Was it a warning when Mary was missing from the creche?

I'm not a big believer in signs, but I just have to say, when Mary was found to be missing from our Nativity Scene, I think I should have run for cover...

We are having SIXTEEN people for dinner Saturday. Should be no sweat, except that I planned for FOURTEEN guests. And our dining room chairs total sixteen, so I'll be squeezing an extra two chairs from the informal dining in there. Then there are two more dessert plates to buy, two more wine glasses (damn we almost had enough)...et cetera, et cetera.

So after recovering from that blow, I somehow managed to juggle scrambling eggs (half a dozen, they ate!) for P&G in between stringing lights on the tree. Did I mention how the tree arrived late yesterday, while it was raining? So I gave it a fresh cut with my portable saw. And it still didn't fit in the bloody tree stand I had purchased from the same company...so I had to run to the plant nursery at 5:10, buy a stand from them which was ludicrously -- not sure that's a word -- expensive because I did not buy my tree from them after all...got home and managed to get the tree up, shower, scrub the pine tar off my hands, dry my hair and out the door in cocktail attire by 6:30?????

Oh, wait, I was ranting about today, back to decorating the blinking tree. THe kids were actually cute and very into it. I took a little video, which I might someday get linked up to here if I ever come up for air. I loaded the kids in the car. It is 36 degrees! Wow, cold. Took our Christmas photo to the hardware store. Now I was really feeling good and organized, having already purchased the perfect and oh-so-original card WITH A DISCOUNT prior to the holiday rush.

But trouble was about to smack me in the face. No can do. That card was not happening, something about how the pictures on the card were not customizable. Well, who wants random kids faces on their Christmas card for heavens sakes? While the kids ran circuits around the stationery department with their mini shopping carts, I searched and searched for a new card. I was really bummed. I made myself get over it once I realized that not one but BOTH of them had poo'ed in their pants. And Paige was wearing big girl undies. Ugh. Now the looks were coming my way hard and fast. The whole department smelled of POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We raced out of the stationery dept and had a great time, with our poopie bums, singing Jingle Bells to the store's resident parrot, Hacksaw. Hmm, a cute moment...sort of. And back out on the tailgate of my wounded car, I tried as best I could to change them. But the wipes had been left open and were bone dry. The poop had caked to their thighs by now. Graham added fuel to my escalating fire by shoving his Baa Baa sheep RIGHT in his poo. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Then I see that Al has called 4 times. He is worried because his work email system quarantined the note I sent him this morning. The subject line was "I'm going to kill you" and he can't read why...

p.s. Graham is not napping because someone put his kitty in his crib without turning the battery pack to OFF. It is meowing and purring and he is duly entertained.