Getting Back to Normal ... Whatever That Is!

The Christmas craziness has begun to subside around the house.  We found homes for most of the goodies from our stockings:  a bowl for the chocolate coins, our new toothbrushes in the bathroom (Lydia used hers as she trudged upstairs), and the notepads and sticky notes are on the school shelf.  Now the dining room table is finally cleared of all snowflakes and crumbs and we set out all the packaging and wrapping paper to be recycled.  The washing machine is thumping and doing the fourth load of laundry.  Next I'll strip beds and wash towels and get everybody settled back in their usual rooms.

Brett was back to work on Monday and my mom and sister went home on Tuesday.  In that sense, we are getting back to the normalcy of me and the kids being home together.  Back to naps.  Back to chores.  Back to figuring out how to "play well with others."  The big kids go back to school next Tuesday and I'm sure they will be relieved to return to their normal routine, too!

The kitchen is still quite Christmasy ... mainly in the realm of sweets and treats.  Oh, my.  Who knew that we could acquire so many bags of cookies, breads and delicious delights?!  The trouble is that they are delicious and my willpower has now reached its very threshold.   Each time I go in the kitchen, they call from their bags and tins, "Oh, Morgan ... we're over here!  And we're tasty!  Just one little taste?  Yeah!!  She's going to choose one of us ... oh, or two of us!  Yipee!!"  Ugh.  It is imperative that we clear out these goodies so that I will fit in my clothes in 2011.  I hate to pitch anything, but eating it all is really not an option.  Hmmm ... I guess we'll downsize tins and try not to feel too badly about the goodies that get the boot!  I guess if you feel like your Christmas pantry is a bit bare and you WANT a re-fill, let me know! :)

We have officially moved on from the traditional Christmas music ... right back to "Dynamite", I might add!  Proof that it is indeed our family's theme song!  I guess I'll have to delete my Holiday stations from Pandora ... and look forward to listening to them again next year.  Or maybe in June if I need a little pick-me-up!

We will probably take down most of our Christmas decorations this weekend, but I will keep our snowmen and pinecones out a bit longer.  I like having a little transition from a fully decorated, Holiday house to the seemingly naked look of an undecorated home ... hence the job of a few Frosty the Snowmen!  We'd hate for the house to seem empty and bare! :)

We have a delightful collection of Christmas cards and letter and pictures to sort through.  I love taking a few days following the holidays to go back through the cards and notes and make sure that we have current addresses and re-read notes.  Then I take all the photos and glue little magnets on the back to hang on our refrigerator.  Each January I update the photos of our family and friends on the fridge and it's a delight to see how everyone has grown and changed!  The past several years, I have sent our Christmas card fronts to St. Jude's Ranch.  A super simple way to make a difference! :)

We're back to just the six of us around the kitchen table and it's kinda nice to simplify the plans for dinner.  And breakfast.  And lunch.  Sloppy Joes in place of a 12-layer lasagna.  Carrots and dip in place of a perfectly dressed salad.  A bowl of cereal in place of cinnamon rolls.  Of course, within a week or so I'll be itching to have guests again.  Hmmmm ... maybe we'll need to have a Martin Luther King, Jr. dinner. :)  What sort of menu would that entail, I wonder.

It will be good to get back to our normal daily routine.  You know ... dressed before 10 am, not snacking our way through the day and eating meals we're not really hungry for, going to bed at a reasonable hour (instead of playing Wii until 10:30) and getting up to work-out instead of just thinking about it.  (See the kitchen problem above.)

Brett will be relieved to see our budget return to its normal in's and out's.  A regular trip to the grocery (instead of three - one just for eggnog), just one visit to Wal-Mart for the necessities (instead of two ... with gifts to purchase), a trip to Sam's club just for food (instead of electronics) and eating at home instead of dining out!

Each day we tackle another little part of the house and return our daily lives back to our usual routine.  But not everything at once!  Too quick a transition might be a bit too traumatic! :)  The tree still twinkles in the corner and if you look at the floor you will still see traces of packing peanuts, pine needles and an errant piece of tape and wrapping paper.  I'm still choosing to veg on the couch with my kids instead of doing too much housework and a cookie after dinner is still a wonderful idea.  We're getting closer to normal around here.  (If there is such a thing!)  We're just not in too much of a hurry to get there!  :)