Holiday Madness

So, we all heard about the craze for Elmo TMX....

I remember walking through KBToys with the Big Dubya and 'lil Dubya and seeing a sign... "coming soon, reserve yours today" and laughing ..... as if I would ever get swept up in that nonsense. We joked that the only way we'd end up with "one of those things" in our home would be if the grandparents got one for the 'lil man.

Sometime in September, Granny & I took the 'lil guy to NY to visit my cousins and their twins (yes, two sisters both with a set of twins). While chatting with one cousin the topic of Elmo came up -- apparently she'd been feverishly trying to secure a couple.... one for her kids, one for her sisters'. In an instant, my competitive nature began to shine through...... sheepishly, I didn't admit that I'd poo-pooed the idea.... instead, I now felt this desperate urge... I needed to get one for my kid too!

Of course by this time they were selling for several hundred dollars on ebay and I was not going to get sucked into that trap -- so, I began scouring the internet.... etoys.com, ToysRUs.com..... every site I could think of -- and of course, there wasn't an Elmo to be had anywhere. Once separated from my cousin, the appeal of Elmo wavered and I was sane once again (relatively speaking of course). I mean really, come February you'll be able to get as many Elmos as you want -- the 'lil Dubya's only 18 mos and doesn't watch much TV.... he doesn't even know who Elmo is.

Last Wednesday morning, the Big Dubya was getting ready for work and we had the news on.... (yes Kara, Fox News). The anchor reported that WalMart.com would be releasing 4,000 Elmos at noon each day for a week. I couldn't believe it..... 4,000 Elmos a day!

The fever returned -- and Wow, here's my chance! I was getting one of these bad boys one way or another. The Big Dubya has been very patient with my post-partum hormonal roller coaster..... so, he reluctantly agreed to help.... and of course, no retail/internet plot would be complete without Aunt P.... she's always a willing accomplice.

So, as you would suspect at noon, we all began clicking like crazy..... Aunt P and I were unsuccessful, but the Big Dubya happily reported that he'd secured an Elmo and it was on it's way to our house.....

Whooo Hoooo Christmas has been saved!!

If only I'd let the mania end there.... but no, I needed to get one for the twins too....

On Thursday we all tried again..... and all three of us ended up Elmo-less. But, all hope wasn't lost -- we still had Friday.....

But then, out of the blue my phone rang on Thursday afternoon, it was Aunt P and she was screaming, "Do we need expedited shipping?"..... what? huh? "I got one! I got an Elmo! Do we need expedited shipping?"

Immediately I jumped online and I too was able to get an Elmo..... I had it shipped directly to my cousin in NY..... three Elmos! we were able to secure three Elmos!

One for the 'lil man, one for the twins, one for W's niece & nephew...... do I dare try to get more? no friends, I let the madness end there.... no need to be greedy, right?

I don't care for Elmo -- Aunt P hates Elmo, but man what a rush!