That was Much Better!

A year ago at this time, I felt overwhelmed by excess.  The combination of Christmas followed by Jonah's birthday two weeks later had filled our home with an enormous amount of plastic crap (ie: toys) that we did not need.  I remember telling some friends that the excess of all the "stuff" we had acquired in that two week period felt heavy, even oppressive.  I swore that we would do things differently the following year. 

The good news is that I did not forget that yucky feeling all year long.  So as Christmas rolled around this year, I made intentional choices to tame the beast of excess - or at least to make some strides in that direction.  For example, I was very selective in my choice of gifts for the boys: I steered clear of toys that I lovingly refer to as "plastic crap," I shopped in museum gift shops, book stores, and teacher supply stores rather than Toys R Us to find unique and longer-lasting items, and I only got the boys a few things each (mostly games, puzzles, and learning toys).      

Jonah was very pleased with his Magic Science Kit which allowed him to mix fizzy potions.

Nicolas was happy with some new games and puzzles.

 And Riley liked opening up a couple of new hoodies (an article of clothing that he insists on wearing every day).

The grandparents did great this year, too - only getting the kids one thing each.  Overall, the gift-giving aspect of Christmas just felt much better this year!  

As for Jonah's birthday...I warned him early on that he would not be having a big party this year. Last year's outrageously expensive party at Chuck E. Cheese with the accompanying 20+ gifts from all of the guests had enough excess to make us all a little crazy.  So this year we went sledding (Jonah's idea) and he brought along just three friends.  Jonah is a very social little boy, so it was challenging for him to not invite everyone he knows, including all 29 of the kids in his kindergarten class.  But it was a good lesson in restraint for him and I think he'd be the first to say that he had a really terrific time at this year's festivities.  In fact, we all had a great time - especially Riley who, as it turns out, is quite the little daredevil on a sled!