Falling For REI

Jack had his Christmas program at school yesterday. He really was a dog and was listed in the program as one of the "leads". He spent a lot of time with his hands in his pockets or fidgeting with the jingle bell necklace he was provided with for the last song. When he went on stage to lick the baby Jesus he forgot to put his mask over his face, but he did get a big laugh when he pretended to lick the baby!

I tried to get Jack to forget about the reception after the program, but no such luck. So, we swung by the reception, grabbed a cookie and headed to the mall. I was going to finish my Christmas shopping come hell or high water. While we were at the mall we gave Santa another try. We got there around 1:30, all of the preschoolers must have been home napping and the big kids were still at school so there was no line! We walked right up which never happens at this Santa! It was Deja Vu all over again, as soon as I unbuckled Ben and Lauren they started crying. Santa was able to calm Ben down, but Lauren wasn't having it. We now have a picture of Ben looking pissed off, Jack smiling like a game show host and Lauren all out crying. By the time we left Santa Ben was high-fiving Santa and saying, "See ya Santa, thank you!” Santa got greedy and tried to high-five Lauren who snubbed him. I hope Santa still brings her something! We ran into JC Penney's for a shirt for my father-in-law, then to Victoria's Secret for a couple more gifts. By the end of our trip my legs were getting really tired, but I had to keep going! I stopped by a Mexican restaurant for a gift certificate for my brother-in-law then headed to REI for a couple gifts for "the boys" (the male halves of our couple friends). I knew what I needed, Travis showed it to be online, so I ran in with all three kids in tow, grabbed the goods and headed to the cash register. Ben and Jack noticed that I was busy paying and saw it as an opportunity to run amuck. I kept my eye on them as I finished my transaction, then it was time to go! I was carrying Lauren and had both boys following me, as soon as I got to the door Ben took off back into the store. I turned around, caught my foot on the rug that wasn't quite flat and fell down. We aren't just talking about tripping, I all out fell with Lauren in my arms. My purchases went flying, Ben stopped running to ask "What happened mommy? Why did you fall down?" and Jack just froze completely horrified. I will admit, I was a little horrified too, how embarrassing! I twisted my ankle; hit my knee, hip and elbow. Luckily, Lauren was okay, but she is still telling anyone who will listen about how she fell at the camping store. I should have just gone home after the mall when I could tell my legs were getting tired, but Nooo, not me, must keep going!

The good news is that I officially finished my Christmas shopping last night with a final online purchase for my neighbor that baby-sits the kids twice a week (for FREE). We bought him a $100 gift card that can be used to buy major league baseball tickets at the Rangers or his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. They actually charged me $5 to ship the gift card. I was pretty annoyed, but I was down right hacked off when I saw that purchases over $99 shipped for free. I spent several minutes surfing around the sight to figure out how to redeem the free shipping. Come to find out the gift card does not qualify for free shipping. Why? I don't get it, if you spend over $99 on merchandise, that costs real money to ship, you don't have to pay shipping, but if you buy a gift card that could be sent with a 41 cent stamp you still have to pay. Call it a handling charge; just don't tell me that it is shipping!