On Strike for Christmas Page #3

to escape from my brood for a while.

Especially this time of year.

-Oh, but you love Christmas, Debbie.

-Well, well, we all do.

But l'm with her.

After the week l've had...

...l am so ready for a break.

Well, now you can relax.

This is beautiful. Whose is it?

lt's mine. l'm making blankets

for the boys to take to college.

That's right, they're seniors now.

l'm so jealous. You'll finally have

your house to yourself.

-Hi, ladies.

-Hi, Rosemary.

-Hi.

-l just had to get away for a little while.

We've got a reporter out

on maternity leave...

...and l'm running ragged

picking up the slack.

So, Joy, you promised to show me how

to do that beautiful butterfly stitch...

-...you were using the other day.

-lt's easy.

That will add

a lot of flair to your work.

l'm all for flair, honey.

That may be

the understatement of the year.

That's the way we do it in Texas.

Hi, everyone.

Wow, l thought l was tired.

Thanks, Rosemary.

l didn't mean for it

to come out that way.

That's okay.

lt's hard when you have little ones,

but they do grow up eventually.

How about husbands?

Do they grow up too?

l'm serious. l swear Glen truly believes

that l am Santa Claus.

-That's nice.

-Thanks. l'm making eight of them.

Six down, two to go.

Christmas on a budget.

lt's hard to come up

with affordable gift ideas...

...especially when you have

to do your husband's shopping too.

Why do you do that?

Make him shop for himself.

Believe me, l've tried.

Maybe you just

need to try a new tactic.

Sometimes you just have

to take a stand.

Did you read my article

about the grocery store workers?

You wrote an article on the strike?

l missed it.

l'll e-mail you a copy of it.

Well, tactics or not,

Christmas still has to get done.

True.

l'm no Scrooge...

...but how's anyone supposed to get

get all this holiday stuff done?

lf l didn't have these stolen moments

with you guys...

...l'd think l might just crack.

Sometimes

it's just so overwhelming.

-Yeah, it's not easy.

-l know. l hear you.

Maybe you should all

just do a little less this year...

...and don't expect so much.

But l want this Christmas

to be the best Christmas ever.

Mark.

Mark.

-Mark!

-Hey, Mom.

Where are the decoration boxes?

Sorry, Mom. l was super busy

after school today.

l had to finish my thesis outline,

l started writing a song.

l lost track of time. lt's super sick.

l think you're gonna love it.

l'll play it for you later

when l get home.

No, we're doing the tree tonight

and the outside decorations.

About that. l promised Brittany...

...l would take her

to the new Bourne movie.

You also kind of promised me

that we'd do the tree.

Can l do it later?

Heads up.

Are you two trying

to make me insane?

Nope, just heading

to basketball practice.

-Tonight?

-l gotta go, l'm gonna be late.

Peace out.

Coach wants us to learn the new D

for the L.A. tournament.

The girls varsity team

had the court earlier.

The tree kind of looks small, Mom.

lf you'd been there, you could've

chosen whatever tree you wanted.

Right. See you later.

Wait, where's your father?

He's at the university. Didn't you see

the note l left on the fridge?

-Hi, hon.

-Hi, why are you still at work?

We're doing the decorations.

Oh, l just had some finals to grade.

l thought those were due yesterday.

What's all that noise l hear?

Look, Keith

and some of our colleagues came by...

...for a little celebration

for the end of the semester.

Hi, Joy.

Did you at least take care

of the list that l gave you?

Oh, Stephen, how do you expect me

to get everything done...

...especially with your party

coming up?

Look, l'll do it tomorrow, hon.

Seriously, l promise.

Tomorrow is gonna be....

Stephen, you've gotta hear this.

Honey, l'll be home as soon as l can.

l love you.

l love you too.

Joy?

-Joy.

-Yeah, l'm down here.

Oh, what happened?

Are you all right?

Oh, yeah.

Oh, Lordy.

l just fell off the ladder.

This is dangerous.

l'm just trying

to get the decorations up.

You know how l like

to be the first on the block...

...with their lights up? l'm last.

l have told you, you shouldn't

be doing this stuff by yourself.

Yeah.

You're right. This is ridiculous.

What am l doing?

Do you have any paint?

Paint? Yeah, l think so. Why?

And in local ClF playoff action:

Boom! Down he goes.

-That was a freaking awesome hit.

-That guy got trucked.

-l'm starved. Where's Mom?

-l don't know.

Up next, number 3. Watch this

one-handed grab by the receiver....

What's going on out there?

Way to go, Joy!

Mom, you can't be serious.

l'm definitely serious.

l'm officially on strike for Christmas.

Hon, what's the point?

l tried to make the point yesterday,

and you all ignored me.

You love Christmas but you take

for granted that it gets done.

And it's not fair.

Okay, but isn't this strike thing

taking it a little too far?

How else am l to get your attention?

You should want to pitch in...

...and stop making me

the nagging mom and wife.

Can't we have another chance?

Sure. Right after

you meet my strike demands.

-Which are?

-They're very simple.

One, appreciate

all there is to do around here...

...especially at Christmas time.

Two, acknowledge that you each

need to do your fair share.

And three, do it, on your own,

without any pestering. Just do it.

Just do what?

Just do Christmas this year.

-Hon, we've all been busy.

-And we're sorry.

Yeah.

That's not enough, l'm afraid.

Actions speak louder than words.

-What about my Christmas party?

-And my holiday department party?

l'm sure when you actually put

some effort into it, you'll get it all done.

You don't think we can do this,

do you?

l'm quite certain that you can.

l wouldn't do this otherwise.

Excuse me.

Can't we start

after my football banquet?

lt's the day after tomorrow.

What about my cookies?

Sorry. l'm on strike.

Don't worry,

we'll take care of the cookies.

Have you ever made a cookie?

No. Hey, hon, where's the recipe

for your special thumbprint cookies?

l'm on strike.

Don't worry, guys. This is just

one of your mother's moods.

Everything's gonna be fine.

Put in a little effort...

...and it'll all blow over.

Hopefully before my faculty party.

Sure, Dad.

-Should l go buy cookies tomorrow?

-No, you should have a little faith.

We'll find the recipe,

we'll go to the store...

...we'll get the ingredients.

l mean, how hard can it be?

-Where did you find this recipe?

-l found it online.

Why are there five chef hats?

Because it's the best recipe.

lt says

''highest degree of difficulty.''

Okay, well, that doesn't matter.

All right, what's first?

Okay, it says we have

to preheat the oven to 350...

...and line the baking sheet

with parchment paper.

Parchment paper?

l didn't see that at the store.

lt's probably to make sure

that cookies don't stick.

Here we go, wax paper.

lt's the same thing. That's good.

All right. Next.

lt says we have to do the wet

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