Grateful for Blue Monsters

It's Thanksgiving, and I'm ready for Christmas already!  Seriously, all the presents have been purchased, and I am READY.  This is actually the first year I've been ready to skip over Thanksgiving, but it's also probably one of the years I need it most.  With our lives at a faster pace than normal, I think it's extra important to remember all the great things we have.

So today I'm grateful for this blue monster:

I am not normally a sucker for buying things we don't need.  It's not that hard, and I'll tell you my secret: 
Rule #1:  Focus on what you already have and how great it is.
Rule #2:  Never go shopping with the kids. 
Rule #3:  If you do go shopping with the kids, because you forgot Rule #2, get used to saying "No."  Over and over and over. 

But this time Tank and I were at Target buying clothes for Elijah (broke my own Rule #2).  Tank looked over and saw some hats that he wanted.  He asked for the tiger hat.  It was an alright hat, but he didn't need a hat, plus all the hats were a smidgen too small.  I told him no.  And then he outsmarted me.  "How about the blue monster hat?"  I hesitated.  That hat was dang, dang cute.  I decided it wouldn't hurt to walk over and let him try it on, even if we weren't going to buy it.

And of course, once he tried it on, I was in love, and I had to buy it for him. 

Moral of my shopping story:  If you break Rule #2, you'll most likely end up breaking Rule #3.  But you'll also probably end up with a really cute blue monster.