The waning days of Christmas

Today begins settling things back into 'normal'. The tree will come down today, the decorations will be packed up and the furniture rearranged. Gifts will be put away instead of nestled under the tree. We have a very small house and I am trying to teach the boys that tidy = their mother's sanity.

The boys are very happy with their new Ipod nanos and have learned how to move music into itunes and onto their ipods. My younger one is ecstatic about his new fish tank and yesterday we picked up his three cold water fish and brought them home. The cats are very excited about the fish. The female mostly just likes watching them but the big orange tom has been caught on the top of the tank cover. I guess we will have to close his bedroom door while we are away or we'll come home to a wet, but full cat.

I got a lovely fuzzy blanket from my mom and dad...perfect to curl up with on these freezing winter days. I also got some much needed knives and glasses for the kitchen. Overall, I have become a huge fan of 'practical gifts rule'. I have little space to work with and I have zero room for knicknacks and things which take up space and need dusting.

I am a big fan of 'one in, one out'. When the boys get new clothes, we go through their drawers and closets and pack up things which are too small. We managed to get rid of many things in a spring garage sale and we will do the same thing again this coming spring. I almost feel like, the more extraneous things I can get rid of, the better. It will be interesting to see how long this phase lasts. Right now, eliminating clutter seems to be a huge psychological endorphin, and it also eases the cleaning burden.

I can tell, though, that the boys are getting older. This was the first year they did not put out the cookies and milk plate for Santa. This was the first year no shopping was done in the toy section of the stores, not counting the electronic toy section. They are definitely getting older. It's hard for mom to let go that way.

There is lovely snow falling this morning so I'm off to curl up with a cup of coffee and relax before the repacking of the day begins.