A Day with the Rotties

And at the Mall, no less!

John likens these little boys to a couple of Rottweilers.

Pretty graphic for as adorable as they look here, right?

Well, Mom and Dad were getting them this puppy for Christmas this year, so I decided that I would take them for the day.

We would shop.

It is time that they picked out gifts for their Mom and Dad on their own, right?

We would go to the mall and maybe I could even get a little of my last minute shopping done.

Where do I get these true moments of insanity?

Should I be checked for senility?

Now I know that any public outing with children five years old and under should involve at least a 2 to 1 ratio. Two adults for every child five and under.

Did I suddenly think that I was superwoman?

Well, we shopped.

I am sure that there is some psychology involved here that when they picked something out for Mom it came from the KITCHEN department and when they picked out something for Dad that it came from the TOY department, but I am sure that most of you "get" the subtle, subconscious ramifications of those choices.

In the interest of maintaining family harmony at the holidays,

I won't elaborate any farther on that subject.

To his credit, Tyler did tell me that I was a really good driver.

Sucking up, I am sure.

Considering his love for amusement park rides,

well, not going any farther on that one either.

Immediately following that comment though, he did tell me at least 53 incidents of when a child should call 9-1-1.

They started with the usual,

If a house is on fire,

If your parent or grandparent has fallen and can't take care of you,

and rapidly proceeded to

if your car wrecks into that big truck, if your car wrecks into that Subway store, if your car wrecks into the big wall, if your car wrecks into that house, if your car wrecks into that tree, if your car.....

Get the picture?

So much for confidence in my driving.

We had some mall firsts for the boys.

Their first Flash Mob.

Oh, you say how amazing to hear Handel's Hallelujah Chorus?

Not exactly.

In their joy of finding the perfects gifts for Daddy,

the two of them broke into a very off-tune, very LOUD version of

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Seriously.

Fortunately, the people waiting on line a Sears were good-tempered and found the same humor in it as the check-out clerks, who were laughing so hard that they quit working and just stopped to listen to them.

We also had our first shop-lifting experience.

Logan managed to pick out what he thought was a bag of M&M's and carry it halfway through the mall before I realized that he had it.

It was actually a t-shirt bundled to look like M&M's.

I don't know if he was more embarrassed to have to apologize when we took it back...or disappointed that it wasn't M&M's.

That reminds me...add M&M's to the list for their stockings today.

All in all, I guess it wasn't that bad.

But then I read a comment in a book yesterday that pretty much sums it up.

Comedy is

Tragedy plus Time.

How true!

Tyler took this picture last night while we were waiting for Mom and Dad and Bernie the puppy to arrive.

The wooden spoon in front of the nativity set?

Anyone else seeing a pattern here?

And one final painted order.

John decided on Wednesday night that he wanted this painted for one of our really good customers.
He wanted to take it to them on Thursday.
Sleep?
Overrated.

I have a list today...it is really do or die now.
The list is a little overwhelming.
Please, Santa, could you make time stand still for just a few hours.
Is that too much to ask?