Thursday 4 October 2012

Day Two


October 2nd, 2012
Striking Mother Log Book Day Two: I have learned many things today. Cereal left sitting in milk in the bowl begins to stink much sooner than one would expect. Quinn likes to cut a lot of paper to make crafts and although the dogs will chew the paper, they will not actually eat it but spit it back out. I once thought I had an excessive amount of glassware…it really doesn’t last that long and the entire stock is now sitting on my counter. If you leave the dishwasher open all day long with dirty dishes, the extra large dog will eventually lick the entire thing clean. Which begs me to question if the children will think its actually clean and proceed to use the dishes in the morning? My family room must have magical powers that allows the children to think it is a closet, laundry basket and garbage can all rolled into one. Who knew?? Although I thought Peyton was onto me last night and the experiment had been compromised there is no need to panic. It appears that last nights clean up was a random one off. Whew!! Today she sat down for dinner and looked at the soggy cereal in her spot and exclaimed “EWWWWW, what it THAT??” As she pushed the bowl towards me, I simply said “Why that looks like your breakfast my love” and I walked away. She is no longer my favourite…the dog is, at least he is doing dishes. I fear my sweet Olivia is actually happy with her current surroundings. I blame this on any genetic material shared with my sister. Dylan may snap before me. That is what I call 13 years of training well spent. For those of you who know me well, this is testing all my Type A personality has to offer. But I smiled as I washed my one mug, one glass, one plate and one fork and hid them away for me to use tomorrow. I must confess that I cradled the pinsesol bottle lovingly in my arms for a brief moment and then wiped a small inconspicuous spot on the counter. Then I picked up my purse, drove to the Liquor Depot (it looks like I may need more ‘lunch bags’) and then went and got my nails done. They look so lovely, if I do say so myself.

21 comments:

  1. "She is no longer my favourite…the dog is, at least he is doing dishes."

    Hilarious!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought it was funny too:) We often joke here about who has the "favourite" status with me. More often than not...its the dog:)
      J

      Delete
  2. I have often wondered why you all put up with it. My Mom would never have put up with half of what I see these days (for reference, I am 31 born in 1981). When we came home from school from about age 10, we would split firewood, do the dishes, start dinner, and do the laundry. All after homework of course. My Mom worked 2 jobs and was exhausted by the time she got home. We would have dinner ready or nearly so. There is no excuse for today's kids. They respect nothing. Good for you for taking it back. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that things look rather differently for our kids than it did for us. Sometimes I wonder if we are over scheduling them, but I also thinks that team/individual sports are an important tool for life learning as well. I'm a pretty strict mom and am often told how respectful my kids are so I must be doing one or two things right:) This was a great way to remind them about responsibilities!! Thanks for the compliments!!

      Delete
  3. She is no longer my favorite......OMG!! So funny!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You may achieve status as one of my favourites:) Thank you.
      J

      Delete
  4. I lived with my great friend for some years. She had two boys one at 9 and the other at 13. Its a long story but she came to my rescue and so for those growing up years I helped out with the boys - with their consent - and the house in return. When I had been there a short while, her older son who is very smart, came into the kitchen one morning and in a fit of teenage impatience, managed to distribute the cornflakes he was pouring, some on the floor and the rest in his bowl. I pointed this out to him and I suggested he clear it up. Not being his father or a father figure, he scowled at me, was rude and then huddled at the table reading a book whilst shovelling the cornflakes into his mouth. The following day the same thing happened but with more gusto as he defiantly fixed eyes with me to establish his status over me. The following day was the same. I watched him eat his cornflakes then when he'd finished I asked him, "... good were they?' He looked blankly at me and shrugged in that dismissive teenage way "Yeah!" he said barely looking up from his book - he was reading A Brief History of Time by Steven Hawking .... yes at 13. "That's good..." I said cooly "...because they're the ones you spread over the floor yesterday. I swept them up and put them back in the box." His eyes were furious but he was speechless. It never happened again and by the way, we got on well and he's grown up a truly lovely, kind, smart, witty adult and doing well. We always hug when we meet up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I LOVE this story and how you responded. I think we may have the same humour when it comes to parenting/influencing kids. Way to go. I'm giving you a high five and keeping this one as an idea!!
      J

      Delete