My kids have been extra awful at bedtime. I’ve written about it here and here and here and here.

At bedtime, I have repeatedly threatened to call Santa to report their naughty behavior. They just won’t settle down. But it isn’t working. And I am at my wit’s end.

So when Santa asked me what I wanted for Christmas, the obvious answer was that I would like my children to go to bed without all the drama. Mommy just wants a good night’s sleep.

Santa threw his head back and gave me one of his classic belly laughs. He said warmly, “Get out the video camera on that fancy phone of yours.”

And he granted my wish, and recorded this special message just for my girls. Proof positive if you believe and your heart is pure, magical things really do happen at Christmas.

It’s an extra-tough time of year to be a single mom. Especially the first year post-split, working out details like Christmastime visitation really sucks. These days, I find myself feeling very Scrooge-like. I guess it’s to be expected.

Typically, I love giving and receiving holiday cards. It’s a great excuse to get some high-quality shots of the girls all dolled up. But this year, I couldn’t make up my mind. Should I send out a holiday card anyway, with just the girls? Or better yet, send one from HIM featuring a lump of coal?

So I was stuck. Like I mentioned in my last post , things can get awkward real quick when some folks don’t know about the divorce.

So this year, I’m finally cutting myself a break. I went online in search of a Holiday e-card that would save time, money and AWKWARDNESS. Then I found it. Click on the thumbnail to watch it on YouTube:

It’s a sanity saver for many reasons. I don’t have to mess with a mailing list and the dividing up thereof. I can just email it to MY people. There was no envelope stuffing or postage, and the cost was minimal. While technically you can email it for free, for $4.99 I was able to save and downloaded this video so that I own it forever, can it send to whomever I wish, and even repost on this blog. I can also share it on FaceBook.

Jib Jab officially solved the Great Christmas Card Conundrum of 2010.

(I wasn’t in any way compensated by Jib Jab for this post, they have no idea who I am and probably don’t care.)

There is something about getting photo Christmas cards in the mail always makes me feel like crap. I can’t exactly pinpoint why. I think part of it is that I see our friends (with their children nicely groomed, smiling at the camera) I instantly think, “Yeah, it’s so easy for you to juggle with your well-behaved kids that sleep through the night.”

I know that it is just a moment in their life, that it always isn’t always so easy for them. And I know that it isn’t a competition, but why does it feel that way?

Seeing these picture-perfect families just makes my own inadequacies feel exposed. I am aware that things aren’t always as they seem, and most moms, at some point or another, have felt the way that I do now…which is overworked and underslept. I can’t wait for the day that’s it’s a snap to get the kids all dressed up and nicely groomed–and they’ll stay that way long enough to capture the picture-perfect moment on camera.

I can’t even get organized enough to send out Ellie’s birth announcement, let alone a Christmas card! She is now six months old! Those birth announcements have been sitting in her closet since we moved in August. My plan, for now, is to send her announcement and the Christmas card in the same envelope. Just so you know when you get it, it was a HUGE PAIN IN THE A** to do.

So please frame it and hang it in your house, it may be the last card you ever get from us!