All I Want For Christmas.....is not on my list.

Bianca is now 6 years old. Prior to this year, the only TV she really watched was Noggin which has no commercials, unless you count their mini-mercials about Lysol. It's always encouraging to me that my daughter can watch me clean a counter or toilet and announce "hey, you've just killed 99.9% of all germs!" Good to know. I love Noggin and I appreciate the lack of commercials but it makes compiling a Christmas List an extremely difficult task. Last year, I think Bianca's Christmas list went something like this:
a clam
a purple octopus
some lobsters
a smiley shark

(she'd pulled out her book "Commotion in the Ocean" and just started naming things she saw on the pages)

Earlier this year, Bianca got the word from her first grade friends that Dora (and the likes of other Noggin characters) are for babies. Well....Disney channel, here we come. I'm okay with that; there are some okay shows. But holy crap, what is this?!?! What are all these super fun looking products being shoved in our face every six minutes?? With the look of a labotomy recipient, Bianca stares at the television and chants "I want that. I want that. I want that." Now we practically need a publisher for her Christmas list. There's:
Completely Unnecessary Barbie
Magical Extortion Belle
Ha-Ha You'll Never Find Me Orbeez
Tackle The Store Clerk Squinkees
On Backorder til 2014 Dance Star Mickey (and thank GOD for that b/c I do not want that obnoxious mouse in my home)
......toy upon toy after game after game.

We go to see Santa at the mall yesterday. Yeah, yeah...I know. But I had a plan, I swear. #1, I took advantage of all the decorations at the mall as backgrounds to get a holiday card photo. (And it worked, great pics, cards ordered from tiny prints last night...expected to be here before thanksgiving. I. Am. Genius.) #2, I can now avoid the mall til January. (Because I took that manuscript of a Christmas list and already bought what I decided were the best choices...all except that freaking Belle doll that I can't find anywhere but I already bought the Prince doll that goes with it and so now I need to find Belle b/c no girl wants the prince without the princess.....I digress) So, future store avoidance......Genius again! (And this time I really am genius b/c I didn't have to utilize spell check to figure out why "genious" looked wrong. Deerrrrrrr)

Bianca sits on Santa's lap. Well, really more like charged out of the gate akin to Secretariat and tackled him on his little couch...... And what does she ask for? A PONY. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????? I glare at Santa to make sure that big faker doesn't say "Okay" as I consider exposing him in front of 732 children waiting in line. I am pleased that he's well versed in child redirection. "Here little girl, have a book. Be good." Yes, I love that Santa. Bianca later explained that she meant, and is *sure* Santa understood she meant a toy pony. So much for being done shopping.....