It's over:(

So Christmas has come and gone and the relief I feel is a nice bonus to the season. I love Christmas, but with three young boys, their only thought is on the gifts they get. We continually remind them of the reason for the season, and they will repeat it to you if you ask, but that doesn't change the number one thought in their heads. With that in mind, Marcy and I had promised ourselves that we would trim the amount of money spent, which we did. Now the trick is getting the boys to be ok with it. I really didn't want to have an argument with them Christmas morning that what they just unwrapped was it. It wasn't like they weren't getting much, but just not what we had done in the past. They have so much crap, I just didn't see the purpose of adding more crap to the pile. The good news is, they didn't mention anything about the scaled back gift pile or seem to be very upset that mom and dad didn't get anything. We decided that our trip to CA, that we leave on Saturday for, was our gift to each other. We drove to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on Friday for a visit to grandma and grandpa's house and they got a bunch more stuff, but most of it was craft or science type stuff, which the boys love and is better than a big pile of crap. Did I mention that we have thousands of McDonalds happy meal toys? If you have 3 boys and get them a happy meal, you get three crappy toys, all of them the same. If you go to McDonalds just twice a month, that's 6 crappy toys. Multiply that by 12 months and you get 72 crappy toys. Most months, we don't average twice a month, but during busy times, the number increases to make that average more realistic. I tell you this so you know just how much crap is in my house. I throw away toys at every turn, still can't move in half my rooms due to the lack of visible floor in which to put your foot.
The drive home on Friday was especially scary, since the temperature had a range of about 40 degrees, the fog rolled in and we couldn't see squat. We made it home around 9:30pm and it was still 58 degrees, which is far better than the single digits we had just a few days earlier. I was unloading the car and getting some non-kid time, when a thought hit me. ITS 58 DEGREES, IN IOWA, IN DECEMBER! I decided I was taking the Christmas lights down right then and there. You see, last year, I took the lights down in 10 degree weather and half of them were frozen to the bushes and to the house, so it wasn't a pleasurable experience. It only took about 20 minutes to get the lights down and into the garage, drag the inflatables inside and roll up the extension cords. I woke up Saturday morning to 20 degree weather and freezing rain, Mark 1, Weather 0. Now as I looked out my window, a bit smug since I had beaten mother nature, I soon realized that now my driveway, which doesn't get much sunlight, is now covered in a layer of ice that will not melt until June. Mark 1, Weather 1. The boys loved skating on the driveway and I didn't fall as I tried to retrieve the mail. I even taught the kids how to run down the yard and launch yourself onto the sled and use the sidewalk as your own luge track. Sometimes, it's fun to live in Iowa, even in the winter. Sunday was spent trying to chip some of the ice off the driveway. Since the temperature had gotten up into the upper 30's I was able to make a little progress, but 1/2 is still covered. Today is supposed to be in the 40's, so lets hope I can beat that June prediction.
I forgot to mention in my first paragraph that I did get one thing for Christmas. Marcy was at a party that had one of those white elephant gift exchanges, where you can either pick from the pile or steal what someone all ready has. Well someone was sitting with a Coca-Cola mirrored clock that most people would find unnecessary, but Marcy knew that I might be interested, not sure why she thought that, I mean Coke, yuck:) I had this precious piece of art sitting in the kitchen, where the boys aren't allowed, waiting for a trip to the basement where it would be hung in a spot of honor. I made a trip to Lowes and when I got back, learned that Max had practiced his soccer kick on my gift, shattering it and thus breaking my heart. He "says" it was an accident, but he might actually just be a Pepsi fan, not sure since he hasn't drank either. I will remember this and if I catch him with a Pepsi in a few years, I can guarantee you that I will smash his favorite toy that next Christmas, no matter what it cost. You can't put a price on a broken heart.