Christmas Presents (and sex!!)

I am proud to announce that the MAJORITY of my Christmas shopping is FINISHED. Done. Out of the way. Considering how large each side of our family is, this seemingly long list of people I still need to purchase for is actually quite small. And I know exactly what I am going to get each and every person left on this list:

Mom and Dad- Marriott Gift Card so that they will actually take a little get-away instead of complaining about wanting to take one

Grandma Sally- memory card filled with pictures of the family for her digital frame. All of my cousins are emailing me digital pictures of their families, since my aunts and uncles aren't as camera/computer saavy. Of course, my "little" cousins (15 years old) are sending me pics worthy of Myspace profile pictures, of them being all model-esque, flashing the peace sign making faces reminiscent of Paris Hilton

Aunts, Uncles and my older (married) cousins- Movie in a Basket. Blockbuster gift card, bottle of wine, package of microwave popcorn and candy bar. The wine, popcorn and candy bar are purchased already.

My brother- 1988 Dodgers World Series DVD collection from Amazon. Ordering it tomorrow

Lindsey- there's a chance she reads this blog, so I'll refrain from saying what I'm getting my wonderful future sister in law =)

Louis- same as above. I have a few smaller things for him already; just need to get his main present and stocking stuffers. And figure out a birthday present... his birthday is Dec. 14th

My sister in law, Monique and Janine- gift certificates to this nail salon by our house. The owner is Louis's customer and is hooking us up with the gift cards in lieu of service.

Mother in Law- docking station for her new Iphone

Figuring out the perfect gift for someone is half the work. I don't want to settle for any old ordinary present, even if it's something small. We still exchange with the whole family. I have a feeling that maybe next year, we will be doing kids-only with my mom's side of the family, since the family has exploded- 6 grandkids, 7 great grandkids, plus the aunts and uncles and my grandma. All the kiddos and my teenage/unmarried cousins are purchased for, in addition to Jeremiah. What is my wonderful baby getting for Christmas from Mommy and Daddy? Well, if you care to know, here's his list!
Fisher Price Baby Grand Piano (Craigslist for $20)
TMX Elmo (clearanced for $10 at Toys r Us right before the LIVE! came out)
Little Tikes fold and go Train set
Leapfrog farm animal guitar
Little Tikes xylaphone/piano toy
Stocking stuffers- stacking cups, Noah's Ark bath toy, Elmo and Osar the Grouch cars

On a side note... I am watching TLC as I write this, and there's this new show on called "Purity Balls." I was originally watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 (Louis HATES that show!!!) and this came on right after. Believe me, I'm all for purity, abstinence and saving yourself for marriage. But I think this show is taking it a bit too far. I dont think you need to have a ball thrown for you to promise your dad not to have sex. Yes, it does make your commitment more open and well-known to your family members to hold you accountable, but there's no way I will parade my daughter or son around and throw them a fancy party when we make that decision. I do believe that the father needs to take an active part in talking to their daughter about sex. All my dad told me was "guys are dogs;" and left everything else up to my mom. However, I think that the dads need to start talking to their daughters about these things at a young age, so that it's not so awkward for those talks to take place when they are teenagers. Good grief; I can't even imagine talking to my dad about sex as a teenager! If sex were talked about openly as a child rather than being quite the taboo topic, I don't think it would have been as awkward. (Want to talk about awkward though? About six months ago, my dad and I were talking about a man who had cheated on his wife. My dad told me that it's my duty as a wife to make sure my husband is satisfied and not let him go to work "with a loaded gun." EWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!! DADDY YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!!! I couldn't look directly at my father for the rest of the day.)

Well there you go... Christmas presents and sex... hope you enjoyed my blog tonight!!!