The big 10 on Tuesday

Every one of these lovely friends is WAY ahead of me, and I am loving it...

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I am really having a scroogish, bah humbug kind of year. And I don't know why, maybe it is because my shoes are too tight...or that my hat is not screwed on just right. Whatever the reason...I am WAY behind on everything this Christmas season.

I feel overcommitted-10 steps behind and being behind puts me in a very scroogish bah humbug kind of mood. Even Dave was commenting on my struggles this year and saying how unlike me I am being because I neurotically get things done early in the season so I can enjoy it. But not this year. LAME LAME LAME. SO here are 10 things I need to get finished or caught up on before Saturday-the magic last day of school for 3 of my children-the day when the real job of entertaining & fabulous fun can begin.

1. Laundry-it is never ending!! Piled up, waiting to be folded & put away and washed....oh the laundry you are my daily bane.

2. Christmas cards. I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARDS. I read every letter & look at every face of friends who live close & those who live far away & I miss. It is seriously one of my very most favorite things about Christmas. They receive a spot of honor on our closet door so I can look at them every time I go upstairs or answer the front door. And I RELIGIOUSLY get mine out by December 10th because the 15th is the last day the post office will guarantee to have the cards there in time for Christmas. And I know this because that date was circled in bright red on my calendar for the 3 years we lived in Germany. I have NEVER in the last 6 years gotten my cards out after the 15th. And today...December 15th...here they sit...as a testament to my lateness! I have even scaled down the craftiness I was going to put into our Christmas letter in an attempt to get them done on time...but alas it was not to be.

Here they sit all piled & sad! Waiting for cheery stamps!

3. Fixing broken ornaments & decorations. They are sitting in a very cute gift bag on top of our computer hutch...waiting sadly for their turn to be put on the tree. But first they need to have a little crazy glue lovin.

5. Gift projects...don't even get me started on the amount of crafts I have done this year for gifts. Talk about overscheduling....and one craft that was supposed to be so simple has turned into hours of work & frustration. It is almost done...a few holes to sand bigger and then it will be wrapped & placed under the tree.

6. Christmas shopping. Seriously, I just barely made lists. IN years past if I didn't have it all done by the 1st of Dec it wasn't going to get there in time. But now that I can be lazy & just drive to toys r us instead of ordering everything. Dave & I just did our big shopping trip today for the kids so now I just have a few stocking stuffers to get, plus gifts for his assistants & two things that they don't carry at my favorite one stop shop stores like fred g meyers or Target-I have to actually go to the mall!

These presents are wrapped because Dave wanted to do it, notice there are no bows or embellishments, purely a man's wrap job!

7. Cookie platters for neighbors/visiting teachers. We actually took 2 cookie platters over to our next door neighbors yesterday but I still need to make a big one for my aunt who lives down the street because they are such great neighbors. They get the extra special cookie platter. And my companion & I just can't get it together this month. We've had two dates set to go visiting teaching & drop off gifts, but both times something came up for one of us so we need to do that soon!

8. Sleep under the Christmas tree. This is a sacred tradition at our house. The kids & I just love it, to turn all the lights out & camp under the tree. We usually do it fairly soon after putting it up, because I don't want them shaking presents all night long. But I think this one will have to wait until school is out.

Bella is still way obsessed with the tree...I find a chair scooted up to it every day so she can rearrange ornaments. She must have some personal decorator in her blood!

9. Finish my talk, that is right I am speaking at the Christmas sacrament meeting for our ward. ANd I know what I want to talk about but still have to rough it out and then smooth out the rough edges so it isn't a horrible talk, and I don't stand up there and bawl.

10. Read piles of Christmas stories to my kids. I love sitting on the couch & reading Christmas stories, especially the 3 trees which always makes me cry, I can barely get through a page or two without choking up. Again, this will probably have to wait until they are out of school & I can focus all my energy & lovins on them.