Surviving The Holidays, Part 3

I am in a bad mood today so I suppose this would be a good time to finish my series about that darn (cleaned up word there,) game system...

Here are your warnings: 

1- It's another Not-Safe-For-Under-13-Year-Olds Post

and

2- It's NOT Cute and it's NOT Perky.

It's just NOT.

No, really...

Let me tell you something, this all started out because it was so unbelievably complicated to get everything figured out an just to buy the darn thing but my mood is so bad right now that I would gladly just take it alllll back. Seriously. My house is a mess, my children are not behaving well and I have not had heat in my home for several days except for about an hour yesterday. That's right, the brand new heater we had installed in August is broken. We waited for the company to call us back all day Sunday. We waited yesterday and the tech worked on my heater for about 4 hours yesterday and left thinking it was fixed but saying that a particular switch MIGHT be a problem. A few hours later the heater wasn't working anymore, again, and now I'm waiting AGAIN for a heater repair person to come out. 

I am NOT cute and perky right now.

Well, actually I DO look very cute because I had to take the boys to the dentist this morning and I went for that whole "I don't want to look frumpy when I'm already in a bad mood" thing. Didn't work.

So when last we left the Nintendo Saga we had no idea what to give our genius kids for Christmas and we finally said "FINE, we'll buy a stupid Wii."

But then we had to figure it all out.

Just because we decided to buy it didn't mean that suddenly the heavens would open up and it would become AFFORDABLE. No no no. That would have been too easy. And even in the current economy, these things are HOT. And Nintendo is controlling prices. Hence, grabbed by the gonads, we proceeded...

The first thing we figured out was: Hey, we don't have to buy everything ourselves. This is why God made grandparents and aunties! We needed:

One Wii Console which comes with one remote controller and one nunchuck.

Three extra remotes and three extra nunchucks.

Games.

But then the genius kids thing crept up:

If Santa brings the console, how do we explain that Mom and Dad and Auntie and whoever else KNEW that it would be safe to bring remotes and nunchucks and games. And no, I am NOT over-thinking this thing. I'm thinking like a genus kid. 

At first we figured, ok, well, we'll just go out and buy some token gifts and then have Santa write a note that he spied something from mom and dad and so he knew they didn't need so much this year. I didn't love the idea but it was a starting point.

Then we started shopping online.

There was one bundled package that was a Wii with a bunch of games. But. The games were not games we wanted to buy and even if they were, the bundle was sold out when we looked at it. 

But wait, there's ANOTHER bundle that had the console and extra controllers and just a couple of games and you could CHOOSE your games and save $30. But. THAT bundle was at Walmart so I would first have to get past my list of issues with Walmart. Ok, fine we'll get it. But it was sold out. But then a day or so later, it was back in stock.  So we started to order it thinking we would sign up for that thing where you get free shipping if they ship it to the store instead of your house. Guess what? They didn't offer that for the Wii bundle and the shipping cost on the bundle was... $30.

Uhm, so there's really no savings at all then, is there?

Ok, Fine. What we learned was: Bundles just aren't all that. Bundles are just retail priced hardware with games that are already discounted. We could buy the hardware for retail price and find sales on the games we actually wanted and, in essence, create our own bundle.

THAT was plan B. Or I guess it was plan C. Or maybe it was a Plan B version 2.1 or something like that.

Whatever.

We found out we could get a discount on the remote controllers and the nunchuks at Amazon.com. DaddyDoc put three of each in his cart and went to check out with no tax and free-shipping! Woo-Hoo! Except. That. You can buy as many discounted controllers as you want but the $20 nunchucks for $18? Those are limited to one per person.

Really? Really.

Uhm, Ok. So. DaddyDoc bought one controller and one nunchuck with free shipping.

And I bought one controller and one nunchuck with free shipping.

And then I called someone else who I had previously done a $50 online favor and she bought one controller and one nunchuk and had it shipped here.

You want to know the kicker? When they finally came two of the sets came from a warehouse just two-freeway on-ramps north of ours.

WHAT-EVER.

The Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, we went to church in two cars, DaddyDoc came home via TRU and bought a console for retail plus tax because Amazon did not have the console for retail (they had it for ABOVE retail) and whatever at least we'll have the console. DaddyDoc called me from TRU. They had just received a shipment of Wii Fits for $90, did I want one?

NO. Hello? This is costing a lot of money already. Just bring home the dang console.

The next day, I was talking to GrandmaChurchLady who said "Are you going to be getting the Exercise Thing???" Well no, that costs too much, it's not in the budget. "Well, I'd really like to get that for you and DD for your present." Uhm, Ok.

So back we go! On Monday night, DD called TRU who put aside a Wii Fit and, after a meeting I had to attend, I was at TRU at 9:30 pm to purchase the Wii Fit. It was the second to last one they had in stock. 

I came home, DD put it away and said "Did you see the deal they had on Raving Rabbids TV party that you got $10 off if you buy the Wii Fit??" No.

Tuesday. Took CS back to preschool and drove BACK down to TRU with my receipts in hand. Could I please buy the game on the deal? Are you ready for it?

Yes but, having the receipts was not enough, I had to physically have the Wii Fit in hand so they could scan and return THAT Wii Fit into the system, I could re-purchase the Wii Fit and the game together.

Tuesday night. DD took Mr. Genus to Cub Scouts, came home, picked up receipts and Wii Fit, drove BACK DOWN to TRU to return Fit, repurchase Fit and game.

DD took a bunch of used Game Cube games that we had inherited with that system but would never play and got a discount on Raving Rabbids 2 only to find out later that TRU online had it for $15 and free shipping last week. Whatever. We have it.

Someone's getting Mario Cart and one or two extra wheels. We have Wii Fit, in theory because it could make the adults exercise more but let's face it: The kids are going to be luging on their butts and riding motorcycles with the Raving Rabbids with it.

Whatever. Did I say that yet?

Somewhere along the line, I DID figure out the Santa thing:

There's no way for mere humans to know the mind of Santa but Santa sees us when we're sleeping and knows when we're awake. So if WE get the boys the Wii, SANTA will have it figured out, DUH. Santa's gonna give the kids the games. He'll wrap them up and place them up high on the tree. The kids will open them and say "WTF?" Ok, they won't say WTF. They're not THAT bad. (Yet.) I wish I could guarantee you that the language will be age appropriate but Mr. Genius has not had very good control of his mouth... But they'll open it up and say What the HECK? And there may be a note that says "Ask your parents... I see everything" or something (yeah, my heart isn't in to it.) But I do think that was quite clever on my part.

Meanwhile...

My house is a mess, my kids are totally hyper and out of control and I am so DONE with the damn Wii that I could care less. That commercial does nothing for me anymore. There's no tingly feeling. There's no sentimental memory of happy kids. They're ungrateful little.... THINGS who have no appreciation for everything we do for them. That's what they are.

Looking at the calendar, we're about 28 to 35 years away from payback time. 

And at that time, I'm gonna sit back with cup of egg nog and smirk and LAUGH.