Silver Bells, Silver Bells, It's Christmastime in the City

Good Morning from Tawnyland!

The first piece of news is that my carpet, who I've long believed is the devil, is finally clean. I broke down, got sick of trying to do it myself, and called Stanley Steemer. They are soft and fluffy again, and best of all, I got an enzyme treatment which takes out all the old bacteria and soaps. I guess soap building up is what causes all the dirt to begin with, because it gives the grime a place to stick. The SS guys don't use any soap, they use mostly water and a small amount of surfactants, which are non toxic cleansers. I guess they used to have a guy who worked with them who would actually swig the stuff in front of customers to show how harmless it was. Crazy, I know. Anyway, the carpet is stain free...well, almost. The crystal light, now banned from our house, of a previous post remains. The SS guy said he could remove it, but it was going to cost me $75/half hour. Needless to say, I was not about to dish that out, but he was nice enough to show me the process so that I could do it myself. I plan on doing that while the kids nap today.

The rest of today involves some playtime with the kids, some cruising on my new favorite site, laundry, dishes, and all the usual cleaning, and perhaps some organizing of the toys. Every year at Christmas the grandparents spoil the kids rotten with toys, and so a few weeks before, mommy must go through every block and car and get rid of the broken and discarded, and donate the gently used. I started in Aidyn's room yesterday, and now I just need to finish up with Ely. I also need to get on the kids' presents, as that's the only shopping I have left. We have been so blessed this holiday season, and it has been nice not to worry about money and be able to get our loved ones special gifts, as well as give back to people who are a little strapped this year. It really is better to give than to receive.

I also need to get a jump on Christmas cards, they came in last night so I need to print out my holiday letter, stuff the envelopes, and address them all. Hopefully I ordered enough! I'm also going to put together a grocery list of all the ingredients for my holiday baking. From now until New Year's the smell of warm cookies and cinnamon will waft from my kitchen. Have I mentioned I LOVE this time of year? Now if I could just get a little more snow....