah, Gamestop is probably best for issues like that. And really...if they know you're looking to drop $$$, and you explain that you need the "mom version of how it works" they should be willing to help you out. I hope it works out for you!

Definitely check Craigslist. We sold DH's PS3 last year for a pretty good price. We had A TON of stuff to go with it (all the Rockband stuff, add-ons, etc plus a million games). Gamestop is a great place to check, too. Dh says he doesn't think they make the backwards compatable ones anymore...so Gamestop or Craigslist is the best. What about eBay? Here's a link to the PS3 site: ($299 msrp) http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3

Sounds fun to me! Could you call (or email) and ask everyone to contribute a favorite holiday story, joke, recipe, etc...then compile them all?

We actually paid more attention this year to the amount spent, then realized that both of our kids are at that age where they'll pay attention more to the # of gifts they have. So we evened it out.

Thank you for posting this! I'd love to share the Holly & Hal Moose movie (Build-A-Bear) with the kiddos. Marked the calendar for the ones we want to watch.

Toys R Us has some really cute and creative craft kits. DD6 loves looking at them when we go.