Grossology: Day 1

Daddy's home!!! He made it home last night around midnight. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately for him because I am sure he was tired) in our weekend sleep depraved states, none of us were able to stay awake long enough to welcome him home. All the kids were very happy to see him this morning as he went from room to room, waking them up for school, bearing little gifts from Arizona State U...the last golf course he had played on. Thomas, too, was so happy to see daddy, and gave him a tight hug...I suggested daddy just take him to work with him today, but Bob declined that offer.

In order to make Bob feel at home again, I made certain to leave everything just as out of place as it had been when he left. Actually, Monday mornings are simply the worst because of our busy weekends. I am rarely home to pick up, and all the kids are home making messes all day. My Mondays are always spent trying to recover the house. I never look forward to it.

Today I was doing really well...getting little bits done in almost every room. But the pile of papers from school for 5 kids, and all of the Community Ed forms for spring and summer that needed to be filled out were making quite the mountain on my dining room table. Ugh. It would probably take me less than 20 minutes to go through and attend to it all, but it just seemed too overwhelming today.

With procrastination in my back pocket, I was fueled to do anything BUT the papers. I did 3 loads of wash, including pillows(obviously I am avoiding REAL work now), cleared off the counter by the coffee pot that has not been cleaned in 4 years, washed the smudges off of all of the stairwell walls, and played some games with Laura. After squeezing in a shower, I decided to completely overhaul my master bathroom(working around all of Bob's junk cuz I don't know what he REALLY needs in there)....decluttered the junk I will never use, scrubbing the shower and floor clean, changing the bath mat, and making my sink and tub sparkle. I am pretty sure that this all took more than 20 minutes, but at least I was not stressed, as I the paper pile would have made me.

Once I had a clean tub, I thought that I would take it one step farther and clean out the whirlpool jets. This is the tub that I bathe my 4 youngest babies in all of the time, and they deserved it to be pristine, right? I filled up my tub with warm water and a little bit of my Shaklee germicide (BTW, I absolutely LOVE all of this stuff from cleaners to dishwasher soap to laundry....EVERYTHING!!!!). I have never actually cleaned the jets before...we have probably only used them a handful of times in the almost 5 years that we have been here (the noise is too much for the kids, and I never have time to sit in the tub~besides when I was pregnant with Thomas~and when I do, I can't stand that pounding sensation....I am a very weird lady, I know: I don't like chocolate, shopping, or relaxing in hot tubs....yes, I am a freak). Anyhow, I turned on the jets, and to my disgust, my perfectly clean and shiny tub turned into a mud bath. Instantly, black and gray foamy water filled my tub.....FILLED IT. It was so very disgusting, that I had to call the kids up to see it. They were horrified. I am not sure that they will ever take a bath again.

After draining the gunk, another rinsing/germicide session took care of the rest, and my tub was once again sparkling. It looks so inviting, especially now that my back hurts from cleaning it. Maybe it will stay that way for a few years when I will then have time to sit in it again. I will most certainly be cleaning the jets ahead of time if and when my spa day in my bathroom ever arises.