Friday, October 2, 2009

Who's coming over?

Everyday, I get up and suggest to my family that WE need to get the house picked up and cleaned. Everyday, they act as if this is some new form of torture that I have invented to make their lives hellish. What I don't understand is how this is a new concept to them every single day. How they don't get (after years of me telling them, showing them, and reminding them) where the dirty clothes go, where the toys go, and where the trash goes.

Then there are the books. Books are becoming a love-hate type of thing in my house. The 1st One is always reading. Good if you are also willing to help with other stuff and not reading all night instead of sleeping. My Son has two books he wants read over and over and over again. I am so tired of reading about Star Wars I could cry. What is worse, I get to hear the epic battle played out again and again in his bed at night. For an hour you can hear battle cries, clashes, and, my all time favorite, "OH NOOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH! HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE! AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Wild Child will cry for hours if she can not find the book she is looking for and will cry for days if the book she is looking for is in the possession of a sibling. Which brings me to the Little Jamaican.... Oh, that girl! She loves books. I am not sure how the books feel about her. If she would just read them and look at them we would be in good shape, but she likes to build with them, make them into blankets to sleep under at night (don't get me started with that), she likes to draw/color in them, and occasionally remove an offending page from the book. (Sorry I got off on a tangent here.) So the books get left out all over the house.

I would really like to understand what happens in my bathrooms. The combination of paper, water, hair products, and whatever else is in there could seriously cause the EPA to make me placard my bathrooms with signs such as this.
However, the part that has me most perplexed is this. Everyday when I say we are going to pick-up and/or clean the house, the response is always the same. They always ask, "Who's coming over?" They seem to be under the impression that we only need a clean house if we are having guests over. In their defense, I become much more adamant about the task-at-hand when we are expecting people over, but certainly a woman could desire to walk through her living room with out threat to her feet or use a toilet in her own home without having to hover.

So today is no different, I am off to get this place cleaned before we have guests. I am assuming they would rather not hover.

11 comments:

Nancy said...

Haha. Oh I loved loved this post. Most especially the part about your son in his bed and the cool stuff Little Jamaican does with books.

Nancy said...

P.S. YOu are totally right, there is no reason why we aren't hanging out all of the time. Maybe it is just that I mostly don't ever think to do ANYTHING. BUT, I am game anytime! I thought about calling you to go to the women's broadcast last Sat. so I wouldn't have to go alone, but then Mike was off in Logan doing stuff with his dad's beehives so I didn't go at all. :(

orangemily said...

Hovering builds muscles! ; )

Krista said...

Next house you build has to have a pool. Just throw all your bathroom amenities in there and lots of chlorine and a filter that works overtime. It would save a lot of clean up. Books.....you know I have the same problem. I just can't give them up.

Stacy said...

I have recently given up on the pick up and put away periods that I force on my family with surprised and then resistant looks. Big mistake! Now the place is in such disarray that I cannot get myself to get it back together. This weekend I plan to kick my own butt and get everything back to normal. I am with you sista!

Also I found that my random choice of yellow for the bathroom wall color was one of the best decisions ever!

Karen said...

Oh Stacy.....I could have not loved that comment more! I had never considered that color for a bathroom before, but truly you may be on to something.

Krista for sure next house will have a pool. That will work as long as we are some place warm. January here could be a rough month for such cleaning exercise. (You should see the comic strip going through my head.)

Orangemilly you are right that does build muscles. Some days it is the best exercise I get.

Nancy we are just going to have to get together. Now you know the truth about my house keeping skills you can just show up any ole time with kids in tow. I also can not seem to keep on the weeding. Just so you are prepared. If I had known about the 26th we would have had you over. We had an impromptu birthday party for niece with lots of kids running around the back yard.

Karen said...

Ha! I get that response, too. Is it so wrong for me to want a clean house for the health and safety of the family?

Flea said...

My kids ask the same thing!

Anonymous said...

Tell them Carrie is coming over!

cat said...

Oh that's kids for you, but yes, I feel the same. My house is constantly out of control.

Have I told you enough times how great it is to have you back?

Salty Incisor said...

WE MIGHT BE THE SAME PERSON. oh how I need to catch up on blogs but then the guilt slips in and I feel like I need to get up and torch the biohazard jk.