Small Successes-Christmastide

Celebrating the little things in life that add up.

I feel like a lot has gone on here in the past two weeks. As I listen to the snowy mix fall outside, I'm pondering what might stand out as a success.

1. I suppose the fact that I baked a lot in the week leading up to Christmas would count as a success. I think on some level I've even come to like baking chocolate chip cookies from scratch, but I'm not ready to let my husband and kids in on that little secret just yet. There's something satisfying about seeing how happy homemade cookies make your family.

2. I've managed to keep the house surprisingly clean. Sure there are some presents that don't have a place yet, and my garage looks like a bomb hit it, but the rest of the house is presentable enough to have people over to visit. I even went out and brought storage containers to organize some of Ellie's new toys.

3. I have been able to pull myself away from my obsessive cleaning and straightening up to play with my kids over the past week. The girls got several board games for Christmas and I have been playing some of those games with them.

Bonus: To prepare for next Christmas (I'm such a nut!), I went bargain hunting at Target and got my wrapping paper for the girls' presents for next year (I like to color coordinate my wrap with the family room's green walls.) and a nice set of Christmas cookie cutters that will be used to make salt dough ornaments.

Bonus 2: I'm counting the fact that I'm out of bed and functioning before 8am as a success. I haven't been able to get up and stay up for nearly a week. I've just been feeling exhausted (probably from all the craziness leading up to Christmas).