Today was A-OK, yo.
It didn't start off so great, though. I woke up 15 minutes late, and then I couldn't wake up the kids for school. They just weren't budging. I don't know what Chloë's problem was, but Jack? He was still up and playing with Sophia, who was in his bed, when I went upstairs at 2 AM. Rascals!
And then, I turned to go downstairs and stepped in a giant, heaping pile of dog shit. My whole foot was covered, and it was in between my toes... ugh. So freaking gross. I hopped all the way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. It wouldn't knock off the poop, though, so I had to yell for Chlo to bring me a washcloth. Then it wouldn't go down, so I had to scrub it off the shower floor.
And where was the dog? Why, she was locked up in her kennel. Which meant that she had already pooped there this morning before Rob left for work, locking her on her way out. Oh, yeah. I was MAD.
I napped for two hours (yay!) until Sophia woke up at 10:00. I hadn't slept long or well enough the night before, so I really needed that. She had breakfast (oatmeal, which she somehow managed to get all over like a 10-month-old) and then was ready to play.
She colored. She played dress-up. She cooked in her play kitchen. We read several stories, until I lost my voice. Oh, she was into everything. I wanted to bake or something with her, but the kitchen was an absolute disaster.
Oh, speaking of that. Two things occurred to me last night: One, that Barbara is not coming back, and no one is going to knock on my door and offer to clean my house for free, and two, my children deserve to have a clean house. And so do I.
I used to keep a clean place. I really did. But, as much as I love him dearly, I can honestly say that my husband is the biggest slob I've ever met in my entire life. I fought against that tendency for several years, and then I found my standards more and more relaxed until the low point they have reached today.
Well, no more. I am going to spend some time cleaning up this place, every single day, until it is no longer a source of embarrassment to me, or disgust, or stress. When Brownie moms come over to pick up cookies, I am ashamed to let them in my house. I can't have that anymore. The kids should be able to play in a clean environment.
Now, I'm not talking crazy talk here. I'm no germaphobe, and I'm not going to sterilize everything with which they will come into contact. It's not good for them to grow up that way, anyway: it jacks up their immune system (to put it scientifically). And I probably wouldn't ever pass a white-glove test, because I absolutely loathe dusting. But I will do my best to keep things tidy and clean enough, if it kills me!
Anyway.
So Jack came home, and after they had some lunch, we watched a little PBS Kids. They keep begging for Noggin, but personally I think PBSK packs more cerebral nutrition into a half-hour show. Even if it does mean watching that damn Sid.
Darn him for blinking! This would otherwise have been a really cute picture. And he wouldn't stay still after that. Sophie wore the cowboy hat pretty much all day long, until Chloë came home and usurped it.
Anyway.
So finally, I decided it was time to actually DO some of that cleaning, and I wanted to start upstairs. I didn't get as much done today as I wanted to, but then that is pretty much always the case, isn't it? To get started, I took my shower. I pretty much have to shower before I can be productive. I'm just not ready to start anything until I do. Are you the same way, or can you go out/clean/exercise/have sex/ etc. without showering first?
Then I sent Sophie and Jack in to clean their bedrooms, which always causes Jack to have a fit. "You want me to clean this mess by mySELF?!!" Um, yeah. You made the mess by yourself, Buster...
I started in on the laundry. I folded about four baskets full and washed about three more loads. When Chloë came home, and when Sophie's room was finished, they worked to help me put kid clothes away. I had to make Chlo stop to change for Ballet, and then Rob came home and whisked her off to class.
Notice I never said I got dressed? Because I didn't. So when a Brownies mom came over to pick up some cookies (we had no designated time), I threw on the nearest pair of pants and a sweater, and hurried downstairs. "Sorry the house is such a mess! We were gone all weekend and I was sick yesterday and now I'm cleaning but I'm starting upstairs and blah blah blah" was my hello. I always have to apologize for our house! Ugh, I'm sick of it. Anyway, we completed the transaction and I sent them on their way. Back to my laundry.
By the time I finished folding it all, Rob and the Dancing Queen were home again, and she helped me finish getting everything put away. Sophie, too. Jack had fallen asleep after cleaning his room, while searching for Chloë's missing glasses. Rob did some cleaning up on his atrocious filthy messy side of the room, and then I started vacuuming.
I did our room and part of the hallway. I'd have done the kids' rooms too - they realllly need it - but I didn't want to wake the sleeping monster. So I started the stairs. I'm still on heavy-lifting restriction, and our machine is not light, so perhaps I should have abstained. But they needed it, and, well, I'm stubborn. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, I needed a break! But they looked much better.
Chloë was working on her homework then, so I helped her while Sophia, and then Jack when he came down, cleaned up the living room. It was a sty. Last week, the Littles had dumped Chloë's bowl of Perler beads all over the place, and since Rob never carried the vacuum downstairs for me despite mucho begging, they were still there. Driving me crazy. When Chlo was finished with her math, I vacuumed the office and then helped the kids clean the living room. Finally, I vacuumed that and... Gawd, what a boring, blathery blahg. I'm sorry.
But the point is: it's clean! Yay! Time for Wii!!!
I broke out the stuff and eventually got it all put together and set up. Then I opened the Wii Fit and set that up. Finally, it was time to get down to bidness.
I created my Mii. It's a short and rather rotund little thing, just like myself. But that's okay. She will shrink, as will I.
And then! I got on the board. This time, it did not kick me off for being too heavy! This time, it was actually nice to me. Sure, it told me I was obese (pbbtthhh) and that I needed to lose weight to be healthy, but it wasn't snotty about it like I expected. But it also told me I weigh 12 lbs less than my kitchen scale says, so I wonder what's going on there. I wish!
I did the Body Test next. It measures your posture and stuff, and gives you a Wii Fit age. Guess what my age was? Guess! Really!! Okay, okay, it said I had impressive posture and... dun dun DUN... my age was 32!!! Which is my REAL AGE! I know some people (wink, wink) whose Wii Fit age is MUCH older than their actual age, especially on the first try, so I was really excited!! When it told me I was in great shape, I almost fell over laughing. Noooottttttt!
I did some exercises after the test. I started out with Step Aerobics (♥love♥) and did really great. Lots of "perfect"s! I did that twice and actually found myself working up a sweat. (Do any of you that have Wii Fit know if the pattern, intensity and duration of the work out changes as you get into it more? Oh, I hope so.)
Then I did some hula hooping (pretty good), yoga (great!), and slalom skiing (suck). The worst for me was a game where you had to change your center of balance to get your little Mii balls through the holes in a table. I was SO bad at that, but at least I was laughing and having fun!
I worked long enough to unlock two new games, which I tried, and finally, when my feet were killing me, I quit. I can't wait to do more tomorrow! Maybe twice! I want to rack up lots of time.
That's it for me. I was hoping to have an FO (Finished Object) to show you, but I still have to knit the sleeves of the kimono. I'll do that now.
Oh! Did any of you catch the Jimmy Fallon show last night? It was just okay for me - lots of room for improvement. Good guests, though I had not a clue what Van Morrison was saying.
I'm out.
Fin.
