An Hour in My Life

WARNING: Actual events depicted with NO exaggeration. May cause dizziness in men and desire for career life in teenage girls.

After putting Adrie to bed I need to get a load of laundry done and make some cupcakes for the party tomorrow. I start to gather supplies for the cupcakes but then have a 3-second debate in my head and decide to start laundry first, so it can finish and dry while I'm still up and about.

I go upstairs to gather my laundry basket of whites - grabbing an armful of miscellania to move from floor 1 to floor 2 on my way. Upstairs I'm accosted by toys all over my path so I stoop to toss them in the toy basket. While on the floor I gather up my pj's from last night, too. As I walk back to the closet I pick up toys in my right hand and trash in my left. Deposit toys in basket and trash in can. Look at bathroom garbage can and know it needs to be emptied, but so does Kurt's bedside one, so I'll get to it later. When I reach my closet I'm bothered by all of my socks strewn on the floor (thank you Adrie) so I stoop to put those away. Get bag of whites. Pass the open suitcase on the bed on my way out of the room and while gathering whites decide I may as well unpack it and put it away. Lots of trips to the closet, bed, closet, bed, then deposit toiletries on the vanity which is a mess. Gather up makeup, toothbrushes, razor; deposit them in their proper places. Wipe down vanity so it's actually clean. Look at the rug I'm standing on but decide it can be washed later.

Down the stairs I go, white laundry bag in left hand and dirty dishes I grabbed on the way down in my right. Start hot water for washing machine. Put dish in sink. Notice there are a few other dishes in the sink so I load the dishwasher, start it, 1-second debate; decide to wait to start dishwasher until after I've finished cupcakes. Dash over to the washing machine and add soap. Enter pantry, grab supplies, start cupcakes. Ooops add whites to washer, close lid. Start cupcakes. Dash back to add fabric softener. Mix the cupcakes, throw away box, notice that trash can is overflowing and start to empty it but *2-second debate* decide to wait until I'm done with everything. Fill the cupcakes, get 'em in oven, sigh. Decide since I'm in the kitchen I may as well start Slush Punch for tomorrow. Gather supplies. Get sidetracked with straightening up the pantry floor (Adrie loves moving around boxes and sodas and brooms, etc.). Start the stove & making the punch, decide to clean up a little while it's heating. Gathering, gathering - won't bore you with this but I managed to clean up cupcake mess, start dishwasher, clean out the diaper bag, refill the formula can, calculate hours and write checks for the babysitters, etc. Walk through the front room to deposit diaper bag by door and stoop to gather up the toy pile there. Straighten couches & ottoman. Put away remotes, magazines, dirty dishes, towels, etc.

My punch is almost ready, my cupcakes are baking, my laundry is washing. Life is good. But wait. There's no room in my freezer for the slush to freeze. I sit down on the floor to organize freezer, end up reeeally cleaning it out - throwing out food, wiping up spills in bottom, etc. While I have the rag in hand I clean some of the top fridge, too. Rag in hand, may as well wipe up the counters... and some spots on the floor. Filthy rag goes on the dryer for the next wash load. Open the dryer to find leftover laundry from last time which I then have to put away. Move the whites to the dryer, may as well start a colored load (on account of filthy washcloth).

Head up the stairs again, another armful of miscellania, take the time to put miscellania away (of course getting sidetracked to put away other miscellania; start gathering colored wash. Decide to fold & organize some of Kurt's clothes since I'm standing there anyway. Down the stairs, carrying more downstairs-belonging stuff along my way. Start wash.

Cupcakes finish, they are a little darker than I'd like due to my business elsewhere. As I'm pulling them out of their tins with a knife I think I hear my cell phone ringing. Where is it? I walk three circles around the downstairs, looking for it. Give up and finish cooling cupcakes. As I stand there I'm hearing ghost rings in my head so I reach over and stop the dishwasher to listen more carefully - nope. Give up again. Decide it's okay to empty the kitchen garbage now, but I gather up more garbage from the pantry and desk just to make sure my trip to the outside can is really worth it. I realize that I demanded Kurt call me before he leaves work tonight and if I don't have a phone to answer that causes problems. Oh my GOSH I left it in sleeping Adrie's room. I head up the stairs - clean whites get deposited in a heap on my bed - then sneak into her room and crawl around on hands and knees in the dark until I find it. Breath of relief.

While I'm up here I gather up dark laundry, may as well get it all finished, right? During that time I am again bothered by the full garbage can in my bathroom so I decide to empty it and leave Kurt's for another day. The bag isn't quite full though, so I wander around upstairs looking for trash I can get rid of. After a few empty gatorade bottles I'm good to go. I take another armful of dirty dishes (found during my garbage-hunt) downstairs with me. Ooops I went up there to gather laundry in the first place, so I have to go upstairs again. I bring a cupcake with me, thinking I'm near the end of my travails and I can finally write this blog. Wrong. After I've brought the dark laundry downstairs I get sidetracked by setting out paper goods for the party tomorrow so I know what to buy in the morning. And that toilet down there is disgusting so I soak it with cleaner to get ready for future cleaning. While I'm in that bathroom I gather up trash and straighten the things on the floor, vowing to finish hanging pictures and getting it decorated before the party tomorrow. As I head up the stairs for the final time I carry the two empty laundry bags and my shoes from today with me. When I stoop to put my shoes in their place on the shoe rack I end up organizing my shoe pile, since I'm on the ground anyway. One pair of shoes doesn't fit - I always keep one pair downstairs for quick getaways. I head down the stairs, taking my shoes and the last of the miscellania pile that sits waiting.

Finally. I come upstairs to start the blog. Where's my cupcake? I don't know where I set it. Head downstairs again, but since I'm going downstairs I may as well clean off the computer desk and take more miscellania on my way. I find my cupcake, climb the stairs, sit down, breathe a sigh of relief and write this terribly long, possibly terribly boring post.

ADHD? Perfectionist Housewife? What would you call it? I just know I love the feeling after everything's in order and I really can sit down and relax. I think it's hilarious though when Kurt asks, "What did you do while I was gone?" and all I can really say is "Laundry and cupcakes."

And now I'm done writing and I get to do this whole thing all over again - the slush needs to be put in the freezer, cupcakes to be covered, more laundry to move & fold... ahh the life.