Forget Monday blahs, it's Tuesday!

Monday was actually pretty good - I didn't have the "blahs" at all.
Our weekend was great - My sister and her husband were up from the States to visit, so I got to see my adorable little niece who is only 5 weeks older than Joey, but is completely different in terms of development.
Baby girls fascinate me - maybe because I've never had one. My niece is just purely delightful. She is walking (running even) and talking so much. Her language and comprehension skills are so much more advanced than Joey, and it amuses me to no end to see this little wee thing (shes is shorter than Joey) so interactive.
This morning they left to go back, so I am faced with the task of cleaning my neglected house, and tackling a new project that I like to call "Project DUMP" Inspired by my good friend Julie, who has recently acquired more toys for her 2 little girls much to her chagrin.

This is where I take all the toys that the kids have outgrown/broken/lost pieces to/lost interest in and DUMP it!!
Right now I have 3 bins in the basement chock full, and there is certainly more to go through.
I've never done a major toy purge, as I kept thinking - Oh, that will be fun for the next kid to play with, and so on and so on. Some of the toys are pretty neat toys, but they are dated, and they keep getting new ones for birthdays and Christmas.

3 sets of grandparents x 3 children x 2 major present giving occasions (Christmas and b-days) = TOO MANY TOYS.

Now that there are no more new babies in our future plans, we can start chucking stuff out, which I began with gleeful joy, as my oldest son watched and suddenly acquired a newfound interest in toys he had long abandoned.
"Oh I like this" he said after every toy was held up. I gave him the option initially of helping me sort out which toys we would be giving away, until he had filled up his "keep" bin, and our "giving bin" had only a handful of odds and ends. When he wasn't looking, I went through the bins with a little more discretion, throwing caution to the wind, and figuring that if he really missed something, it would be a good indication of how much he played with his toys. Upshot is, that he hasn't missed a thing yet, and I have 3 bins in the basement ready for donation.

Other than my little work project, Today has been a rather blah day. The boys found my brownie batter blizzard from Dairy Queen that I had put in the freezer last night. They wanted mommy to share with them, so I obliged them with a morning treat, as they cuddled up against me on the couch, mouths hanging open like baby birds awaiting the worm. I will admit that I enjoyed our little time together, taking turns nobody fighting, everybody happy for a few blissful moments.

The day is only half over, and yet I am feeling bored. Restless. and at times overwhelmed when I look at the huge mountain of laundry that needs washing, the kitchen that needs cleaning, and the little areas of clutter that I have neglected and even added to. I feel like doing a spring cleaning, but the feeling quickly changes to "I'd rather go out shopping without the kids for an hour or two" or "I'd rather have a nap" or "I'd rather do almost anything except clean".

I am a packrat by nature, although I have improved greatly over the years. I married a packrat too, who has not improved as much, hence we still have everything from childhood teddybears to outdated university textbooks laying around collecting dust.
I must purge - Not just the kids old toys, but the kids old clothes, my old clothes, our old books, knick knacks, things we don't use - So much to purge that I barely know where to start.
We have so much.
How lucky and spoiled are we, that we have so much that we don't need. To have so much that I don't even know where to begin to start getting rid of it. We have been very blessed.

Now if I can get rid of some of this blessed stuff, I'll be able to breath!