I don’t really want to write about how I’m siiiiick and I don’t feeeel good, but yeah, that’s basically what’s going on here. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and got some (pregnancy-safe) antibiotics, so I’m starting to feel a little better. Hooray for that.
I honestly would’ve gone to the office today, except I still have these frequent coughing fits (thank you, bronchitis!), and that just seems sort of rude when you sit in an open cubicle environment, no? I mean, the guy who trims his fingernails in his cubicle makes me want to claw my eyeballs out of my face, so I imagine that this whole lung-hacking noise that I make every few minutes would be, uh, somewhat distracting for my co-workers, to put it mildly. Anyway, I have a remote desktop connection to my office PC, so I’m still getting all of my work done, even though I’m not physically there. It’s fine.
So! Onto other stuff:
1.) Tomorrow we’re taking Catie to see “Toy Story 3 on Ice.” None of us have ever been to an ice show, so that should be exciting. I’m curious to see if the ice show makes me weep like the movie does. (And remembering how Catie tends to get anxious in crowded theaters, just like her dad, I bought nosebleed seats way in the back. Which is actually kind of lucky, since it’ll also ensure that I’ll be far enough away that I won’t distract any ice skaters with my hacking cough.)
2.) In the spirit of good-behavior motivation, my sister bought us The Elf on The Shelf. I know it’s really popular and a lot of parents say that their kids love it (and I appreciate the gift – THANK YOU, TRACY!), but… does anyone else find it creepy? The whole “there’s a dead-eyed elf doll watching everything you do & reporting it back to Santa while you’re asleep” thing? And then he’s in a different location every day? I admit that I have issues with dolls (that most recent episode of “Hoarders” where the woman had collected over 5,000 porcelain dolls? I’m going to have nightmares about that house for the rest of my life). And I tend to think elves are a little creepy too. So combine the two and make an elf doll? That’s basically a potential horror movie to me.
Catie likes the book a lot, but she seems a little bit scared of the elf himself. I’m going to see how it goes the next couple of days, but if she continues to be nervous about the elf, I think Santa Claus is going to be short-staffed and have to call some of the elves back to the North Pole to help make toys, and our elf is going to go away. Christmas is supposed to be all about fun and magic, not anxiety-provoking or scary.
And for the record, when I described it to my mom, she had the same “NO NO NO THAT IS CREEPY AS HELL” reaction that I did. So maybe there’s a genetic link there with the elf doll thing.
3.) It’s been really nice having my mother-in-law here this week, especially while I’ve been sick. Catie goes to climb in bed with Grandma first thing in the morning, rather than coming to see me or Dave, so it’s nice to have a little reprieve. Plus, my MIL has been making dinner every night, so that’s been fabulous, just to have one less thing to worry about.
4.) It’s freaking cold here this week, way colder than a typical North Carolina December (although, to be fair, it’s only our third winter in this state, and we spent most of last December in England). It kinda makes me wish I were in Las Vegas with some of my favorite people right now, but alas. Pregnant ladies with tight Christmas budgets don’t get weekends in Vegas. Oh well. Maybe next time.
um, enough with the elf bitching already please! your point has been made!
@T, I am both pregnant and sick. Bitching about everything is pretty much mandatory at this point. Ask Dave.
I think the CONCEPT of the Elf on a Shelf is kind of fun. I was shooting a home Christmas photo session for clients last weekend, and they had just gotten one. The three little girls were so excited about it, and I got the distinct impression that perhaps the elf arrived just in time to report back to Santa about just how cooperative they were while posing for the nice photographer lady.
At one point when the girls were changing out of formal outfits into Christmas-y playclothes, I moved the elf from the bannister to a window seat in another room and they just about lost their minds. Even the oldest, who I think suspected her mom’s involvement at first, was completely sold once the elf moved seemingly by himself while her mom was getting her little sisters dressed.
So.. concept= good. But the elf himself is creepy looking. He could be a little less… kewpie-inspired, in my opinion.
I only heard about the elf on a shelf last week and I think it sounds like fun, but then I remembered how last year my girl made me promise the Santa Claus would keep his creepy stranger-ass DOWNSTAIRS where strangers BELONG, thank-you-for-the-presents-anyway-very-much, I couldn’t imagine letting one of his spies into the house. She’d go ballistic with paranoia, I’m afraid. Then it’d be all conspiracies about jet trails and such.
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Um I’m kind of scared of these elf looking things (not the elves from like Lord of the Rings but these elves? NIGHTMARE CITY) so I would have nightmares. And if I had one now, his ass better not move to my room or I would be sleeping elsewhere. Yes at 28.
I think it’s a cute idea, especially for kids who need that extra “Santa is seriously watch BEHAVE” kind of aspect, and for the kids who really dig Santa and get into the Christmas spirit, but it freaks me out.
I hope you feel better soon!
I love The Elf on the Shelf concept and have purchased the book for a few children that I sit for. (FTR – they all love it, but I can totally see how it could freak some kids out! LOL)
Oh how I wish you could have come to Las Vegas!!! No worries, though, I’m planning on coming to see you soonish!!!
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