I Speak Whine-Fluently: November 2010

Laundry Marathon

This pile is my dirty little secret. The "Mound of Shame" never really goes away. Like a ketchup bottle at a diner, when it is almost gone, someone comes along and fills it back up. Some items will never be cleaned. That is just a fact of life here in the Bergen home. Items are washed on a need to basis. For example, when I hear a child yell across the house, "Mama, I don't have any socks to wear!" I jump into action. Like an archaeologist, I pick through the "Mound of Shame" until I uncover several pairs of fossilized crew socks and toss them into the washer. Doing laundry is a tedious chore, and it will be the first thing I hire someone to do for me when I hit the jackpot someday. I despise cleaning the bathroom too, but at least when it is clean, it stays clean for a day or two. I just can't seem to get the laundry under control. Sadly, my dirty little secret isn't much of a secret. The laundry room is connected to the kitchen, no door, just an opening that leads to the land of dirty socks and wet towels. Sometimes I try to organize the mound into several smaller mounds complied of similar colored items. While other times I secretly climb to the top of the mound and pretend like I am planting a flag right into the surface of the moon. It all really just depends on my mood. So what is my mood today? My mood today is to get this crap washed, dried, and put away! Will I succeed? Only time will tell, but I am pumped for the challenge. Let the Laundry Marathon begin!!!!!!!

Giving Thanks

The kids spent Sunday playing with a few dozen toys that I found buried at the bottom of their toy box. I rescued these forgotten toys in hopes of gaining a few moments of peace, and it worked. Josie and Lucas spent hours lining up cars vertically and horizontally. The front door remained open throughout the day and the fresh air poured in. My hopes were that the flu bugs, like moths, would go toward the light. I didn't see it happen, but my psychic intuition tells me that it did. My psychic intuition also tells me that I will be forever plagued with dry, cracked heels, but that is a topic for another day.

I've been seeing many people on Facebook counting down the days to Thanksgiving by stating daily one thing that they are thankful for. This got me to thinking. Of course I am thankful for my family, friends, a job, and a cozy place to live, but I feel it is worth while to be more specific, so here I go- in no particular order.

I am Thankful for:

*the extra lubricated foot massages Josie willingly and enthusiastically gives me each week.

*the way Hayden slyly works his head into my lap so that I can rub it.

*Lucas's spontaneous I Love Yous.

*Matt's emotional connection to a song that then makes me emotionally connected to a song.

*mornings when everyone sleeps in till seven.

*moments when I realize that I am completely content.

*my health and my family's health.

*family vacations.

*carefree conversations with my husband.

*parents and in-laws that love my family unconditionally.

*aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that keep my family smiling.

*a car that doesn't make me feel totally uncool.

*job security.

*each morning I see the sun rising above the St. Johns River as I drive over the bridge on my way to work.

*giggles and belly laughs.

*tight hugs and spooning.

And so the season for thanks and giving begins.

Think-Pair-Share

What are you Thankful for?

You Say You Want a Revolution

While I type away on the interweb, Matt is busy building this family a second bathroom. What can I say, he is a go-getter. When it comes to tearing down a wall or ripping up a floor, Matt has no fear. He has what I like to call the "Let's get this **** done" mentality, which I find extremely sexy. I wonder if he thinks my "This **** can wait" mentality is sexy. Probably not. The new bathroom will consist of a toilet and a pedestal sink. We were hoping that maybe we could squeeze a small shower into the corner, but no luck there. The space is just too small. I have been dreaming about an extra bathroom since we moved in 5 years ago. At the time, creating that space didn't seem so urgent, but now each morning our bathroom becomes an episode of "Survivor." Those that get voted off have to spit their mouthwash into the kitchen sink, while the winner triumphantly swishes and spits into the bathroom sink and then for spite, swishes and spits one more time. Okay, I'll admit it, I'm exaggerating slightly. Although I do occasionally brush my teeth in the kitchen, only so as not to elbow a child in the face. This half bath could quite possibly revolutionize the morning interactions between the Bergen clan. No more Hurry Ups and door slamming. No more shoulder bumping to get a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. No more on purpose, I mean accidental elbows to the ribs. I'm talking about a John Lennon sized revolution. Who knew a half bath could be so life changing? I guess I'm not even sure yet. But really people, how could it not?

Kids Sick, Dad Mending, Halloween Ova'

OMG. All three kids are sick. Super sick. Flu sick. Matt and I haven't slept in two nights, so we are beyond delirious. On the bright side, at least all three kids are sick at the same time so we can get this done in one big shabang. Oh, did I forget to mention, my dad is HOME!!!! He was in ICU for quite some time, but his 13 year old transplanted kidney held up to the strain of bypass heart surgery. The doctors bypassed two large arteries but left a blockage in a smaller artery. The risk outweighed the benefit of bypassing it. I can't say that I wasn't completely freaked by my dad's appearance after the surgery, and I did stress about the complications that followed, but I remained optimistic. I felt the love that friends and family were sending, so thank you everyone. The power of kind words is incredible.

Enough about health problems, let's talk about something else. Halloween is OVER!!! YEE-HAW! I know what you are thinking But you were so excited about Halloween, and that is true, but I sort of ruined it for myself by decorating way too early. The spiderwebs that covered every inch of my living and dining room were removed by 10:00AM on October 31st. The remaining decor was placed inside a Rubbermaid container by noon. A few fall leaves still grace the mantel, but the claustrophobic feeling has left the building. I've come to the conclusion that my house is just too small for so much holiday cheer. Come December 1st this realization my very well be forgotten or suppressed, so please feel free to remind me Katy, your house is 5 square feet larger than a playhouse, so go easy on the garland. I promise I won't be offended, and if I am, I won't tell you to your face, I'll just talk about you behind your back and plot your demise during the wee hours of the morning.