the aftermath...

i believe in doing things in excess... be it baking an abundance of cookies (thank you, jesus, for standing with me as i talked the kids out of making those time-consuming cut-out cookies. sure, it's fun for the first batch, then they leave me with the remaining 700 dozen and i'm not such a kick ass mommy by the 90th tiny snowman) to celebrating a holiday to other such things that haven't entirely been mentioned here yet.

christmas was the usual chaotic day in our household. we maintained our stranglehold on four separate celebrations in one 12-hour period. exactly what god must have been hoping for when he sent his son. the boys basked in gifts they have yet to recall receiving (which is good for me, really, because some of them really need to not stay in my house). pictured here is just a hint of the stuff we lugged home. every day we've been tearing into new boxes, playing new games and leaving a trail in the event one of us gets lost in the house under the chaos. if you find i'm gone for long, book a flight and follow the trail of legos and star wars action figures. you'll hopefully find me huddled in a corner, all fetal positioned and rocking, muttering something about the "bad men."

those "bad men" would be the toy manufacturers. seriously. how many damn twisty wires and rolls of tape must go into packaging a toy? i seem to recall childhood christmases where i could immediately tear into a box and be playing with my new doll or barbie within seconds of ripping off the wrapping. today i feel like i have to get a few extra workouts in to build upper body strength and ensure my electric screwdriver is fully charged, and even then it's a lesson in overkill. the robotic dog pictured here (yes, i'll add that it creeps me out a bit) is shown with only a hint of of what i had to tear through to retrieve him (sure, i'll assume this is a male robotic dog). the other pieces could be found scattered around me, tossed in a fit of rage as i worked on this project.

so there's my christmas. did i get anything? nope. well, i did get cash, and i have some very serious designs for that...none of which includes paying off what we did get the kids this year. no...i'm looking for something for my own rewards. something that makes me grin as brightly as the pictured dinosaur (though seriously? i gotta think even a plastic dinosaur would look much more menacing with some fake bloody teeth).

here's hoping your own excess was just as wonderful, that you've maintained a 'safe word' in the event you need to break away from playing yet another new game and that you have some grand plans brewing for the new year. my goal? to keep the dinosaurs and whatever else from biting me in the ass.

unless it's fun. then i'm totally rethinking that part of my resolutions.