It's the Thought That Counts, But. . . .

I know by now I really shouldn't have such high expectations about gift-giving from my husband. We have been married for twenty years, and I can honestly say that he has never given me a gift, either for Christmas or my birthday, I that I actually wanted, asked for or was pleased with. I should just not have any expectations and then maybe one of these years, he will get something really great. It seems he always loses his mind when it comes to giving me a gift. We have been together for 21 years, we have four children and we talk about our likes and dislikes all the time. I just don't get why he gives me gifts that he wouldn't even give a stranger. This year, I should have expected something was amiss when he kept insisting my food chopper was broken. It isn't and I had no desire or need to replace it, but every time I was in the kitchen, he kept trying to get me to say it was broken. I thought it was strange, but didn't think he was trying to send some sort of subliminal message to me to make me say I needed another one. Sure enough, one of my presents from him was another chopper. Very weird. The other puzzler of a gift was two cardboard boxes. You know, the kind people who do that scrapbooking stuff use to organize their pictures? I'm really just guessing about that because I truthfully don't know what people do with those boxes. Sometimes those kind of boxes are very pretty and could be used for other things, but the boxes I got aren't pretty at all. Just sort of beige. That was a real head scratcher. My daughter was with him when he bought those things, and she asked him why he was buying that stuff and he didn't answer her. She told him she didn't think any of the items were all that useful to me, but deferred to his wishes; as we all do for fear of his angry outbursts.

I don't want to sound selfish. Really it would be better if he wouldn't try to give me anything at all because at least I wouldn't have to be embarrassed about trying to act like I like them. It is a terrible position to be put in. I dream about getting a nice pair of pajamas, or slippers, or a sweater, or socks--anything but a kitchen gadget! For twenty years I have tried to help him give me something that isn't a waste of money. I have told him outright what to get, I have written things down, I have asked the girls to guide him to what would be a good gift, all to no avail. He just wants to give these strange and awful things. Oh, I almost forgot, he did give me something kind of, well, good, I guess. I got a complete set of "Barney Miller" episodes. I really do need to lower my expectations!

Zhu Zhu Pets

Once again, one of my kids wants a toy that is impossible to get. This year, one of my daughters wants a Zhu Zhu Pets toy. Actually, I was a little smarter this year than in past years and purchased some extra Zhu Zhu Pets items when I was buying my daughter's birthday gifts, however, I was outsmarted by that little stinker, because she wants the Zhu Zhu Pets hamster car for Christmas and that was about the only piece of the set I didn't get. Our local Toys R Us store hasn't had any zhu zhu toys in weeks. I have been trying to bid on a car on Ebay for awhile now, but I always seem to be outbid. This craziness happens to me every year with at least one of my kids. We have lived through the original Tickle Me Elmo (I still have that) frenzy, the Furbies mess, the 3 foot tall dollhouse that was nowhere to be found, the Cozy Coupe craze, and of course the Wii Fit silliness from last year. The thing that is the most difficult about not being able to find a certain wished-for toy is that my kids always believed (my youngest still believes) that even though I might not be able to find it in the store, Santa will be able to bring it. They just don't make life easy, do they? Anyway, I'm not too worried about not finding the car. I still have a couple of hamsters and a wheel, and a little sleeping bag thing. Santa is bringing something much cooler than Zhu Zhu pets anyway.

I Love Marshall's

In my last post, I was complaining about the awful shopping experience I had at Kohl's department store. Today I would like to report that I LOVE Marshall's. I have always liked shopping at Marshall's, and TJMaxx as well. But yesterday I hit the jackpot at Marshall's. I kept finding really good stuff at really good prices. I wasn't intending to purchase anything for myself, but I ended up getting two pairs of jeans and one pair of Dockers, but the real bargain was a shirt I got for my sixteen year old daughter. She likes the Juicy Couture brand of clothing and accessories. I think the prices are outrageous--even at the outlet we used to live near in Virginia. Anyway, yesterday I found a Juicy tee shirt that had originally been $68.00 (can you believe that????) and it was on the rack at Marshall's for $7.00. I was going to keep it back and give it to her for her birthday in December, but I just couldn't wait. I also found a cute Juicy Couture canvas bag at Marshall's a few weeks ago that I got for her--that will definitely be a birthday gift. It was originally $75.00 and I got it for $30.00. I just love having a great shopping expericence. It makes me feel so much better about buying brand name items if I don't pay full price for them. I think today I will make a trip to TJMaxx to see what kind of things they have.

Kohl's Shopping Trip to Hell

I like to shop. I like to shop especially if I don't have all my kids with me. I decided to go to Kohl's Department store because I hadn't been there for awhile. I even remembered to bring my 20% off coupon with me. I was looking forward to a pleasant couple of hours browsing around the store. Pleasant was not what my experience was , however. The first place I stopped was the Junior department since I have three girls who are in that age/size range. I was terribly disappointed in the clothing that was there to choose from. Skinny jeans, sleazy tops, hole laden jeans of all washes, but not a single thing that any of my girls could or would wear. I personally don't mind the holey jeans but the dress codes at my kids schools don't allow them, so I'm not inclined to purchase something that they are only going to be able to wear on the weekends. I decided to check things out in the Misses department because I can always use something new to wear. The problem with my size clothes is that they are so old lady looking, or they simply fit me poorly. I don't know who they use for fitting the Sonoma (too tight in my thighs) brand, the Gloria Vanderbilt (too long in the crotch) brand, or the freaking Lee "Perfect Fit" brand (they don't fit me anywhere!). None of those clothes fit me. I felt like such a failure! It seems like Kohl's prices have gone up too.
Not only was I feeling like a fat slob at the store, it must have been "bring your whiny, need-to-have-a-nap toddler day" too! Every time I turned around, there was a mom dragging around a whiny, unhappy kid! One mother even walked away from her two toddlers who were wrestling around on the floor in the underwear department. She was busy talking about a Spiderman vs. Hulk costume or something on the phone and simply walked away from the brats rolling around among the underpants. At that point, I called it quits on my shopping trip. As a matter of fact, I don't think I will return to Kohl's anytime soon. It was too much like walking through the gates of hell.

Waiting 'Til the Last Minute!

This is soooo not like me, but I have waited until the last minute to do my shopping. There's not much time for me to write about it here, but I still need to run to Kohl's, Target, American Eagle, Old Navy, and Finish Line Sports. All this to do and so little time. Most of my time is eaten up in traffic and travel time to get to the stores. Not knowing my way around very well doesn't help me much either. To top things off, my mother-in-law is here for a three week visit and I feel like I need to entertain her. I think I will leave her to her own devices today and trust that she will get my 6 year old off the bus at 11:25 this morning. I've got to get going! Have a very merry one!

Safe Toys for Christmas

I have recently been doing a little research on some of the toys and electronics my children are interested in receiving for Christmas. Let me tell you, what I have learned is that researching for information and searching for safe toys feels like an impossible task. My biggest problem is that my children are older. They range in age from 15 to 6. They still want toys and games for Christmas, but all the information out there is for infant and toddler toys. Are older children immune to the effects of lead, arsenic, and all the other heinous chemicals the Chinese are trying to poison us with? My youngest daughter wants a dollhouse. I have been hardpressed to find anything that has proof that the wooden ones don't have lead based paint and that the plastic ones are safe. My eight year old wants some Hannah Montana stuff--also a concern. My older ones want games and electronics, but who is to say that they are safe? I decided earlier this year that I would try not to purchase anything with a "made in China" stamp on it. It seems that everything is made in China or has parts that are made in China. It has been an impossible goal to set for myself. The other thing that is frustrating is that American made toys are few and very limited in scope. Not only are American toys hard to find, they are also terribly expensive! So, what am I to do? I don't have a solution yet, but if I come up with one, I'll let you know~