Hello . . . Do You Remember Me?

Yes, I am still alive. And NO . . . the computer is not fixed yet. However, I have found a way to upload pictures to the laptop and will try to be more consistent with the blogging.

The week before Easter, everyone here had the flu and once I had everyone back to health, I caught the bug and it turned into a sinus and ear infection. I am finally feeling like a real person again but I've had so much to do to catch back up on all my work. I even missed church on Easter Sunday which I was not happy about since I went to all the choir practices and missed actually singing the songs on Easter. I did get dressed and met everyone over at my Mom's for lunch. See our cute family picture.

Anyway, things are back to normal . . . whatever that means. I sat down to write this post on April 15th. I typed the first 2 paragraphs and saved it as a draft. I finally have the time to sit down and my mind can't even organize the thoughts in my head of all the things I haven't been able to post. So here is my apology in advance: If this post is hard to follow, I am so sorry but, I am about to go into a Dennis Miller style rant about laundry. Here goes:


I have had so many tasks and projects going on at once I can't even think straight. I have been sorting and purging for a church yard sale that is happening this Saturday. I have to drop everything off today so it can be sorted and priced. I am trying to refinish and recover my old glider and ottoman for a dear friend who is having her first baby. I have been doing laundry perpetually for the last 13 years of my life and I am beginning to wonder whether there is a secret that everyone else knows about laundry that I don't. It's not funny. If there is a secret . . . I need to know what it is. Does everyone else out there feel like there is always either mountains of dirty clothes or mountains of clean clothes? I'll get all the clothes washed and dried but then there are mountains to fold and put away. Once I get those put away, I take a deep breath and feel that sense of accomplishment only to walk into the laundry room and there is a mountain of dirty clothes again. The nerve of these people I gave birth to perpetuating the cycle of insanity which is the laundry. And one more thing . . . Why is it that when I fold all the laundry my stack of clothes to be put away is the smallest by half. Even the 4 year old's stack is bigger than mine and his clothes are tiny. There is only one thing that I can conclude from this observation. I am not wearing as many clothes as they are. If that is true then eiter they are changing clothes 3 times a day or I am having "Pajama Day" mor often then I care to admit.

Here is another question for all 2 of my loyal readers: Do you wash everything after it has been worn once or do you do a "stain and sniff test"? I am not talking underwear or socks or even shirts. Obviously, if they were outside working or playing and were very sweaty or had worn a shirt for an enitre day, then by all means, pitch it in the hamper and I will wash it. I am talking about jeans, towels, sweaters/sweatshirts worn over another shirt, church clothes worn for 3 hours and then changed out of before lunch. Here is my attitude toward this issue. If you take a bath and put on clean underwear and pajamas and get into bed, are your underwear or pajamas really dirty in the morning? Can't you wear those underwear that day? Can't you wear the same PJ's for at least 3 nights? If you get out the bath or shower, where you have presumably washed your entire body from head to toe with soap, and then dry your clean body with a towel, why can't you hang the towel to dry and use it at least 3 days? My view on jeans is this, I check them front and back for any marks or stains. If they are clear of marks or stains then I sniff. If I don't smell anything but denim, then they get a spritz of Febreeze and go right back to the boy who thought they were dirty. I would need to own a laundromat and stock in Tide to wash everything daily. I am NOT saying wear filthy clothes or sleep on crusty sheets or use a stinky towel. What am saying is this: I am NOT the laundry fairy. Laundry takes work and it takes all day (we don't have a super capacity washer). And for the love of all things holy, use a napkin. Your shirt and pants are not there for you to wipe your hands on and long sleeves are not a built-in snot rag . . . neither is the side of the seat in the car. Why do you think there is a box of tissues in every bathroom and the car and napkins on the table? They are not for decoration. I am going to go on laundry strike one day just for laughs. I don't think anyone else in this house knows how to use the machine. I am sure Michael could figure it out but I have been doing his laundry since February of 1995 and before that, his mom did his wash. I think that everytime they put on a pair of clean, fresh smelling underwear they ought to come hug me and tell me they love and appreciate me. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong . . . but I don't think so.

(BIG BREATH)

I say all that to say this: My new dream washer and dryer are being delivered today. I asked the guy in Lowe's to sell me the floor model and got him to give me a discount because it has a small dent. It is barely noticable. Dave Ramsey would have been proud of my negotiation skills. Anyway, this new set is twice the size of and 23 years younger than my old set so I am hoping that will help me in my laundry endeavors. I am really excited about it. It scares me a little how excited I am over a washer and dryer. I think maybe I need to get out more. I think I might have already said that in this post. I know you are thinking it.

Yesterday, we took a little field trip. We went out for pizza and then bowling and then to the park with 3 other homeschool families. We had so much fun and did alot of laughing. Here are some pictures of the kids bowling.











I just want to thank my good friend Rona for taking a "Rear View" picture of me and my sloppy form. I have great friends . . . friends I can count on to lift me up and encourage me . . . people who will help me feel better about myself. I have come to the conclusion that Rona hates me because she took this picture. I am going to go drown my sorrows over my spreading backside in a tub of ice cream now. (Just Kidding, but not about the ice cream! Love Ya, Rona!)


Here are some group photos of the kids. It is impossible to get a good picture of 9 children. Take a look:























Hopefully, I will be blogging more regularly from now on. Two of the boys had birthdays since my last post and we went to Disney World and Myrtle Beach. I have pictures and stories to tell. Maybe I will post some pictures of my new washer and dryer and you can help me think up names for them like Bert and Ernie or Thelma an Louise.