My house is cozy. It does not have a family room. Instead it has a living room which serves every purpose, from television watching, to book reading and playing to being a general repository of every toy we own.
AK has an amazing ability to walk into a room and quickly assess which toys will create the biggest mess with the least amount of effort. This usually involves dumping out boxes of flashcards, pulling puzzles off the shelf, and airing out any plaything that has multiple pieces. I swear it is not because she actually wants to play with any of these items, or any items stored below these items, I really think she just likes the concept of chaos.
Every night once the girls are in bed I struggle to put the room back together. I know the effort is futile and tomorrow will bring more scattered toys, but I can't help myself. Plus, if I don't pick it up I will likely step on something and hurt myself.
Showing posts with label housekeeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housekeeping. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Good Wife
When my dad retired in 2004, 4 years before my mother, he kept himself busy doing all sorts of tasks (in addition to teaching education at a local college). My mother would comment, "He makes a great wife."
He did the laundry, the dishes, the random errands...pretty much everything except the cooking. He will readily admit that he is not and will never be a chef. And my mom is okay with that, as she is an excellent cook.
The other day at a Memorial Day celebration a friend commented that her husband also was a "good wife." I believe this was mostly in reference to the fact that he did most of the cooking, but I am sure he helps out in lots of other ways.
The Hoos is a great husband (and fantastic daddy, but that goes without saying). He brings home (most of) the family bacon, is an attentive father, shares dish and bath duty and plays an active role in all parenting (natch). He also handles day care drop off duty and the morning routine.
I would venture to say that the Hoos would say that I am a good wife. Probably because I do a lot of the day-to-day management of our home (bills, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.) but, to be honest, this is more a function of time. I work part-time and pick the girls up from day care a couple of hours before he arrives home. This is likely the reason that my dad was a good wife. Now that my mom is also retired, he is probably still a great husband, but not necessary as a good wife.
Given the opportunity, I still don't think the Hoos would want to be a good wife. Sure he would want more time in his life (and especially less time at work), and I doubt he would shirk the title because of the feminine connotation (I bet he would look smoking in a frilly apron), but because being a good wife is a lot of work.
That being said, I could use a few good wives.
He did the laundry, the dishes, the random errands...pretty much everything except the cooking. He will readily admit that he is not and will never be a chef. And my mom is okay with that, as she is an excellent cook.
The other day at a Memorial Day celebration a friend commented that her husband also was a "good wife." I believe this was mostly in reference to the fact that he did most of the cooking, but I am sure he helps out in lots of other ways.
The Hoos is a great husband (and fantastic daddy, but that goes without saying). He brings home (most of) the family bacon, is an attentive father, shares dish and bath duty and plays an active role in all parenting (natch). He also handles day care drop off duty and the morning routine.
I would venture to say that the Hoos would say that I am a good wife. Probably because I do a lot of the day-to-day management of our home (bills, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.) but, to be honest, this is more a function of time. I work part-time and pick the girls up from day care a couple of hours before he arrives home. This is likely the reason that my dad was a good wife. Now that my mom is also retired, he is probably still a great husband, but not necessary as a good wife.
Given the opportunity, I still don't think the Hoos would want to be a good wife. Sure he would want more time in his life (and especially less time at work), and I doubt he would shirk the title because of the feminine connotation (I bet he would look smoking in a frilly apron), but because being a good wife is a lot of work.
That being said, I could use a few good wives.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A New Woman
Last night, despite all of the ladies in our house having colds, I had a great night of sleep. Definitely in the top three of the last 7.5 months. AK slept until 4am and then until 8!! I still have a cold, but I definitely feel that my immunity is boosted by me being a bit less exhausted than usual.
This weekend also had some other highlights:
This weekend also had some other highlights:
- My new washer and dryer were delivered! I never thought I would be one of those people that was excited by new appliances, but I also never thought I would never be one of those people that had mountains of laundry that seem to procreate. My new Kenmore 800s are cavernous, efficient, and way younger than the 23 year old washer and 18 year old dryer we got rid of. Woo-hoo!
- We sold my Escape! In 2001 I bought my first new car, a red Ford Escape, nicknamed "My Pretty Baby". She replaced a 91 Buick Regal my grandparents gave to me as a graduation gift. I loved My Pretty Baby. She was pretty, new, fit my personality...but in October 08 we needed more interior space (two car seats will for that to you) and I was jonesing for a fresh ride that wasn't going to be needing serious replacement parts in the coming years. Enter My Trusty Steed, my new CRV. I felt guilty when we couldn't sell the Escape and she hung around way longer than anticipated. I was thrilled when she was finally snapped up this weekend. YAY!!! We are back to being a two (Honda) car family.
- My blog hit its second birthday! Leave me a comment with some good karma that hit you recently and you are eligible to win some of the cool prizes I have accrued since starting this blog:
- Carmen Electra Strip Tease Work-out DVDs (unopened - shocking, I know),
- Margarita Mama: Mocktails for Moms-to-Be. A book of cocktail recipes for those that can't partake in alcohol
- daysago digital day counters. When you want to know how long something really has been in your fridge.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Spurting and Sputtering
Last week a friend gave me some quotable advice, "If I waited for my house to be perfect I would never have anyone over." Amen to that sister! I am glad she didn't wait. Dee and I had a great time with Rocky and her two daughters and the other moms and kids hanging out. It was nice to be with other people that are sharing the same experiences, even if we do sometimes have different opinions.
In other news, I think Dee is going through a growth spurt. Last night she was up every hour and 45 minutes like clockwork wanting to eat. And she actually did a full feeding each time. The good news is that it only takes her 12 minutes to eat an entire meal and she fell back to sleep immediately after eating all four (during the 1, 3, 5, and 7 o'clock hours) times.
I have discovered that the falling back to sleep bit is the hard part. I don't mind the nursing. Even if it took longer - 30 minutes per side with LP - it is still bearable. It is the post-feeding desperate attempts to get her back to sleep that really take a toll. It is like driving through a dark tunnel with claustrophobia and having no idea how long the thing is.
In other news, I think Dee is going through a growth spurt. Last night she was up every hour and 45 minutes like clockwork wanting to eat. And she actually did a full feeding each time. The good news is that it only takes her 12 minutes to eat an entire meal and she fell back to sleep immediately after eating all four (during the 1, 3, 5, and 7 o'clock hours) times.
I have discovered that the falling back to sleep bit is the hard part. I don't mind the nursing. Even if it took longer - 30 minutes per side with LP - it is still bearable. It is the post-feeding desperate attempts to get her back to sleep that really take a toll. It is like driving through a dark tunnel with claustrophobia and having no idea how long the thing is.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Dirty Girl
My housekeeping isn't what it used to be. And even that wasn't much.
Considering LP regularly dumps bags of Cheerios or goldfish on my living room rug and cries at the sound of the vacuum cleaner, I don't vacuum as much as I should. And somehow the unwanted food that she flings off of her high chair tray finds a way of hitting at least three pieces of furniture before landing on the floor. Again, this is very difficult to stay on top of.
Five years ago, I had a conversation with a colleague on this topic that still sticks with me.
She was complaining about her sister-in-law's housekeeping practices and asked me incredulously, "Do you believe that she doesn't wash their shower towels daily? Isn't that disgusting? It must be a cultural thing." Well, her sister-in-law happened to be South American, but obviously the one with the problem was my co-worker. I remember thinking, "Who washes their towels everyday? Who has the time, energy and that much laundry that they can do a load a day?"
Well, I now I have enough laundry that I can do a load a day; except I can't and I don't. First, it wastes way too much electricity and water to run the washing machine and dryer so frequently. Second, WHO HAS THE TIME OR ENERGY TO DO A LOAD OF LAUNDRY A DAY?
Have I just outed myself as a dirty person? Do other people seriously only use their towels for drying off after the shower once? I thought that was a luxury afforded in fancy hotel rooms. And even they are asking people to hang up their towels and consider not getting new linens every day.
Thank goodness the aforementioned colleague no longer works here. I can only imagine what should would say about my cleaning practices! Or maybe with two kids of her own now she has more important things to worry about than lightly used towels.
Considering LP regularly dumps bags of Cheerios or goldfish on my living room rug and cries at the sound of the vacuum cleaner, I don't vacuum as much as I should. And somehow the unwanted food that she flings off of her high chair tray finds a way of hitting at least three pieces of furniture before landing on the floor. Again, this is very difficult to stay on top of.
Five years ago, I had a conversation with a colleague on this topic that still sticks with me.
She was complaining about her sister-in-law's housekeeping practices and asked me incredulously, "Do you believe that she doesn't wash their shower towels daily? Isn't that disgusting? It must be a cultural thing." Well, her sister-in-law happened to be South American, but obviously the one with the problem was my co-worker. I remember thinking, "Who washes their towels everyday? Who has the time, energy and that much laundry that they can do a load a day?"
Well, I now I have enough laundry that I can do a load a day; except I can't and I don't. First, it wastes way too much electricity and water to run the washing machine and dryer so frequently. Second, WHO HAS THE TIME OR ENERGY TO DO A LOAD OF LAUNDRY A DAY?
Have I just outed myself as a dirty person? Do other people seriously only use their towels for drying off after the shower once? I thought that was a luxury afforded in fancy hotel rooms. And even they are asking people to hang up their towels and consider not getting new linens every day.
Thank goodness the aforementioned colleague no longer works here. I can only imagine what should would say about my cleaning practices! Or maybe with two kids of her own now she has more important things to worry about than lightly used towels.
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