Home Again

I did manage to get my home nice and neat whilst my family was away in various parts of northeast Alabama. Not that you could tell it today. No, in fact, I am expecting a UPS shipment soon and I was grateful that it did not come today. I didn't want the delivery person to peek in at the chaos! The house was that messy. The kids managed to trash the place in the few hours that we were actually home yesterday. I mean, fully trash it. Dirty laundry all over the floor (because if I don't tell them to take it to the hamper, then it just stays underfoot), books and toys strewn about, a couple of sippy cups and bottles perched here and yon, and an eclectic assortment of just stuff. Plus, I have been shopping for the kids winter wardrobes and all their new-to-them clothes are piled high on a chair in the living room. Folded and sorted into who's is what's piles, but still, there. Looking cluttered and taking up space.

The clothes didn't look so bad before the rest of the stuff. Then there was the fact that I had managed to strip the kids beds with every intention of cleaning the linens. Gracie slept on a pallet on the floor last night and Thomas managed to wrap up in a blanket on his bed. And thats where they are tonight, too. The dishes in the kitchen had been allowed to pile up. 'Cooking for one' while the family was away meant that each day I had used a cup and a knife to spread the peanut butter on the bread. Within 24 hours of having 'all in the house' again, we had filled both sides of the sink to capacity. And no one did the kitchen last night.

The laundry, which was caught up as of Friday, is back in full swing, too. I have two full hampers of clothes that either came home dirty or have been used in the last two days. How is it that we manage to wreck such havoc on the washer and dryer?

So, aside from a meeting at the church today, my plans included, well, cleaning up. I was mortified when I got home from the meeting. My kids had hit melt down point and I had to scram before the others. That wasn't so bad. I knew they all understood. It was walking through the front door of the house that caught me off guard and made me pray for some June Cleaver-ish-ness. (How did she mange that hair do, those dresses and shoes, the boys, clean house, and have cookies and milk ready for Wally and The Beaver EVERYDAY?)

I had neglected to take the nasty overnight diapers out to the trash can. And let me tell you, there was a special smell permeating the atmosphere at our house! I whisked the ooky things away and upon re-entering the house, was greeted with Thomas shrilling about some perceived wrong doing from his sister. Not Sarah Grace, though. Apparently Elizabeth was snubbing him.

Oh, for the love.

It went down hill from there. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down hill. The kids were tired and crabby and hungry (starving really, just ask Thomas). I had forgotten milk, again, so when I offered them water, they both went nuts. Incidentally, they went thirsty for lunch. They whined and complained about not having milk and not wanting water. This brought on Speeches I Gleaned From My Childhood #1768. Something to the effect of being thankful for what you have, lest you have nothing to be thankful for. The water cups went in the fridge to be saved for afternoon snack. They trudged through lunch, whined about having to take a nap, and promptly fell asleep in less than ten minutes.

One would think that after a nearly three hour nap, they would wake up cheerful. Nope. Out came Thing 1 and Thing 2 with a terrible case of the grouchies. They did not, however, grouse about drinking water at snack. They both asked for seconds! The cotton pickers and other assorted tractors that were clearing the back fields managed to keep the children more or less entertained for quite a while, though. I even took Liz in her pack and play out on the porch to watch while I puttered about in the laundry room. I checked on everyone frequently, but still managed to miss the part where Thomas and Sarah Grace dragged the pack and play out into the yard and the rain started to fall. Elizabeth seemed unperturbed, happily gnawing on a teether and airplaning around the pack and play. Good times.

I bustled everyone inside, and the grouchies surfaced again. After attempts at reading and playing pretend, I finally busted out Veggie Tales. They perked right up, sang, laughed, and danced (which they rarely do for a movie).

My house is looking a bit better. While the kids jitter bugged around the living room, I managed to organize a bit and vacuum. After everyone was tucked into bed, Joshua and I got the kitchen under control.

Maybe the UPS guy/gal will come tomorrow...