House Proud and paying the price...

I know you're all on the edge of your seats. Will she drop of exhaustion and annoyance before she crosses the finish line? Or will she pull it off? Can she clean the entire house without smacking an idle child with a wet rag? Will the Swiffer duster hold up better than the feather duster that exploded in a cloud of feathers today?

Well, today, I started with an hour and a half of occupational therapy and school work, and didn't even get to the housework until 10:30. I completely tidied, dusted and vacuumed the living room and family room, including wiping down all the door facings and windows. Then I fed everyone lunch and went to ballet. Yeah, like I needed the exercise.

When I got home, I cleared out the office, cleaned it, and set it up for Auntie #1. I cleaned The Boy's room and set it up for Auntie #2. I cleaned The Girl's room and finished putting the room back together after the painting. I'm telling you, I was seriously on a roll. Until I got to the master bedroom. Then I just gave in and collapsed. Heck, it was time to start dinner anyway. (Brown rice and pork on the barbie!)

The Boy is thrilled with his newly cleaned-for-Auntie room. But later in the afternoon, I had the absolute nerve to put some Zhu-Zhu pets on his dresser, and he went ballistic. I was wrecking his nice clean room and am now banned from entering. He has put up a sign that says I'm not allowed to enter. Cheeky little brat. He did help clean it up last night, but still.

I've been setting out linens, washing blankets, etc. for the Aunties. I think I'm about three days behind on the normal laundry. Oh well, it's like a water balloon -- when you squeeze it in one place, it sqooshes out in another.

I've printed out my list for tomorrow. Two bathrooms (one large, one small), one kitchen (sink, counters, appliances, cabinet doors, fridge), plus the master bedroom. That sounds doable. Right? *snicker* At least I still have Thursday for a catch up day.

House Proud

So today, I got up early, did the usual minor house work and started on the kitchen floor. Three hours later (with a 10 minute break for handwriting), I was done. I stripped the whole damned thing with toxic chemicals and a scrub brush, and rinsed it with my floor mate. It only got one coat of wax before I had to run off to The Big City for The Girl's therapy, but I can do more later. I simply do not have the strength to do it now.

When I staggered back through the door at 5:00, I told The Husband that I had no idea what was for dinner, and he said those magic words, "I picked up some deli meat, rolls, potato chips, and fruit salad for dinner, okay?" I do love that man. His intuition is impeccable. And they're his sisters.

He doesn't have the biggest house in the family, but I want him to be proud of it. We're of the generation that tends say, "Come on in." and "Sorry about the mess." all in one sentence. Not this time, baby. Not this time.

Tomorrow, I dust and vacuum. Wednesday I clean bathrooms. Thursday, I clean the kitchen. Then I'm DONE. Or done for. Whatever.

Meanwhile, the homeowner's association has cited us for about 15 violations, ranging from broken pickets on our fence to bushes that need pruning. My attitude is that those bushes are SUPPOSED to be that size. Duh. So, yeah, I'll get to that. Real soon. Really.

Update on Mother's Day

Today, my lovely daughter gifted me with Mother's Day flowers -- for the first time, she wore her new purple dress with the flowers instead of the ratty old pink dress that I've been trying to get rid of. She walked into the living room and said, "Flowers for Mother's Day!" She cracks me up!

And when The Husband wouldn't let her eat the cake that he and The Boy baked last night, she said, "I want to eat the brownies." When we told her that it was cake for after dinner, she said, "I want to go to WalMart and get brownies." Let me tell you, when The Girl can come up with a compound sentence like that, I hop to attention. (Besides, it sounded good to me, too!)

The Boy has decided on the menu for dinner -- Pizza Hut. Um. Pizza Hut? Sure! (Translation: no cooking? Sure!) The chocolate icing and M&M's will go on the cake closer to dinner, and my mom arrives at 5:00. In the mean time, I've made the sheets for the sofa bed, and am reupholstering the nasty computer chair. My family hates it when I indulge in arts-n-crafts (like painting and home linens), so I figured I'd strike while the iron's hot!

Hope everyone's is going well, too.

The Mother's Day Post

This is where my Mother's Day is heading...

In other news, I spent five straight hours painting The Girl's room pink. It's called "candy mix", and it's P-I-N-K, just like her. But at least I'm done.

Now, all I have to do is strip and wax the kitchen floor and clean the entire freaking house within an inch of its life and I'll be ready for my sisters in law.

The frog princess

It's official. Per the English Royalty, I am officially drab, fat, and dull.

Never mind that I woke this morning with the unshakable conviction that I need a vacation, and badly. From my whining, screeching kids. My whining, screeching, clinging, needy children.Whom I homeschool because they're so non-neurotypical that the public schools don't even know how to start. Both of whom woke me at 1:30 am today -- one to be tucked in and the other because his legs were twitchy and he believes in monsters. (No, not my mother! Other monsters.) Then the cats walked all over me until morning, and I woke with a sore throat.

I didn't even see Kate's dress -- sorry, Catherine's dress -- until the evening news, and now I'm totally bummed. I need to lose 40 pounds, 20 years, and two kids. And boy, oh boy, the money the Middletons spent on orthodonture was well spent, wasn't it? At first I thought the dress was too casual and a bit dowdy, but having seen her in it for a while, I'm convinced it was the right one. She looked modest and comfortable, not the least bit self-conscious about what she was wearing. She looked great. And happy!

Lucky Prince Harry has now graduated to Most Eligible Bachelor in the Kingdom. But it's not the same. ;)

Dinner at the Ritz

Well, if I'm going to keep this blog, I may as well write in it, eh?

Let's see. Last night, I left the kids with my mom and went to a university function with The Husband. It was just a little dinner, but it felt like dinner at the Ritz. I had a beer and everyone at the table used silverware. Woo-hoo!

The Boy was totally terrified by my mother. I mean, she is intimidating, but really? She barked at him once or twice. ("Get back here and finish setting this table." "Don't let your sister beat the laptop on the table!") She initially was not going to let him play Wii after dinner, but relented when they established that he usually does. But after the laptop incident, he just sent himself to bed, as preemptive punishment. He told The Husband and me outrageous lies about the "mean" things she did to him, including denying him dessert and Wii, as well as "swinging the cat around by his tail and throwing him at The Girl". Heh? The anxious brain is a mysterious thing...

Anyway, I had key lime pie and adult conversation, so it was all okay.

Last weekend, I steam cleaned all the carpets in the house, so this weekend, I'm going to paint The Girl's room. The weekend after that is for stripping and waxing the kitchen floor. Can you tell I'm having company in May? Yeah... I'm also planting a lawn. What the heck, why not?

Speaking of gardening, both of my orange trees are a-goner. The navel is just planted too close to the elm, so it has permanent sooty mildew. (Who knew that elm tree would be so wide?) The pineapple orange is dying, and I'm not sure why. I'm thinking it was the "severe" cold this winter, but who really knows about these things? Oranges have so many freaking blights that all bets are really off. I was just starting to get reasonable fruit from that tree, too. If I replant, I'm getting another pineapple orange. Mmm. Lots of seeds, but delicious.

Anyway, that's about it. This week in homeschool, I found that The Husband is nearly too short to be a Roman Legionnaire. And he wouldn't be allowed to marry me anyway. ;) I'm sure there's more, but hey, everyone has stopped sleeping again, and I can't remember much more. Gotta start locking my door again.

In the mean time, I'll be plotting my escape again -- maybe next time to Taco Bell!

Life as I know it.

Well, another day, another post. Today I woke, showered, made the bed, emptied the dishwasher, fed the kids, made their beds, cleaned up their rooms, and started the laundry. Then I did The Girl's OT exercises and taught for a few hours, followed by mopping the kitchen and dusting/vacuuming the entire fecking house. (No kidding -- master bedroom, two kids' bedrooms, office, living room, family room, plus two couches.) Then I made a foray for a huge load of groceries, put all of them away, taught another hour of school, and CRASHED for a nap. Can you say "hot dogs for dinner"?

Green Girl had a recent post of things she loathed. I'm adding "sweeping the kitchen and then watching little bits of the pile scurry away back toward the baseboards". Eew.

While I was out getting groceries with two wacky children, I also stopped so The Boy could get a haircut. Yes, he wanted a haircut. Yayy! My hair is starting to get kinda limp and fuzzy looking at the ends, so it's about time for another of my thrilling spa afternoons at The Hair Cuttery. (I love the high life!)

My hair is finally starting to show grey streaks, and I'm thinking I have basically three choices. First, ignore it, let it grow out, and look like a hippie Earth mother. Second, dye it and have roots all the time. Third, remove all mirrors from the bathroom.

What do you think?