Fall Break?

What the heck is Fall Break? A good excuse to give the teachers a couple days off? Seriously - I know we didn't have a 3 day break in the middle of October when I was in school. And it wasn't that long ago. I know I should just enjoy the extra time with C1. But I'm struggling. He is used to his school routine and gets down right grumpy with C2 and I.

I have started a HUGE project for the boys while C1's out on "Fall Break." We are cleaning their room. Oh my - I had no idea how huge this would be. So far, we've pulled EVERYTHING out of their walk-in closet. We've gotten rid of one big Rubbermaid box full of things to donate. That was just a few items of clothing and some candles, etc that I stored in there for the last 7 yrs. I figure if I haven't needed it in 7 years we can give it away. After lunch we'll slowly start putting things back in there, but with rules. 1. It has to be something we use or love. or 2. It has to be something that is being handed down to C2 or C3. I'm trying very hard to teach the boys about clutter and why we don't want it. Simple routines should help - but how do I start those?!

After the closet, we will tackle the toys. (I dread this.) They each have to find 10 toys to donate to charity. When I told them that, they didn't even mind! C2 actually said, "Ok, we have too many toys anyway." Boy is he right! I will say that despite how stressed I am right now, I am very proud of my boys. They are usually pretty good about giving to others. Now if I could just keep them from expecting so much for themselves!