Ode to Laundry

I absolutely hate doing the laundry. Its #1 on my list of the most dreaded chores. Its absolutely NEVER 100% done. You can't ever stop and feel like you've accomplished some great task. When you get to the bottom of the piles, you make another round through the bedrooms and bathrooms and create another pile. When you get to the bottom of that pile, you go change into your pajamas and realize you just created another one. And on and on and on it goes.

So, as much as I HATE the laundry - I love washing machines. They are like the endorphin-releasing-appliance of the century. (Okay, of LAST century for my model :p ) I love to start the water, put the soap in, let it fill up a little bit and then put the clothes in at the last second. If I time it just right I get to be out there when the washer starts-a-swishing. I get hypnotized just staring at the clothes being moved toward the center and down and watching the water all around get a little murky like the dried-on oatmeal and dirty socks are being cleansed of their sins. Seriously, it gets me high.

Maybe that's part of the reason why I love cloth diapers so much. Sometimes if a particularly nasty diaper shows up in the pail, I'll run a wash right then and I can't help but stare and marvel at the transformation from nasty-plug-my-nose-soiled-crap-cloth to soft-cuddle-his-buns-cushy-tushy-cover! *sigh* Anyway, I still profess to hate the laundry. Folding, putting away, only to have it UNFOLDED and worn the next day and subsequently wadded in a ball and thrown in the basket. Who came up with this ritual?

SO - today was Wednesday, and in true Wednesday fashion, we had our wive's lunch. I got there early to help cook and ended up staying from 9:30 until noon.

I came home to find the man at his desk. He suggested we go check out a couple of schools nearby before picking up the kids. Since my ability to go usually depends on his availability, I jumped at the chance.

The first school was WAY too serious and WAY too much money! Yikes! We were close to giving up, but decided to stop at the only other school that is close to the house. This one is totally kid-centered. Colorful desks, wall hangings, play area and uniforms. The prices initially seems JUST out of our budget, but then she said she would give us 50% off the second child and an additional 10% off for paying it all up front. With those discounts, this newer, WAY better school ends up costing only a little more than the crapper we're sending them to now! I was WAY excited. We just have to pay half the inscription fee and they'll hold the kids' places for next year. Did I mention the best part? Its bilingual! I REALLY think that will help #1 in the friend department.

So, on that note, I may not whine about moving back to the U.S. this week. (but I can't make any promises for next week.)

On the vaccination front, I guess I'm glad after all that we ended up getting #1 and #2 caught up on their vaxxes. These schools wouldn't let them in w/out their complete records. Who knew? Guess #3 won' t be able to go to preschool when he's 3 here after all. There's no way we'll have him caught up by then, if at all.

#1 just asked me if we could name our baby Pauly if its a boy and Black Beauty if its a girl. Of course, the answer is YES! :p I have a feeling he'll forget by the time the next one comes along.

Saturdays and Soap Suds

Husband and I have this unspoken agreement about our division of duties. Pretty much everything on the INSIDE of the house is unequally carried on my shoulders. So, its only fair that everything on the OUTSIDE of the house falls onto his, right? I've noticed that that things that would normally be HIS duty, can become MY duty if they are brought from the outdoors to the indoors. I often find the grillplates from the grill, stacked next to the sink. Of course, since they are suddenly indoors (and we all know men are useless with a sponge) I feel obligated to wash them.

I was pleasantly surprised today to watch the tables turn. We'd spoken earlier this week about how we were going take some time to clean the back laundry/porch/storage area this weekend. I use the term "we" loosely, as this is in fact an OUTDOOR location and any help I should choose to offer up should be praised, flaunted, and properly hung over his head. So, I'm doing my share (wiping off the washer and dryer and pointing out things he may not have noticed.) and husband is doing everything else. I realize that there are several old Tupperware storage bins, some dishes that have collected from the kids' playing, and the baby's bathtub that was taking up too much room in our shower and one day was unceremoniously kicked to the back. I'm amazed to see him find wash cloths, soap, and the hose to clean all of these things out.

So, suddenly it occurs to me - the way to get a man to help indoors, is to carry itoutdoors. Tonight will be my experiment. Think the dishes will have to sit there as long as the bathtub???


We also woke up with the sun today and went to husband's softball game. They started off the season with a win, and the whole team seemed proud and celebratory. They may or may not mention to their friends that the other team forfeited - but that's a moot point, right? A win is a win is a win is a . . .

At least #1 and #2 got to make themselves dirt diapers, right? If you were to go to the dugout right now, you might see mounds of dirt with the perfect imprint of their littebutts. Hurry, run. You don't want to miss it.