I'm a scrooge this year. I'm not afraid to admit it.

I decided last week that I wouldn't put our Christmas tree up this year. The boys are young enough yet that they don't really care, and I get a headache just thinking about what fun it would be to constantly be chasing our two kittens out of the tree. They are into EVERYTHING still, being only 5 months old, and I think we'll have much better luck next year when they're more mellow.

DH and I also decided we aren't getting the boys any big gifts. We'll fill their stockings with small stuff and they will be perfectly content with that. I have always hated how commercialized Christmas is, and how it's all about who gives and gets the best gifts. Absolutely hate it. And I refuse to succumb to the hysteria.

Now, before I come off as the worst mom on the planet, I will say that we are traveling to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with my parents, and my mom does have her tree up. So they will still get to experience the lights and ornaments and wonderment there. She also will undoubtedly go overboard with gifts, so the boys will have plenty to rip into on Christmas morning.

We're also creating some new traditions to carry on through the years that I feel are more important and worthwhile than a bunch of gifts. Sawyer helped me make Christmas-shaped sugar cookies a couple days ago, and tomorrow I'll let both boys "paint" designs on them with icing. We're going to "Breakfast with Santa" this Saturday too, which will be the first time the boys have visited Santa. I'm still waiting for the first good snow to help them build their first snowman, but I'm thinking we'll just have to wait until we get to Wisconsin where the white stuff is plentiful.

I'm still thinking of other ideas to make the holidays fun for our family without breaking the bank. This little bambino I'm cooking was a huge surprise, and thus not planned for financially, so we really need to be careful with what we spend in the coming months. We have to get a new vehicle at some point, because three carseats won't fit in our Ford Focus. We also need to begin making payments to the midwife for the homebirth, since Indiana is backwards and insurance probably won't cover any of it.

Okay, so maybe I'm not so much a scrooge as just extra frugal this year - and all about making things easier on my extremely fatigued and morning sick self. I tend to get down on myself a lot for not being super mom and having elaborate Christmas-themed plans each day until the 25th, or a pristine house adorned with snowflakes and garlands in every room. But I'm getting better about realizing that it's not the quantity of what I do, but the memories I create for my kids that really matter.

This post was not supposed to be so serious, I swear! Tomorrow will be better with pictures of my crazy men covered in a rainbow of icings and loving every minute of it.

On a good note, my husband is awesome because he dyes my hair - and actually does a good job. No more roots!