*chattering teeth* BRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

It is cold, not cool or breezy, COLD!!!! My thermometer outside my kitchen window says 8C (that's about 44F, I think!!LOL) It is just past noon here!!!!!
I'm afraid that my furnace will kick in, which I definitely DO NOT want to happen because it hasn't been cleaned yet and the smell will be terrible!!!

I haven't got much done today, although I will have to go downstairs and 'crack the whip' on the kids down there, they have destroyed the basement! It is disgusting down there. The black fake vinyl got ripped on our broken recliner chair down there and guess what was inside??? Nice chunks of that orange foam! Guess where all that foam is now??? Guess where the 1000 piece puzzle pieces are located now? Yup, all over the floor as well....it makes me want to scream and have a big ol' temper tantrum, but that wouldn't help anything (ok, maybe short term!!LOL) So I stay up here, making my way to the top of the stairs to YELL down to them at dutiful time increments "GET CLEANING!!!", "IS THAT CLEANING DONE?" or "IF IT DOESN'T"T GET DONE IN 15min I AM COMING DOWN THERE WITH A GARBAGE BAG!!!!"

A short while ago, I made my way down there and said in a nice, quiet voice "I am only going to say this once so listen carefully. What ever remains on the floor at bedtime will be packed up in boxes and bags and posted on my Freecycle(TM) email group and then left outside to be picked up"

Did anyone watch the conclusion on Trading Spouses last night? Well if you watched last week and this week, then you'll know what I'm talking about. I am borderline Mia. Somedays I am full blown Mia, and my family must endure My Mia-moments.
Now, I do not vacuum my floor a few times a day, although I have no doubt I would if time allowed it. In all honesty, I'm lucky if I can actually vacuum a few times a WEEK. (I do aim for a quick one every day...lol)Now for washing the floors, with each child this chore has become less and less. So if you do find yourself at my house, you may WANT to leave your shoes on to protect your feet from any mishaps that may be lurking on my floor. Not to worry though, most items are of generic value and shouldn't cause any harm. Although it does indeed suck when you step on a Cheerio or Corn Pop and it feels like a small explosion under foot that leaves a small pile of powder on the floor. Then of course let's not forget the sticky spots on the floor, these ones are great, because in time they just collect all the fuzzies from people's socks and become no longer sticky!! Then you can just rub your foot over the spot very quickly and it will roll into a little ball and you can pick it up and toss it into the garbage!!!

I used to be a freak about people wearing their shoes in my house, every once in awhile it still get's me, but I think it's not got to the point, does it really matter? My biggest issue was because of having crawling infants on the floor and the fact that they then put their hands into their mouths and who knows where your shoes have been. But does this not get tossed out the window when the children willingly scarf back dirt and other inedible objects? How many times do I walk around saying "Get that out of your mouth" *sigh*

As for all other Mia-itis symptoms, well I guess I'm borderline. Would I allow my children to have a big silly string fight in the house? Probably wouldn't initiate it, but I doubt I would stop one if it were to arise. And hey, a JELLO fight in the backyard!!! WHOOHOO!! That sounds like fun, and easily washable!! Might have to try that!!

So all in all, I think I am a clean freak and I will admit I go through small phases where I stomp around the house mumbling (and sometimes mumbling loudly) this place is disgusting, and that even animals don't keep their living areas this gross, and there are times I will stay up late and go through bottles of bleach and Vim and Pinesol attempting to reclaim some sort of cleanliness around here. But, there is also a lot times that I don't. I have standards, dog poopies all over my floor would gross me out, disgusting food sitting in the fridge grosses me out, dirty toilets and tubs gross me out, disgusting kitchens gross me out, bugs making homes in my house, not acceptable. Silly string on the roof a good conversational piece.
Hey, we had a few spaghetti noodles on my kitchen roof for a couple months!!!

You see all in all, as much as I love a clean house and to have all my taps sparkling and to be able to actually SEE in the mirrors because the toothpaste spit is actually in the sink and not splattered all over the mirror, or to not have gobs of blue sparkly toothpaste sitting in the sink. But you see, if I didn't have all of those that would mean there wasn't any children in my house, and I am not ready for that yet. So, the next time you walk into your bathroom and sit on a pee splattered toilet, turn on sticky taps and look up into a spotted mirror, feel blessed!!! Because one day, you'll walk into your bathroom and it will be just as you had left it.

God Bless!!!
~Penny