On my best day I don't handle bugs well. I have been heard to say, more than once, If it isn't paying rent, that spider\ant\crawly thing is not staying in my house.
Imagine my shock and dismay when we had a case of head lice in the house in February. It was horrifying. Ever since I have (in slightly obsessive fashion) checked my kids' heads, thinking I've seen something moving. Today, I did.
I guess I can be grateful I caught it sooner this time.
And that I have sanitize cycles on my washer and dryer, which are huge capacity and awesome. So I don't have to go to the laundromat.
But grateful, well, it isn't the best adjective to describe me right this minute.
*sigh*
Mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend. Scrapbooker, family historian, reader, cook, photographer. Volunteer. Political junkie. Springsteen fan. Loves deeply, strives daily to be a cheerful, kind and generous person. Fails regularly. Snarky, judgy and more than a little blunt. Some people don't appreciate my style. If you're one of them, that's ok. Get your own blog.
Showing posts with label clean freak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean freak. Show all posts
Monday, August 01, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Busy
I'll be back -- I am currently in my basement laundry room, mesmerized by the glowing blue dials of my brand new washer and dryer set.
It's the first new set I've ever had, and it is lovely -- a high efficiency top loading washer (the kind with a giant 5 cubic foot tub and no center agitator) and an equally lovely 7+ cubic foot dryer.
They arrived yesterday and, after 5 hours of plumbing and electrical work, my husband pronounced them ready to use.
We sat in the laundry room for almost an hour as we ran the first load of clothes through it. I am not kidding.
So far, so good. I obsessively researched machines until I was so overwhelmed by the compliments and complaints about every top-loader available I couldn't see straight. Three loads in, I can see the merit in the complaints (twisted clothes? yes, but not terribly, and the compliments (the clothes DO come out practically dry!).
At any rate, they are here, the laundry room is clean (shelves cleared off for the recent church rummage sale, vinyl installed on the concrete pad where the machines sit, floor scrubbed, walls freshly painted), and I am grateful to have my own machines that do not have to be shared with a barracks full of people, and grateful for my husband who is the ultimate handyman.
Life is good.
It's the first new set I've ever had, and it is lovely -- a high efficiency top loading washer (the kind with a giant 5 cubic foot tub and no center agitator) and an equally lovely 7+ cubic foot dryer.
They arrived yesterday and, after 5 hours of plumbing and electrical work, my husband pronounced them ready to use.
We sat in the laundry room for almost an hour as we ran the first load of clothes through it. I am not kidding.
So far, so good. I obsessively researched machines until I was so overwhelmed by the compliments and complaints about every top-loader available I couldn't see straight. Three loads in, I can see the merit in the complaints (twisted clothes? yes, but not terribly, and the compliments (the clothes DO come out practically dry!).
At any rate, they are here, the laundry room is clean (shelves cleared off for the recent church rummage sale, vinyl installed on the concrete pad where the machines sit, floor scrubbed, walls freshly painted), and I am grateful to have my own machines that do not have to be shared with a barracks full of people, and grateful for my husband who is the ultimate handyman.
Life is good.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Spring cleaning
I LOVE spring. The crisp scent in the air, the mud, the deceptively sunny days that are surprisingly cold when you step outside.
I made it through this winter, and it is somehow more and less of a surprise than I expected. I wasn't on any medications this year. When my doctor suggested I taper off last fall, I was terrified and told him no. Mere weeks later I discovered that I was suffering from side effects and he changed my medicine and I went crazy. Okay, perhaps that is a little harsh. But the new med, it made me sick. It made me feel like I was wildly careening from sane to batshit crazy and back again in seconds. And, frankly, the withdrawal from that drug was worse than the drug. So bad, in fact, I told the doc I was ready to go it alone.
And it was fine. I felt the normal ups and downs of winter, although I suspect they are more intense than most people. Still, I was ok.
Now it's spring, and I am feeling the sunshine. My mojo is back -- at least until the next cloudy day. I am cleaning, organizing, purging -- eliminating all that excess stuff from my life. The church rummage sale is in 3 weeks and I hope to bring an entire van load. Or two.
Tomorrow Evan and I will paint his bedroom, and Tuesday all 3 boys and I will hit the storage unit to clean things out, find some of our treasures, and begin emptying it, because by the end of June I want to be done paying that ridiculous $100 a month.
What went today? About 4 dozen 3.5 inch floppy disks. A box of photos to be mailed to my aunt. Another box, this time of scrapbooking supplies, to go to a charity I love. About 50 textbooks (Goodwill takes them and nothing goes to waste so if they don't sell them they are recycled). Several cardboard boxes. Rob cleaned up his work room, purging who knows what. It feels good.
This week, I will find stuff in storage -- shoes I have missed, art from the living and dining rooms, kitchen towels I stuck in storage to free up a drawer but that I need now, the magnet boards we bought the boys to keep their ever-growing collection of travel souvenirs, sheet sets that will immediately go the the rummage pile, an antique settee that I miss and want back in my living room -- but only the stuff I love and need comes back.
I am still in mourning for my grandma and her stuff. Things are not the way she would have wanted them. But they are the way she chose for them to be. I learned a lesson in this. Avoiding difficult decisions does not mean that the decision points won't someday arrive; it just means that someone else makes the decisions.
I decide. Difficult or not, I am the decider. It's started -- I just have to carry it through.
I made it through this winter, and it is somehow more and less of a surprise than I expected. I wasn't on any medications this year. When my doctor suggested I taper off last fall, I was terrified and told him no. Mere weeks later I discovered that I was suffering from side effects and he changed my medicine and I went crazy. Okay, perhaps that is a little harsh. But the new med, it made me sick. It made me feel like I was wildly careening from sane to batshit crazy and back again in seconds. And, frankly, the withdrawal from that drug was worse than the drug. So bad, in fact, I told the doc I was ready to go it alone.
And it was fine. I felt the normal ups and downs of winter, although I suspect they are more intense than most people. Still, I was ok.
Now it's spring, and I am feeling the sunshine. My mojo is back -- at least until the next cloudy day. I am cleaning, organizing, purging -- eliminating all that excess stuff from my life. The church rummage sale is in 3 weeks and I hope to bring an entire van load. Or two.
Tomorrow Evan and I will paint his bedroom, and Tuesday all 3 boys and I will hit the storage unit to clean things out, find some of our treasures, and begin emptying it, because by the end of June I want to be done paying that ridiculous $100 a month.
What went today? About 4 dozen 3.5 inch floppy disks. A box of photos to be mailed to my aunt. Another box, this time of scrapbooking supplies, to go to a charity I love. About 50 textbooks (Goodwill takes them and nothing goes to waste so if they don't sell them they are recycled). Several cardboard boxes. Rob cleaned up his work room, purging who knows what. It feels good.
This week, I will find stuff in storage -- shoes I have missed, art from the living and dining rooms, kitchen towels I stuck in storage to free up a drawer but that I need now, the magnet boards we bought the boys to keep their ever-growing collection of travel souvenirs, sheet sets that will immediately go the the rummage pile, an antique settee that I miss and want back in my living room -- but only the stuff I love and need comes back.
I am still in mourning for my grandma and her stuff. Things are not the way she would have wanted them. But they are the way she chose for them to be. I learned a lesson in this. Avoiding difficult decisions does not mean that the decision points won't someday arrive; it just means that someone else makes the decisions.
I decide. Difficult or not, I am the decider. It's started -- I just have to carry it through.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Broken record
My kids spent an hour today writing lists for Santa. Not even letters -- just lists: item after godforsaken item that they WANT.
When my parents were here my mom helped them clean up their bedroom and playroom because they were unutterably awful. (This after a week of me patiently asking them daily to spend some time on their room so that it would be in good shape when Grandma came. Clearly to no avail.)
This morning they spent just over an hour upstairs. They were getting along (or at least no blood curdling screams or gigantic crashes could be heard emanating from their space) and I assumed that it was picked up with the exception of the GeoTrax train set that is spread all over everything. One item or set I can handle; it's the billions of Lego on top of the trains, covered in paper and markers, with a few Dora house pieces thrown in that I can't stomach.
After telling them that I was a little disappointed that they put so much effort into composing their want lists and that I sincerely wished they would take care of the items they currently own before demanding a thousand other things that will only serve to make my house more of a disaster than it currently is, I inquired as to the state of their room. When I suggested that I might go up to inspect, they almost ran each other down getting to the door before me. "Let us check," they said. "We just want to make sure."
Within 5 minutes the aforementioned gigantic crashes and an assortment of angry cries and not a little yelling (gee, I wonder where they learned that?) were heard in my once-peaceful house.
Apparently it is a mess. What a shock.
I know I bitch about this constantly; I am sorry. It's just that this issue threatens to drive me to the brink.
What do I do? How do I handle it? Do I have to resort to daily inspections?
And how, other than the guilt trip I just laid on them, do I get them to understand how fortunate they are? We donate to the food bank; we give to Goodwill; we contribute to worthy causes; this summer they and a friend actually donated their own money to the Red Cross and learned about how that money is used to help people. And what do my kids do? Make insane lists of toys they don't need, won't play with, and will absolutely not pick up except under threat of bodily harm. Oh, and they fight.
I think I'm taking the Christmas fund this year and going to Australia. If there's enough left over I'll bring Rob and hire a babysitter for the kids. Otherwise, they're on their own.
When my parents were here my mom helped them clean up their bedroom and playroom because they were unutterably awful. (This after a week of me patiently asking them daily to spend some time on their room so that it would be in good shape when Grandma came. Clearly to no avail.)
This morning they spent just over an hour upstairs. They were getting along (or at least no blood curdling screams or gigantic crashes could be heard emanating from their space) and I assumed that it was picked up with the exception of the GeoTrax train set that is spread all over everything. One item or set I can handle; it's the billions of Lego on top of the trains, covered in paper and markers, with a few Dora house pieces thrown in that I can't stomach.
After telling them that I was a little disappointed that they put so much effort into composing their want lists and that I sincerely wished they would take care of the items they currently own before demanding a thousand other things that will only serve to make my house more of a disaster than it currently is, I inquired as to the state of their room. When I suggested that I might go up to inspect, they almost ran each other down getting to the door before me. "Let us check," they said. "We just want to make sure."
Within 5 minutes the aforementioned gigantic crashes and an assortment of angry cries and not a little yelling (gee, I wonder where they learned that?) were heard in my once-peaceful house.
Apparently it is a mess. What a shock.
I know I bitch about this constantly; I am sorry. It's just that this issue threatens to drive me to the brink.
What do I do? How do I handle it? Do I have to resort to daily inspections?
And how, other than the guilt trip I just laid on them, do I get them to understand how fortunate they are? We donate to the food bank; we give to Goodwill; we contribute to worthy causes; this summer they and a friend actually donated their own money to the Red Cross and learned about how that money is used to help people. And what do my kids do? Make insane lists of toys they don't need, won't play with, and will absolutely not pick up except under threat of bodily harm. Oh, and they fight.
I think I'm taking the Christmas fund this year and going to Australia. If there's enough left over I'll bring Rob and hire a babysitter for the kids. Otherwise, they're on their own.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Big plans
Yep, big plans for today. I am going to clean the carpet in my children's room and playroom. They are up there as we speak, tidying and picking up, making their beds and searching for every last tiny Lego.
In a while, I will go up and vacuum, then I'll fill the reservoir in the carpet cleaner and go upstairs to (I hope) rid the carpet of the residual, errrr, pet odors. Yep. Pippa, although I love her, is proving to be my nemesis in keeping a tidy house. Because she continues to like to make her mark on any pile of softness left on the floor. She is indiscriminate -- a bathrobe, a pile of dirty clothes, a comforter -- all and more have been the recipient of her unwanted advances.
She doesn't usually mar the actual carpet -- but the stuff soaks through. And although we clean it with a pet odor removal product that I really like, I still occasionally get a whiff of, well, of pee, when I walk past the open door to the upstairs.
Although, judging from the way my bathroom regularly looks, it could be the kids.
In a while, I will go up and vacuum, then I'll fill the reservoir in the carpet cleaner and go upstairs to (I hope) rid the carpet of the residual, errrr, pet odors. Yep. Pippa, although I love her, is proving to be my nemesis in keeping a tidy house. Because she continues to like to make her mark on any pile of softness left on the floor. She is indiscriminate -- a bathrobe, a pile of dirty clothes, a comforter -- all and more have been the recipient of her unwanted advances.
She doesn't usually mar the actual carpet -- but the stuff soaks through. And although we clean it with a pet odor removal product that I really like, I still occasionally get a whiff of, well, of pee, when I walk past the open door to the upstairs.
Although, judging from the way my bathroom regularly looks, it could be the kids.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Progress
Rob cleaned the boys' room on Sunday. For almost 7 hours.
Seriously. It was a disaster. Dirty socks strewn behind bookshelves, gloves and mittens stowed carelessly in corners (have I mentioned how many times my kids have had to go to school in mismatched mittens because we could not find ONE pair?), and -- the piece de resistance -- a pile of clothes and a backpack in Spencer's closet on which the dog had peed god knows how long ago. I could smell it but I couldn't find the source. Oh, how thoroughly disgusting.
They hauled out 6 or 8 brown grocery bags stuffed full to the trash and recycling. My laundry (which was mostly caught up prior to the cleaning) ended up being 8 loads. Let me mention that white vinegar does a bang-up job of removing pet odors from clothing and backpacks.
I was sent downstairs to the main floor by my husband who refused to let me berate the children for hours on end (he's a keeper, that one). They fixed drawers that were stuck (now I know why Spencer kept telling me he didn't have any pants to wear. Did he tell me that the drawer was stuck, though? *Sigh*). They found NINE pairs of children's scissors. NINE. And I can't manage to get them to leave the one pair in the phone alcove alone.
And lest you think the little darlings learned any lessons from this flurry of cleaning, they left for last night's baseball game and I went upstairs to put fresh sheets on Spencer's bed and put his no-longer-pee-infused bedspread on, and I found: Legos from 2 storage tubs strewn about near the stairs; Dora's house and her Lego playground, along with most of the furniture (although no people, strangely) in the play area; and a wooden house built by Rob and one of the kids with more furniture and other accessories in the bedroom. To add to the delightful ambience, a travel game of tiny magnetic chess and checker pieces was artfully sprinkled across the carpet.
So I now have a 60 gallon Rubbermaid tote in hiding in the spare bedroom. Argh.
The good news is it is now clean up there, again. And I am reworking the chore charts, considering incentives, and I have consulted the kids' principal for guidance. Let's hope his ideas work.
We went through their clothes today and cleaned out another 60 gallon tote of outgrown stuff. It's in the van ready to be dropped off at church later in the week for the spring rummage sale, along with another 40 gallon tote of cast offs from the closets in the grown-ups' room. And I got out the label maker, oh blessed thing, and made labels for the boys' drawers, to help them stay organized.
We have so much. And I am grateful. But sometimes I think the days of having one outfit for the week and one for Sundays, and corn cob dolls, and small, simple houses, and just what one needed might not have been all bad.
Seriously. It was a disaster. Dirty socks strewn behind bookshelves, gloves and mittens stowed carelessly in corners (have I mentioned how many times my kids have had to go to school in mismatched mittens because we could not find ONE pair?), and -- the piece de resistance -- a pile of clothes and a backpack in Spencer's closet on which the dog had peed god knows how long ago. I could smell it but I couldn't find the source. Oh, how thoroughly disgusting.
They hauled out 6 or 8 brown grocery bags stuffed full to the trash and recycling. My laundry (which was mostly caught up prior to the cleaning) ended up being 8 loads. Let me mention that white vinegar does a bang-up job of removing pet odors from clothing and backpacks.
I was sent downstairs to the main floor by my husband who refused to let me berate the children for hours on end (he's a keeper, that one). They fixed drawers that were stuck (now I know why Spencer kept telling me he didn't have any pants to wear. Did he tell me that the drawer was stuck, though? *Sigh*). They found NINE pairs of children's scissors. NINE. And I can't manage to get them to leave the one pair in the phone alcove alone.
And lest you think the little darlings learned any lessons from this flurry of cleaning, they left for last night's baseball game and I went upstairs to put fresh sheets on Spencer's bed and put his no-longer-pee-infused bedspread on, and I found: Legos from 2 storage tubs strewn about near the stairs; Dora's house and her Lego playground, along with most of the furniture (although no people, strangely) in the play area; and a wooden house built by Rob and one of the kids with more furniture and other accessories in the bedroom. To add to the delightful ambience, a travel game of tiny magnetic chess and checker pieces was artfully sprinkled across the carpet.
So I now have a 60 gallon Rubbermaid tote in hiding in the spare bedroom. Argh.
The good news is it is now clean up there, again. And I am reworking the chore charts, considering incentives, and I have consulted the kids' principal for guidance. Let's hope his ideas work.
We went through their clothes today and cleaned out another 60 gallon tote of outgrown stuff. It's in the van ready to be dropped off at church later in the week for the spring rummage sale, along with another 40 gallon tote of cast offs from the closets in the grown-ups' room. And I got out the label maker, oh blessed thing, and made labels for the boys' drawers, to help them stay organized.
We have so much. And I am grateful. But sometimes I think the days of having one outfit for the week and one for Sundays, and corn cob dolls, and small, simple houses, and just what one needed might not have been all bad.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday
Woo hoo! I have been keeping up with my "at least a load a day" laundry resolution and I feel as though it's pretty well under control.
I cleaned some more in the laundry/storage room and I can actually walk in there -- makes it so much more pleasant since I have to be down there doing laundry anyway.
I also brought some stuff to a LSS (that's local scrapbook store for you non-scrappers) that is having a garage sale. You get the money from whatever they sell of yours (you price the items) in store credit. Whatever doesn't sell goes to Ronald McDonald House. Nice to get rid of some stuff I know I won't use.
I found the missing house stain last night in my husband's *ahem* work room. Which is really just a disaster area with a bunch of tools and home improvement materials in no particular order. Anyway, despite the fact that it is 9 years old, the stain is still good. So I mixed it well, put a coat on the front door trim and around the entry, and poured the rest into a quart paint can. I'll do another coat if needed today and get to the back door as well.
I cleaned the oven yesterday in the midst of Rob's projects, too. Those self clean modes scare me -- the outside even gets warm, and the smell is icky. I always feel like I should call 911. I was a little more comfortable doing it with him home. It really wasn't too dirty, but we've had it for a year -- I figured it wouldn't hurt.
This morning I cleaned the fridge. Oh, I am lovin' that. Trouble is it made me realize we have almost no fresh fruits or veggies ... time for a trip to the grocery store for those and some ingredients for Rob's birthday cake. I always make him a from scratch German Chocolate cake and bring it to work. This year his little brother and sister-in-law will be here for dinner with us, so I need to bake 2 cakes as well as do the tri-tip and a Caprese salad for dinner. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the cakes rise properly. I haven't quite got the hang of them with this oven, so we'll see.
Today ... blood work, grocery store, staining the front and side entries, finishing the sanding on the dresser, priming the dresser ... it feels so good to be getting things done. I'm nesting so much you'd think I was pregnant! LOL
Have a good week, all.
I cleaned some more in the laundry/storage room and I can actually walk in there -- makes it so much more pleasant since I have to be down there doing laundry anyway.
I also brought some stuff to a LSS (that's local scrapbook store for you non-scrappers) that is having a garage sale. You get the money from whatever they sell of yours (you price the items) in store credit. Whatever doesn't sell goes to Ronald McDonald House. Nice to get rid of some stuff I know I won't use.
I found the missing house stain last night in my husband's *ahem* work room. Which is really just a disaster area with a bunch of tools and home improvement materials in no particular order. Anyway, despite the fact that it is 9 years old, the stain is still good. So I mixed it well, put a coat on the front door trim and around the entry, and poured the rest into a quart paint can. I'll do another coat if needed today and get to the back door as well.
I cleaned the oven yesterday in the midst of Rob's projects, too. Those self clean modes scare me -- the outside even gets warm, and the smell is icky. I always feel like I should call 911. I was a little more comfortable doing it with him home. It really wasn't too dirty, but we've had it for a year -- I figured it wouldn't hurt.
This morning I cleaned the fridge. Oh, I am lovin' that. Trouble is it made me realize we have almost no fresh fruits or veggies ... time for a trip to the grocery store for those and some ingredients for Rob's birthday cake. I always make him a from scratch German Chocolate cake and bring it to work. This year his little brother and sister-in-law will be here for dinner with us, so I need to bake 2 cakes as well as do the tri-tip and a Caprese salad for dinner. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the cakes rise properly. I haven't quite got the hang of them with this oven, so we'll see.
Today ... blood work, grocery store, staining the front and side entries, finishing the sanding on the dresser, priming the dresser ... it feels so good to be getting things done. I'm nesting so much you'd think I was pregnant! LOL
Have a good week, all.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Lovely Monday
Still working on laundry. But my darling, talented, oh-so-overachieving husband finished the basement bathroom ceiling las night. He took the only day he had free in 2 weeks and spent 9+ hours on it. It looks amazing and I am so grateful. He knows how I am when I get on these home improvement kicks.
Today I had an appointment with a woman from Home Depot about residing the house. We'd really like to add some insulation as well as update the siding. The estimate was $15K. And the exterior of our house is not that big. I don't know, I think we will wait. I know it would make the house more energy efficient (which is a very good thing) but WHOA that's a lot of cash. Yikes.
I am going to quick swish out the bathrooms and run the vacuum before the kids get home.
I do love the free time I have gained since Spencer started school but it goes so quickly -- especially when so many projects are calling to me. I must get better about prioritizing.
Today I had an appointment with a woman from Home Depot about residing the house. We'd really like to add some insulation as well as update the siding. The estimate was $15K. And the exterior of our house is not that big. I don't know, I think we will wait. I know it would make the house more energy efficient (which is a very good thing) but WHOA that's a lot of cash. Yikes.
I am going to quick swish out the bathrooms and run the vacuum before the kids get home.
I do love the free time I have gained since Spencer started school but it goes so quickly -- especially when so many projects are calling to me. I must get better about prioritizing.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Cleaning ... AGAIN.
Yes, I know you are probably all sick and tired of my ranting about cleanliness. Hell, I'M tired of it. But here I am, once again, in a cleaning frenzy.
My friend Sarah posted awhile ago about clean rooms. She is right -- sometimes it does get to be a sort of twisted contest -- "I can find THIS many things to do with my family instead of cleaning our house and thus I am the worst housekeeper." As Bitch, Ph. D. said, "Pity me."
Except I don't. I don't care, really, how anyone else lives. And unless they live in absolute filth (read: animal excrement, piles of dirty dishes attracting bugs and vermin, toilet bowls and refrigerators that look like 100 year old science experiments), I don't mind being at their house. Someone else's mess, someone else's dust, someone else's clutter, is not really a problem for me. But if you live in a mess I blame only you.
And logically I blame myself when I live in a mess. Even though there are 4 other human beings and a pug in my household. So I do all that I can to keep it neat. But here is where I have a problem. I have tried to explain this a thousand times and I have just quit since a woman had the nerve to tell me, "People are more important than things." Well, DUH. I mean, thanks, ya snippy little bitch, I NEVER would have placed my husband and children above my kitchen floors on the priority list if you hadn't said that to me. Honestly, I am still burning over that one and it's been a year. Have I mentioned I am a champion grudge holder?
Anyway. What I was trying to explain to this woman (along with a bunch of others) at the time was that if my house isn't clean I am not a good mom. She misunderstood. I don't mean that if your house isn't spotless you are not a good mom. For goodness' sake, no mom who lives in reality can have an always clean house. What I meant was that if my house is dirty, I am unhappy, and if I am unhappy, I am not a good mom.
Yes, I realize my standards are pretty high. I grew up in an immaculate house. My mom worked full time outside of the home in a CPA's office. From January through April 15 she probably worked 70 hours a week. But the house was always clean. It wasn't fancy, but things were put away. Laundry was done. The bathroom was clean. She was the only one who cleaned -- my dad was a throwback to the 50's -- and it always got done.
I have spent about 10 hours cleaning my kids' room and playroom this week. We cleaned the playroom Tuesday night. And yes, part of the problem is that my kids, like so many others, simply have too many toys. They do. And I have to own that I am part of that problem. But honestly, they have a place for each toy or type of toy, they have closets and bins and drawers, and still everything was mixed up. And the Happy Meal toys were all over. We don't eat at McD's all that often, yet here are all these toys. Are they reproducing up there? Are the toys having sex in my kids' room at night, making more useless little toys? I don't know, but the school is getting a 2 1/2 gallon Ziploc bag of little toys for prizes or whatever.
Four garbage bags have come out of there. My kids will draw a picture and then save it forever. Or they'll draw 10 almost identical pictures and save them all. Notebooks full. I have a paper sack full of 4T clothes for the Goodwill. I have not yet sorted through the summer clothes and added winter clothes back into the mix. I am not emotionally ready for that. But I will be able to get to that next week.
I have approximately 15 loads of laundry that need to be done now. My kids are constantly complaining they don't have clothes (or pajamas, or socks -- whatever). Imagine their surprise when I started pulling mountains of clothes out from behind beds, shelves and dressers. From inside the closet behind the dress up box came another mountain. Oh -- and when I emptied their drawers to fold and organize clothes to make it easier for them to put clothes away I discovered socks and underwear in the same drawer as T-shirts, swimming trunks, and sweatsuits. In another drawer was a pile of papers, a stack of baseball cards, a few dozen assorted Legos, and rocks. A plastic grocery bag full of rocks. Not beautiful, extraordinary rocks. Not rocks gathered from exotic, far away locales. Just rocks from the backyard landscaping. Granite, mostly. Just rocks. What, dear reader, am I supposed to do with this?
I guess the bottom line for me is this: I like a neat house. I think it makes a home feel peaceful and welcoming when it is tidy. I think it makes family life run more smoothly when things are in their place, when you can find what you need, when you can count on the keys being hung on the key rack by the door (or whatever). It may not be that way for everyone, but it is that way for me. I don't apologize for being a neat freak. It is who I am.
So yes, I DO get distressed over my kids' room. I probably get a little too freaked out over it. But today I conquered it. It is clean, the drawers are neat, the bookshelves are relatively organized ... it is a pleasure to be up there. So much so that the nightly bedtime story ritual (which I have sorely missed) will be reinstated this evening. Right after the kids pick up their room.
Yeah, yeah, I know. *Sigh*
My friend Sarah posted awhile ago about clean rooms. She is right -- sometimes it does get to be a sort of twisted contest -- "I can find THIS many things to do with my family instead of cleaning our house and thus I am the worst housekeeper." As Bitch, Ph. D. said, "Pity me."
Except I don't. I don't care, really, how anyone else lives. And unless they live in absolute filth (read: animal excrement, piles of dirty dishes attracting bugs and vermin, toilet bowls and refrigerators that look like 100 year old science experiments), I don't mind being at their house. Someone else's mess, someone else's dust, someone else's clutter, is not really a problem for me. But if you live in a mess I blame only you.
And logically I blame myself when I live in a mess. Even though there are 4 other human beings and a pug in my household. So I do all that I can to keep it neat. But here is where I have a problem. I have tried to explain this a thousand times and I have just quit since a woman had the nerve to tell me, "People are more important than things." Well, DUH. I mean, thanks, ya snippy little bitch, I NEVER would have placed my husband and children above my kitchen floors on the priority list if you hadn't said that to me. Honestly, I am still burning over that one and it's been a year. Have I mentioned I am a champion grudge holder?
Anyway. What I was trying to explain to this woman (along with a bunch of others) at the time was that if my house isn't clean I am not a good mom. She misunderstood. I don't mean that if your house isn't spotless you are not a good mom. For goodness' sake, no mom who lives in reality can have an always clean house. What I meant was that if my house is dirty, I am unhappy, and if I am unhappy, I am not a good mom.
Yes, I realize my standards are pretty high. I grew up in an immaculate house. My mom worked full time outside of the home in a CPA's office. From January through April 15 she probably worked 70 hours a week. But the house was always clean. It wasn't fancy, but things were put away. Laundry was done. The bathroom was clean. She was the only one who cleaned -- my dad was a throwback to the 50's -- and it always got done.
I have spent about 10 hours cleaning my kids' room and playroom this week. We cleaned the playroom Tuesday night. And yes, part of the problem is that my kids, like so many others, simply have too many toys. They do. And I have to own that I am part of that problem. But honestly, they have a place for each toy or type of toy, they have closets and bins and drawers, and still everything was mixed up. And the Happy Meal toys were all over. We don't eat at McD's all that often, yet here are all these toys. Are they reproducing up there? Are the toys having sex in my kids' room at night, making more useless little toys? I don't know, but the school is getting a 2 1/2 gallon Ziploc bag of little toys for prizes or whatever.
Four garbage bags have come out of there. My kids will draw a picture and then save it forever. Or they'll draw 10 almost identical pictures and save them all. Notebooks full. I have a paper sack full of 4T clothes for the Goodwill. I have not yet sorted through the summer clothes and added winter clothes back into the mix. I am not emotionally ready for that. But I will be able to get to that next week.
I have approximately 15 loads of laundry that need to be done now. My kids are constantly complaining they don't have clothes (or pajamas, or socks -- whatever). Imagine their surprise when I started pulling mountains of clothes out from behind beds, shelves and dressers. From inside the closet behind the dress up box came another mountain. Oh -- and when I emptied their drawers to fold and organize clothes to make it easier for them to put clothes away I discovered socks and underwear in the same drawer as T-shirts, swimming trunks, and sweatsuits. In another drawer was a pile of papers, a stack of baseball cards, a few dozen assorted Legos, and rocks. A plastic grocery bag full of rocks. Not beautiful, extraordinary rocks. Not rocks gathered from exotic, far away locales. Just rocks from the backyard landscaping. Granite, mostly. Just rocks. What, dear reader, am I supposed to do with this?
I guess the bottom line for me is this: I like a neat house. I think it makes a home feel peaceful and welcoming when it is tidy. I think it makes family life run more smoothly when things are in their place, when you can find what you need, when you can count on the keys being hung on the key rack by the door (or whatever). It may not be that way for everyone, but it is that way for me. I don't apologize for being a neat freak. It is who I am.
So yes, I DO get distressed over my kids' room. I probably get a little too freaked out over it. But today I conquered it. It is clean, the drawers are neat, the bookshelves are relatively organized ... it is a pleasure to be up there. So much so that the nightly bedtime story ritual (which I have sorely missed) will be reinstated this evening. Right after the kids pick up their room.
Yeah, yeah, I know. *Sigh*
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
First day of school
My older two have been bickering and fighting nonstop lately. I was so relieved to send them out the door this morning. The bus was only a couple of minutes late, too. (I am sure it will be *really* late on Thursday afternoon when Spencer gets on for his first day of PM kindergarten.)
Rob also left for school today -- he has a week long residency for his Executive MBA. Here he is at the dining room table this morning, getting ready to go.
So what have I been doing all day? Laundry, general picking up after having company this weekend (it wasn't bad, actually), getting the garbage and recycling ready to go. Lots of recycling after having a houseful! I also went through a bunch of papers that have been taking over my house. They are not all under control yet, but it is a sight better than it was! My goal is to have them sorted, shredded, paid, or tossed by Friday. There are quite a few things that will have to be filed but I will leave that for Rob since he has a system.
Back to the laundry grind for me -- oh -- and a half hour with Spencer on the Wii. I promised.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Labor day weekend
The house is clean enough; company will arrive in a few hours and the rest of the family who lives nearby will descend upon our home to eat soft-shelled chicken tacos with all the fix'ns. I have purchased disposable plates and cups so I won't have to do dishes but the guilt of that crap taking up space in a landfill could kill me, too. Oh well.
My "crap room" is pretty good, too -- the floor is mostly cleared of the boxes and bins of my great Uncle Henry's life. Now it is all shoved in the closet and with a little luck this winter I can organize, label, file, and toss. I will make sure I have people here when I open the closet, though, because it is entirely probable the contents will spill out and crush me.
I am contemplating a few home improvement projects -- from a small painting task to removing tile and replacing it with vinyl to a larger painting project to (finally!) living and dining room window treatments. I just have to be sure that whatever I take on I can do alone since Rob is stunned by the amount of homework involved in this Executive MBA thing. LOL
Some big genealogy stuff in the works, too -- paperwork to send off to people, Uncle Henry to ship to Wisconsin (I know it's horrible but I still am very amused by this. Currently he is in the gardening cabinet in the garage next to the fertilizers. Ha ha), and a substantial application for a genealogy group that will require quite a bit of documentation that must be obtained and sent off by Sept. 15.
So what am I going to do when I log off? Get some thank you notes addressed and stamped, put my leg up, and let my husband do all the chopping and food prep for dinner tonight.
Have a great labor Day weekend, all, and don't work too hard.
My "crap room" is pretty good, too -- the floor is mostly cleared of the boxes and bins of my great Uncle Henry's life. Now it is all shoved in the closet and with a little luck this winter I can organize, label, file, and toss. I will make sure I have people here when I open the closet, though, because it is entirely probable the contents will spill out and crush me.
I am contemplating a few home improvement projects -- from a small painting task to removing tile and replacing it with vinyl to a larger painting project to (finally!) living and dining room window treatments. I just have to be sure that whatever I take on I can do alone since Rob is stunned by the amount of homework involved in this Executive MBA thing. LOL
Some big genealogy stuff in the works, too -- paperwork to send off to people, Uncle Henry to ship to Wisconsin (I know it's horrible but I still am very amused by this. Currently he is in the gardening cabinet in the garage next to the fertilizers. Ha ha), and a substantial application for a genealogy group that will require quite a bit of documentation that must be obtained and sent off by Sept. 15.
So what am I going to do when I log off? Get some thank you notes addressed and stamped, put my leg up, and let my husband do all the chopping and food prep for dinner tonight.
Have a great labor Day weekend, all, and don't work too hard.
Monday, June 11, 2007
A day in the life
10 a.m. Evan to the school admin building for a GATE test he missed during the year.
10:30 a.m. everyone to a park to meet Spencer's preschool class
11:30 a.m. home to dust the living room, unload and reload the dishwasher, get the boys' baseball uniforms into the washer, 27-fling-boogie the car, try to get through the massive pile of mail and random paper that has swallowed the counters in my kitchen. Remove unnecessary accessories from top of computer desk. Dust desk. Leave accessories all over desk.
12:10 p.m. discover that Shout does not work as advertised on the grass stains Garrett makes on baseball pants. Put clothes (stains and all) into dryer. Put baseball shirts into wash with other dark laundry. Get recycling sorted for pickup tomorrow. Call Garrett's friend's mom to find out if he can swim and is he allowed to go to the pool with us this afternoon. Yes. Yay.
1:30 p.m. Start rice in steamer for dinner. Gather swim stuff; kids change into suits and load stuff in car. Call Mom to find out if a sewing class offered locally is advertising the item she mentioned she wanted on recent visit. It is. Call sewing center to register for class. Panic after discovering said class is set for a Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Decide to worry about child care later.
1:45 p.m. Leave to pick up Garrett's friend.
2:00 p.m. Arrive at pool with 4 little boys. Insist they all stay together as they go through the boys' locker room. Rush through to poolside to discover one of boys. Alone. Ummmm? Buddy system? Hel-LOoooo. Wait through lifeguard's hourly break which lasts approximately 5 minutes but seems like a lifetime. Sit in sun, cook, and watch children while trying to read Newsweek. Count heads obsessively. Wonder why it is always one of YOUR kids that is not visible. Thank your lucky stars it is one of your kids, not the extra. Shudder in horror at having to tell parents, "Sorry, I lost him." Count heads again. Move to shade because holy man it is hot out. Count heads again. Read trashy Newsweek article about trashy Princess Diana book coming out. Count heads again. Think about going to bookstore to buy trashy book the day it is released. Feel slightly ashamed, then shrug and decide to go with it and slough off the shame. Count heads again.
3:00 p.m. Get everyone rounded up and out of pool. Wait approximately an eternity while everyone puts on their shoes. Wonder how on earth it can take that long to put on shoes that don't lace up. Run into old friend from book group. Think, why do I always run into people I haven't seen in years when I am sunburned and my hair is crazy and .... oh forget it. Who cares anyway? Get kids into van. Argue with kid about sitiing in front seat. No. I said no. Because it is a 3 minute drive home and you have already argued with me for at least that long. Argh. Drive home. Hit a red at the ONE stoplight between pool and home; sit and wait, thinking, I could be home .... now. Or now. Or now. Light turns green. Go.
3:10 p.m. Arrive home. New entertainment center from a friend is sitting outside house. Wonder how on earth I can move that inside. Get kids into house. Garrett and friend descend to basement to play the Wii. Run down and put baseball shirts into dryer. Remove baseball pants from dryer. Sort another load of darks and put in washer. Sit down at computer to gear up for the remainder of the day.
Still to come ...
*feeding four boys dinner (thank goodness for Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's yum.)
*getting Evan to baseball at 5.
*getting Garrett and friend to baseball at another field, also at 5.
*putting accessories back on top of desk
*taking a shower to remove the layers of sweat that have accumulated
*moving entertainment center down to family room
*more laundry
*get kids home from baseball, bathed and in bed
*play on the Wii. Goal: to reach level 15 on ToeJam & Earl.
*collapse into bed, thankful that there is only 1 more night alone before reinforcements arrive.
Ahhh, the drama of the stay-at-home mom. Notice how very little I am actually home. LOL
10:30 a.m. everyone to a park to meet Spencer's preschool class
11:30 a.m. home to dust the living room, unload and reload the dishwasher, get the boys' baseball uniforms into the washer, 27-fling-boogie the car, try to get through the massive pile of mail and random paper that has swallowed the counters in my kitchen. Remove unnecessary accessories from top of computer desk. Dust desk. Leave accessories all over desk.
12:10 p.m. discover that Shout does not work as advertised on the grass stains Garrett makes on baseball pants. Put clothes (stains and all) into dryer. Put baseball shirts into wash with other dark laundry. Get recycling sorted for pickup tomorrow. Call Garrett's friend's mom to find out if he can swim and is he allowed to go to the pool with us this afternoon. Yes. Yay.
1:30 p.m. Start rice in steamer for dinner. Gather swim stuff; kids change into suits and load stuff in car. Call Mom to find out if a sewing class offered locally is advertising the item she mentioned she wanted on recent visit. It is. Call sewing center to register for class. Panic after discovering said class is set for a Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Decide to worry about child care later.
1:45 p.m. Leave to pick up Garrett's friend.
2:00 p.m. Arrive at pool with 4 little boys. Insist they all stay together as they go through the boys' locker room. Rush through to poolside to discover one of boys. Alone. Ummmm? Buddy system? Hel-LOoooo. Wait through lifeguard's hourly break which lasts approximately 5 minutes but seems like a lifetime. Sit in sun, cook, and watch children while trying to read Newsweek. Count heads obsessively. Wonder why it is always one of YOUR kids that is not visible. Thank your lucky stars it is one of your kids, not the extra. Shudder in horror at having to tell parents, "Sorry, I lost him." Count heads again. Move to shade because holy man it is hot out. Count heads again. Read trashy Newsweek article about trashy Princess Diana book coming out. Count heads again. Think about going to bookstore to buy trashy book the day it is released. Feel slightly ashamed, then shrug and decide to go with it and slough off the shame. Count heads again.
3:00 p.m. Get everyone rounded up and out of pool. Wait approximately an eternity while everyone puts on their shoes. Wonder how on earth it can take that long to put on shoes that don't lace up. Run into old friend from book group. Think, why do I always run into people I haven't seen in years when I am sunburned and my hair is crazy and .... oh forget it. Who cares anyway? Get kids into van. Argue with kid about sitiing in front seat. No. I said no. Because it is a 3 minute drive home and you have already argued with me for at least that long. Argh. Drive home. Hit a red at the ONE stoplight between pool and home; sit and wait, thinking, I could be home .... now. Or now. Or now. Light turns green. Go.
3:10 p.m. Arrive home. New entertainment center from a friend is sitting outside house. Wonder how on earth I can move that inside. Get kids into house. Garrett and friend descend to basement to play the Wii. Run down and put baseball shirts into dryer. Remove baseball pants from dryer. Sort another load of darks and put in washer. Sit down at computer to gear up for the remainder of the day.
Still to come ...
*feeding four boys dinner (thank goodness for Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's yum.)
*getting Evan to baseball at 5.
*getting Garrett and friend to baseball at another field, also at 5.
*putting accessories back on top of desk
*taking a shower to remove the layers of sweat that have accumulated
*moving entertainment center down to family room
*more laundry
*get kids home from baseball, bathed and in bed
*play on the Wii. Goal: to reach level 15 on ToeJam & Earl.
*collapse into bed, thankful that there is only 1 more night alone before reinforcements arrive.
Ahhh, the drama of the stay-at-home mom. Notice how very little I am actually home. LOL
Monday, May 21, 2007
Ahhhhh ....
The company has come and gone. We had a great weekend. All 7 of the cousins were here. Ranging in age from 15 to 5 -- and they had a BLAST. I love that they all get along so well, and that my nieces and nephew are just completely delightful people. Funny, smart, silly, creative -- really. I love them so much.
Tomorrow -- Teegan tribute. Wednesday I will try to post some pix but after today (highly busy, highly stressful) all I am doing tomorrow is cleaning my house.
Yep, it is fun to have company. But the cleanup is a nightmare. LOL
Tomorrow -- Teegan tribute. Wednesday I will try to post some pix but after today (highly busy, highly stressful) all I am doing tomorrow is cleaning my house.
Yep, it is fun to have company. But the cleanup is a nightmare. LOL
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
One crazy day
I cleaned my fridge today. And yes, seriously, that was about all I got done in the house. It was BAD.
Then I showered, got Spence some lunch, and took him to school.
Then I ran back home to get the sharing bag for school, which he forgot in the kitchen. I dropped it off and went to the grocery store.
I filled up a cart, had to leave it at the front of the store and get ANOTHER cart, added several things to that, and checked out.
$270.00. Whoa.
Then I went home to drop off groceries, realizing on the way that
A) there was no way I would have time to put the cold groceries in the fridge and freezer before getting Spence from school at 3:15,
B) the dog had not been outside of her kennel all day (that is what I get for having a pug, the lazy little schmuck),
C) I had to be at school at 3:35 to pick up Garrett and Evan so I could get Evan and Spence to dance pictures, AND
D) Evan and Spencer still needed black dress socks and belts for their dance costumes.
So I called my friend Laura, who is a neighbor and has 3 lovely daughters. Emma came over for me, walked Pippa, and then put away all the cold groceries for me while I ran to get Spence, etc. etc. etc. Totally worth the $15 I paid her.
I got Spence on time, picked up the big boys, ran to KMart for the belts and socks, got to dance, wrote a check for $80 for the pictures (which turned out WAY cute), and took a deep breath and came home.
My house is a mess but I am going to tackle it tonight and I really am looking forward to having family here this weekend.
Oh -- and I am SO glad today is about done. LOL
Then I showered, got Spence some lunch, and took him to school.
Then I ran back home to get the sharing bag for school, which he forgot in the kitchen. I dropped it off and went to the grocery store.
I filled up a cart, had to leave it at the front of the store and get ANOTHER cart, added several things to that, and checked out.
$270.00. Whoa.
Then I went home to drop off groceries, realizing on the way that
A) there was no way I would have time to put the cold groceries in the fridge and freezer before getting Spence from school at 3:15,
B) the dog had not been outside of her kennel all day (that is what I get for having a pug, the lazy little schmuck),
C) I had to be at school at 3:35 to pick up Garrett and Evan so I could get Evan and Spence to dance pictures, AND
D) Evan and Spencer still needed black dress socks and belts for their dance costumes.
So I called my friend Laura, who is a neighbor and has 3 lovely daughters. Emma came over for me, walked Pippa, and then put away all the cold groceries for me while I ran to get Spence, etc. etc. etc. Totally worth the $15 I paid her.
I got Spence on time, picked up the big boys, ran to KMart for the belts and socks, got to dance, wrote a check for $80 for the pictures (which turned out WAY cute), and took a deep breath and came home.
My house is a mess but I am going to tackle it tonight and I really am looking forward to having family here this weekend.
Oh -- and I am SO glad today is about done. LOL
Friday, May 04, 2007
Litter bugs me
That was the title on a poster I drew in 3rd grade. It had ladybugs on a grassy lawn and a lot of litter strewn around with a trash can right in the middle. It won a school contest and I brought home three little trees to plant. Only one made it, but it is a HUGE pine tree in my parents' front yard and every time I see it I am stunned that it is so big.
Anyway, I grew up reading "Ranger Rick" and hearing all those 1970's pleas from the hippie generation to save the planet, and I count litter as one of my biggest pet peeves. (And if you read this blog regularly, you know I have a LOT of pet peeves.)
Last week Spencer and I got together with some members of his preschool class and picked up litter at a local park. It was part of a weeklong citywide cleanup, and I was grateful to Kara for organizing it.
We picked up the usual stuff -- water bottles, Cheetos bags, broken glass -- but the thing that annoyed me far beyond anything else were the cigarette butts. We were at a park with softball fields. And around those fields, under the bleachers and in the dugouts, were thousands of butts. It was disgusting. And my thought, over and over, as I stooped to pick them up, was, "If you are playing softball, a healthy activity, WHY do you pollute yourself with these?" Honestly.
Cigarettes should be outlawed at parks. And if you think that's ridiculous or not fair or whatever, well, fine. You don't have to agree with me. But I would love to hear solutions for this outside of banning them altogether. If people won't walk 2 steps to a trash can there's no reason to expect they'll walk that far to a coffee can filled with sand or another more suitable recptacle.
I filled out a survey for the city that asked whether I litter. Well, of course not. I would be willing to bet that no one who does volunteered to clean up the city. And then it asked why I think people litter. Simple. Because they don't realize (or worse, they don't care) that someone has to pick up after them. I'll keep doing it -- I'll volunteer next year, too, and I'll keep picking up trash while I'm on walks with Pippa or at the park with the kids. It's what I have always done. I believe it is everyone's responsibility to keep their community and world a nice place to live.
I just wish more people thought that.
Anyway, I grew up reading "Ranger Rick" and hearing all those 1970's pleas from the hippie generation to save the planet, and I count litter as one of my biggest pet peeves. (And if you read this blog regularly, you know I have a LOT of pet peeves.)
Last week Spencer and I got together with some members of his preschool class and picked up litter at a local park. It was part of a weeklong citywide cleanup, and I was grateful to Kara for organizing it.
We picked up the usual stuff -- water bottles, Cheetos bags, broken glass -- but the thing that annoyed me far beyond anything else were the cigarette butts. We were at a park with softball fields. And around those fields, under the bleachers and in the dugouts, were thousands of butts. It was disgusting. And my thought, over and over, as I stooped to pick them up, was, "If you are playing softball, a healthy activity, WHY do you pollute yourself with these?" Honestly.
Cigarettes should be outlawed at parks. And if you think that's ridiculous or not fair or whatever, well, fine. You don't have to agree with me. But I would love to hear solutions for this outside of banning them altogether. If people won't walk 2 steps to a trash can there's no reason to expect they'll walk that far to a coffee can filled with sand or another more suitable recptacle.
I filled out a survey for the city that asked whether I litter. Well, of course not. I would be willing to bet that no one who does volunteered to clean up the city. And then it asked why I think people litter. Simple. Because they don't realize (or worse, they don't care) that someone has to pick up after them. I'll keep doing it -- I'll volunteer next year, too, and I'll keep picking up trash while I'm on walks with Pippa or at the park with the kids. It's what I have always done. I believe it is everyone's responsibility to keep their community and world a nice place to live.
I just wish more people thought that.
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