Oh Christmas Tree.....

WARNING - This is a REALLY long explanation of a REALLY long day!

I love putting up the Christmas tree, I am usually bugging Michael starting about the day after Thanksgiving. The whole "real" Christmas tree thing forces me to involve his help. I am not really the type that likes to wait for things and so usually I just do it myself. So I guess it is for the best that I do actually NEED his help for this one. Otherwise he might very well get home and see the tree up and miss out on the whole thing.

This year however for what ever reason... it did not go well. Usually my kids LOVE putting up the tree it is totally a highlight. This year- not so much. We made Haley come home from playing at a friends house and she cried the WHOLE way to the tree lot. Which in turn made Dylan cry. He was mad we didn't have any spider man band-aids at the house (( I know, what kind of mother am I... out of the exact kind of band aids he wants exactly when he wants them. How could I )) Finally I promise him we will stop and pick some up while we are out. This quiets him down but not the girls. Yes, I said girls, Haley is crying so loudly now that Avery has started crying too just because Haley is. (Why didn't I turn the truck around now) So we get to the tree lot, put the kids in gloves and hats and coats ( I am totally proud of myself for not only locating said items but remembering them too) I made no difference what-so-ever, both the older two cried the whole time about how cold they were etc, etc. We get the tree and throw it in the back of the truck. (So this year I was very excited about not needing to tie the tree to the top of the car! ) I now remember that we don't have enough lights to do the tree. I used a couple of strands on another project so we stop at Target so I can get some. The kids are all still crying because they are so cold... so much to Michael's dismay he slows down and I leap from the car like someone escaping from prison and run into the store. I did not want one person in the car to be able to speak the fateful words " I want to come" so I literally lept from the car while in motion and made a run for it. I finally find the lights after a not so pleasant encounter with a Target Team Member! (some team) and search in vain for clear lights. Not frosted, or tinted, etc etc. I grab two boxes and make my mad dash outta there. I get back in the car to face the mad people that I had happily just ditched. Ugggg is it over yet. NO!!!! Now it's after six and if you know my family making any of them wait for dinner is never a good idea. Now we have tears over how hungry they are instead of cold. We head to Smith's to grab a chicken and some STUPID.... spider man band aids! I forgot at the last store and now they are on to me. Well before we get to the store they have all made sure that I knew they wanted to come. (Dang it)


Michael offers to keep Avery with him while he gets gas and I head off with the other two. After many threats and new box of spider man band aids we are out! Yippee. Only to get to the car and find a screaming Avery.... she was not so happy that she was left alone. Yikes, what was I thinking. Anyway, we get home feed the kids. Drag in the dripping wet Christmas tree full of little green beetles I have never seen before. I start putting up the lights (since Michael is HORRIBLE at this and has since been banned from helping) I think that was his whole plan all along. He secretly knew that a couple of years putting the lights on really badly would somehow exempt him from putting up lights ever again. He is so sneaky... either that or REALLY smart. I put up the light and take great care to weave them in and out of all the branches. In doing so I run out of lights.... I am one strand short. I am wondering if I should un do them and stretch them out more when I notice the top strand of lights is out too. I have seriously never had a strand go out before and I am not sure what I should do now. I try to fix the strand and in the process loose a couple of bulbs and ruin some others. When I finally convince my husband to help me fix the lights he is happily reminding me he's banned from. We have no more lights to switch them with. After fresh tantrums from the kids (now mommy too) Michael offers to go back to the store and get some more lights. ( He is so good to me!) Finally after 11 o'clock I have now got all the lights on the tree. So tomorrow after church we can do the ornaments. WOW!!!! We get real trees because Michael loves them so much. After this year maybe he will change his mind. On the bright side, putting on the ornaments went very well today. It was very fun to see my baby help put the ornaments on the tree. I am sure one day we will laugh at this.

These cute pictures almost make the whole thing worth it! ALMOST