Tackle It Tuesday

It was more like trudge through it Tuesday because of a headache, but what are ya gonna do?

These are empty laundry baskets.  Yes!  All laundry done and put away.

This book case was moved from one side of the room to the other.  All books off, sorted and re-shelved.  I am quite the lover of books, so it's hard to part with any.  Notice my lending library on the second shelf?  There are a few black and red books there waiting for my next victim.  Hee, hee.

There may be a short break in "As The Office Turns"  (it was better than "All My Office").  I need to play with my kids during the next few days before we return to the school schedule.

Make It Happen Monday

Okay, so this isn't going to be the name for Monday every week, but today it was.  I mulled over names for Monday--Manage It Monday, Maintain It Monday--we'll see next week what fits.  Monday is normally my cleaning day.  After a slow start this morning, I realized that no productive cleaning was going to be finished today.  There were too many after Christmas items to deal with.  So I just had to dive in and make some things happen.  

After clearing the clutter from the entire house, there was still the office to deal with.  Ahhhh, the office.  Between the office and my garage, I don't know which plagues me more.  I walked in the office to meditate and try to figure out why it is so darn hard to get it together in there.  I have successfully organized and maintained it in the past, but it has been out of control for awhile.  When I walked in it hit me like a ton of bricks--I need more shelving or cubbies or something.  I approached the hub and we made it happen.  We went to IKEA as a family, shopped for shelving, ate dinner there and brought back our purchase.  The contents of the office were emptied and the shelf unit was assembled.  Tomorrow may have to be named Tackle It Tuesday!

Some of the guts of the office out in the living room.

The fabulous super-hub assembling the unit in the office.

Savor it Sunday

I have a friend who puts cute names with the days of the week that motivate her to accomplish goals.  I'm starting with Savor it Sunday.  This probably means different things to different people, but for me it means that I will focus on savoring the things that mean the most to me, and quite often get lost in the hustle and bustle of the week.  These are a few of the things I did today that I don't often make time for:

1)  Took a nap

2)  Read information and made goals for the Healthy Living Challenge I will participate in for the next six weeks beginning Jan. 5

3)  Made dinner for my family (Kelly often does dinner while I'm helping the kids with homework and such)

4)  Sat on the ground with the girls, Kelly and Grandpa and watched guinea pigs run around us.

5)  Put a puzzle together with Jenna and Grandpa

6)  Stopped to hug and tickle each of my girls

7)  Had in-depth conversation with the hub with no children present

There are more things I would loved to have done, but this was a good start.

The Guinea Pigs Are Here!

The special person Santa sent over arrived this morning.  There were two females and one male to choose from.  The girls were each handed a guinea and each loved the one they held.  The male went back to join the other guineas that live with this family.  

Here is Jenna's lighter color calico.  Her name is Lizzy.

Heather named hers after The Wonder Pets guinea pig, Linny.

Our friends came to visit.  Here is Sarah holding Lizzy.

Heather and Caleb discuss Linny's nervousness.

The Holbrooks were so fun to share our new pets with!

The Greatest Gift

The greatest gift, in my opinion, is giving of yourself.  My nine-year-old, Heather, wrapped a present for both her dad and myself.  Each of us received a personal note from her wishing us a Merry Christmas.  Then, inside the bag, we found a one dollar bill and a rock.  The rock was one from her special collection.  The dollar was from her money she'd been saving.  She only had three dollars.  Her dad and I received the last two dollars after Heather bought a present for a special friend.  I don't think I had a better present this year.  We were so proud of her choosing to give of what she had all on her own.

Christmas Day Dinner and Traditions

One tradition that we started was hanging our Christmas cards in our entry way.  I tried many things, but decided that displaying them was the best way to be able to see the cards and feel the love of our friends.  

Years ago, my in-laws bought the Spode Christmas Tree dinnerware for us.  It's fun to use it each year.

Another tradition is letting the hub cook the turkey.  No one does it better.  I'm side-dish girl.  Together we make a good team.  Grandma's famous punch is a must have too.

As we all gather for the meal, I take a picture of who is here for dinner.  Each year the group changes, but for every family gathering we have a picture of who was there, and what the table looked like.  I love that!

Christmas Day

It's finally here!  Jenna is stunned by the sight of her stocking.

Heather runs, not walks, but full out runs to her stocking.  Mom barely got it on film.

We decided Grandpa needed a stocking too, so we found an extra and left it out.  Santa didn't disappoint us.

Santa left some interesting presents this year.  The first note said that all the presents were for Heather and Jenna to share.  The second note that Jenna is reading tells us that someone will be delivering some Guinea Pigs tomorrow.  Santa found a nice lady who had some babies that need a good home.  Wow.  Are we ready for that?

At least Santa brought us all of the things we'll need to get started!