Ghost of Christmas Past

Preparing for Christmas is now my "Spring Cleaning".  Looking back at my childhood it was for my mom as well.  I remember one year having to wait for a weekend she wasn't working so she could clean the house before she would let us put up a single decoration.  Now for those who didn't live in my house, cleaning to my mother is more than vacuuming the traveled areas of a carpet and mopping the high traffic spots of the floors.  Cleaning to her means get a big can of elbow grease out cause you're gonna need all of it!  All the stains that sat for months in the carpet came out before Christmas.  A candle that sat all year without seeing the dust rag will now be cleaned because it will have a small wreath of its own at this time of year.  I think I know now why this occurred.  Since you're re-arranging the WHOLE house in order to get the Christmas tree in that perfect front window spot, might as well clean the furniture you're moving and the floor under it.  In years past this just meant keeping a Swiffer in my back pocket as I moved around my own home decorating.  THIS year I carried a box of Clorox wipes with me.  It was gross.  That's all I'm gonna say.
It also came to my attention that we have no room for more toys.  I thought we had every girl toy known to man, and I didn't think we'd need more for the second girl in the house.  But, (insert Beverly Hills House Wife voice here) I had to have the cutest activity center for Ella Kate's Christmas gift this year when I was shopping yesterday!  Sooooo, the toys got sorted.  But not much.  So I bought a bigger rug to allow a bigger play space in the living room.  I won't be able to eat steak (or anything else expensive) for 6 months probably, but I don't need those pounds anyway.
Christmas is a time that I like doing little special things to let the people I love know it.  As my pastor said a few weeks ago "Talk is cheap" when it comes to love.  "We do not give to get happy, we give because we ARE happy because God loves us" (Vegi Tales).  And although it is hard for me to do anything extra for my family right now (its taking all I've got just to get through each day), I am trying.
At Thanksgiving I took Ella Kate (8 months old) to sit by the campfire we enjoy at my parents house.  She is by nature a "stiff" baby.  She rarely relaxes in my arms.  When I sat with her just staring at the fire she relaxed every muscle and melted into me and was quiet (not screeching like an owl) for the first time that day.  So I was going to make an effort to light a fire at home more often, it's just a flip of a switch in my house.  However, for the safety reasons you can see below this is not currently practical.  But I found it also works with just a big candle, which has prominent stance on the usually cluttered coffee table just for her.  Well it's also for me, I love candles, and I forgot how nice it is to have them burning.

For Anna, it's easy to let her know I care.  Today, it was as simple as giving her a box of ornaments that are kid friendly and let her go.  She actually didn't do half bad except the very front of the tree is a bit heavy.

For me it's the little things.  The house is even more a wreck than usual with boxes in the hall and laundry that didn't get put away because we were too busy trying to take pictures (a horrible disaster, the best shot is below).  But we had fun decorating, and I know that is the stuff the girls will remember.  No one but me will know I didn't get all the dust bunnies up before laying the new rug down.  Well, except now everyone will, and if it bothers you, please feel free to send an elf with a swiffer and Clorox wipes!