Adding Stuff

We're having a holiday party/event for something school-related tomorrow.   There are forty-six coming as of last count.   I'm looking forward to it for several reasons: there will be children, we're sharing interesting information with the attendees and it's just a great bunch of people to spend an afternoon with.

We've been putting up our holiday decorations for the last few days.  I think there are four bins in the attic that contain all the ornaments, lights, outdoor lights, stockings and any other holiday-type thing we might want to display around the house.  

We've been to several homes in the past week and I've had a chance to see what decorations other families have up.   Suffice it to say, we are on the meager, paltry and skimpy side.   We have one neighbor who spends weeks getting her indoor and outdoor areas transformed.   Her house is spectacular, without a doubt, but it's not something I strive to have in my own home.

We went to a party yesterday and I was really taken with their decorations.   They had things all around, but they were tasteful and purposeful and everything seemed to fit.    They had more than one  Christmas tree, but the husband was quick to point out that that one over there had plastic ornaments and the lights were built in.     Even so, their house looked nice.   I liked it better than the few little things I had strewn around our house (even if I love those few little things.)

Today I decided I'd see if I could acquire some more holiday stuff.   I was looking for larger things that would sit in a room on a shelf or on a table and be noticed.    I was looking for things that looked great but were also inexpensive.    I knew just the place to go:  Home Goods.  

I was not let down.   I filled a cart full of things that again and again key surprising me with their low prices.   I got lots of lovely things that are now in my house, making things look a little less dinky and a lot more festive.  

I also got a second Christmas tree.   The main tree is in the basement, decorated in quite the crazy style by the children and our neighbor's children.    I got a small, artificial, white tree with colored lights for again, a difficult-to-believe low price at Wal*Mart.   Connect three sections, plug it in, wrangle the limbs around a bit and you're done.    Stick some of the stylized boxes and bags from Home Goods underneath it and you have a second tree that just looks happy all by itself.

We have more stuff now, but I think it's made the house look like it's actually involved in Christmas this year, instead of holding up a few knick knacks on shelves like it did last year.

The Big Boy Update:  I was decorating with my new things this afternoon.   My children had helped me pick them out earlier.    My son was near the Christmas tree working with some tools he had.  I asked him if he was working on our tree.   He looked up at me and said, "I am excited for Christmas."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  At buffets my children are old enough to help pick out their food now.   My daughter had picked out several things when she looked at her plate and said, "that's enough."    (It was, she had a reasonable amount of food on her plate.)   Then she looked at the plate and said, "I wanted the green plate."   I looked over and realized I had grabbed the orange plate (my favorite color) and hadn't even considered the green plate for her.    You can be sure the next time back to the buffet she selected a green plate.

Fitness Update:   Girls on the Run Reindeer Romp 5K.   I ran a 5K with my neighbor and her daughter, Madeline, who had been working hard to train up for her first 5K.   She did very well, walking only a few times in the whole distance.    It was a packed event in the rain and drizzle, but it was fun.