Where in the world did the time go?

Seriously, it's almost the 15th and I have yet to even finish making my Christmas cards much less get them mailed out. Even the year I had emergency brain surgery on Thanksgiving and didn't get out of rehab until the second week of December I was more on it than this. Granted my mother in law was here and taking charge of the household (the one time I was happy that she did so) but even still. I am so not up to snuff this year.

The good news? I'm pretty much done Christmas shopping. I haven't mailed the stuff that needs to be mailed though. I have purchased and wrapped it all though, a miracle unto itself, but I dread the post office right now. Presents for me and the hubby though, that's kinda sketchy at best. The kid is still making noise about Santa's existence. I am totally willing to give up the ghost on this one but only if she is ready too. It's still up in the air but I'm sure that by next year the kids will all know. Either way I'm ready for it, I hate having to try and get other rolls of Christmas paper and hiding it so she doesn't catch on. I am going to use stamps to sign "From Santa" on the tags so she doesn't recognize our handwriting. She's a smart cookie and she's keeping an eye out for these things ya know.

I think I'd be ok if it wasn't for the fact that one has to keep up with the normal every day chores of life. During the season of hell there is no time to do the things that need to get done like laundry and food shopping while trying to maneuver through the parking lots of hell filled with Christmas shoppers. Oh and the parties and Secret Santas? Like we don't already have enough to do without adding more crap to the list? Oh please. Fortunately I decline to do the SS thing at work every year and the hubby can whip out a homemade apple pie all by himself (oh yeah he's a keeper). Otherwise it'd be something premade bought from the grocery store and I am not going out there again.

So the deal with our Christmas presents. I'm not even really interested in getting any because it's too much of a pain in the ass (yeah, I'm a Scrooge)but again, it's the kid thing. She would be insanely disappointed if we got to few presents so this is where I cave. I'm totally cool with the tree thing and all the lights. The tree we did last weekend and the lights we lagged on. We finally put those up today. Or rather I conned the hubby into putting them up and told him I'd run the shopping errands while he was doing that. Yes, he got the better end of the deal. No the lights were not up by the time I came home 2 hours later.

You see ever year during December we do this thing on the dining room table. The table we never use. We get jigsaw puzzles and put them together as a family. Why only during December? I haven't a clue. The kid has been really good at puzzles since she was little so we always get 1000 pieces puzzles and we can all still do them. The hubby has gotten really into it this year. And that's what he was doing while he was supposed to be doing the lights. I got home and started doing them and I guess he felt guilty and helped. Which is good since I am short and he is not. I can only get so high with the foot stool until bad things start happening. And just so you know it wasn't just the lights he was distracted from he went back to the puzzle as soon as he could.

And he still needed to make that apple pie ya know (that image of the pie was taken from the net since it was too dark by the time ours was done for a pic). So, me being me, I started peeling the apples. And the guilt got to him again and he jumped on board. Before you think I took the hard job though realize that I have in my arsenal (I LOVE kitchen gadgets, especially Pampered Chef) an apple peeler/corer/slicer. These things are so dang nifty I just don't know how to tell you if you've never seen one in action. It peels them in one long continuous string of peel and my dogs have figured out if they just get the end that it keeps on coming. They love apples and it's like the magic apple machine to them. So dang funny to watch.

Al right, so now that you know I am hella behind how fares it in your fine worlds? All done shopping by Black Friday? Everything mailed, even the cards, by the first week of December? Go on, tell me how much farther behind I am than you are. It'll make you feel better, swearsies.