Wii

The Doctor was hired to teach high school in July, 2008.  After 3 years of being without steady work, we were so excited.  He was working at Wal-mart to bring in some money until he started teaching, and when you work at Wal-mart, you get a 10% discount. 
Now, the kids had wanted a Wii so badly, but we just hadn't had the money before.  But this Christmas was going to be different.  We were able to buy a Wii for them...in July.  We bought it so early so we could use the discount.  I had to keep it a secret from my kids for 5 months.  That is a long time!  But it was so worth it!
We played it up for the rest of the year that there wasn't going to be much for Christmas because we were trying to get caught up on our bills.  Every time this year that I have said I hoped they like what I am getting them this year, The Teenager has said, “Is it a Wii?” The last time he said that, it was just a couple weeks before Christmas.  I got mad and teared and up and told him how much I wanted to get him one, but we just couldn’t and please stop saying that because it was making me feel really bad. Oh, I played him good! And because I have such good kids, they totally understood and were okay with it.  I felt a little twinge at being deceitful, but hey, Christmas is the only time it's okay to lie, right?
So usually, we set up Christmas in our family room so my pink decorations don't get ruined.  But this year, we set up the Wii, we bought the kids each their own banana chair to sit in, and had it all ready to go in the family room.  We opened presents in the front room and saved the video games for very last.
The first round was all Wii games and I faked it really good. I was all mad at myself for not looking carefully. They bought it. The next round was all Wii games again. The Chocoholic started saying, “We’re getting a Wii.” The Teenager got mad at him and told him we aren’t getting one until next year.
Anyway, so The Teenager was getting mad at The Chocoholic and I couldn't hold it in anymore.  I started to cry and smile really big and when they looked at me, their eyes got wide. The Chocoholic started shouting and they all jumped up and ran downstairs. That is when they saw the banana chairs. They were screaming and shouting and we got it all on video. It was so awesome! After 5 long months of waiting, it was exactly the reaction I was expecting and wanting. It was perfect.