Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Airing Dirty Laundry



Doing laundry, at any rate. Yes, today is Monday, and for the Mama P family, that means laundry day! I may spread the ten loads out over the whole week, but on a good day, like today, it gets done in one foul swoop. It's both clean smelling clothes and an arm work out as I haul my very tired laundry basket up and down the stairs at least 4 times. For Xmas I might ask Santa for a new basket. Or at least a big Pampers box. My wicker bucket finally hit the skids.

As you know by now, I'm a big believer in setting goals, even if when I don't always follow through 100%. If I get half accomplished, it's better than nothing. While I don't follow the 50's housekeeping guide to the side of my desk (so very Donna Reed with its designated hour/day of tidying to keep things pretty and pressed), certain daily routines have stuck. In fact, they have been so cemented in our lives that I dare say, as of this historic moment, they are being upgraded from weekly activity to traditions. Those items that made the cut (cue theme music now) are:

- Monday Laundry! My house might stink like an oinion, but my garage smells like a rose! (Or better stated, discount Albertson's soap. Note: For 9.99 you can get a spa size tub of laundry detergent that cleans as good, if not better, than Tide, and lasts 10 times as long. One of James better finds. Go Papa Bear!)

- Taco Tuesday! My longest tradition yet. Come any Tuesday unannounced, and you'll be treated to fine Mexican dining, Mama P style. I have 3 Fiesta Ware type dishes that hold exactly 9 toppings: cheese, oinions, tomatoes, guacamole, olives, taco shells, beans, salsa and meat. I sometimes do meat in advance so I don't have to cook that night, but even when that's not the case, I can get a meal out quicker than you can shout Taco Bell & bathroom emergency. I just added fried corn tortillas to the ensemble when I ran out of shells. Muy bien! Sophie and Nick love it so much, they pound their fists and sing "Hooray! Horray! It's Taco Tuesday!" Well, Sophie just screams "acos! acos!" and beats on table "Bueno!" or better said, "nay no!"

- Date night Saturday! We dine out, we drink Starbucks, no kids, James pays. 'Nuf said.

...and most exciting....

- 6 Hour Sunday! Okay, so this tradition (giving me much coveted alone time) has only been in place two weeks in a row, but I am already so attached, I am giving it a First Place Ribbon and its own reality series. Just try and take this away from me and I'll scratch your eyes right out.

I love the idea that there's a place for everything. Like a blanket, we have our little individual threads that make us unique, but when put together properly, we have something warm. An heirloom of memories so to speak. Of course, I can't knit. But I did pass by a group of ladies at Starbuck's once who called their group a "Stitch and Bitch". I love that. I wanted to join just for the bitch portion, but apparently you need to make something other than jokes, so I wasn't given membership.

Here is a shot of our Monday zoo visit. We had such a fabulous time, I hope to add Family Day to the list soon, as opposed to "Let's got off our ass and take the kids some place... we have no food anyway." It was a blast.

It's now 4PM. My goal: get dinner, floors and post office run done by 5. Like I said, it's the intention, not the completion, that gets me through the day.

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