Monday Madness... And the hits keep comin'!!!

Monday, Monday.... It's been a busy weekend. The Hub's sister and kids were in this weekend, so we've spent a lot of time with them, which is always fun. Saturday morning, however, was a mad dash to get the house cleaned before they got here. As they used to run their own cleaning service, I'm just a little on the "HOLYCOWtheyaregoingtothinkIcan'tkeepacleanhouse!!!!" side. Just a little bit. The Hubs asked what he could do to help. I promptly put him to work. He even came back a time or two and said,"What's next?"

Floored. I was absolutely floored. Where is The Hubs and what have you done with him? Bring him back? Uhm.... let me get back to you on that. ;)

He cleaned the entire basement (it's finished) and even cleaned the carpets! He cleaned the kitchen (Rays of sunshine from the heavens splitting the clouds I tell you!) while I was helping Z2 clean out her room. Yes, clean OUT. Three store bags of trash and a laundry basket later (She's a bit of a keeper. I, on the other hand, am a purger. We're working on that.) I emerge. I finish the upstairs and The Hubs and I finish the main floor together in record time.

Since I've been working more and more, it's gotten harder to clean the entire house in one day. After all, who wants to work 40 hours a week and spend an entire Saturday really cleaning up after three other people and a dog? Can I get a witness?

So after he's taking a break with Z1, I come in from the kitchen and say to him,"Hey- thanks a lot for just digging in with no complaints and really helping out. That meant a lot to me. I really appreciate it. The house just feels so clean and I didn't have to spend my entire weekend to get it that way. I'm looking forward to actually getting to relax with you and the family."

He replies,"Yeeeeeah... Wouldn't it be great if the house was ALWAYS this clean?!"

Stunned, yet only for a SPLIT second, (And mind you, before MY brain to mouth filter kicked in), I looked at him, turned on my heel and as I was walking away said,""Yeah. Maybe if you'd get up off your (-ahem!-) butt EVERY Saturday and help it would be."

Mama's tired. And she ain't playin' no mo. Right about that moment, a news program came on with a special report on how married couples feel about the division of chores.

Not. Even. Kidding.

You can't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor or great comedic timing.

Yours, counting the days to vacation!!!!

Melissa

Monday Madness- Mama Ain't Playin'.

A friend of mine, whom I love dearly, recently posted on her blog about going through a house funk. She asked what people do to get out of theirs... And this came tumbling out:

First off- I so understand. I went through the Thing today. It always hits the day before I have my cycle. You know, I feel like I have NO focus, I’m NEVER going to amount to ANYthing and why the HECK does this house always look like a tornado hit it? So here’s a few things I do:

1. I start tidying up. I pick one place on the main floor (usually the dining room table, because I need a BIG place) and start piling up all the clutter and crap and things that need to be put away. I put it all there and get the other rooms in order. Then I can go through the pile and do the following: recycle, put away/store and toss. We recycle nearly everything, so I rarely feel guilty for tossing. To that degree, we even have a trash bin in the garage for the semi annual appliance/computer recycle event.

2. I have what I call a Buy Back Bin. Kids leave stuff laying around? Shoes? Toys? ANYTHING of theirs? I give them fair warning that I’m cleaning up and if they don’t pick up after themselves, it goes in the Buy Back Bin. They can either buy it back -a quarter an item- or it can get donated to Good Will. Mama Ain’t Playin.

3. If all else fails, I throw crap in the fireplace and torch it. What can I say? A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

Hugs, Fluid Pudding (well, not really because I know you’re not a hugger. How about a high five?). Hope some of these ideas work!

I'd love to see the idea of the Buy Back Bin catch on all around the nation... Hmmmm.... maybe I should put a Mac and Chicken Fingers logo on them? It's a thought!

Yours, praying you are NOT going through The Thing today,

Melissa

Thursday Thoughts- Time to PURGE.

It's Thursday. I'm thinking about purging.

With all of this getting ready for school and organizing, it's the perfect time to purge. Go through everything. Make piles of the things I'm not using. Donate. Sell. Clean out. Give away.

It's also a good time to update your information. Did your kid's school change? Better write down the new address and phone number. New schedules? Better write those down too. Yesterday I made a master schedule. It took me one and a half hours. It's to the point where I believe I may start color coding everyone. Yes, it's getting that full.

What about child ID information? We all know how much the kids grow over the course of the year. Yesterday afternoon, Z1 went to his first Fall Soccer practice. All the boys look so much older- like boys! Hard to believe he's a tween now and showing symptoms of it in choices (and attitude). But it reminds me I need to update his profile with a more current picture. Somehow, I don't think his 2nd grade photo would work anymore!

As the school year begins, take the time to clean out and update.

Yours, changing out photos,

Melissa