Christmas shopping for my son, is NO fun!!!

I can't remember a time when Xmas shopping for my son has been easy, even as a little boy he didn't play with toys much. He would really want something, so I'd go get it for him, then after a week it would be in the toybox. As he got older, and into the dreaded video games, I figured it would be easier! Just buy the games he wanted, or the accesories to whatever system he had that year... but NOPE! He is seriously one of the hardest kids I've ever had to buy for! Not only because it's hard to figure out what he wants, but because what he does want, is always sooo expensive!
Take, for instance, this years "list" -
1. Touch screen cell phone
2. Turtle Beach Headphones
3. Tablet "OR" Ipad, (sure kid!)
4. New Call of Duty game

And that is his list, no other little things he wants, just these 4 items, that I'm guesstimating, but would probably run around about $500 for those 4 items!! So we had a talk, trying to explain that these things are pricey, and if we did get all of them, (which we aren't), it would mean that we'd have to spend that much on his sister too! And thats $1000, that we don't have.... wish we did!!! I think he gets it, it's just really hard not being able to get your child everything they want for Xmas, but COME ON!!! I miss the days of getting toys for $5-10, and even if they only got a week of play, it didn't break our bank account!! I told him last night that he either better go to college and get a really good job, OR he better find a very, very rich woman to support his electronics needs, lol!
So, is shopping for your kiddies fun, or one of the most stressful shopping experiences you have all year?!

Hellooooooooo December!

Am I the only one that is thinking, "Where the heck did the year go?!" It seems like just yesterday I was taking down my Xmas tree, putting away the decorations, and getting the house "organized" to fit all the toys and junk the kids got from Santa! But that was almost a year ago, and again, I find myself saying "How is the year almost over?"
It's been another crazy, tough year, but somehow we managed to get thru it, and in one piece. I know now that I can look back and laugh at the things that were tough, I can see that sometimes we have to go thru crappy situations to get to where we need to be, and I realized that sometimes, it takes awhile, but then life can finally click. It may be too early to say, but I'm REALLY hoping 2012 is going to be a great year for my family!!!
So, as I start to put up the Christmas decorations this weekend, pull out all of our ornaments, and start the dreaded wrapping of the presents,  I'm sure I will find myself thinking back to last year and still wondering how the year went by so darn fast!