When Thanksgiving's over, the mad rush of Christmas will start. My kids have asked Santa for less than 3 things this year. They understand they already have too much stuff they don't use, and while they will be donating a lot of it, they also know that they don't need to replace it with more stuff they don't use. I'm so proud of my little Dave Ramsey's! I'm most proud that I didn't have to tell them to limit themselves. I asked what they wanted, and Alex said, "remember not to be greedy," and gave me his list :)
Seriously, all Alex ever plays with is a football, soccer ball, or baseball and glove. He does read, but he goes through books so quickly, it is crazy to buy them for him. He wants a Webkinz, a zhu zhu hamster, and football cards. Done. I did ask what his wish would be and he said a new big tv for all of us to share. Probably won't be happening, but one never knows what Santa might find on sale (doubt it).
Skylar wants the American Girl doll of the year and $200 so she can buy her computer (she has $300 saved toward it already and she wants an iPad). She also knows that the likelihood of the $200 is about none, but I told her if she could have 1 wish without worrying about greed what would it be. Many thanks to my parents for taking on the $200 burden, she will be SO surprised (side note, my parents ROCK!). The doll should be here any day now. The trick is to resist the temptation to buy more just because it looks cool.
I just don't get the obsession that people, including myself, have with stuff. Stuff causes so many problems - people arguing over who gets to have it, where to put it, who should take care of it. I have to fight with the kids to pick their stuff up, take care of their stuff, and even know where their stuff is. Every year since we moved to TX, and even before, we donate thousands of dollars of stuff to various organizations. Makes me sick to think we paid to move all that stuff just so we could give it away. This is all after a mega lawn sale and donating thousands of dollars of stuff in NY. In a little bit of defense, the last 2 years a lot of it was clothes, as Skylar went through a huge growth spurt, but still. Obviously she had too many clothes, but they haven't been replaced, so now she has almost none (but she has yet to go to school naked, go figure).
I continue the never-ending process of eliminating all the unnecessary stuff from my house, but it just keeps coming in. The other day, I told my friend I was getting rid of all flat surfaces in my house. Only round and pointed would be allowed. That way, stuff can't gather there.
Strangely enough, I can almost guarantee that we will become very talented at balancing it on such surfaces. Should I be disgusted at the thought or impressed at the talent?
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