{Back to Normal}

See those cars parked in front of the school? See the flag flying high? That means one thing . . . school is BACK in session! As much as I loved having all the kids home with me for the past couple of weeks, I think we are all ready to go back to normal. Although if you asked Sasha, she would tell you she wanted to stay home forever.

It's going to take some time to really feel "normal" again after the holidays. Our sleep schedules are wacky, our house is slowly becoming organized, and we're mentally transitioning back to a life of duties and responsibilities. And I know it's not just us who are taking our time regrouping. Sasha's bus, which originally was supposed to be at our stop at 8:26, still hadn't made it to our stop when I drove the girls to school at 8:52 this morning. I saw neighbor boys scrambling to walk to school (I did offer them a ride, and they declined) and there were LOTS of parents dropping their kids off due to the late bus. So it's just going to take everyone time to recover from this lovely break.

Thankfully, Cory and I managed to pack away almost all of the Christmas decorations this weekend. Everything is done except for a few things: the live tree is still up because it still looks beautiful and healthy, there is a wreath in the dining room that I plan to take down today, and our Dickens village needs to be packed away. Other than that, our home is de-Christmas-ified. And as much as I love the trees (we had five up this year) and the decorations, I love how clean and spacious our home looks when they are gone. The girls, however, are dismayed that Christmas is over. Clara expressed her concern this morning on the way to preschool. "When will it be Christmas again?" "In a year," I told her. "What if Santa dies?" Oh boy.

So now we go back to our daily routine. School drop-offs and pick-ups, cooking each evening, dance classes, Daisy troop meetings, and so on. And life is good.

Happy New Year! Here's to making every day count, no matter how "normal" it may be!