October 22, 2008

• Is it Really Only Wednesday?

  This has been the longest week of my WHOLE life!!!!!  For real – I thought for sure today was, at least, Thursday.  I’ve been putting out too many fires and feel achy – which tells me the fires have been real.  Let’s face it, I’m too old to bend and lift like someone who is 25 years old!  The house is an absolute wreck – except for our bedroom and the foster bedroom.

  Here is my “Picture Village” of what went on yesterday.  Imagine my temper being held under wraps and then me exploding!

  It all started when I began to clean the girls (Annamaire’s and Luci’s) dresser drawers so I could fold their shirts instead of hanging them in the closet.  Rissy took little of my time, as her dresser drawers were in pretty good shape.

  After finding DVD’s in underwear drawers, doll clothes in the same drawers, a bathing suit in the leggings and sweat pants drawers . . . I proclaimed an edict from my “high up” position of parenthood.  “Clean or I’ll clean for you!”  Now, everyone in my house knows that *my way* of cleaning is pitching things and NO ONE wanted THAT to happen.

  The closet was (once again) vomiting toys.  Didn’t I just clean this closet in spring?????

  Rissy’s closet of toys dumped on the floor by yours truly.
  

  Annamarie’s and Luci’s closet spilling over with “toys” and junk from every orifice. 

  As you will note in the first picture, Rissy is *actually cleaning* while Luci was playing in the other room.  Loud voice of dictator Queen Mom (from her royal throne) was heard saying, “I said *clean* and DO NOT play!”
  
  I mean, c’mon, if I acted like I had all day and talked to every toy I picked up . . .  
  Of course, the flash from the camera startled the Lady in Waiting and she immediately picked up speed doing whatever it took to *look* like she was cleaning.

  The royal children have simply accumulated too much stuff.
  

  Not only were there DVD’s, candy wrappers, and dirty tissues in the girls’ underwear drawers, but underwear (i.e. dirty panties and one lone sock here and there) in their toy boxes, under their dressers, under their shelves, and . . . well, you get the idea!

  Rissy’s idea of clean was more along the lines of what I consider clean.
  

  She even had room on the shelves, on her closet rod, AND two empty boxes to spare.
  

  And, her rod is letting the hangers breath with spaces in between her clothes.
  

  Did I mention I did 3
  loads of Jesse’s laundry yesterday and then 5 loads of the girls
  clothes as we pulled them from various and sundry places?  Their
  baskets were filling up fast, so I decided to wash and pull all summer
  things immediately to be folded and go in the attic.
  

  The other two girls made NO progress and it became obvious they were going to need the help of Her Royal Majesty, who was quickly considering screaming, “Off with their heads!”

  But she didn’t. 

  She refrained from using her tongue, which would have been much more harsh than any ordinary switch that the world had ever known!
  
  See the animals and “stuff” sitting along the back of the closet wall?  See the doll legs hanging from the shelves?  And that blue box lid was to a box of tinker toys and other wood building things.  In that box, I found chap stick, a dirty sock and dirty pair of panties (?????), 3 playing cards, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree!

  My idea of clean was seen on the clothing rod, but no where else was my definition of clean a piece of obvioius  evidence.
  
  They were missing the whole concept of orderliness and categories.  Maybe we haven’t done enough work in home school in the subject of “categories” or sorting!

  Possessing no “men in waiting” . . . Her Royal Majesty hauled everything out of the closet again and dumped it on the floor and told them what was expected.  And they were told “very clearly” of the Queen’s expectations.

  It never came to pass.

  Not in Annamarie’s and Luci’s room, anyway.

  Everything is now in a neat order with no straggling *anythings* on the floor of their room or closet.  The much coveted king size electric blanket is on their bed with clean sheets (forgot about THAT load of laundry, I did).
  
  

  Rissy is enjoying playing in her newly cleaned room and took it upon herself to throw away many things.  She even did away with the 3 stackable bins that were to the left of her dresser and held – well . . . junk!
  

  After many, many hours of the Queen of their kingdom encouraging them, cajoling them, role modeling for them, and eventually loudly threatening them, the Queen unceremoniously lifted her royal skirts and sunk to the depths of the muck and mire of toys and (horror of horrors) did the job  HERSELF!!!!!

  How, you may ask, did the Queen deal with all of those little pieces that once laid so pitifully in a heap on the floor among the dirty underwear, dirty tissues, candy wrappers, etc. – those things that were once called “toys”????

  Like this.
  
  This is exactly what it appears to be.  FOUR (count them 1, 2, 3, 4) trash bags of once priceless possessions!

  Honestly, I couldn’t ignore the fact that some toys had cost a pretty penny and pulled those from the trash pile to be used by the foster children.  Several dolls, a view finder and discs, a xylophone, etc.

  I was so tired when I quit (at 7pm) that I couldn’t cook dinner.  I was VERY thirsty and smelled like a goat.  Jesse offer to make slippery noodles, to which the girls giggled in delight (and I was tempted to say “no” just so they wouldn’t get anything that would make them happy) and he allowed me to get in the shower. 

  I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right before going to bed because I knew I had to eat *something* becuase of my blood sugar.

  And, NO -  we did NOT have school yesterday.

  The cold weather clothes are still in the attic, but all of the summer things are folded and bundled in Wal-Mart sacks to go upstairs when we bring the winter things down.

  I’m so sore today, you can’t even imagine.  Did you know the backs of your ankles have muscles???? LOL

  I’m done feeling sorry for myself.  Thanks for listening. 

  I’m going to get dressed and teach school, which will involve a lot of catching up.  Good thing they aren’t allowed to watch TV or any DVD’s until next week.  They’ll need *something* to keep them busy!

  
  

  • 11:46 am
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