After all the miserable stuff that's happened over the past two weeks, I decided that our family needed some fun anticipation to replace the stress.  The kids big gift this year is a wii and I decided not to wrap it and put it under the tree.  What I did decide was to torture them.  That's why you have children, isn't it?  :)


 So I got out an old wardrobe box.  The bigger the better for this project.  In the very bottom I placed Clue #1 and then filled the box to the top with newspaper.   Trying to wrap a  box this large was an adventure, let me tell you.  A big bow was placed on top and the whole thing was maneuvered into the space between the tree and the fireplace.

The clues will lead them all over the house on Christmas morning.  I'm using nursery rhymes and doctor suess rhymes to lead them back and forth.  It's going to be great fun.

The knowledge that there is a huge, huge present with their names on it is killing them.  The guesses of what's in the box have been pretty fun to hear as well.  One of them actually thought there was a puppy all wrapped up in it!

Ah yes, this kind of stress is much better than the stress of multiple family visits to the ER!
 

Little Black Rain Cloud

Do you ever feel like you've got Charlie Brown's Black Rain Cloud following you?  That's exactly how I feel right about now. 

 

First there was my trip to the ER on the 3rd, then my son's trip to the ER on the 9th.  My parents both got sick and then my father went to the ER last week too for a stricture in his throat.  

THEN,  I got a call today from my Mom.  Dad drove himself to the ER again for chest pains.  This is not the first time that he's had heart problems, so he knows the warning signs.  They've admitted him and given him a room for monitoring.  It's two hours away and I have no one who can watch the kids so I can't just take off and go sit with or spell Mom at the hospital.  

Oh, and also, my husband has a nasty cold / flu bug right now too.

Is it just me, or is there a little black rain cloud following my family around?  Aaaaagh!