We are. Or rather, we were. In fact, we declared the Christmas tree post-mortem at a whopping 10:57 a.m. this morning. Yes, that’s right, the Christmas tree is already down and put away. This is not due to us being Scrooges or anything – we are still holly and jolly. It was a combination of Carolyn just enjoying clutter-free zones as well as the fact that the tree was kind of in the way of Scott wanting to play one of his new presents.

Of course the early tree removal had me wondering if we were the first people in the world to have their tree down. You know, I do enjoy me a world record. Not considering time zones and such, 10:57 a.m. local time on Christmas morning seems awful early. We thought of a few categories of people that might have beaten us:

1. Other clutter freaks like ourselves
2. Maybe someone had Christmas early and they were moving real soon or going on a long vacation and wanted to get the tree down so they didn’t have to deal with it when they got back. Though frankly I don’t think they should count – they should have their own category like Roger Maris.
3. Or maybe some poor wife had her husband electrocuted in a freak Christmas light accident a week or two ago and can no longer bear the sight of the tree and its haunting Yuletide memories.

Still, I would have to say we are at least in the top 100 of the world. It’s always nice to think of oneself as the Top 100 of anything in the world, even if it is something silly like this.

In any case, a brief recap of our day:

Actually the kids did not wake up too early. Our kids have this thing where they just do not get out of bed. They will wait up in their bed for one of us to get them. In some ways, this is very nice. In other ways (like if there was a fire) that could be a bad thing. I went up and got them about 8. Then we got dressed and ate and then it was time for the presents.

The haul:

Me: “EA Sports it’s in the game”. At least that’s what Amy calls it. Other people might know it better as Madden NFL 06 for Playstation 2. Actually since I’m the dad, I can do fun things like open my presents early, so I’ve been playing this for a few weeks. Amy and Scott really enjoy watching this and have been known to ask me to “please play EA Sports it’s in the game?” The sacrifices I have to make for my kids…. :-). When Scott saw me open it this morning he said “Wow now we have 2 of them!!” Also, Civilization 4 Warlords expansion pack, The Other Side of Heaven DVD, a T-shirt Carolyn made with a picture of me reading to the kids that says on the back “You’re the man now dog“, and a DVD board game of 24.

Carolyn: Season 7 of Seinfeld, a Gone with the Wind DVD (which she accidentally found out about a few days ago when she opened my secret hiding place that I’ve been using for 8 years (a blue bag). Guess I need a new hiding spot), a T-shirt that she had made that says “Omnivores are weird” (a take off of my “Vegetarians are weird” shirt), a shirt from her mom, a snazzy Pottery Barn chip and dip tray, a True Ceramic Pro, and Fact or Crap.

Kids (names hidden to protect the innocent): Blankets from my Aunt Marilyn (My Little Pony, dinosaurs, ducks and a handmade crocheted one), some dollhouse furniture that goes with their dollhouse (thank you eBay!), some Fusion Crew people, a Belle doll, some nice sweaters from my aunt and uncle and an Ion game console (the aforementioned game that the tree was in the way of). A few days ago, we got some things from Carolyn’s dad and stepmom including a play workshop with tools and some clothes, and also from my mother-in-law we got a new web-cam, a My Little Pony backpack and some new underwear for S. In fact, I don’t know that I have ever seen a kid so stoked about getting new underwear – he was seriously excited.

I hope that I have not forgotten anything, and I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.