Christmas Fun

Our Christmas celebrations are in full force! The girls helped me decorate the tree this year- I just let them at it. The ornaments aren't perfectly placed, but they had so much fun with it. They spend several minute each day tending to the tree, they love rearranging the ornaments.

They also had a ton of fun putting presents under the tree. I was afraid that they might try open them, but other than rearranging them a time or two they have left them alone.

budding artist

I prefer not to interfere with Audrey's creative process.

bedtime shenanigans

The girls have been resistant to bedtime (and naps) lately. A while back I took a bunch of toys out of rotation, but in a recent moment of brilliance I started luring the girls into their room with "special toys". They had been doing so well playing independently that I decided to let them have a wooden puzzle tonight. Big mistake.

I heard a bit of a scuffle, then Claire started bawling. She can be a bit dramatic, but I figured I better check things out. Both girls were completely naked (a new favorite trick) and Claire exclaimed "sissy tried to hit me!". Audrey was holding the puzzle and calmly responded, "yeah, I bashed sissy". (Side note: where did she ever learn the word "bash"? That is definitely not a Daniel Tiger sanctioned activity!)

Needless to say, I put the puzzle away, their diapers back on, and sent them back to bed. Audrey was just singing the potty song from Daniel Tiger, and is now kicking the door so I can say with a 97% confidence interval that she is once again naked.

claire conversations

Claire: Maybe when daddy wakes up we can go to the mall. That would be fuuuunnn.

Me: What would we buy at the mall?

Claire: Maybe some grapes? And apples?

You have much to learn my dear child...

proud moments

We are in the throes of potty training. I told Claire that I was proud of her for keeping her underwear dry and she responded "I'm proud of me too mommy".

She is also a geometry whiz. I showed her a triangle yesterday and asked her what it was: "well it has 3 sides, it's a triangle!"

declutter day 2

Day 2 of my clutter busting purge went off without incident. It was a little harder to find 100 things to toss in the bedroom, but I completed the project in under 20 minutes.

Next week I'll probably work on some of the stuff that's harder to part with (like shoes) but starting easy should help me build momentum.

let's get organized: the 100 challenge

A while ago I read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up". I'm sure you've all heard of it by now, but if you haven't read it asap. It is a quick 1-2 evening read.

Anyway, some of her philosophies don't fit with my lifestyle, but the mood to purge struck tonight.

I challenged myself to throw away 100 things. Sadly, this only took 15 minutes. And no, I don't belong in an episode of hoarders.

Here is how it went down. I started in the kitchen and tossed receipts (I will be so happy when receipts go the way of the vcr) and junk mail. Next I hit up the bathroom with reckless abandon.

Here's the deal. Get rid of the products you don't use without guilt. Throw away that bright pink lipstick, instead of being mad that you wasted $2.97, thank it for teaching you it wasn't your color (and now I have just kondo-ized you). Toss those half empty shampoo bottles you took from the hotel and next time do yourself a favor and leave them behind. And don't even get me started on expired medications.

See how fast you can get to 100- this should be fun! Well, maybe my idea of fun is a bit different than yours, but I have two small children that can't be left unattended.

Have I convinced you yet? Great! Now you can play along with me. For the next 5 days we are going to get rid of 100 items per day. Take a few deep breaths- it isn't as terrible as it sounds because digital clutter counts too, so emails and selfies are included. 

Here is an outline of my clutter-busting week:

Monday- junk mail and bathroom

Tuesday- master bedroom and purses

Wednesday- 2nd bathroom and cleaning products

Thursday- personal email and phone

Friday- work email

And remember- this is just garbage we are throwing out- socks whose mate has been long gone, party invitations that you wouldn't put in a scrapbook, underwear that is more than a decade old.