House is Naked

Kids are back in school, Rob back to work and I went to work cleaning the house. I got all the Christmas put away on Monday morning. Took about 2 hours to get the tree, ornaments, decorations and odds and ends put into the boxes and then organized down in the basement. With the living room so naked, it was evident the floor was in need of cleaning. I used my black tea method and good ole cloth power and washed the living room and dining room floors. Monday night was our first family clay class. Ellie and I have taken it together for a couple years but Nick is finally old enough to join in. It was a bunch of fun to do this all together. Rob has a different appreciation for clay. Nick thought he could duplicate the project that Ellie was doing. It was nice to be back in that creative environment.
Tuesday was grocery shopping day. I got some great deals on Christmas toy clearance at Aldi and then also a cart load of things at Meijer. More than half my cart was clearance...love that. I stocked up on bath gel for $.09 a bottle - goodie bag item for the kids birthday parties. Rob was taping a game last night so Ellie and I experimented with some things in the fridge. We made a monkey bread with our bbq shreds and cheese and it came out real good. We also tried broiled grapefruit - don't knock it until you try it.
Today I did some more cleaning up around the house. Getting the kids toys back into their correct places. Vacuuming under the couch cushions and rugs. I was able to clean off the kitchen counters and get most of the holiday food away into cabinets. Mom and Dad came over for our eclectic dinner. Mom was in the mood for stuffed cabbage so she made a deconstructed cabbage casserole and banana bread. I made vegan enchilada casserole, fruit & a regular salad and Ellie requested broiled grapefruit.
It was lovely to have some down time the past couple days. I was able to get to the library and check some books out, register the kids for the winter reading club and clean the house. Looks like Friday will be the warmest day and I will pull the outdoor lights down. Wishing my goddaughter, Tara, a very happy 18th birthday. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree