Afternoon tea
Every so often I go wild - cleaning that is. You know what I mean. The all out “Oh my gosh how did this get so bad? We are never letting it get like this again!” kind of cleaning. Usually that’s spring and fall for me. Except although it’s fall now it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like an endless summer or at the very least that we have been moved farther south on the map when no one was looking.
Mary Ellen just did the dreaded closet switch which led to the inevitable deep clean. Good for her! I need to do that. We have switched some clothes but we can’t go all out because it’s still warm (75 degrees right now actually). I bought 11 yr. old Mary a new coat yesterday - I hope she gets to wear it before she outgrows it. So does she.
Mind you I’m not really complaining about the weather. 75 is nice. The humidity is low and there’s a lovely breeze. We need neither heat or A/C and that’s great. But it feels odd, you know? And I just haven’t gotten the cleaning motivation I usually get this time of year. Maybe because my body still thinks it’s summer?
OK, I can’t say I haven’t gotten any motivation. I was scrubbing baseboards and woodwork on Sat. - you can imagine how dirty those get in a house with this many people. But there’s so much more to do and my motivation is seriously lacking.
I have BIG plans for my house. Both cleaning and painting - so I really need to get moving. Truth is I have a tendency to be very “all or nothing”. Either I have the energy to do everything (or think I do anyway) or I don’t. I’m working on that - and I have gotten better in recent years but it’s all too easy to fall back into old ways of thinking. Pray for me.
I think part of what’s missing with all this warm weather is the “smell” of fall. It doesn’t smell like fall - it’s too warm. OK I’m weird but I have a nose like a blood hound I swear. Just ask my kids. I walk around saying “what’s that smell?” and they all look at me funny - because they can’t smell it. I think it’s mom thing - my mom has it too.
And speaking of smells, I have to ask, what is it about boys and the “pee” factor? I mean, the bathroom is right next to their room and yet they pee in the empty Lego bucket because . . .???? Maybe it’s just my boys. I grew up with two sisters so this whole boy thing is pretty much a mystery to me. I’m used to it but it still baffles me. Like the missing the toilet thing - what is up with that??
At least I have the comfort of knowing they grow out of it and that the middle years “funk” that wafts from their rooms does eventually become a much better (if not at times, quite heavy) fragrance of after shave and cologne.
But right now it’s time to go motivate the chatter boxes in the kitchen who are lounging over their lunch as I type. Maybe that’s what I need. A mom to tell me to GET MOVING!
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Oct 23, 2007 - 05:10:21I’m an all or nothing kind of gal too. I’m also continuing to work on it. I think it’s the perfectionist in me. Anyway, praying for you.
Another Mom of boys recommended that we do vinyl flooring in bathrooms because of boys — she said tile is permeable. I think that was wise advice. Happy cleaning.
The boys are marking their territory, Michele.
LOL That was hysterical! I hear ya with the whole fall being warm thing. We went to the beach today and it was so warm my kids went “wading”, ie: soaked.
Too funny! I had two girls first. It wasn’t that hard to keep up with the bathrooms. Now, with two boys in the house, I no sooner have the toilets cleaned than they are sprayed to kingdom come! Why must they talk over their shoulders while they are doing their business, shooting everywhere? I’m not sure the grout between the tiles around the base of the toilet will ever be quite the same. (Yes, I realize I’m painting a gross picture. Sorry.) I’m just waiting for the peeing-in-the-lego-bucket routine. For us, it’s still “sword fights” while they’re going at the same time. God bless you and those boys!
I’m so looking forward to the smell of aftershave and cologne! For now I’m fighting the bathrooom battle with you!
I, too, have “the nose”! My daughter has inherited it as well. I can tell by the look on her face the minute we walk in a store, restaurant, public bathroom, etc. that has a displeasing smell! The whole boy thing cracked me up, too. When my dd was 1 1/2, my 3 10,11, 12 year old nephews came to visit for a few days. The room they stayed in smelled like beef jerky and dirty feet! Yuck! It took forever to get that smell out! I grew up with five sisters, so it’s new to me. The smell of hair burning in a blow dryer is more what I’m used to!
Yep, I also have the nose. I can smell a mess a mile away!
Which means that as the mother of boys I have to contend with the “pee factor”. What can we do? Clean. Spray air freshener. And above all, put the lid down!
PS. Oh and speaking of cleaning things up, I love what you’ve done with your template. I’m hoping that you hang onto it for longer than a week!
I think being a mom refines your sense of smell. I was hunting last week for a msytery smell. No one else could smell it. Turns out a milk bottle rolled under the couch. Yuck.
Kevin went through a pee stage as well. Rather than leave the basement playroom he would use whatever was available, play-doh bucket, Lego bucket, etc…
Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head had to be evacuated to new quarters. :/