Good Enough

Before I go scouring other blogs and getting lost in cyber-space, I must do it…I must write.

Honestly I just haven’t felt worthy of typing. I still have carry over from last Wednesday’s dark cloud.  But ”friend therapy” has been fun…and I don’t want to make anyone blush, but thanks friend, for making dinner for my poor starving children TWICE while I sulked.

Can I blame it on my house?

They are real moose antlers! It has a certain German Chalet charm to it doesn’t it?

By the way, they installed them on both sides! One just wasn’t “good enough.”

We’re renting. Close your eyes and envision cream stucco with dark brown wood trim, and shutters. Probably built in the early sixties. We still have globe sized light fixtures made out of orange glass hanging from chains. The carpet is delightful multi colored weave that can hide just about any stain you throw on it. And it’s wound so tight that there is really no need for vacuuming, a broom will take care of the crumbs that sit on top. The walls are all the color of a typical Seattle morning…grey. I have tried to cover them up with pictures, but it’s not working.

The best part of the house besides the antlers has got to be the plastic bag we stuck in the hole in the front window. To keep the bugs out.

What I need to remember is that this is not forever. And I do. I can laugh at it. I like having “the moose antler” house. It’s quite a conversation starter. But I’m longing for a place to really call our own. 

I met some peeps on Saturday…it was refreshing.

They were nice to me.

They gave me presents and bought me lunch. I like Canadians.

A few wish to remain photo-less, but the rest of you will go down in Good Enough Blog history.  Thanks for hangin’ and hopefully we’ll party again in the future…

My son was frustrated with his siblings. Of course he was the one getting in trouble for trying to wrestle with a 3 and 1 year old.
He said “I just want some alone time!”
I completely understand.
When you’re so used to using the ladies room with the door open, that you forget to shut it when guests are over, you know you need a break!

So I have a tendency to be lazy, a fact that I’ve discussed in numerous posts…but you’d think I would learn from past mistakes?

This morning as usual I brought my 1 1/2 year old into bed with me to wait until the other kids wake up to join us.

I’ve been changing diapers for six years straight now. I have perfected the technique of laying on my side, in bed, and have an effective changing a diaper with one hand. This technique was developed to provide maximum for mom, and minimum disturbance of baby.

Can you see where this is going? It’s happened before. And yet, I still continue to use the same methods.

  I give his diaper a good yank, because as usual it has reach full capacity. And I see it flying…a rather large clump of “the stuff” now on my bed and on his pajamas and still squished on his undercarriage. My three year old who has just entered the room, has witnessed the whole thing and runs out screaming.

I am now WIDE AWAKE and full of spring loaded, super mommy action. Diaper in pail, baby in bathtub, duvet cover stripped and all infected blankets are now safely bunched together ready for the washing machine.

Clean and dress baby, take laundry down to the washer, look for anything I may have missed and viola! Back to relaxing.

I have to say that as bummed as I am that this happened, when it could have been so much easier, I am secretly amazed and proud that within 10 minutes or less there is absolutely no trace of the incident.  I think I just may be getting the hang of this mommy thing!

Which is good. Because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten into trouble for incidents such as this one!

Oops I did it again, no, I’m not referring to Britney Spears, I’m referring to my impulsivity (is that a word?)  For about a month back in November I joined the e-bay frenzy.  We were moving, to a rental, we’ve never had to rent. My pride got the better of me and I was thinking that if I had to rent, I would do it in style. I ended up playing e-bay for furniture. On the positive side, I purchased four kitchen chairs for $100 and free shipping. I should have stopped there! I should have counted my blessings, we really did need kitchen chairs we only had two and we’re a family of five. But perusing will get you everywhere and I began my search for other AMAZING deals.

I saw this armoire that looked gorgeous, the bid was starting at .99 cents.  I thought I hit the jackpot! Maybe no one else would bid and I would get an armour for $20.  Then the madness began, as I eagerly checked my e-mail everyday to see if I had won people  kept out bidding me. It mad me so angry! How dare they! This was my piece of furniture and no one was going to out bid me! I would WIN! Well, as you can imagine the bidding was raised fairly high, but in the end I “won” for a mere $100.  I didn’t realize that shipping costs were triple that. ARGH!

But it didn’t ship, and didn’t ship, and didn’t ship for 5 months. Maybe I was off the hook? I e-mailed and asked could I cancel it, to no avail. Once you win on e-bay if you don’t want your name slandered you must pay up and follow through.

The beastly thing came today. It smells like a nursing home, and is chipped and scratched. It’s awful. I don’t know what I ever saw in it! I’m so embarrassed for my hubby to arrive home and see it sitting in my living room, to big to fit into any of the corners I had planned for it.

I have been humbled.  I am blushing in my humiliation. My house is now infected by the smell of it, and it is blocking 40% of the light in my living room. It blocks almost a whole window.

What do you do with an ugly armoire, what do you do with a smelly armoire, what do you do with a cheap looking, although relatively expensive armoire before the hubby comes home and gives you the look?

To add to the insult to my injuries…my hubby is an amazing carpenter, you can check out his gallery of work at scandw.com, and he just made me a beautiful cabinet…the first cabinet he’s ever made for after seven years of marriage.  Why couldn’t I wait a little longer for a custom built job? That’s what you all are thinking!  This has put a damper on my spirits which were already as grey and dreary as the weather outside on this Seattle day.

Never again e-bay! You’ll never get the better of this girl!

Did I mention how utterly bored I am?  Well, I’m also bored, bored. bored. bored.

We all have those weird “quirks” about us, those little habits that we never notice are different until some else points them out.  Or maybe we don’t want to talk about it…but there is something of an obsessive compulsive in us all. I’ve read your posts, I’ve seen the little crazies come out.  I pick up on it chatting with friends. I find out about siblings, from their spouses (oops! secret!) never would have guessed the oddities coming from them. 

And my husband. Little things I do to drive him crazy, the poor dear. Like switching the silverware in the drawer tray,  then it’s pretty funny to watch him put away the dishes.

My dad eats his peanut butter sandwiches the exact same way every time. Corners first, then the centers of those corners, and then corners again, and so on till all that’s left is the very middle. His favorite part. After 33 years of marriage, my mom can ignore it, but for awhile there it drove her crazy. 

I’m pretty laid back about my habits, but I notice when I clean I have to do things in a certain order, I can’t actually dive right in to the grime. Maybe it’s just another excuse not to do the dishes. I don’t like to sweep unless I can wipe off the counters, I can’t wipe off the counters if there are still dishes left to be done, I can’t do any dishes if the dishwashers full, and I can’t put away dishes if there is still food out on the counters!  I may as well not clean, spare myself the insanity and go read a good book!  I’m seeing it for what it really is as I type. Another manifestation of my laziness. I really just don’t want to clean.  I’m trying to make excuses for my sloppiness, and now I’m coming ‘clean’ about it! Sorry, I had to go there. 

It’s not the kids that drive me crazy! I’ll take the earsplitting volumes my house reaches as it approaches suppertime.  I enjoy the challenge of sibling rivalry, the bathing, the cuddling, the diapering, the potty training, the teaching, the crying the laughs, the games, the family field trips. Night shifts taking care of sick or scared kids, well I’ve got a great hubby to help me through those hard times, and I even like to cook when money allows for an exciting new experiment in the kitchen.

What I don’t like is the constant battle of the grim and clutter! The endless shoes and coats to put away, the books and toys picked up again and again, only to find there is a little one in my shadow tearing apart my organization!

Bathrooms, my least favorite, where little boys tend to “overshoot” and floors are sticky, and toilets I don’t even want to touch.

And the dishes, the endless nights of dishes, only to have to do it all again tomorrow.    

There is just no joy in cleaning, no satisfaction, no light at the end of the tunnel. I’m goal oriented, I’m a finish line girl, I like to see the end of something and get there as fast as I can.

But I see no end to the cleaning. It’s there, everyday, and if I don’t tend to it the monster rears it’s head and becomes uncontrollable.

I’m sure my husband could give you the dirt on the quirks of me. But he’s not writing this post, is he? So dish…what are yours?