I Can Assure You it was NOT Nesting
Today was day two of my imprisonment with the Tiny Terrorist, but truly it was nowhere near as scary as yesterday. Bright and early this morning I knew that Alexis was feeling much better, but because of the ridiculous 24-hour puke-free rule, I couldn't send her to daycare. (I hate that damn rule. Common sense should determine if a kid should go to daycare, not a clock. Then again, I am the one with so much common sense that I had no idea she was sick before sending her yesterday, so whatever.)
As I was blow-drying my hair at a time I will not confess to (because that would be admitting I didn't take a shower until *coughfourcough* later than usual), I suddenly had the undying need to run downstairs and grab a bottle of water. Alexis was happily watching some Disney crap on TV while lying in our bed, so I dashed down as quick as I could, but then froze in my tracks. Turns out that when you are actually in your house during daylight hours you can see the layers of crud on your stove.
I figured I had a minute before Alexis would even notice I was gone, so I grabbed the bottle of cleaner and scrubbed the top of the oven. Of course, that made the front of the oven look dirty, so then I took care of it. That, in turn, made the cabinets look dirty, so I grabbed different cleaner and wiped them all down. Which, of course, made the fridge look dirty. That led to me discovering that magnetic letters can hide enough cat fur to make a hat. At some point during the de-cat hatting, Alexis showed up and joined in on the crazy, just in time for me to notice that I had spilled a little cleaner on the floor. That immediately led to me realizing that some water had dripped out of the freezer. Of course I had to open the door, and an hour later? The freezer was defrosted, and the giant glacier we had been growing in the bottom for five years was gone. People, even the turkey leg that had been stuck in the glacier for FOUR years was taking a ride in the Waste Management truck (thank ye gods of disgusting trash they were REALLY late today).
Cleaning. It's like a disease.
Thank goodness it's back to normal tomorrow. If I had another day at home I might do something crazy like vacuum.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Reader Comments (36)
Oh, no . . . you're not nesting. You just have a very healthy dose of OCD (anyone remember Monica from Friends?).
All I'm gonna say is . . . you defrosted a freezer.
A freezer.
Who does that?
Nah, not nesting at all . . .
So... you got her to wear a sweater, huh? ;)
And on the cleaning thing, once you get rollin' you might as well go with it. That's my motto anyway.
Hope she's feeling 100% better!
just keep telling yourself that.
I do mad stuff like that. I wipe down the sink, then notice the spill down the cabinet door, which leads me to the space between the cabinet and the fridge>>>>
i get totally ocd like that. I've cleaned my house at 2am cause thats when i can do it with out my kid or my husband in my way. I save the sweeper for when everyone is up
Yea, it is kind of like eating chips - you can't just clean ONE thing.
Please come to my house and clean. Thanks.
And when you're done at FireMom's house, stop by mine.
I love how many of us assumed it was nesting - so many that you felt the need to title a post to that effect. HAHAH
WHO HAS A BDAY NEXT WEEK??
Wow, way to go! :)
When you give a mouse a cookie...
Great post!
VACUUM??? *slaps you to throw some sense in you* NEVER!!! lol
You're SOOO knocked up. SOOOOO knocked up.
I get compulsive about the cleaning too, especially if I have other work I'm supposed to be doing.
@trannyhead--I smite you with lots of baby girl Karma for that comment.
@Firemom & Three--Sure! There needs to be food involved, but I'm always game for cleaning up any mess, except my own.
I avoid vacuuming at all costs and when it is absolutely necessary I bribe my teenager into doing it. LOL
Cleaning. It's a disease. Thankfully, I have had it enough that I am now immune.
@dlyn--I thought I was, too. Turns out a little daylight causes some sort of mutant virus.
The cleaning virus only hits me about every six months for an hour or two. If I plan it right, I am out grocery shopping or something. Then I don't have to worry about it for another six months.
Love the picture. She doesn't look like a terrorist. Probably all part of her master plan.
@Ellyn--I have a theory: the cuter they are, the more you should worry. So far I've been proven correct.
At least you get something done when you go on your cleaning binge. Quick snippet from my house:
Me: Gawd, I SO need to scrub the kitchen counter. But first I need to do the dishes so the counter is clear.
runs water in the sink for dishes
Hey! I never noticed how scrungy the sponge is. I'm gonna go get a new one.
Opens pantry to get new sponge and sees dog food container on the floor
Damn. Kayla forgot to feed the dogs again this morning. I just do that real quick.
While walking to dog dishes, notices stray sock on the floor
*Sigh* Lemme put this in the laundry room with all the other poor socks without partners.
Spies clean laundry in laundry basket that desperately needs folded
...and on and on and on.
And you felt the need to draw our attention to the nesting issue because ...?
@Five Left Feet--It occurred to me about halfway through the defrosting of the Burgh Glacier in the freezer that there were approximately 500 things that would have been more productive to clean. More obvious. More rewarding. Less messy. I probably should have followed your trail instead.
@Flea--Shoosh. It's trannyhead's fault.
Heck, I just put a clean pot or pan on the burners so no one will notice that the stove top is dirty!
My mom and I once set out to deep clean her house. Five hours later, we looked around and realized we'd done more harm than good. So we stopped. And made a pact to never speak of it or attempt it again. Should have made that my New Year's Resolution, that's the kind of resolution I can get behind!
You wanna come clean my house! PLEASE! Are you SURE you aren't nesting? lol!
Yep, that's one of the hazards of working from home for me. I will find all kinds of stuff that needs to be done (well...I used to...it's been nearly 2 years now, so I'm over it).
Hope all is back to normal soon or the dust bunnies will be on the endangered species list.
Peace - D
Your day highlights some of the very excellent reasons to wander around my house without my contacts in.
Feel free to come nest at my house if you feel the need to clean. Now that I heard what you have accomplished in such a short period of time, I feel like I should be cleaning my house. NAH, I think I will read blogs instead. heh!
dude, come spread that particular disease this way. I can't get nuthin' done around here with the kids (and husband!) lying around, making things worse, and (at best) attempting to help.
I try really hard to put off cleaning as long as possible because I know the whole cleaning one thing leading into cleaning things I had no intentions of cleaning! And I don't feel like spending a day cleaning the metal feet on the bottoms of the appliances just because something spilled and ran under the fridge and got everything sticky and omg it never ends!
Trust me, you get immune to the crud after a while. Day after day of being home in the daylight will desensitize you nicely. Now? I barely notice the mess. It's kinda sad, but it's working for me.
Damn...if I'd read this sooner, I could have flown you here to do some nesting...er...um...cleaning!
Welcome to a taste of my daily life!
At least now I know I'm not just crazy!
This goes way beyond ordinary cleaning and seems to be too anomalous to be a mere manifestation of OCD. Are you sure you're not nesting? Have you had any strange cravings lately? Have you flipped out over anything really insignificant? I'll be checking back for future announcements. ;)