RIP Black Friday

There are several days I look forward to each and every year, but when it comes to unloading my earnestly-saved cash, Black Friday tops the list.

Black Friday is a fun tradition that my mom introduced to me when I was first married. We're not the die-hards that stand in 500-shoppers-deep lines to get through the front doors of a department store.  We're the smart ones who sit in the warm car and watch the line freezing shoppers elbow their way through the doors, pushing and shoving their way to snag the sales item of their desires and then pummeling their way to the checkout counter. Procuring ridiculous Disney-themed snow globes or some silly promotional crap was never our intention either. After the line had disappeared into the store, we casually exited our car and walked into "arena" of holiday madness. Honestly, we just loved to score great deals on gifts for our families and friends and if that meant getting up at 3:30 a.m. to shop, then why not? We were armed with hot cocoa and happy holiday spirits and always had a great time.

The day has grown to be more than just a fun tradition. You see, when you have two children with birthdays 10 days or so shy of Christmas, you come to recognize December as a triple threat. Making wise purchases within our budget is extremely important and Black Friday typically offers me the opportunity to do just that.

This year, however, Black Friday fell flat on it's now contorted and ugly face.

Problem #1: Black Friday began on Monday. Sadly, Black Friday is no longer that special day of the year reserved for purchase and profit--thanks to unprincipled and, dare I say, greedy retailers, it's now an entire week of profit for them. I'd be tempted to say that this is particularly advantageous for the consumer, but thats not necessarily the case and I'll touch on that later.

Problem #2: Black Friday became Brown Thanksgiving. What a stupid name! And what's worse is that retailers, high on the very thought of profit, required employees to give up their Thanksgiving plans to serve a desperately greedy group of consumeristic cannibals. I mean, who shops on Thanksgiving? Who is so incompetent that they cannot wait eight hours to shop the early Black Friday hours? Apparently, a lot of people. You read about the stampedes, the arrests, the fights. I saw people begging for their Facebook friends to babysit their kids, foregoing Thanksgiving dinners and get togethers to be the first in line at Walmart that afternoon. *deep breath* I'm a gung-ho capitalist, but not an avid consumerist. There is a line and retailers flirted with it last year before decimating it this year.

Problem #3: While, I would not describe myself as a die-hard Black Friday shopper, I would classify myself as a traditional Black Friday shopper. As I prepared to shop EARLY yesterday morning (online only this year, doctor's orders), I was disappointed to learn that the items I had most hoped to purchase had sold out the day before, or two days before, or at some point during Black Friday week. Bummer. As a Black Friday traditionalist, I became a Black Friday loser. There is no longer an advantage to waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to shop.

In conclusion. Black Friday died this year. She fell victim to Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. Brown Thursday finished her off. By Friday, she was gone. Probably forever. Her death signals the death of tradition, my tradition, and probably the tradition of thousands of others who held Black Friday in such high esteem. So, RIP Black Friday. You will be desperately missed.

The Final Score

With our days in the fertility department numbered, we are 99.999% sure that this will be our last baby. This means, we have a final score and testosterone will reign supreme at our house.

Baby #3 is a boy.

I have to confess that finding out the gender of this baby was significantly anticlimactic when compared with finding out that Brock was a boy and Camryn was a girl. Not less satisfying, just less exciting and I think it's because we already have one of each gender. Nevertheless, this baby boy will be as loved and adored (and let's be honest, photographed) as our other two kids and we are thrilled to be welcoming him into our family. 

I have a second confession. Finding out that we're expecting another boy was bittersweet. Sweet to know that Brock would have that brother he's been waiting for and that Camryn would be sandwiched between two brothers (both of whom will undoubtedly be much BIGGER than she is) and she'll be protected no matter what. Bitter because it's our last baby and now there is zero chance of Camryn having a sister. It would have been equally bittersweet if this baby was a girl for the same reasons, in reverse. 

My doctor also issued me my freedom card yesterday!!!

 After 14 agonizing weeks on bed rest, I've been upgraded to "light duty."

Halloween

What if I just sat down one cold November Saturday and started to blog again?

And anyone (if there IS anyone who even ventures to this blog after our 4-month dry spell) who reads this blog will already know that we built a gorgeous house this summer and made the big move into this amazing new home in September. And you would also know that during the building process, which took all summer, Clarke and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary, Clarke celebrated his 35th birthday, Brock started optimus football and 2nd grade and Camryn had transitioned to a toddler bed. You would know that this past July landed us with a very unexpected, although not unwelcome, pregnancy. And because you know me and my l-o-n-g history of pregnancy, you'd understand that this was an shocking plot change for us. You would already be aware that my doctor put me on strict bed rest when I was only 6 weeks along and that one week after we moved into our new house, I went in for cerclage surgery--you know to keep the baby in--and that we are currently on week 13 of bed rest. You would also be aware that we have the BEST family and friends ever, and I sincerely mean it. We've asked for and accepted so much help, particularly with Camryn, these past three months and it was a heaven-send. You would also be aware that Clarke is nearing saint-hood as he works full time, coaches football, grocery shops, cooks, does the laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and scrubbing toilets. He is the best husband and daddy ever! And since you already know all thats been going on with us, I wouldn't need to reiterate or revisit any of those life-changing events for our family in this particular post.

So, I'll just tell you about Halloween and gush over how cute my kids were. 

First of all, I had this vision that my kids would go as little red riding hood and the big bad wolf this year. It was (Pinterest) perfect! Cami would be darling in a red tutu and red velvet cape and Brock would be menacing as a werewolf. In my mind, it was a no-fail plan. Except for one little thing. My kids had other ideas.

For example, Brock wanted to be a camo ninja--per a costume that we saw on a Halloween website. The nylon costume that would fit my big boy for about 6 hours this year cost a whopping $60!! Um, no. So, we pieced together a home-made camo ninja costume with pieces that he would wear on a regular basis. Kudos to Clarke for doing all the leg work and shopping for this costume! 

And my Camryn is obsessed with cats. We can't explain this phenomenon, as we're "dog people." She can't say the word "cat" or "kitten," she calls a cat "a meow." So, this year, Cami went as a meow, minus the ears, tail and whiskers which she refused to wear. Have I ever mentioned that Camryn is full-on diva?

As per tradition, we trick-or-treated in my mom's neighborhood with Jamin, Travis and Libby. And, as per tradition, we tried to get an adorable group shot. I've come to the conclusion that group shots of this particular crowd are simply overrated. 

But on their own, these cousin spooks are rather cute! 

As this was Cami's first year to trick-or-treat, we had to practice at Nanay's door. 

And my crowning shot of the evening happened in one of the few moments of sunlight that we were blessed with this rainy Halloween…