~My Random Little Mind~

Maybe it was the chill in the air, or the cold floor against my slipper-less feet. Maybe it was the pumpkin spice wallflower wafting through my living room, or the white foggy mist covering the world outside my frosty windows. Maybe it's the quality time I spent making cards, flip books, and browsing the world wide web for gifts. Whatever it was, I woke up this morning and the world felt like Christmas is coming.

It's probably high time I take down all my Halloween decorations, no? But is it too early to add the Christmas lights to our decor? I promise not to turn them on until after Thanksgiving. The mass amounts of Stephens Hot Cocoa I've been consuming, along with the quality time I've spent working on family blog books might have something to do with my Christmas spirit too. I love reliving Christmases past. I also spent some time researching date ideas for Friday night. Did you know that the downtown outdoor ice skating rink opens Friday night? What is more Christmas than ice skating?

Did you know that it's my fifth wedding anniversary on Friday? Five Years! We went to the temple last Saturday with our ward and I couldn't help but think about how we had been in almost the exact same place five years before. Only this time I wasn't nervous or freaked out or anything. It made it all that much more special. While there I also ran into the parents of a friend from BYU. His name was Casey, but Nick and I endearingly call him the rock boy. (No I never dated him, but my college BFF did, and well, she would understand.) Funny the places you find people.

Since we were already in Omaha we made a day of it and took the kids to the zoo. Probably one of the coolest places in Midwest. Two hours is never long enough, but it was totally worth the $11 we paid thanks to our reciprocal zoo passes. Then we were off to dinner with Sammy, my BFF from high school, down in the Old Market. Once again, the babies fell in love instantly and Sammy became and honorary auntie for the evening. We took the babies down the super fast slides next to the river walk, and Sammy and I talked about going there for group dates back in the day. Funny that we couldn't remember who on earth our dates were, but we remembered those super fast slides! Our visit was much too short, but worth every minute.

On the way home we talked about the temple. We talked about the sleeping kids in the back seat. We talked about the future. And we talked about what to do Friday night. I hired a babysitter. That's right. HIRED... I've never done that before. So we better make this night a to remember! Nick wants to go Christmas shopping for the kiddos. Sigh. Maybe I can convince him to go ice skating with me first and then hit up the toy isles.

What is your strategy for Christmas gifts? I read a Christmas present formula for your kids on Light Refreshments Served: something to read, something to wear, something to play with, and something they totally want but think they'll never get. My parents always did the big token gift, with little ones as filler. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I have a feeling that if I don't come up with a strategy I'm going to end up spending twice as much as I plan to, just like last year.

For now I'm going to flip on over to Pandora and see if they have a Christmas music mix going. After five years of listening to Nick's favorite Christmas music I'm ready to add some new artists to the repertoire. What is your favorite Christmas song and by what performer?

If you've ever wondered how my random little mind works, you've now seen the webs it can spin. Don't even think about all the out there stuff that I edited out for you.

Here is the obligatory unrelated to the post photo... I just thought she looked cute... and now that I look at it again, possibly teething with all that drool dripping off her chin. Could that be a Christmas outfit my little lady is wearing?

See, Christmas to Christmas my brain has come full circle.