Ok this one is no fun at all but it has to be done. Today’s Family Tradition is:

Purge for Christmas!!!

Go through the toy bins, pitch all those kidsmeal toys and toys with broken or missing pieces. Make a bag of toys and books that are still in good shape that your kids have outgrown and donate them or drop them at your local resale shop. Go through the winter clothes stash and see what no longer fits, has holes or is otherwise not worth keeping and dump those too. If you have some big items, list them on craigslist or ebay. 

One rule of thumb that I think we should all consider is to aim to come out even after the holidays. Purge one toy for each toy you estimate your child will receive.

So there you have it! The annual tradition of minimizing the mess - its never too early to start!

1) Asparagus. I’m seriously ridiculously addicted to it. No one else in our little city can buy any becuase I buy it all up (sometimes literally) and eat at least a bundle a day and that’s with some self-control. I am considering having a trial run on the “All Asparagus, Only Asparagus” diet to see how that goes for me. What is more bizarre about this obsession is that only 2 months ago I really did not love asparagus or even like it all that much. I would make it maybe twice a year, following this recipe carefully, but it was a LOT of work and LOT of slaving over a hot stove for little enjoyability factor. But then my dear friend, D~, schooled me in roasting the Asparagus and now I can’t get enough. My recipe, which is D’s recipe, if you can call it a recipe:

• 1 bunch of asparagus (thin, ends snapped) thrown in a pan
• drizzle olive oil, toss
• salt and pepper gratuitously (use the grinders, really, do yourself a favor)
• Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes (Tony says if you don’t pre-heat, go for 15, if you do go for 10)
• Eat & repeat. All day.

My kids who would not touch asparagus with a ten foot pole now devour this stuff faster than I can make it which is probably driving my obsession. Now there is Mommy’s Asparagus and everyone else’s. Sick, huh? Addison is the worst culprit, she goes absolutely berserk when she sees the goods and almost hyperventilates until we throw some at her, which she inhales and screams “MORE! BITE!” until we run out.

2) a Preschool Playroom. Do you read Wondertime magazine? It’s my favorite and this past issue features a Mom who wanted a nice usable, easy-to-clean playroom for her kids so she went to their preschool and borrowed the best ideas to recreate at home. I am totally obsessed with doing the same. I have no room for it. I’ll have to get rid of the big kids’ game room to pull it off. But they won’t mind going without video games and computers in lieu of a dress up corner, right? Haha. I want the playroom. Bad.

Basically they divide a space into four or so “areas” - one for reading with a huge comfy floor pillow to lounge in and a face-out book display (want one soooo bad), one area for dress up with an unbreakable mirror and hooks for the various costumes, one area for art, one play kitchen area (already got that covered) and a table in the middle filled with pasta and oats or rice instead of sand and water - easier to clean. Drool. Must have. All of it!

3) But kids, if you are reading this, don’t despair! I wanted to link to the article for those interested but apparently it isn’t yet on the website. You’ll have to pick up the latest issue of Wondertime if you are interested. Instead found this equally compelling article about carving a play space niche for little ones and suddenly I have this great idea! I’ll erect an entire playHOUSE outside with A/C and little shutters and tiny furnishings instead. Like this one - isn’t it perfection? No? How about this one! Or the Fire House, the Market, the Little Rascals clubhouse AND one of the other little Princess houses. Oh man, I’m in serious trouble. Somebody take away my credit cards.

Ick.

We arrived home from our 3 weeks away a bit ago and ugh, I’m glad I didn’t know what awaited or I might not have put in the 8 hours of driving to get here!

The first thing that hit me was the smell. We turned our air down to 85 degrees when we left and so the whole house smelled like a combo of cigarette smoke and stale something-else. You know what it smelled like? A cheap motel.

If that wasn’t enough to make me turn around and walk out, then I noticed the hair. Cat hair EVERYWHERE. All over the house, in huge clumps and small piles and it was just floating all over the air. I guess turning the air down probably initiated a shed because my cats don’t ordinarily shed - ever!

Then I noticed my bedroom door was open. Our bedroom door is NEVER open, we keep it closed specifically to keep our pets out (and also because it’s trashed and a general collection point for a lot of junk around the house). As if that wasn’t mortifying enough, then we realized a cat had, at some point, peed on our bed.

Comforter in the wash, the next sweep of the house revealed random piles of hairballs and smeared poop or hairball remnants - I don’t know which.

And then the highlight - cat pee on my couch cushions.

I’m tired, I’m hotter than hell and I just want to go take a shower and go to bed but instead I’m frantically running around vacuuming and the kids are running around trying to find all three cats to “Make sure they are ok” (and I’m thinking “Who the hell cares?!?!?”) and I’m hoping the air kicks on and cools the house in record time and it isn’t- at all. The vacuum is literally full of cat hair, the Spotbot is done cleaning up the couch, the husband wiped down the floor, the A/C is slowly doing its job. And it still smells like stale motel room in here.

So what’s a girl to do? Blog! I’ve done all I can do here, folks. Somehow I don’t feel so bad about the Nasty Hotel Experience anymore! At least I didn’t have to call it “home”!

Anyone want to come over for a dinner party?!?!

edited later to add: Oh goodie! Now I see that my cats all have fleas! Which means of course that my house is probably infested. I’m clueless about what to do about this because my cats are all on Frontline, my dogs are too! Looks like it’s off to the vet tomorrow morning. Wow, pets are freakin’ awesome.