Around Here: Week 51

{"Before" of my closet} 

Cleaning... the house before we left last weekend to visit my parents.  I so love when it's clean!  Luckily I've learned to just enjoy it while it lasts and not stress over how quickly it meets its demise.

Enjoying... a quick trip to Vancouver.  It was my mom's birthday party weekend and I am so glad we were able to make it. I've missed her birthday for years since we were in Alaska.  It felt great to make a reappearance. Even if we did stay up until 2 in the morning talking.  Totally worth the tiredness the next day to have had some one on one time with my mom.

Thanking... my lucky stars that Carly slept most of the drive there and back.

Making... all the treats for the boys' school parties.  Rice Christmas krispie treats & cinnamon rolls, yum!

Staying... home on Tuesday since school was canceled for freezing rain.  Unfortunately for Logan & Wyatt, their class parties were supposed to be Tuesday, so instead of sharing with their classmates, they got to share their class treats with their brothers.

Wrapping... gifts like mad yesterday during Carly's nap time.  I hadn't wrapped a single gift before then, so I had my work cut out for me!

Reading... Bird by Bird and hoping to finish today.  I'd like to read Chasers of Light and finish Believing God before the new year.

Finishing... Winter Stroll and Winter Storms by Elin Hildebrand.  Gah, they were SO good!!!

Starting... a Christmas puzzle two days ago. Doing puzzles makes me ridiculously happy.

Feeling grateful... that Dashy our Christmas Elf goes home tonight. I'm exhausted from all the forced creativity. Buh-bye Dash. Have a safe trip North!

Sorting... through all my clothes and books via the KonMari method. I read the book in three days (found it on my library's ebook page!)) and then got started.  I got rid of so.many.clothes. Probably 2/3 of my clothes.  I am selling some stuff, but donated a lot at Goodwill.  I also sorted through my  jewelry which felt great (it's so good to have only what I love in my jewelry box) and I went through all my books.  I had 126 books, 6 magazines, 2 bibles and 19 misc/empty journals. ...and that's just my collection of books.  The boys collection probably has double that!  I made good headway though, getting rid of 42 of them!

Watching... my Christmas-card-covered-door fill up.  All the love from my people makes me happy!

Painting... my toenails the happiest shade of red. I finally got around to getting them done and I'm so glad I did!

Loving... my new drying rack for all the snow clothes that I got at Ikea last weekend.  My mom and sister swore by theirs, so I purchased one for myself and it is awesome!

Cursing... my children's need for glasses.  Yesterday Logan & Jack were fighting and the new glasses just got Logan (at Halloween) got broke.  They were $75. And they only lasted two months! Grrr!

Goals for this week:
Today I will be making Cinnamon Rolls & Special K bars
After Christmas I want to hit the post-Christmas sales to find a fake tree & a new star topper
Other than that, it's family time and relaxing!