Take Cover!

I think my head's going to explode.  After running around all morning doing the last (questionable) of my Christmas shopping, I had to rush to get the pizza I promised my son to his school by 1:00 and meet my parents at my house shortly thereafter.  It's the last day of school before the winter break and the kids are going to treat themselves (or rather I will treat them) to a non-school-issued pizza.  I went to two shopping centers earlier looking for something that no longer exists (Wii controllers) and I was fit to be tied.  Then I had this clever idea of calling ahead for the pizza so that all I needed to do was pick it up and swing by the school to drop it off.  Much, much, much to my dismay, when I arrived at said pizza shop, the dude at the counter had the cajones to tell me he didn't have my order.  I insisted I had just called it in and repeated the order.  He then promised it would be done in 6 minutes.  In the meantime, I though I'd go a couple of doors down to the beauty supply shop to pick up some shampoo.  Now that I'm on vacation, I don't really spend much time on my hair (and it shows).  It's usually various shades of outgrown this time of year and I really don't care.  However, the I-don't-care look is kind of growing on me.  Ha.

So, getting out of the little strip mall where the pizza joint, beauty supply, etc. was located was insane.  It took me twice the time to get to the school as it normally would, but the kids were glad to see me and I didn't take up too much of their 30-minute lunch (which is a rip-off since my 60-minute lunch days back when dinosaurs roamed the earth)!  I rush back to my house to meet my parents.  Usually, they'd just let themselves in, but since the new windows and doors, new locks had also been put in and they did not have the new key yet.  I got there just in time because it looked like they were ready to walk up.  After giving them stuff to take back to the house for the Christmas get-together this weekend, I was able to sit down and breathe a little.  Unfortunately, that short respite was waaay too brief. 

I tried wrapping the last of the presents and getting that ordeal over with when I FREAKIN' COULDN'T FIND THE EFFING GIFT TAGS!!!  AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!  Twenty-freakin-one gift tags that I had just bought and I couldn't find the effing things!!!  Grrrrr!!!  I looked everywhere.  I looked in bags that were already under the tree.  I looked in my closets.  I looked under the table!  No effing tags. (sigh)  Why did I know this would happen?  So now these last few presents have little yellow post-its on them with the name of the recipient.  Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame, lame!!

Just as I got done with the wrapping, I hear the thunderous sounds of 20 footsteps trudging toward the house.  My dear, sweet son had decided to invite 10 of his "closest" friends over for an after-school, winter break party at the house.  This was three hours ago. I think my head's going to explode.

I know most of his friends, and they are all good boys.  But you get 10-12 of them together in one room, and it's all utter chaos.  I don't mind the shouting, loud talking and yelling over the video games (after all, boys will be boys), but they have this "new" card game which requires them to pound on the dining room table like restless natives in combat.  From upstairs (where the cat and I have taken refuge), it sounded like bombs going off in the dining room. 

I came down a couple times to tactfully hint that that noise was rather annoying.  The first time, they explained that it's not really as loud as it sounds (well, come up here and listen to me pound for a few hours, sonny!).  The second time, I gave them the signal to "kill" the noise.  The boys that were playing the video games got it, the boys pounding the cards on the table (my dear, sweet child being one of them), apparently did not.  (SIGH)

What's this?  It has gotten considerably quiet. Unfortunately, they've infiltrated the upstairs now because I can hear voices in my son's room.  At least there are no bombs bursting in air.  Just my head exploding.