Christmas was fun…..(and there was too much chocolate)

….and busy.

The results, naturally, are tiring, and lead to other things:

All the new stuff we got from extended family gave me a panic attack this morning.  There’s no place for it to go.  My kids can’t handle what they have already.    Puzzle pieces strewn around and a huge pile of Rose’s dress-up stuff blocking the front door didn’t help.  Inspired, I went through my closet and found a pile of things for the thrift store.  I went through my book shelf again and set aside a big stack of unread books for the library book sale.

The bags and boxes attracted the big kids, who began freaking out that I was giving anything away.  They began shouting and pulling stuff out, until they realized it was things like “Craft of the Dyer” and “The Tudor Age.”  (not bad books, but I don’t have enough shelf space for them all, and I have not looked in either of those for over a decade).  Then they calmed down.  I haven’t gotten to their room….yet.