As I sat in the middle of our living room floor yesterday, surrounded by crazy amounts of Christmas clutter, I looked down at my poor, tired hands, and as I did, I couldn't help but laugh...not a laugh like "ha, ha, ha" but a laugh like "hu, hu, hu".  Around two of my fingers I had strategically placed bandaids that were being used to cover some pretty intense war wounds, (and this is where I am going to leave out the part about the blister on my palm from pealing 10lbs of potatoes...ya really).  Ok so back to the bandaids...they were actually there to conceal gouges I got after battling that stupid plastic stuff inside of the boxes that my kids new Christmas toys were in!  You know the stuff!!  It's too difficult to cut it with scissors, and just a bit too sharp to tear with your hands...hence, the bandaids!  

     I spent  almost a full 12 hours yesterday just trying to get all of the "stuff" that we lugged home from our families Christmas gift exchanges, put away and organized of course... needless to say that my day was spent in much frustration.  Now before you get all "oh poor thing, they got too much stuff" on me...I asked everyone to do VERY little for my kids, and nothing for me (except a coffee maker!!! girls got to have something!)...that being said...it was still a mess.  It did get me to thinking though that as much as I love Christmas and all that it brings, I started to wonder if all of your "days after" were just as frustrating.  Misery loves company right???  So I had to ask "what is the most frustrating thing about the day after Christmas?"  And now, I'm going to share... 



"Clutter! I now have to buy things to put the things we bought in!!"

(I love the thought of Kim out buying plastic storage bins to store all of her new stuff!!)





"mind numbing exhaustion..... I have lost it twice today with my fam... at least we made it through Christmas Day without a visit from "mommy dearest"

(this is from our own EM Lindsay, couldn't leave her out...really only twice??? Hmmmmm)





"the constant clutter of new toys everywhere...even after you pick it up a hundred times."

(oh sweet Stacey...is this really any different than any other day, oh I see, the toys are NEW!!!  How many more days till those kids go back to school??)





"packaging, toys, left over desserts, decorations that need to be taken down....a bit overwhelming, very very tired. today we had a second christmas with my husband's family...I think I'm Christmased out!"

(Amy...to that second Christmas...just say NO!!!)





 And the winner of the BUOAMTT award for "best use of a meteorologist term today"...Mindy and Callee tie for their brilliant use of  "tornado" when describing their homes!!!





We wont be taking away Patricias MOTY award for this...but I think she may be the only one that could tell this story..."Using the auto clean on the oven, only to start a fire, turn it off but can't open the door until it cools. Teenager waking up saying something smells here. Now not only the the cleanup of all the celebrations but the "de-stink" of the house"





"All the Christmas decorating still being up. I've been known to take them down Christmas night...lol"

(Um...Stepanie....are you SURE you are related to Lindsay???)





"Food hangover and hating yourself for how OUT OF CONTROL you were with your eating!!!"

(Thanks for being honest Leigh...and I think I'll throw Renee's "ugh" in there that she used to describe how here jeans are now fitting!  Guess it makes setting a New Years Resolution just that much easier!!)





Katie nailed this one..."Too much trash and not enough room in the trash cans!!!"

...I can't pass on mentioning the irony of this one...I just had to let the dog out, and after he did not return in a timely manner I went to check, and found him rooting around in the overflowed trash bag that was left laying on the garage floor!!! ARG!!





And even though I had a bunch more I would love to mention, I thought I would end on this one from Rebecca...

"Knowing that the anticipation of Christmas is over and now have to wait 364 more days for that day again. And that I can no longer listen to Christmas music."





...I have to be honest here for a second and say that when I first read this (don't hate me Rebecca) I think I threw up a bit in my mouth from all the sweetness!!!  But then as I looked over at my beautiful tree still lit in all it's glory, ornament-less on the bottom (thanks to my 2 yr old) and covered in random drawings and stuffed animals (thanks to my 5 yr old) I got just a tinge of sadness that I will be unplugging it for a final time in about 2 weeks when I can finally get around to it! (sarcasm!) And you know what?  I realize that I love more than anything to be in a store when the words to the music are "Christ the Savior is born" and not "I kissed a girl and I liked it" (REALLY??)....I love driving around with my kids  in constant amazement of the gorgeous lights!    I love that my husband and mom gave gifts to others in need "in our names", and that our church feeds hundreds of people in our community Christmas day...I will miss my daughter with her daily countdown, and the bantering and sneaky remarks my husband and I have been tossing around about Santa (he's a lover, I'm the hater).   I will miss being able to justify cookies and wine I mean fudge, I will miss our stockings hanging on the wall, but mostly I will miss the people that choose to smile through the chaos and say "Merry Christmas"!!!





So to Rebecca and the rest of us, I say, keep the Christmas music playing, keep greeting each other (even if its with a "Happy Lunar Eclipse") and keep up the spirit of giving...We need each other all year long!!





We do still want to hear about your "day after' madness...so please leave a comment below!

And please keep sharing us will all of your friends!!!





And one more thing...tune in Friday when Lindsay and I give our best "how to survive New Years Eve" advice!!!

We have these HUGE floor to ceiling windows in the front of our house so if people come up unannounced they can see perfectly into my chaos... there is no hiding the unending trail of trucks and airplanes, dirty diapers and dishes that decorate my living and family rooms daily. So the other day, when I heard my dog bark unexpectedly, I flipped!! I ran to the front door and what did I see?? My wonderful husband AND an executive from the hospital where he works!!!! I almost puked... there was no hiding the mess that could only be compared to the aftermath of a hurricane... My husband got out of the car with a sheepish smile... I could see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead... waiting to see what my response would be... I did my best tap dancing routine and pretended I was ok as I formulated a plan to torture my husband. As they drove away I texted my husband this message: "I am going to shank you in your sleep!"... he was actually excited until he found out that "shank" is NOT a sexual innuendo, but a term for stabbing with a hand sharpened object.





Here are the do's and don'ts of making your house look cleaner than it really is...



#1 DO... Keep the lights as low as humanly possible.... harder to do in the day, but seriously, turning lights on only showcases fingerprints and dust and the mysterious goo that magically appears on the walls, tables and chairs.

#2 DON'T... Think that every room in your house has to be cleaned. Choose three rooms... for me its the kitchen, living room and 1 bathroom.  Then just keep your guests confined to those areas as best as possible... I'm not saying to whip out a WWF smack down if your friend wanders... but they don't need to have reign of the entire house.

#3 DO... Load all of your dishes in the dishwasher... then if there is no time left take dirty pots and pans and slide them into the oven... HOWEVER... don't forget to remove them before turning your oven on again... nothing embeds crusty food on your dishes faster  than actually baking it on... I speak from experience.

#4 DON'T... Shove your recyclables in the oven with your dishes.... because you will forget it's in there and you'll have big problems when you turn your oven on!! Again, sadly,  I speak from experience! :(

#5 DO... Light a candle to mask the stank... Oh, is that just my house??? 

#6 DON'T... Underestimate the power of a quick vacuum job.... we're talking quick... just enough to make the lines in the carpet... it will make your house look instantly put together.

#7 DO... Gather up all toys and throw in one toy box... your kids can sort them out later... and it's there mess anyway!!

#8 DON'T... Get in such a hurry you try to suck up annoying toy parts with the vacuum... they can get lodged and render your vacuum useless when you still have pizza crumbs and dirt clumps to vacuum up off of the couch... needless to say that may or may not be why mama needs a new vacuum:)

#9 DO... Start one load of laundry and shove the other 32 piles in laundry baskets.... if you have a few extra seconds you can even sort it and leave it on the floor of a room your guest will no be in... however whenever I do this my kids get stars in their eyes and aren't satisfied until they have jumped in and scattered every last pile...

#10 DON'T... Be shy about allowing friends and family to enter in to your chaos. It took me about 8 years to let Gena see what a slob I really am... (lucky her:)) and while she may not always enjoy coming to my health hazard of a home... it's really freeing to know she loves me anyway:):) I am who I am... I like a clean, organized house as much as anyone... but it's just not in my genetic code to keep it that way for some reason... and that's OK!



Hope this helps... PS if anyone shows this to my sweet, very tidy grandma we will have words... I'm not ready to let her see all that my chaos has to offer yet:):) ahahaha:)

I only paint the toes that show on any given day. From a distance it looks like I have a decent pedi going … and I do mean a distance. But if you look up close you would see about 17 layers of gunky, chipped “You don’t know Jacques” OPI nail polish on my toes. My big toe on my left foot is still swollen and throbbing from an unfortunate forking (which is why forks don’t belong on the floor FYI) and the calluses on my heals…well it’s just not proper to talk about them in mixed company.