So much for the Norman Rockwell Christmas...

[Anonymous]

Well, the the cool train I got my son for Christmas with "real smoke" didn't disappoint, but it did set off the fire alarm after about 10 minutes of running, because the smoke was not steam, but the result of some kind of crazy oil running over a heating element. I had to remove the batteries before giving it back to him, which of course put him over the edge because it wasn't working (he is 2.5). Angered, he then proceeded to push his new castle toy off the coffee table onto the floor, which broke one of the main pieces. That move resulted in a time out for breaking the toy. All of this was, of course, caught on videotape, as I had set up the videocam to film most of the living room (single mom, so no camera operator available). You can see me fanning the smoke alarm with a broom (I also curse a few times) and hear him screaming during the timeout. Definitely not the cozy Christmas morning I had imagined!!!

[Anonymous]

Kinda funny, though. Right?

[zumbamama]

aww...hugs OP. You'll laugh about it next year. How about the rest of the day? Did it get better at all?

I sadly had to give my youngest a time out on Christmas morning also, because she put up a quite a fight when she had to take a break from playing to eat breakfast. My little drama queen.

[Anonymous]

You'll want to save that tape to show clips at his rehearsal dinner one day. It will be funny ... eventually.

Sounds like just about every Christmas morning I have ever had. There is a reason Norman Rockwell painted and did not photograph.

[Anonymous]

Today's Christmas Hell is tomorrow's anecdote.