The Day it Was December
Added at 9:57am and filed under Oh Mama, family, gaming
I cannot believe it’s the first of December. Where the hell did the rest of 2009 go?
I’m usually pretty good when it comes to Christmas. I give myself plenty of time to consider and purchase gifts, and S’s presents are usually all wrapped up – Ha! Great pun! – by the first weekend of December at the latest. This year? Not so much. I have a handful of stuff boxed up in the spare room and . . . well, that’s it. Pretty lame. We haven’t even really decided what to get him yet. Every year to date he’s had a thing, you know? Spiderman or Doctor Who or SpongeBob – something particular that he’s all chatty and obsessed with. But this year there’s nothing; he still has a passing interested in Who and Spiderman, but this is the first year where he’s all teenagery and meh about stuff. His main loves right now are football and video games and whilst this isn’t a tragedy or anything (you can imagine where the love of video games has come from!), it does make him harder to buy for, not to mention more expensive. We’ve flirted with the idea of a puppy (YES I know dogs are for life, not just for Christmas, but trust me we’ve wanted a dog for YEARS) but I won’t have one until M’s dogproofed our gardens and I know our home is safe. He keeps promising he’ll do it but promptly doesn’t – much like my missing bathroom floor.
(Aside: do you know I haven’t had flooring in the bathroom for TWO AND A HALF FUCKING YEARS? No, that’s not an exaggeration. We have had nasty bare floorboards for years and they’re not the rustic, beautiful kind, either.)
Where was I? Oh yeah – the dog. So I won’t get a dog unless I’m certain it can’t get out, as we back onto a very busy road. So then we thought about a little aquarium for his room, some pretty fish to help S learn how to look after things, teach him about responsibility, but M pulls a face every time I mention it, so it’s like . . . okay, smartarse, can you suggest something else? And then he goes all quiet, avoids my eyes and changes the subject.
Talking of whom, I haven’t a clue what to buy my husband, either – nor him me, for that matter. There’s nothing particularly I want other than a game or DVD or two, and I hate having/buying stuff for the sake of it. We have kickass tickets to see Paul McCartney next month, which – as I’ve hearted him forever, ever since I was a little kid listening to the Beatles with my dad – is honestly the best gift I could’ve asked for, Christmas or otherwise. We also have tickets to see Billy Connolly in late January, which is all kinds of awesome. And whilst it’s nice to have something tangible, trust me – these tickets cost a bomb and made me infinitely smiley. Give me a voucher so I can pick up Bayonetta in the new year and I’m set. Honestly.
Anyway, I’m not the only busy one; the school timetable has exploded and I’ve felt l like I’ve handed over hundred of pounds this week to fund S’s festive activities, funding for everything from raffle tickets to pantomime trips to (sigh) church visits. We spent the weekend trawling around trying to source a costume for S’s Christmas play. In previous years he’s been a reindeer, a king, a Paige – all nice, Christmasy things, I’m sure you’ll agree – but this year? This year he’s an alien narrator. Yeah, you read that right – AN ALIEN. Quite what’s festive about a goddamn alien I have no idea, and I can confirm that – going by the complete absence of alien outfit online and off – the stores don’t know, either. Alien costumes are decidedly lacking in the dress-up racks this year.
So today’s he’s gone off to school today with a carefully labeled Link costume – and by Link, I mean one of the Monsters Vs Aliens variety, rather than a badass, princess-saving one. I hope that the teacher meant it when she said that the costume could be any style or colour – I suspect what I sent him in with today was a bit of a stretch. Heh. I could’ve made one but seriously . . . my creativity doesn’t bend that way. If he’d gone today with a homemade costume it would’ve involved a saucepan and acres of kitchen foil . . . and I love my son too much to send him in looking like that.
Comments: (8)
8 Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Comments Are Closed
To prevent comment and trackback spam, all entries here automatically close the comment form after seven days.
If you are interested in adding a comment to a closed entry, no problem - simply contact me with your comment and I will add it for you!
On 1 December, 2009 at 5:29 pm, Ash said:
YAY! Another update! Haha. :P
What kind of dog would you get, do you think?
A fish or two actually isn’t a bad idea for a first time pet… either a fish or a lizard, I would think… though with a lizard you’d have to clean the tank more often.
That’s funny about your bathroom… I always think I’m the only one who winds up with some unfinished thing in the house I want fixed but never gets fixed because people are too busy procrastinating to do anything about it. :P
On 1 December, 2009 at 5:30 pm, Ash said:
Nice layout BTW! I think I forgot to comment on it in the last entry. It’s very pretty and neat. :)
On 1 December, 2009 at 6:20 pm, Tsubomi said:
An alien in a Christmas play? xD; Oh goodness, how cute.
Oh… Remember that meme thing about making/getting/whatevering things for people before the end of the year… :D yeah I finally gotta do that (I love procrastination). So could you send me an address to send stuff to? I don’t know if you’ll be able to see my e-mail address through this thing here, so if you need a secure place to post it you could probably message me on Livejournal.
On 1 December, 2009 at 9:10 pm, Vixx said:
^ OMG. I’d COMPLETELY forgotten about that. Um . . . whoops. Think I may have to roll my promises over til next year!
Don’t rush to do me, Tsubomi – I feel bad that I haven’t reciprocated. I’ll drop you my address, but don’t feel obliged!!
Ash – I dunno what breed. I’ve grown up with German Shepherds, but I think that might be too much for our first dog, so probably something small and yappy. :)
Thanks for the kind words about the layout!
V xx
On 2 December, 2009 at 12:50 am, Audrey said:
An Alien? Seriously!? That is nuts! Not to mention inconvenient in the slightest, argh. I had many costumes of the “saucepan and tinfoil” variety growing up, and it’s really best to avoid it in my opinion!
As for the dog idea, I think waiting make a lot of sense if your house and yard are unsafe. Although a dog would be an awesome addition for you guys! (: I recommend my favorite breed a Welsh Pembrooke Corgi. Here’s a brief pack of adorable puppies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsg8JccRZCw
And as for gifts… well all I can do is sympathize. Men and growing kids are tough to buy for. I have most all of my shopping done too, but am still unsure what to get for my man. I hate just getting something “run of the mill” for him. Hmmph.
On 2 December, 2009 at 6:37 am, Char said:
December, ugh. I loathe this time of year seriously. I’m not festive for unknown reasons, lol. R’s birthday is on the 4th, so trust me I haven’t bought anything for his birthday nor Christmas for anyone. Every year I try to plan early to a great big FAIL.
OK no floors in over 2 year, no pumpkin this can’t be true?! Ugh I would have flipped out if it was more than a week.
I have the same love for my son too, and for that I’m always volunteered for cupcakes for EVERY holiday *sigh*
On 2 December, 2009 at 2:40 pm, Sharon said:
Yay, you’re back :) And with a shiny new layout too.
WTF is an alien narrator? I remember the good old days when all you needed was a tea towel on your head and, voila! – a shepherd.
Think it’s a great idea to start off with a couple of fish then work your way up to the dog (labrador would be my choice, very friendly but very big!)
On 2 December, 2009 at 7:58 pm, Vixx said:
Shiny? Really? Yay – thanks Sharon!
Thanks for the dog suggestions, guys. We’ve been thinking possibly a retriever or a lab – they’re good family dogs.
And I swear I’m not lying about my floor, Char. I’ll posted you a pic when I remember. :p
V xx