Organizing

Something is seriously wrong with me this week. I'm pretty sure I've said those words before, but this time it's really and seriously true. How is it that a 31 year old college graduate, wife and mother of two boys does not know how to clean her house? What is the DEAL? Jake was at school on Friday, so during the day, it was just me and the baby. I wanted to take advantage of the time without both the kids and Beau here to clean up a bit...you know, without distractions.

Actually, I can -- and often do -- live in the midst of chaos created so effortlessly by 2 boys and assorted amounts of their dad coming in and out of the house. But there are certain things that I really like to be a "certain way". Even if my floor is strewn with toys and crumbs and abandoned toys, I like to look across it all and see that *my chairs are all pushed in the same amount up to my table. *That my couch cushions are in a straight line. *That all the pens in my pen cup are pointing nub down.* That the centerpiece on my table is centered underneath the chandelier(old table- I need something new for this new table!). Yeah.....maybe I do need a little help. But things like that are reminders to me that there really is a semblance of order to my house that's easy to put back together by the time every one's in bed or I know someone is going to stop by. That whatever is done can be undone in a matter of minutes, and not days or weeks.

Friday, I go to Jake's room and I'm cleaning: emptying the toy basket onto the floor and sorting out cars from animals, GI Joe's from toy guns...you know, cleaning. I start to notice groups of things that go together. Like these GI Joe's from the small action figures.

I felt like I was doing something, making progress. Grouping like things with like things. Until I realized maybe this isn't really cleaning. Did I windex anything? No I did not. Did I vacuum? Of course I did not vacuum. I sorted. I organized. I rearranged. This is not cleaning, people. It is a component of cleaning, I know. But this is a problem, a compulsion to have all things that match be put together, a disorder of ordering. Then this happens:

Breaks my concentration ....so it stops me from sorting.....

Instead of washing up the sink dishes, I took photos of GI Joe's in a pile. Worse, after I took the photo, I stuffed all the action figures in a drawer in disarray to get them out of the way, specially from Rex throwing them all on the ground. At least they were all in one place. What is wrong with me? That is what kids do when mom says "clean your room". That is not what mom does when cleaning kids room. After that fun, I did do all the cleaning....just to have it all tangled up by the weekend again! A vicious cycle around here! A vicious cycle I tell ya!

And now tell me (please!) do you have any, um, 'rigid tendencies'? Certain ways you like things? Toilet paper going over or under? ( except that if you say under---you're totally wrong and I WILL change it if I use your bathroom) What about blinds that face downward, yep I will change those suckers to up everytime....I can't tell you how many times I have to change the broken blind at the doctor's office to close upwards...kills me!
~Thank ye kindly~

ON a good note...my little boy is feeling better, I can really see no sickness in his eyes today-

Also, my mom and I seen that new movie yesterday, the one that Clint Eastwood is in (Gran Torino) It is sooooo good! I would pay to see that movie again....and if you know me, I don't really care to see movies again...unless holiday movies or they just happen to come random on tv.