I have friends that are super awesome yard salers. They get up at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday morning and drive all over the county finding great deals. They truly impress me and sometimes I think I want to be them, b/c I too like getting good deals.
But, I don’t like getting up at the butt crack of dawn any day of the week, much less Saturday. And I especially don’t like dragging 4 kids around with me all over the county at the butt crack of dawn, worse yet having the kids see stuff that other people are clearing out of their house and begging me if they can then bring it in mine and then me coming home without the outdoor patio table and chairs I’d been wanting but with a bag full of happy meal toys that are now going to clutter up our family room floor.
What day is it? We’ve been a bit out of sorts here at the circus… snow days and a power outage resulting in a fun sleepover at Nana and Pop’s… …now it is Friday, but sure feels like Monday…. we’re home and trying to play catch up on schoolwork, house work and laundry… good news is, when we are done… we’ll still have the weekend to enjoy! And next week is Super Bowl week… and in case you missed it… Pittsburgh’s Going to the Superbowl!
Those of you that follow me on facebook or twitter, or have spent any time round these circus parts, know that I whine quite a bit about laundry. Recently, however, I made a startling discovery. Rather than being the bane of my existence as I once thought, it is in fact, the key to my happiness?
Say wha??
Last May, I set out with a quest to get entirely caught up on my laundry.
I do not consider myself to be either creative or crafty. And most of the time I am ok with that. Even though my mom and grandma are both talented seamstresses, I’ve often joked that I missed out on the sewing gene.
The truth is that sewing seems to require patience and an aspiration for perfection. And for me, close enough is usually more than good enough. But close enough doesn’t seem to work when sewing, b/c you kinda want your dresses to be straight and your sleeves even.
The kids had scattered to the backyard to play while I cleared off the dinner dishes. As I wiped down the dining room table, I couldn’t help but smirk as I looked out over a see of crumbs and wood that is faded in parts due to many a knocked over glass of milk or water. There is an ever present layer of grime that those of you with kids know exactly what I am talking about… something like syrup meets peanut butter meets oatmeal and it just cakes into those nooks and crannies around the edge of the table, giving it that “lived in” feel.
Divide and Conquer
That would be the name of the game lately at the circus.
I’ll take the youngest two to the grocery store while Scott takes the older ones with him to build the new to us play set. Or Scott takes the big 3 to the year end baseball ceremony while I stay home with the babe.
At this stage of the game, tag teaming has seemed crucial for surviving and for attempting to keep the household running somewhat smoothly.
** May 3, 2010 **
Write it down folks. Circle it on your calendar. I’ve dreamed of this day for months. I’ve gotten so close only to be thwarted.
But, folks… it finally happened.
The circus family is caught up on laundry.
I know, I never thought it would happen either. Friday afternoon I washed my Christmas table cloth. This evening, I dry cleaned our sweaters with one of those handy Woolite Dry Cleaning sheets.
February is here. I am happy to say I’ve finally put away all our Christmas decor and while it isn’t completely conquered, I have tamed the laundry beast and gotten somewhat of a grip on the house chores and school work. For now
So, with this new month, I’ve set some goals for some things I’d like to get done around the house. And thanks to two different blogging friends, I have some accountability and inspiration.
I was feeling pretty good about myself this week. Got a little boost of energy with week 12 and began to tame this household which I had slacked off on over the first trimester. Finally, I can leave the guest bedroom door open as well as the master bed room. I even cleaned out the van which had reached its height of total messiness, threw away all that trash crammed in around the car seats and brought in the plethora of coats and shoes which were strewn all over the floor.
If you’ve been following my tweets or facebook statuses over the past few weeks, then you know I have been crazy cleaning girl here lately. In addition to my late night bathroom scrubbing and Friday night painting parties, today I did something I’ve never done before.
I got a friend to watch my kids so I could do house work.
I’ve had a friend watch the kids so I could go to the OB, or to a school interview, even for some volunteering at the preschool, but for house work?