Freaky little thing

Tiny little dog

I found this little dog in my dirty laundry bin.

I have no idea where it came from or whose it is.

My pinkie finger is there to show you just how small it is.

It is velvety soft.

It looks kinda mad, kinda mean, kinda nasty and certainly not the COME PLAY WITH ME kinda happy you’re going for as a kid.

This small thing is very disturbing to me.

I don’t like it one bit.

Who the hell would play with that?

The dog won’t even chew it to death.

I think it’s the eyes.

Chemo can be fun!

All good news today.

Ok, a touch anemic…but who cares.

Today we take what we can get.

Friday

Welcome to the jungle

On the bright side…a possible cure for unruly ear hair.

The big payoff

Ever since summer started, our basement-tv room-kids play area, has been a disaster area.  It was beyond just simply cleaning it up.  It needed to be cleaned out.

That said, last week when it rained, we got to it.  I brought out the 70 qt storage bin and the 16 qt storage bin and a garbage bag.  CT got his own bins, KP and PJ shared a set.

The kids filled the large bin with large toys and the small bin with small toys and anything broken went into the garbage bin.

Each bin had a price tag associated with it.  Large bin, $5.  Small bin, $1.  Gargage (paper grochery bag) $1.  Once we had gone through all the toys and the bins were filled (several times), we bagged them up, put them in the back of the van and dropped it all off at Good Will.

Then we went to Target with the money they had made and they each got to buy ONE new toy.

What are you really trying to say?

For the past several weeks we have had painters at our house.  The job seemed to take longer than I thought and having people in and out and around your house all day for over two solid weeks is interesting, they get to see it all.

Needless to say, we got to know the painters fairly well and they got to know us; the kids fighting, me yelling, the utter chaos that always ensues at our house 95% of the time, our ridiculous acts of getting in and out of the house and all sorts of other stellar behaviors that I am sure were witnessed along the way.

The last day they were here, Marco stopped me, as I was bustling about trying to get ready to leave for Grandma’s Marathon all the while putting the claw hold on KP’s forehead so he wouldn’t wrestle me to the ground or wreck anything in his path, and said “Senorita, you like seviche?”  Of course I like seviche and I would absoluetly love his sister recipe.

The conversation then moved onto, by the way my cousin takes care of children (because you clearly need some help in this area) and my wife owns her own cleaning service (which you certainly could use because I’ve been in your house the the past two weeks using your pooped up toilets and seeing dirty laundry all over the place) and I know she would just love to help you out.

Under the bed

I’m not one to store items under the bed.  In fact, it really bothers me.  I like to know it’s clean under there, that there are no scary monsters and no extremely large dust bunnies that might eat away at my toes during the darkness of night.

Today I cleaned under CT’s bed.  Now what you need to realize is that he is not the slob, he shares a room with a slob.  His little brother, the slob.  Or maybe, maybe he is just being three, but it is not like any other three year old I have raised.

KP uses CT’s bed like a squirrel uses a hole in a tree to store and horde his nuts.  He sneaks out of his room during his quiet time and stealthily grabs things from around the house, plays with them, and then tucks them under the bed so I am none the wiser that he has escaped.

Here is a short list of some of the things I found today:

• An assortment of sea creatures
• the sea creatures empty container
• 2 starburst wrappers
• an ice pack
• a rotting pumpkin
• PJ’s lip gloss & eye shadow
• a hand mirror
• numerous bath toys
• a pink hair binder
• a brush and comb
• a small beaded purse
• CT’s Legos
• a fitness magazine
• one torn book
• playdough
• marbles
• shredded pieces of someone’s artwork
• a half used bottle of body wash
• an old toothbrush
• a pair of pants, PJ’s and two unmatched socks

What’s under your bed?

A bin full of it

Today Jen spent almost the whole day at my house helping me clean out my front hall closet.  It was a mess.  We had two hours before any kids would have to be picked up from school, we had to hurry. 

It was not enough time.  So we picked them all up, fed them, then caved and allowed them to watch a mid afternoon movie so we could get the job done.  Everything was out, open, in large piles ALL OVER THE LIVING ROOM.  It had to get done.

I couldn’t believe the amount of garbage.  Jen is really good at throwing things away, I’m not.  That’s why I enlist her expertise.  She and my mother in law would rival each other as to who could/would and wants to clean out their closets most often.  They have been born with a way to cut through the crap with laser like precision; again I don’t have that skill.

By the end of the day the closet was clean and ready to become my new “War Room”.  This will be the place where all the kid’s school and outerwear items have a home.  There will be a white board to post all school activities, wall pockets for all their homework, mail slots for us, places to hang backpacks and coats and bins for hats and mittens.  Ohhhh the joy!

As we were trudging through the knee high piles of shit I said to Jen, “It’s not like I’m a disorganized person, I don’t get how this happens.”  Her response, “You know how you think my messy handwriting doesn’t fit how anal (that’s my descriptor) I am, I feel the same about you and your closets.”

What doesn’t seem to mesh with the way you live?

Don’t let your kids do this

Yesterday I felt the need to clean the shower…while I showered…me naked with a bottle of Comet and a scrubber.

I’m pretty sure that’s not real good for your skin, but damn if I didn’t get that shower clean.

Summer happened

I confess I pretty much have not cleaned my house this entire summer.  There’s no time with all the summer fun we’ve been having.  I mean, who can clean when you can go to the pool or the park or eat popsicles outside on a 90 degree day? There is FUN to be had people!

Ok, don’t get me wrong, I’ve picked up and spot cleaned but not anything like a complete house cleaning.  I don’t even mean the OCD kind of clean, I just mean the normal person kinda clean.

The house has not even looked that bad this past three months but what has put and end to my fun induced cleaning hiatus is…my kitchen chairs stopped moving out from under the table.  They are plum stuck, and in what, I have no idea.

I guess it’s time.

This afternoon’s game

I can’t talk long. I only have but an hour.

The game I’m going to partake in this afternoon: TOY RESTRUCTURING.

The parameters of the game:
#1. You need two bags: 1 bag for garbage and 1 bag for ARC.
#2. Bin and purge as much as you can, as quickly as possible.
#3. If it is questionable, get ride of it anyway. Less is more.
#4. I always have a hard time with this one. Never, ever be sentimental.

My partners in crime this afternoon will be…a diet coke and Justin Timberlake.

Please excuse me, I must be off.