So Much Going On

The new job is great. After a month I feel like I'm finally finding my groove. I really enjoy working with preschoolers and (so far) they seem to like me! Now if this can just become full time, I'll be happy!
Things are obviously a little different in my house now. Instead of getting four kindergarten girls ready in the morning, I'm getting them ready plus myself. So far we've made it out the door on time! (Some mornings it's quite a challenge to get out the door on schedule). 
The downside is that I don't get to spend as much time volunteering in my daughters' classes, but they seem to have accepted that. I see them every day at the end of the morning preschool session. I walk by the cafeteria with my class while my girls are eating lunch. They and their friends all wave and shout at me. I feel like the rock star of kindergarten!
I really hope to have more time to spend on this blog, but I have a feeling that won't happen until the summer.

Too Much on My Plate

Over the last few days I've come to the conclusion that I have too much going on and something has to give. I recently accepted a new job (Yay!!!) and I'm thrilled. I'll be working as a Special Education Paraprofessional in our local school district's preschool program. The best part is that I'll be working at my daughters' elementary school. For now I'm only working in the morning session, so I still have to work a few days a week at my retail job. It's a foot in the door, though, so I'm very excited about this new chapter. Unfortunately, I just don't have the time to keep up with this blog. I'm hoping I can simply take a few weeks off of blogging, clear my head, figure out my new routine and get back into things. We'll see!

The Organizing Has Begun

I'm slowly but surely get our house back in order after the chaos of Christmas. All of our decorations are put away (except for a few lights) and the tree is ready to go back in the basement. (My allergies prevent me from having a real tree, much to Hubby's disappointment). Hubby and I spent most of the past weekend sorting and organizing the girls' toys. During a visit to Target, I checked out an organizer that I had been eyeing online. Hubby and I talked it over and decided to buy it... and when I went back it was on sale!

It may  not look like much, but this has made a huge difference. Since all the "little things" now have a place to go, it's so much easier to keep the toys organized. (We have the stuffed animals in large tubs and the dress up clothes in mesh totes). The girls understand that things need to be put back in their proper places and (so far) they've been really good about putting things away. Hubby set up the storage rack while I was at work, so I have to keep asking my daughters where certain items go!
Now I'm on somewhat of a cleaning frenzy. I'm trying to tackle one room/area at a time. We never seem to have time to organize, so it's easy to wind up with clutter. My goal over the next few weeks (yes, it's going to take that long. No, we're not hoarders) is to tackle all the areas that we keep saying we'll get to when we have time. Wish me luck!

Cleaning Up the Clutter

This weekend Hubby and I will be taking on the dreaded task of trying to organize our daughters' toys. This will involve tossing anything that's broken and packing away anything that's for younger children. Typically, it takes us a day to truly organize their toys. This time, though, we're at a loss on how to make it "work." We want something that is easy for them to help us maintain, without spending tons of money on storage bins. Right now all their stuffed animals end up in one big pile in a corner. This works, as long as no other toys are thrown into the pile. We have several mesh "bins" that work to an extent for storage, but they're not good for larger toys and they rip under the pressure of heavier toys. Yesterday I checked out plastic bins, but even those seemed expensive for the amount we would need. Feel free to share how you keep your children's toys separated and organized!

Best. Christmas. Ever.

This Christmas can be summed up in one word: fantastic. We all had a blast. Everyone was over their illnesses. We had decent weather. It was truly a Christmas to remember.
We started our festivities with our annual Christmas Eve feast. We get so caught up in seeing family on Christmas Day, that I've always tried to do a dinner just for the six of us. This year my daughters decided they love stuffing. Much to Hubby's dismay we did not have much leftovers when it came to the stuffing and mashed potatoes. I also learned that a 17 pound turkey isn't big enough for the six of us if we want decent leftovers. By Christmas night we had already devoured most of the leftovers! Here I thought I would end up freezing some of the meat! I did manage to make a casserole with the dark meat since we're more of a white meat family.
On Christmas morning my girls woke up at 6:30 am, but stayed relatively quiet until 7 am. That in itself is a wonderful Christmas gift! They were each delighted to find the special gift they had asked Santa to bring and, much to my surprise, they shared those gifts with one another. Cakes let everyone try her camera. Roo let everyone test her scooter. Tortilla promised to let everyone help her bake with her Easy Bake Oven (we haven't made anything yet, but we will soon!) And even this girl, who opened her Gameboy, sat down to play it and had to be persuaded to put it down and open more gifts, has allowed her sisters to play a few games.

Clearly we're going to have to set some rules for the Gameboy, but for now I'm letting her play her heart out.
I had to work last night and spent most of yesterday doing laundry, but Hubby and the girls spent the day playing Legos. It was definitely a great Christmas and I hope you all had a memorable day as well!

I Have How Many Days Left?!

Christmas definitely snuck up on me this year. I managed to get most of my shopping done by the beginning of December, but little things keep popping up. For instance, I realized yesterday I have two things to put in each stocking. Fortunately, Hubby picked up some small candies at the store, so I think we're set.
But I still have to wrap. Ugh. Every year I swear I'm not going to wait until Christmas Eve to wrap gifts. I had initially arranged for my mother in law to take my daughters out for lunch yesterday, which would have given me some time to wrap. Unfortunately, with the stomach bug that hit Tortilla, she just wasn't up for being out of the house. There went my wrapping day. I'm hoping tomorrow night I can get some wrapping done once the girls go to bed.
I have everything purchased for our Christmas Eve "feast" and the turkey is thawing, so I plan to spend Friday baking. (I have to work Christmas Eve morning so I want as much done before then as possible). We have a big snow storm headed our way tonight, so I guess it will help put me in the mood for Christmas!

The Santa Shop

Hubby and I do not buy each other Christmas gifts any more. Once our daughters were born, we decided it was more fun to put that money toward an extra gift for them. This means there are few gifts under the tree for us, usually a nice gift card or two from thoughtful family members. This year, however, our daughters visited the Santa Shop at school and picked out presents for us.
In order to keep things simple, two girls were given the task of buying gifts for me and the other two were assigned to Hubby. A few days before the actual shopping day, each class visited the shop to create their wish list. Tortilla and Roo's class went first. They each came home with a list of 10+ things. As I looked at their lists I realized they had picked out gifts for themselves! We had a long discussion about giving to others and they were able to find some items on their lists within their budget ($5 each) to buy on their shopping day. (Tortilla bought me a small jeweled box and a snowflake pin. Roo bought Hubby a singing Santa pen and a turtle figurine). Before Cakes and Sue Sue went to look at the shop I reminded them who they were shopping for and encouraged them to put things on their lists that only Mommy and Daddy would like. They each came home with one item on their list. Cakes wanted to buy a "mom" Christmas ornament and Sue Sue wanted to buy a pennant for our local NFL team. Since I wasn't thinking, I only sent them with the exact amount of the gifts they picked out, rather than the $5 budget. Sue Sue had to settle for an NBA pennant and the mom ornament was sold out. Fortunately a "helper" at the shop found something for Cakes to buy that was the exact same price as the ornament. I will be receiving a "fancy" pink heart ring. It's pretty much the kind of ring you get from a gumball machine, but Cakes is so excited that I am actually very excited about it, too. 
That's what it comes down to. They are so excited to be giving us gifts that they picked out. They don't know that I know what all the gifts are and I'm not letting on that I know. They keep whispering to one another about what they bought and how they think we'll react on Christmas morning. It's giving them a small sense of what it means to give at Christmas and I know we will treasure these gifts. Of course, I've already told Hubby his singing Santa pen that doesn't have an off switch can only be used at work!