After I verbally vomited all of my grumpiness here the other day, I felt much better. Thanks for hearing me out and for all the fun and positive comments :)
I think getting it all off my chest was the catharsis I needed to get myself moving again. I spent six full hours on Thursday cleaning my house from top to bottom!
Once I got started, I just couldn’t stop. I cleaned places that I haven’t cleaned in ages!
Between the rungs of the crib?
Check!
The berries hanging on the light fixture in the bathroom?
Check!
Under the toaster oven?
Check!
Wash the sugar bowl?
Check!
That last one was one of the most dramatic changes around here, LOL. You figure a sugar bowl doesn’t really get dirty so I just refill it each time it gets low.
Not that day! That day I emptied it into another bowl and gave it a good, soapy washing. Turns out that thing is clear glass afterall! (not the opaque white mess it looked like before)
I have to say that I was almost paralyzed by the end of the day and my back ached like the dickens, but it felt SOOO good to get things in order around here. I know I’ll be really glad I went to such great lengths once the holiday madness picks up and the new baby girl arrives.
I’ve been meaning to post pictures of this year’s decorations and now that the house is clean I’m ready to share some of the holiday nooks around the house :)

Grace helping Daddy meticulously lay down plastic and towels so we don’t ruin our floors with a leak (this has happened before!)
Now let’s fast forward about 12 hours past all of the branch clipping, tree leveling, light stringing, last minute running around to find more lights and finally the 6 hour cleaning spree…

The stockings “hung with care” (or shoved into the piano as is the case with Grace’s since we haven’t found the right hanger yet)

Holly berries and snowman tea light on the mirror and festive towel…just a touch of holiday cheer in the loo!
A few of my favorite ornaments…

Elvis’s blue suede shoes that I picked up after the Cirque du Soleil show I saw in Las Vegas during a work trip.

Empire State Building ornament that Andy and I bought at the top of the Empire State Building during our first trip to NYC.

One of our many “Couples First Christmas” ornaments. Again with the miniature things…I would have loved to play with this in my dollhouse when I was young :)
That’s all for now! I’m super excited that it’s the holiday season and I’m looking forward to lots and lots of eggnog and baking in the coming weeks :)
