i finished work on friday. we had a base wide christmas party that night, which is where the real craziness begins. just as the kids and i were about to pick up chris to go to the party, he calls and says he had to go to a meeting. fantastic! i wasn't sure that i'd really know anyone at the party and quite honestly, wasn't up for tackling two kiddos on my own all evening. that being said, i decided to go and check it out. so glad i did. it was fun. my friend, misty and her clan, were there. she was a kind soul and helped me out with mya so i could do some of the crafts with claire. both kiddos were traumatized at the sight of santa. thankfully, we didn't have a santa to visit this year, which spared us that agony. claire eventually warmed up to the jolly man, but it took several of her friends paving the way. both of our kiddos were ripping up the dance floor; however, this wasn't a dance per say. they had entertainment--a bubbleman, sand guy, quartet, so our kids, ...